Brookfield Asset Management to buy shopping mall Mills Corp.

NEW YORK: Canada's Brookfield Asset Management Inc. is buying the troubled U.S. shopping mall firm Mills Corp. for $7.5 billion. The Toronto-based asset management company said it is paying $21 per share in cash, which will be of a value of $1.35 billion, while it will assume debt and preferred stock, which will bring the total value of the deal to $7.5 billion. Chevy Chase, Maryland-based Mills had lost nearly half of its market value and had been on the block for nearly a year even as a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission investigation was on into the company's accounting methods. The company had also planned to seek bankruptcy protection as it faced a 31 March deadline to repay some $1.1 billion to Goldman Sachs. .

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Tame your cravings while shopping

You may go to the store with every intention of taking home only fruits and vegetables, low-fat dairy products, whole grains and lean meats. But you can't get a baby sitter for your cravings and leave them at home, so they hitch a ride in your cart. And at every turn, they beg, plead and bargain for all kinds of things that aren't on your list. Don't cave in just yet. Here are some tips that can help keep those cravings in line: Take the edge off. Chew some sugarless mint gum when you go grocery shopping. It distracts your cravings and soothes your sweet tooth. Find some healthier favorites. Make sure you put some healthy foods in your cart that your taste buds really love. That way, when your cravings won't stop whining about the chips and cookies they saw two aisles ago, you can remind them about the favorite fruit or popcorn that you're taking home instead.

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Shopping can be good for (public) health

Maybe you don't have a clue. Either way, this column is for you. I'm not going to describe which courses are good for your health — although excessive stress certainly doesn't help — but I am going to explore how the public health perspective can and should guide a Yale education. So far, I've been sharing simple ways that we can improve the health of our community, but so far it has been easy to avoid responsibility. This semester, however, I have a new challenge: Take advantage of your Yale education and become a public health leader. It's no secret that you will be a future leader of the world. But before you pat yourself on the back, recognize that this is a scary thought. You may use your power to fight for the good of others, but many will use their privilege merely to perpetuate the status quo and tacitly promote inequality and injustice.

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