New equity options exchange owned by Miami company starts trading on Friday

MIAX Options Exchange, a new fully electronic, equity options trading exchange, said it will begin trading on Friday.

MIAX Options Exchange is based in Princeton, N.J., but its parent company is Miami International Holdings. While MIAX’s executive offices, technology development center and national operations center are based in Princeton, additional executive offices, and a multi-purpose training, meeting and conference center will be located in Miami, the company said.

MIAX Options Exchange’s trading platform has been developed in-house and designed for the functional and performance demands of derivatives trading, the company said.

INA PAIVA CORDLE

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Fla. university leaders want to avoid tuition hike

TALLAHASSEE --
The presidents of Florida’s state universities have an offer for the Legislature: Give us $118 million and we won’t raise tuition.

“What we’re asking for this year is a significant investment from the state, tied to specific goals to universities,” said University of West Florida President Judy Bense during Wednesday’s news conference. “With an investment provided for our students, we promise not to seek one penny of a tuition increase this year.”

This new funding would be on top of restoring a $300 million cut the Legislature imposed last year, something lawmakers are already building into the budget. The $118 million would be distributed to the 12 state universities according to performance-based goals, the presidents propose.

Gov. Rick Scott, returning from a Colombian trade mission Wednesday, issued a statement praising the universities’ position against tuition increases without mentioning their request for more tax dollars.

“We are pleased to share this important goal with many of Florida’s finest higher education leaders who are committed to holding the line on tuition,” Scott said. “We look forward to working closely with them as we put together a proposed budget and other policies for the upcoming legislative session.”

University of South Florida President Judy Genshaft said the state is moving away from previous efforts to increase Florida tuition so that it is closer to the national average. Scott’s opposition to tuition hikes means that is no longer feasible, she said.

“We’re in a situation where the governor is very opposed to an increase in tuition and we understand,” she said. “And we’re also concerned about the strains” on students.

Sen. Joe Negron, who chairs the Senate’s budget committee, said he supports boosting university funding although it’s too early to say how it will be done or how much.

“I have believed for a long time that the state spends too much money in health and human services and not enough in higher education,” said Negron, R-Stuart. “And I believe that we should budget additional resources for our universities, which I believe don’t get the credit that they deserve for economic development and the well-being of our state.”

House Appropriations Chairman Seth McKeel said the state’s budget is expected to improve but there are pressures and challenges.

“We look forward to working with the presidents on any proposals they have on the floor,” the Lakeland Republican said.

The universities’ offer is separate from another money-related issue likely to be raised by the University of Florida and Florida State University. Both universities again are advocating for “pre-eminence” status that will allow them unlimited ability to increase tuition. Scott vetoed such a bill earlier this year because he’s against tuition hikes.

FSU President Eric Barron said “pre-eminence” is “a different topic that should be addressed differently” than the no-tuition pledge the universities agreed to. UF President Bernie Machen added that the “pre-eminence” proposal is more complex than just the tuition component.

“In fact, the major benefit of that bill for the state was to set up guidelines and benchmarks to identify excellence in our state universities,” Machen said. “We’re in favor of that, the Board of Governors remains in favor of that. The tuition aspect of it was simply one mechanism that could be used to receive new resources.”

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25 top-rated Facebook games from 2012

Games can be both a welcome and an annoying diversion on Facebook, the world’s most popular online social network. This year, Facebook crossed a big milestone — reaching 1 billion active users. Game companies such as “FarmVille” creator Zynga Inc. and Rovio Entertainment Ltd. of “Angry Birds” fame seek to tap into that vast base of users to gain more players for their games.

This week, Facebook Inc. issued a list of the 25 top-rated games that launched on Facebook in 2012. The company says the rankings are based on user ratings and engagement with the games. It’s the same methodology that Facebook uses to rank apps in its App Center.

Some of the games are played on Facebook’s website, while others are only on Apple Inc.‘s iOS or Google Inc.‘s Android devices using Facebook’s app.

Here’s the list:

1. “SongPop” (by FreshPlanet, on Facebook.com, iOS and Android)

2. “Dragon City” (by Social Point, on Facebook.com)

3. “Bike Race” (by Top Free Games, on iOS)

4. “Subway Surfers” (by Kiloo, on iOS and Android)

5. “Angry Birds Friends (by Rovio, on Facebook.com)

6. “FarmVille 2″ (by Zynga, on Facebook.com)

7. “Scramble with Friends” (by Zynga, on iOS)

8. “Clash of Clans” (by Supercell, on iOS)

9. “Marvel: Avengers Alliance” (by Playdom, on Facebook.com)

10. “Draw Something” (by Zynga, on iOS and Android)

11. “Hay Day” (by Supercell, on iOS)

