The Short View: Commodities and inflation

The Short View: Commodities and inflation

By John Authers, Investment Editor

Published: July 30 2008 20:56 | Last updated: July 30 2008 20:56

In commodities, it is necessary to separate the long from the short term. Over history, they have moved in “super-cycles”, posting big gains every few decades, then oscillating in line with ebbs and flows in storage for a protracted period.

This gives some context to the sudden fall in commodity prices. Over the course of July, the Dow Jones-AIG energy index had at one point fallen 24.5 per cent – if not a bear market, then at least a correction.

This brought US gasoline prices below the psychologically important level of $4 per gallon.

Non-energy commodities sold off less, but only because they were already way below their highs. The DJ-AIG non-energy commodity index is down 14.6 per cent since peaking in March. It is barely up for the year.

In the long run, the sudden splurge this year, particularly for energy, which rose 70 per cent in five months, looks like a perverse departure from a trend.

There are plenty of plausible explanations. A move by investors to hedge against problems in the financial system may have had much to do with it. So could the summer’s concern about an imminent attack on Iran.

The correction came just as the world had been gripped by an inflation scare, when once the fear was that the credit squeeze would lead to deflation. Traders began to assume central banks would raise rates several times this year, in spite of the stress for the financial system.

Those expectations shot down with the commodity correction. One-year “break-even” rates on US inflation-linked bonds have fallen from 4.25 to 1.77 per cent in the space of a month.

So the short run impact of the commodity correction is clear. It means victory for deflationists over inflationists, and it means a respite for equities.

The longer run is less clear. Even after the correction, the longer-running trend in energy prices is menacingly upwards.

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Fed lays on extra liquidity support

By Krishna Guha in Washington

Published: July 30 2008 15:19 | Last updated: July 30 2008 21:34

The Federal Reserve ramped up its liquidity support operations again on Wednesday in an effort to reduce money market strains and pre-empt the possibility of funding crises at the year-end or at other stress points.

The US central bank said it would offer three-month cash loans to banks and create a new options auction facility. It also said it would give investment banks and other primary dealers extended access to emergency cash and loans of Treasury securities until January 30.

The Fed said it was extending its support to primary dealers “in light of continued fragile circumstances in financial markets”.

Funding needs

On August 10 2007 – the day after the credit crisis broke – the Federal Reserve said that banks might “experience unusual funding needs because of dislocations in money and credit markets”, writes James Politi. It promised to “provide reserves as necessary” to maintain its desired overnight interest rate and reminded banks they could use the “discount window” to access emergency cash.

The Fed has had to improvise to support market functioning – becoming more like the European Central Bank, which started the crisis with a wider range of liquidity tools. In the process the Fed extended its reach beyond commercial banks to investment banks.

The options facility is similar to the strategy used by the Fed in 1999 to deal with the risk of a millennium Y2K liquidity crisis. The Fed will auction $50bn of options giving dealers the right but not the obligation to swap illiquid securities for Treasuries over periods of likely funding stress, such as the year-end.

The European Central Bank and the Swiss National Bank will also offer three-month dollar loans through an offshore facility set up with the Fed. The Fed will increase the amount of dollars it provides to the ECB in exchange for euros by $5bn to $50bn.

Goldman Sachs said the moves “should help to . . . alleviate market stresses, but are incremental rather than transformational”.

Its initiatives follow the recent turmoil in financial sector stocks, which has created a risk that the credit squeeze in the real economy could intensify in the coming months.

The US central bank does not believe it can solve what are in many cases capital problems by providing extra liquidity. But it does believe it can support the adjustment process by reducing the risk of a liquidity run on any individual institution or any forced firesales of illiquid assets.

The Fed’s acknowledgement of the continuing stress in financial markets makes it improbable that it will raise interest rates soon. However, in the longer term, Fed policymakers believe that liquidity tools and rates could in principle diverge.

The decision to offer $75bn in three-month loans (replacing $75bn of one-month loans) marks an important concession by the Fed, which had resisted pressure from banks to extend the term from the previous single month.

