抖阴ap

When Virgin Atlantic founder Sir Richard Branson bought 15 new 787 Dreamliners for his airline in May, neither he nor Boeing chairman Jim McNerney spotted the gag buried in the final clause of the $2.8 million contract.

According to v-flyer.com, a website devoted to information about Virgin Atlantic, Branson and McNerney signed the document, which included a commitment to lose about 14 pounds each before the jets are delivered.

The airline’s communications director, Paul Charles, claimed responsibility for adding the clause – which stated, “The parties hereby agree that each of the signatories will lose at least one stone in weight in order to reduce carbon emissions by over 36 pounds on the delivery flight” – to see if the men would read the small print.

“They had no idea they had agreed to lose weight until after their signatures were down on the dotted line,” Charles told The Daily Mail. “They thought it was very funny.”

Both Branson and McNerney are apparently going to uphold the bargain, and have until 2011, when Virgin Atlantic takes first delivery of the new jets.

CU researcher: Forget some of what you know about joy

Sages throughout history have counseled that happiness can’t be bought, but now a University of Colorado at Boulder researcher has fine-tuned the message.

Shopping for that new high-definition television this summer? Skip it and take a vacation instead, says psychologist Leaf Van Boven, who studies happiness.

In research spanning several years, Van Boven has found that spending money on life experiences such as vacations generally makes people happier than spending it on possessions.

One explanation: Experiences such as vacations are more open to mental editing than possessions.

“Often we take a vacation and things just don’t always go according to plan,” Van Boven said. “The weather may not be perfect, or you spend hours waiting in line. The nice thing about memory is that we sort of forget about all those inconveniences. That’s harder to do for material possessions because they are what they are.

“When they pursue experiences, people also often do so out of a desire to satisfy intrinsic goals, so they will go backpacking or skiing because they want to challenge themselves, they want to push themselves in new ways.”

Family-owned businesses are weak, relatively speaking

Family-owned businesses may be in for a rocky ride if research conducted by Seattle-based wealth-management firm Laird Norton Tyee is any indication.

“Family businesses need to heed the warning signs,” said Rich Simmonds, the firm’s managing principal. “An ongoing lack of succession and strategic planning, and an overwhelming lack of income diversification, could damage our economic heart-and-soul’s ability to thrive.”

Among the problems spotted in the survey:

No new leaders. Nearly 60 percent of majority-share owners in family businesses are 55 or older and 30 percent are 65 or older, but less than 30 percent have succession plans and fewer than 40 percent have a successor lined up.

Family finances tied to business success: 93 percent of respondents have little or no income diversification, deriving the majority of the family’s income and security from the business.

Lack of qualification requirements: Two-thirds of family businesses don’t require that family members have the qualifications or related experience necessary to be successful when entering the business. Twenty-five percent think the “next” generation is not competent enough to take the reins.

No formalized goals: Nearly half of American family businesses are operating without a written strategic plan.

The full results are available at

FROM STAFF AND WIRE REPORTS