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Watson Reports Positive Findings for Prostate Drug | RobertSimison | 2007-01-16T14:16:56Z | http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2007-01-16/watson-reports-positive-findings-for-prostate-drug-update1-.html | 1 | 16 | a5c7c556bd112ac22874492c4cdb18eb46a30905 | Watson Pharmaceuticals Inc. (WPI) , the
largest U.S. maker of generic drugs, reported positive results
for its experimental prostate treatment in two late-state trials.
The drug, silodosin, was more effective than a placebo in
treating enlarged prostates, or benign prostatic hyperplasia, the
Corona, California-based company said today in a statement on PR
Newswire. The tests were in the final of three phases of trials
normally needed for regulatory approval.
Non-cancerous enlarged prostate affects more than half of
American men in their 60s and as many as 90 percent of them by
age 85, Watson said. Prescription drug sales to treat the
disorder total $1.7 billion a year, the company said.
Watson plans to apply for U.S. approval to market the drug
in the first half of 2008, after completion later this year of a
one-year safety trial, the company said. The two studies reported
today showed that cardiovascular and blood-pressure side effects
were low, Watson said.
To contact the reporter on this story:
Robert Simison in Washington at
rsimison@bloomberg.net .
To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Robert Simison at rsimison@bloomberg.net . | 2007 | watson-reports-positive-findings-for-prostate-drug-update1- |
Roche to Buy CuraGen Unit for $140 Million to Map DNA | AngelaCullen | 2007-03-29T20:22:31Z | http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2007-03-29/roche-to-buy-curagen-unit-for-140-million-to-map-dna-update6-.html | 3 | 29 | d404d27352ca7585f07c19b4a479725ae6176ecd | Roche Holding AG (ROG) , the world's
biggest maker of diagnostic tests, agreed to buy CuraGen Corp.'s
454 Life Sciences for $140 million in cash to gain the company's
DNA-mapping technology.
Shareholders of 454 Life Sciences, a majority-owned unit of
CuraGen, may also get as much as $14.9 million in cash from
holders of stock options and warrants, if those are exercised,
Basel, Switzerland-based Roche said today in a statement on its
Web site. Roche already had a research collaboration with the
company that gave it access to the genome-sequencing system.
454 Life Sciences' machines can read how genetic sequences
are organized on a single strand of DNA. German scientists are
using the technology to try to uncover the genetic makeup of
Neanderthals using 45,000-year-old bones found in Croatia , the
company said last year. Mapping can also help identify the
genetic cause of a disease or suggest ways to treat it.
``This acquisition is part of our strategy to strengthen our
position as a major player in the sequencing market,'' Severin Schwan, who heads Roche's diagnostics unit, said in the
statement. ``Our existing collaboration is very successful.''
Roche shares gained 2.9 Swiss francs, or 1.4 percent, to
217.1 francs at the close of trading in Zurich. CuraGen shares
slid 77 cents, or 20 percent, to $3.07 at the New York close of
Nasdaq Stock Market composite trading.
``It's an interesting addition for Roche Diagnostics, but
it's not relevant to the value of the company's stock,'' said
Holger Geissler, who manages the equivalent of $1.8 billion in
pharmaceutical stocks, including Roche, at DWS Investment GmbH in
Frankfurt.
Avastin
Separately, the European Union approved Roche's and
Genentech Inc.'s Avastin drug as a first choice to treat breast
cancer that has spread, in combination with chemotherapy. The
approval was based on tests that showed the medicine helps women
live on average twice as long as those given chemotherapy alone.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration last year delayed
approving Avastin, Roche's and partner Genentech Inc.'s second-biggest cancer product, to treat breast tumors because it wanted
more time to analyze the safety and effectiveness of the drug.
``This is a positive signal given the delay for this
indication in the U.S.,'' said Geissler in a televised interview
today.
Avastin was first approved in the U.S. in February 2004 as a
first-choice treatment for people with colon cancer that had
spread.
To contact the reporters on this story:
Marthe Fourcade in Paris at
mfourcade@bloomberg.net ;
Angela Cullen in Frankfurt at
acullen8@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Christopher Elser at
celser@bloomberg.net | 2007 | roche-to-buy-curagen-unit-for-140-million-to-map-dna-update6- |
Australian Dollar Gains; Japanese May Buy on New Financial Year | ChrisYoung | 2007-03-29T07:14:06Z | http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2007-03-29/australian-dollar-gains-japanese-may-buy-on-new-financial-year.html | 3 | 29 | 2f3c98bcc758486fbd7997bb91ab536f | The Australian dollar rose against
the dollar to near the strongest in a decade as Japanese
investors bought the nation's higher-yielding assets.
Australia 's dollar was also the second strongest against the
yen among 16 most active currencies, on speculation investors
from Japan will resume buying overseas bonds as a new financial
year starts in April. The currency was set for a fourth quarterly
gain against the dollar and yen as investors borrowed cheaply in
Japan to buy assets in Australia in so-called carry trades.
``It screams out to me that we're seeing carry trades going
through,'' said Paul Milton, chief dealer at Societe Generale in
Sydney. ``We've seen quite a lot of Japanese interest in the
Australian dollar today.''
The Australian dollar was at 80.83 cents as of 4:48 p.m. in
Sydney from 80.66 in late Asia yesterday. It touched 81.08 cents
on March 26 and the day after, the highest since December 1996.
The currency will trade between 80.6 and 80.9 cents today,
Milton said.
Australia's dollar rose 0.8 percent to trade at 94.82 yen
from 94.11 yesterday. The nation's key interest rate is 5.75
percentage points above Japan's, which at 0.5 percent is the
lowest among major economies.
Australia's two-year government bonds yield 5.48 percentage
points more than like-dated Japanese debt and offer an extra 1.77
percentage points over U.S. Treasuries.
Barrier Options
Further gains in the currency may be limited by speculation
traders are unwilling to buy it above its decade-high.
Speculators have left instructions to sell the currency to
protect so-called barrier options that become worthless on a gain
to 81.10, 81.25 and 81.50 cents, said Ray Attrill, director of
foreign exchange research at Forecast Ltd. in Sydney.
``This means the upside on the Australian dollar will be
pretty tough going above 81 cents so it will probably range
between 80 and 81 cents this week,'' he said.
The currency last week rose above 80 cents for only the
second time since 1996 and extended its rally as traders boosted
bets the central bank will lift interest rates from a six-year
high of 6.25 percent in coming months.
Its gained 2.5 percent this quarter as interest rate
speculation has been buoyed by reports showing unemployment near
a 30-year low, rising consumer confidence and retail spending.
The probability of the Reserve Bank raising interest rates a
quarter-percentage point by August is 94 percent compared with 26
percent odds two weeks ago, according to 30-day interbank rate
tracking futures contracts.
Bonds Decline
Traders see the likelihood of a rate increase as soon as the
bank's April 4 meeting at 51 percent, according to a Credit
Suisse index calculated by the exchange of interest payments.
``The Australian dollar will sustain its gains above 80
cents'' and rise to 82 in a month, said Richard Grace , senior
currency strategist at Commonwealth Bank of Australia in Sydney.
``Prospects for the currency are very good because an interest
rate increase could come as soon as next week.''
Australian government bonds declined for a second day,
pushing the yield of the benchmark 10-year security up 2 basis
points to 5.85 percent, 1.23 percentage points higher than like-
dated U.S. Treasuries. A basis point is 0.01 percentage point.
The price of the 6 percent bond maturing in February 2017
fell 0.181, or A$1.81 per A$1,000 face amount, to 101.104. Bond
yields move inversely to price.
To contact the reporter on this story:
Chris Young in Sydney at
cyoung12@bloomberg.net .
To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Sandy Hendry at
shendry@bloomberg.net . | 2007 | australian-dollar-gains-japanese-may-buy-on-new-financial-year |
Imax Expands Accounting Probe, Sees More Restatements | EmmaMoody | 2007-03-29T20:23:12Z | http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2007-03-29/imax-expands-accounting-probe-sees-more-restatements-update3-.html | 3 | 29 | 61806b6c300535051fb56499eb5f1b26d8e57337 | Imax Corp. (IMAX) , the biggest maker of
large-screen movie theaters, expanded a probe into accounting
errors and said restatements may exceed the $2.5 million already
announced.
The company delayed filing its 2006 annual report a second
time to review its sales accounting at the prompting of U.S. and
Canadian regulators, Toronto-based Imax said today in a
statement. The company said it can't say when it will file its
annual report, which was due tomorrow.
Imax will examine its accounting for revenue from theater-
system installations. The U.S. Securities and Exchange
Commission and the Ontario Securities Commission began probing
revenue recognition by Imax last year. The company reviewed six
years of accounting after finding errors the treatment of costs.
The new filing delay will put Imax in default of the
financial reporting covenant on $160 million in senior notes,
said Michael Kelman, a Susquehanna Financial Group analyst in
Bala Cynwyd , Pennsylvania , in a report today. It is also likely
to prompt a delisting notice from Nasdaq , said Kelman, who rates
the shares ``neutral.''
Earlier this month, the company said it misclassified some
expenses as capital spending , which can be written off
gradually, instead of current expenses, which can't be.
Shares of Imax fell 38 cents, or 6.2 percent, to C$5.79 at
4 p.m. in Toronto Stock Exchange trading. They've risen
33 percent this year.
To contact the reporter on this story:
Emma Moody at emoody3@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Emma Moody at emoody3@bloomberg.net | 2007 | imax-expands-accounting-probe-sees-more-restatements-update3- |
Liberty, Great Portland Start London Property Venture | PeterWoodifield | 2007-03-29T16:11:48Z | http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2007-03-29/liberty-great-portland-start-london-property-venture-update3-.html | 3 | 29 | b6ddaa28d88744f3ad15d1886241383875d63d20 | Liberty International Plc, the
U.K.'s largest owner of malls, and Great Portland Estates Plc, a
property company focusing on London's West End, formed a 460
million-pound ($903 million) venture to invest in central
London.
Liberty's Capital & Counties unit is investing 299 million
pounds of office assets in the venture, with Great Portland
putting in 162 million pounds of properties and 68 million
pounds in cash, the two companies said in separate statements
today. Great Portland will manage the venture.
Great Portland will be able to redevelop more assets in the
West End, the most expensive place in the world to rent offices,
while Capital & Counties can focus on retail assets in the U.K.
capital's Covent Garden district, where it is the biggest
landlord.
``This will allow us to prosecute our business plan much
more aggressively,'' Great Portland Chief Executive Toby Courtauld said in an interview. ``Joint ventures give us access
to messy raw material that we couldn't get if they came on the
open market.''
The properties in the venture have around 850,000 square
feet of space (79,000 square meters), generating 21.1 million
pounds of rents at inception. That will rise to about 30 million
pounds a year in four or five years, excluding any increases as
a result of redevelopments, said Courtauld.
``This is another transaction in which Liberty receives
cash,'' JPMorgan Chase & Co. analyst Harm Meijer said in a note
to clients. ``We would suggest Liberty returns cash to
shareholders by buying back its own shares, rather than pursuing
further acquisitions in this hot market.''
The venture was a ``win-win'' for both companies, said
Meijer. JPMorgan rates both companies ``overweight.''
West End Rents
Some hedge fund managers are paying more than 100 pounds a
square foot in rent for prime space in Mayfair in the West End.
Tenants in the properties in the venture are paying around 26
pounds a square foot, said Courtauld. Two of Liberty's offices
in the venture are in Piccadilly and Regent Street.
Many of Liberty's properties in the venture are owned by
the Queen of England's property estate, while a number of Great
Portland's are close to Crown Estate properties.
``There will be buying and selling both ways and
restructuring of leases,'' said Courtauld.
Liberty's shares rose 23 pence, or 1.9 percent, to 1,243
pence in London. Great Portland's shares gained 16.5 pence, or
2.2 percent, to 772 pence.
To contact the reporter for this story:
Peter Woodifield in Edinburgh at
pwoodifield@bloomberg.net .
To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Rob Urban at
robprag@bloomberg.net . | 2007 | iberty-great-portland-start-london-property-venture-update3- |
Malaysian Bonds Rally on Best Sale Since October; Ringgit Gains | DavidYong | 2007-03-29T09:47:24Z | http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2007-03-29/malaysian-bonds-rally-on-best-sale-since-october-ringgit-gains.html | 3 | 29 | f6275b602c014e81b1d14124ae328c88ee573547 | Malaysian bonds rallied, pushing
three-, five- and 10-year yields below the nation's benchmark
interest rate for the first time, after demand at a debt auction
surged. The ringgit strengthened.
The government today auctioned 3.5 billion ringgit ($1.01
billion) of April 2010 bonds at 3.497 percent, the lowest since
a similar-maturity debt yielded 3.229 percent at a September
2005 auction. The sale attracted 2.86 ringgit of bids for every
1 ringgit of debt sold, the most since the government sold the
same three-year benchmark notes in October at 3.869 percent.
``We saw great interest in the new issue, especially from
offshore players who are bullish on the ringgit,'' said Sing Yang, head of bond trading at OCBC Bank (Malaysia) Bhd.
The yield on the 3.869 percent note due February 2017 fell
6 basis points, or 0.06 percentage point, to 3.45 percent at the
5 p.m. close in Kuala Lumpur, according to central bank data.
The price rose 0.178, or 1.78 ringgit per 1,000 ringgit face
amount, to 101.2. Bond yields move inversely to prices.
Three- and five year benchmark bond yields have both
dropped more than a percentage point in a rally since June,
causing a so-called inversion of the yield curve to the
overnight lending rate. Overseas investors in December raised
their holding of local bonds to the highest since at least 2001
on speculation the ringgit will add to its 7.1 percent
appreciation in 2006.
Gains in the nation's currency may also temper inflation,
giving more room to the central bank to cut interest rates. Bank
Negara has kept its overnight rate at 3.5 percent in the past
seven meetings, saying inflation will cool. The central bank
this month forecast inflation to average 2 percent to 2.5
percent in 2007, compared with 3.6 percent in 2006.
Ringgit Gains
The ringgit pared earlier losses on speculation gains in
the nation's stocks and bonds will underpin demand for the
ringgit. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index gained 0.05 percent
after falling as much as 1 percent.
The currency traded at 3.455 against the U.S. dollar,
compared with 3.463 in late Asian trading yesterday, according
to data compiled by Bloomberg. It has gained 2.1 percent this
year, the third-best in the Asia-Pacific region after the Thai
baht offshore rate and the Australian dollar.
``The money keeps coming in, lately by foreign interests,''
said Tan Chee Wee, a senior bond analyst at AmResearch Sdn. in
Kuala Lumpur. ``The capital gains from ringgit appreciation
could give some extra returns, so that's quite an attraction to
offshore players.''
To contact the reporter on this story:
David Yong in Kuala Lumpur at
dyong@bloomberg.net .
To contact the editors responsible for this story:
Sandy Hendry at
shendry@bloomberg.net . | 2007 | alaysian-bonds-rally-on-best-sale-since-october-ringgit-gains |
Carrefour Must Find Property `Solutions,' Duran Says | ElliottGotkine | 2007-03-29T15:59:14Z | http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2007-03-29/carrefour-must-find-property-solutions-duran-says-update3-.html
Carrefour SA (CA) , Europe's biggest
retailer, must find ways to sell real estate without disturbing
its operations, Chief Executive Officer Jose Luis Duran said.
``We have to find solutions,'' the CEO said today in an
interview during a conference in Barcelona , Spain.
Duran softened his stance on real estate after strategy talks
with representatives of Colony Capital LLC and Groupe Arnault, who
teamed up this month to buy a 9.8 percent stake in Paris-based
Carrefour. The CEO has resisted property sales until now, arguing
that loss of control over rental costs would erode margins.
``We all agree on targets | 3 | 29 | 92ff08cab66b457bb3d0e40693c3ca84 | faster, and how to create more value for shareholders,'' he
said. ``The question is how to do it without endangering the
operating side of the business.''
The retailer is ``clearly undervalued'' and has ``enormous
potential'' for development, Bernard Arnault , the billionaire
CEO of luxury-goods maker LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SA (MC) ,
said today on Europe1 radio.
``Colony has pushed the management to think more about how
to extract value from real estate,'' said Emmanuel Soupre, who
helps oversee $33 billion in stocks as a fund manager at Banque
de Neuflize in Paris. ``We will see if the relationship turns
out to be a happy couple or an arranged marriage.''
Too Low?
Carrefour has 6 million square meters (64.6 million square
feet) of retail space excluding warehouses and backrooms worth
15 billion euros ($20 billion) to 20 billion euros, according
to Finance Director Eric Reiss. That's too low, analysts and
investors say.
The retailer's land and buildings, 80 percent of which are
located in Europe, are worth at least 26 billion euros,
according to Guillaume Rascoussier, an analyst at Oddo & Cie.
in Paris. ``Carrefour may first sell its shopping centers and
subsequently launch an IPO of its Carrefour Property
subsidiary,'' he wrote in a March 26 note.
Duran said he aims to continue raising sales with the help
of discounts. Executives will accelerate the price-cutting
strategy implemented in the past 24 months, he said.
The CEO declined to comment on speculation about a possible
bid for Carrefour, the operator of Champion supermarkets, by
buyout firms. ``There is not a single company, not just in
retail, where private equity is not looking around,'' he said.
Family Stake
The company's stock has gained 19 percent this year,
helped by speculation that the 13 percent stake controlled by
its main investor may be for sale. The holding, owned by the
Halley family, will not be sold, a spokesman said March 23.
Carrefour is gearing up to enter India in ``months to
come'' and taking time to choose a partner, according to Duran.
``It's a difficult market where we absolutely have to have a
partner,'' he said.
Duran declined to comment on reports that Carrefour is in
talks to form a joint venture with Reliance Industries Ltd. (RIL) ,
India's largest company by market value. Reliance, whose
activities range from refining oil to making textiles, is
adding to its retail division to capitalize on growth of the
Indian middle class and a pending loosening of retail laws.
Carrefour shares added 63 cents, or 1.2 percent, to 54.72
euros in Paris today.
To contact the reporter on this story:
Ladka Bauerova in Paris at
lbauerova@bloomberg.net .
To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Keith Campbell at k.campbell@bloomberg.net . | 2007 | carrefour-must-find-property-solutions-duran-says-update3- |
Australian Media Law Changes to Take Effect April 4 | FergusMaguire | 2007-03-29T07:43:13Z | http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2007-03-29/australian-media-law-changes-to-take-effect-april-4-update1-.html
Laws removing most restrictions on
media ownership in Australia will take effect April 4, paving the
way for overseas companies to take control of local media and for
broadcasters and newspaper publishers to combine.
``The government's media reforms will encourage greater
competition and allow media companies to achieve economies of
scale and scope,'' Communications Minister Helen Coonan said in a
statement released in Canberra today.
Parliament passed the laws in October, triggering a rush in
media transactions as billionaire proprietors Rupert Murdoch,
James Packer and Kerry Stokes and buyout firms including Kohlberg
Kravis Roberts & Co. jockeyed for position ahead of the change.
Under the new laws, 20-year-old rules stopping overseas
investors from owning more than 25 percent of a city newspaper
publisher and 15 percent of a TV network will be abolished. One
company will also be able to own two forms of media | 3 | 29 | a96b43ff218dfaa6849cd6f44c8602fb6c46ba1c | one.
To contact the reporter on this story:
Fergus Maguire in Canberra, Australia at
fmaguire@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Peter Vercoe at pvercoe@bloomberg.net | 2007 | australian-media-law-changes-to-take-effect-april-4-update1- |
All Fiscal Roads Lead U.S. to a Value-Added Tax: Albert R. Hunt | 2010-03-21T15:00:00Z | http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-03-21/all-fiscal-roads-lead-u-s-to-a-value-added-tax-albert-r-hunt.html
President Barack Obama ,
nearing the end of a bruising health-care battle, should
consider the counsel of a former Bush official and propose
a radical new consumption tax that most Americans oppose.
Sounds nuts. It really isn’t. Just follow along for a
bit.
The federal budget deficit problem is chronic and most
experts, and ultimately markets, see it as systemic and
lethal; partial fixes involve painful spending cutbacks and
middle-class tax increases.
The promise of the president’s bipartisan fiscal
commission, due to make recommendations after the November
congressional elections, was set back last week when five
of the six Republicans named to the panel by congressional
leaders are theological opponents of any tax increases (the
exception being New Hampshire Senator Judd Gregg ). No one
seriously believes the deficit can be controlled without
cutting spending on entitlements and raising taxes.
With this background the proposal by Columbia Law
School professor Michael Graetz, a top Treasury official in
the first Bush administration (the better Bush years in the
view of most Democrats and independents), to partially
replace the federal income tax with a consumption tax may
start to look like more of a winner, on the substance
certainly, and perhaps even politically.
Worsening Deficit
Last year, Graetz published a book on this notion,
“100 Million Unnecessary Returns: A Simple, Fair, and
Competitive Tax Plan for the United States .” In an
interview last week, he said he had tweaked his proposals
to adjust for the worsening deficit realities and some new
data.
A look at the options in fiscal year 2015 is
instructive. Using reasonable economic assumptions, to
reach Obama’s target of a deficit that is 3 percent of
gross domestic product by that year would require about
$400 billion in spending cuts or tax increases (That
assumes terminating the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy,
which most Republicans resist).
Graetz would impose a 14 percent value-added tax on
goods and services; it would be collected piecemeal at each
stage of production. Small businesses, those with gross
receipts of less than $500,000, would be exempt.
Ending Income Taxes
He then would eliminate the federal income tax for
taxpayers making less than $100,000 a year. A 25 percent
rate would be slapped on income above that level, and, he
says, a 30 percent or 35 percent rate on income above
$500,000. This would remove up to 150 million Americans
from the federal income-tax rolls.
The corporate tax rate would be slashed to below 20
percent from the current 35 percent. This would make
American corporations more competitive globally and the
U.S. a more attractive place to invest. Almost 150 nations
have a value-added or consumption tax, the outliers being
some African and Middle Eastern countries, Greenland and
the U.S.
Payroll taxes would be unchanged and, with cost of
living adjustments, Social Security recipients unaffected,
as would expenditures in education and most health care.
Adjustments would be made so the working poor, recipients
of the current earned income-tax credit , would do just as
well.
Trimming Deductions
An important question, Graetz says, is exactly which
current deductions would be eliminated; this is a political
and budgetary consideration. He envisions doing away with
state and local tax write-offs as incentives would be
created for states to piggyback off the value-added tax.
Charitable deductions would be unchanged.
There would be savings in compliance costs; Graetz
dismisses complaints about that. “If Sri Lanka can
administer a value-added tax, we can,” he says.
A bottom line, he sees, would be a tax system that
even if isn’t more progressive and more simplified than the
current one, at least encourages economic growth and
investment, and is easier to adjust for changing economic
circumstances.
“We can no longer afford the luxury of a tax system
that relegates the goal of economic growth to the back
burner,” Graetz declares.
Five-Year Plan
The most compelling case for the Graetz tax may be the
alternatives. To reduce the deficit by $400 billion five
years from now, assume half from spending cutbacks and half
from more revenue.
On the spending side, a big contributor would have to
be the politically sensitive pension programs such as
Social Security. Reducing the cost of living increases,
boosting the retirement age and doubling the wages subject
to Social Security taxes would get about a third of it. The
other two-thirds would have to come from cutting the
defense budget | 3 | 21 | 7a77fb48f04047c4bbeabf88fbb7b273 | seat, they say. Since almost no one outside of Oregon
remembers the late Democratic congressman, he was the House
Ways and Means Committee chairman from 1975 to 1981 whose
Washington duties caused him to lose touch with his
sprawling district. He would have lost even if he had never
mentioned a value-added tax.
Yes, a consumption tax would be politically perilous.
Yet, this fall, voters and the press should ask every
congressional candidate if it’s acceptable, five years into
the recovery, to run a budget deficit that by some
estimates may reach almost $1 trillion. If not, they should
be forced to spell out precisely how they would get it to
$500 billion.
The alternatives then will seem more perilous than
Michael Graetz’s value-added tax.
( Albert R. Hunt is the executive editor for Washington
at Bloomberg News. The opinions expressed are his own.)
For Related News and Information:
To contact the writer of this column:
Albert R. Hunt in Washington at
ahunt1@bloomberg.net .
To contact the editor responsible for this column:
Max Berley at mberley@bloomberg.net . | 2010 | all-fiscal-roads-lead-u-s-to-a-value-added-tax-albert-r-hun |
|
Gazprom May Buy Sakhalin-1 Gas for Russian Far East | ChristianSchmollinger | 2007-09-04T09:41:45Z | http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2007-09-04/gazprom-may-buy-sakhalin-1-gas-for-russian-far-east-update2-.html | 9 | 4 | 523ee2e0cdffd277616a8181dea5e4a085e4ff95 | OAO Gazprom, Russia's state-run
natural-gas exporter, may buy gas from the Sakhalin-1 project to
sell domestically, said Victor Timoshilov, eastern projects
coordinator for the company.
Russian government officials told Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) in August
not to plan on exporting natural gas from the $17 billion
Sakhalin-1 venture it operates and instead to work more closely
with Gazprom to ensure domestic demand for the fuel is met.
``Gazprom can be instrumental to help that these priorities
are met,'' Timoshilov said at the Sakhalin Oil and Gas Conference
in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk. ``We can purchase the fuel and then sell it
throughout the Russian Far East .''
Sakhalin-1 has escaped much of the pressure that Royal Dutch
Shell (RDSA) 's Sakhalin-2 oil and gas project faced from Russian
environmental inspectors last year. Shell and its partners sold
Gazprom a 50 percent stake plus one share for $7.45 billion in
April.
Exxon is ``looking at all options'' for the sale of its
natural gas, said James Taylor , executive vice president for Exxon
Neftegaz Ltd., the subsidiary that operates Sakhalin-1, at the
conference.
`Top Priority'
Sakhalin-1 will be the only source to supply gas to Russia's
eastern regions until ``at least'' 2015, Gazprom said in an e-mailed statement today. Supplying domestic customers is a ``top
priority'' of the government's plan approved in June to develop
gas production and transportation in the Far East and eastern
Siberia, the company said.
The Sakhalin-2 venture, which plans to start producing
Russia's first liquefied natural gas next year, has contracts to
sell almost all of its output to utilities in Japan and Korea .
Irving, Texas-based Exxon owns 30 percent Sakhalin-1, which
began pumping oil in 2005 to reach production of 250,000 barrels a
day in February. SODECO of Japan also owns 30 percent and OAO
Rosneft and India 's Oil & Natural Gas Corp. (ONGC) each own 20 percent.
The development is comprised of the Chayvo, Odoptu and
Arkutun Dagi fields, which lie under seas choked with ice for half
the year. The fields are estimated to hold up to 2.3 billion
barrels of oil and 485 billion cubic meters of natural gas.
Exxon signed a production sharing agreement with the Russian
government for Sakhalin-1 in 1996, which allows it to export
natural gas outside of Gazprom's monopoly.
To contact the reporter on this story:
Christian Schmollinger in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk at
christian.s@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Reinie Booysen at rbooysen@bloomberg.net | 2007 | gazprom-may-buy-sakhalin-1-gas-for-russian-far-east-update2- |
N.Z. Oil & Gas Says Taranui Well to Be Abandoned | GavinEvans | 2007-09-04T05:15:08Z | http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2007-09-04/n-z-oil-gas-says-taranui-well-to-be-abandoned-update2-.html | 9 | 4 | 487a3a5de5377753aa603c9071a891527eeec0f9 | New Zealand Oil & Gas Ltd. (NZO) , the
nation's biggest publicly traded explorer, said the Taranui-1
well off the country's Taranaki coast contained only minor oil
shows and will be plugged and abandoned.
``Logs recorded while drilling indicate that there are no
potentially productive intervals present,'' the Wellington-based
company said in a statement to the New Zealand stock exchange.
Taranui, 30 kilometers (19 miles) off the west coast of New
Zealand's North Island , had been estimated to contain 5 million
to 15 million barrels of oil. It was targeted as an add-on to
the nearby 32 million-barrel Tui field, developed in partnership
with Australian Worldwide Exploration Ltd. and Mitsui & Co.
N.Z. Oil & Gas owned 12.5 percent of Taranui. Its stock
fell 2.9 percent to NZ$1.00 at the 5 p.m. close of trading in
Wellington.
Last month, the partners also abandoned the Hector well 65
kilometers southwest of Tui. The prospect had been estimated to
hold about 60 million barrels of oil.
To contact the reporter on this story:
Gavin Evans in Wellington at
gavinevans@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Reinie Booysen at rbooysen@bloomberg.net | 2007 | n-z-oil-gas-says-taranui-well-to-be-abandoned-update2- |
TA Associates Buys Stake in Bleichroeder Holdings | SreeVidyaBhaktavatsalam | 2007-09-04T21:17:27Z | http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2007-09-04/ta-associates-buys-stake-in-bleichroeder-holdings-update3-.html | 9 | 4 | c92a60689f779c37d218e2a9c83171040cd01f48 | TA Associates , the private-equity
firm with stakes in a dozen investment companies, bought a
minority position in Arnhold and S. Bleichroeder Holdings Inc.,
manager of First Eagle mutual funds. Terms weren't disclosed.
The founding-family shareholders of New York-based ASB
Holdings will remain majority owners, the firms said today in a
statement. The transaction provides funds for equity incentives
to Arnhold and S. Bleichroeder's employees.
TA Associates, formed 39 years ago to invest in fast-growing companies, has bought stakes in three investment
managers this year as higher assets and rising stock markets
have increased industry profits. In March, the Boston-based firm
purchased a stake in K2 Advisors LLC of Stamford , Connecticut ,
which invests clients' money in hedge funds. Also in March, TA
Associates acquired the Jupiter mutual-fund unit of German bank
Commerzbank AG for $1.45 billion.
``It's part of a deliberate strategy to make more
investments in asset-management companies as they have recurring
revenues and rapid growth,'' Roger Kafker, a managing director
at TA Associates, said today in an interview. ``Even during
stock market declines, they stay profitable because there is a
natural trend towards saving more money.''
Investment-management acquisitions rose 30 percent globally
to 112 in the first half of 2007, according to Putnam Lovell NBF
Securities. The value of those deals more than doubled to $32
billion, largely driven by private-equity buyers.