The creation of the options facility, meanwhile, is intended to pre-empt stress “in advance of periods that are typically characterised by elevated stress in financial markets, such as quarter ends” and the year-end.

The S&P 500 index rose 1.7 per cent to close at 1,284.27. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 1.6 per cent at 11,583.93. The S&P financials index was up 2 per cent but the homebuilders sector finished in negative territory, down 1.7 per cent.

The yield on the two-year Treasury closed flat at 2.621 and the 10-year yield was up 1bp at 4.048.

Additional reporting by Anuj Gangahar in New York

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China to extend Africa acquisitions

By Tom Burgis in Lubumbashi

Published: July 30 2008 19:17 | Last updated: July 30 2008 19:17

China is readying to move into Africa on a scale that far outstrips its acquisitions on the continent to date, according to the South African bank that is laying the groundwork.

High-level groups of bankers from Industrial and Commercial Bank of China and Standard Bank, respectively China and Africa’s biggest banks, are examining potential targets in Africa’s oil and gas, telecoms, base metals and power sectors, executives at the Johannesburg-based lender have told the Financial Times.

Clive Tasker, chief executive of Standard Bank’s business in Africa excluding South Africa, said the resultant deals were likely to be at least as large as ICBC’s $5.5bn (£2.7bn, €3.5bn) purchase last year of a 20 per cent stake in Standard – itself the largest foreign direct investment in post-apartheid South Africa.

But Standard bankers admitted that building a relationship with their Chinese colleagues is proving more difficult than they had anticipated. Billed as a “combination of giants” by ICBC chairman Jiang Jianqing, the union was finalised on February 14, months after the initial overtures.

Beijing expects trade with Africa to hit $100bn by 2010, which makes the rationale for ICBC to gain access to Africa’s biggest pan-African banking network clear.

For Standard, apart from the capital injection to bolster its reserves, reward shareholders and fund expansion, the most tempting fruits of the deal depend on using the connection with ICBC to open doors to Chinese investors and guiding them into Africa.

“The honeymoon is over,” said Tim Thackwray, Standard Bank’s head of investment banking for Africa. “Now the hard work starts.”

Beyond the tribulations of marrying Chinese and South African corporate cultures, negotiating the upper echelons of ICBC – including establishing links with their counterparts – is taking time, Standard executives said. ICBC is majority-owned by the communist-run state.

All the same, Mr Thackwray added: “I would be disappointed if I couldn’t point to a big juicy deal by Christmas.”

Standard is establishing a 20-strong team in Beijing.

Standard and ICBC “can build a superhighway that connects China and Africa,” said David Munro, Standard’s chief executive for corporate and investment banking across Africa.

The first child of the banks’ “strategic partnership” is a global resources fund they are finalising and which they hope will grow to $1bn once third-party investors come on board.

Standard has 1,000 branches in 18 sub-Saharan African countries and a presence in a further 21 nations worldwide. In the past year it has made acquisitions in Nigeria, Kenya, Turkey and Argentina. This week it expanded its operation in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where Beijing last year signed an infrastructure-for-commodities deal worth up to $8bn.

It expects to finalise a licence next month to operate in Angola, one of the world’s fastest growing economies whose burgeoning oil wealth has already attracted significant Chinese interest.

Nigeria, the most populous country in Africa, and Ghana, a bastion of political stability, were also ripe for Chinese deals, Mr Thackwray said, with Mozambique and Congo close behind as they emerge from conflict.

Several executives said that corporate China was looking at targets beyond the mining sector, which has dominated the Asian giant’s African investments as it seeks to satiate its thirst for commodities.

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Italy’s Enel opens new coal-fired power plant

By Guy Dinmore

Published: July 31 2008 05:56 | Last updated: July 31 2008 05:56

Enel, Italy’s power utility, on Wednesday inaugurated the world’s least polluting coal-fired power station as part of the centre-right government’s energy strategy which is aimed at reducing reliance on more expensive and “politically unreliable” oil and gas producers.

The 1,980 megawatt Torrevaldaliga Nord plant, north of Rome, also emits less greenhouse gas than other coal-fired stations, as well as the oil-fired plant it is converted from. However environmentalists argue that Italy’s shift towards coal will result in higher CO2 emissions than if it built more gas-fired stations.