12. “Baseball Heroes” (by Syntasia, on Facebook.com)

13. “ChefVille” (by Zynga, on Facebook.com)

14. “CSR Racing” (by NaturalMotion Games, on iOS)

15. “Candy Crush Saga” (by King.com, on Facebook.com and iOS)

16. “Matching With Friends” (by Zynga, on Facebook.com)

17. “Legend Online” (by Oasis Games, on Facebook.com)

18. “Jurassic Park Builder” (by Ludia, on Facebook.com)

19. “Dungeon Rampage” (by Rebel Entertainment, on Facebook.com)

20. “Pockie Ninja II Social” (by NGames Ltd., on Facebook.com)

21. “Jetpack Joyride” (by Halfbrick, on Facebook.com)

22. “Social Empires” (by Social Point, on Facebook.com and iOS)

23. “Bil ve Fethet” (by Peak Games, on Facebook.com)

24. “Ruby Blast Adventures” (by Zynga, on Facebook.com and iOS)

25. “Pyramid Solitaire Saga” (by King.com, on Facebook.com)

Social Media News Headlines – Yahoo! News

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Worn Out? Stars Step Out in Same Style

Kristin Cavallari vs. Dania Ramirez

The Hills star Kristin Cavallari sported this festive red skater dress at the Chinese Laundry launch party for her new shoe collection in NYC Tuesday night, though Dania Ramirez beat her to the punch -- she stepped out in the same memorable dress (which she chose to pair with a black belt) at Variety's Power of Women event back in October. 

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Unidentified skeleton found on Jamaica Bay island

Skeletal remains that appear to belong to a teenage girl were discovered on an uninhabited island in Jamaica Bay, authorities said.

A boater passing the Canarsie Pol, across from Canarsie Pier around 4:45 p.m., Tuesday spotted the bones and notified police, sources said.

Fog, darkness and choppy waters prevented the NYPD Harbor Patrol from investigating the find on the marshland until yesterday, police said.

The Medical Examiner’s Office has not identified the remains but sources said at least one document belonging to a girl who has been missing since last year was found nearby, sources said.

It wasn’t immediately clear whether the person suffered any trauma and investigators are still trying to determine a cause of death.

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Innovate MIA puts spotlight on startup community

If you think the next week is all about art, you may be surprised to learn there are also six entrepreneurship events vying for your time.

And that is all by design.

In much the way that Art Basel helped put Miami’s arts community on the international map, organizers of the first Innovate MIA hope their weeklong grouping of events will shine a light on the city’s growing tech startup community and its position as the gateway to Latin America.

Many of the events — ending with Florida International University’s Americas Venture Capital Conference — are after Art Basel. That’s also why the third annual AVCC was moved to Dec. 13-14 from its previous mid-November dates.

“Our message is come for Art Basel, and stay for AVCC,” said Juan Pablo Cappello, a lawyer, entrepreneur and investor who is on the steering committee of the venture capital conference and several other Innovate MIA events. And all week, there will be plenty of opportunities for Miami’s entrepreneurs, creatives and investors to mingle with their counterparts from all over the Americas and beyond.

In addition to the AVCC, there’s Incubate Miami’s DemoDay, where its class of startups present their companies, the martial arts-inspired TekFight and HackDay, which dangles a $50,000 cash prize. Endeavor, the global nonprofit that promotes high-impact entrepreneurship in emerging economies, is bringing its two-day International Selection Panel to Miami, and Wayra, an international accelerator, is holding a one-day event to showcase its promising startups from Latin America and Spain. It’s all part of Innovate MIA week: “I don’t think anything like it has ever been organized here in South Florida,” Cappello said.

The AVCC will be the big draw, with about 300 people expected to attend the two-day event at the JW Marriott Brickell. The conference, themed “Data, Design & Dollars,” will feature thought leaders from all over the world, particularly Latin America, and presentations by 29 selected companies. This year, the format has been overhauled and energized, with lots of short talks and more time for question-and-answer sessions and networking, said Jerry Haar, associate dean of FIU’s College of Business, director of the Pino Global Entrepreneurship Center and AVCC co-chair.

The AVCC’s 36 speakers include Martin Varsavsky, Argentine tech entrepreneur, investor and founder of Viatel, Ya.com, Jazztel and FON; Hernan J. Kazah, co-founder and managing partner at Kaszek Ventures and co-founder of Mercadolibre; and Jason L. Baptiste, CEO and co-founder of Onswipe. There’s also Michael Jackson, former COO of Skype and now a venture capitalist; Albert Santalo, founder and CEO of Miami-based CareCloud; and Bedy Yang of 500 Startups.