Keystone, Affiliated Managers
TA Associates made its first asset-management deal in 1989
with its investment in Keystone Group, a Boston-based mutual-fund distributor and investment adviser. TA Associates, which
manages $10 billion, has since invested in money managers
including Beverly, Massachusetts-based Affiliated Managers Group
Inc. (AMG) and Amvescap Plc's Aim Investments in Houston.
Arnhold and S. Bleichroeder manages $45 billion in assets,
including the First Eagle funds, which is home to stock-picker
Jean-Marie Eveillard. The company also manages hedge funds and
separately managed accounts for institutions and wealthy
individuals. Arnhold and S. Bleichroeder was formed from the
merger of two German financing firms in 1931. It shifted to New
York in 1937.
Hedda Nadler, a spokeswoman for Arnhold and S.
Bleichroeder, and TA Associates spokeswoman Marcia O'Carroll
declined to comment on the terms.
To contact the reporter on this story:
Sree Vidya Bhaktavatsalam in Boston at
sbhaktavatsa@bloomberg.net .
To contact the editor on this story:
Larry Edelman in Boston at
ledelman3@bloomberg.net . | 2007 | a-associates-buys-stake-in-bleichroeder-holdings-update3- |
Alcoa to Invest $42 Million to Improve Massena, N.Y., Plant | By Dan Hart | 2013-03-30T18:32:08Z | http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-03-30/alcoa-to-invest-42-million-to-improve-massena-n-y-plant.html | 3 | 30 | c5dc65d826b02fe60a8880953199dbf5458c8d71 | Alcoa Inc. (AA) agreed to invest $42
million to prepare for the upgrade of a smelter at its Massena,
New York, aluminum plant, as part of a long-term power supply
accord with the New York Power Authority. The largest U.S. aluminum producer also will provide $10
million for a North Country Economic Development Fund, New York
Governor Andrew Cuomo said in a statement. The agreement is
expected to help keep at least 900 jobs at the site, the
governor said. The project is awaiting approval from the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency, which put forth a plan for
cleanup of the Grasse River. The decision is expected next
month, the governor’s office said. As part of a long-term power supply agreement with NYPA in
2008, Alcoa must invest at least $600 million to modernize the
Massena operations, the statement said. Alcoa agreed to set up
the fund to boost economic development in New York’s St.
Lawrence, Franklin, Essex, Jefferson, Lewis, Hamilton and
Herkimer counties as well as on the Akwesasne Mohawk
reservation. The new power contract will begin January 2014, and extends
to 2045, with a 10-year option to extend service , Cuomo said in
the statement. Massena is about 400 miles (643 kilometers) north-northwest
of New York City on the border with the provinces of Ontario and
Quebec. To contact the reporter on this story:
Dan Hart in Washington at
dahart@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Sylvia Wier at swier@bloomberg.net | 2013 | alcoa-to-invest-42-million-to-improve-massena-n-y-plan |
N.Z. Cricketer Jesse Ryder Out of Induced Coma After Bar Assault | By Ben Sharples | 2013-03-30T05:24:56Z | http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-03-30/n-z-cricketer-jesse-ryder-out-of-induced-coma-after-bar-assault.html | 3 | 30 | 599d056efde480e1944f838234c5d4b9ad51f59c | New Zealand cricketer Jesse Ryder
is out of an induced coma and off a ventilator as he recovers
from an assault outside a bar in Christchurch, according to a
statement from his manager, Aaron Klee. Police have arrested and charged two men, aged 20 and 37,
over the assault, and they will appear in Christchurch District
Court on April 4, New Zealand Police said in statements on its
website yesterday. To contact the reporter on this story:
Ben Sharples in Melbourne at
bsharples@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Stanley James at
sjames8@bloomberg.net | 2013 | n-z-cricketer-jesse-ryder-out-of-induced-coma-after-bar-assau |
Landslide in Tibet Traps 83 Miners, No Survivors or Bodies Found | By Bloomberg News | 2013-03-30T06:39:52Z | http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-03-30/landslide-in-tibet-traps-83-miners-no-survivors-or-bodies-found.html | 3 | 30 | c837627bc3b80cdf36915b435e02a4b2a83f7b46 | A landslide at a Chinese-run mine
in Tibet trapped 83 workers, and after 28 hours rescuers have
yet to find any survivors or recover bodies, the official Xinhua
news agency reported today. The chances of survival for those buried are slim as rescue
efforts are hindered by the high altitude and low temperatures,
Xinhua said. Two of those trapped are Tibetan and the rest are
Han Chinese migrant workers from neighboring provinces of Yunnan,
Guizhou and Sichuan. President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang have ordered
every effort be made to rescue the workers, Xinhua said. The Jiama copper and gold mine in Maizhokunggar county near
Lhasa is the Chinese government’s biggest project to tap mineral
resources in Tibet, with planned investment of 5 billion yuan
($805 million) through 2015, according to the industry
ministry’s website. The mine is operated by the Huatailong Mining Development
Co. To contact Bloomberg News staff for this story:
Xin Zhou in Beijing at
xzhou68@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Jim McDonald at
jmcdonald8@bloomberg.net | 2013 | andslide-in-tibet-traps-83-miners-no-survivors-or-bodies-found |
Kenya Supreme Court Upholds Kenyatta’s Presidential Vote Win | By Eric Ombok and Sarah McGregor | 2013-03-30T19:56:40Z | http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-03-30/kenya-supreme-court-upholds-kenyatta-s-presidential-vote-win.html | 3 | 30 | e6eb765a158242b2bcc4355d253b2ccd | Kenya ’s Supreme Court upheld Uhuru Kenyatta’s victory in this month’s presidential election,
dismissing a petition from defeated candidate Raila Odinga for
the result to be annulled, The court “reached a unanimous decision on all the four
issues for determination,” Chief Justice Willy Mutunga said,
reading a ruling on behalf of the six-judge bench in the
capital, Nairobi. Kenyatta and his deputy, William Ruto , “were
validly elected,” he said. The decision clears the way for the inauguration of
Kenyatta, who is facing a separate legal challenge at the
International Criminal Court on charges of crimes against
humanity. Kenyatta, Ruto, and a Kenyan radio presenter are
accused by the ICC of orchestrating violence after the last
presidential election five years ago. They all maintain they are
innocent and will fight the charges. “I want to assure all Kenyans, including those who did not
vote for the Jubilee Coalition, and indeed even those who
challenged the validity of my election, that my government will
work with, and serve all Kenyans without any discrimination
whatsoever,” Kenyatta said in an e-mailed statement. Kenyatta extended an olive branch to Odinga and other
competitors to join him “so that we can work together in the
interest of the well-being of our people.” Police used tear gas to disperse groups of youth burning
tires and blocking roads in Kisumu after the verdict was read.
Widespread fighting engulfed the western port city after the
2007 election. “The situation at the moment is under control and police
are patrolling,” Elisha Cherono, head of the administrative
police in Kisumu, said by phone today. Fair, Transparent Kenyatta, 51, won this year’s election with 50.07 percent
of votes cast, surpassing by about 8,000 ballots the absolute
majority required to avoid a runoff, while Odinga got 43.3
percent. More than 12 million Kenyans voted, a record 86 percent
turnout, according to the country’s electoral agency. The vote “was conducted in a free, fair, transparent and
credible manner,” Mutunga said. Odinga, 68, said the March 4 vote should be nullified and
new elections held because of the failure of electronic systems
including finger-print identification readers and the mobile
phone-based transmission of provisional results. Turnout
surpassed the number of registered voters at some polling
stations and some return forms were doctored, he said. “I wish the president-elect, Uhuru Kenyatta, and his team,
well,” Odinga said after the ruling. “Casting doubt on the
judgment of the court could lead to higher political and
economic uncertainty, and make it more difficult for our country
to move forward.” Not Fraud The ruling means discrepancies pointed out by Odinga
“don’t amount to enough to allow Odinga’s petition to
succeed,” Mwalimu Mati, head of the independent watchdog Mars
Group, said in a phone interview from Nairobi after the verdict.
“They indicated institutional challenges which can be remedied
and not corruption or fraud.” The court had ordered forms to be scrutinized from all
polling stations. The Registrar of the Supreme Court said in a
report yesterday that it examined documents from 18,000 out of
33,400 sites and found some discrepancies including some sites
with missing forms. British Prime Minister David Cameron congratulated Kenyatta
on his victory and urged Kenyans to accept the decision of the
court, according to an e-mailed statement from the U.K. High
Commission in Nairobi. The U.S. government also congratulated Kenyatta and
commended Odinga for accepting the verdict, urging all of
Kenya’s citizens to do the same. “Now is the time for Kenyans to come together to fully
implement the political, institutional and accountability
reforms envisioned in the Kenyan constitution,” a statement
from the U.S. Office of the Press Secretary said. Allegations of vote-rigging by Odinga after he lost his
campaign for the presidency in December 2007 led to two months
of ethnic clashes that killed more than 1,100 people and cut
economic growth to 1.5 percent in 2008 from 7 percent the year
before. Kenya is East Africa ’s largest economy and the regional
hub for companies including Google Inc. and Toyota Motor Corp. (7203) No Appeal The Supreme Court’s decision on a presidential election
petition is final and no appeal is possible, according to the
constitution. Kenyatta is set to be sworn in by April 9. Kenyatta’s trial at The Hague-based court is scheduled to
begin in July. He is fighting to have the ICC prosecutor’s
office drop the charges, as it did earlier this month for his
co-accused Francis Muthaura, the former head of Kenya’s civil
service, after a key witness recanted his testimony. To contact the reporters on this story:
Eric Ombok in Nairobi at
eombok@bloomberg.net ;
Sarah McGregor in Nairobi at
smcgregor5@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Nasreen Seria at
nseria@bloomberg.net | 2013 | kenya-supreme-court-upholds-kenyatta-s-presidential-vote-win |
Louisville, Michigan Advance to NCAA Tournament Regional Finals | By Eben Novy-Williams | 2013-03-30T02:16:49Z | http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-03-30/louisville-michigan-advance-to-ncaa-tournament-regional-finals.html | 3 | 30 | 6d618d67ac13b35b04f19d25a3eca16a65b7e004 | The University of Michigan and
University of Louisville advanced to the regional finals at the
National Collegiate Athletic Association basketball men’s
tournament. The Wolverines beat Kansas 87-85 in overtime at Cowboys
Stadium in Arlington, Texas , behind 23 points from guard Trey
Burke, who forced overtime with a three-point shot with 4.2
seconds remaining in regulation. Michigan never led in the
second half and outscored Kansas 11-9 in the extra frame. Michigan advances to the South regional final on March 31
in Arlington to face the winner of tonight’s game between
Florida and Florida Gulf Coast. Lousiville guard Russ Smith scored a game-high 31 points as
the Cardinals, the top overall seed in the tournament, beat
Oregon 77-69 for their 13th consecutive win. Louisville will
play the winner of Michigan State and Duke in the Midwest
regional final in Indianapolis. To contact the reporter on this story:
Eben Novy-Williams in New York at
enovywilliam@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Michael Sillup at
msillup@bloomberg.net | 2013 | ouisville-michigan-advance-to-ncaa-tournament-regional-finals |
Michigan Wins in Overtime, to Face Florida in Regional Final | By Eben Novy-Williams | 2013-03-30T05:45:37Z | http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-03-30/michigan-wins-in-overtime-to-face-florida-in-regional-final.html | 3 | 30 | e4045c9eb0104f0dbfc7d08a50d3e412 | The University of Michigan won the
first overtime game of the men’s college basketball national
championship, while the University of Florida ended Florida Gulf
Coast University ’s unprecedented tournament run. The No. 4 seed in the 16-team South region, Michigan ’s
Wolverines rallied from a 14-point second-half deficit yesterday
to defeat the top-seeded University of Kansas 87-85 in overtime
behind 23 points from guard Trey Burke. Michigan advances to the
regional finals of the National Collegiate Athletic Association
tournament to play third-seeded Florida , which beat Florida Gulf
Coast 62-50. “We just stuck with it,” Burke said in a televised
interview after the game. “We’re in those situations every day
in practice and we just try to find ways to come back and win.
I’m so proud of my team.” Florida’s Gators took advantage of a 16-2 run to close the
first half and cruised to a 12-point victory in Arlington, Texas .
Florida Gulf Coast, the first No. 15 seed ever to advance to the
round of 16, committed 19 turnovers and attempted 44 field goals,
13 fewer than Florida. In the first game of the evening, top-seeded Louisville
beat Oregon 77-69 in Indianapolis to advance to the regional
finals for the fourth time in the past six seasons. Cardinals
guard Russ Smith matched a career-high with 31 points as
Louisville, the only No. 1 seed remaining in the tournament, led
by at least six points through the entire second half. Winners of 13 consecutive games dating back to Feb. 14,
Louisville will face second-seeded Duke in the Midwest regional
finals tomorrow. Blue Devils guard Seth Curry scored 29 points
as Duke defeated Michigan State 71-61 in Indianapolis. The win
marks the 13th regional finals appearance for Blue Devils coach
Mike Krzyzewski. “Seth Curry put us on his back offensively,” Krzyzewski
said in a televised interview after the game. “And then
defensively we played as a unit.” Michigan never led in the second half against Kansas , tying
the game with 4.2 seconds remaining on a three-point shot from
Burke. The Jayhawks blew a 10-point lead with 2:53 to play and
missed shots to win at the end of regulation and overtime. Syracuse will play Marquette at 4:30 p.m. today in the East
regional final in Washington , D.C. The Orange defeated the
region’s top-seeded Indiana on March 28, while the Golden Eagles
topped second-seeded Miami. Ohio State will face ninth-seeded Wichita State, the
lowest-seeded team remaining in the tournament, in the West
regional final tonight at 7:05 p.m. (Eastern Daylight Time) in
Los Angeles. The Buckeyes, a No. 2 seed, rallied from an 11-
point first-half deficit to beat Arizona two nights ago, while
the Shockers beat La Salle to advance to the program’s first
regional finals since 1981. To contact the reporter on this story:
Eben Novy-Williams in New York at
enovywilliam@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Michael Sillup at
msillup@bloomberg.net | 2013 | ichigan-wins-in-overtime-to-face-florida-in-regional-fina |
Indonesia Leader Takes Over Ruling Party as Support Fades | By Berni Moestafa | 2013-03-30T21:15:15Z | http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-03-30/indonesia-leader-takes-over-ruling-party-as-support-fades.html | 3 | 30 | baf85ccda26ce8d4a2c6b9981bd346f00a38ecff | Indonesia’s ruling Democrat Party
selected the country’s president, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, as
chairman as it seek to overcome corruption probes and revive its
popularity before elections. The party’s leadership chose Yudhoyono to succeed Anas
Urbaningrum at an extraordinary congress in Bali yesterday, said
Transport Minister Evert Erenst Mangindaan, who led the meeting.
Urbaningrum, who was named chairman in May 2010, resigned last
month after becoming at least the third senior party official in
less than two years to be investigated by the country’s anti-
corruption agency. Yudhoyono, who must step down after his maximum second-
consecutive presidential term ends next year, may help the party
regain credibility, said Kuskridho Ambardi, a political analyst
at the University of Gadjah Mada. “The SBY factor is still
attractive to some voters,” Mada said text message, referring
to Yudhoyono’s initials. The Democrat Party’s approval rating sank to 8.3 percent in
February, according to a survey by Saiful Muljani Research &
Consulting. It won 20.85 percent of the national vote in the
2009 legislative election and 148 of parliament’s 560 seats. Yudhoyono’s decade at the helm of Southeast Asia’s biggest
economy is nearing an end as a trade deficit pummels the rupiah
and the economy expands at the slowest pace in more than two
years. Yudhoyono will serve two years at most as chairman,
Mangindaan said. Parliamentary elections are scheduled for next
April, followed by the July ballot for president. Corruption Probes Former Democratic Party treasurer Muhammad Nazaruddin was
sentenced in April 2012 to almost five years prison in a bribery
case involving building projects for the 2011 Southeast Asian
Games. Youth & Sports Minister Andi Mallarangeng resigned in
December after he was named a suspect in a case related to a
sports center in Bogor, West Java. Chairman Urbaningrum was
named a suspect in the same case last month. Both men denied any
wrongdoing. Rival parties are gaining support. Former President
Megawati Soekarnoputri, chairwoman of the Indonesian Democratic
Party of Struggle, is leading the presidential race at 20.7
percent, followed by Golkar Party Chairman Aburizal Bakrie at
20.3 percent, according to a March survey by the Indonesian
Survey Circle, the Jakarta Post reported March 18. “If we look at the surveys, none of the popular candidates
are from the Democrat Party,” Fauzi Ichsan, Jakarta-based
economist at Standard Chartered Plc (STAN) , said in an interview before
yesterday’s meeting in Bali. “So whatever the outcome is at the
congress, its relevancy to the presidential election will be
small.” Yudhoyono Victories Yudhoyono has had some recent victories. A parliamentary
committee approved his choice for central bank chief, Finance
Minister Agus Martowardojo, by a vote of 46 to seven on March
26. Martowardojo’s plan to raise fuel prices was scuttled last
year by violent protests including an advance on parliament. The nomination of Martowardojo as governor of Bank
Indonesia (BBRI) may be an attempt to sideline him from government
decisions and “open the door for a more profligate approach to
fiscal policy ahead of the election,” Gareth Leather, a London-
based Asia economist at Capital Economics Ltd., said in a March
11 report. To contact the reporter on this story:
Berni Moestafa in Jakarta at
bmoestafa@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Greg Ahlstrand at
gahlstrand@bloomberg.net | 2013 | indonesia-leader-takes-over-ruling-party-as-support-fades |
Afghanistan’s Karzai Heads to Qatar to Discuss Taliban Office | By Eltaf Najafizada | 2013-03-30T12:21:10Z | http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-03-30/afghanistan-s-karzai-heads-to-qatar-to-discuss-taliban-office.html | 3 | 30 | 28ec54e6fe506ac5fb47364e1b39bdcd9d7bb8ca | Afghan President Hamid Karzai is
traveling to Qatar today to discuss the opening of a Taliban
office there that will facilitate peace talks, according to his
spokesman, Aimal Faizi. The leader’s agenda includes “issues of peace efforts with
Taliban and the opening of an office for them in Qatar,” Faizi
said by phone. He will meet with the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al Thani, and other senior officials, according an
e-mailed statement from Karzai’s office. Afghan Foreign Minister Zalmai Rassoul and Salahuddin
Rabbani, chairman of the country’s high peace council, are
traveling with Karzai on the two-day trip. Having an office with a direct line to Taliban militants
may open the way for peace talks with Afghan officials and help
end a 12-year conflict that started after the Sept. 11, 2001
attacks on the U.S., Jawid Kohistani, a Kabul-based political
analyst, said by phone. Karzai is trying “to guarantee the
whole country’s security,” he said. To contact the reporter on this story:
Eltaf Najafizada in Pakistan at
enajafizada1@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Peter Hirschberg at
phirschberg@bloomberg.net | 2013 | afghanistan-s-karzai-heads-to-qatar-to-discuss-taliban-office |
Sabic Leads Saudi Arabian Shares Down First Time in Five Days | By Deema Almashabi | 2013-03-30T12:42:35Z | http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-03-30/sabic-leads-saudi-arabian-shares-down-first-time-in-five-days.html | 3 | 30 | e1077c699088a35d61ce1e4ecc35a259f80a7490 | Saudi Arabia’s benchmark stock
index snapped a four-day advance, led down by petrochemical
companies. The Tadawul All Share Index slid 0.3 percent to close at
7,157.64 in Riyadh. Saudi Basic Industries Corp. (SABIC) , the world’s
largest petrochemical maker, declined 0.5 percent to 97 riyals,
the lowest level since March 25. National Industrialization Co. (NIC) ,
the petrochemicals maker known as Tasnee, fell 1.6 percent, the
most since Jan. 21, to 31 riyals. The gauge of the Arab world’s
biggest stock exchange has added 5.2 percent this year. “The Saudi index closed in an up-trend last week at its
highest level since May and this week is the last week before
first-quarter earnings start coming out,” said Turki Fadaak,
head of research and consultancy at Albilad Investment Co. “I
think the movement of the market is going to be volatile during
the week until earning results.” Saudi Arabia ’s stock exchange is the only Persian Gulf
bourse open on Saturdays. To contact the reporter on this story:
Deema Almashabi in Riyadh at
dalmashabi@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Shaji Mathew at
shajimathew@bloomberg.net | 2013 | sabic-leads-saudi-arabian-shares-down-first-time-in-five-days |
Belgian 2013 Budget Deal to Shrink Deficit, Lower Debt | By Rebecca Christie | 2013-03-30T13:24:53Z | http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-03-30/belgian-2013-budget-deal-to-shrink-deficit-lower-debt.html | 3 | 30 | 6e1670e76b89738ceb2fdb165d6aa4d8493a6710 | Belgium will cut spending, raise
taxes and sell state assets as part of a 2013 budget deal that
aims to reduce debt to 100 percent of gross domestic product,
the government said. The budget will reduce the deficit to 2.46 percent of GDP,
including a structural shortfall of 1.8 percent, the government
said today in Brussels. The deal calls for 1.4 billion euros
($1.8 billion) in structural adjustments to lower the deficit,
along with about 1 billion euros in one-off asset sales over the
next year to meet the debt target. “Budget discipline is not a goal in itself,” Prime
Minister Elio Di Rupo said at a press conference in Brussels.
Rather, it’s “a means to overcome the crisis,” he said. Belgium’s budget deficit surpassed European Union targets
last year as a shrinking economy curbed tax revenue and money
was used to replenish Dexia SA (DEXB) ’s capital. The deficit widened to
3.9 percent of GDP in 2012 from 3.7 percent the year before, the
Brussels-based National Bank of Belgium said in a March 28
statement. The Belgian economy shrank 0.2 percent last year. Di Rupo
said the 2013 budget aims to address a “difficult” situation,
meet European targets and help small and medium-sized
businesses. “Since November 2012, the deterioration of economic growth
and thus the drastic decrease in receipts has had a considerable
impact on our public finances,” Di Rupo said. Today’s budget
agreement aims to “reinforce the fundamentals that are
necessary to leave the crisis,” he said. Asset Sales Belgium will aim to complete the asset sales this year,
Finance Minister Koen Geens told reporters today. He declined to
give details of the planned sales so as not to affect pricing. The Belgian Parliament will need to approve proposed tax
measures , Geens said. Most of the other measures won’t require
legislative action. “There will be no major hurdle in order to realize these
measures,” Geens said. “As far as the tax measures are
concerned, I will need new legislation before the summer.” Belgium is aiming to achieve “structural equilibrium” in
its finances by 2015, Geens said. To contact the reporter on this story:
Rebecca Christie in Brussels at
rchristie4@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story:
James Hertling at
jhertling@bloomberg.net | 2013 | belgian-2013-budget-deal-to-shrink-deficit-lower-deb |
Duke Beats Michigan State 71-61, Advance to NCAA Regional Finals | By Eben Novy-Williams | 2013-03-30T04:17:09Z | http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-03-30/duke-beats-michigan-state-71-61-advance-to-ncaa-regional-finals.html | 3 | 30 | 47625c8313c4b79621f5818a9429060ad01c7e27 | Duke University defeated Michigan
State University 71-61 to advance to the regional finals at the
National Collegiate Athletic Association men’s basketball
tournament. Duke guard Seth Curry scored a game-high 29 points as the
Blue Devils used a 9-0 run in the middle of the second half to
pull away from the Spartans at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. Duke advances to the Midwest regional final on March 31 in
Indianapolis, facing the Louisville Cardinals who beat Oregon
earlier in the evening. It will be the 13th regional finals
appearance for Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski, who has led the Blue
Devils to the Final Four 11 times. Elsewhere in the NCAA tournament, Michigan beat Kansas in
overtime and will face the winner of Florida and Florida Gulf
Coast in the South regional final. To contact the reporter on this story:
Eben Novy-Williams in New York at
enovywilliam@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Michael Sillup at
msillup@bloomberg.net | 2013 | duke-beats-michigan-state-71-61-advance-to-ncaa-regional-finals |
Argentina One-Sixth Bond Offer Seen as ‘Thumbing Nose’ | By Bob Van Voris | 2013-03-30T16:05:38Z | http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-03-30/argentina-one-sixth-bond-offer-seen-as-thumbing-nose-.html
Argentina , which defaulted on a
record $95 billion in sovereign debt in 2001, proposed giving
holders of $1.3 billion of the repudiated bonds about one-sixth
of what a U.S. judge has said they’re entitled to receive | 3 | 30 | 19bf612ac23b46f29c473887670188b1 | Capital $720 million. That compares with an estimated value of
$120.6 million for NML under one of the payment alternatives the
nation is proposing, the so-called discount option. “Argentina’s proposal accounts for past-due amounts to
bring the debt current, provides for a fair return going forward,
and also gives an upside in the form of annual payments if
Argentina’s economy grows,” the country’s lawyers said in its
letter. “The proposal fulfills the court’s dual objectives to
satisfy the pari passu clause: non-discrimination in payment
priority and equal treatment among bondholders.” New Bonds In 2005 and 2010, Argentina offered its creditors new bonds,
at a deep discount. About 91 percent of bondholders agreed to
the debt restructuring, or exchange. NML and other holdouts have tried to use U.S. courts to
enforce their rights under the original bond agreements. In its letter to the appellate court yesterday, Argentina
estimates that NML paid $48.7 million for the bonds in 2008. “The formula adopted by the district court would cause
great harm to the exchange bondholders while giving plaintiffs a
return that is exorbitant on its face,” Argentina said. Argentina’s top leaders previously vowed never to pay the
“vulture” investors, many of which bought the distressed bonds
in hopes of turning a profit. Argentina’s legislature in 2005
passed a so-called lock law barring payment on the defaulted
bonds. Par Option Under Argentina’s proposal, a so-called par option, which
is intended for small accountholders, would give bondholders new
bonds due in 2038 in a nominal face amount equal to the amount
of their defaulted debt, plus unpaid interest up to the end of
2001. The par bonds would pay interest that rises from 2.5
percent to 5.25 percent a year over the life of the bonds. They
would also receive a one-time cash payment to compensate for
interest they would have earned if the bonds had been issued on
Dec. 31, 2003, according to the letter. The holders would receive additional payments when the
Argentine gross domestic product growth exceeds about 3 percent
a year, the government said in the letter. The discount option would give bondholders discount bonds
due in 2033, less than the defaulted amount, with an 8.28
percent annual rate and an increase in principal over time. They
would be compensated for past due interest on those bonds with
new bonds due in 2017 that pay 8.75 percent annually, according
to the letter. The holders would also receive GDP-tied payments, according
to the proposal. No Better Terms “It is our hope that the plaintiffs will finally join the
92% of creditors, accept this fair and equitable offer and put
this difficult period to rest,” said Sean O’Shea, a lawyer for
the exchange bondholders, in an e-mailed statement. Argentina said its proposal wouldn’t allow the plaintiffs
in the lawsuit to force it to offer payment on better terms than
those received by bondholders who agreed to the restructuring. Eugenio Bruno, an attorney at the Buenos Aires law firm
Estudio Garrido, said in an e-mail that Argentina’s proposal is
similar to past debt-restructuring offers by the country that
have been rejected by NML and the other holdouts. If the government were to offer a better deal, it would
trigger provisions allowing holders of the exchange bonds to
take advantage of more favorable terms offered to the holdouts,
he said. Former Governor Bruno represents Alfonso Prat-Gay, a former governor of
Argentina’s central bank, who submitted a brief in the case
supporting his country’s effort to overturn the lower U.S. court
ruling. Bruno said he also advises exchange bondholders and
holdouts who aren’t involved in litigation. In November, U.S. District Judge Thomas Griesa in Manhattan
said Argentina must pay the entire $1.3 billion claimed by the
creditors in the lawsuit whenever it made any payment on its
restructured debt. The issue was argued before the appeals court
on Feb. 27 in Manhattan. On March 1, the appellate court ordered Argentina to
provide a suggested formula for paying the creditors, led by NML
Capital, which refused to take the restructured bonds at a deep
discount. Argentina’s lawyer, in the Feb. 27 hearing, “appeared to
propose” an alternative to the payment formula devised by
Griesa, according to the appeals court. The three-judge panel
gave Argentina a final chance to influence its decision. The judges may ask for a response from the creditors to
yesterday’s filing or come to a decision without one. Court’s Requirements The appellate judges said Argentina must tell them how and
when it proposes to make current its payments on the defaulted
bonds and the rate it proposes to pay. The panel also sought
assurances that Argentina’s government would take the necessary
actions to make the payments. In a related case, the U.S. Court of Appeals said March 26
that it won’t grant a full-court reconsideration of an earlier
ruling. In that decision, a three-judge panel barred Argentina
from treating restructured-debt holders more favorably than
holders of the repudiated debt. Joshua Rosner , an analyst at Graham Fisher & Co., said in
an e-mailed note this morning that Argentina’s last minute
proposal in the current appeal amounted to the South American
nation “ignoring (even thumbing its nose at)” the court. The lower court case is NML Capital Ltd. v. Republic of
Argentina, 08-06978, U.S. District Court, Southern District of
New York (Manhattan). The appeal is NML Capital Ltd. v. Republic
of Argentina, 12-00105, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second
Circuit (New York). To contact the reporter on this story:
Bob Van Voris in the U.S. Court of Appeals in New York
at rvanvoris@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Michael Hytha at
mhytha@bloomberg.net | 2013 | argentina-one-sixth-bond-offer-seen-as-thumbing-nose- |
Animal Kingdom, 2011 Kentucky Derby Champ, Wins Dubai World Cup | By Bob Bensch | 2013-03-31T04:01:00Z | http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-03-30/animal-kingdom-2011-derby-champ-wins-dubai-world-cup-correct-.html | 3 | 30 | 3dbb6fa179007f6b8ab16712faff4b26054629a7 | Animal Kingdom, winner of the 2011
Kentucky Derby , ran to a two-length victory in the $10 million
Dubai World Cup , the world’s richest horse race. Animal Kingdom, ridden by Joel Rosario with 11-2 odds,
captured the 1 1/4-mile event at Meydan Racecourse in a time of
two minutes, 03.21 seconds. The 5-year-old is the first American
horse to win the World Cup since Well Armed in 2009. “Turning for home, he was looking around,” said Rosario.
