Microsoft swallows Nokia's phone business for $7.2 billion

  

(Reuters) - Microsoft Corp will buy Nokia's phone business and license its patents for 5.44 billion euros ($7.2 billion), a bold foray into mobile devices that also brings potential chief executive contender Stephen Elop back into the fold.

Two years after hitching its fate to Microsoft's Windows Phone software, the Finnish phone maker that once dominated the global market collapsed into the arms of the U.S. software giant, its mobile business ravaged by nimbler rivals Apple Inc and Samsung Electronics.
Shares in Microsoft slid as much as 6 percent in the afternoon, lopping more than $15 billion off the company's market value, as investors protested the acquisition of an underperforming and marginalized corporation that lost more than $4 billion in 2012.
Retiring CEO Steve Ballmer is trying to remake Microsoft into a gadget and services company like Apple, a move that has not won the endorsement of all shareholders.
Nokia CEO Elop, who ran Microsoft's business software division before jumping ship in 2010, will return to the U.S. firm to head up its mobile devices business just as the company's board considers a successor to Ballmer, who announced last week he will retire within a year.
Elop, who presided over Nokia's market share collapse and a shriveling share price during his three years at the helm, is being discussed as a potential replacement because he remains respected and is considered one of the few who can fully grasp Microsoft's sprawling empire.
But disgruntled Finnish media labeled him a Trojan horse who handed over the keys to one of the few remaining European technology powers. Nokia, whose market value topped $200 billion over a decade ago, will now concentrate on its networking equipment unit, navigation business and technology patents.
The Nokia deal thrusts Microsoft deeper into the hotly contested mobile phone market, despite some investors urging it to stick to its core strengths of business software and services. Activist fund manager ValueAct Capital Management, which has been offered a board seat, is among those concerned with Ballmer's leadership and his attempts to plough headlong into the lower-margin, highly competitive mobile devices arena.
"Adding to the cost structure when shareholders may be looking for steps in the other direction is not likely to be well received...," said Nomura analyst Rick Sherlund. "Perhaps a decision to repurchase stock and up the dividend would be a good idea right about now."
Others applauded Ballmer's aggressive gambit.
"Microsoft cannot walk away from smartphones, and the hope that other vendors will support Windows Phone is fading fast. So buying Nokia comes at the right time," said Carolina Milanesi, an analyst at Gartner.
"In today's market it is clear that a vertical integration is the way forward for a company to succeed. How else could Microsoft achieve this?"
As part of Microsoft, Elop will head an expanded Devices unit. Julie Larson-Green, who in July was promoted to head a new Devices and Studios business in Ballmer's reorganisation, will report to Elop when the deal is closed.
CRUNCH TIME
It is a pivotal moment for Microsoft, which still has huge revenues from its Windows operating system, Office suite of business software and Xbox game console, but has failed so far to set up a profitable mobile device business.
Microsoft's own mobile gadget, the Surface tablet, has sold tepidly since it was launched last year.
"We think we have made excellent, excellent progress with the partnership and yet we also know we have a long way go and felt on balance that together this is the best approach for both companies' shareholders," Ballmer told Wall Street analysts in a conference call to explain the deal early on Tuesday.
Microsoft said it would make more than $40 profit on each smartphone it sells once it owns the Nokia business, as opposed to less than $10 now, due to development and marketing costs it pays to Nokia.
However, it said the business would not be fully profitable until fiscal year 2016, and needs to sell more than 50 million smartphones a year to break even. Last quarter, Nokia sold 7.4 million smartphones.
The deal leaves the Finnish company with Nokia Solutions and Networks, which competes with the likes of Ericsson and Huawei in telecoms equipment, as well as a navigation business and a broad portfolio of patents.
In 2011, after writing a memo that said Nokia lacked the in-house technology and needed to jump off a "burning platform", Elop made the controversial decision to use Microsoft's Windows Phone for smartphones, rather than Nokia's own software or Google Inc's ubiquitous Android operating system.
Nokia, which had 40 percent of the handset market in 2007, now has just 15 percent, and only 3 percent in smartphones.
Shares in Nokia surged 34 percent to close at 3.97 euros by late Tuesday. While up from their decade-low of 1.33 euros hit last year, they are still only a fraction of their 2000 peak of 65 euros.
