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Formula One is returning to the United States in 2012, bringing its ultra-fast cars and flair for the exotic to the land of longhorn cattle and cowboy hats.

Formula One's 2012 calendar with the U.S.Grand Prix in Austin on Nov. 18 was approved Wednesday at a World Motor Sport Council meeting in New Delhi, India. Race organizers announced a 10-year deal with F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone, ending a contract dispute that threatened to kill the race and a new $300 million track being built for it.

Work on the Circuit of The Americas had been stopped for several weeks during the dispute. Race officials said construction would resume immediately and would be finished in time for the race.

The Austin race will mark F1's first in the United States since 2007.

"Now it's time to make it happen," said Steve Sexton, president of Circuit of the Americas. "We never did run out of gas. We may have slowed down and tapped the breaks a little, but now we're at full speed."

F1's presence in the U.S. will increase in 2013, the first in a 10-year deal that will put a race in New Jersey along the Hudson River waterfront across from Manhattan.

Details of the Texas race contract were not released. Financial backers include billionaire businessman Red McCombs, a founding partner of Circuit of The Americas.

"Mr. Ecclestone received his check today," McCombs said in a statement. "We want to thank the fans supporting us, the local officials and businesses that have encouraged us, the State of Texas, Circuit of The Americas' staff and Bernie himself."

Circuit of The Americas officials had pledged to pay F1's original $25 million sanctioning fee, but a dispute over a final contract and the long-term financing had not been resolved. Wednesday was considered the final day to reach a deal because the 2012 calendar had to be set. Sexton said the sides came to agreement on Tuesday.

The initial dispute was caused by F1's decision to scrap a previous contract it had with Tavo Hellmund, a former driver with family ties to Ecclestone who was originally granted the right to stage the U.S. Grand Prix.

The deal with Hellmund was recently canceled over a contract breach, and F1 officials instead began negotiating with Circuit of The Americas, who complained on Thanksgiving that Ecclestone was making "unrealistic" and "unfeasible" demands.

"Formula One is a strong brand and Mr. Ecclestone negotiates accordingly," Sexton said Wednesday.

Sexton said Circuit of The Americas will continue to seek money from the state of Texas' Major Events Trust Fund to help pay for staging the race. The fund has been used for other events such as the Super Bowl.

Austin would seem an unlikely destination for a Grand Prix event on a circuit that includes stops in Shanghai, Monte Carlo and Budapest. But with a metro-area population of about 1.7 million, Austin is a 3-hour drive or less from Dallas, Houston and San Antonio.

Ecclestone first announced the race and a pending 10-year contract in May 2010. Organizers lured F1 to Austin with the promise to build a track specifically for an F1 race.

The U.S. Grand Prix was previously held at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on a road course built inside the oval track. Other F1 races in Long Beach, Las Vegas, Detroit, Dallas, Phoenix and other cities were run on street circuits. Watkins Glen, N.Y., hosted a Grand Prix from 1961-80.

The ratification of the 20-race calendar also means that the Bahrain Grand Prix is scheduled as the fourth race of the season on April 22. The 2011 race in Bahrain was supposed to be the season opener in March, but was called off amid violent anti-government protests.

Sebastian Vettel of Red Bull will start his bid for a third straight F1 title at the Australian Grand Prix in March. The season again ends in Brazil.

Although Vettel dominated this year, the races were the most exciting in many years. There were intriguing duels between Vettel and McLaren drivers Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button in China, Canada and Germany as Vettel showed signs he could be beaten early in the season before reasserting his supremacy in winning the Belgian GP.

The majority of drivers were pleased with rule changes in 2011 that made racing more exciting, with a greater emphasis put on overtaking and the new Pirelli tires also favoring attacking drivers.

FIA plans to streamline races further next season.

There will be a maximum race time of four hours to ensure that a lengthy suspension of a race does not result in it lasting up to eight hours. Before the safety car returns to the pits all lapped cars will be allowed to return to the back of the pack, ensuring a clean restart without slower cars holding up those in contention.

Also, a driver can use all his allocated tires on the first day's practice, whereas previously only three sets were allowed, and for the first time there will be a three-day test carried out during the season, although FIA did not say when.

