GENEVA — Researchers have found a flaw in the technical setup of an experiment that startled the science world last year by appearing to show particles traveling faster than light.

The problem may have affected measurements that clocked subatomic neutrino particles breaking what Nobel Prize-winning physicist Albert Einstein considered the ultimate speed barrier.

Two separate issues were identified with the GPS system that was used to time the arrival of neutrinos at an underground lab in Italy, James Gillies, spokesman for the European Organization for Nuclear Research, or CERN, said Wednesday.

One could have caused the speed to be overestimated, the other could have caused it to be underestimated, he said.

“The bottom line is that we will not know until more measurements are done later this year,” Gillies told The Associated Press.

The results of the experiment were received with great skepticism by scientists when they were published last September because they seemed to contradict Einstein’s theory that nothing can travel faster than the speed of light. That rule is fundamental to modern physics, and breaking it is seen as a step into the realms of science fiction where time travel and warp speed engines exist.

Even researchers involved in the experiment cautioned at the time that the measurements would need to be independently verified by other scientists before a genuine finding could be declared.

The experiment involved neutrinos being fired from CERN’s site on the Swiss-French border to a vast underground laboratory 454 miles (730 kilometers) away at Gran Sasso in Italy.

Researchers found that the neutrinos appeared to arrive 60 nanoseconds sooner than if they had been traveling at light’s speed of 186,282 miles per second (299,792 kilometers per second).

The experiment’s margin of error allowed for just 10 nanoseconds. A nanosecond is one-billionth of a second.

___

Online:

CERN site for neutrino project: http://bit.ly/nd9sm1

Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

IT’S crunch time for the cruise industry. Following the Costa Concordia disaster, cruise companies have been aggressively lowering rates and ratcheting up promotions to lure back hesitant passengers.

The two biggest companies — Carnival Corporation, the parent of more than a half-dozen lines, including Princess and Costa Cruises, and Royal Caribbean — saw bookings drop by percentages in the midteens in the weeks after the Concordia ran aground off the coast of Isola del Giglio on Jan. 13.

The accident, in which 32 people lost their lives or are presumed dead, led the industry to suspend advertising campaigns temporarily and focus on reassuring cruisers about safety instead of sales during its most critical booking time. About a third of all cruises are reserved during the first three months of the year, a time the industry refers to as wave season.

It hasn’t helped that images of the Concordia, which remains partly submerged off the Tuscan coast are ubiquitous in the news media and on the Internet. “No one wanted Nancy Grace going on TV with a picture of the sunken Concordia, followed by a Carnival ad, ‘fun for all,’ ” said Heidi M. Allison, chief executive of Allison & Taylor, a public relations firm that represents various travel companies.

After the Concordia shipwreck, cruise deals on Expedia.com, for example, jumped 60 percent compared with the same time last year. In addition to the reduced deposits and cabin upgrades that Norwegian Cruise Line offered last year during wave season, the company is offering what it calls free balconies — for example, cabins with balconies for the same price as an ocean-view room.

“This is the perfect time to book this year,” said Matthew Lee, vice president for cruises of Travelocity.com, which recently extended its Cruise Super Sale through the end of this month. Travelocity is also offering up to $600 in bonus savings to customers who book a cruise for March through July with an American Express card. But travelers must act fast. Deals “will dry up quickly” as cabins fill up, said Mr. Lee. In fact, Royal Caribbean reports that bookings have already started to recover.

So how do you nab a bargain? Here are some suggestions.

LOOK FOR FLASH SALES AND STEALTH DISCOUNTS

Right now, some of the best deals are being offered in short, last-minute sales bursts or through unadvertised rate cuts. To find them you can check online agencies like Travelocity, the cruise lines’ own Web sites, or CruiseSource.us, which regularly highlights significant deals. Earlier this month, Royal Caribbean listed on its Web site a five-day Presidents’ Day sale. Through May 16, Norway-based Hurtigruten is offering 20 percent off many 12-day sailings (nearly 40 departures) to repeat passengers who have sailed for at least three days in the past three years.

And several cruise lines have quietly introduced so called resident rates, which offer discounts to customers who live in certain states.

“They still want to sell some cabins at full price, so they don’t want to make the group of people getting this lower price too big,” said Rich Tucker, head of business development for CruiseDeals.com in Charlotte, N.C. Carnival, for example, is offering residents in 13 states, including Illinois, Ohio and Pennsylvania, $130 off the going rate on a seven-night Caribbean sailing on the Carnival Dream departing March 10 from Port Canaveral, Fla., or $649 a person for an ocean-view room.