After today's gains the whole company is worth about 15 billion euros, a far cry from its glory days when it reached over 200 billion euros.
Tuesday's deal includes an agreement to license Nokia's patent portfolio for 10 years. Without it, Nokia's devices and services business would have been worth about 3.7 billion euros, the companies said.
"It's very clear to me that rationally this is the right step going forward," Elop told reporters, though he added he also felt "a great deal of sadness" over the outcome. "I feel sadness because inevitably we are changing Nokia and what it stands for."
SOLD FOR "PEANUTS"
While some investors credit Elop for bringing urgency to Nokia, which has stepped up its pace of product development in recent months and is due to announce a "phablet" large-screen handset this month, his legacy will be a bitter one for Finland. The company, which began life as a paper mill and has sold an eclectic range of products from television sets to rubber boots in its 148-year history, was a national champion in its heyday, accounting for 16 percent of all exports.
Hired by former chairman Jorma Ollila, Elop was Nokia's first foreign CEO.
For many Finns, the fact that a former Microsoft executive had come to Nokia, bet the firm's future on an alliance with Microsoft, laid off about 40,000 worldwide and then delivered it into the software giant's hands, was a galling snub to national pride.
"Jorma Ollila brought a Trojan horse to Nokia," a column in widely read tabloid Ilta-Sanoma said.
"As a Finnish person, I cannot like this deal. It ends one chapter in this Nokia story," said Juha Varis, Danske Capital's senior portfolio manager, whose fund owns Nokia shares. "On the other hand, it was maybe the last opportunity to sell it."
Varis was one of many investors critical of Elop's decision to bet Nokia's future in smartphones on Microsoft's Windows Phone software, which was praised by tech reviewers but hasn't found the momentum to challenge the market leaders.
"So this is the outcome: the whole business for 5 billion euros. That's peanuts compared to its history," he said.
Alexander Stubb, Finland's Minister for European Affairs and Foreign Trade, said on his Twitter account: "For a lot of us Finns, including myself, Nokia phones are part of what we grew up with. Many first reactions to the deal will be emotional."
Nokia's new interim CEO Risto Siilasmaa painted a picture of just how grudgingly the call to sell had been arrived at, describing how the board had met almost 50 times after the approach by Microsoft around February.
Ballmer, at a news conference in the Finnish capital, sought to assuage fears the deal would hit jobs in the Nordic country and said Microsoft would build on the recent growth of Nokia's flagship Lumia smartphones.
Nokia said it expected around 32,000 people of its roughly 90,000 staff to transfer to Microsoft, including about 4,700 who will transfer in Finland.
FIRE SALE
Analyst Tero Kuittinen at consultancy Alekstra said the sale price of Nokia's phone business, about a quarter of its sales last year, represented a "fire sale level." Others were less clear about what a shrunken Nokia was worth.
The price agreed for the devices and services business gives it an enterprise value of about 0.33 times sales for a loss-making business, about half what Google paid for Motorola's handset business in 2012.
"What should be paid for a declining business, where market share has been constantly lost and profitability has been poor?" said Hannu Rauhala, analyst at Pohjola Bank. "It is difficult to say if it's cheap or expensive."
Nokia remains the world's No. 2 mobile phone maker behind Samsung, but it is not in the top five in the more lucrative and faster-growing smartphone market.
Sales of Nokia's Lumia phones have helped the market share of Windows Phones in the global market climb to 3.3 percent, according to consultancy Gartner, overtaking ailing BlackBerry Ltd for the first time this year. Still, Google's Android and Apple's iOS make up 90 percent of the market.
Credit default swap spreads on Nokia tightened by more than 30 basis points to around 200 basis points after the news, meaning it now costs $200,000 to insure $10 million worth of Nokia debt, which is rated junk due to worries about its shrinking cash position and market share.
Nokia said it expected that senior executives Jo Harlow, Juha Putkiranta, Timo Toikkanen, and Chris Weber would transfer to Microsoft when the deal is concluded, probably in the first quarter of 2014.
Goldman Sachs acted as financial advisor to Microsoft, while JP Morgan advised Nokia, according to people close to the deal. Law firm Simpson Thacher represented Microsoft, while Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom represented Nokia, they said.
($1 = 0.7582 euros)
(Additional reporting by Terhi Kinnunen, Jussi Rosendahl and Niklas Pollard; Editing by Peter Graff, Will Waterman and Tim Dobbyn)

Miley Cyrus 'Twerk' Dance Move Makes Dictionary

The term 'twerk' used to describe a dance move recently used by Miley Cyrus at the MTV awards has made the Oxford dictionary.