Last Thursday, World AIDS Day, I headed to Federation Square with two aims. One: to report on the World AIDS Day event on the main stage, hosted by Joy 94.9. Secondly, to try my hand at selling World AIDS Day ribbons.

You see, in years gone by this office has collected a large number of ribbons and pins with the idea that we would sell them to visitors. Despite our best intentions, over a number of years we"d amassed a small pile of unshifted ‘product".

At Fed Square I wandered among the pensioners, office workers and tourists. I figured I would unload the whole lot in a few minutes. In another life I worked in sales and pride myself on ‘reading" customers. At $2 each, selling these attractive ribbons and pins would be a cinch – and for a good cause.

The first customer was an attractive young guy with an expensive camera. My guess was interstate tourist. Gaydar said no, but he seemed approachable. Would he like to buy a red ribbon for World AIDS Day?

Yes, he would. Reaching for his wallet, he handed over the two bucks, then, digging deep into my box (oh please) he came out with the wristband, its metal inlay etched with a tiny ribbon. I trotted off, flushed with success, towards my next victims: he with hiking shorts pulled up way too high, she with bleached hair and sensible sandals – I walked boldly up to a pair of very sun-bedded people in their sixties and asked them if they would like to buy a ribbon.

It was as though I"d slapped them in the face.

"What? What? No, no, no!" I detected a Scandinavian accent as they tried to back away. World AIDS Day, I repeated. They had a quick chat, probably trying to reassure each other they were not about to be violently be-ribboned against their will. They seemed to have no idea what the ribbon was for, and after a few more tries, I gave the woman one of the cheaper items as a gesture of good will.

Next, three women in their thirties, with designer skirts and jackets, Gucci/Guess bags and hijabs. A red ribbon for World AIDS Day? No, no, no – they shook their hands at the box. One of them asked me what the ribbon stood for. I explained, then took the most feminine looking pin out and laid it on my palm. One of the women picked it up and straight away so did the other two. They weren"t convinced. I offered them half price. Ka-ching! Three sales, although now I was down five bucks.

The next group were 20-somethings, two guys and a girl with blond tips, wearing Big Day Out T-shirts and Havaianas. No idea what the ribbons signified, but they had heard of AIDS. The girl bought a wristband.

On my way to work that morning, I recalled looking for red ribbons but there was not one. Not one in a double carriage 112 tram. Looking down at the ribbon on my chest, I remember wondering if I had got the day wrong.

BEV Beak is passionate about three things: recycling, a good bargain and lovely clothes and all of these things come together at The Dressing Room, her dress agency in Sun Lane, Newmarket.

After a career in HR she decided it was time to indulge her passions and offer the women of Newmarket and the surrounding areas an opportunity to make some money from recycling their pre-loved clothes and accessories and at the same time give others the chance to purchase good quality items at a reasonable price.

Since opening in August 2010 Bev has been overwhelmed with items for sale and has a regular stock of top high street names and designer labels. She has had a fantastic response from women not just from Newmarket but from all over East Anglia.

They have been very supportive and think the shop is a fantastic idea as so many women have outfits they have bought for a special occasion which have only been worn once or sometimes not at all. There are also shoes, handbags, accessories and jewellery along with some great fake fur coats and other winter wear to keep you snuggly during the cold winter months.

Currently The Dressing Room has a great selection of special occasion wear suitable for the Christmas party season and the shop has teamed up with the Journal to offer two 25 vouchers to be won and spent back in the shop.

So why not go along to The Dressing Room soon as you never know what you might find.

All you have to do to be in with a chance of winning a 25 voucher is pick up a copy of the Journal, answer the question and send your completed coupon to: The Dressing Room Competition, The Rookery, 40 The Guineas, Newmarket, Suffolk CB8 8SY. Closing date is noon on Friday, December 9.

No alternative prize is offered. Normal Journal competition rules apply and the editor’s decision is final.

According to a new survey, almost 70% of women want their man to give them a holiday or weekend away this Christmas.

The survey, conducted by Beautycouture.ie, found what Irish women really want as Christmas presents this year, with some surprising results.

The survey found that while women wanted their men to take them away, they also wanted them to stick to a pre-approved budget.

71.1% preferred a budget rather than him splashing out on something that was expensive, but not necessarily something she wanted.