Claudio Scajola, economic development minister who attended the ceremonial opening of the first of the plant’s three units, said Italy had the highest rate of oil and gas dependency in the industrialized world, costing its consumers 30 per cent more in electricity bills than the average European.

Italy’s objective, he said, was to source 50 per cent of its electricity needs from oil, gas and coal, 25 per cent from renewable energy and 25 per cent from nuclear. Italy abandoned nuclear energy following a 1987 referendum, but the centre-right government, elected in April, has pledged to bring it back.

Italy needed to reduce its energy reliance on “politically more unstable countries”, said Enel. Coal for the new plant will be supplied by Indonesia and South Africa.

Although the €2bn power station was plagued by delays that have long characterized Italy’s infrastructure development, managers and engineers spoke of their pride – and relief – at finishing what they call the world’s “cleanest” and most efficient coal-fired station.

Enel is planning a second 2,000 MW conversion from oil to coal at Porto Tolle outside Venice. Andrea Lavarino, chairman of Assocarboni, an association of coal operators, said Italy had six or seven oil-fired plants that could be converted to coal.

“We are trying to persuade the government to give us fast-track procedure,” he told the FT. “What they say is encouraging. They speak the right language.”

Gianfilippo Mancini, Enel’s head of energy generation, said the new plant will emit 0.7 tonne of CO2 per megawatt hour, slightly less than the old oil-fired plant. This compares with 1.0 tonne produced by a “normal” coal station and 0.4 to 0.7 tonne produced by gas-fired stations.

In spite of the cost of buying carbon credits, the cheaper price of coal compared to gas will mean savings for Italian consumers, he said.

Enel is spending €320m by 2012 developing carbon capture and storage, where CO2 from the plant is trapped and then stored underground.

Stefano Ciafani of Legambiente, an environmental lobby group, says the shift to coal will set back Italy even further from meeting its Kyoto targets on emissions by 2012.

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Putin attacked over market fall

By Catherine Belton in Moscow

Published: July 31 2008 03:20 | Last updated: July 31 2008 03:20

An adviser to Dmitry Medvedev, the Russian president, on Wednesday lashed out at Vladimir Putin, the prime minister, for wiping almost $60bn off the Russian stock market when he publicly criticised a New York-listed Russian steel and coal group for price-gouging.

Igor Yurgens, an influential businessman who heads the Institute of Contemporary Development, a think-tank advising the president, said: “It is not correct to destroy your own stock market ... and wipe off $60bn (€38bn, £30bn). It’s just not the right thing.”

“There are 150 ways of deciding problems with Zyuzin without resorting to such comments,” he added, referring to Igor Zyuzin, the billionaire owner of Mechel.

Mr Zyuzin’s personal worth was halved from $11bn to $5.5bn after Mr Putin singled him out at an industry conference last Thursday to accuse him of price gouging. Mr Putin threatened to send a doctor to “clear up” the illness Mr Zyuzin had claimed prevented him from attending the meeting.

Analysts have been watching for signs of a divide between the Putin and Medvedev camps. Questions have remained over who is in charge after Mr Putin stepped down as president and handed power to Mr Medvedev in May.

Mr Medvedev this week sought to staunch the market’s fall as investors fled following Mr Putin’s comments, fearing a return of an attack such as that which led to the state dismantling of oil group Yukos .

One of his senior economic aides, Arkady Dvorkovich, on Monday called for calm, saying the outburst was only connected to a probe by the Federal Anti Monopoly Service into price-gouging for coking coal, a major input for steel. Just hours later, however, Mr Putin accused Mechel of tax evasion too.

Vremya Novostei, the Russian daily, on Wednesday said Mr Putin’s comments looked like the start of a power struggle and an attempt to “equate in the consciousness of the population the beginning of Medvedev’s rule with high inflation and stock market collapse.”

But Stanislav Belkovsky, a political analyst, said Mr Putin’s comments did not signal a rift. “Medvedev does not interfere in things that don’t concern him. This is a business conflict.”