You can hunt and peck for such online deals on your own by plugging in your state of residence, or you can work with an agent who specializes in cruises to figure out how much you’ll actually save on a particular sailing. One place you can find an agent is CruiseCompete.com, where travelers indicate the cruise they want to take and agents compete to offer them the best deal. You compare the offers in your account, then contact the agent with the best rates directly by phone or e-mail to book.

There are plenty of last-minute opportunities for those interested in a quick Caribbean getaway. A seven-night cruise on Carnival Dream, one of the newest Fun Ships, from Port Canaveral to the eastern Caribbean (Nassau, St Thomas and St. Maarten) was as low as $449 or $64 a person a night for an inside cabin, including free upgrades, according to Travelocity. 

CONSIDER EUROPE

Promotions are especially plentiful for European cruises, which took a harder hit to bookings than those in North America did, and where high airfares are forcing cruise lines to offer discounts in order to lure American travelers across the Atlantic. Among the major cruise lines, prices for European trips are down about 12 percent compared with last year, according to Cayole.com, a cruise shopping site. Azamara Club Cruises is offering $1,000 in airfare credit for two passengers booking ocean-view, veranda or club continent suites on European voyages, and $2,000 in airfare credit to customers booking its top suites.

And Europe-bound repositioning cruises — one-way sailings that cruise lines sell at deep discounts when they relocate ships from, say, the Caribbean in the winter to Europe in the spring — are particularly good bargains. Norwegian Epic’s 11-night trans-Atlantic crossing from Miami to Barcelona on April 14, for example, starts at $699 for a balcony stateroom. That’s less than the cheapest one-way flight — $756 on Iberia with a stop in Düsseldorf — found on Kayak.com in a recent search.

One place you won’t find bargains is on European river cruises, which travel agents say continue to fill up fast. Avalon Waterways, for example, reports that bookings are much higher than this time last year for its sailings on the Danube, Rhine and other European rivers. Last year at this time Avalon offered travelers $200 off, per person, versus $150 this year.

DON’T RULE OUT LUXURY CRUISES

Luxury lines continue to slash rates and add perks to get travelers to trade up. “The luxury market is almost in an arms race of who can give more away,” said Mr. Tucker of Cruisedeals.com. Seabourn, for instance, has introduced a “signature package of benefits,” including savings of up to 50 percent, suite upgrades, $1,000 in shipboard credit for premium suites and complimentary pre- or post-cruise hotel stays for guests.

And Crystal Cruises said it would stop charging extra for fine wines, premium spirits and gratuities for housekeeping, bar and dining staff beginning next month. The luxury line is also offering tremendous savings through “book now” fares through Feb. 28, points out Bob Miller, an owner of Cruise Holidays in Alexandria, Va. For instance, the 10-day trans-Atlantic Crystal cruise from Miami to Lisbon, departing March 19, has an ocean-view room starting at $1,360 a person or $136 a person, a day, down from the $4,720 brochure rate.

“This cruise is the lowest-priced Crystal Cruise I have ever seen,” Mr. Miller, said. “The danger is,” once travelers have experienced high-end cruising, he added, “it would be hard to sail on anything less.”

February 22, 2012, 8:21 PM EST

By Corinne Gretler

Feb. 22 (Bloomberg) — European stocks retreated for a second day after a report showed services and manufacturing output in the euro area unexpectedly contracted in February. Asian stocks rose and U.S. index futures fell.

Straumann Holding AG, the world’s biggest maker of dental implants, fell the most in more than three years after full-year profit missed analysts’ estimates. TUI AG, Europe’s largest travel company, declined 7 percent after Banco CAM SAU sold a 12.9-million block of shares. PSA Peugeot Citroen, Europe’s second-largest carmaker, surged 14 percent.

The Stoxx Europe 600 Index fell 0.7 percent to 264.81 at 1:00 p.m. in London. The gauge has still rallied 8.3 percent this year amid speculation that the euro area’s sovereign-debt crisis will be contained and as U.S. economic data exceeded forecasts. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index rose 0.1 percent and Standard & Poor’s 500 Index futures fell 0.1 percent.

“Given that Europe is still shrouded by the cloud of recession, a weak PMI — though not rain on the parade — will surely damp investor sentiment,” said Manish Singh, the London- based head of investment at Crossbridge Capital, which has more than $2 billion under management. “In particular, weak numbers from Germany indicate weak European demand and a weak growth prospect for the euro zone as a whole.”

Purchasing Managers Index

European services and manufacturing output unexpectedly shrank in February as the euro-area economy struggled to rebound from a contraction in the fourth quarter. A euro-area composite index based on a survey of purchasing managers in both industries dropped to 49.7 from 50.4 in January, London-based Markit Economics said in an initial estimate released by e-mail today. Economists had forecast a reading of 50.5, according to the median of 16 estimates in a Bloomberg News survey.