“I was hoping I had enough horse left because it’s a long
stretch.” Red Cadeaux, at 25-1, was second, with 10-1 shot Planteur
third in the 12-horse field. Barry Irwin’s Team Valor sold a majority interest in Animal
Kingdom to John Messara’s Arrowfield Stud, based north of Sydney
in Scone, Australia . The stallion, with $8.4 million in lifetime
winnings, will begin his stud career in Australia in September. Royal Delta set the early pace ahead of Side Glance, Animal
Kingdom and 11-4 favorite Hunter’s Light. Rosario took Animal
Kingdom to the front with about 2 ½ furlongs left and held off a
late charge from Red Cadeaux along the rail for the win. Hunter’s Light faded and finished back in the pack.
Defending champion Monterosso was scratched from the race
earlier yesterday after becoming lame. Animal Kingdom won the Kentucky Derby, the first leg of U.S.
racing’s Triple Crown, as a 20-1 longshot. He was favored in the
remaining two races, but finished second at the Preakness Stakes
and sixth at the Belmont Stakes. To contact the reporter on this story:
Bob Bensch in London at
bbensch@bloomberg.net . To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Christopher Elser at celser@bloomberg.net . | 2013 | animal-kingdom-2011-derby-champ-wins-dubai-world-cup-correct- |
Disney to Release Separate ‘Iron Man 3’ Version in China | By Anthony Palazzo | 2013-03-30T03:06:29Z | http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-03-30/disney-to-release-separate-iron-man-3-version-in-china.html | 3 | 30 | 750e95d33cb2895ab5371505bcfed6b1a0bb4428 | Walt Disney Co. (DIS) will release a
separate version of its Marvel comic-book movie “Iron Man 3”
in China , an unexpected plot twist for Hollywood’s most
prominent collaboration yet in the country. Disney won’t seek official Chinese co-production status for
“Iron Man 3,” according to an e-mailed statement. The film,
set to debut in the U.S. on May 3, was partly filmed in China
with partner DMG Entertainment. A release date for the Chinese
version wasn’t announced. The decision, just over a month before “Iron Man 3” is
set to kick off the U.S. summer movie season, hints at the
challenges confronting Hollywood studios as they expand in
China’s government-controlled market, which surpassed Japan last
year as the biggest box office outside the U.S. The first two
“Iron Man” movies grossed a total $1.21 billion worldwide. The studio won’t comment beyond the statement about the
reasons for the decision, differences between the two versions
or when the Chinese movie will be released, Melissa Zukerman of
Principal Communications Group, a spokeswoman for Marvel
Studios, said. DMG, which produced 2012’s “Looper,” is marketing and
distributing the film in China, according to the statement.
Chinese actor Wang Xueqi will appear in both versions, and both
include footage filmed in Beijing in December. The Chinese version will feature actress Fan Bingbing and
will include bonus footage for the Chinese audience, according
to the statement. Disney added 0.6 percent to $56.80 on March 28 and has
climbed 14 percent this year . U.S. markets were closed March 29
for Good Friday. Chinese Movies China limits the number of foreign movies released into
theaters each year to about 34. U.S. studios have sought to
bring more movies in by making co-productions, which don’t count
against the quota. While the government censors all movies, co-productions
must meet additional requirements. For example, one-third of the
major actors must be Chinese, according to Robert Cain, who
writes the China Film Biz blog . Co-productions also require a
certain amount of Chinese cultural content, which could limit
the film’s appeal elsewhere, making co-production status less
attractive to the studio, he wrote in a March 7 blog post. Disney said in April 2012 it would co-produce “Iron Man
3” with DMG, which would make an investment in the production,
manage the Chinese co-production and jointly produce the film in
China, according to the statement at the time. To contact the reporter on this story:
Anthony Palazzo in Los Angeles at
apalazzo@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Anthony Palazzo at
apalazzo@bloomberg.net | 2013 | disney-to-release-separate-iron-man-3-version-in-china |
U.S. Envoy Tells Telegraph Further U.K. Defense Cuts a Concern | By Patricia Kuo | 2013-03-30T14:34:12Z | http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-03-30/u-s-envoy-tells-telegraph-further-u-k-defense-cuts-a-concern.html | 3 | 30 | fa8837dc70a071b6fc1212337ea42ed1fd112e9b | Louis Susman, the outgoing U.S.
ambassador to the U.K., said further cuts to Britain’s defense
spending would raise alarm for the Washington administration,
the Daily Telegraph reported. The U.S. would have to “review the situation” if the U.K.
were to make additional reductions in spending on top of cuts
agreed in 2010, as it would jeopardize the nation’s defense
capabilities, Susman, 75, told the newspaper in an interview.
The US. government is pushing Britain to continue defense
spending at 2 percent of gross domestic product, he said. To contact the reporter on this story:
Patricia Kuo in London at
pkuo2@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Faris Khan at
fkhan33@bloomberg.net | 2013 | u-s-envoy-tells-telegraph-further-u-k-defense-cuts-a-concern |
Napolitano Vows to Find Compromise Creating Italy Government | By Andrew Frye | 2013-03-30T15:02:19Z | http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-03-30/napolitano-vows-to-gain-a-compromise-creating-italian-government.html | 3 | 30 | 2c80955f2f1ef6285707f8c1351718fced4d2a4a | Italian President Giorgio Napolitano pledged to continue efforts to broker a parliamentary
compromise aimed at giving the country a new government and
denied he’s thinking about resigning. “I have come to the conclusion that, even though I am left
with very limited options to help the formation of a government,
I can until the last day at least try to create the most
favorable conditions toward unblocking a political situation
hardened by irreconcilable positions,” Napolitano said today at
a press conference in Rome . He will create two teams to try to
identify common ground on policy, he said. Napolitano is responsible for appointing the next prime
minister and must find a leader capable of bringing together a
majority of lawmakers in a divided parliament . The 87-year-old
head of state, whose seven-year term ends May 15, has struggled
to build a consensus among lawmakers since elections last month
left the upper house split into three blocs. Italy’s La Repubblica newspaper reported today that
Napolitano was considering resigning to make it easier for his
successor to form a government. Presidents in the final stages
of their mandates aren’t permitted to dissolve parliament and
call new elections, an option that would be available to the
next incumbent. Economic Stimulus Italy needs a government with a majority in parliament to
pass economic stimulus measures and guard against bond-market
speculation in the wake of the financial crisis in Cyprus .
Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti, who remains in office until
a new government is installed, can’t count on a majority in
parliament and has said he is eager for his mandate to expire. Italy is stuck in its fourth recession since 2001, and each
of the top three political forces has proposed tax cuts aimed at
spurring growth. Investors, who buy more than 30 billion euros
($38 billion) of bonds each month to finance Italy’s debt, are
counting on a deal that will ensure a government strong enough
to pass measures to boost the economy and manage the budget. Napolitano is seeking the help of the two teams after
failing to broker a compromise when he met individually with
leaders of the four biggest parliamentary groups yesterday. The
members of the teams may be announced today, the president’s
office said. Five Star The traditional balance of power in parliament was upset by
the emergence this year of the euro-skeptic Five Star Movement,
headed by ex-comic Beppe Grillo. Five Star won a quarter of the
votes in the Feb. 24-25 election, preventing either Pier Luigi Bersani’s Democratic Party or former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi’s People of Liberty party from securing the Senate. Napolitano took charge of negotiations on March 28 after
Bersani failed to muster a majority. “I will continue to act in the interests of the country
until the final day of my mandate, without hiding the
difficulties I’m still facing, and reiterating my confidence in
the chances of working through this crucial time for Italy ,”
Napolitano said. To contact the reporter on this story:
Andrew Frye in Rome at
afrye@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story:
James Hertling at
jhertling@bloomberg.net | 2013 | napolitano-vows-to-gain-a-compromise-creating-italian-governmen |
Business-Labor Deal Marks Major Step To Immigration Bill | By Kathleen Hunter and Heidi Przybyla | 2013-03-31T17:55:35Z | http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-03-30/business-labor-agreement-reached-on-u-s-guest-worker-program.html | 3 | 30 | 307debfa995d4004a0035f76002e85a6 | A deal between business and labor
leaders on allocating visas to low-skilled foreign workers
improves the chances that the Senate will pass an immigration
bill, said three members of the bipartisan group of senators who
are negotiating an agreement. Senator Charles Schumer , a New York Democrat, said he
expected the bill to reach the Judiciary Committee in April and
the full Senate in May. “With the agreement between business and labor, every
major policy issue has been resolved,” Schumer, one of the
eight senators negotiating the agreement, said on NBC’s “Meet
the Press.” Still, Schumer, along with Republicans Jeff Flake of
Arizona and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina , said there was no
final agreement among the lawmakers because details of
legislation haven’t been written. “We’re much closer with labor and business agreeing on
this guest-worker plan,” Flake said on NBC. “That doesn’t mean
we’ve crossed every ’I’ or dotted every ’T’ or vice-versa.” The agreement is designed to resolve a long-simmering
dispute over a proposed guest-worker program that had been
impeding Senate efforts to spearhead the broadest changes in
immigration law in almost 30 years. The heads of the U.S.
Chamber of Commerce, the nation’s largest business lobbying
group, and the AFL-CIO, the biggest labor federation, reached
the accord late on March 29. ‘First Step’ The plan is “just a first step” on what will be a long
and rocky road toward revamping U.S. immigration law, said Tamar Jacoby, president of ImmigrationWorks USA, a nationwide
federation of state-based business groups that advocate
rewriting immigration laws. If history is any guide, “battles will be fierce” and
immigration-law proposals will face additional obstacles as they
work through Congress, Jacoby said yesterday. Aides to lawmakers and the Chamber of Commerce stressed
that the deal hasn’t been approved by the bipartisan Senate
group. “The senators will make the decisions about any final
agreements and what makes the best public policy overall,”
Blair Latoff Holmes, spokeswoman for the U.S. Chamber, said in
an e-mailed statement. Republican Challenge Democrats who control the Senate will have difficulty
garnering the 60 votes needed for passage in that chamber, and
the Republican-controlled House poses an even greater challenge. President George W. Bush , a Republican, tried
unsuccessfully from 2005 to 2007 to get immigration legislation
through Congress. President Barack Obama ’s push for a smaller-
scale immigration law in 2010 similarly failed. Florida Senator Marco Rubio, a Republican member of the
Senate group, said yesterday in a letter to Senate Judiciary
Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy , a Vermont Democrat, that “a
rush to legislate, without fully considering all views and input
from all senators, could be fatal to the effort of earning the
public’s confidence.” Rubio said today in a statement that, while he was
“encouraged” by the labor-business agreement, it would be
“premature” to assume that the Senate group had reached a
final decision. Any legislation the Senate group endorses “will
only be a starting point,” he said. “In order to succeed, this process cannot be rushed or
done in secret,” Rubio said. Citizenship Path The effort’s centerpiece would establish a 13-year path to
citizenship for the estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants
in the U.S., which Obama has made a priority for his second
term. Republican opposition to providing a citizenship path, a
major stumbling block in past efforts, has lessened since the
November election, in which Obama won 71 percent of Hispanic
votes cast. Republican leaders have said the party needs to do
more to court the fast-growing voter bloc. “They will have a path to citizenship but it will be
earned, it will be long, it will be hard,” Graham, a South
Carolina Republican, said on CNN’s “ State of the Union .” Comments made March 27 by Representative Don Young, an
Alaska Republican, highlighted some of the tensions and
political challenges his party faces as it discusses immigration
and works to attract Hispanic voters. ‘Insensitive’ Comment On radio station KRBD in Ketchikan, Alaska, Young referred
to Hispanic farm workers as “wetbacks,” drawing quick
condemnation from lawmakers in both parties, including
Representative John Boehner , an Ohio Republican who is speaker
of the House. Young, 79, has been in the House for 40 years, making him
the fifth-longest-serving current member. He issued two statements, apologizing in the second one for
the “insensitive term” and saying there was “no malice”
intended. Schumer said today that Young’s latest statement was
“fuller” than a previous one in which Young didn’t apologize. To get the business-labor agreement U.S. Chamber of
Commerce President Tom Donohue and Richard Trumka , head of the
AFL-CIO, reached a verbal agreement during a conference call
with Schumer, according to a person familiar with the
discussion, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss a
private call. Schumer called White House Chief of Staff Denis McDonough to alert him to the deal, the person said. Senate Compromise “This issue has always been the deal-breaker on
immigration reform, but not this time,” Schumer said yesterday
in an e-mailed statement. The agreement “seems like a fair compromise,” said
Marshall Fitz, head of immigration policy at the Democratic-
aligned Center for American Progress. “The two sides have been
looking at this through the prism of what they were losing.
Appears they have reached a point where they both understand
that they are getting a lot of what they wanted.” “I think this agreement will seal the deal” for a Senate
compromise, Fitz said. “Labor gets more data-driven
accountability in the system; business gets a new worker program
that is more flexible than the current patchwork of temporary
visas.” The agreement would establish a federal bureau called the
Bureau of Immigration and Labor Market Research and a visa
program called the W Visa Program, according to the AFL-CIO. The
bureau would use labor market and demographic information to
identify labor shortages and to help set an annual visa cap. It
would be funded through registered employer fees. Visa Program Employers seeking workers in lesser-skilled fields
including hospitality, janitorial services, retail and
construction could apply through the new visa program, which
also would allow workers to petition for permanent status after
working for one year. The program would start with 20,000 visas in the first
year, 35,000 in the second, 55,000 in the third and 75,000 in
the fourth. In year five the number would grow or shrink based
on a formula that takes into account the unemployment rate , the
number of job openings and other factors. The number of visas awarded annually could never exceed
200,000, and one-third of all visas would go only to businesses
with under 25 employees, according to the AFL-CIO. Construction
visas would be capped at 15,000 per year, addressing Trumka’s
concern about a potentially adverse impact on that industry. ‘New Model’ “Each day we have become more encouraged that our goal is
in reach, and quickly,” Trumka said yesterday in a statement.
“We have created a new model, a modern visa system that
includes both a bureau to collect and analyze labor market data,
as well as significant worker protections.” The proposal also borrows language from a current law
requiring employers to offer visa holders wages and working
conditions that wouldn’t adversely affect the wages and working
conditions of U.S. workers. That means wages must be equal to
the actual level paid by the employer to other workers with
similar experience or the prevailing wage for the job at issue,
whichever is greater. The deal between labor and business would apply to visas
issued to foreign workers in low-skilled fields such as
construction and restaurant and hotel work. It doesn’t deal with
the issue of farm workers, who are covered under the existing H-
2A program, which provides for temporary labor to complete
seasonal tasks, mainly harvests. Verifying Status Groups including the American Farm Bureau Federation , the
biggest U.S. farmer group, say the H-2A program’s regulations
are too onerous and inflexible and are lobbying for its
replacement. The United Farmworkers say any new plan must
include wage and labor-condition protections. The measure will probably include a better system for
companies to verify the immigration status of job applicants and
new rules that would prioritize the family members who can
immigrate to the U.S. legally. Flake and Schumer also said they were working on creating
“metrics” to measure the progress toward securing the U.S.
border with Mexico . “We’re going to have to have that before we go any
further,” Flake said. To contact the reporters on this story:
Kathleen Hunter in Washington at
khunter9@bloomberg.net ;
Heidi Przybyla in Washington at
hprzybyla@bloomberg.net To contact the editors responsible for this story:
Steven Komarow at
skomarow1@bloomberg.net ;
Jodi Schneider at
jschneider50@bloomberg.net | 2013 | business-labor-agreement-reached-on-u-s-guest-worker-progra |
Asian Currencies Have Best Week in Two Months on Recovery Signs | By Bloomberg News | 2013-03-30T00:10:08Z | http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-03-30/asian-currencies-have-best-week-in-two-months-on-recovery-signs.html | 3 | 30 | a2c654552b9e4c18864faebee60e9357 | Asian currencies had their best
week in more than two months on speculation an economic recovery
in the U.S. will boost demand for the region’s exports. Gross domestic product in the world’s largest economy rose
faster than previously estimated in the fourth quarter, while
orders for durable goods climbed more than forecast in February,
reports showed this week. The Bloomberg-JPMorgan Asia Dollar
Index, which tracks the 10 most-active currencies in the region
excluding the yen, advanced 0.2 percent since March 22. “The expectation is that the U.S. economy will continue to
improve,” said Yeah Kim Leng, chief economist at RAM Holdings
Bhd. in Kuala Lumpur. “With a stronger U.S. recovery, export-
oriented Asian economies will benefit, strengthening their
currencies.” The ringgit advanced 0.6 percent this week to 3.0938 per
dollar in Kuala Lumpur, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
South Korea’s won climbed 0.7 percent to 1,111.35 and Taiwan’s
dollar rose 0.1 percent to NT$29.875. The Asia Dollar Index lost 0.3 percent this month as global
investors pulled $2.8 billion out of the stock markets of South
Korea and Taiwan amid concern Europe ’s debt crisis will worsen. The Malaysian currency touched a five-week high of 3.0859
on March 25 after the central bank said last week that gross
domestic product will increase as much as 6 percent this year
from 5.6 percent in 2012. Prime Minister Najib Razak has
embarked on a $444 billion spending program to build railways,
roads and power plants in an effort to lift the country to
developed-nation status by 2020. Yuan Rises The yuan touched a 19-year high yesterday after the
People’s Bank of China raised the reference rate to the
strongest level in more than 10 months. The PBOC increased the daily fixing by 0.08 percent to
6.2689 per dollar, the highest since May 2, 2012. The currency
is allowed to trade 1 percent either side of the rate. The
Purchasing Managers ’ Index for manufacturing in March will be
51.2, indicating a sixth month of expansion, according to the
median estimate in a Bloomberg News survey of economists before
official data on April 1. “Investors continue to be convinced about the gradual
appreciation of the yuan,” said Samson Tu, a Taipei-based fund
manager at Uni-President Assets Management Corp., which oversees
$700 million. The yuan advanced 0.02 percent this week to 6.2108 per
dollar, prices from the China Foreign Exchange Trade System show.
The currency rose as high as 6.2086 yesterday, the strongest
level since the government unified official and market exchange
rates at the end of 1993. Korean Won The won had the first weekly gain in almost a month after
data showed South Korea ’s current-account surplus widened in
February. The surplus increased to $2.71 billion from $2.33 billion
in January, the Bank of Korea said on March 28. The gap for
March is likely to be similar as improving exports will offset
an expected rise in dividend payments to foreign investors,
according to Cho Yong Seung, a central bank official. Elsewhere, Thailand’s baht was steady from a week earlier
at 29.28 per dollar, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
Financial markets in India , Indonesia and Philippines were
closed yesterday. India’s rupee gained 0.1 percent from March 22
to 54.28 per dollar on March 28, while Indonesia’s rupiah
advanced 0.3 percent to 9,715. The Philippine peso appreciated
0.1 percent to 40.823 on March 28. To contact Bloomberg News staff for this story:
Judy Chen in Shanghai at
xchen45@bloomberg.net ;
Liau Y-Sing in Kuala Lumpur at
yliau@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story:
James Regan at
jregan19@bloomberg.net | 2013 | asian-currencies-have-best-week-in-two-months-on-recovery-signs |
Israel Starts Tamar Gas Production | By Shoshanna Solomon and Gwen Ackerman | 2013-03-31T06:31:33Z | http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-03-30/israel-begins-gas-production-at-tamar-field-in-boost-to-economy.html | 3 | 30 | 917f6ce4d3182e3637a0290856dc11804b790882 | Israel started gas production at
the Tamar offshore field in an effort to put the country on the
road to energy independence and save a projected 1 billion
shekels ($274 million) a month, according to the government. The gas was expected to reach Israel’s port city of Ashdod
by afternoon today, the Energy and Water Ministry said. The field in the eastern Mediterranean Sea, estimated to
hold 9 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, is being developed by
a group that includes Noble Energy Inc. (NBL) , Delek Drilling-LP,
Avner Oil Exploration LLP (AVNRL) and Isramco Negev 2 LP. (ISRAL) Along with
Noble, Israeli energy exploration companies have discovered
enough gas under the Mediterranean over the past three years to
supply the country for 150 years. “We are talking about billions of dollars coming to the
state from tax revenues from Tamar gas over a 20-year period,”
Gilad Alper, a senior analyst at Excellence Nessuah Brokerage
Ltd. in Tel Aviv, said in a phone interview. “It will also
reduce energy costs as we will replace expensive imports with a
cheap domestic supply of natural gas. The start of the flow is a
big positive for the economy.” The Tamar and Dalit fields could supply Israel with gas for
two decades. The larger Leviathan field is estimated to hold 18
trillion cubic feet of gas, Noble said in a statement March 6. “This is an important day for the Israeli economy,” Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said today in an e-mailed statement.
“We are taking an important step toward energy independence.” ‘International Player’ The three fields provide Israel with reserves more than 14
times larger than Germany’s total proven gas reserves, which the
BP Statistical Review of World Energy published in June 2012
lists at 2.2 trillion cubic feet. Russia holds the biggest gas
reserves, followed by Iran, according to BP Plc. (BP/) “This is the beginning of a new era,” said Isaac Tshuva,
controlling shareholder of Delek Group Ltd. (DLEKG) , which owns stakes
in Tamar via its Delek Drilling and Avner units. “The Israeli
economy will be able to exploit the advantages of natural gas
environmentally, geopolitically, socially and economically, and
turn Israel into an important international player.” Qatar, the Persian Gulf emirate with the world’s third-
largest reserves of gas, said on March 10 it found a deposit
with 2.5 trillion cubic feet of the fuel, its first discovery
since locating the world’s biggest gas field 42 years ago. The
North Field, shared with neighboring Iran, provides Qatar with
900 trillion cubic feet of reserves. GDP Boost The flow from Tamar is expected to contribute about 1
percent to Israel’s gross domestic product, the Bank of Israel
said in a March 24 report, forecasting that the economy will
grow 3.8 percent in 2013, including the contribution from gas. The Bank of Israel also said the flow from the Tamar field
will improve the nation’s current-account balance by as much as
$3 billion this year. For every $1 billion improvement in the
balance, the exchange rate should appreciate about 1 percent,
the bank has estimated. In February, Russia’s OAO Gazprom (GAZP) , the world’s biggest
natural gas producer, signed an agreement for the exclusive
rights to export liquefied natural gas produced from the Tamar
floating LNG plant. Noble Energy forecast Israeli demand for gas
to grow at a compounded rate of 15 percent in 2012-2017. The
Leviathan field is expected to supply the domestic markets in
2016, Noble said in December. To contact the reporters on this story:
Shoshanna Solomon in Tel Aviv at
ssolomon22@bloomberg.net ;
Gwen Ackerman in Jerusalem at
gackerman@bloomberg.net To contact the editors responsible for this story:
Andrew J. Barden at
barden@bloomberg.net ;
Riad Hamade at
rhamade@bloomberg.net | 2013 | israel-begins-gas-production-at-tamar-field-in-boost-to-economy |
Anglo American Says 3 Bodies Found in Brazil Iron Port Collapse | By Blake Schmidt | 2013-03-30T16:26:42Z | http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-03-30/anglo-american-says-3-bodies-found-in-brazil-iron-port-collapse.html | 3 | 30 | be0ca3004592642a5d73fc9805ab22ad8910720b | Anglo American Plc (AAL) , the metals
producer with mines from Chile to Zimbabwe, said three bodies
were found after the collapse of a port used for loading iron-
ore shipments on Brazil ’s Amazon River. The cause of the accident at the port of Santana is being
investigated as rescuers look for three others missing, Anglo
American said. The search “will continue intensively,” the company said
today in an e-mailed statement. Anglo said yesterday an “abnormally large wave of water
rushing down the river” in the early morning hours of March 28
dragged vehicles and shipping equipment into the river and may
have triggered a landslide at the port. Anglo has said operations at its nearby Amapa mine, which
it agreed in January to sell to Zamin Ferrous Ltd., continue as
normal. To contact the reporter on this story:
Blake Schmidt in Sao Paulo at
bschmidt16@bloomberg.net . To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Sylvia Wier at
swier@bloomberg.net | 2013 | anglo-american-says-3-bodies-found-in-brazil-iron-port-collapse |
Singapore 3mo Property Auctions Beat 2012 Total: Business Times | By Sanat Vallikappen | 2013-03-30T01:51:24Z | http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-03-30/singapore-3mo-property-auctions-beat-2012-total-business-times.html | 3 | 30 | 151a5d2765ad9d732c509f8c6d4553b230f65c39 | Singapore sells S$76 million of
property units through auctions in Jan.-March, compared with
S$62.4 million in all of 2012, the newspaper reports, citing
data from Colliers International
* Four high-value sales accounted for 92 percent of quarter’s
total, newspaper says
* Sales of apartments and condominiums expected to remain low on
additional buyers’ stamp duty introduced by government in
January: Business Times To contact the reporter on this story:
Sanat Vallikappen in Singapore at
vallikappen@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Stanley James at
sjames8@bloomberg.net | 2013 | singapore-3mo-property-auctions-beat-2012-total-business-times |
Rory McIlroy Makes Weekend Cut, Adds Tournament Prior to Masters | By Eben Novy-Williams | 2013-03-30T04:00:01Z | http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-03-30/rory-mcilroy-makes-weekend-cut-adds-tournament-prior-to-masters.html | 3 | 30 | 1ee839d36502cc7b11685717384552a97c57c831 | Rory McIlroy, the No. 2 player in
the Official World Golf Ranking , will play the PGA Tour
tournament prior to the Masters after qualifying for weekend
play at the Houston Open on the 36-hole cut line. McIlroy added next week’s Texas Open in San Antonio to his
schedule, according to a statement on the tournament’s website.
The 23-year-old from Northern Ireland shot a two-under 70
yesterday to finish on the one-under-par cut line at Redstone
Golf Club in Humble, Texas, and heads into play today nine
strokes behind tournament leader Steve Wheatcroft of the U.S. Wheatcroft, a 35-year-old who qualified for the tournament
on March 25, is alone atop the Houston Open leaderboard at 10-
under, one stroke ahead of fellow Americans D.A. Points and
Jason Kokrak. Phil Mickelson, a four-time major winner, is tied
with McIlroy at one-under for the tournament. Defending-champion Hunter Mahan missed the cut, as did
Australian Geoff Ogilvy and American Mark O’Meara. Players often skip at least one tournament prior to the
Masters, the season’s first major championship, which begins
April 11 this year in Augusta, Georgia . McIlroy, for example,
took off three weeks prior to the Masters last year, according
to ESPN. A two-time major champion, McIlroy has played three events
this season, according to his PGA Tour profile. He lost the No.
1 spot in the world rankings to Tiger Woods earlier this week
after Woods won the Arnold Palmer Invitational. To contact the reporter on this story:
Eben Novy-Williams in New York at
enovywilliam@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Michael Sillup at
msillup@bloomberg.net | 2013 | rory-mcilroy-makes-weekend-cut-adds-tournament-prior-to-masters |
Bank of Cyprus Clients May Lose Up to 60% on Deposits | By Paul Tugwell, Tom Stoukas and Georgios Georgiou | 2013-04-02T07:41:35Z | http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-03-30/bank-of-cyprus-s-customers-may-lose-as-much-as-60-on-deposits.html | 3 | 30 | 8ec0c7dce05654a7e7ac2400a47314e16ffef6fa | (Corrects eighth paragraph of March 30 story to show additional 10 basis points.) Cyprus may impose losses of as much as 60 percent on Bank of Cyprus Plc (BOCY) accounts exceeding 100,000 euros ($128,000) as part of an aid deal to stop the country from going bankrupt. Customers will have 37.5 percent of their deposits above this amount converted into shares with full voting rights and access to any future Bank of Cyprus dividend, the Nicosia-based central bank said in an e-mailed statement. A further 22.5 percent will be temporarily withheld to ensure the lender meets the terms of its recapitalization, as agreed under Cyprus’s loan agreement with international creditors, the central bank said. President Nicos Anastasiades agreed March 25 to impose losses on Bank of Cyprus’s larger depositors in exchange for a 10 billion-euro bailout after failing to get financial aid from Russia , one of the nation’s biggest investors. The agreement also shuttered Cyprus Popular Bank Pcl (CPB) , the country’s second- largest lender. The deposit-loss plan “will make things worse as small and medium-sized companies will run out of liquidity,” Marios Mavrides, a lawmaker for the ruling Disy party, said in a phone interview from Nicosia. The move “does not help to gain back people’s trust, deposits should be free in order to gain that trust.” Deal Rejected An earlier deal with the European Union, International Monetary Fund and European Central Bank that would have forced losses on all depositors was rejected by the Cypriot parliament amid concern it would irreparably damage trust in the nation’s banking industry. The Central Bank of Cyprus will appoint an independent valuer for the commercial lender and all or part of the 22.5 percent additional haircut may also be converted into shares within 90 days of that process being completed, according to the statement. Any remaining amount will be returned to customers with interest, the central bank said. The so-called bail-in won’t apply to Bank of Cyprus account holders whose debts to the lender bring their net balance below the 100,000-euro threshold, according to the statement. Holders of accounts at other banks on the Mediterranean island aren’t being touched. The remaining 40 percent of Bank of Cyprus deposits above 100,000 euros that aren’t subject to the bail-in will be temporarily frozen to ensure the lender’s liquidity. This money, which won’t be used to recapitalize the lender, will receive interest at current levels plus an additional 10 basis points and be released “within a short timeframe,” the central bank said. Cyprus Popular Bank (CPB) will be divided into “good” and “bad” banks, according to the statement. Deposits of less than 100,000 euros will be absorbed by Bank of Cyprus and those above that level will be placed in the bad bank. Cyprus Popular Bank will operate normally from April 2 with all staff and branches passing to the control of Bank of Cyprus, according to the statement. Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades vowed yesterday to keep his country in the euro as citizens adapted to restrictions on their use of the common currency to prevent a financial collapse. To contact the reporters on this story: Paul Tugwell in Athens at ptugwell1@bloomberg.net ; Tom Stoukas in Athens at astoukas@bloomberg.net ; Georgios Georgiou in Athens at ggeorgiou5@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: Jerrold Colten at jcolten@bloomberg.net | 2013 | bank-of-cyprus-s-customers-may-lose-as-much-as-60-on-deposits |
Mandela Breathes Without Difficulty on Third Day in Hospital | By Paul Burkhardt | 2013-03-30T12:19:45Z | http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-03-30/nelson-mandela-hospitalized-a-third-day-for-lung-infection.html | 3 | 30 | 0213378402350674d51cced5f68da94ee74e073d | Nelson Mandela is able to breathe
“without difficulty” after a procedure was performed to drain
excess fluid from around his lungs, according to a spokesman for
South African President Jacob Zuma . The nation’s first black president remains in the hospital
for a third day in Pretoria, the capital, being treated for
pneumonia, Zuma’s spokesman, Mac Maharaj , said in an e-mailed
statement. “He continues to respond to treatment and is
comfortable,” Maharaj said. Mandela, 94, was admitted before midnight local time on
March 27, his second hospital visit this year after a check-up
less than three weeks ago. His health took a “downturn” that
day and he was brought to the hospital to prevent the infection
from spreading, Maharaj told Johannesburg-based broadcaster eNCA
March 28. The Nobel Peace Prize winner was hospitalized from Dec. 8
to Dec. 26 to treat a lung infection and to have gallstones
removed. He contracted tuberculosis while imprisoned on Robben
Island during his 27-year incarceration for fighting white
minority rule. Mandela led South Africa for five years after the
African National Congress , or ANC, won the first all-race
elections in 1994 that marked the end of apartheid rule. To contact the reporter on this story:
Paul Burkhardt in Johannesburg at
pburkhardt@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story:
John Viljoen at
jviljoen@bloomberg.net | 2013 | nelson-mandela-hospitalized-a-third-day-for-lung-infection |
Manchester United Moves Closer to Premiership Title With Win | By Bob Bensch | 2013-03-30T19:47:01Z | http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-03-30/manchester-united-moves-closer-to-premiership-title-with-1-0-win.html | 3 | 30 | 65ba85d918e84d459200ec9380d0ff07 | Manchester United continued its
march to the English Premier League soccer title with a 1-0 win
over Sunderland to extend its unbeaten run to 18 games. A Titus Bramble own goal gave United its sixth straight
league win. United remains 15 points ahead of Manchester City,
which defeated Newcastle 4-0, with eight games remaining. “It was all about coming here and winning,” United
midfielder Michael Carrick told Sky Sports . “We’re getting
closer and it’s one game less. We have to keep going.” Tottenham won 2-1 at Swansea to move into third place over
Chelsea, which lost 2-1 at Southampton. Arsenal defeated Reading
4-1, Everton beat Stoke 1-0, West Ham defeated West Brom 3-1,
and Wigan beat Norwich 1-0 to move out of the three relegation
places at the bottom of the standings. United dominated play at Sunderland’s Stadium of Light but
needed the own goal in the 27th minute to clinch the win. Robin van Persie sent a shot from the left side of the area which
clipped Phil Bardsley before deflecting off Bramble’s knee past
goalkeeper Simon Mignolet. “It didn’t matter who scored today, it was all about the
three points,” van Persie said. “This team is full of winners.