Mr Yurgens, who is also first vice president at Renaissance Capital, the Moscow investment bank, said Mr Medvedev faced a “silent war” against hardliners opposing his bid to clean up the legal system and root out corruption.

Russia’s Federal Anti-Monopoly Service said it was extending its probe into price-fixing in the market for coking coal to Evraz Group and Raspadskaya.

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Eurozone economy suffers fall in confidence

By Gerrit Wiesmann in Frankfurt

Published: July 31 2008 01:56 | Last updated: July 31 2008 01:56

The confidence of eurozone businesses and consumers in the economy fell sharply in July, a further omen that the 15-member currency bloc is sliding towards stagnation as high energy prices and financial-market woes jar the global economy.

New evidence of a sharp slowdown came as some national inflation figures suggested prices in the region rose at record levels in July, leaving the European Central Bank little room for growth-boosting rate cuts any time soon.

The eurozone sentiment indicator for July was “the latest in a string of very weak data”, according to Aurelio Maccario, an economist at Unicredit in Milan. “The eurozone economy is heading toward a stagnation phase bound to last at best a few months.”

The European Commission said its sentiment index slipped 5.3 to 89.5 points, the lowest level seen since March 2003 and well below an average forecast of 93 points by economists. The mood in the services sector, which makes up the bulk of economic activity, suffered most.

This trend fell into line with Friday’s revelations that economic activity by the eurozone private sector had slowed for the second month running in July and that German business confidence – as measured by the Ifo index – had fallen to a three-year low.

The eurozone economy grew 0.7 per cent in the first three months of this year, a sign that, unlike the US, the euro-region was avoiding some of the biggest economic ripples from financial-market turmoil that erupted just more than a year ago. But high energy prices and their effect on global growth now seem to be leaving their marks on the currency zone. Some economists are even projecting a contraction in second-quarter growth numbers, due to be published mid-August.

Markedly weaker growth prospects have reduced fears among economists that the ECB could be tempted again to tighten monetary policy after raising its key interest rate by a quarter of a point to 4.25 per cent at the start of this month. Slower growth, tight credit and the inflation-easing effects of a strong euro could ease inflationary pressures over the coming months, said Howard Archer, economist at Global Insight in London. “We expect the ECB to keep interest rates at 4.25 per cent through the rest of 2008.”

But many ECB-watchers agree this scenario is no certainty. Preliminary inflation data from Germany, the eurozone’s largest economy, and Belgium suggest price rises in the whole region hit 4.1 per cent in July, up from a record 4 per cent in June. That would mean eurozone inflation in July was running at more than twice the ECB’s target of “below but close to” 2 per cent .

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Cadbury 'scared' by global economy

By Jenny Wiggins and Lucy Killgren

Published: July 31 2008 03:00 | Last updated: July 31 2008 03:00

Cadbury's chief executive said the outlook for the global economy was "scary" and that the confectionery company might reshape its board and sell its Australian drinks brand to meet profit targets.

Todd Stitzer, who had previously played down speculation that the Australian business would be sold, said the decision came as Cadbury "looks more carefully" at its portfolio.

News of fresh restructuring follows the start of a cost-cutting programme last year to improve profit margins and comes after the appointment of Roger Carr as chairman this month.

Mr Carr yesterday appeared on Cadbury's website saying the company needed to take a more "determined" approach to business.

"The world has changed quite remarkably even in the last six months," Mr Carr said. "All of the management team have to look hard again at all aspects of the business."

Changes are likely to include reducing the 10- member board and recruiting people with more financial experience.

The company will also begin a review of the Australian business, which has annual sales of about £300m - some 6 per cent of group sales.

Analysts welcomed the changes, with Rob Mann at Collins Stewart noting they reflected "a change in tone".

In the six months to June 30 Cadbury reported a 28 per cent rise in pre-tax profits to £143m (£112m) on revenues that rose from £2.33bn to £2.65bn, helped by the strength of the euro and the Australian dollar against sterling. Earnings per share were 11.9p (8.7p).