   

Twerking, the term most recently used to describe Miley Cyrus' lewd bump and grind move at the MTV awards, has made it into the Oxford dictionary.

For the unenlightened, it is defined as "The twerk, v.: dance to popular music in a sexually provocative manner involving thrusting hip movements and a low, squatting stance."
It is among a number of new words that have been included in the latest revision of Oxford Dictionaries online.
Other terms include "selfie" for a camera-phone self-portrait, "digital detox" for time spent offline and "click and collect", the shopping phrase.
Katherine Connor Martin, from Oxford Dictionaries Online, said "twerk" was around 20 years old and seemed to have been coined as part of the "bounce" hip-hop scene in the United States.
"By last year, it had generated enough currency to be added to our new words watch list, and by this spring, we had enough evidence of usage frequency in a breadth of sources to consider adding it to our dictionaries of current English," she said.

 

chris brown

They both have the same taste in men.
And it seems that Rihanna and her ex-Chris Brown's on and off again girlfriend Karrueche Tran also enjoy going to the same nightclub.
The two women, both 25, narrowly missed an awkward encounter when they both went on a night out to Play House in Hollywood on Thursday night.

 

 

While it is unknown whether the pair had partied together inside, they both exited the venue separately.
Rihanna had snuck out the back entrance of the popular late night venue, while Karrueche departed with a male pal at the front, alongside other party goers.
It is very unlikely that the pair had exchanged words inside after having both enjoyed romances with R&B singer Chris consecutively.

 

latest gist on ASSU

President Goodluck Jonathan is claiming that ASUU has been infiltrated by elements of the opposition. He said the federal has tried its best to meet the demands made by ASUU to a substantial level, insisting that they should no longer be reluctant to go back to the classroom and perform their duties.



But ASUU, on its part, stressed that there is no point negotiating what they already discussed, negotiated and concluded with the same government over three years ago. So, who is fooling who?

Students of government owned universities will remain at home for a long time until the federal government and its agents stop blaming the opposition and take necessary actions.

Jonathan should release N87bn to ASUU and lets see if opposition can stop them from go back to work!

5 Reasons She Doesn’t Want to Sleep with You

You’re clicking, compatible, and all signs are pointing to the fact that yes, this girl is really into you. There’s just one thing. She hasn’t been intimate with you. And you don’t exactly want to broach the subject of “if and when” for fear of turning her off completely. 

The following are five possible reasons your love interest has yet to give you the green light. Once you understand what may be going on in her head, you’ll also understand where the relationship stands and whether it’s the long-term match that you’re looking for.

She's Still Deciding How She Feels About You
Your girlfriend's decision to hold off on getting intimate with you may be as simple as she's still figuring out how she feels about you. Sure, she knows she likes you. But for women, it's not enough to just like a guy. Because the fairer sex equates physical intimacy with emotional connection, she may still be deciding how much she likes you, and if you're worthy of jumping into deeper emotional waters with. Give her the benefit of the doubt by allowing her more time to get to know the real you. Once she does, she may surprise you with an intimate invitation in the near future.