Everyone knows what they have to do and it was never in doubt
for me.” Sunderland is winless in eight league matches, positioned
just one point above the relegation zone. Manchester City had goals from Carlos Tevez , David Silva
and Vincent Kompany , plus an own goal, to rout Newcastle and
keep its fleeting title hopes alive. City visits its Manchester
rival on April 8. Relegation Goals from Jan Vertonghen and Gareth Bale in the opening 21
minutes gave Spurs the win at Swansea. It lifts the north London
club up to third place, two points ahead of Chelsea. Southampton moved four points clear of relegation with a
home win over Chelsea as Rickie Lambert scored the winning goal
with a free kick in the 35th minute. Jay Rodriguez also scored
for the Saints, while John Terry had the Chelsea goal. Gervinho, Santi Cazorla, Olivier Giroud and Mikel Arteta
scored as Arsenal pulled within two points of Chelsea. Reading,
in its first game under manager Nigel Adkins, fell into last
place below Queens Park Rangers on goal difference with both
teams on 23 points. Everton stayed in the hunt for a top-four finish and a
Champions League berth with its home win over Stoke. Kevin
Mirallas scored as the Toffess stayed two points behind Arsenal
and moved within four points of Chelsea. Arouna Kone’s goal with nine minutes remaining gave Wigan
the home victory over Norwich. The Latics’ second straight
league win moves them out of the relegation zone on goal
difference over Aston Villa. Andy Carroll scored twice as West Ham eased its relegation
fears by beating West Brom. It was just the Hammers’ third win
in 12 games, but moved them six points clear of the drop zone. To contact the reporter on this story:
Bob Bensch in London at
bbensch@bloomberg.net . To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Christopher Elser at celser@bloomberg.net . | 2013 | anchester-united-moves-closer-to-premiership-title-with-1-0-win |
Beijing Curbs Second Home Buying as China Cools Property Market | By Bloomberg News | 2013-03-30T23:09:37Z | http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-03-30/beijing-bans-single-person-households-from-buying-second-homes.html | 3 | 30 | 3bfda4aee51a2e1f1f71183b5bada340942044a7 | China ’s capital, Beijing, banned
single-person households from buying more than one residence and
increased the minimum down-payment for all buyers of second
homes as the government seeks to cool the property market. The new measures take effect today, the official Xinhua
News Agency reported yesterday. The city will also enforce a 20
percent tax on capital gains from property, it said. Current
rules allow each household with a Beijing residence permit to
buy a second home, opening the way for couples to divorce on
paper to double their ability to invest. “This will help to calm people’s panic about home
prices,” said Yi Xianrong , a Beijing-based researcher at the
Chinese Academy of Social Sciences , which advises the Cabinet.
“At the same time, restrictions on home purchases don’t change
the fundamental demand, and it seems the new measures in Beijing
are aimed more at short-term problems rather than long-term
healthy development of the property market.” Prices in the capital jumped 5.9 percent from a year
earlier in February, the biggest increase since February 2011,
China’s National Bureau of Statistics said March 18. Prices
across the country rose 160 percent in 1998-2011 after ownership
passed into private hands, government data show. The city government of Shanghai , where new home prices in
February rose 3.4 percent from a year earlier, also issued a
notice saying the city will increase down-payment requirements
and interest rates for second-home mortgages, while prohibiting
banks from providing credit to third-home buyers. Property Bubble The measures come a month after former Premier Wen Jiabao ,
during his last days in office, ordered the central bank to
raise down-payment requirements for second mortgages in cities
with excessive price gains and told local governments with the
biggest price pressures to tighten home-purchase limits. China has “very serious” property market bubbles in some
regions, Xiang Songzuo, chief economist of Agricultural Bank of
China , told a forum in Beijing March 29. China’s property curbs
have seen “very limited” results as these measures are
focusing on limiting demand while China should instead focus on
boosting supply, Xiang said. The measures announced by Beijing yesterday will depress
property trading in the city in the next six months, Hu Jinhui,
vice president of Bacic & 5i5j, the second-biggest real estate
broker in Beijing, said in a statement. “ Home prices will firstly stop rising before a possible
moderation in the second half,” Hu said. Beijing, a city of about 20 million residents and a magnet
for migrants from other provinces, has been implementing other
rules including banning residents from buying more than two
homes. Shanghai has been banning unmarried non-locals from
buying homes in the city. To contact Bloomberg News staff for this story:
Xin Zhou in Beijing at +86-10-6649-7731 or
xzhou68@bloomberg.net To contact Bloomberg News staff for this story:
Zhang Dingmin in Beijing at
dzhang14@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Stan James at
sjames8@bloomberg.net | 2013 | beijing-bans-single-person-households-from-buying-second-homes |
Catcher Posey Signs $167 Million Deal With Giants, MLB.com Says | By Eben Novy-Williams | 2013-03-30T04:00:01Z | http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-03-30/catcher-posey-signs-167-million-deal-with-giants-mlb-com-says.html | 3 | 30 | 54d77f5e89313dd8c8789cdaf0e355009928733c | Buster Posey signed the most
lucrative contract in San Francisco Giants history after a 2012
season in which he won the National League’s Most Valuable
Player award and batting title, according to MLB.com. The 26-year-old catcher agreed to a nine-year, $167 million
contract, the website reported today citing an unidentified
person familiar with the deal. The Major League Baseball club
has an option for a 10th season that could raise the value of
the contract to $186 million, according to the report. Posey hit an NL-best .336 last season, with 24 home runs
and 103 runs batted in, becoming the first catcher in 40 years
to be named NL MVP. He helped the Giants to their second World Series title in
the past three years, a four-game sweep of the Detroit Tigers.
San Francisco also won a World Series title in 2010, when Posey
was named NL Rookie of the year. Giants pitcher Matt Cain’s six-year $127.5 million deal was
the highest contract in team history before Posey’s, according
to MLB.com. To contact the reporter on this story:
Eben Novy-Williams in New York at
enovywilliam@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Michael Sillup at
msillup@bloomberg.net | 2013 | catcher-posey-signs-167-million-deal-with-giants-mlb-com-says |
Cohen Confidant Steinberg Crossed Paths at SAC With Lee | By Saijel Kishan | 2013-03-30T04:00:01Z | http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-03-30/cohen-confidant-steinberg-crossed-paths-at-sac-with-lee.html | 3 | 30 | d241f8b604a4469a8462cb213afebc44 | Of all the former employees at SAC Capital Advisors LP who have been accused of insider trading, Michael S. Steinberg was closest to Steven A. Cohen, starting as a young recruit and rising to become one of the hedge-fund founder’s most-trusted money managers. He joined SAC in 1997, three years after graduating college, and was part of a group of traders who socialized with billionaire Cohen at joint vacations and sporting events. Steinberg introduced the hedge-fund owner to his art adviser, and Cohen attended Steinberg’s 1999 New York wedding, according to former colleagues, friends and people with knowledge of SAC. Steinberg was arrested yesterday by FBI agents at his Manhattan apartment, the seventh current or former SAC employee to be accused by the U.S. of insider trading while at the hedge fund. A 16-year veteran of Cohen’s firm, he is part of a group of former technology portfolio managers and analysts whose careers crossed paths at SAC during the late 1990s, when the hedge fund posted annual returns averaging almost 60 percent, and who have since been linked to the government investigation. Related: SAC's Steinberg Indicted as Probe Gets Closer to Cohen “Steinberg is another domino that has fallen in a path that leads to a central person at SAC,” said John C. Coffee Jr., a professor at Columbia Law School in New York. “He’s one of the few that had direct communications with Cohen.” In an indictment unsealed yesterday, Steinberg was charged by a federal grand jury with five counts of conspiracy and securities fraud. He is accused of being part of a conspiracy that began in late 2007 and continued until 2009. The U.S. said he received and traded on illegal tips from Jon Horvath, a former analyst at Stamford, Connecticut- based SAC, on technology companies Dell Inc. and Nvidia Corp (NVDA) . ‘Aggressive Investigations’ Steinberg pleaded not guilty. Barry Berke, Steinberg’s lawyer, said his client did nothing wrong. SAC, which manages $15 billion, said Steinberg always conducted himself “professionally and ethically” while at the firm. Cohen hasn’t been accused of wrongdoing. Steinberg, who turns 41 next week, worked at SAC’s Sigma Capital Management unit and was one of 15 portfolio managers handling technology, media and telecommunications stocks before he was put on paid leave in September. He oversaw as much as $200 million in gross assets, a relatively small amount in a firm where some portfolio managers handle as much as $1 billion, according to the people, who asked not to be identified because they didn’t want to discuss their relationship with Steinberg or SAC publicly. The son of a doctor, Steinberg grew up in Great Neck, a village on Long Island in New York. After graduating in 1994 from the University of Wisconsin in Madison, Wisconsin, he worked at Wall Street research firm Sanford C. Bernstein before joining SAC at the age of 25. Early Years Around the time when he joined, SAC had about 50 employees managing about $450 million, mainly Cohen’s own money, and was starting to transition from a proprietary-trading firm to a hedge fund with outside clients. As part of the process, the firm was expanding its fundamental research and organizing money managers along industries, according to SAC marketing documents dated 2011. Steinberg was part of a group of technology portfolio managers and analysts who sat together on a row in SAC’s former offices in the General Electric building in Stamford , where the hedge fund occupied a floor, according to two of the people. The group included David Ganek, who around the turn of the century ran the largest technology-stock portfolio after Cohen, his analyst Anthony Chiasson, and portfolio manager Richard Grodin, who had joined SAC around the time Cohen started the firm, the people said. Richard Choo Beng Lee, a Malaysian-born, Duke University graduate, worked as analyst for Steinberg out of SAC’s west coast offices. ‘SAC Family’ SAC at that time was a close-knit firm. Steinberg was among the employees who socialized with Cohen, taking vacations in places like the Caribbean, going to sporting events and parties at Cohen’s mansion, according to a person with knowledge of the firm. SAC held a beach-themed holiday party in 2000 and handed out videos titled the “SAC Family” that featured a slide show of photos of employees, said two of the people. Cohen was at Steinberg’s bachelor party in the Bahamas and a guest at his wedding in New York, according to three people. Steinberg married Elizabeth Sims in 1999, according to an announcement in the New York Times. Steinberg also introduced Cohen to Sandy Heller, who is Cohen’s longtime art adviser, said two people. Cohen has owned works by Damien Hirst and Jeff Koons. This month he bought Pablo Picasso’s “Le Reve” for $155 million, the highest paid by a U.S. collector for work of art, dealers told Bloomberg News. Gathering Information Steinberg and his colleagues at SAC’s technology teams analyzed markets and gathered information from corporations, helping the hedge fund score returns of 58 percent on average from 1997 to 2000. It was before the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission introduced in 2000 a rule preventing corporations from disseminating confidential information to select investors before others. When some of SAC’s technology teams left to start their own hedge funds, Steinberg stayed, moving to SAC’s Sigma unit after that group was started in 2001. There he worked alongside technology portfolio manager Dipak Patel and his analyst Wesley Wang, who had both joined in 2002. Ganek, after successfully betting against technology stocks amid the 2000 stock market slump, left with Chiasson to start Level Global Investors LP in 2003. The following year Grodin left to co-start a hedge fund, taking Lee with him. Lee later left to co-found his own fund, Spherix Capital LLC. Rajaratnam Link Several of his former colleagues were eventually swept up in the government’s insider-trading investigation. Lee in 2009 pleaded guilty to securities fraud while at Spherix and cooperated in the investigation of Galleon Group co-founder and convicted insider-trader Raj Rajaratnam. It was the first time a former SAC employee was linked to the government’s probe. Grodin was among the individuals and firms that were subpoenaed in 2009 as part of the Galleon Group case, a person familiar with the investigation said at the time. He hasn’t been charged with wrongdoing. The offices of Ganek and Chiasson’s hedge fund, Level Global, were raided by the FBI in 2010, which led to the firm’s liquidation the following year. Chiasson was found guilty in December 2012 of conspiracy to commit securities fraud and is waiting to be sentenced. He faces as long as 25 years in prison. Ganek, who was named as an unindicted co-conspirator in Chiasson’s trial, wasn’t charged in that case. Dell Trades Wang, who left SAC in 2005, pleaded guilty last year to passing illegal tips to people including Patel and was sentenced in January to two years’ probation. Patel, who ran a five-person team before leaving SAC in 2011, hasn’t been charged with a crime. Steinberg himself emerged in September as an unindicted co- conspirator in an insider-trading scheme involving Horvath, whom he supervised. Steinberg was put on leave after Horvath pleaded guilty to passing nonpublic information to his portfolio manager, who he said traded on the tips. On Aug. 26, 2008, two days before Dell Inc. was set to report second-quarter earnings, Horvath e-mailed Steinberg and another portfolio manager, to warn that the computer maker would miss earnings estimates. “I have a 2nd hand read from someone at the company,” Horvath said in the e-mail, which provided details on gross margins, expenditures and revenue. “Please keep to yourself as obviously not well known.” ‘Be Discreet’ Steinberg responded: “Yes normally we would never divulge data like this, so please be discreet. Thanks.” Dressed in a dark sweater and slacks, Steinberg was led into a Manhattan federal courtroom in handcuffs. At the 30- minute hearing, his bail was set at $3 million. Steinberg is “caught in the crossfire of aggressive investigations,” Berke said in a statement. “His trading decisions were based on detailed analysis as well as information that he understood had been properly obtained through the types of channels that institutional investors rely upon on a daily basis.” “Mike has conducted himself professionally and ethically during his long tenure at the firm,” Jonathan Gasthalter, a spokesman SAC, said in an e-mail. “We believe him to be a man of integrity.” Manhattan Apartment Steinberg lives in Manhattan in a Park Avenue apartment, which he bought for $8 million in 2009, according to Streeteasy.com. He co-founded Natan, a network of young philanthropists who hold events to promote Jewish culture and Israel , according to its website. Steinberg and his wife, along with Ganek and his wife and his hedge fund Level Global, were listed as supporters of a New York charity co-founded by Grodin. The charity’s 2007 gala auctioned a breakfast with Cohen at his Greenwich, Connecticut, home. Steinberg has had health issues recently, according to two people. He had an aortic aneurysm several years ago, the people said. He faces as long as 20 years in prison if convicted. To contact the reporter on this story: Saijel Kishan in New York at skishan@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: Christian Baumgaertel at cbaumgaertel@bloomberg.net | 2013 | cohen-confidant-steinberg-crossed-paths-at-sac-with-lee |
Louisville Beats Oregon, Advances to NCAA Midwest Regional Final | By Eben Novy-Williams | 2013-03-30T01:30:48Z | http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-03-30/louisville-beats-oregon-advances-to-ncaa-midwest-regional-final.html | 3 | 30 | d5a047fd2b35b4a1d5d52c9fe8ed5c674cf56e59 | The University of Louisville beat
the University of Oregon 77-69 to advance to the regional finals
at the National Collegiate Athletic Association men’s basketball
tournament. Louisville guard Russ Smith scored a game-high 31 points at
Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, while center Gorgui Dieng
added 10 points, nine rebounds and four blocks. The top overall
seed in the tournament, the Cardinals never trailed in the
contest and have now won 13 consecutive games. Louisville advances to the Midwest regional final on March
31 in Indianapolis, where they will face the winner of tonight’s
game between Michigan State and Duke. To contact the reporter on this story:
Eben Novy-Williams in New York at
enovywilliam@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Michael Sillup at
msillup@bloomberg.net | 2013 | ouisville-beats-oregon-advances-to-ncaa-midwest-regional-fina |
Sunderland Manager O’Neill Fired With Club Battling Relegation | By Bob Bensch | 2013-03-30T22:05:58Z | http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-03-30/sunderland-manager-o-neill-fired-with-club-battling-relegation.html | 3 | 30 | 4d5bd855680319930aa3893b37b0a851131f776b | Martin O’Neill was fired as
Sunderland manager with the club fighting relegation in English
soccer’s Premier League. Sunderland announced the move on its website hours after a
1-0 loss to league leader Manchester United . The defeat left the
Black Cats 16th in the 20-team league, one point above the three
relegation positions at the bottom of the standings. “Sunderland AFC has announced that it has parted company
with manager Martin O’Neill this evening,” a statement on the
club’s website read. “An announcement will be made in the
coming days regarding a successor.” O’Neill, 61, took over as coach in December 2011, replacing
the fired Steve Bruce. Sunderland’s next game is April 7 at
Chelsea. To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Bob Bensch at
bbensch@bloomberg.net | 2013 | sunderland-manager-o-neill-fired-with-club-battling-relegation |
Chelsea Leads Race for Atletico Madrid’s Falcao, Daily Star Says | By Bob Bensch | 2013-03-30T13:33:53Z | http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-03-30/chelsea-leads-race-for-atletico-madrid-s-falcao-daily-star-says.html | 3 | 30 | d85590ada0e033d73e9773eee492327ac010b4ce | Chelsea has moved ahead of
Manchester City and Real Madrid in the race to sign Atletico
Madrid striker Radamel Falcao, the Daily Star said. Chelsea has opened talks with Atletico and both sides are
confident of reaching a deal to send the Colombian, who is rated
at 40 million pounds ($61 million), to Stamford Bridge after the
season, the Star said. Chelsea tried to sign Falcao in the past two transfer
periods and one option available is offering Fernando Torres
back to Atletico as part of a deal, the Star said. The Blues
could also allow goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois to extend his loan
stay at Atleico, the newspaper said. To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Bob Bensch at
bbensch@bloomberg.net | 2013 | chelsea-leads-race-for-atletico-madrid-s-falcao-daily-star-says |
Serena Williams Beats Sharapova for Sixth Sony Open Tennis Title | By Bob Bensch | 2013-03-30T21:46:31Z | http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-03-30/serena-williams-beats-sharapova-for-sixth-sony-open-tennis-title.html | 3 | 30 | f723a8cd7ddfc787643184bdb6208426a3eab734 | Serena Williams beat Maria
Sharapova in a matchup of the top two players in women’s tennis
for her record sixth Sony Open championship. Top-ranked Williams won 4-6, 6-3, 6-0 in Key Biscayne,
Florida, for her 48th career title. She won the final 10 games
in beating Sharapova for the 11th straight time and 12th time in
14 career meetings. No. 2 Sharapova had won her last 11 matches and captured
the title at Indian Wells two weeks ago. She’s now winless in
five Key Biscayne final appearances. To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Bob Bensch at
bbensch@bloomberg.net | 2013 | serena-williams-beats-sharapova-for-sixth-sony-open-tennis-title |
Bayern Munich Nears Bundesliga Title With 9-2 Rout of Hamburg | By Bob Bensch | 2013-03-30T22:12:56Z | http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-03-30/bayern-munich-nears-bundesliga-title-with-9-2-rout-of-hamburg.html | 3 | 30 | b28aa2c24a827b50650cc405e907dff126150450 | Bayern Munich moved to the brink
of the title in German soccer’s Bundesliga with a 9-2 rout of
Hamburg. Claudio Pizzaro scored four goals as Bayern stayed 20
points ahead of Borussia Dortmund, which beat Stuttgart 2-1,
with seven games remaining. Bayern can claim its record-
extending 22nd Bundesliga title by beating Frankfurt next
weekend. Barcelona drew 2-2 with Celta Vigo as Lionel Messi scored
in his 19th straight match in Spain’s La Liga. Barcelona stayed
13 points clear of second-place Real Madrid, which drew 1-1 with
Real Zaragoza. Juventus won 2-1 at Inter Milan to maintain its nine-point
lead in Italy’s Serie A over Napoli, which beat Torino 5-3. AC
Milan is 11 points back following a 1-0 at Chievo. To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Bob Bensch at
bbensch@bloomberg.net | 2013 | bayern-munich-nears-bundesliga-title-with-9-2-rout-of-hamburg |
Knicks Win Seventh Straight, Heat Win First Game Since Run Ended | By Eben Novy-Williams | 2013-03-30T05:08:54Z | http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-03-30/knicks-win-seventh-straight-heat-win-first-game-since-run-ended.html | 3 | 30 | 8de93843c8acd8dcf934b87b6e3f5c5216c7cb81 | J.R. Smith scored 37 points as the
New York Knicks beat the Charlotte Bobcats yesterday for their
seventh consecutive win, while the Miami Heat were victorious in
their first game since their 27-game winning streak ended. The Brooklyn Nets fell 109-87 to the Denver Nuggets and
National Basketball Association’s Western Conference-leading San
Antonio Spurs won on a three-point play in the final seconds. The Knicks (45-26) took a lead with their first field goal
of the game and never trailed again, as Smith scored at least 30
points for the third consecutive game and forward Carmelo Anthony added 32 points at Madison Square Garden. New York’s
seven-game winning streak is their longest of the season, and
the longest current streak in the NBA. “He is dialed in, locked in,” Anthony said of Smith after
the game. “His confidence is sky-high. We are following his
lead.” Last year’s league Most Valuable Player, LeBron James ,
scored 36 points to lead the Heat to a 108-89 victory over the
New Orleans Hornets in Miami’s first game since having a 27-game
winning streak, the second-longest in NBA history, snapped in
Chicago. Dwyane Wade added 11 points and nine assists for Miami,
who have an 11 1/2-game lead over the Knicks in the Eastern
Conference standings. The Western Conference-leading Spurs (55-17) beat the Los
Angeles Clippers 104-102 on a three-point play from Tim Duncan
with 2.2 seconds remaining. The Oklahoma City Thunder (53-20),
who trail the Spurs in the conference by 2 1/2 games, fell 101-
93 to the Minnesota Timberwolves, their third loss in the last
six games. Elsewhere around the league it was the Orlando Magic 97,
Washington Wizards 92; Boston Celtics 118, Atlanta Hawks 107;
Toronto Raptors 99, Detroit Pistons 82; Memphis Grizzlies 103,
Houston Rockets 94; Utah Jazz 105, Portland Trail Blazers 95;
and Philadelphia 76ers 97, Cleveland Cavaliers 87. To contact the reporter on this story:
Eben Novy-Williams in New York at
enovywilliam@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Michael Sillup at
msillup@bloomberg.net | 2013 | knicks-win-seventh-straight-heat-win-first-game-since-run-ended |
Birinyi Says Buy Mining, Technology Shares as Bull Ages | By Whitney Kisling | 2013-03-30T04:00:01Z | http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-03-30/birinyi-says-buy-mining-technology-shares-as-bull-ages.html
Laszlo Birinyi, one of the first money managers to tell clients to buy before the bull market began, said the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index (SPX) ’s record rally probably has another year to go as investors give up their pessimism and buy. “As long as you have this sort of hesitancy or reluctance instead of acceptance, the positive case is still very much intact,” Birinyi, president of Birinyi Associates Inc. in Westport, Connecticut , said in a March 26 phone interview. “Don’t go looking for the exit. Leave the door open for a good year, because that is the one possibility that I do not hear.” The S&P 500 rose 0.4 percent to 1,569.19 on March 28, exceeding its previous record from October 2007 and recovering losses from the financial crisis that wiped more than $10 trillion from U.S. market value. Even with the rally, share volume on all U.S. exchanges has declined for four straight years and, at less than 6.4 billion shares a day, is the lowest since at least 2008, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Birinyi advised clients to purchase shares before March 2009, when the S&P 500 reached a 12-year low. The U.S. equity benchmark is up 132 percent since then. While companies with earnings most-tied to the economy such as retailers, computer makers and banks have led the advance , makers of home products such as soap and drugmakers are up the most in 2013. “It’s surprising to see that it’s not the deep cyclicals or the names that I would have expected in a really good market,” Birinyi said. “It just shows that people are comfortable with the market, and there’s a little bit more of a focus on stock picking than people realize.” S&P Profits S&P 500 profits are expanding for a third year and the U.S. Federal Reserve remains committed to continuing its unprecedented economic stimulus. The Fed pumped more than $2.3 trillion into the economy through monetary easing since 2008, sending Treasury yields to record lows last year. Per-share earnings are projected to reach $109.40 this year, compared with about $62 in 2009, analyst forecasts compiled by Bloomberg show. While profit estimates are set for a record, growth slowed last year to 8.1 percent for the fourth quarter compared with the 28 percent average of 2010 and 2011, data compiled by Bloomberg show. Analysts also cut their projections for the first quarter to a contraction of 1.8 percent from growth of 1.2 percent at the beginning of the year. “What I see looking forward is pretty flat earnings growth,” Jeffrey Kleintop , the Boston-based chief market strategist at LPL Financial Corp., which oversees $350 billion, said by telephone on March 28. “This market needs earnings to turn up before it can really begin to move higher.” Defensive Stocks Health-care stocks and consumer staples shares leading the rally also signal the advance in the S&P 500 may slow, he said. “You don’t usually see defensive groups leading the market to all-time highs,” Kleintop said. “What that suggests is that the rally may be getting a little tired. We might see something like we’ve seen in last few years | 3 | 30 | 2c9b8d103695baefe572087c8d0b9fc52fa93118 | 2013 | birinyi-says-buy-mining-technology-shares-as-bull-ages |
|
Syracuse, Wichita State Are First to Reach Men’s NCAA Final Four | By Nancy Kercheval | 2013-03-31T04:18:42Z | http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-03-30/syracuse-beats-marquette-55-39-to-reach-men-s-ncaa-final-four.html | 3 | 30 | 99ac72a12d52458ab0948e5b98072a9a | Syracuse University and Wichita
State University are the first two teams to advance to the Final
Four of the national men’s college basketball championship. Their opponents will be decided today when third-seeded
Florida plays No. 4 Michigan in the South regional final and
top-seeded Louisville faces No. 2 Duke in the Midwest regional
final. Ninth-seeded Wichita State topped No. 2 Ohio State 70-66 in
the West regional final yesterday. Syracuse, seeded fourth in
the East region, beat No. 3 Marquette 55-39, for its fifth trip
to the Final Four and the first since 2003, when it won the
National Collegiate Athletic Association tournament. “Once we got in the Big East Tournament, we started to
play good,” said Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim in a televised
interview. “It carried over into the NCAA tournament. When you
bounce back like that, that says a lot about your kids, your
team and your character. This is a heck of a bounce-back.” Syracuse (30-9) will play Florida or Michigan, who meet
today in the South regional final, on April 6 in Atlanta. James Southerland scored 16 points, C.J. Fair added 13 and
Michael Carter-Williams had 12 points and 10 rebounds. “I had a great game,” Carter-Williams said. “I think
this was one of my best.” The Orange last went to the Final Four in 2003, when the
team was led by Carmelo Anthony, who is the New York Knicks’
leading scorer this season. ‘Every 10 Years’ “It’s a great thing,” Boeheim said. “We go every 10
years. Every 10 years is our time.” Vander Blue and Davante Gardner each scored 14 points for
the third-seeded Golden Eagles (26-9), who hit 12 of 53 from the
floor for 23 percent. “They beat us start to finish,” Marquette coach Buzz Williams said. “When we get beat, we get beat.” At Staples Center in Los Angeles, Malcolm Armstead scored
14 points to lead the Shockers to their second appearance in the
Final Four, the first coming in 1965. “Last year we were watching all this on television,” said
Cleanthony Early, who scored 12 points. “Now I’m looking at a
hat that says ‘Final Four Atlanta’ with my team on it. It feels
good, and it feels even better that I could experience it with
these guys who had to struggle so hard to get here.” Wichita State (30-8) was ahead by as many as 20 points with
12 minutes, 41 seconds left to go in the game before the
Buckeyes hit nine straight free throws to trail by 56-45. Ohio State (29-8) chipped away at the Shockers’ lead before
running out of time. “We didn’t get many easy buckets and it shows,” said Ohio
State’s Aaron Craft, who hit 2-of-12 field goal attempts for
nine points. “They came out firing and we didn’t regain our
balance until it was too late.” Fred Van Vleet had 12 points and Tekele Cotton added 10 for
Wichita State which had a 35-22 halftime lead. DeShaun Thomas scored 23 points and LaQuinton Ross added 19
points for the Buckeyes. The Final Four will be played April 6 in Atlanta with the
championship game two days later. To contact the reporter on this story:
Nancy Kercheval in Washington at
nkercheval@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Michael Sillup at
msillup@bloomberg.net | 2013 | syracuse-beats-marquette-55-39-to-reach-men-s-ncaa-final-four |
North Korea Says It’s in ‘State of War’ With South Korea | By Jungah Lee | 2013-03-30T11:38:20Z | http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-03-30/north-korea-says-it-has-entered-state-of-war-with-south-korea.html | 3 | 30 | 5f3227ec3bc4465bb8978df09205f4ed | North Korea said it’s in a “state of war” with South Korea, escalating threats against the neighboring nation a day after putting its forces on standby to strike South Korean and U.S. targets. “Every issue raised between the North and South will be dealt with in a wartime manner,” the state-run Korean Central News Agency said today, citing what it called a special statement. U.S. stealth bomber flights over South Korea this week are “unacceptable” and North Korea’s statement is a “final warning” to the U.S. and its allies, KCNA said. Tensions have risen to the highest level in at least three years since North Korea detonated a nuclear device in February, defying global sanctions. Kim Jong Un’s regime this month cut off a military hot line with the South, put artillery forces on high alert and threatened pre-emptive nuclear strikes, drawing condemnation from U.S. Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel. “It’s part of what I call March Madness on the Korean Peninsula,” said Kenneth Quinones, professor of Korean studies at Akita International University in Japan . “Every March when the U.S. and South Korea hold military maneuvers, North Korea goes on full alert and makes similar threats. The only difference is the rhetoric has intensified, and the situation certainly merits concern and close monitoring.” Industrial Zone North Korea said it will shut a jointly run industrial zone in its border city of Gaeseong if the South and the U.S. continue to “insult the dignity” of the country, an unidentified spokesman for the General Bureau for Central Guidance to the Development of the Special Zone said today in a statement carried by KCNA. North Korea may “ban the south side’s personnel’s entry into the zone and close it,” the spokesman said. No unusual North Korean troop movements have been detected since the North’s threat to close Gaeseong, and South Korean businesspeople spending the night there are safe, Unification Ministry spokesman Kim Hyung Suk said by phone from Seoul . “We regret these continued threats and urge the North to retract them,” said the spokesman. Emergency communication channels with South Koreans in Gaeseong are operating to ensure their security, he said. Gaeseong is the last remaining example of inter-Korean cooperation. More than 120 South Korean companies employ about 53,000 North Koreans at the complex. From its opening in 2005 through Jan. 31, goods totaling more than $2 billion have been produced there, according to Unification Ministry data. Previous Disruption About 900 South Koreans regularly visit Gaeseong, located about 10 miles (16 kilometers) north of the demilitarized zone, the world’s most heavily fortified border. Almost 800 South Koreans were stranded in Gaeseong in March 2009 after the North temporarily severed communications. The North also briefly cut ties in 2010 after an international panel found it responsible for the sinking of a South Korean warship that left 46 sailors dead. Four North Korean websites were inaccessible today due to what appeared to be a “loosely coordinated effort by hackers,” according to a website that monitors Internet activity on the Korean peninsula. The North’s main Naenara web portal and the homepages of KCNA, the state-run airline Air Koryo, and the Voice of Korea, a broadcast outlet, were malfunctioning, North Korea Tech said on its website. South Korea’s Unification Ministry spokesman said some North Korean sites seemed to be periodically working. Stealth Bombers South Korea’s armed forces “will continue to closely monitor the North’s military movements” and “comprehensively punish any instances of provocation by the North,” Kim Min Seok, a Defense Ministry spokesman, said by phone. North Korea yesterday put some units on standby after Hagel on March 28 denounced the totalitarian state’s “provocative actions and belligerent tone.” Kim met with military leaders yesterday and ordered the preparations after two U.S. B-2 stealth bombers flew over South Korea on March 28 in a show of deterrence. That followed earlier overflights by B-52 bombers as the U.S. and South Korea held a two-month exercise named Foal Eagle, an annual event scheduled to include about 10,000 soldiers. “The situation of the Korean peninsula being neither at peace nor at war has come to an end,” KCNA said today. The states remain technically at war because their 1950-1953 conflict ended without a peace treaty. Japanese Comments “It is extremely regrettable that North Korea continues to make provocative statements, including this one, and to carry out provocative actions,” Japanese Foreign Ministry Deputy Press Secretary Naoko Saiki said by phone. Japan will keep working with other countries, “seeking to have North Korea carry out its obligations.” Two calls to China ’s Foreign Ministry seeking comment on the North Korean statement went unanswered outside business hours. Kim’s country relies on its neighbor for diplomatic and economic support. “Barring any incident, I expect a gradual softening,” said Quinones, who worked for the U.S. State Department before joining the university in Akita. “I don’t think war is inevitable. I’m optimistic cooler heads in Washington and Seoul will prevail.” North Korea’s rhetoric has had little impact so far on South Korean stocks, as the benchmark Kospi index gained 2.9 percent this week, its best performance in six months. “Technically the two countries have been at war, just stopped fighting,” Sebastien Galy , a foreign-exchange strategist in New York at Societe Generale SA, wrote in a note to clients received today. “But in the game of rhetoric it feels a bit like closing the door behind you.” To contact the reporter on this story: Jungah Lee in Seoul at jlee1361@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: Stanley James at sjames8@bloomberg.net | 2013 | north-korea-says-it-has-entered-state-of-war-with-south-korea |
Gillard May Seek China Currency Deal, Australian Reports | By Ben Sharples | 2013-03-30T07:26:28Z | http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-03-30/gillard-may-seek-china-currency-conversion-deal-australian-says.html | 3 | 30 | 8449b6a29d97339e06ffb7a7c4099c5746810a2f | Prime Minister Julia Gillard may
seek a deal enabling direct conversion of Australian dollars
into Chinese currency when she visits China next week, the
Australian newspaper reported today. Gillard will attend the Boao Forum, which runs from April 6
to April 8, and visit cities including Shanghai and Beijing, the
Australian newspaper reported , without saying where it got the
information. Darrin Barnett, a spokesman for the prime minister,
confirmed Gillard would attend the forum, declining to comment
on the currency conversion deal or full itinerary. China remained Australia’s top trading partner in January,
even as transactions slid to A$9.9 billion ($10 billion), the
lowest since September, according to figures from the
government’s statistics bureau. Australia’s business sector has
been seeking a deal for some time and a pact will help reduce
costs, said Arthur Sinodinos, shadow parliamentary secretary to
the leader of the opposition, according to the Australian
Broadcasting Corp. website. The Australian dollar closed at $1.0419 in Sydney yesterday.