The company added that it was on track to improve profit margins by about 120 basis points over the full year, in line with analysts' expectations.

Ken Hanna, chief financial officer, said soaring commodity costs - which have seen prices for cocoa, milk and sugar all rise by more than 25 per cent - had been "a stronger challenge" than the company had expected a year ago. But Cadbury had been raising prices, cutting back on promotions and reducing packaging sizes.

Cocoa prices are up 37 per cent on last year, milk prices are up 26 per cent and sugar has risen 29 per cent.

Cadbury added that it saw no signs that sales were slowing in emerging markets, which now account for about one-third of total revenues.

Shares in Cadbury fell 5½p to close at 620p yesterday.

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HBOS profits drop 51 percent
Reuters
Reuters - 15 minutes ago

LONDON (Reuters) - Home lender HBOS said first-half profits fell 51 percent from a year ago as it took a 1.1 billion pound hit from negative adjustments on securities impacted by the credit crunch.

HBOS reported an underlying pretax profit including the negative adjustments for the six months to the end of June of 1.45 billion pounds, down from 2.96 billion a year before.

HBOS, which raised 4 billion pounds from a rights issue earlier this month to rebuild its capital, said it would consider "selective asset disposals to improve out deposit to loan ratio," but did not provide further details.

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現金給与、６カ月ぶり減　ボーナス減少響く　毎月勤労統計

　厚生労働省が31日発表した6月の毎月勤労統計調査（速報、従業員5人以上）によると、すべての給与を合わせた現金給与総額は46万3013円で前年同月比0.6％減少した。6月は多くの企業が夏のボーナスを支給するが、ボーナスを示す「特別給与」が同1.5％減少したことが影響し、6カ月ぶりにマイナスに転じた。

　基本給を示す所定内給与は25万1177円で前年同月比横ばい。所定外労働時間は同1.8％減の10.5時間。景気の影響を受けやすいとされる製造業の所定外労働時間は同3.7％減だった。

　雇用者数は前年同月比1.5％増の4513万1000人。うち正社員などの一般労働者は1.6％増、パートは1.2％増で、2カ月ぶりに一般労働者の伸びがパートの伸びを上回った。

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政府系金融に民間手法、10月統合へ組織改革着手　まず中小公庫

　政府系4金融機関が統合する「日本政策金融公庫」の10月発足をにらみ、中小企業金融公庫は8月に現場に権限を大きく委譲する組織改革をする。新公庫トップに内定している安居祥策総裁（元帝人会長）が民間流の経営改革を足元の中小公庫で先行させる形。今後、新公庫の人事配置や体制づくりの議論が本格化するが、安居氏は中小公庫の新体制をモデルに新公庫を運営する考えだ。

　政府は2007年9月、日本政策金融の初代トップに安居氏を充てる人事を決めた。安居氏は帝人の経営改革を推し進めた手腕を買われ、07年1月に中小公庫総裁に就任。日本政策金融の組織づくりを意識しながら、中小公庫の業務全般の見直しを進めている。

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主要証券5社、市場混乱直撃　4―6月、2社が最終赤字

　主要証券5社の2008年4―6月期連結決算は、金融市場の混乱で法人部門を中心に業績が悪化した。野村ホールディングスと三菱ＵＦＪ証券の2社が最終赤字になったほか、3社も前年同期比で4割以上の減益になった。米国の信用力の低い個人向け住宅融資（サブプライムローン）問題に端を発した市場の混乱長期化が、主要証券の決算を直撃している。

　大和証券グループ本社が30日に発表した最終利益は58億円と前年同期比で78％減少した。法人取引を担う傘下の大和証券ＳＭＢＣの最終損益が112億円の赤字（前年同期は151億円の黒字）となったことが響いた。投信の販売や株式売買委託手数料も落ち込んだ。

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公的統計、元データを一般提供　09年度から、経済分析に活用

　政府は2009年度から、公的統計の集計を目的に国民や企業に回答してもらったアンケートの「元データ」を一般に提供する方針だ。分析した結果を一般に公開する研究者などを対象に、回答者の名前などを分からなくしたうえでデータを渡す。公的統計を「国民の資産」と位置づけ、民間による詳細な経済分析に役立てる。