She's Not Sure How You Feel About Her
Maybe your girl has already decided that she digs you, but hasn't quite figured out your feelings for her. And before a woman decides to get that close with someone new, she wants to be reasonably certain about his intentions. If she's unsure of your interest level, concern about your ability to be monogamous, or in any way has doubts regarding where your relationship is going, she's going to hold off on becoming intimate. It's up to you to be honest about your interest and intentions, giving her the opportunity to decide her next move. And if you're not on the same page? Better to know it now. That way, you avoid hurt feelings and possibly a very messy breakup.
She Wants to Take it Slow
The clue to your sexual future may lie in your girlfriend's past. Have you talked to her about past relationships? If so, has she revealed a former flame that fizzled bitterly? If not, this may just be the reason she's pumping the breaks on pursuing a passionate liaison with you. Oftentimes after a bad breakup or bitter betrayal, your girl will feel a little gun shy. Not wanting to get burned again, she may need to take things slow. And that's okay. In fact, it's pretty smart. After all, sex is not just emotionally risky. If you're not careful, you can expose yourself to all kinds of physical dangers as well. And until you have had a very frank chat about monogamy, safe sex, birth control, and sexually transmitted diseases, you should take things slow.
She Doesn't Believe in Sex Before Marriage
Of course, her decision not to sleep with you may not be temporary. Have you ever considered that the woman you're dating doesn't believe in sex before marriage? While the idea may be archaic to you, abstinence may be a choice she made long before she met you. And no matter how much she likes you, if she's waiting until marriage to become physically intimate, you're not going to change her mind. Don't even think about it. So how do you know if your girl wants to wait until marriage? Look for and listen to the messages she sends when you're spending time together. Does she talk about the future, her religious faith, and/or her values and morals? When you kiss her, does she respond passionately, or keep you at arm's length? These are just a few potential signs that'll help you see where she stands on the issue of sex before marriage. To know for sure, you should probably just ask.
She's Seeing Other People
There's also a possibility that the girl you're seeing is still seeing other people, and until she decides to get exclusive with you, she's not going to sleep with you. Maybe you're still seeing other people, too. Have you had a conversation about exclusivity? If not, are you ready to? By getting clear about where you stand with one another, you'll have a better idea about if and when you'll both be ready to consummate your relationship. This may be a difficult subject to broach, but then again, it's an essential one to have before becoming intimate. Without knowing your partner's sexual past and possible present, there's no way to ensure a safe emotional and physical future for either one of you. And if you both decide to take your relationship to the next level, you owe it to each other to know exactly where you stand before doing so.

5 Things Women Want Most in a Man

what makes women happy? Believe it or not, it tends to be the little things that make women the most satisfied in relationships.

Time: Of all the things we talk about women wanting, time with their spouse is it. The vast majority of women in happy relationships get 30 minutes of uninterrupted time with their husbands each day. Twenty-four percent of women who claim to be in unhappy relationships spend fewer than five minutes a day with their spouses.
Ask yourself, “How much time do I spend with my spouse?” Uninterrupted time means time spent without iPhones and Blackberrys — a conversation with nothing else on.

Appreciation: Nowadays, women take care of the children and make salaries, and they tend to be very underappreciated. Women should be expressive of what makes them feel appreciated, saying, “These are the kinds of things I like … x, y and z.” Men should listen, and women should tune in when their husbands are appreciative.

Understanding: It’s important for women to have men who understand them. It’s also important for women to help men understand how to listen. Men often don’t have a clue they’re being bad listeners.
Women have to sense a time limit to conversation. More often than not, men are sitting there thinking, “When is this going to end?” I would say 15 to 20 minutes, max. Women should say to their husbands, “It’s 8:00 p.m.; I need you to listen until 8:20 p.m.” Women may deserve 10 hours, but most men are not the best at listening to serious, emotional conversations that go on.

Fun: This is one of those things that often goes out the window, especially after the first child is born. All the factors like jobs, rents or mortgages can add to relationship strain. Couples should set up a date night — once every week, even if they are tired — during which they spend a minimum of two hours alone. During this time, the couple should talk about everything BUT work, money and children.

Kind Gestures: Hugs, kisses, unexpected telephone calls to say "I love you." Simple things. I suggest five touch points a day for one week — any kind gesture that takes 30 seconds or less. If a man can do this for his partner for one week, both will be amazed at how much better they feel in the relationship.

ASSU and PRESIDENT

President Goodluck Jonathan on Tuesday directed the two Federal Government committees negotiating the requests by Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), to take immediate measures at ending the on-going strike.

