Business In Afghanistan: Reviving Old Pastimes

BBC News

Residents of Kandahar have been taking part in a chess tournament in an attempt to revive one of the city's former cultural pastimes.

Under the Taliban, chess was forbidden, but the city's older residents hope this tournament will reintroduce the game to a younger generation.

The event was held at the Kandahar Coffee Shop which also hosts other cultural activities. While the java brews on coffee and espresso makers, the battles are waged on table top chess sets.

Kandahar is a key battleground for the Taliban insurgency in Afghanistan.

But Rahim Akrami, a local journalist in the city who watched the tournament, says it is important for younger people to rediscover this once forbidden activity.

"The tournament re-introduced the game to Kandahar since it has been forgotten for the last eight or so years," he told the BBC's World Today programme.

'Enlightening' tournament

Aman Ullah, a member of the Kandahar Students Organisation, was one of those playing in the tournament.

Although he was knocked out in the second round, he is happy that the tournament is taking place.

"It is very important for us to have something recreational to do that enlightens the mind and is fun as well," he told the BBC World Service.

"There are people who do not know that chess exists in this world which is amazing to me.

"Now there are people who are asking questions about the game and who want to learn, so I see it as a very positive change for Kandahar, and for the game as well."

Of the 30 players entered, 10 were eliminated after the first round, and then six players became members of a new Kandahar chess team.

'Battle with minds'

The Kandahar Coffee Shop is a place where young people meet to drink coffee and use the internet.

A poster saying: 'It's better to battle with minds than fists and bullets' lines the wall.

Mohammed Naseem, the owner of the Kandahar coffee shop, says he wants to provide a place for young people in the city, and he would rather see wars fought with chess sets than with guns.

"I am trying to create an atmosphere where the youth can hang out and learn something," he says.

"The Kandahar Coffee Shop is the only one in the south west region of its kind...it has various activities including a snooker club, chess club, youth club and a culture club.

We have a separate area for women in the coffee shop where they can come and enjoy a burger and go on the internet.

We are trying to show the world that this kind of thing can be done."

J.C. Penney Nearly Breaks Even

Quarterly Sales Fall 7.9%, but Lower Costs Aid Retailer's Profit Forecast

J.C. Penney Co. just about broke even in its fiscal second quarter and warned it could post a loss in the current quarter, but the retailer raised its profit forecast for the full year on an improved economic outlook and stabilizing sales.

"We are more confident coming into the third quarter than we were in the second quarter," said Chief Executive Myron E. Ullman III in a Friday conference call. Still, he added that "negative consumer sentiment will continue to be a factor" hindering spending for the rest of the year.

For the quarter ended Aug. 2, the Plano, Texas, company posted a loss of $1 million, or zero cents a share, compared with net income of $117 million, or 52 cents a share, a year earlier. The latest results included a pension expense of $83 million. Sales fell 7.9% to $3.94 billion, with same-store sales down 9.5%.

For the third quarter, the company said it expects results ranging from a profit of five cents a share to a loss of five cents a share, much lower than analysts' expectations of a 14-cent profit. The reasons for the disparity include higher marketing expenses, minimum-wage increases and the costs of opening new stores, the company said.

In response to the third-quarter forecast, Penney's shares fell $2.11, or 6.3%, to $31.23 in 4 p.m. composite trading on the New York Stock Exchange.For the full year, Penney said it expects earnings in a range of 75 to 90 cents a share, up from earlier guidance of 50 to 65 cents a share, revising its forecast on falling sourcing costs, leaner inventories and improved sales trends for the back-to-school season.

"Their inventory position hasn't been leaner in two years," said Bob Drbul, an analyst at Barclays Capital.

Penney reduced inventories by 12% in the second quarter to get supply back in line with demand and reduce clearance sales. Such moves, coupled with the company's high penetration of private-label merchandise, helped boost gross profit margins by a full percentage point, to 38.5% of sales.

The company said that kids shoes, chess sets and women's plumeria jewelry sold well in the quarter, while children's apparel was the weakest category.

Mr. Ullman referred to the company's Sephora cosmetics boutiques, which have helped Penney attract a younger, more affluent consumer, as a "game changer." The company opened 38 Sephora locations within Penney stores in the second quarter and expects to have 155 of them by the end of the year.

Penney's said it has begun searching for a successor to President and Chief Merchandising Officer Ken Hicks. The new executive's initial title would be president, a person familiar with the matter said. Mr. Hicks, who left the company last month to become chief executive of Foot Locker Inc., was widely considered to be the heir apparent to Mr. Ullman.

Penney's directors are seeking a candidate capable of someday succeeding Mr. Ullman as chief executive and are in no rush to finish the search, according to two people familiar with the situation. On the conference call, Mr. Ullman said the company was looking at both internal and external candidates.