　09年春に全面施行となる新しい統計法では、政府が統計をまとめるために集めたデータを一般に提供できると規定されている。政府は09年度に提供を始める準備を進めており、今秋にも提供にあたってのルールを定めた指針をまとめる。

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日立の4―6月期、連結営業益３倍　情報通信システムの採算改善

　日立製作所が31日発表した2008年４―６月期の連結決算（米国会計基準）は、営業利益が前年同期比3.2倍の776億円だった。ハードディスク駆動装置（ＨＤＤ）の黒字化などで情報通信システム部門の採算が改善した。子会社の日立建機や国内向け原子力発電設備が好調で、電力・産業システム部門も伸びた。子会社の日立金属や日立化成工業がけん引した高機能材料部門も大幅増益を確保した。

　売上高は３％増の２兆5434億円だった。地域別では北米が落ち込んだものの、国内やアジア、欧州の伸びが補った。

　有価証券の評価損を計上し、営業外費用が膨らんだが、最終損益は315億円の黒字（前年同期は136億円の赤字）を確保した。

　2009年３月期の業績は従来予想を据え置いた。

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帝人、今期一転減益に　43％増を下方修正　原燃料高で

　帝人は31日、2009年3月期通期の連結利益予想を下方修正すると発表した。純利益の予想を前期比5％減の120億円とした。従来予想は43％増の180億円だった。原燃料高が利益を圧迫する。

　原油高による調達費用の前期比増加額は、従来予想より260億円多い550億円とした。一部製品は市況が軟調で値上げが難しい情勢であることも利益の押し下げ要因。高野直人専務は同日の決算発表の席上、「不採算品を切り捨てる局面が加速するかもしれない」と話した。

　同時に発表した08年4―6月期連結決算は、純利益が前年同期比69％減の27億円となった。売上高は5％減の2366億円。原燃料価格の高騰を受け、ポリエステル繊維やフィルム、樹脂などの製品価格に転嫁しきれず、利益を大幅に減らした。

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４－６月の荷動き指数、景気減速で02年来低水準　日通総研

　日通総合研究所（東京・港）がまとめた企業物流短期動向調査によると、国内の物流の活発さを表す「荷動き指数」（「増加」と回答した割合から「減少」を引いた値）は、4―6月（実績見込み）が1―3月比13ポイント低下のマイナス18となり、2四半期連続で前期に比べて下落した。指数としてはマイナス 22だった2002年4―6月以来の低い水準。景気減速を受けて幅広い業種の荷動きが鈍った。

　売上高に対する物流コストの割合を聞いた指数（「上昇」と回答した割合から「減少」を引いた値）は、4―6月（実績見込み）が前期比10ポイント上昇してプラス26。2002年1―3月に現行の調査方式になって以降、最高となった。

　調査は6月中旬に郵送方式で実施。製造業や卸売業の主要2500事業所が対象で、回答率は43.2％だった。

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中小物流などへの緊急補助を提言　経団連、燃料高で

　日本経団連は30日、資源価格の高騰などで経済停滞の可能性が高まっているとして、中小物流や農林水産業者に対する燃料費高騰への補助などを盛り込んだ緊急提言を発表した。財政再建を訴えてきた経団連だが、今回は事実上のバラマキ容認。経団連では「国民の間に閉塞（へいそく）感が漂っており、早急に打開する必要がある」としている。

　31日中に福田康夫首相など政府関係者に提出する。提言では燃料費補てんのための緊急補助金のほか、高速道路料金の引き下げ、資源価格高騰の一因とされる投機の抑制が必要と指摘。そのうえで「消費税の引き上げを含む、税・財政・社会保障制度の一体改革の断行が不可欠」とした。

　そのほか電子行政の構築、子育て世代向けの所得減税、住宅取得の際にかかる税金の軽減なども成長戦略として求めた。原子力の活用や農業経営のための基盤強化も提言。各施策について「政治の強いリーダーシップによる早急な実施を求める」と訴えている。