The Chairman of the Universities Needs Implementation Committee, Gov. Gabriel Suswam of Benue, made this known after a closed-door meeting of the two committees and other stakeholders with President Jonathan at the State House.in Abuja.
Vice-President Namadi Sambo, the Chairman of the Earned Allowance Committee and the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Sen. Anyim Pius Anyim were in attendance at the meeting.
Also in attendance were, Ministers of Education, Prof. Ruqayyat Rufai, Labour, Emeka Wogu, the Executive Secretary of National Universities Commission, Prof. Julius Okogie and the Chief of Staff to the President, Chief Mike Oghiadome.
Speaking with State House correspondents, Suswam said that the meeting was summoned by the President “to take some decisions that would end the strike’’.
“The President has instructed us, as to what to do, and he has shown a lot of commitments to flagging off projects worth about N100 billion in all the universities in the country, about 61 of them.
“So, we are hoping that we will be able to see the end of the strike very soon.
“At the end of the day, we hope ASUU is satisfied with the measures that have so far been taken.
“The federal government will also be meeting with the Universities Councils and Vice Chancellors of our universities within the week towards updating them on some of the decisions taken,’’ he said.
Suswam said about N100 billion had been approved by the Federal Government to his committee to address infrastructure deficit in all the Universities.
“The president has graciously agreed that in the first week of September he will be able to flag-off the projects.
“You also know that the procurement process will have to be followed and these projects include hostels in our universities, classrooms and theatres, libraries and laboratories among others.
“Some are renovation some are new and all the 61 universities are going to benefit from one project or another.
“So, it is not going to be selective, all the universities are going to benefit from this infrastructural revitalisation of our universities.
The governor said that the Earned Allowance Committee being headed by the SGF, where there were contentious issues, would be addressed.
“As you must have heard, the federal government made an offer of N30 billion to assist the various Councils of our universities to be able to pay the earned allowances,’’ he said.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls ASUU had rejected the offer of the N30 billion by government and stood on its N87 billion demand to settle the earned allowances.
Asked whether government would be willing to shift ground on the ASUU insistence, Suswam said negotiation was still on-going,
“The federal government has opted to also meet with the Councils and Managements of the Universities, because Earned Allowance is something that can be certified by the management and councils of the universities.
“I think that the government has demonstrated some substantial faith,’’ he said.
NAN also recalls that the meeting between the striking university lecturers and the federal government delegation on Monday was reportedly deadlocked. (NAN)

BOKO HARAM ATTACK

Nigeria's military says Abubakar Shekau, the leader of militant Islamist group Boko Haram, may have died of a gun-shot wound sustained during an assault by government forces on his forest hide-out in north-eastern Nigeria last month. Nigeria analyst Andrew Walker assesses the implications of the claim.

If the death of Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau is verified then it is undoubtedly a key milestone in the life of the group which, in almost exactly four years, has murdered thousands in northern and central Nigeria.
Since 2009, the group (whose name roughly translated means "Western education is forbidden" in the local Hausa language) has waged a guerrilla insurgency against the state and a wide array of "soft" targets.
At times, large-scale attacks came almost daily.

Boko Haram believes its war will bring a strident and extreme form of Islamic law to Nigeria.

School children, teachers, the UN, the police, north-eastern traditional leaders, journalists, mobile phone towers, ordinary Nigerians going about their lives have all come under attack.
The group is also reported to have moved to Mali during the conflict there, where it is alleged to have received training from foreign jihadis.
Looking back over the last four years the attacks appear to be almost mini-campaigns, responses by the group to events in Nigeria and outside.
The type of attacks evolved as the group developed, and in some cases occurred in several areas in short succession - evidence the group was controlled by a tight cadre of people, and the cell-like structure of the organisation took direction.
So killing the leadership might possibly have a big effect on how the group is organised and how well it is able to repeat such big campaign attacks in future.

LETEST NEWS ON ASSU

 
 At the end of a closed door meeting which lasted for about three hours, Chairman of the Needs Assessment Implementation Committee, Governor Gabriel Suswam announced the launch of N100 billion by September 1 to address infrastructure deficit in all universities across the country.
The federal government further approved an additional intervention of N30 billion to be released to university council as against the initial N92 billion demanded by ASUU to resolve the issue of earned allowances.
Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator Anyim Pius Anyim told journalists that the fund is only to clear off the backlog but would need to verify ASUU’s claims.
President of ASUU, Proffesor Nasir Faggae however noted that the government’s intervention move is tantamount to a re-negotiation of the 2009 agreement, which would not be accepted by the Union.

The resumed negotiation between the federal government and the Academic Staff Union Of Universities (ASUU) has once again reached a stalemate.