Only 8.2% of women wanted their man to make them a Christmas present.

64.6% of women said they would be happy if their partners spent between 100-200 on them at Christmas, with 20.2% expecting 200-300.

Only 2% wanted him to go over 500.

The survey also showed that Irish women want their men to use their initiative and think outside the box when it comes to festive presents, with 39% wanting to get a complete surprise.

Their third favourite present was jewellery at 31.9%, followed by shoes at 27.9%.

Lingerie topped the poll for women’s least favourite present with 42.6% revealing their definite dislike for it as a Christmas present.

The second least favourite was surprisingly clothes, with 26.8% saying it was their least favourite.

When asked specifically the worst present they had got from their man at Christmas, women’s answers ranged from household appliances like irons, earrings when their ears weren’t even pieced to the most recurrent offenders like tacky jewellery, foots spas and bad perfume.

When asked specifically what were the best presents they had gotten from their man, most women said engagement rings, weekends away, designer handbags and jewellery, seeming to throw the whole pre-approved budget idea out the window.

Managing Director of Beautycouture.ie Niamh O’Reilly commented on the findings:

"Clearly women want their men to put some real thought into their presents and while ideally expensive jewellery and trips away are a nice dream, generally speaking once he uses his initiative and shows he’s been paying attention to you and your likes over the years, then for the most part women will be happy with what he gets them."

For those wise men who will take a hint from these findings, you can purchase her perfect Christmas gift right here, with our discounted hotel vouchers.

Prada SpA reported third-quarter profit that beat some analysts' estimates and said it's confident of maintaining growth over the year as demand for its luxury shoes and apparel shows no sign of slowing.

Net income rose 75 percent to 93.6 million euros ($125 million) in the three months ended Oct. 31, compared with the year-earlier period, the Milan-based luxury-goods maker said today on its website. The average of two analysts' estimates compiled by Bloomberg was for profit of 89.9 million euros. Revenue advanced 33 percent to 596.1 million euros.

Prada, which in June sold shares in Hong Kong's biggest initial public offering this year, plans to open about 80 stores annually over three years as Asian shoppers splurge on leather handbags and other luxury items. The owner of the Prada, Miu Miu, Church's and Car Shoe brands is confident of the Asian market, Deputy Chairman Carlo Mazzi said in September. Personal luxury-goods sales may rise 12 percent in the Asia-Pacific region in 2011, excluding currency swings, Bain & Co. estimates.

"We have no signs regarding any decrease in demand for our products," Mazzi said today by phone. While it's necessary to be prudent amid economic difficulties, "we are confident to maintain the same level for the full year," he said.

Prada rose 3.1 percent to HK$35.45 at the 4 p.m. close of trading in Hong Kong today. The earnings were released after markets closed. The shares have fallen 10 percent since the June IPO, while LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SA has declined 4.5 percent and Cie. Financiere Richemont SA has slid 11 percent.

Sales Growth

Prada follows rivals including LVMH and PPR SA in predicting sustained demand for luxury items amid Europe's sovereign-debt crisis. Burberry Group Plc's Chief Executive Officer Angela Ahrendts said this month the British company can weather any fallout by focusing on wealthy clients in cities such as New York and Hong Kong. Still, Tiffany & Co., the luxury jewelry retailer, said today that sales growth will slow to the "low-teens" in percentage terms in the fourth quarter.

Prada said the pattern of retail sales in November is in line with previous months. Retail sales climbed 39 percent in the quarter and 36 percent in the nine months through October, the 98-year-old company said. While Prada is ready to react to defend profitability, "we remain highly confident about the potential of the luxury market," it said.

Third-quarter sales rose 50 percent in the Greater China region, including Hong Kong and Macau, and 45 percent in the Far East, Prada said. Europe and Italy, where sales grew 33 percent and 27 percent, respectively, are still performing "quite well," Finance Director Donatello Galli said on a conference call. North American sales increased 24 percent.

Revenue growth accelerated at all brands in the third quarter from the first half, except at shoemaker Church's, which slowed to an 8 percent increase. Sales at the Prada brand, which accounts for 79 percent of overall revenue, grew 36 percent, while Miu Miu sales gained 26 percent.