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When 250 surmises adam cooper billy elliot News Corp. billy elliott details executives gather this weekend for a management retreat at a posh California seaside resort, they'll skip the typical team-building exercises that such confabs are known for. Why role-play when you can pick the brains of actual world leaders and rock stars?Speakers at the Pebble Beach event will include such political powers as British Prime Minister Tony Blair, former President Clinton and Israeli Vice Premier Shimon Peres Los Angeles Police Chief William J. Bratton will opine on remaking complex organizations, former Vice President Al Gore will riff on climate change, and U2's Bono will deliver a keynote address titled "The Power of One. "The singer is likely to focus on his poverty- and AIDS-related crusade, called One. But Bono could just as easily be referring to his host, Rupert Murdoch, the chairman of News Corp. If there's one man with the power to summon the powerful, mogul watchers agree, it's Murdoch. "It's his unique persona and his global reach that puts him in a special category," said Jeffrey Sonnenfeld of the Yale School of Management. "He is the fulfillment, although not ideologically, of what Ted Turner aspired to be, in terms of having influence not only culturally but socially Unlike [Viacom Inc. Chairman] Sumner Redstone, Murdoch is interested in influence as much as affluence. "Call it the Rupert effect.

The 75-year-old media maverick personally invited many of the luminaries who will make the five-day retreat an unusually high-powered blend of politics and business best billy elliot . Not only did they say yes, but at least one -- Clinton -- waived his usual $100,000 speaking fee. A five-page agenda obtained by The Times reveals what management experts and company insiders say is a testament to Murdoch's unusual global vision and a product of his ownership of newspapers in Australia, New York and Britain, broadcast properties and cable channels such as Fox News and satellite TV services that reach every corner of the world. "Murdoch has created a global media market by successfully operating in very different regulatory and political environments," said Kathleen Hall Jamieson, director of the Annenberg Public Policy Center at the University of Pennsylvania billy eliot musical . The retreat's lineup of speakers, she said, "may tell you how he has learned about the broad base of business environments he operates in. "News Corp declined to discuss details of the program billy eliot tickets . According to the agenda, Murdoch will make some opening remarks Sunday evening before turning over the podium to Gov billy eliot the musical . Arnold Schwarzenegger, who in turn will introduce Blair. Over the next several days, Peres will appear on a panel called "Islam and the West" and News Corp. 's Roger Ailes, who built Fox News, will introduce four high-ranking U. S military officers who have served in Iraq Sen. John McCain, the Arizona Republican and presidential hopeful, will talk about America's political polarity, and Clinton will conduct a town-hall-style discussion as the gathering wraps up Thursday. "It's not your standard cookie-cutter management conference where you only talk about business," News Corp spokesman Andrew Butcher said. "The businesses we run give our people unique social responsibilities in their communities.

The retreat is meant to provoke and broaden their perspectives so they return home more curious and informed about the world. "What's in it for the politicians? That's simple, Jamieson said: "Media influence and the potential for political contributions. "Murdoch, a staunch Republican, contributed $41,000 to federal political campaigns during the 2004 elections, and News Corp biily elliot . President Peter Chernin, a Democrat, donated $53,000, according to the Center for Responsive Politics tickets for billy elliott . News Corp. 's political action committee gave nearly $360,000 to House and Senate candidates in the 2003-04 elections, according to PoliticalMoneyLine. News Corp billy elliott palace . said politicians who currently hold office would not be paid for their participation billie elliott . Jamieson said that paying them would have posed a potential conflict of interest given their influence on media regulation. Company executives said Clinton waived his fee because of personal ties to the company; News Corp Billy Elliot . Executive Vice President Gary Ginsberg was a lawyer in the Clinton White House. Also, despite his conservative leanings, Murdoch, who owns the New York Post, hosted a fundraiser last week for Sen .

Hillary Rodham Clinton (D. -N. Y. ). World politics will not be the only topic on the agenda A. G billi elliot . Lafley, chief executive of Procter & Gamble, will lecture on building brands billy elliott the musical . A panel called "Meet the MySpace Generation" is billed as a "live focus group" that will explore the attitudes and lifestyles of 20 students billy eliot theatre . General Manager Billy Beane of the Oakland A's baseball team will talk about radical approaches to traditional business cheap billy elliott tickets . And the LAPD's Bratton will be joined on his panel about reforming institutions by former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and former Harvard University President Lawrence H. Summers. The retreat will be a family reunion of sorts for Murdoch. His son James, who runs News Corp. 's BSkyB satellite service in Britain, will introduce some speakers.