It rose 1.8 percent last year against the greenback. The so-
called Aussie has surged as demand for the nation’s resources
from China and India set off a record mining boom. Internationalization of the yuan, China’s currency, is in
the interests of Australian businesses and the nation’s economy,
Treasurer Wayne Swan said in July. Japan last year started to
use its currency in direct trading with China. The central banks of China and Australia signed a A$30
billion currency swap agreement to ensure the availability of
capital between the trading partners, the Reserve Bank of
Australia said in March 2012. To contact the reporter on this story:
Ben Sharples in Melbourne at
bsharples@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Stanley James at
sjames8@bloomberg.net | 2013 | gillard-may-seek-china-currency-conversion-deal-australian-says |
Alford Signs With UCLA Basketball After Contract With New Mexico | By Bob Bensch | 2013-03-31T04:00:01Z | http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-03-30/ucla-hires-steve-alford-as-basketball-coach-replacing-howland.html | 3 | 30 | 5f54760d3def78eeb4be8730a89a7236da537122 | Steve Alford has signed on as men’s
basketball coach at UCLA less than two weeks after agreeing to a
10-year contract with the University of New Mexico. Alford, who replaces the fired Ben Howland, joins the
Bruins after six seasons at the University of New Mexico. The
Lobos went 29-6 this season, winning the Mountain West
Conference regular-season and tournament championships before
losing their opening game of the National Collegiate Athletic
Association tournament to Harvard. Before the loss to Harvard, the 48-year-old coach had
reached a deal with New Mexico that was worth more than $20
million over 10 years and was to take effect tomorrow, the
Associated Press said. Alford agreed with UCLA on a seven-year deal worth $18.2
million, with a yearly salary of $2.6 million and a $200,000
signing bonus, AP said, citing UCLA athletic director Dan Guerrero. “It was not an easy decision because I was extremely
happy,” Alford said, according to the AP. “I was about as
happy as I can be. When I kept thinking about things, it still
came back to UCLA. You’re talking about the premier basketball
program in the country. To have an opportunity like this, they
don’t come around every day.” Guerrero called Alford “the perfect fit for UCLA.” “He is part of the storied history of the game of college
basketball and understands the tradition and uniqueness of
UCLA,” Guerrero said on the school’s website. “Yet he also
connects with a new generation of players and brings an up-tempo
and team-oriented brand of basketball to Westwood.” Alford, the captain of Indiana ’s 1987 NCAA championship
team, has also coached at Iowa , Missouri State and Manchester
College. He will be introduced at UCLA on April 2, the school
said. Howland was fired March 25 after going 233-107 in 10
seasons. The Bruins were 25-10 this season and lost their
opening NCAA tournament game to Minnesota . For Related News and Information: To contact the reporter on this story:
Bob Bensch in London at
bbensch@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Michael Sillup at
msillup@bloomberg.net | 2013 | ucla-hires-steve-alford-as-basketball-coach-replacing-howland |
Mongolia Seeks to Play Peacemaker as North Korea Declares ‘War’ | By Michael Kohn | 2013-03-30T14:36:30Z | http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-03-30/mongolia-seeks-to-play-peacemaker-as-north-korea-declares-war-.html | 3 | 30 | 94b0335b1169253b4560c18f076e5c93370f74d3 | Mongolia called for six-party talks
to be resumed after North Korea said it’s in a “state of war”
with its neighbor to the south. “Mongolia would like to extend its relationship with North
Korea,” Prime Minister Norovyn Altankhuyag said at a press
conference in Ulaanbaatar with his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe. “Mongolia can contribute if they initiate any meetings.” North Korea’s official KCNA news agency stepped up its
rhetoric against South Korea a month after the secretive regime
defied global sanctions by detonating a nuclear device. Mongolia
is one of the few countries to have a working relationship with
both North Korea and the U.S., and hosted talks between the
communist state and Japan in November. Six-party talks have continued, on and off, for years
between South Korea , North Korea, China , the U.S., Russia and
Japan. Mongolia has maintained good relations with North Korea
for decades and, in a March 7 interview, Foreign Minister
Luvsanvandan Bold said he’d broached the matter of opening up
with the hardline state. Altankhuyag said he supports Japan’s efforts to repatriate
citizens kidnapped by North Korea, which Abe said he hopes can
be resolved during his administration. “Japan will never accept these North Korean tests,” Abe
said, speaking at the start of a two-day visit to the Mongolian
capital. “North Korea has to follow” United Nations Security
Council resolutions, he said. Mongolia’s booming mining sector is attracting the
attention of its neighbors and Abe agreed to cooperate on
several economic initiatives. The Japanese leader announced a
4.2 billion-yen ($45 million) loan to upgrade Ulaanbaatar’s
Power Station No. 4, built by the Soviets in 1981. The upgrade
will increase the capacity of the power station by 100 megawatts
to 580 megawatts. Japan also aims to assist Ulaanbaatar to build its first
metro line, a 10 1/2-mile train line with 3.7 miles to be dug
underground, according to a press release issued by Mongolia.
The cooperation agreement also includes the development of a new
international airport and Mongolia’s first oil refinery. To contact the reporter on this story:
Michael Kohn in Ulaanbaatar at
mkohn5@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story:
John Liu at
jliu42@bloomberg.net | 2013 | ongolia-seeks-to-play-peacemaker-as-north-korea-declares-war- |
Michigan, Louisville Advance to NCAA Tournament Regional Finals | By Eben Novy-Williams | 2013-03-30T02:38:14Z | http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-03-30/michigan-louisville-advance-to-ncaa-tournament-regional-finals.html | 3 | 30 | 478b2778d8a4f291ec20d9c7d128ba9c0f7a84bc | The University of Michigan and
University of Louisville advanced to the regional finals at the
National Collegiate Athletic Association basketball men’s
tournament. The Wolverines rallied from a 14-point second half deficit
to beat Kansas 87-85 in overtime at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington,
Texas . In the tournament’s first overtime game, Kansas missed
shots to win at the end of both the second half and the extra
period. Michigan guard Trey Burke scored 23 points, including a
three-point shot to tie the game at 76-76 with 4.2 seconds left
in the second half. Wolverines forward Mitch McGary added 25
points and 14 rebounds. “We just stuck with it,” Burke said in a televised
interview after the game. “We’re in those situations every day
in practice and we just try to find ways to come back and win.
I’m so proud of my team.” Michigan, in the regional finals for the first time since
1994, will face either Florida or Florida Gulf Coast in the
South regional final on March 31. In the first game of the evening, Louisville guard Russ
Smith scored a game-high 31 points as the Cardinals, the top
overall seed in the tournament, beat Oregon 77-69 for their 13th
consecutive victory. Louisville took a 13-7 lead five minutes
and 23 seconds into the game and never trailed again by less
than six points. Louisville coach Rick Pitino is now 11-0 in round of 16
games, including a 5-0 record with the Cardinals. The only top
seed remaining in the tournament, Louisville is in the regional
finals for the fourth time in the past six seasons, where they
will meet the winner of tonight’s game between Duke and Michigan
State. To contact the reporter on this story:
Eben Novy-Williams in New York at
enovywilliam@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Michael Sillup at
msillup@bloomberg.net | 2013 | ichigan-louisville-advance-to-ncaa-tournament-regional-finals |
Argentina Offers One-Sixth of Court-Ordered Bond Payment | By Bob Van Voris | 2013-03-30T06:07:24Z | http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-03-30/argentina-submits-payment-proposal-to-court-in-bonds-case.html | 3 | 30 | 16a7eecdcad149b291e8eaf089c056bb | Argentina , which defaulted on a
record $95 billion in sovereign debt in 2001, proposed giving
holders of $1.3 billion of the repudiated bonds about one-sixth
of what a New York judge has said they’re entitled to receive. The country’s filing of the proposed plan yesterday, less
than an hour before a midnight deadline, paves the way for the
U.S. Court of Appeals in New York to rule in a case in which a
group of creditors, led by Elliott Management Corp.’s NML
Capital Ltd., seeks to force the South American nation to pay
after more than a decade of legal fighting. Argentina said it proposes two possibilities for
bondholders to exchange their defaulted debt for new bonds.
Argentine officials will submit a bill to their nation’s
Congress to provide for the plan to be implemented, the
government said in a 22-page letter filed in court. “Argentina’s proposal accounts for past-due amounts to
bring the debt current, provides for a fair return going
forward, and also gives an upside in the form of annual payments
if Argentina’s economy grows,” the country’s lawyers said in
the letter. “The proposal fulfills the court’s dual objectives
to satisfy the pari passu clause: non-discrimination in payment
priority and equal treatment among bondholders.” NML Recovery According to Argentina, the payment formula set by a New
York judge that the country is challenging in the appeal, would
pay NML Capital $720 million. That compares with an estimated
value of $120.6 million for NML under one of the payment
alternatives it is proposing, the so-called discount option. In its letter, Argentina estimates that NML paid
$48.7 million for the bonds in 2008. “The formula adopted by the district court would cause
great harm to the exchange bondholders while giving plaintiffs a
return that is exorbitant on its face,” Argentina said in the
letter. In 2005 and 2010, Argentina offered its creditors new
bonds, at a deep discount. About 91 percent of bondholders
agreed to the debt restructuring. NML and other holdouts have
tried to use U.S. courts to enforce their rights under the
original bond agreements. Argentina’s top leaders previously vowed never to pay the
“vulture” investors, many of which bought the distressed bonds
in hopes of turning a profit. Argentina’s legislature in 2005
passed a so-called lock law barring payment on the defaulted
bonds. A decision forcing Argentina to pay defaulted bondholders
immediately would expose the nation to $43 billion in additional
claims it can’t pay and trigger a new default, the government
has said. Par Option Under Argentina’s proposal, a so-called par option would
give bondholders new bonds due in 2038 in a nominal face amount
equal to the amount of their defaulted debt, plus unpaid
interest up to the end of 2001. The par bonds would pay interest
that rises from 2.5 percent to 5.25 percent a year over the life
of the bonds. They would also receive a one-time cash payment to
compensate for interest they would have earned if the bonds had
been issued on Dec. 31, 2003, according to the letter. The holders would receive additional payments when the
Argentine gross domestic product growth exceeds about 3 percent
a year, the government said in the letter. The discount option would give bondholders discount bonds
due in 2033, that would be less than the defaulted amount, with
an 8.28 percent annual rate and an increase in principal over
time. They would be compensated for past due interest on those
bonds with new bonds due in 2017 that pay 8.75 percent annually,
according to the letter. The holders would also receive GDP-tied payments, according
to the proposal. No Better Terms Argentina said its proposal wouldn’t allow the plaintiffs
in the lawsuit to force it to offer payment on better terms than
those received by bondholders who agreed to the debt
restructurings. Eugenio Bruno, an attorney at the Buenos Aires law firm
Estudio Garrido, said in an e-mail that Argentina’s proposal is
similar to past debt-restructuring offers by the country that
have been rejected by NML and the other holdouts. If the government were to offer a better deal, it would
trigger provisions allowing holders of the exchange bonds to
take advantage of more favorable terms offered to the holdouts,
he said. Bruno represents Alfonso Prat-Gay, a former governor of
Argentina’s central bank, who submitted a brief in the case
supporting his country’s effort to overturn the ruling. Bruno
said he also advises exchange bondholders and holdouts who
aren’t involved in litigation. Court Order In November, U.S. District Judge Thomas Griesa in Manhattan
said Argentina must pay the entire $1.3 billion claimed by the
creditors in the lawsuit whenever it made any payment on its
restructured debt. The issue was argued in front of the appeals
court on Feb. 27. On March 1, the appeals court ordered Argentina to provide
a suggested formula for paying the creditors, led by NML
Capital, which refused to take the restructured bonds at a deep
discount. Argentina’s lawyer, in the Feb. 27 hearing, “appeared to
propose” an alternative to the payment formula devised by
Griesa, according to the appeals court. The three-judge panel
gave Argentina a final chance to influence its decision. The
judges said they may ask the creditors to file a response before
they issue a ruling. Court’s Requirements The judges said Argentina must tell them how and when it
proposes to make current its payments on the defaulted bonds and
the rate it proposes to pay. The panel also sought assurances
that Argentina’s government would take the necessary actions to
make the payments. The panel said March 26 that it won’t grant a full-court
reconsideration of its ruling in a related appeal. In that
decision, the court barred Argentina from treating restructured-
debt holders more favorably than holders of the repudiated debt. The lower court case is NML Capital Ltd. v. Republic of
Argentina, 08-06978, U.S. District Court, Southern District of
New York (Manhattan). The appeal is NML Capital Ltd. v. Republic
of Argentina, 12-00105, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second
Circuit (New York). To contact the reporter on this story:
Bob Van Voris in New York at
rvanvoris@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Michael Hytha at
mhytha@bloomberg.net | 2013 | argentina-submits-payment-proposal-to-court-in-bonds-case |
Penguins Go 15-0 for NHL’s First Perfect Month, Crosby Injured | By Nancy Kercheval | 2013-03-31T04:01:00Z | http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-03-30/penguins-record-first-perfect-month-in-nhl-history-crosby-hurt.html | 3 | 30 | 6152c0a5d9aa18749df582813383ad442cd10259 | The Pittsburgh Penguins capped the
first perfect month in National Hockey League history with a 2-0
victory over the New York Islanders, extending their winning
streak to 15 games, two shy of their own league record. Pittsburgh captain Sidney Crosby needed surgery on his
mouth last night after he was hit in the face when a shot by his
defenseman Brooks Orpik deflected off a stick. “Sidney took a puck to the teeth and lost a few,” head
coach Dan Bylsma said on the team’s website. “We’ll continue to
evaluate and monitor that.” During the past two years, Crosby missed the final 41 games
in 2011 and the Stanley Cup finals with a concussion, as well as
most of the 2012 regular season with lingering symptoms. “When you see the replay, he had no chance to move,”
forward Jarome Iginla told reporters after his debut with the
Penguins. After two scoreless innings on home ice at Consol Energy
Center, Matt Cooke scored eight minutes into the final period
and James Neal added a second goal five minutes later. Goalie Tomas Vokoun made 35 saves as the Penguins, 15-0-0
in March, need two more wins to match the record 17 straight
victories set by Mario Lemieux and the 1992-93 Penguins. “The shutout is nice, but preserving the winning streak is
even better,” Vokoun said. “It’s been great.” Pittsburgh’s next two games are a visit from the Buffalo
Sabres on April 2 and a trip to Madison Square Garden to face
the New York Rangers on April 3. Pittsburgh has the best record in the NHL at 28-8-0 for 56
points. The Chicago Blackhawks are second at 25-5-3 for 53
points. To contact the reporter on this story:
Nancy Kercheval in Washington at
nkercheval@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Michael Sillup at
msillup@bloomberg.net | 2013 | penguins-record-first-perfect-month-in-nhl-history-crosby-hur |
Jockey JT McNamara Paralyzed in Cheltenham Fall, Family Says | By Bob Bensch | 2013-03-30T14:15:04Z | http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-03-30/jockey-jt-mcnamara-paralyzed-in-cheltenham-fall-family-says.html | 3 | 30 | 830ab98bf51ef8fa4e4755ae1cd866c0a2781498 | Jockey JT McNamara suffered
paralysis in a fall earlier this month at English horse racing’s
Cheltenham Festival, his family said in a statement. The 37-year-old amateur from Ireland fractured two
vertebrae in his neck after falling from Galaxy Rock in the
Challenge Cup race on March 14. He was remains at Frenchay
Hospital in Bristol after undergoing surgery, though plans are
being made to transfer him to Matar Hospital in Dublin. “While he suffered a serious neck injury resulting in
paralysis, he has made progress in the last week and is in a
very positive frame of mind,” according to a statement on
behalf of McNamara’s family posted today on the website of the
Injured Jockeys Fund. McNamara was placed in a medically induced coma, after
which his family said he was “fully alert” but required full-
time ventilation. To contact the reporter on this story:
Bob Bensch in London at
bbensch@bloomberg.net . To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Christopher Elser at celser@bloomberg.net . | 2013 | jockey-jt-mcnamara-paralyzed-in-cheltenham-fall-family-says |
Napolitano Names Advisers in Renewed Push for Italy Deal | By Andrew Frye | 2013-03-31T14:31:02Z | http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-03-30/napolitano-names-advisers-in-renewed-push-for-italian-coalition.html | 3 | 30 | 017070425ce242fcbde21f5f6136cd19 | Italian President Giorgio Napolitano renewed his push to forge a government from the
country’s divided parliament by drafting advisers from two of
the top three political forces. Members of the parliamentary coalitions headed by Pier Luigi Bersani and ex-Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi were among
the 10 men selected, according to an e-mail sent late yesterday
by Napolitano’s office. Civil servants, a former politician, a
retired judge and a central banker rounded out the two lists.
Beppe Grillo’s Five Star Movement, the third-largest group, had
no lawmakers included. The effort by Napolitano, 87, follows a week of talks among
parliamentary leaders that failed to produce a government.
Clashes that arose during the election campaign in January and
February made it difficult for Bersani and Berlusconi to come to
terms after the vote. Napolitano, in the final two months of his
seven-year term, is counting on the lawmakers loyal to Bersani
and Berlusconi to find common ground. “What Napolitano is trying to force is a kind of road map
toward a coalition government,” said Giovanni Orsina, a history
professor at Luiss Guido Carli University in Rome. “These names
all together tell me dialogue.” Compromise between the top two groups may be easier after
Bersani, who refused to share a cabinet with Berlusconi, took a
step back on March 28 and relinquished control of negotiations.
Berlusconi, a 76-year-old billionaire, has said he is open to
governing with Bersani’s Democratic Party. Five Star, which
campaigned for a renewal in Italian politics, has rejected
forming a government in tandem with another party. Institutional Change Gaetano Quagliariello, a senator in Berlusconi’s People of
Liberty party, and Luciano Violante, an ex-lawmaker with a
forerunner of the Democratic Party, are on the team set to
explore institutional changes. Democratic Party Senator Filippo
Bubbico and Giancarlo Giorgetti, a representative with the
Northern League, a Berlusconi ally, are among six members of the
team focusing on economic, social and European issues. The work of the teams “may become in various forms the
base for compromise among the various political forces,”
Napolitano said at the presidential palace in Rome before the
members were announced. “It could become useful material also
for the tasks that will be required of the new president.” Grillo Criticism Napolitano reiterated that he will serve until his mandate
ends on May 15, denying reports that he was considering a
resignation to speed the entry of his successor into the talks.
Presidents in the final stages of their mandates aren’t
permitted to dissolve parliament and call new elections, an
option that would be available to the next incumbent. Grillo, an ex-comic who characterized his party’s mission
as the French Revolution without the guillotine, criticized
Napolitano’s appointment of advisers in a blog posting today. Italy “doesn’t need ‘caretakers of democracy,’ but rather
to make its parliament function better and quickly,” Grillo
said . “The country doesn’t need mysterious negotiators or
facilitators of the caliber of Violante, the grand master of
backroom deals, to cite just one, to act as a group of wise
men.” Violante, a former speaker of the lower house of
parliament, didn’t respond to a request via his website for
comment. Parliamentary Majority Italy needs a government with a majority in parliament to
take steps such as passing economic stimulus measures and to
guard against bond-market speculation in the wake of the
financial crisis in Cyprus . Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti,
who remains in office until a new government is installed, can’t
count on a majority in parliament and has said he is eager for
his mandate to expire. Italy is stuck in its fourth recession since 2001, and each
of the top three political forces has proposed tax cuts aimed at
spurring growth. Investors, who buy more than 30 billion euros
($38 billion) of bonds each month to finance Italy’s debt, are
counting on a deal that will ensure a government strong enough
to pass measures to boost the economy and manage the budget. Quagliariello and Violante are joined on the institutional-
change team by Valerio Onida, a former president of Italy’s
Constitutional Court, and Mario Mauro, a senator in Monti’s
Civic Choice party who previously belonged to Berlusconi’s
group. The economic and social team is completed by European
Affairs Minister Enzo Moavero Milanesi, Competition Commissioner
Giovanni Pitruzzella, Bank of Italy Deputy Director General
Salvatore Rossi and Enrico Giovannini, chairman of the national
statistics office Istat. To contact the reporter on this story:
Andrew Frye in Rome at
afrye@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story:
James Hertling at
jhertling@bloomberg.net | 2013 | napolitano-names-advisers-in-renewed-push-for-italian-coalition |
Huawei Expects to Triple Smartphones Sales This Year to 60 Million Units | By Cornelius Rahn | 2012-02-26T16:57:30Z | http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-02-26/huawei-s-yu-pedicts-to-ship-60-million-smartphones-worldwide-this-year.html | 2 | 26 | 57c28dfba6281ad75cc29b5337f08b0b28fd8fcf | Huawei Technologies Co., China ’s
largest maker of phone equipment, aims to triple the number of
smartphones it delivers to 60 million this year as it takes aim
at Apple Inc. (AAPL) ’s iPhone and new handsets by Nokia Oyj. (NOK1V) About 30 percent to 40 percent of this year’s shipments
will probably go to China, Richard Yu, chairman of the company’s
devices unit, said at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.
Huawei today unveiled the Ascend D quad handset, calling it
“the world’s fastest smartphone.” The device will cost 15
percent to 20 percent less than “comparable phones.” Huawei, based in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen,
forecast in April last year that it plans to boost revenue to
$100 billion over five to 10 years. The company, which was
founded in 1987, is also adding areas like cloud computing and
small-business networks to its traditional network-equipment
business, where it competes with companies including Ericsson AB
and Nokia Siemens Networks. “We want to be the top brand in the industry,” Yu said.
“Our phone brand isn’t that famous, but our products should be
the best ones.” The Ascend D quad will be sold in all major markets
starting next quarter. A version that works on networks based on
the the faster long-term evolution technology will be available
in the second half of 2012, the company said. To contact the reporter on this story:
Cornelius Rahn in Barcelona at
crahn2@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Kenneth Wong at
kwong11@bloomberg.net | 2012 | uawei-s-yu-pedicts-to-ship-60-million-smartphones-worldwide-this-year |
Obrascon, PBG Win 221 Million-Euro Contract for Road in Poland | By Esteban Duarte | 2012-02-26T11:04:12Z | http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-02-26/obrascon-pbg-win-221-million-euro-contract-for-road-in-poland.html | 2 | 26 | 1e48ea63bb8a9440069073f33a276dee17bb6029 | Obrascon Huarte Lain SA (OHL) said it won
with Poland’s PBG SA (PBG) a 221.4 million-euro ($298 million)
contract to build a section of a road in Gdansk, the Polish
northern city, according to a statement from the Madrid-based
company today. To contact the reporter on this story:
Esteban Duarte in Madrid at
eduarterubia@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Emma Ross-Thomas at
erossthomas@bloomberg.net | 2012 | obrascon-pbg-win-221-million-euro-contract-for-road-in-poland |
Pennsylvania Beats Harvard to Put Ivy League Basketball Title Up for Grabs | By Nancy Kercheval | 2012-02-26T05:37:50Z | http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-02-26/pennsylvania-beats-harvard-to-put-ivy-league-basketball-title-up-for-grabs.html | 2 | 26 | df454c209dab3b5a7876827a8ea5232755d695cf | Zack Rosen hit two foul shots in the
final 23.2 seconds to give the University of Pennsylvania a
55-54 win over Harvard University and throw the Ivy League
Conference title up for grabs. A win by Harvard last night would have guaranteed the
Crimson at least a share of the men’s college basketball
conference title. Rosen, who had 20 points, scored the final nine for the
Quakers, who overcame a 30-24 halftime deficit at Lavietes
Pavilion in Boston . “It’s been a season of heart so far, and it’s going to be
a season of heart for three more games,” Rosen told reporters.