A separate report showed German services and manufacturing expansion unexpectedly slowed in February amid declining orders at factories in Europe’s largest economy.

The second rescue package for Greece may not be enough to end the debt crisis, Bank of England Deputy Governor Charlie Bean said in a speech late yesterday in Glasgow, Scotland.

While the agreement “is certainly welcome, there still remains a possibility that events could unfold in a disorderly and damaging fashion at some stage in the future,” Bean said.

Greek Credit Cut

Fitch Ratings cut Greece’s credit grade two levels to ‘C’ from ‘CCC’ after the country got approval to proceed with a bond exchange that will reduce its debt burden and avert the collapse of the economy.

Euro-area finance ministers yesterday approved a 130 billion-euro ($172 billion) package for Greece by tapping into European Central Bank profits and convincing investors to provide more debt relief to the Mediterranean country. The deal includes a 53.5 percent writedown for investors in the nation’s debt.

Minutes of the U.K central bank’s February meeting showed seven of the nine members of the BOE’s Monetary Policy Committee, including Governor Mervyn King, voted to increase the bond-purchase target by 50 billion pounds ($78.6 billion) to 325 billion pounds. They argued that a larger increase “risked sending a signal that the committee thought the economic situation was weaker than it was,” the minutes showed.

Straumann dropped 8.9 percent to 144.90 Swiss francs, its biggest decline since January 2009, after it reported full-year earnings before interest and taxes of 79.9 million francs ($87.6 million). That missed the average analyst estimate of 164.3 million francs. Net income was 71 million francs, compared with the 75.6 million-franc projection by analysts.

TUI Slides

TUI retreated 7 percent to 6.03 euros. BNP Paribas SA is managing the sale of 12.85 million TUI shares priced at 6.05 euros apiece, according to terms of the offer obtained by Bloomberg News.

Nexity SA, the French real-estate services company, dropped 6.8 percent to 21.80 euros as it forecast a “trough year” in 2012 for the new homes market and a slowdown in commercial real estate. The company’s full-year net income slumped to 54.2 million euros from 119.8 million euros in 2010.

Temenos Group AG lost 4.6 percent to 16.70 francs after the banking-software maker’s fourth-quarter revenue of $127 million missed the average analyst estimate of $139.1 million. The company was unable to give 2012 forecasts due to its proposed merger with Misys Plc.

Peugeot surged 14 percent to 16.37 euros, the most since April 2009. The company, which last week reported a slump in profit and an increase in debt, is in talks on a possible alliance with General Motors Co., French Labor Minister Xavier Bertrand said.

Cove Jumps

Cove Energy Plc rallied 25 percent to 193 pence, the highest since at least May 2005, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Royal Dutch Shell Plc, Europe’s biggest oil company, offered to buy the U.K. explorer for 992.4 million pounds in cash.

Klepierre SA, France’s second-largest publicly traded shopping center owner, rose 2.9 percent to 24.21 euros after La Lettre de L’Expansion reported that BNP Paribas SA is in talks to sell its 51 percent stake in the company to Norway’s Norges Bank.

Accor SA, Europe’s biggest hotel company, advanced 4.1 percent to 27.26 euros after full-year profit rose 19 percent. Earnings before interest and tax climbed to 530 million euros from 446 million euros a year earlier. That compared with the 523.7 million-euro average of 17 analyst estimates in a Bloomberg survey and Accor’s own forecast of 510 million euros to 530 million euros.

–Editors: Alan Soughley, Andrew Rummer

To contact the reporter on this story: Corinne Gretler in Zurich at cgretler1@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Andrew Rummer at arummer@bloomberg.net

• Scotland will need to negotiate its own opt-out of agreement allowing free travel between EU countries
• Passport checks could become mandatory because Britain is not part of the travel zone
• Withdrawal will need approval from all other EU states

By Kerry Mcqueeney

Last updated at 10:16 AM on 21st February 2012

Passport controls could be required at Scotland’s border with England if it becomes independent in order to comply with EU law, Britain’s Minister for Europe has warned.

A separate Scotland would need to negotiate its own opt-out from the Schengen Agreement, which allows for free travel between 25 EU states, according to David Lidington.

The agreement could pose ‘a clear problem’ should Scotland gain independence from England, he said.

‘Clear problem’: David Lidington, Britain’s Minister for Europe, said the Schengen Agreement would create a challenge for Scotland’s border control if they gain independence

Britain’s decision to opt out of the Schengen Agreement means that other EU citizens are still subject to passport checks on our borders because is outside the European free travel area.

