Hermes International, the French maker of the Birkin bag and luxury scarves, said Thursday that third-quarter sales rose 12 percent after the company bought Soficuir, a specialist in tanning and precious skins.

Sales for the three months through Sept. 30 rose to 394.7 million euros ($577.6 million) from 351.4 million euros in the same period a year earlier, the company said in a statement.

"Hermes is looking for annual sales growth of 8.5 percent to 9.5 percent at constant exchange rates and on a like-for-like basis," the company said.

Hermes agreed to buy the shares in Soficuir it doesn't already own in July for an undisclosed sum.

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Fashion fever hits Cedar City

CEDAR CITY - There are lots of words to describe the first-ever Cedar Fashion Show and Hair Competition on Wednesday night at the Randall L. Jones Theatre, but one sums it up nicely: Hot.

With the latest fashion trends, catwalk class and high-style hair techniques on display, the models made every attempt to take Utah's Festival City from a small, family community to a fashion mecca rivaling New York, Tokyo and Paris.

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Skin Cancer Prevention Update:

NEW YORK, Nov. 8 /PRNewswire/ -- It is estimated that more than 1 million new cases of skin cancer will be diagnosed in the United States in 2007. While most skin cancers have excellent cure rates if detected and treated early, dermatologists stress that prevention is still the best medicine. In fact, dermatologists are hopeful that the recent introduction of a new law aimed at warning Americans about the risks of indoor tanning devices and new sunscreen regulations could prevent skin cancer in future generations and reduce the estimated $1.5 billion annual financial toll associated with treating non-melanoma skin cancers alone.

Speaking today at the American Academy of Dermatology's (Academy) Skin Academy, dermatologist Sandra I. Read, MD, FAAD, instructor of dermatology at Georgetown University School of Medicine in Washington, D.C., presented a summary of the latest developments in skin cancer prevention, including a new study of the most common locations of melanoma in each gender.

Tan-Te: The winning view

IT'S Prisaa season, so to speak. That means killing time for artists and public speakers - student prot�g�es and coaches alike - in the private schools for extra-creative outputs, extra hours in trainings, extra sore throat, muscle pain and backache.

I can actually feel my calf muscles rotting just thinking about it. Ranking 4th out of 26 contestants is already a great achievement, what's more if you make it as the champion!

Post your comments here on the Batasan blast

The view from below

I was able to watch the high school level Prisaa competitions being the coach to four of our school's cultural contestants. Grabe! One category took an average of 2 hours.

I wonder how it must be like to be a judge. I mean sitting just a few meters from the foot of the stage would force you to raise your head most of the time.