“We want this thing.” Pennsylvania (17-11, 9-2 Ivy), which last won the Ivy
League title in 2007, ended Harvard’s 28-game home winning
streak. Kyle Casey , who scored 12 points for Harvard, got his
basket pulled back with four seconds left in the game by a
charging call. Harvard (24-4, 10-2 Ivy) is seeking its first National
Collegiate Athletic Association tournament spot since 1946. “It’s a devastating loss,” Harvard coach Tommy Amaker
told reporters. “It’s a disappointing loss.” Harvard finishes the season with games against Columbia on
March 2 and Cornell on March 3. Pennsylvania faces Brown on
March 2, Yale on March 3 and Princeton on March 6 before the
regular season ends. To contact the reporter on this story:
Nancy Kercheval in Washington at
nkercheval@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Michael Sillup at
msillup@bloomberg.net | 2012 | pennsylvania-beats-harvard-to-put-ivy-league-basketball-title-up-for-grabs |
New York Rangers End Two-Game Losing Streak With 3-2 Win Over Sabres | By Nancy Kercheval | 2012-02-26T05:00:01Z | http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-02-26/new-york-rangers-end-two-game-losing-streak-with-3-2-win-over-sabres.html
Ryan Callahan scored a goal in
overtime as the New York Rangers broke a two-game losing streak
with a 3-2 victory over the Buffalo Sabres . Callahan recorded his 100th National Hockey League goal and
career-high 24th of the season at two minutes, 59 seconds into
overtime last night at New York’s Madison Square Garden. “It’s something to look back on at the end of the year | 2 | 26 | 59a74dc43c40fbb80f8780ef737c880082e393ee | high,” Callahan said. “It’s nice to enjoy tonight but come
Monday it’s another game.” Drew Stafford gave the Sabres a 1-0 lead with his first of
two goals in the first period. Carl Hagelin tied it at 1-1 in
the second period. Stafford got his second goal 44 seconds into the third
period for a 2-1 Sabres lead. Marian Gaborik scored five minutes
later to force the game into overtime. “We played much better in the little areas of the ice,”
coach John Tortorella said. “When we tied it up, for some
reason they ended up taking the momentum. That’s part of the
game that wasn’t good. To go down early in the third period, you
don’t want to script it this way as far as a win, but it turns
out to be a good way to win. We were much better.” New York (39-15-6) leads the Eastern Conference with 84
points and is two points behind league-leading Vancouver.
Buffalo (27-27-8) is 11th in the conference with 62 points, six
points below the postseason cutoff. To contact the reporter on this story:
Nancy Kercheval in Washington at
nkercheval@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Michael Sillup at
msillup@bloomberg.net | 2012 | new-york-rangers-end-two-game-losing-streak-with-3-2-win-over-sabres |
BP Gulf Spill Trial Delayed to Allow for Settlement Talks | By Jef Feeley and Allen Johnson Jr. | 2012-02-27T00:54:42Z | http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-02-26/bp-plaintiffs-committee-say-spill-trial-delayed-to-march-5-for-more-talks.html
The BP Plc trial over liability for
the explosion aboard the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig and the
Gulf of Mexico oil spill that followed was delayed until March 5
as settlement negotiations continue, according to court records. The one-week postponement of tomorrow’s scheduled start of
a multibillion-dollar trial over who is to blame for the
accident and spill is to allow for negotiations to reach a
settlement to “fairly compensate people and businesses,” BP
and lawyers for the plaintiffs said in a joint statement. “There can be no assurance that these discussions will
lead to a settlement agreement,” according to the statement.
“A further announcement will be made as appropriate.” U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier in New Orleans is
scheduled to oversee the first phase of the case against London-
based BP (BP) and other companies over the blast that killed 11
workers and caused the largest offshore oil spill in U.S.
history. In his order today delaying the trial, Barbier cited
“reasons of judicial efficiency and to allow the parties to
make further progress in their settlement discussions.” The April 2010 Macondo well blowout sent more than 4
million barrels of oil spewing into the gulf over 87 days,
according to a U.S. government report issued in September. The accident spawned hundreds of lawsuits against BP and
its partners, including Transocean Ltd. (RIG) , the Vernier,
Switzerland-based owner and operator of the drilling rig, and
Houston-based Halliburton Co. (HAL) , which provided cementing services
on the facility. Fishing, Tourism The lawsuits include pollution claims by federal and state
governments and consolidated cases brought by thousands of
commercial fishermen, seafood processors, property owners and
tourism-related businesses harmed by the spill. BP has been in settlement talks with the federal
government, plaintiffs suing over the spill and other companies
facing liability in the cases for months, people familiar the
discussions have said. Barbier, who will hear the case without a jury, is to rule
whether London-based BP should get help from the other firms
involved in paying the $26 billion in costs associated with the
sinking of the Deepwater Horizon and the spill. If there isn’t a
deal reached by all sides, the judge will determine whether the
companies must pay punitive damages to thousands of business and
property owners, and fines to the government for polluting the
Gulf of Mexico . ‘Significant Progress’ The trial delay may indicate “there has been significant
progress in settlement talks and it may not be necessary to have
a trial, or at least a trial as currently configured,” David Uhlmann, a University of Michigan law professor and former chief
of the U.S. Justice Department’s environmental crime section,
said today in a phone interview. Any agreement will probably focus on claims filed by
lawyers for federal and state governments, though it could also
be broader, Uhlmann said. “The delay indicates the judge believes there is some
good-faith bargaining going on,” Carl Tobias , who teaches
product-liability and mass-tort law at the University of
Richmond in Virginia , said today in a phone interview. ‘Moving Parts’ “I think a global settlement is very unlikely to be
consummated in the next day or two,” Tobias said. “There’s
just too many moving parts. The real question is can they do it
all in a week or will they just be able to settle parts of it.” David Nicholas, a BP spokesman, declined to comment on the
trial delay or settlement negotiations. Wyn Hornbuckle, a U.S.
Justice Department spokesman, said, “We have no comment and
refer you to the order just issued by the court.” Beverly Stafford, a Halliburton spokeswoman, had no
immediate comment on the trial delay. “This delay doesn’t change the facts of the case and
Transocean is still fully prepared to go to trial,” Lou Colasuonno, a spokesman for the company, said today in a phone
interview. The cases over economic and environmental damage were
initially consolidated before Barbier, who has scheduled a
three-phase trial. In the first phase, he will determine which
companies share blame for the explosion, and whether any of them
engaged in gross negligence or willful misconduct. Such a finding might trigger punitive damages | 2 | 26 | c380822482b84d8894c54cabb0959e7a | p.m., Monday through Thursday. He would not lightly agree to a
delay unless he feels there is a genuine hope of an agreement.” The case is In re Oil Spill by the Oil Rig Deepwater
Horizon in the Gulf of Mexico on April 20, 2010, MDL-2179, U.S.
District Court, Eastern District of Louisiana ( New Orleans ). To contact the reporters on this story:
Jef Feeley in New Orleans, at
jfeeley@bloomberg.net ;
Allen Johnson Jr. in New Orleans at
allenmct@gmail.com . To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Michael Hytha at mhytha@bloomberg.net | 2012 | bp-plaintiffs-committee-say-spill-trial-delayed-to-march-5-for-more-talks |
Schaeuble Seeks to Cut Banks From Market Regulator, Spiegel Says | By Tony Czuczka | 2012-02-26T13:25:06Z | http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-02-26/schaeuble-seeks-to-cut-banks-from-market-regulator-spiegel-says.html | 2 | 26 | 00da865880f70b72588c7d3e70a1dfc012ee0606 | Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble
is seeking to remove banking representatives from the board of
Germany ’s BaFin financial-market regulator and replace them with
academics or members of research institutes, Der Spiegel
reported, without saying how it got the information. Schaeuble’s goal is to reduce the influence of the bank
lobbies, which currently have a vote on the BaFin’s board along
with government representatives, the magazine said today. To contact the reporter on this story:
Tony Czuczka in Berlin at
aczuczka@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story:
James Hertling at
jhertling@bloomberg.net | 2012 | schaeuble-seeks-to-cut-banks-from-market-regulator-spiegel-says |
Swiss Re Focusing on Organic Growth, CEO Tells SonntagsZeitung | By Klaus Wille | 2012-02-26T12:27:15Z | http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-02-26/swiss-re-focusing-on-organic-growth-ceo-tells-sonntagszeitung.html | 2 | 26 | ba49bcefd396cb8c1dc605d120c5d8703353e679 | Swiss Re Ltd (SREN) . is currently not
focusing on acquisitions, Chief Executive Officer Michel Lies
told SonntagsZeitung in an interview. The company is very much able at “growing organically,”
Lies was quoted as saying by the Swiss newspaper. Swiss Re’s
high liquidity enables the reinsurer to choose customers
selectively and allows sustainable dividend payments, he said. To contact the reporter on this story:
Klaus Wille in Zurich at
kwille@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Craig Stirling at
cstirling1@bloomberg.net | 2012 | swiss-re-focusing-on-organic-growth-ceo-tells-sonntagszeitung |
Ex-BP Browne May Buy Into Fairfield, Sunday Times Says | By Catherine Airlie | 2012-02-27T04:44:26Z | http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-02-26/former-bp-boss-browne-may-buy-into-fairfield-sunday-times-says.html | 2 | 26 | f08f8000579195478b314ba25866271b02b094ff | (Corrects John Browne ’s role at Riverstone in first
paragraph.) A private equity company that
includes former BP Plc Chief Executive Officer John Browne among
its partners is in advanced talks to buy as much as half of
Fairfield Energy Ltd., a U.K.-based oil and gas business, the
Sunday Times reported. Browne heads the European unit of Riverstone Holdings LLC,
which may acquire additional North-Sea oil and gas assets if it
were to buy a stake in Fairfield Energy, the newspaper reported,
without saying where it got its information. Riverstone and
Fairfield together would have 30 billion pounds ($48 billion)
under management, according to the report. Fairfield is
controlled by Warburg Pincus LLC, a private equity fund based in
New York . To contact the reporter on this story:
Catherine Airlie in London at
cairlie@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Mike Harrison at
mharrison5@bloomberg.net | 2012 | former-bp-boss-browne-may-buy-into-fairfield-sunday-times-says |
Takeda’s TAK-875 Fights Diabetes as Well as Older Drug in Study | By Simeon Bennett | 2012-02-26T23:30:00Z | http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-02-26/takeda-s-tak-875-fights-diabetes-as-well-as-older-generic-drug-in-a-study.html | 2 | 26 | 0f2355bbd20696877841f2e11b81fc50ae8349d4 | Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. (4502) ’s
experimental diabetes drug lowered blood sugar as much as an
older generic medicine with fewer side effects, a company-
sponsored study found. In a trial of 426 patients with Type 2 diabetes , TAK-875
reduced blood sugar below a pre-determined level in as much as
48 percent of those receiving it after 12 weeks, compared with
40 percent of those who got glimepiride, the older drug,
according to findings published online by The Lancet medical
journal today. The research was presented in June at the
American Diabetes Association ’s annual meeting in San Diego . Takeda is testing TAK-875 in the third and final stage of
patient studies usually required for regulatory approval. The
Osaka , Japan-based company seeks products to replace sales of
Actos, the world’s best-selling diabetes treatment, that will be
lost when the therapy’s patent protection ends this year. About 90 percent of the 285 million people worldwide with
diabetes have Type 2, the form that TAK-875 is designed to
fight. The pill belongs to a new class of treatments called
GPR40 agonists, which activate a receptor that stimulates and
regulates insulin production. New treatments are needed because of “the expected
increase in the number of cases of Type 2 diabetes during the
next few decades” and because some current drugs have
“insufficient effect,” the researchers, led by Charles Burant
at the University of Michigan Medical School, wrote in the
study. About 2 percent of those receiving TAK-875 in the trial
developed hypoglycemia, a complication in which blood sugar is
lowered too much, compared with 19 percent of those receiving
glimepiride, the researchers wrote. About half of the TAK-875
group experienced an adverse side effect of any kind, compared
with 61 percent of those in the glimepiride group. To contact the reporter on this story:
Simeon Bennett in Geneva at
sbennett9@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Phil Serafino at
pserafino@bloomberg.net | 2012 | akeda-s-tak-875-fights-diabetes-as-well-as-older-generic-drug-in-a-study |
Spain’s BBVA Bids for ECB Three-Year Loans, Chairman Tells Pais | By Esteban Duarte | 2012-02-26T11:32:57Z | http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-02-26/spain-s-bbva-bids-for-ecb-three-year-loans-chairman-tells-pais.html | 2 | 26 | 8e338757a6587055a338941a38f0329b890803a8 | Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria SA (BBVA)
chairman Francisco Gonzalez said the Spanish lender will bid for
three-year loans in the Feb. 29 European Central Bank auction,
according to El Pais . BBVA will seek a similar amount to the 11 billion euros
($14.8 billion) that the Bilbao-based bank raised in the first
tender of this kind from the ECB on Dec. 21, Gonzalez said in an
interview with the Madrid-based newspaper. There is no stigma
for banks taking part in the central bank auction, he told El
Pais. Banks shouldn’t ask for ECB money to invest in government
debt and instead it should be used to fix problems, he said,
according to El Pais. The ECB three-year loans will help the
economic recovery, he told El Pais. The Spanish government bonds’ risk premium should decline
by the end of this year to below 300 basis points, he told El
Pais. If that is not the case, it means that things are not on
the right track, he told El Pais. The Spanish-German 10-year yield spread narrowed on Feb. 24
to 316.1 basis points from 318.7 a day earlier, data compiled by
Bloomberg show. To contact the reporter on this story:
Esteban Duarte in Madrid at
eduarterubia@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Emma Ross-Thomas at
erossthomas@bloomberg.net | 2012 | spain-s-bbva-bids-for-ecb-three-year-loans-chairman-tells-pais |
Acciona Joins Australian Solar Power Venture After BP Drops Out | By James Paton | 2012-02-26T00:51:00Z | http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-02-26/acciona-joins-australian-solar-power-venture-after-bp-drops-out.html | 2 | 26 | ecabcf4316fffe9f74ebcd2f411d4e9dbcef2819 | Acciona SA (ANA) , the Spanish renewable
energy company, has joined Pacific Hydro Pty in a venture
seeking Australian funds to build the Moree solar farm in New
South Wales state after partner BP Plc (BP/) dropped out. Acciona will provide engineering and construction services
to the solar-power project, while Pacific Hydro and Fotowatio
Renewable Ventures will take up the ownership stake previously
held by BP, Melbourne-based Pacific Hydro (PHY) said in an e-mailed
statement today. The venture will sign a power-supply accord
with Pacific Hydro, which plans to start its own retail energy
group, according to the statement. While the partners in the proposed A$923 million ($987
million) solar plant won government funds last year, they failed
to sign a power-purchase agreement in time to reach a December
financing deadline. That prompted the government to reopen the
funding competition to other bidders, including AGL Energy Ltd. To contact the reporter on this story:
James Paton in Sydney at
jpaton4@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Paul Tighe at
ptighe@bloomberg.net | 2012 | acciona-joins-australian-solar-power-venture-after-bp-drops-ou |
Athens Metro Driver Finds Explosive Device on Train, Police Say | By Paul Tugwell | 2012-02-26T12:04:49Z | http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-02-26/athens-metro-driver-finds-explosive-device-on-train-police-say.html | 2 | 26 | d1ad3bcbdd004cf24c05b1eaf7f8263abb28e051 | The driver of an Athens metro train
found an explosive device under a seat in one of his train’s
wagons yesterday evening, Greek police said. The device, which consisted of a four-liter (one gallon)
container with inflammable liquid, batteries, a timer device,
cables and a switch, was found in a gift box on a train at the
Egaleo terminus station in western Athens before it was due to
pick up passengers and begin a service to Athens International
Airport , a police spokeswoman said today in a phone interview on
condition of anonymity in keeping with police force policy. Officers neutralized the device and a forensic
investigation is continuing, the spokeswoman said. To contact the reporter on this story:
Paul Tugwell in Athens at
ptugwell1@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Jerrold Colten at
jcolten@bloomberg.net | 2012 | athens-metro-driver-finds-explosive-device-on-train-police-say |
Yen’s Worst Slump Since 2009 Shows Intervention No Match for BOJ Purchases | By Masaki Kondo and Hiroko Komiya | 2012-02-27T13:47:59Z | http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-02-26/yen-s-worst-slump-since-2009-shows-intervention-no-match-for-boj-purchases.html | 2 | 26 | 3108ef46be7647089f5ef7ef5863b500 | Bank of Japan Governor Masaaki Shirakawa’s inflation goal is succeeding where record
intervention failed, as the yen heads for its steepest monthly
drop in two years. The currency reached an almost nine-month low after the
BOJ, which has struggled for more than a decade against
deflation, said on Feb. 14 it aimed for 1 percent annual gains
in consumer prices and would add 10 trillion yen ($124 billion)
to the economy. Traders are paying record premiums for options
to buy the dollar versus the yen for three, six and 12 months.
Bullish bets on Japan’s currency have fallen 70 percent from the
end of last month. Shirakawa needs a weaker yen to help Japan export its way
out of a recession made deeper by last year’s earthquake and the
worst nuclear crisis in a generation. Energy imports to replace
lost capacity have reversed trade surpluses that made the
currency a refuge in a slowing global economy. Prospects of
higher inflation are driving it down, at least for now. “The BOJ seems to have shifted their stance quite
aggressively,” Mansoor Mohi-uddin, the Singapore-based chief
currency strategist at UBS AG, said by telephone on Feb. 24.
“It’s definitely a situation where the trend is now reversed.” UBS cut its year-end yen projection to 85 per dollar from
80, saying the BOJ’s inflation goal will help reinforce
expectations that policy will remain easier for longer, a note
from the brokerage said on Feb. 22. Current Account Japan has posted an annual current-account surplus , the
broadest measure of trade, since at least 1985, according to the
Ministry of Finance, turning the nation into the world’s largest
creditor. It had 251.5 trillion yen in net assets overseas at
the end of 2010, the latest data from the ministry show. That’s
almost the size of Germany ’s annual economic output in dollar
terms. The Trade Ministry said in November that the current
account may slide into deficit from the middle of this decade,
and Japan posted a record 1.48 trillion-yen trade deficit, a
narrower measure, last month. Through the global financial crisis, the currency gained
from more than 120 to the dollar in 2007 to about 80 as Japanese
households accumulated 1,471 trillion yen in assets, helping the
government finance its deficits. Domestic investors hold more
than 90 percent of Japan’s public debt, the world’s largest at
about double the size of the economy, allowing the government to
borrow for 10 years at less than 1 percent interest. Five-Day Slide The currency climbed against all 16 most-traded
counterparts in 2011 for a second-straight year. Even after the
recent decline, the yen is 17 percent stronger than its five-
year average. It will be at 77 by the end of March, according to
the median estimate of currency analysts surveyed by Bloomberg. “As long as Japan maintains its current-account surplus,
funds will accumulate inside the country and be invested in
government bonds via bank deposits ,” Yunosuke Ikeda, head of
Japan foreign-exchange research at Nomura Securities Co., the
nation’s biggest brokerage, said by phone on Feb. 23. “A plunge
in the yen is intriguing as a tale, but I am skeptical that it
will actually come about.” The yen slid against the dollar for five-consecutive days
through Feb. 22, the longest stretch since April, and is set for
a 5.3 percent plunge in February, the biggest monthly drop since
December 2009. It reached 81.67 against the dollar today, the
weakest level since May, before appreciating 0.7 percent to
80.55 at 8:37 a.m. New York time. The yen slid to 109.93 per
euro, the least since October, before strengthening 1.2 percent
to 107.84. Two-Year Yields Government currency sales totaled 14.3 trillion yen last
year, the third-biggest annual sum on record, Ministry of
Finance data show. That didn’t stop the yen from rising to 76.03
per dollar this month before the BOJ’s shift, less than 1
percent off its record of 75.35 reached on Oct. 31. Combined with regular purchases and earlier stimulus
measures, the BOJ will acquire 32.7 trillion yen in Japanese
government debt this year, compared with the government’s
planned issuance of 149.7 trillion yen for the 12 months
starting April 1. Yields on Japan’s two-year bonds slid to 0.1
percent on Feb. 16, the lowest since October 2010. “The shift toward inflation targeting as well as the
announcement to buy further JGBs is quite significant,”
Frederic Neumann , the Hong Kong-based co-head of Asian economic
research at HSBC Holdings Plc., said by phone on Feb. 22. The
yen may extend declines this year to 84 per dollar, he said. Inflation Target Japan’s consumer prices , excluding fresh food, fell 0.1
percent in December. They’ve declined an average 0.2 percent for
the past 10 years, and the rate hasn’t been above 1 percent for
more than 12 months since 1993. The central bank forecast in
October the so-called core inflation rate will rise 0.1 percent
in the year starting April, followed by a 0.5 percent gain the
next fiscal year. Finance Minister Jun Azumi said the BOJ effectively
established an inflation target when it set a “goal” of 1
percent inflation on Feb. 14, replacing earlier wording that the
central bank had an “ understanding” of where consumer prices
should go. “I can feel their seriousness,” Masashi Murata, a
currency strategist in Tokyo at Brown Brothers Harriman & Co.,
said on Feb. 22 by phone, referring to the inflation goal.
Before the change, “markets sensed the BOJ eschewed commitment
to consumer prices.” Negative Bets Traders are giving in. The risk-reversal rate for three-
month options on the dollar against the yen reached 0.53 on Feb.
20, the highest closing level in data compiled by Bloomberg
going back to October 2003. It was as low as negative 2.49 in
August. The six-month rate was at 0.25 today, while the one-year
rate traded at 0.05. A higher number for the difference in volatility between
call and put options indicates there is more demand from bulls
than bears. The difference in the number of wagers by hedge funds and
other large speculators on an advance in the yen compared with
those on a drop slid to 17,257 on Feb. 21, figures from the
Washington-based Commodity Futures Trading Commission showed. It
reached 59,657 on Jan. 13, the most since March 2008. Efforts to spur the Japanese economy with asset purchases
pale next to those in the U.S. and Europe . The Federal Reserve (FARBAST) ’s
total assets have more than doubled since the beginning of the
fourth quarter in 2008 as it started so-called quantitative
easing by purchasing debt. The European Central Bank (EBBSTOTA) boosted its
assets by 75 percent during the period, while the BOJ’s (BJACTOTL) balance
sheet increased 25 percent, before the announced purchase plan. BOJ Divergence “BOJ policy is diverging from what we see in Europe and
the U.S.,” Koji Fukaya , chief currency strategist in Tokyo at
Credit Suisse Group AG, said by phone on Feb. 22. “Expectations
for further easing are diminishing in Europe, while economic
indicators point to decreasing likelihood of additional easing
in the U.S.” A stronger yen hurts the overseas competitiveness of
exporters and cuts the value of income earned abroad when
repatriated. A previous yen record of 79.75 reached in April
1995 stood until March last year when a magnitude-9.0 earthquake
struck Japan’s northeast, stoking speculation companies would
bring home assets to pay for rebuilding. The currency jumped to
76.25 on March 17, prompting coordinated intervention by Group
of Seven nations the next day. Record Deficit Companies listed on the Topix Index had a 69 percent drop
in net income in the last reported quarter, according to data
compiled by Bloomberg. Mazda Motor Corp., the Japanese carmaker
most dependent on exports, predicted its biggest annual loss in
11 years. Television maker Panasonic Corp. forecast a record 780
billion yen loss this fiscal year. Japan posted a record trade deficit in January, official
data showed on Feb. 20, with imports of liquefied natural gas
surging 74 percent from a year earlier. Energy costs have
swollen as nuclear plants were shuttered following meltdowns and
radiation leaks at Tokyo Electric Power Co.’s quake and tsunami-
damaged Fukushima plant. “People took it for granted that Japan would always have a
trade surplus, but they may be starting to realize that is not
the case,” Takatoshi Kato, a former top currency official for
Japan, said in an interview on Feb. 23. The economy has contracted in three of the past four
quarters, and a November report from the Trade Ministry said the
current account may slide into deficit from the middle of this
decade, A shrinking current-account surplus is leading to a
“reevaluation of the fundamentals in Japan,” Greg Gibbs, a
foreign-exchange strategist at Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc
in Sydney, said by phone by Feb. 23. “The fiscal situation has
deteriorated, and there’s certainly concern about a hollowing
out of the Japanese economy.” To contact the reporters on this story:
Masaki Kondo in Singapore at
mkondo3@bloomberg.net ;
Hiroko Komiya in 東京 at
hkomiya1@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Rocky Swift at
rswift5@bloomberg.net | 2012 | yen-s-worst-slump-since-2009-shows-intervention-no-match-for-boj-purchases |
Euro Advances as China Says It Will Do Its Part to Raise Resources of IMF | By Candice Zachariahs | 2012-02-26T22:57:17Z | http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-02-26/euro-advances-as-china-says-it-will-do-its-part-to-raise-resources-of-imf.html | 2 | 26 | b1835f9cb22b1b6812dd7836fd3720008598ecfa | The euro gained versus most of its
major peers after China’s central bank Governor Zhou Xiaochuan
told reporters that the country will do its part to boost
resources for the International Monetary Fund . The dollar climbed to its highest level in almost nine
months against the yen. The euro rose 0.6 percent to 109.83 yen as of 7:53 a.m. in
Tokyo from 109.18 in New York on Feb. 24. The common currency
traded as high as 109.91, its strongest level since Oct. 31. It
advanced 0.1 percent to $1.3468. The dollar climbed as much as
0.6 percent to 81.67 yen, its highest level since May 31, before
trading at 81.55. To contact the reporter on this story:
Candice Zachariahs in Sydney at
czachariahs2@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Rocky Swift at
rswift5@bloomberg.net | 2012 | euro-advances-as-china-says-it-will-do-its-part-to-raise-resources-of-imf |
Peacocks Seeks Rents Reductions to Reopen Stores, Times Reports | By Catherine Airlie | 2012-02-26T11:17:17Z | http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-02-26/peacocks-seeks-rents-reductions-to-reopen-stores-times-reports.html | 2 | 26 | bd06d1dd52afb2e124d1d936f7003898f45afaa4 | Peacocks Stores Ltd. is seeking rent
reductions and a switch to monthly payments in a bid to reopen
some of its unprofitable stores, the Sunday Times reported,
citing Chief Executive Officer Philip Day. Day is renegotiating rental terms for 244 of the 388 stores
he bought last week and hopes to reopen 75 of them, he said in
an interview with the newspaper. He also plans to hire 80 staff
for the company’s head office, it said. To contact the reporter on this story:
Catherine Airlie in London at
cairlie@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Stephen Voss at
sev@bloomberg.net | 2012 | peacocks-seeks-rents-reductions-to-reopen-stores-times-reports |
Erdogan Confidence Means Lower Samurai Yields Than Uruguay: Turkey Credit | By Jason Webb | 2012-02-27T11:42:38Z | http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-02-26/erdogan-confidence-means-lower-samurai-yields-than-uruguay-turkey-credit.html | 2 | 26 | e1a1e8b7419d4a5c81f4f73cc8dcc048 | Japanese investors are poised to
provide Turkey with its lowest borrowing costs as confidence in
the nation’s economic outlook improves. Turkey is offering $1 billion of 10-year Samurai notes at a
yield between 35 and 45 basis points above the benchmark yen
swap rate, said a person with direct knowledge who declined to
be identified. At current rates, the yield would be no higher
than 1.44 percent, compared with 1.87 percent when Turkey tapped
Japanese investors last March and 5.75 percent on dollar bonds
sold Feb. 8, data compiled by Bloomberg show. Uruguay, rated a
level higher than Turkey by Moody’s Investors Service, paid 1.64
percent on a 10-year Samurai in May. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, 58, is taking
advantage of resurgent confidence in the world’s second-fastest
growing major economy after the central bank reduced interest
rates twice this year. While Asahi Life Asset Management Co.
Ltd., a unit of Japan ’s second oldest insurer, said it won’t buy
the notes because the yield is too low, demand for emerging
market assets will help the sale, according to ING Groep NV. “A tight spread for Turkey is justified if you look at the
fundamentals on the fiscal side,” Simon Quijano-Evans, an
economist at ING in London, said by phone on Feb. 24. “It
wouldn’t surprise me to see the spreads falling even further
over the next 12 months as the fiscal dynamics are among the
best in the emerging markets universe.” Narrower Deficit Turkey’s economy expanded 9.6 percent in the first nine
months of last year, second only to China among the Group of 20
nations. Rising gross domestic product helped Turkey reduce its
budget deficit to 1.4 percent of GDP last year from 3.6 percent
in 2010. Erdogan is targeting a gap of 1.5 percent of output
this year, compared with an average 2.7 percent shortfall for
developing countries monitored by the International Monetary
Fund . The country’s growth outlook has improved since the central
bank resumed lending to banks at the lower of its two main rates
at 5.75 percent since Jan. 6. It also cut its maximum rate to
11.5 percent from 12.5 percent on Feb. 21. Goldman Sachs Group
Inc. boosted its forecast for 2012 economic growth to 2.5
percent from 0.8 percent on Feb. 10. The Samurai sale is “well timed,” David Hauner , head of
emerging Europe strategy at Bank of America Merrill Lynch in
London, said in a phone interview on Feb. 24. “Over the course
of the past two months, Turkey has experienced a certain amount
of catch up in external debt as well as in local markets.” The yield on Turkey’s dollar bonds , which was the same as
the average for emerging markets on Jan. 6, dropped 26 basis
points below, or 0.26 percentage point, on Feb. 24, according to
JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM) ’s Global EMBI Indexes. ‘Risk-Off’ While Turkey’s budget deficit has shrunk, the shortfall on
the current account surged to more than 10 percent of GDP last
year. Its reliance on foreign funding to cover the deficit
leaves Turkey “particularly susceptible to potential risk-off
sentiment,” Morgan Stanley analysts including Marianna Kozintseva in London said in an e-mailed report on Feb. 23. The vulnerability of the economy makes the yield on its
Samurai offering too low, according to Yoshihiro Nakatani at
Asahi Life Asset Management Co. “Turkey is familiar to Japanese investors but I think this
time the issue is not a good deal,” Nakatani, a Tokyo-based
senior fund manager who helps oversee about $1 billion at Asahi,
said in a phone interview on Feb. 24. “This bond spread is not
attractive.” Default Swaps The cost of protecting Turkish bonds against default using
five-year credit-default swaps rose six basis points to 248
basis points today, higher than the spread of 195 for Russia ,
which is rated three levels higher by Standard & Poor’s , and 203
for Poland , rated five levels higher, according to CMA, which is
owned by CME Group Inc. (CME) and compiles prices quoted by dealers in
the privately-negotiated market. Turkish contracts cost 34 basis points less than the
average for countries in central and eastern Europe, the Middle
East and Africa included in the Markit iTraxx SovX CEEMEA Index.