However, if Scotland gains independence it will – as an EU member state – automatically be part of the Agreement and will have to negotiate its own withdrawal which must be approved by every other member state, it was reported.

If it doesn’t, passport controls would need to be set up at the border because Schengen bans free European travel between those who are part of the Agreement, and those who are not.

Mr Lindington said – during a visit to the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh – that there were no guarantees Scotland could choose to withdraw from the agreement.

Opt-out: Britain’s withdrawal from the Agreement means it maintains a tighter control of its borders

He said opt-outs from the single currency and free travel area ‘require not just a bilateral agreement between the UK and an independent Scotland, it would require the agreement of all of the other member states as well’.

He told the Telegraph: ‘The fact the UK has an opt-out from Schengen means that we are able to maintain the border controls that you don’t often have on the borders between Schengen countries.’

Previously, the European Commission’s president, Jose Manuel Barroso, warned that no more countries would be able to opt-out of the single currency.

A spokesman for Alex Salmond – the Scottish National Party leader – said that the ‘scaremongering’ stories were demonstrably untrue, adding: ‘They are insulting to Scotland, and the only effect they are having is to boost support for independence.’

The business travel industry, which was forecast to grow during the next two years, is increasingly threatened by the European debt crisis.

The Global Business Travel Association (GBTA) last month projected that outbound international business travel from the US would grow by 4.6% in 2012. But last week, the GBTA issued “U.S. Business Travel Outlook: European Debt Crisis Scenario,” which said a severe crisis could result in a 16% drop – about $88 billion – in US business travel spending.  

“Given the critical role of business travel in facilitating economic growth, the current slow US recovery could be severely hampered if the European debt crisis is not resolved,” the GBTA, a trade group based near Washington, DC, said in a news release. “International outbound travel, which has played an outsized part in the revival of business travel since the [US] recession, would be crushed by further deterioration in the euro zone.”

The report outlined three scenarios:

• Current scenario: An expected mini recession in Europe would be short-lived and would result in continued growth in US business travel spending at $263.5 billion and $277.3 billion in 2012 and 2013, respectively. The GBTA thinks this is the most likely scenario.

• Moderate scenario: A prolonged European recession would result in a reduction of almost $40 billion (‒7%) in business travel spending between 2012 and 2013. There’s a 25% chance of this scenario, the GBTA says.

• Severe scenario: Widespread debt and banking failures across Europe and possible dissolution of the EU would reduce international business travel spending by 16%, or about $88 billion. The GBTA says there’s a 10% chance this would happen.

International outbound flights originating in the US would likely see the most immediate decline if the debt crisis worsens, the report said. But domestic flights, which make up the majority of the US business travel market, could also take a hit.

Export losses would directly hurt US manufacturers and, in turn, the supply chains, the report says. The loss of sales and profits could diminish business confidence, potentially killing plans for non-essential spending – including business travel.

“While these problems are happening abroad, they most certainly can have an effect at home,” Michael W. McCormick, executive director and COO of the GBTA, said in a statement. “We’ve seen a resurgence in business travel investment, meaning slow but strong economic recovery for the US. However, in a severe situation where the euro zone may even break apart, business travel would drop dramatically, severely impeding economic growth overall.”

—Jack Hagel (jhagel@aicpa.org) is the editorial director of CGMA Magazine.

I arrived at dusk with little idea what to expect. My first impression was of a city similar to York or Durham: sturdy city walls, cobbled courtyards and labyrinthine backstreets. The Old Town, anchored by the twin squares of Largo da Oliveira and Praça Santiago, has been recognised by Unesco for its cultural heritage and there are historic buildings aplenty – monasteries, churches and palaces testify to the city’s pivotal role as the 12th-century birthplace of the modern nation.

But a “cultural melting pot”? Hardly. Then, as I took a seat at a small tapas bar on Oliveira Square that evening, I started to appreciate the city’s low-key charm. A light but tasty dinner of Portuguese cheeses, meats and olives, washed down with a glass of the local vinho verde, was remarkably good value at around £10. A young crowd started to bring a buzz of animation to the café terraces of the old square. Even the adjoining Alberto Sampaio Museum, which combines sacred art with more contemporary exhibitions from Portuguese artists, opens until midnight during July and August for exhibitions and tours. There was life behind those old doors after all.

Over the next couple of days I found the best way to soak up the local culture was simply to wander the ancient passageways in the early spring sun. The fusion of history-creviced architecture and the budding contemporary culture was particularly appealing. I found small, independent art galleries that had sprung up in old merchants’ houses and tiny, design-led boutiques rubbing shoulders with lost-in-time ironmongers.