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シベリア鉄道整備を支援　政府方針、物流コストを削減

　政府はロシア政府と協力し、シベリア鉄道の近代化を柱とする物流網整備に乗り出す。約9300キロに及ぶ路線について日本の政府系金融機関の融資と貿易保険を活用。鉄道の高速化や新しい車両、輸送システムの導入を後押しする。通関手続きの迅速化も支援し、企業の物流にかかる時間とコストを減らす。沿線には経済特区や資源開発地域が多数あり、資源関連や自動車、ハイテク、流通など幅広い日本企業の進出を側面支援する。

　日ロ両政府が進める構想は「ユーラシア産業投資ブリッジ」と呼び、ロシア極東地域とモスクワを結ぶ鉄道の近代化を中心に、沿線地域の資源エネルギー開発、産業育成で協力する。ロシア政府は2030年までにシベリア鉄道を近代化する計画を昨年策定。総事業費は約69兆円で、海外の民間資金も活用する。

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すかいらーく、再建巡り対立　銀行団の意向焦点

　外食大手のすかいらーくを巡り、横川竟（きわむ）社長と大株主である投資会社の対立が表面化した。野村グループなど投資会社2社は横川社長の退任とともに、財務健全化に向けた増資策を計画。対する横川社長はサントリーの協力を仰ぐ独自増資策で対抗する。

　すかいらーく生え抜きの谷真常務執行役員を社長に充て、新たな資本増強を急ぐ――。これが横川氏退任を求めた野村プリンシパル・ファイナンスの戦略だ。

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ＴＤＫ、欧州電子部品最大手を買収　最大2000億円

　電子部品大手のＴＤＫは欧州の電子部品最大手、独エプコスを買収する。買収金額は1500億―2000億円になる見込みで、電子部品業界のＭ＆Ａ（合併・買収）としては過去最大規模。家電など民生機器中心の事業領域を買収によって産業機器に広げ、国際競争力を強化する。ＴＤＫをはじめとする日本勢は電子部品市場をリードしているが、アジア勢の追い上げや過当競争による収益性の低下に直面している。ＴＤＫの大型買収が世界的な業界再編の呼び水になる可能性もある。

　31日にも発表する。近く独フランクフルト市場に上場するエプコス株のＴＯＢ（株式公開買い付け）を開始。友好的に株式の過半数を取得し、早ければ今秋にも子会社化する。買収後は両社の部品事業を一体運営し、相乗効果を高める。

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鉄鋼5社、低品位石炭価格3.6倍に　スイス資源大手と合意

　新日本製鉄など日本の鉄鋼大手5社は低品位の鉄鋼原料用石炭（原料炭）について、最大手のスイスの資源会社エクストラータと価格を従来の約3.6倍にすることで大筋合意した。日本の製鉄会社は原料炭のうち3割は低品位石炭を使っており、業界全体で新たに1000億円程度の負担増となる。今年度の鉄鋼原料の価格交渉がすべて決着したことになり、今後、電機や造船などの需要家に鋼材の追加値上げを要請する。

　指標となるエクストラータが保有する豪州南東部ニューサウスウェールズ州産の「非微粘結炭」と呼ばれる低品位石炭の2008年度の契約価格を合意した。07年度の3.6倍にあたる1トン240ドル前後に引き上げる。

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道内炭、採掘拡大へ　北菱は２割増産目指す

　道内の石炭採掘業者が相次ぎ、新鉱区の開発や採掘量の引き上げに乗り出す。原油高に伴う海外炭の高騰で国内炭の競争力が向上しているのが背景。三菱マテリアル子会社の北菱産業埠頭（札幌市）は採掘量の2割増を目指す。三井鉱山系の北海道三鉱石油（美唄市）などは新鉱区を申請。石炭生産の拡大が雇用の増加など地域経済にも波及する可能性がある。

　国内の石炭採掘業者は道内だけで、露天掘りが北菱産業埠頭、北海道三鉱石油、砂子組（空知管内奈井江町）など7社、坑内掘りは釧路コールマイン（釧路市）1社の計8社ある。生産量は1999年度に271万トン強だったが、近年は120万―130万トン程度で推移している。