The swaps pay the buyer face value in exchange for the
underlying securities or the cash equivalent should a government
or company fail to adhere to its debt agreements. Moody’s Investors Service rates Turkey Ba2, two steps below
investment grade, with a “positive” outlook. S&P also rates
Turkey at two levels below investment grade at BB. Fitch rates
Turkey one level below investment. Yields on two-year benchmark bonds in liras rose 17 basis
points to 9.35 percent by 1:39 p.m. in Istanbul, the highest
intra-day level since Feb. 16. The lira declined 0.4 percent to
1.7738 per dollar. Borrowing Plans The Samurai sale is part of a foreign borrowing program to
raise 9.5 billion liras ($5.4 billion) this year. The government
sold $1 billion of dollar bonds due 2022 at a yield of 5.75
percent on Feb. 8, three weeks after issuing $1.5 billion of the
same debt at 6.35 percent, data compiled by Bloomberg show. The
yield has since fallen to 5.37 percent. The Samurai bonds will be guaranteed by the Japan Bank for
International Cooperation , said the person with knowledge of the
deal, asking not to be identified as the information is private.
The same bank guaranteed Turkey’s last sale Samurai debt as well
as Uruguay’s securities. The offering in yen reflects the growing importance of
Turkey’s trade with non-western partners, according to Quijano-
Evans. The European Union’s share of Turkish exports fell to 42
percent in December 2011 from 45 percent a year earlier,
according to the statistics office’s website . “It’s important for Turkey to look into a new investor
base,” he said. “Over the last couple of years what Turkey has
done is move more towards Asia .” To contact the reporter on this story:
Jason Webb in London at
jwebb25@bloomberg.net . To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Gavin Serkin at
gserkin@bloomberg.net | 2012 | erdogan-confidence-means-lower-samurai-yields-than-uruguay-turkey-credi |
Starbucks to Open Stores in U.K., Europe, Sunday Telegraph Says | By Andrea Gerlin | 2012-02-26T10:09:24Z | http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-02-26/starbucks-to-open-stores-in-u-k-europe-sunday-telegraph-says.html | 2 | 26 | 66db2a4710259133ec9464ae09e2cd7b0fdd3ab6 | Starbucks Corp. (SBUX) plans to open
“hundreds” of stores in Europe , including 300 in the U.K., the
Sunday Telegraph reported, citing an interview with Michelle
Gass, the president of Starbucks Europe, Middle East and Africa . The Seattle-based coffee-shop chain has 17,000 outlets in
the EMEA region, including 700 in the U.K., The Sunday Telegraph
reported. To contact the reporter on this story:
Andrea Gerlin in London at
agerlin@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Mike Harrison at
mharrison5@bloomberg.net | 2012 | starbucks-to-open-stores-in-u-k-europe-sunday-telegraph-says |
Dubai’s Power Use Will Grow 4% as Emirate Plans Carbon Cuts | By Anthony DiPaola | 2012-02-26T14:32:59Z | http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-02-26/dubai-s-power-use-will-grow-4-as-emirate-plans-carbon-cuts.html | 2 | 26 | 27786a785f922889f0ca60e3a4d0e472df56fcc6 | Dubai’s power demand is set to grow
this year at a rate in line with the Persian Gulf emirate’s
economy, or about 4 percent, as the city develops a plan to cut
emissions. The emirate plans to survey its carbon dioxide emissions
from energy and industrial production in a study this year,
Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer , vice chairman of the Dubai Supreme
Council of Energy, said today. Dubai will use the study to
estimate a baseline figure for emissions that it will use to
plan cuts in the release of the gas, he said. The emirate may trade credits linked to emission
reductions, depending on future international climate change
rules, Al Tayer said at a press conference today. Al Tayer, who
is also managing director of Dubai Electricity & Water
Authority, spoke at the utility’s offices in the city. DEWA, as the utility is known, is still evaluating bids
from companies seeking to join it in a partnership to build a
1,500-megawatt natural-gas-fired power plant, Al Tayer said.
Dubai has enough flexibility in natural gas import contracts to
secure sufficient supply of fuel to cover current demand and the
needs for the new power unit, Nejib Zaafrani, chief executive of
the Supreme Council of Energy said. Dubai is also expanding production of solar energy. The
emirate currently has about 4.5 megawatts of generation from
individually installed capacity, Zaafrani said. The utility will build a 10-megawatt solar plant by the end
of 2013 and has hired consultants to help with the project, said
Waleed Salman, vice president for business development at the
utility. GDF Suez (GSZ) SA’s Tractebel engineering unit is developing
the regulations and procedures for connecting solar plants to
Dubai’s power grid and ILF Consulting Engineers will help plan
the plant as well as the expansion of a planned solar park with
a forecast 1,000-megawatt capacity, Salman said. To contact the reporter on this story:
Anthony DiPaola in Dubai at
adipaola@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Stephen Voss at
sev@bloomberg.net | 2012 | dubai-s-power-use-will-grow-4-as-emirate-plans-carbon-cuts |
Kirch Heirs May Dump Deutsche Bank Settlement, Sueddeutsche Says | By Tony Czuczka | 2012-02-26T12:43:44Z | http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-02-26/kirch-heirs-may-dump-deutsche-bank-settlement-sueddeutsche-says.html | 2 | 26 | 366504ea521af7d9122ea854d5e00a58f52b047a | Leo Kirch’s heirs are threatening to
extend legal action against Deutsche Bank AG (DBK) if the bank doesn’t
pay damages of 812 million euros ($1.1 billion) under a proposed
settlement, Sueddeutsche Zeitung said, citing negotiators it
didn’t identify. Deutsche Bank is balking at the amount, meaning the
settlement proposed by a Munich court may collapse, the Munich-
based newspaper said in an e-mailed article to appear in
tomorrow’s edition. To contact the reporter on this story:
Tony Czuczka in Berlin at
aczuczka@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story:
James Hertling at
jhertling@bloomberg.net | 2012 | kirch-heirs-may-dump-deutsche-bank-settlement-sueddeutsche-says |
Arsenal Rallies to Defeat Archrival Tottenham 5-2; Manchester United Wins | By James Cone | 2012-02-27T00:00:01Z | http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-02-26/arsenal-rallies-to-beat-tottenham-5-2-manchester-united-defeats-norwich.html | 2 | 26 | 78a96174ced54775810cf5d390094608 | Arsenal rallied to defeat local
rival Tottenham 5-2 yesterday in English soccer’s Premier
League, while Ryan Giggs scored a late winner at Norwich on his
900th appearance for Manchester United. The Gunners trailed by two goals after 34 minutes at the
Emirates Stadium in north London, but efforts from Bacary Sagna
and Robin van Persie saw them level at halftime. Tomas Rosicky
then put the Gunners ahead, with Theo Walcott adding two goals. “It was a performance full of everything you want from your
team,” Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger told Sky Sports. “It was
an exciting game, we had a difficult start but kept going and
showed great character.” The win lifts Arsenal above Chelsea into fourth spot
because it has scored more goals. Both have the same goal
difference. United needed a 90th-minute goal from Giggs to secure a 2-1
win at Norwich and maintain pressure on league leader Manchester
City. Paul Scholes also scored for the defending champion at
Carrow Road, with Grant Holt replying for the hosts. “Norwich put up a great fight but we didn’t really play
very well,” Giggs told the British Broadcasting Corp. “But I
think if you look at the last 10 minutes, we probably just
deserved it.” City has 63 points, two ahead of United, with Tottenham
remaining on 53 points. Arsenal and Chelsea have 46 points. Stoke City beat Swansea City 2-0 in yesterday’s other
match. Spurs Lead Spurs took only four minutes to take the lead at the
Emirates, with Louis Saha scoring his third goal for the club
since joining from Everton last month. Former Arsenal forward Emmanuel Adebayor slid the ball
through the home team’s defense and Saha scored from a shot
which deflected off defender Thomas Vermaelen and over
goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny. Van Persie missed an opportunity to tie the game when he
fired wide after 20 minutes, then goalkeeper Brad Friedel tipped
over a header from Rosicky. The visitor’s second goal came from a penalty kick after
Szczesny was adjudged to have fouled Gareth Bale. Adebayor
scored to make it 2-0. Bale had an effort saved by Szczesny as he looked to
increase the lead, then Van Persie hit a post at the other end
of the field with Sagna heading into the net moments later. Van
Persie scored after 43 minutes from the edge of the area. First Goal Six minutes after halftime, Rosicky got his first goal of
the season before Walcott completed the turnaround with two
strikes. Walcott clipped his first over Friedel, then struck a
low shot into the bottom corner. Tottenham, which came into the game on a three-match
unbeaten run in the league, finished with 10 men after Scott Parker was shown a second yellow card late on. “Even at 2-0 I couldn’t say I felt over-comfortable,”
Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp told Sky Sports . “We didn’t
defend well. It was basic, really.” Giggs scored from close range late on to extend United’s
unbeaten league run to six games. Norwich looked to have earned a point when Holt fired past
David de Gea on 83 minutes, with United striker Danny Welbeck
then missing a close-range header. Scholes had given the visitors an early lead with a header
from a cross by Nani, his second goal since returning to the
team in January after reversing his decision to retire. “It was more about the result than the performance,” Giggs
said. Matthew Upson and Peter Crouch got first half goals for
Stoke as it beat Swansea at the Britannia Stadium. Stoke climbs
to 12th, while Swansea is 14th. Two days ago, Man City beat Blackburn 3-0, Chelsea defeated
Bolton 3-0, Wolverhampton Wanderers tied 2-2 at Newcastle, while
West Bromwich Albion won 4-0 against Sunderland. Fulham beat
Queens Park Rangers 1-0, and the match between Wigan and Aston
Villa was 0-0. To contact the reporter on this story:
James Cone in London at
jcone@bloomberg.net To contact the editors responsible for this story:
Christopher Elser at
celser@bloomberg.net
NI BFBNEWS
NI BFBMATCH
NI ARSENAL
NI TOTTENHAM
NI NORWICH
NI MANUTD
NI STOKE
NI SWANSEA
NI BFBTEAMS
NI UK | 2012 | arsenal-rallies-to-beat-tottenham-5-2-manchester-united-defeats-norwic |
Belgium Plans Extra 2 Billion Euros in 2012 Savings, Belga Says | By Jonathan Stearns | 2012-02-26T23:20:41Z | http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-02-26/belgium-plans-extra-2-billion-euros-in-2012-savings-belga-says.html | 2 | 26 | f591ebfc1418a101386bc07bdf4c29dd557d357a | The Belgian government will seek
extra budget savings of around 2 billion euros ($2.7 billion)
this year in a bid to bring the deficit within the European
Union limit amid a weaker economy, Belga reported. Leading members of Premier Elio Di Rupo’s administration
endorsed in Brussels yesterday a budget-monitoring panel’s
projection that the additional amount of austerity is needed to
reach a deficit goal of 2.8 percent of gross domestic product in
2012, the newswire said. The monitoring committee recommended savings of 1.5 billion
euros and a buffer of 500 million euros, according to Belga,
which said the government aims for a decision in a week
following further ministerial consultations. Belgium’s budget for 2012 was drafted on the assumption the
country’s economy would expand 0.8 percent this year. The
Belgian central bank in mid-February forecast an economic
contraction in 2012 of 0.1 percent. The EU deficit limit is 3
percent of GDP. To contact the reporter on this story:
Jonathan Stearns in Brussels at
jstearns2@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story:
James Hertling at jhertling@bloomberg.net | 2012 | belgium-plans-extra-2-billion-euros-in-2012-savings-belga-says |
Goldman Fights for Prized Oktoberfest Conference | By Oliver Suess | 2012-02-26T23:01:00Z | http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-02-26/goldman-fights-unicredit-for-prized-oktoberfest-conference-slot.html | 2 | 26 | a6c22967884a407294b94223c256aed1 | Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) will spar
with UniCredit SpA (UCG) over steins of Bavarian beer this autumn as
they jostle to lure German equity investors to rival conferences
in Munich during Oktoberfest . When UniCredit quit its western European equities business
on Nov. 14, Italy ’s largest bank took another month to confirm
that it would team up with Kepler Capital Markets SA to continue
the annual conference it started in 2003. Both Goldman, along
with partner Berenberg Bank, and Baader Bank AG (BWB) had in the
meantime announced similar events, leaving investors with three
ways to spend their days before heading for the beer tents. “Goldman and Berenberg as well as Baader have obviously
opportunistically jumped on this fixed conference date in
people’s diary in the wrong expectation that we would no longer
host the conference,” said Christian Steffens, UniCredit’s co-
head of global capital markets . “People have always enjoyed
coming to Munich for the conference, as it is a nice place to
be, especially during the Oktoberfest.” The first Oktoberfest was held in 1810 to honor Bavarian
Crown Prince Ludwig’s marriage to Princess Therese von Sachsen-
Hildburghausen. This year’s festival, which runs from Sept. 22
through Oct. 7, will attract about 6 million revelers to the
tents and halls set up by local breweries. Economic Strength More important for the conference organizers is that
Germany , Europe’s largest economy, continues to buck a recession
that’s gripping the region’s southern countries. “At the moment the whole world is looking at Germany,”
said Benon Janos, a Frankfurt-based managing director at
Goldman, who is in charge of the conference in September. Goldman and Hamburg-based Berenberg start their three-day
“German Corporate Conference 2012” on Sept. 24, one day before
their rivals. They have invited more than 100 companies,
according to Janos, and 800 institutional investors are expected
to attend. “Until now, we didn’t have such an event and we wanted to
keep this conference in Munich alive,” said Janos. “We will
deliver a very good event this year, next year and the year
after that and then we will see.” UniCredit and Kepler, the French securities firm that now
provides research on stocks in western Europe to the Italian
bank’s customers, expect more than 100 company representatives
and about 700 investors to attend their three-day conference,
starting Sept. 25, said Steffens. Hiring Organizers Baader Bank, the German securities brokerage that is
expanding its capital markets offerings, will invite investors
to Munich’s BMW-Welt venue on the same days as the UniCredit
event. Baader, based in Unterschleissheim near Munich, has hired
Oliver Riedel, Karin Brinkmann and other people who previously
helped arrange the event at UniCredit, said Nico Baader, a
member of the management board and son of founder Uto Baader. So far, 70 companies have confirmed their attendance and
the bank is targeting 500 to 600 participants, Baader said. “We provide a broad range from blue chips to small caps
and, uniquely, Austrian companies as well,” said Baader.
“We’re not here to do this once.” “While for us, as a Munich-based investor, the Oktoberfest
isn’t as much as an attraction as maybe for U.S. investors, we
don’t mind so much having three conferences on exactly the same
topic simultaneously,” said Stefan Degen, who helps manage
about 36 billion euros ($48 billion) as head of equities at
BayernInvest, the asset manager owned by Bayerische Landesbank (BLGZ)
in Munich. “We will simply decide where the most interesting
presentations are being offered.” Starting to Rebuild UniCredit and Kepler will have to battle to attract
participants after losing sales people to Baader and other
rivals, said Degen. “Kepler is just starting to rebuild those
relationships,” he said. UniCredit can overcome the loss, said Steffens. Linking up
with Kepler has added about 2,000 investor contacts from France ,
Spain , Benelux, Scandinavia and the U.S., he said. “We’re confident that this year’s conference will become
even broader in terms of investor participation than last
year’s, when we counted 591 investors,” Steffens said
“Companies want to see investors from all over the world at
such a conference and we have the track record of being able to
attract them to Munich.” For some companies and investors, the choice will be easy. “We will attend the Goldman/Berenberg conference as we
haven’t been invited by the others, which don’t cover our
stock,” said Claudia Gutjahr-Loeser, head of corporate
communications and investor relations at German biotechnology
company MorphoSys AG (MOR) . “Generally it doesn’t make sense to try
to accommodate three conferences at the same time.” To contact the reporter on this story:
Oliver Suess in Munich at
osuess@bloomberg.net To contact the editors responsible for this story:
Frank Connelly at fconnelly@bloomberg.net ;
Edward Evans at eevans3@bloomberg.net | 2012 | goldman-fights-unicredit-for-prized-oktoberfest-conference-slo |
Eircom Drafts 1 Billion-Euro Investment Plan, Sunday Times Says | By Joe Brennan | 2012-02-26T12:47:00Z | http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-02-26/eircom-drafts-1-billion-euro-investment-plan-sunday-times-says.html | 2 | 26 | cbef8d49931bbf7619abdac080a77fbd8aa0975d | Eircom Group Ltd (ERU) . says it needs to
invest 1 billion euros ($1.59 billion) to upgrade its network to
compete, the Sunday Times reported. The Irish telecommunications company, which is seeking to
restructure its 3.75 billion-euro debt, put the targeted
investment figure in a five-year business plan to lenders, the
newspaper said. Spending could be funded from the company’s cash
resources if lenders agree to write down some of their debt, the
newspaper said, citing the plan. To contact the reporter on this story:
Joe Brennan at
jbrennan29@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Edward Evans at
eevans3@bloomberg.net | 2012 | eircom-drafts-1-billion-euro-investment-plan-sunday-times-says |
Navy SEALs’ ‘Act of Valor’ Captures Weekend Box Office With $24.7 Million | By Anthony Palazzo and Matt Townsend | 2012-02-27T22:35:20Z | http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-02-26/-act-of-valor-tops-box-office-with-24-7-million-in-receipts.html | 2 | 26 | a959c360c3b34b778aae6aa2a6f130db | “Act of Valor,” from Relativity
Media, led the box office in its debut weekend, collecting $24.5
million in ticket sales at U.S. and Canadian theaters. “Tyler Perry’s Good Deeds” opened in second place with
$15.6 million for Lions Gate Entertainment Corp. (LGF) , researcher
Hollywood.com Box-Office said today in an e-mailed statement. “Act of Valor,” filmed with active U.S. Navy SEAL forces,
broke through in a crowded Oscar weekend that saw four new
movies open. Weinstein Co.’s “The Artist,” winner last night
of five Academy Awards, including best picture, generated $3
million in sales this past weekend after expanding to 966
theaters from 808. “Most of the films that are nominated get a little bit of
a bump once they are nominated, and then, of course, films that
win an Academy Award get some pretty substantial bumps
following,” said Paul Sweeney , an analyst for Bloomberg
Industries, in a telephone interview. “The King’s Speech” received a boost in ticket sales last
year after taking the top prize, and ended up grossing more than
$400 million in global box office, he said. “The Artist” has grossed $31.9 million in domestic
theaters since its release on Nov. 25. “We’ve had a tremendous track record with ‘The Artist’ and
should we garner awards, it could have a positive effect on the
box office,” Erik Lomis, Weinstein Co.’s president of
theatrical distribution and home entertainment, said in an
interview last week. The Most Elite For “Act of Valor,” directors Scott Waugh and Mike McCoy
hired active-duty SEALs to create realistic action scenes such
as a raid on a drug compound. They are out to rescue a missing
CIA agent played by Roselyn Sanchez. SEAL teams, among the most elite of U.S. troops, gained
worldwide attention for the May 2011 raid on a safe house in
Pakistan that killed al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden. The film
cost $12 million to make, according to Hollywood.com. “Hollywood profitability is a difficult thing to
achieve,” Sweeney said. “It’s hard for lower-budget films to
break through, and when they do it tends to be very
profitable.” ‘Good Deeds’ Perry, known for the “Madea” comedies aimed at African-
American audiences, stars in “Good Deeds” as a businessman
whose scripted life takes an unexpected turn after he does a
favor for a single mother, played by Thandie Newton, who works
on the cleaning crew in his building. Perry’s four “Madea” movies have taken in $455 million
worldwide for Lions Gate , including $288 million in the domestic
market. Returning movies “Journey 2: The Mysterious Islands,”
“Safe House,” and “The Vow” rounded out the top five. “Journey 2: The Mysterious Island,” from Time Warner
Inc. (TWX) ’s Warner Bros., generated $13.4 million, good for $76.6
million in its third weekend. The picture features Dwayne Johnson in a 3-D sequel to the 2009 hit “Journey to the Center
of the Earth.” “Safe House,” from Comcast Corp. (CMCSA) ’s Universal Pictures ,
took in $10.9 million, falling to fourth from first. The film,
starring Denzel Washington as a rogue CIA agent, has generated
$97.6 million in three weeks. The romantic drama “The Vow” dropped to fifth from second
with $9.9 million in receipts for Sony Corp. (6758) ’s Screen Gems unit.
The film, starring Channing Tatum as a man whose wife awakens
from a coma with no memory of their marriage, has drawn $102.9
million in U.S. ticket sales. Out of Top Five A pair of major new releases failed to crack the top five.
Universal’s R-rated comedy “Wanderlust” made its debut in
eighth place with $6.5 million. The movie stars Jennifer Aniston
and Paul Rudd as a New York couple that stumbles on a hippie
commune. “Gone,” from Summit Entertainment , starring Amanda
Seyfried as a woman searching for a sister who has been
abducted, was ninth with $4.8 million. “That’s a disappointment for both of them,” Sweeney said.
“They weren’t well reviewed, and there was different types of
box office behavior given the Academy Awards and people going to
see the nominated films.” Weekend revenue for the top 12 films rose 19 percent to
$114.2 million from a year earlier, Hollywood.com said.
Attendance is up 20 percent year to date, while revenue is up 18
percent. The amounts below are based on actual tickets sales for
Feb. 24 through Feb 26. To contact the reporters on this story:
Anthony Palazzo in Los Angeles at
apalazzo@bloomberg.net ;
Matt Townsend in New York at
mtownsend9@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Anthony Palazzo at
apalazzo@bloomberg.net | 2012 | -act-of-valor-tops-box-office-with-24-7-million-in-receipts |
Premier Foods in Talks With Lenders Over New Loans, Times Says | By Mike Harrison | 2012-02-26T14:42:27Z | http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-02-26/premier-foods-in-talks-with-lenders-over-new-loans-times-says.html | 2 | 26 | 8e4ce6b994ca71e5d55d1579b86798e14fd04961 | Premier Foods Plc (PFD) is close to
agreeing 1 billion pounds ($1.6 billion) of new bank loans to
help secure its future, the Sunday Times reported, citing
unidentified sources close to the company. Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc and Lloyds Banking Group
Plc are among 28 lenders expected to be part of the agreement,
the newspaper said. The deal will extend Premier’s repayment
deadline for a further three years beyond the current 2013
maturity, it said. To contact the reporter on this story:
Mike Harrison at
mharrison5@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Colin Keatinge at
ckeatinge@bloomberg.net | 2012 | premier-foods-in-talks-with-lenders-over-new-loans-times-says |
Mahan Wins World Match Play Championship to Deny McIlroy Top Golf Ranking | By Dex McLuskey | 2012-02-27T05:01:00Z | http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-02-26/hunter-mahan-beats-rory-mcilroy-in-world-match-play-golf-final-in-arizona.html | 2 | 26 | 4c1b457f07b440f0b704ef46b7cf3506 | Hunter Mahan prevented Rory McIlroy
from becoming the top-ranked golfer by beating him in the final
of the World Match Play Championship. The 2-and-1 win for Mahan at the Ritz-Carlton’s Dove
Mountain course in Marana, Arizona , yesterday means American
players have claimed victory in the opening eight events on the
U.S. PGA Tour’s schedule for the first time since 2001. “It feels good,” Mahan told reporters after securing his
second World Golf Championships title. “I put everything I had
into that match.” Mahan’s fourth victory on the PGA Tour follows wins at the
2007 Travelers Championship and the Phoenix Open and WGC
Bridgestone Invitational two years ago. Mahan earned $1.4
million, while McIlroy collected $850,000 for finishing second. The loss for second-ranked McIlroy ensures Luke Donald will
remain world No. 1 for at least another week. McIlroy, at 22
years, nine months and 22 days, was seeking to become the
second-youngest golfer to top the Official World Golf Ranking
after Tiger Woods , who was 21 years, five months and 17 days old
when he first achieved the feat on June 15, 1997. “He’ll be No. 1,” Mahan said of McIlroy, who won the 2011
U.S. Open . “He’s phenomenal. He’s really talented.” Mahan, 29, is the first U.S. player to claim the World
Match Play title since Woods won for a third time in 2008. The
final was the first between a European and an American since
Steve Stricker defeated Pierre Fulke of Sweden 11 years ago. McIlroy was seeking to become the fifth European and second
golfer from Northern Ireland after Darren Clarke in 2000 to win
the event. A victory for McIlroy would have been the third
straight for the U.K. at the tournament, which was won by
Englishmen Donald and Ian Poulter the previous two years. Career-High Ranking Mahan, who is projected to climb to a career-high ninth
after starting the tournament ranked 22nd, never trailed in the
final and birdied the sixth hole to take a lead he’d never
relinquish. A six at the par-4 seventh after Mahan made a bogey
cost McIlroy another hole. A par was good enough at the next to allow Mahan to stretch
his advantage and McIlroy found himself trailing by four when
Mahan birdied No. 10. McIlroy rallied with an eagle at the par-5 11th and a
birdie at No. 14 to trail by two holes, which was as close as
he’d get to Mahan. Mahan’s putt to win the match at the 16th hole caught the
lip of the cup and stayed out. The Texan sealed the victory at
the next when both players made pars, leaving Mahan two ahead
with one hole to play. The last time the finalists played the
18th hole was in 2002. ‘Responded Well’ “Even though I threw a few birdies and an eagle at him in
the back nine, he still responded well and held on,” McIlroy
said in a news conference. “During the course of the week he’d
played the best golf and deserved to win.” In the consolation match, world No. 42 Mark Wilson of the
U.S. defeated third-ranked Englishman Lee Westwood by one hole.
Mahan beat Wilson 2-and-1 in the semifinals and Westwood lost 3-
and-2 to McIlroy. Third place is worth $600,000 to Wilson, $110,000 more than
Westwood receives for finishing fourth. Match play involves head-to-head competition over 18 holes,
each one decided by the low score. The match is decided when one
player has an insurmountable lead. In stroke-play events, which
make up most of the world’s pro golf tours, the player with the
lowest score wins the tournament. Rookie John Huh won the PGA Tour ’s Mayakoba Golf Classic in
Riviera Maya, Mexico , yesterday by beating Robert Allenby on the
eighth hole of a playoff. Huh made eight straight pars in the
sudden-death playoff to win in his fifth PGA Tour start. The PGA Tour moves to the PGA National Champion Course in
Palm Beach, Florida , for the Honda Classic from March 1-4, which
Woods is scheduled to play in. The next event on the European Tour is the Cadillac
Championship, the second World Golf Championships event of the
year, from March 8-11 at the Doral Golf Resort & Spa in Miami. To contact the reporter on this story:
Dex McLuskey in Dallas at
dmcluskey@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Michael Sillup at msillup@bloomberg.net . | 2012 | unter-mahan-beats-rory-mcilroy-in-world-match-play-golf-final-in-arizona |
Tombini Says He’ll Keep Cutting Selic as Survey Shows Rates Can’t Curb CPI | By Arnaldo Galvao | 2012-02-27T03:00:00Z | http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-02-26/brazil-will-continue-cutting-interest-rates-tombini-says.html | 2 | 26 | 7f50dd63660372970a92efcc8c896cdcacf6c845 | A Brazilian central bank survey
showing interest rate levels are inconsistent with the country’s
inflation target won’t alter policy makers’ strategy of lowering
borrowing costs further, bank President Alexandre Tombini said. The so-called “neutral” rate of interest needed to keep
inflation on target with the economy growing at a sustainable
pace is 5.5 percent, according to the median estimate in the
survey of economists published Feb. 23. That is higher than the
current inflation-adjusted interest rate of 4.3 percent. “I think it will have little impact on the monetary
authority’s strategy,” Tombini said, referring to the survey’s
results. He spoke to reporters yesterday in Mexico City, where
he’s attending a meeting of finance officials from the Group of
20 richest nations. Tombini reiterated that there is a high chance the central
bank will cut the benchmark interest rate to less than 10
percent this year, from the current 10.5 percent. The bank’s
monetary policy committee next meets March 6-7. “This strategy hasn’t changed until now,” he said. Since August, the policy makers have cut the Selic rate
four times, reduced taxes and pledged to boost public
investments to ensure growth of 4.5 percent this year. The
stimulus has raised concerns among economists that Tombini may
fail to fulfill his pledge to slow inflation to the bank’s 4.5
percent target this year. Consumer prices rose 6.22 percent in
January from a year ago. Declining Trend The real neutral interest rate was 6.75 percent in November
2010, according to the median forecast in a previous central
bank survey. Brazil has the highest real interest rate in the
Group of 20 Nations. Tombini said that perhaps more important than the decline
in the neutral rate since the bank’s last survey is the fact
that most analysts expect it to fall even further in the next
two years. “This process hasn’t ended according to the people we
consulted,” he said, adding that the analysts’ perception is
consistent with the bank’s current rate-cutting strategy. Inflation slowed to 6.22 percent in January, from 6.5
percent. Analysts expect consumer prices to rise 5.24 percent
this year and 5.02 percent next year, according to the median
forecast in a Feb. 17 bank survey. Tombini reiterated that the central bank will continue to
buy dollars and act in the foreign exchange futures market
whenever necessary. Brazil ’s real has gained 9.2 percent this
year, more than all 16 major currencies tracked by Bloomberg. To contact the reporter on this story:
Arnaldo Galvao in Mexico City at agalvao1@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Joshua Goodman at jgoodman19@bloomberg.net | 2012 | brazil-will-continue-cutting-interest-rates-tombini-says |
Santorum Says Separation of Church and State Isn’t Absolute | By Sara Forden | 2012-02-26T14:48:54Z | http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-02-26/santorum-says-separation-of-church-and-state-isn-t-absolute.html
Republican presidential primary
hopeful Rick Santorum said he doesn’t believe in the separation
of church and state, noting that a speech on the topic by former
President John F. Kennedy makes him want to “throw up.” “I don’t believe that the separation of church and state
is absolute,” Santorum said in an interview today on ABC’s
“This Week” program. “The First Amendment means the free
exercise of religion and that means bringing people and their
faith into the public square.” Santorum, 53, made the comments in an interview from
Michigan , where he is campaigning ahead of the Republican
primary this week. Polls show a close race there against Mitt Romney who spent his boyhood in the state and where his father,
George Romney , served as governor and an automobile company
chief executive officer. Santorum said Kennedy’s 1960 speech in Houston about the
separation of church and state, was an “absolutist doctrine”
that he disagrees with. “To say that people of faith have no role in the public
square? What makes me throw up is someone who is now trying to
tell people that you will do what the government says,”
Santorum said. “That now we’re going to turn around and impose
our values from the government on people of faith.” Santorum said “there are people I disagree with. Come into
our town hall meetings and let’s have a discussion. Air your
ideas and why you believe what you believe.” “That’s what America is all about | 2 | 26 | c8825a515f20b0d8d9f44922a7ff4b94c702c94b | Sara Forden in Washington at
sforden@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Jeanne Cummings at
jcummings21@bloomberg.net | 2012 | santorum-says-separation-of-church-and-state-isn-t-absolute |
Mexico Exceeding 100% Reserve-Replacement Rate, Calderon Says | By Randall Woods | 2012-02-26T21:58:01Z | http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-02-26/mexico-exceeding-100-reserve-replacement-rate-calderon-says.html | 2 | 26 | 5c47438b1eb04b2f025689856ffdf9733a0bdaac | Petroleos Mexicanos’ proven reserve
replacement rate now exceeds 100 percent, meaning the Mexican
state-owned oil company is replacing every barrel of oil it
extracts with at least one new barrel of reserves, President
Felipe Calderon said today. Calderon made the comment at a ceremony to start operations
of the Bicentenario semi-submersible oil platform, according to
a transcript e-mailed by his press office. To contact the reporter on this story:
Randall Woods in Santiago at
rwoods13@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Joshua Goodman at
jgoodman19@bloomberg.net | 2012 | exico-exceeding-100-reserve-replacement-rate-calderon-says |
Billabong Rejects TPG $818 Million Offer as Talks Continue for Higher Bid | By David Fickling | 2012-02-27T04:55:12Z | http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-02-26/billabong-rejects-tpg-s-818m-offer.html | 2 | 26 | 1b3de9da3f5941c3aadea945702fafda | Billabong International Ltd. (BBG) ,
Australia ’s largest surfwear company, rejected a A$765 million
($817 million) takeover proposal from buyout firm TPG Capital
and said it’s continuing talks to try for a higher offer. The A$3-a-share cash bid doesn’t reflect the “fundamental
value” of Billabong with a change in control, the Gold Coast ,
Australia-based company said today. Gordon Merchant, the founder
and largest shareholder with an almost 15 percent stake,
wouldn’t accept that price, Billabong said. Billabong shares rose above the offer price today, the
first time since it announced the TPG bid on Feb. 17. The
company, whose stock slumped 78 percent in the 12 months before
the bid, is selling assets, cutting jobs and closing as many as
150 stores as it battles stalling consumer demand and debt
payments loom. Shareholders “are taking the view that there’s going to be
another bid,” Andrew McLennan, an equity analyst at
Commonwealth Bank of Australia in Sydney with a “sell” rating
on Billabong, said by telephone. “Clearly Gordon Merchant is
pivotal. There’s no deal to be done without him.” Billabong advanced as much as 6.5 percent to A$3.10 and
traded 4.1 percent higher at A$3.03 as of 3:40 p.m. in Sydney.