The cultural programme for the year reflects this beneath-the-surface ambience. Carlos Martins’s team of young and enthusiastic cultural programmers has moved away from headline-grabbing names in favour of less-established projects, a series of artists in residence and a strong emphasis on work by local artists.

One of the first events to be staged in January was a series of small concerts in which the musicians played in family living rooms around the city. In the coming months, the French travelling theatre group, Footsbarn, will present its take on Shakespeare’s The Tempest and Cesena, a dance performance from the Belgian choreographer, Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker, will be staged at dawn in an old church.

The one concession in scale is a major new arts centre, the Platform for Arts and Creativity, which opens in June on the fringe of the newly restyled Toural Square. The three-gallery complex, built on the site of the old public market, will host visiting exhibitions of contemporary work and a new permanent home for work by the modern Portuguese artist José de Guimarães.

“Our strategy is simple,” says Martins. “To be relevant to today and offer a future impact. We are raising questions about what is European culture at the moment.”

During my stay I’d heard much about the city’s 50-odd cultural associations, the lifeblood of the local arts scene, which plough their diverse cultural furrows behind centuries-old courtyards. On the last night I finally ventured behind one of the façades, opening a tiny door onto a snug bar in the building belonging to the cultural association responsible for Guimarães’s well-established international jazz festival each November.

A group of old men gathered around a flickering television screen in the first room. The barman handed me a large tumbler of port and I moved through to the next room, where the open fire, cool jazz soundtrack and chatter of young art students provided a stark contrast.

Typical Guimarães. Venture behind those closed doors and there’s a delightfully understated world of culture waiting to be explored.

What to avoid

Most museums are closed on Mondays and many restaurants also close then.

The tourist office on Santiago Square closes at 1pm on a Sunday.

If you’re staying on one of the main squares, ask for a room to the side or back – bars close at 2am, and people spill into the streets.

GETTING THERE

Fly to Porto from Gatwick with TAP Portugal (0845 601 0932; flytap.com) or easyJet (0905 821 0905; easyjet.com) and from Liverpool and Stansted with Ryanair (0871 246 0000; ryanair.com). Further information at guimaraesturismo.com, guimaraes 2012.pt and visitportugal.com.

PACKAGES

Sunvil Discovery (020 8758 4722; sunvil.co.uk) offers one week at the Casa de Sezim in Guimarães from £720 per person, including b & b, car hire and return flight from Gatwick.

THE INSIDE TRACK

It’s a €50 (£41.50) taxi ride to Guimarães from Porto airport. Cut costs by taking the underground from the airport to Porto Trindade station, then the mainline train to Guimarães, with views of the lower Minho en route.

There’s free public Wi-Fi in Oliveira Square – useful for checking cultural listings and downloading apps from the tourism website.

There’s a good three-hour, waymarked route to Penha Mountain from the Pousada Santo Marinha; download a routecard from guimaraesturismo.com before you depart.

THE BEST HOTELS

TM Hostel 2 £

Set in an old merchant house, this budget guesthouse is one of a pair by the designer Tony Miranda. Cheaper rooms share a communal bathroom. No breakfast but a little coffee shop opening downstairs will offer simple breakfasts (00351 253 433504; tmhostels.com; doubles with bathroom, €45/£37 per night).

Hotel Fundador ££

Close to the train and the Vila Flor arts centre, this refurbished, mid-range option has simple rooms and breakfast in a panoramic dining room. The sister hotel next door, Hotel de Guimarães (hotel-guimaraes.com), has a more contemporary feel (253 422640; hotelfundador.com; double b & b from €55/£46 per night).

Pousadas de Portugal £££

Keytel International is the booking agent for the Pousadas de Portugal group (pousadas.pt) in the UK. It offers short breaks, based on two nights’ b &  b starting from £32 per person, per night at Pousada Nossa Senhora da Oliveira in Guimarães (020 7953 3020; keytel.co.uk/pousada-short-breaks.html).

THE BEST RESTAURANTS

Rohlas & Rotulos £

Cosy little wine bar for great tapas and a glass of vinho verde. English spoken and a friendly atmosphere (Largo da Oliveira; 253 048068).

Nora do Zé da Curva ££

Central lunch spot with local dishes and attentive service (Rua da Rainha; 253 554256; noradozedacurva.com).

Historico £££

Buzzy place with a fresh take on local dishes set around a tranquil courtyard for alfresco summer dining, plus a coffee bar and gelateria (Rua de Valdonas; 91 542 9700; papaboa.pt).