Chosen from more than 100 applicants, the 29 presenting companies hailing from all over the Americas will be giving either two-minute or five-minute pitches, fielding questions from a panel of judges and competing for prize packages valued at about $50,000. Eight of the startups are from South Florida: itMD, Kairos, Trapezoid Digital Security, Esenem, LiveNinja, OnTrade, Rokk3r Labs and Zavee.

The presenting companies have “proven innovation, proven management teams and the ability to scale well and be a pan-regional player,” said Faquiry Diaz Cala, president of Tres Mares Group and co-chair of AVCC. “The word is out this is a great place to come and pitch to great investors in addition to potentially being one of the prize winners.”

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Miami-Dade Commission postpones Jackson Health System decision

Miami-Dade County Commissioners postponed Tuesday voting on a resolution concerning the future shape of the governing board of the Jackson Health System.

Commissioner Rebeca Sosa asked for the delay and no one opposed the move.

In October, the commission voted 6-5 to make permanent a seven-member Jackson board, selected by a nominating committee of nine persons, five of whom would be board members. The commission would then approve the nominees.

That resolution was pushed hard by Commission Chairman Joe Martinez. Martinez, who lost the mayoral race, left the board in November, and Commissioner Barbara Jordan led an effort to reconsider.

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Stars Return to Middle-earth for 'The Hobbit'

Are you ready to return to Middle-earth? Peter Jackson's The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey is coming to theaters and IMAX everywhere in 3D on December 14, and the extensive cast of Hobbits, Elves, Dwarves, Orcs and Wizards features a pleasant mixture of new and returning faces to new, first installment of the growing, six-movie franchise.

Video: An Unexpected Journey to the NZ 'Hobbit' Premiere

"It's been 10 years since Lord of the Rings and we had no interest in making a sequel," says Peter Jackson about the new movie, which serves as a prequel to Rings. "But fortunately J.R.R. Tolkien had written this incredibly charming children's fairytale. … It's a much more charming, humorous story, and that was really the attraction for us -- the fact that we were able to go back and be the same storytellers, the same filmmakers, going back into Middle-earth again, but following a different story with a different group of characters largely. And a different tone – a lot more humor."

The long-awaited big-screen adaptation follows the adventures of the diminutive Hobbit Bilbo Baggins (played by Martin Freeman) as he journeys with a group of 13 Dwarves to reclaim the lost Dwarf Kingdom of Erebor from the fearsome dragon Smaug. On the way, they must battle treacherous Goblins and Orcs, deadly Wargs and sly Sorcerers. And when Bilbo gains possession of Gollum's (the returning Andy Serkis) "preciousss" ring, the fate of Middle-earth hangs in the balance.

"We've seen Bilbo already with the brilliant Ian Holm, and [in this movie] you start with the younger Bilbo. Suddenly it's the beginning of his journey, and it's the classic sequel," explains Martin Freeman, who adds that the newcomers to the franchise were welcomed with open arms by the family-like cast and crew: "We were made to feel like we had every right to be there, and we were well looked after."

Richard Armitage, who plays exiled Dwarf king Thorin Oakenshield, says, "I do think Peter has done something really interesting by kind of connecting the blood flow from the Rings trilogy into The Hobbit, very much in the prologue and all of the other characters that sort of link the two films together, and that has given it some sort of oxygen that fans will really enjoy."

Video: Precious Gollum Moments in New 'Hobbit' Trailer

Cate Blanchett, Hugo Weaving and Elijah Wood never imagined that they would return to Middle-earth to put on Hobbit feet and pointy Elven ears, and Elijah says, "The whole notion of coming back, it was a gift. It isn't something that any of us really expected. … It was an amazing experience."

And how different is Gollum this time around? "Well, he's 60 years younger, so he's only 540, and I think pretty sexy," jokes Serkis, who also served on The Hobbit as second-unit director: "It was doubly thrilling," he said of the unexpected offer from Jackson, joking of the opportunity, "He's known I've wanted to direct for a long time, and so it was really like being given a Maserati when you haven't passed your driving test. … It was a fantastic experience and hugely challenging."

The epic film also features returning The Lord of the Rings cast members Ian McKellen, Ian Holm and Christopher Lee alongside new faces Manu Bennett, Jed Brophy, Adam Brown, John Callen, Mark Hadlow, Peter Hambleton, Barry Humphries, Stephen Hunter, William Kircher, Sylvester McCoy, Bret McKenzie, Graham McTavish, James Nesbitt, Dean O'Gorman, Conan Stevens, Ken Stott and Aidan Turner.

Pics: 'The Hobbit' Photo Exclusive

So why will The Lord of the Rings fans love The Hobbit? "Because they'll be totally surprised by it," says Weaving, who especially loves the scene in which the Dwarves sing. "It was transporting … and moving." Cate agrees, "I found it really rich and surprising," pointing out that she's "really cool this month" to her three boys!