The shares have surged 69 percent since TPG’s bid was revealed. Biggest Solo Bid The proposed takeover is the largest solo bid announced by
Fort Worth , Texas-based TPG since its $1.65 billion buyout of
blood test-maker Immucor Inc. last July, according to data
compiled by Bloomberg. It is the biggest deal announced in the
global apparel industry since VF Corp.’s acquisition of the
Timberland Co. last June, the data show. Any sale may have to be structured such that Merchant
retains a stake in Billabong after the takeover, such as through
a holding vehicle, McLennan said. Unless that’s achieved, it’s
doubtful the company founder will agree to sell even if the
price is raised to as much as A$3.50, according to the analyst. The offer could be increased to A$3.85 a share and still be
the cheapest comparable clothing sector takeover since at least
1998, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. While the talks with TPG continue, it isn’t known whether
they will lead to an improved offer, Billabong said. The company’s earnings have declined as consumer spending
stalls in the main markets for Billabong, which generated about
65 percent of revenue from the Americas and Europe in the first
half. The profit drop has been compounded as a stronger
Australian dollar cuts the value of overseas sales when earnings
are repatriated. Earnings Drop First-half net income fell 72 percent to A$16.1 million in
the six months ended Dec. 31. That was the smallest half-year
profit since the surfwear maker first sold shares to the public
in 2000. Net debt totaled A$525.6 million. The Australian dollar has risen 5.6 percent against its
U.S. counterpart in the past 12 months, the second-best
performer among 10 major currencies tracked by Bloomberg. The TPG proposal didn’t preclude the planned sale of about
half the Nixon watches and accessories business. Billabong plans
to sell 51.5 percent of Nixon to buyout firm Trilantic Capital
Partners and management to raise $285 million for paying debt. The Nixon sale “has all but solved Billabong’s near-term
debt issues,” Ben Gilbert, an analyst at UBS AG in Sydney,
wrote in a Feb. 17 report. To contact the reporter on this story:
David Fickling in Sydney at
dfickling@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Stephanie Wong at
swong139@bloomberg.net | 2012 | billabong-rejects-tpg-s-818m-offer |
Atlantia to Sell Impregilo Stake to Gavio in Swap for Chile Motorway Stake | By Francesca Cinelli | 2012-02-26T11:08:47Z | http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-02-26/atlantia-to-sell-impregilo-stake-to-gavio-to-buy-chile-motorway.html | 2 | 26 | e46791f9aab7820048eeb6a7e309915bb424c5bf | Atlantia SpA (ATL) ’s Autostrade per
l’Italia toll-road division agreed to sell its stake in builder
Impregilo SpA (IPG) to Gavio Group’s Argo Finanziaria division in a
cash and asset-swap that helps it expand in South America. ArgoFin will get Atlantia’s 33 percent stake in IGLI, the
biggest investor in Impregilo with a 29.96 percent holding, for
87.6 million euros ($117.8 million), Rome-based Atlantia said in
a statement yesterday. Gavio’s Societa Iniziative Autostradali &
Servizi (SIS) toll-road unit will shift its 45.765 percent stake in
Autostrade Sudamerica, which controls Chile’s Autopista do
Pacifico motorway, to Autostrade per l’Italia for 565.2 million
euros, SIAS and Atlantia said in separate statements. Atlantia, Italy’s biggest toll-road operator, predicted in
December that earnings this year will rise as it wins contracts
outside its home market. The transactions with Gavio will help
fulfill a strategy of expanding “in countries with the highest
growth potential,” Atlantia said today. Autostrade per l’Italia will also buy a further 8.5 percent
of Autostrade Sudamerica from Mediobanca SpA (MB) for 104.6 million
euros, Atlantia said. The transfer of stakes in Autostrade
Sudamerica from SIAS and Mediobanca is expected by June 30, it
said. A call option for SIAS to buy Autostrade per l’Italia’s
99.98 percent stake in Turin-Savona toll road in Italy for 223
million euros is also included in the agreement, SIAS and
Atlantia said. The option is set to expire on Sept. 30. To contact the reporter on this story:
Francesca Cinelli in Milan at
fcinelli@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story:
James Ludden at
jludden@bloomberg.net | 2012 | atlantia-to-sell-impregilo-stake-to-gavio-to-buy-chile-motorway |
Greek Rescue Opposed by German Majority, Bild am Sonntag Says | By Tony Czuczka | 2012-02-26T16:17:56Z | http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-02-26/greek-rescue-opposed-by-german-majority-bild-am-sonntag-says.html | 2 | 26 | 100d2a42c1a72e72178df2c230b77f3579cab16d | Sixty-two percent of Germans want
lawmakers to reject renewed aid for Greece in a parliamentary
vote scheduled for tomorrow in Berlin, Bild am Sonntag said,
citing a poll. Thirty-three percent said parliament should approve German
participation in Greece’s second bailout, the newspaper said in
an e-mailed advance version of an article appearing today. Bild didn’t give a margin of error for the Feb. 23 Emnid
poll of 500 people. To contact the reporter on this story:
Tony Czuczka in Berlin at
aczuczka@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story:
James Hertling at
jhertling@bloomberg.net | 2012 | greek-rescue-opposed-by-german-majority-bild-am-sonntag-says |
Boston’s Valentine Bans Alcohol in Red Sox Clubhouse, on Road Trip Flights | By Nancy Kercheval | 2012-02-27T05:00:15Z | http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-02-26/boston-s-valentine-bans-beer-in-red-sox-clubhouse-road-trip-final-legs.html | 2 | 26 | 62f67e6b8ce5584c8bd10feb68fcf89b91f4a2f1 | Boston Red Sox players can no longer
drink beer in the team’s clubhouse. Manager Bobby Valentine banned alcohol consumption after it
was disclosed last year that starting pitchers drank beer in the
clubhouse on days they weren’t pitching. The Red Sox are the
19th of 30 Major League Baseball teams to prohibit alcohol in
the clubhouse, MLB.com said . The Red Sox on Sept. 4 held a nine-game lead over the Tampa
Bay Rays for the American League wild-card playoff spot. They
then went 7-20, the worst final-month collapse according to the
Elias Sports Bureau, and missed the playoffs on the season’s
final day. Valentine, who was hired Nov. 30, two months after Terry Francona left, also told the team that alcohol is prohibited on
team flights at the end of road trips. Players didn’t openly object to the rules during a meeting
at spring training camp in Fort Myers , Florida, he said. “You mean standing ovation or booing?” Valentine replied
when reporters sought the team’s reaction. “I didn’t get either
of those. Probably fell somewhere in between a standing O and a
standing boo.” Designated hitter David Ortiz supported Valentine’s decree. “We’re not here to drink,” Ortiz told reporters. “We’re
here to play baseball. It ain’t a bar.” To contact the reporter on this story:
Nancy Kercheval in Washington at
nkercheval@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Michael Sillup at
msillup@bloomberg.net | 2012 | boston-s-valentine-bans-beer-in-red-sox-clubhouse-road-trip-final-legs |
Egyptian Stocks: Orascom Construction, Raya Holding, Asek Co. | By Ahmed A Namatalla | 2012-02-26T12:55:28Z | http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-02-26/egyptian-stocks-credit-agricole-orascom-construction-raya.html | 2 | 26 | a6830f09e030aeddc673a8c4414b4ef35a3336ae | Egypt’s benchmark EGX30 Index (EGX30) rose
2.5 percent to 5,269.65, the highest since July 10, at the 2:30
p.m. close in Cairo. The following shares were active on the Egyptian Exchange.
Stock symbols follow company names. Asek Co. for Mining (ASCM EY) declined 1 percent to 10.01
Egyptian pounds, the lowest close since Feb. 22. The unit of
private equity firm Citadel Capital SAE reported a full-year
loss of 96.8 million pounds ($16 million) after a profit in the
year-earlier period. Orascom Construction Industries (OCIC) climbed 3.6
percent to 270.37 pounds, the highest close in more than seven
months. A group led by Egypt’s biggest publicly traded builder
is competing with three others to build a hotel in central
Cairo’s Tahrir Square, Al Mal newspaper reported today. The
winner is expected to be announced in April, it said. Raya Holding Co. (RAYA) gained 4.6 percent to 4.56
pounds, the highest close since Feb. 14. The provider of
information technology approved investing in a company to be set
up in Abu Dhabi and closing its unit in Algeria . To contact the reporter on this story:
Ahmed A Namatalla in Cairo at
anamatalla@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Claudia Maedler at
cmaedler@bloomberg.net | 2012 | egyptian-stocks-credit-agricole-orascom-construction-raya |
Explosion Kills 3 People in Nigeria | By Ardo Hazzad and Emele Onu | 2012-02-26T19:05:54Z | http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-02-26/explosion-kills-3-people-in-central-nigerian-city-of-jos.html | 2 | 26 | 10950dec5c51b375b0fe20d215a2189651491dd8 | An explosion killed at least three
people at a church today in the central Nigerian city of Jos,
the country’s National Emergency Management Agency said. “The explosion was triggered by a suspected suicide bomber
whose body was shredded into pieces,” Yushau Shuaib, head of
the emergency management agency, said by telephone, adding that
at least 38 injured people were taken to hospitals. Boko Haram“was responsible for the attack in a reaction to
the molestation of Muslims by Christian residents in Jos,” its
spokesman, Abul Qaqa, said by telephone today. The group, wants
to impose Shariah, or Islamic law, in Africa ’s most populous
country. Authorities in Africa’s top oil producer have blamed Boko
Haram for bomb and gun attacks in northern Nigeria and Abuja
since 2009 in which hundreds of people have died. The group,
whose name means “Western education is a sin,” claimed
responsibility for attacks in Kano, northern Nigeria’s biggest
city, on Jan. 20 that killed at least 256 people, according to
the Civil Rights Congress . “Government is gradually and firmly bringing justice to
those behind these attacks and exposing their identities and
dismantling their terror infrastructure,” President Goodluck Jonathan said in a statement from the capital, Abuja. “Those
behind similar acts of terror in recent times have been arrested
and are being investigated with a view to prosecuting them
accordingly, as a deterrent to others,” he said. Nigeria , with more than 164 million people, is roughly
split between a mainly Muslim north and predominantly Christian
south. More than 14,000 people died in ethnic and religious
clashes in the West African nation between 1999 and 2009,
according to the Brussels-based International Crisis Group . To contact the reporters on this story:
Ardo Hazzad in Bauchi at
ahazzad@bloomberg.net ;
Emele Onu in Lagos, Nigeria at
eonu1@bloomberg.net . To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Andrew J. Barden at
barden@bloomberg.net | 2012 | explosion-kills-3-people-in-central-nigerian-city-of-jos |
Mets to Wear Patches Honoring Catcher Carter, Team’s 50th Anniversary | By Nancy Kercheval | 2012-02-27T05:00:11Z | http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-02-26/mets-to-wear-patches-honoring-catchr-carter-team-s-50th-anniversary.html | 2 | 26 | 34083aedea99b78966060da1690eeacb4d2916d5 | The New York Mets will honor late
catcher Gary Carter and celebrate the team’s 50th anniversary
with two patches on their uniforms this season. Carter, a leader of the Mets’ 1986 World Series-winning
team whose enthusiasm on the field earned him the nickname “The
Kid”, died Feb. 16 at the age of 57, nine months after being
diagnosed with brain cancer. He’ll be remembered with a patch on
the team’s jersey sleeves featuring a black home plate and “KID
8” in white lettering, the Mets said. Carter wore No. 8 for 18 of his 19 Major League Baseball
seasons, including five with the Mets. After 11 seasons with the
Montreal Expos, he spent 1985 through 1989 with the Mets and
helped guide the team through one of its most productive
periods, with a World Series title and a 485-323 record. An 11-time All-Star and three-time Gold Glove Award winner
for his defense at catcher, Carter was inducted into the
Baseball Hall of Fame in 2003. The Mets’ 50th anniversary logo patch, which will be worn
on the opposite sleeve, features a gold 50 over a blue New York
City skyline. One of the first expansion teams, the Mets
restored National League baseball to New York after the Brooklyn
Dodgers and New York Giants moved to California in 1958. The
Mets played their first official game on April 11, 1962, an 11-4
loss to the Cardinals in St. Louis. To contact the reporter on this story:
Nancy Kercheval in Washington at
nkercheval@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Michael Sillup at
msillup@bloomberg.net | 2012 | ets-to-wear-patches-honoring-catchr-carter-team-s-50th-anniversary |
IMF Will Probably Discuss Loan to Greece at March 13 Meeting, Batista Says | By Sandrine Rastello | 2012-02-26T00:05:58Z | http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-02-26/imf-will-probably-discuss-loan-to-greece-at-march-13-meeting-batista-says.html
The International Monetary Fund set
March 13 as a tentative date to discuss its contribution to a
130 billion-euro ($175 billion) rescue package for Greece , an
IMF board official said. While the Washington-based fund has until now borne about
one third of the cost of euro-area aid, it has yet to announce
its share of the second Greek bailout. IMF chief Christine Lagarde said Feb. 21 after euro governments approved the rescue
that the fund’s contribution will hinge on Europe ’s progress in
building a broader financial firewall to fight the debt crisis. “The fund has to play a mainly catalytic role now because
it’s already overexposed in Greece and Greece is highly
problematic,” Paul Nogueira Batista, who represents Brazil and
eight other nations on the IMF board, said in an interview today
in Mexico City. The IMF should provide “some modest additional
financing, very modest.” The U.S., as the IMF’s biggest shareholder, is pushing back
against European calls for the fund to play a bigger role in
tackling the euro-area debt crisis now in its third year. Europe has “more work to do,” and “until we see that, I
think it’s unlikely you’re going to see the major shareholders
of the IMF be prepared to have the IMF play a larger response,”
Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner said in an interview
with CNBC yesterday. Heeding Member Calls With about $108 billion already promised to euro-region
countries including Portugal and Ireland, Lagarde must heed
members’ calls to limit its commitments to the currency bloc,
said Thomas Costerg, a European economist with Standard
Chartered Bank in London . IMF participation is “one of the main
uncertainties of this Greek deal,” Costerg said in a Feb. 21
interview. The IMF will seek to keep its credit to Greece under the
new bailout package at 30 billion euros, including money still
owed from a first loan, an IMF official said Feb. 22. IMF loans to Greece and the level of participation of
private bondholders in a voluntary debt swap are matters still
to be resolved as Europe’s most indebted nation battles to avert
default. Greece’s government formally asked investors on Feb. 24
ago to exchange their holdings of government debt for new
securities in the biggest sovereign restructuring in history. Greece remains “unique” and private-sector involvement in
resolving the debt crisis won’t be extended to Portugal , said
European Central Bank Executive Board member Joerg Asmussen. “As far as PSI is concerned, Greece is a unique case | 2 | 26 | 077a1d613cb178a295dd55d7c159f0cc847e63fd | different from Greece,” Asmussen told Bloomberg News today in
Mexico City, where he was attending a meeting of Group of 20
finance ministers and central bank governors. “The euro area is
a safe place to invest for international investors.” To contact the reporter on this story:
Sandrine Rastello in Mexico City via srastello@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Christopher Wellisz at cwellisz@bloomberg.net | 2012 | imf-will-probably-discuss-loan-to-greece-at-march-13-meeting-batista-says |
3i Group’s Enterprise Faces Review by UBS, Sunday Telegraph Says | By Andrea Gerlin | 2012-02-26T12:40:32Z | http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-02-26/3i-group-s-enterprise-faces-review-by-ubs-sunday-telegraph-says.html | 2 | 26 | 988957df11a91f0c9c65bd1ea275461fc44c1c0d | 3i Group Plc (III) has asked UBS AG (UBSN) to
carry out a strategic review of Enterprise, its parks
maintenance company, the Sunday Telegraph reported, without
citing the source of the information. The strategic review could lead to Enterprise being split
into its government services and utilities and defense divisions
and each part being sold separately, the newspaper said. To contact the reporter on this story:
Andrea Gerlin in London at
agerlin@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Phil Serafino at
pserafino@bloomberg.net | 2012 | 3i-group-s-enterprise-faces-review-by-ubs-sunday-telegraph-says |
Carlyle Group Hires Woodhouse to Run RAC, Sunday Telegraph Says | By Andrea Gerlin | 2012-02-26T10:56:32Z | http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-02-26/carlyle-group-hires-woodhouse-to-run-rac-sunday-telegraph-says.html | 2 | 26 | 52c5fb4d6d0c35a9665e37b3575926217e2fe143 | The Carlyle Group has hired former
Debenhams Plc Finance Director Chris Woodhouse to run the RAC
Plc (RAC) , a roadside assistance business, the Sunday Telegraph
reported, quoting Woodhouse. To contact the reporter responsible for this story:
Andrea Gerlin in London at
agerlin@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Mike Harrison at
mharrison5@bloomberg.net | 2012 | carlyle-group-hires-woodhouse-to-run-rac-sunday-telegraph-says |
Swatch Will Create 1,000 Jobs This Year, Hayek Tells Der Sonntag | By Klaus Wille | 2012-02-26T11:37:58Z | http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-02-26/swatch-will-create-1-000-jobs-this-year-hayek-tells-der-sonntag.html | 2 | 26 | 61e881df18cbb0a5d93b0f429b5950745d4937d8 | Swatch Group AG (UHR) will probably create
more than 1,000 new jobs this year, among them at least 500 in
Switzerland , Chief Executive Officer Nick Hayek told Der Sonntag
in an interview. The company wants to come “as close as possible” to
reaching 8 billion francs ($8.9 billion) in revenue this year,
Hayek was quoted as saying by the Swiss newspaper. To contact the reporter on this story:
Klaus Wille in Zurich at
kwille@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Craig Stirling at
cstirling1@bloomberg.net | 2012 | swatch-will-create-1-000-jobs-this-year-hayek-tells-der-sonntag |
Germany’s Schaeuble Says Confident Lawmakers to Back Greece Aid | By Rainer Buergin and Jana Randow | 2012-02-26T09:00:00Z | http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-02-26/germany-s-schaeuble-says-confident-lawmakers-to-back-greece-aid.html | 2 | 26 | a6fb65f2d22c877187670bbee18d6858c3d5b143 | German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said he’s confident his country’s parliament will
support a second aid package for Greece in a Feb. 27 vote,
leaving open whether the euro region’s financial backstops
should be increased. “I assume that we will get the necessary support in
parliament on Monday,” Schaeuble told reporters during a
meeting in Mexico City of finance officials from the 20 biggest
economies. A decision on the need to boost the size of the
region’s permanent rescue fund, known as the European Stability
Mechanism, will be taken “in the course of March,” he said. That’ll be “in time” for the International Monetary Fund
to decide about an increase of its lending capacity at its
meeting in Washington on April 20-22, Schaeuble said. The
minister said he assumes that the IMF will provide the
“necessary support” for the second bailout for Greece. Group of 20 officials gathered less than a week after
Europe agreed to a second bailout for Greece in a bid to avert
the euro-area’s first sovereign default. European Union
governments are due to review whether to raise the ESM’s ceiling
“in the course of March,” European Monetary Affairs
Commissioner Olli Rehn told reporters in Mexico City yesterday,
suggesting no final decision will be made at a leaders’ summit
starting March 1. Germany’s priority on the ESM is deciding how quickly
countries should pay into the fund “if we want it actually to
enter into force this summer,” Steffen Seibert, Chancellor
Angela Merkel ’s spokesman, told reporters in Berlin on Feb. 22. Schaeuble said there has been “a broad tendency, but no
decision,” to pay capital into the ESM in two tranches instead
of an originally envisaged five installments. Bundesbank President Jens Weidmann said Germany is making
an “important contribution” to solving the debt crisis.
Financial aid can only buy time that needs to be used to improve
competitiveness and restore confidence, Weidmann
said at a press briefing alongside Schaeuble. To contact the reporters on this story:
Rainer Buergin in Berlin at
rbuergin1@bloomberg.net ;
Jana Randow in Mexico City at
jrandow@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story:
James Hertling at
jhertling@bloomberg.net | 2012 | germany-s-schaeuble-says-confident-lawmakers-to-back-greece-aid |
Ovarian Stem Cells Produce Eggs in Method That May Aid Fertility | By Ryan Flinn | 2012-02-27T05:00:01Z | http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-02-26/ovarian-stem-cells-produce-eggs-in-method-that-may-aid-fertility-therapy.html
Stem cells taken from human ovaries
were used to produce early-stage eggs by scientists in Boston
who may have created a new method to help infertile women. Females have a fixed number of eggs from birth that are
depleted by the time of menopause. The finding, published today
in the journal Nature Medicine , challenges the belief that their
ovaries can’t make more. The research was led by Jonathan Tilly ,
the director of Massachusetts General Hospital’s Vincent Center
for Reproductive Biology . Tilly reported in 2004 that ovarian stem cells in mice
create new eggs, or oocytes, in a way similar to how stem cells
in male testes produce sperm throughout a man’s life. His latest
work, if reproduced, would suggest the same is true for human
ovaries, potentially pointing at new ways to aid fertility by
delaying when the ovaries stop functioning. “The 50-year-old belief in our field wasn’t actually based
on data proving it was impossible, or not ongoing,” Tilly said
in a telephone interview. “It was simply an assumption made
because there was no evidence indicating otherwise. We have
human cells that can produce new oocytes.” In the study, healthy ovaries were obtained from consenting
patients undergoing sex reassignment surgery. The researchers
were able to identify ovarian stem cells because they express a
rare protein that’s only seen in reproductive cells. The stem cells from the ovaries were injected into human
ovarian tissue that was then grafted under the skin of mice,
which provided the blood supply that enabled growth. Within two
weeks, early stage human follicles with oocytes had formed. 7-Million Eggs A female is most endowed with oocytes, or eggs, as a fetus,
when she has about 7 million. That number that drops to 1
million by birth, and around 300,000 by puberty. By menopause,
the number is zero. Since the 1950’s, scientists thought that
ovarian stem cells capable of producing new eggs are only active
during fetal development. “This paper essentially opens the door to the ability to
control oocyte development in human ovaries,” Tilly said. About 10 percent of women of child-bearing age in the U.S.,
or 6.1 million, have difficulty getting pregnant or staying
pregnant, according to the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention. Most cases of female infertility are caused by
problems with ovulation, hormone imbalance or age. The study by Tilley and his colleagues offers “a new model
system for understanding the human egg cell,” said David F.
Albertini , director of the Center for Reproductive Services and
professor in the department of molecular and integrative
physiology at Kansas University, in a telephone interview. ‘Practical Applications” Still, “there’s a long way to go before this has real
practical applications. I’ve spent 35 years of my life studying
egg cells and this is a cell that is at least as complicated as
a neuron in the brain, if not more,” Albertini said. The work needs to be reproduced and expanded by other
scientists “to make it into something that will make us
confident the cells are safe to use and we could actually use
them to repopulate an egg-depleted ovary,” he said. Tilly’s team is exploring the development of an ovarian
stem-cell bank that can be cryogenically frozen and thawed
without damage, unlike human eggs, he said. The researchers are
also working to identify hormones and other growth factors for
accelerating production of eggs from human ovarian stem cells
and ways to improve in-vitro fertilization. “The problem we face with IVF is we don’t have many eggs
to work with,” he said. “These cells are renewable. If we are
successful | 2 | 26 | 80c9a76282df4af598368c46f2676a9f | eggs from these cells, we can generate as many eggs as we need
to on a per patient basis.” Tilly is also collaborating with researchers at the
University of Edinburgh in the U.K. to determine whether the
oocytes can be developed into fully mature human eggs for
fertilizing. The U.S bans creating or fertilizing embryos for
experimental purposes, he said. A company Tilly co-founded, Boston-based OvaScience Inc.,
has licensed the technology for potential commercial
applications. To contact the reporter on this story:
Ryan Flinn in San Francisco at
rflinn@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Reg Gale at
rgale5@bloomberg.net | 2012 | ovarian-stem-cells-produce-eggs-in-method-that-may-aid-fertility-therapy |
Israel Short-Term Bonds Drop on Bets Central Bank to Hold Rates | By Sharon Wrobel | 2012-02-26T13:59:33Z | http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-02-26/israel-short-term-bonds-drop-on-bets-central-bank-to-hold-rates.html | 2 | 26 | 5ae99664efac4a1ebcb00795d060715c | Israel ’s short-term government bond
yields rose to the highest level in more than a month amid
speculation the central bank will leave borrowing costs
unchanged tomorrow. The yield on the 4.5 percent notes due January 2015 climbed
three basis points, or 0.03 percentage point, to 3.04 percent at
3:37 p.m. in Tel Aviv, the highest since Jan. 23. Shorter-term
notes are typically more sensitive to rate fluctuations. The
Bank of Israel will maintain the benchmark rate at 2.5 percent,
according to all of 24 analysts in a Bloomberg survey. “Yields on shorter-term bonds are rising as the market is
pricing in that interest rates may hold this month on optimism
the situation in Europe is getting under control,” Dror Waserman, a bonds trader at Clal Finance Brokerage Ltd. in Tel
Aviv , said by telephone. “The Bank of Israel is expected to
pause on rates to reassess the impact of growth in Europe on the
local economy.” Euro-area finance ministers awarded 130 billion euros ($175
billion) in aid to Greece and reached an accord for greater debt
relief from investor representatives in an exchange offer to
tide the nation past a bond redemption next month. Exports make
up about 40 percent of the Israeli economy and Europe is one of
its largest markets. Interest Rate Bets One-year interest-rate swaps , an indicator of investor
expectations for rates over the period, fell one basis point to
2.47 percent on Feb. 24. The rate has advanced 13 basis points
this month. The Bank of Israel ’s monetary committee, led by
Governor Stanley Fischer , lowered the benchmark lending rate to
2.5 percent on Jan. 23, the third cut in five months. The economy expanded an annualized 3.2 percent in the
fourth quarter compared with a revised 3.8 percent in the third
quarter as exports and private consumption declined, the
statistics bureau said Feb. 16. The central bank and the Finance
Ministry reduced their growth predictions for this year on
concern over the impact of Europe’s debt crisis. The one-year break-even rate, the yield difference between
the inflation-linked bond and fixed-rate government bonds of
similar maturity, fell eight basis points to 257, implying an
average annual inflation rate of 2.57 percent. The yield on the
benchmark 5.5 percent bonds due January 2022 rose one basis
point to 4.64 percent. Israeli funds raised 343 million shekels ($91 million) from
investors in the week ended Feb. 23, Tel Aviv-based Meitav
Investment House Ltd. said today. Government bond funds drew
investments of 213 million shekels and corporate-bond funds
raised 167 million shekels, while money market funds recorded
redemptions. The Tel-Bond 40 (TEL-B40) index of corporate bonds declined 0.2
percent to 263.58. The shekel weakened 0.7 percent to 3.7729 a
dollar on Feb. 24. To contact the reporter on this story:
Sharon Wrobel in Tel Aviv at
swrobel4@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Claudia Maedler at
cmaedler@bloomberg.net | 2012 | israel-short-term-bonds-drop-on-bets-central-bank-to-hold-rates |