43 Fun Facts About kissing

1. “Kiss” is from the Old English cyssan from the proto-Germanic kussijanan or kuss, which is probably based on the sound kissing can make.^e
2. A woman in China partially lost her hearing after her boyfriend reportedly ruptured her eardrum with a passionate kiss. Apparently, the kiss reduced the pressure in the mouth, pulled the eardrum out, and caused the breakdown of the ear.^k
3. The science of kissing is called philematology.^c
4. The insulting slang “kiss my ass” dates back at least to 1705.^e
5. Lips are 100 times more sensitive than the tips of the fingers. Not even genitals have as much sensitivity as lips.
6. Approximately two-thirds of people tip their head to the right when they kiss. Some scholars speculate this preference starts in the womb.^b
7. On July 5-6, 2005 a couple in London locked lips for 31 hours, 30 minutes, and 30 seconds, making it the longest kiss ever recorded.^f
8. The most important muscle in kissing is the orbicularis oris, also known as the kissing muscle, which allows the lips to “pucker.”^b
9. French kissing involves all 34 muscles in the face. A pucker kiss involves only two.^b
10. The lips of both men and women resemble the lips of the vagina.^c
11. The term “French kiss” came into the English language around 1923 as a slur on the French culture which was thought to be overly concerned with sex. In France, it’s called a tongue kiss or soul kiss because if done right, it feels as if two souls are merging. In fact, several ancient cultures thought that mouth-to-mouth kissing mingled two lovers’ souls.ⁱ
12. The Four Vedic Sanskrit texts (1500 B.C.) contain the first mention of a kiss in writing.^c
13. The Romans created three categories of kissing: (1) Osculum, a kiss on the cheek, (2) Basium, a kiss on the lips, and (3) Savolium, a deep kiss.^h
14. Passionate kissing burns 6.4 calories a minute. A Hershey’s kiss contains 26 calories, which takes five minutes of walking–or about four minutes of kissing–to burn off.^c
15. It is possible for a woman to reach an orgasm through kissing.^c
16. Mechanically speaking, kissing is almost identical to suckling. Some scholars speculate that the way a person kisses may reflect whether he or she was breastfed or bottle fed.^c
17. Scientists believe that kissing may be a way of exchanging body salts or sebum that form relationships with parents and lovers, just as it does some birds. During mating, some birds chew food, then kiss-feed it to a prospective mate. If a bird’s sebaceous glands are removed so there is no sebum, its mate flies off.^j
18. Kissing is good for teeth. The anticipation of a kiss increases the flow of saliva to the mouth, giving the teeth a plaque-dispersing bath.^c
19. A medieval manuscript warns Japanese men against deep kissing during the female orgasm because a woman might accidentally bite off part of her lover’s tongue.^c
20. The Kama (desire) Sutra (type of verse) lists over 30 types of kisses, such as “fighting of the tongue.”^c
21. According to one study, many men are more particular about which women they kissed than who they went to bed with, suggesting that kissing is somehow more about love than coitus is.^b
22. Kissing may have originated when mothers orally passed chewed solid food to their infants during weaning. Another theory suggests kissing evolved from prospective mates sniffing each others’ pheromones for biological compatibility.^h
23. Scholars are unsure if kissing is a learned or instinctual behavior. In some cultures in Africa and Asia, kissing does not seem to be practiced.^h
24. Common chimpanzees kiss with open mouths, but not with their tongues. Bonobos, the most intelligent of primates, do kiss with their tongues.^c
25. Leper-kissing became fashionable among medieval ascetics and religious nobility during the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. It was deemed proof of humility.ⁱ
26. During the middle ages, witches' souls were supposed to be initiated into the rites of the Devil by a series of kisses, including kissing the Devil’s anus, which was a parody of kissing the Pope’s foot.^d
27. Pliny asserts that kissing a donkey’s nostril will cure the common cold.^c
28. Kissing at the conclusion of a wedding ceremony can be traced to ancient Roman tradition where a kiss was used to sign contract.ⁱ
29. The first on-screen kiss was shot in 1896 by the Edison Company. Titled The May Irwin-John C. Rice Kiss, the film was 30 seconds long and consisted entirely of a man and a woman kissing close up.^c
30. The first on-screen kiss between two members of the same sex was in Cecil B. DeMille’s 1922 Manslaughter.^c
31. Under the Hays Code (1930-1968), people kissing in American films could no longer be horizontal; at least one had to be sitting or standing, not lying down. In addition, all on-screen married couples slept in twin beds...and if kissing on one of the beds occurred, at least one of the spouses had to have a foot on the floor.