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Two more former LIRR workers cop to disability pension scam

They're hopping off the gravy train.

Two more LIRR retirees pleaded guilty today to scamming disability pensions -- and promised to pay back all the money they stole by faking career-killing injuries.

Former conductor James Reiser, 59, also cut a deal to cooperate with the feds in a bid to stay out of the slammer, admitting in court that he schemed with an indicted orthopedist to create phony paperwork that claimed he was unable to continue working.

Reiser -- who came to Manhattan federal court sporting a tie emblazoned with a cartoon train -- pretended that he suffered from back and neck pain that made it hard for him to sit, stand, walk, bathe or even dress himself.

But the feds say that after his 2006 retirement, Reiser, who now lives in Florida, played basketball daily and worked as a referee, and was spotted playing golf and carrying bags of groceries up the stairs to his home.

Reiser, who pocketed more than $225,000 in bogus benefits, declined to comment afterward, but his lawyer said Reiser "would love to go back in time" and uncouple himself from the massive, $1 billion fraud scheme.

Co-defendant Philip Pulsonetti, who isn't turning rat, agreed to spend up to 30 months behind bars for swindling more than $175,000 from the Railroad Retirement Board.

Both he and his lawyer declined to comment.

Yesterday's guilty pleas brought to eight the number of crooks who have pleaded guilty in the widespread scam, in which more than 1,500 LIRR retirees are suspected of taking part.

During his court appearance, Reiser implicated Dr. Peter Ajemian, one of three doctors the feds have said helped perpetrate the scam by taking payoffs to falsely verify retirees' purported ailments.

Ajemian's lawyer, Tom Engel, said Ajemian maintained his innocence, noting that he only reported "what he was told by his patient."

bruce.golding@nypost.com

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The business behind the artist: Miami’s art gallery scene still evolving

This week, thousands of art collectors, museum trustees, artists, journalists and hipsters from around the globe will arrive for the phenomenon known as Art Basel Miami Beach. The centerpiece of the week: works shown at the convention center by more than 260 of the world’s top galleries.

Only two of those are from Miami.

While Art Basel has helped transform the city’s reputation from beach-and-party scene to arts destination in the years since its 2002 Miami Beach debut, the region’s gallery identity is still coming into its own.

“Certainly Miami as an art town registers mightily because of the foundations, the collectors who have done an extraordinary job,” said Linda Blumberg, executive director of the Art Dealers Association of America. “I think there’s a definite international awareness there. But the gallery scene probably has a bit of a ways to go. That doesn’t mean it’s not really fascinating and interesting.”

The gallery business, especially where newer artists are concerned, is a game of risk, faith and passion. Once a gallery takes on an artist who shows promise, they become an evangelist on their behalf, showing their work in-house and at fairs, presenting it to museums and curators and potential collectors and bearing the cost of that promotion.

For contemporary artists, most galleries take work on consignment, meaning they get a cut of as much as 50 percent when works sell. While local art galleries have been growing in number and popularity in the last several years — just try to find parking during the monthly art walk in Miami’s hot Wynwood neighborhood — even some of the area’s top art dealers say that while business overall is good, they struggle in the local marketplace.

“Our problem is that we have to do lots of art fairs in order to connect with the market that we need to connect with to sell the work that we have,” said Fredric Snitzer, a Miami-Dade gallery owner for 35 years. “The better the work is, the harder it is to sell in Miami. And that ain’t good.”

A handful of serious collectors call Miami home and store their own collections in Miami, including the Braman, Rubell, Margulies and de la Cruz families. But outside a relatively small local group, many gallerists say, their clients come from other parts of the country and world.

And some gallerists point out the troubling reality that even the powerhouse Galerie Emmanuel Perrotin could not stay open in Miami for more than a few years.

“The fact that big galleries have not been able to sustain their business models in South Florida tells you we’re obviously not at this high established point,” said gallery owner David Castillo. “It’s not like we’ve arrived, let’s sit back and watch Hauser & Wirth open down the street.”

Still, Miami’s gallery business has come a long way since the early 1970s, when a few dealers on Bay Harbor Island’s Kane Concourse were selling high-end pieces but the local scene was hardly embraced.

Virginia Miller, who owns ArtSpace/Virginia Miller Galleries in Coral Gables, first opened in 1974 to showcase Florida artists, though her focus soon added an international scope. She and other longtime observers credit several factors for Miami’s transformation, including the community’s diversity, the establishment of important museums, the Art Miami fair that started 23 years ago, the presence of major collections and, of course, Art Basel Miami Beach.

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