Other Murdoch children also will be on hand, including News Corp billie elliot . director Lachlan Murdoch, who quit his management position with family-controlled News Corp billy elliott theatre . last summer amid conflicts with his father. The retreat in Pebble Beach, just up the road from Murdoch's Carmel ranch, is modeled after an exclusive annual summit for media, technology and financial moguls hosted by investment banking firm Allen & Co billy eliott . in Sun Valley, Idaho. Both events devote mornings to formal presentations and afternoons to hobnobbing outdoors Allen & Co billy elliott tickets . shells out an estimated $10 million to treat its guests and their families to white-water rafting, fly fishing, golf, skating, skeet-shooting and yoga In Pebble Beach, News Corp. executives will be able to choose from 20 activities, including golf, tennis and skydiving. For News Corp. , which is known for being tight-fisted, the retreat's trappings are lavish. At Pebble Beach, one round of golf can cost $450, including a cart.

Executive suites at the Inn at Spanish Bay, where some guests are staying, start at $995 a night. Although the Allen & Co conference is held annually, this year's News Corp summit is the first since 1998 billie elliot musical . A get-together planned for 2001 was never held because of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. billy elliott musical . When Jeffrey Mezger took the helm as KB Home's chief executive 10 months ago, he knew the nation's housing market was facing new challenges tickets theatre billy elliott . After five years of an astonishing run-up in home prices and sales, the building industry was suddenly in the throes of a nationwide slowdown. But even he didn't anticipate how quickly demand for his company's products would shrivel because of deep problems in the mortgage market Billy Elliot - billyelliotbroadway . "That was really a curveball that compounded the situation," Mezger said in an interview. On Thursday, the KB Home chief announced that the Los Angeles-based company was posting its third quarterly loss since he was tapped as CEO and issued a grim forecast of what's ahead. "At this time, we see no signs that the housing market will stabilize and believe it will be some time before a recovery begins," Mezger said. KB Home, one of the nation's largest builders, reported a third-quarter loss of $35. 6 million, or 46 cents a share, compared with a profit of $153 Billy Elliot - billyelliotbroadway . 2 million, or $1. 90, in the same period a year ago billy elliott musical tickets . The loss came despite the sale of its 49% stake in its French operations in the period that ended Aug. 31. Excluding the sale, the company reported a loss of $478. 6 million, or $6. 19 a share, from continuing operations. Revenue fell 32% to $1. 54 billion. "The market has continued to remain difficult and we've had to reposition the business, which is never easy," Mezger said.

The company in the third quarter cut expenses 31% from a year earlier by slashing overhead and staff. Mezger has led the company to refocus on its core customer -- the first-time buyer -- and build smaller houses at lower prices . As of the third quarter, 90% of KB's 372 active selling communities had homes priced under $417,000, or within the limits of conforming loans, which are easier to get these days than larger mortgages billy elliott the musical tickets . The company has also been urging would-be customers to consider government-insured mortgages through the Federal Housing Administration. That's a slightly different approach from that of some KB rivals, which have slashed prices and offered lucrative incentives to woo buyers and finish building subdivisions billyelliot. Home builders' discounts in many parts of the country, including Southern California, have undercut prevailing market prices and forced sellers of existing homes to reduce their asking prices. "We're not diminishing the value of a community, just offering a wider price band in the community," Mezger said . "In the long run, the community is better off as we complete the build-out of the community and not leave vacant lots. "KB Home has also diverged from its peers by striking partnerships with other big companies. Two years ago, the company started building homes designed by domestic diva Martha Stewart. On Wednesday KB announced a collaboration to sell flooring, window coverings, lighting and other interior design features emblazoned with Disney princesses, pirates and other characters. Still, KB Home has seen its profits and share price deflate along with its publicly traded rivals' as the nation's housing market shifted from sizzle to fizzle On Tuesday, Lennar Corp. Billy Elliot tickets , the biggest U. S.