　北菱産業埠頭は09年度以降の年間採掘量を今年度計画の10万トンから2割程度増やし、12万トンに引き上げたい考え。今年度は主要顧客である北海道電力や製紙会社の道内分に加え、親会社の三菱マテリアルの要請を受け、道外にも2万トンを出荷する。

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東レなど炭素繊維一斉値上げ　10―30％

　東レと三菱レイヨンは炭素繊維を10―30％値上げする。原油高に伴う原料アクリロニトリルや燃料費高騰分を転嫁する。2社がすべての顧客に対して一斉に値上げするのは初めて。軽くて丈夫な炭素繊維は燃料消費を軽減する環境配慮型の素材として需要が増えており、値上げは早期に浸透しそうだ。ただ価格上昇が今後も続けば、自動車など消費財向けの用途開発のスケジュールに影響する可能性もある。

　東レは9月出荷分から10―20％、三菱レイヨンは8月出荷分から20―30％引き上げる。主力品の現在の価格は1キロ4000円前後で、値上げがすべて受け入れられれば400―1200円上昇する。

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上期の自動車輸出、22年ぶり最高に　12.7％増、新興国向け好調

　日本自動車工業会（自工会）が30日発表した2008年上半期（1―6月）の自動車輸出実績は前年同期比12.7％増の350万5805台だった。新興国を中心に燃費性能に優れる日本車の需要が高まっており、上半期としては22年ぶりに過去最高を更新した。好調な輸出を受け、上半期の国内生産実績も6％増の605万7044台となった。

　地域別の輸出実績ではアジアが4割強増えた。中近東やオセアニア向けの輸出が過去最高となった。市場が低迷する北米向けも日本メーカーの小型車に需要が集まっており、6.5％増えた。ただ、小型車需要の急速な伸びにメーカーの生産能力が追いついておらず、下半期の輸出の伸び率は落ちる公算が大きい。

　同日発表した2007年度（07年4月―08年3月）の日本の自動車メーカーの海外生産実績は前の年度に比べ8.3％増の1208万3832台だった。アジアや欧州での生産が拡大し、3年連続で1000万台を超えた。08年度は北米で大型車の減産が相次ぐ。

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フグ産地偽装のエツヒロ、31日付で廃業　従業員は全員解雇

　フグの産地を偽装した山口県下関市の水産物加工卸売会社「エツヒロ」の森敏一社長は同社を31日付で廃業し、約60人の従業員全員を解雇すると発表した。産地偽装で取引先からの入金が止まり、資金繰りに行き詰まったのが直接の原因で、近いうちに破産などの法的手続きを取る。従業員の今月分の給与は未払いで、国の制度融資などを利用して補償するという。

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丸明、自粛指導破り肉提供　飛騨牛偽装

　岐阜県養老町の食肉卸販売業「丸明」の飛騨牛偽装表示事件で、県から29日に営業自粛の指導を受けた同社が、翌30日に取引先に食肉を渡していたことがわかった。県は指導に反した疑いがあるとみて、31日に同社の責任者を呼び事情を聴く。

　県によると、丸明の養老店が取引先の3つの焼き肉業者に牛肉や馬肉を合わせて約140キロ提供していた。2つの業者には店の裏口で直接渡し、1業者には配達した。

　県は29日、同社に対し、社内の運営体制を見直し、その履行状況が確認できるまでの間の営業自粛を求めたばかり。食肉を店の外に持ち出すことも認めていない。

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工作機械を不正輸出　広島のメーカーを捜索、核開発転用の恐れ

　広島県福山市の工作機械メーカー、ホーコス（菅田雅夫社長）が核兵器の開発・製造に使用される恐れのある工作機械を韓国に無許可で輸出した疑いが強まり、警視庁公安部などは31日、外為法違反（無許可輸出）の疑いで同社本社などを家宅捜索した。

　公安部は工作機械が韓国から中近東や北朝鮮などの第三国に転売された可能性もあるとみて捜査している。

　無許可輸出された疑いがある工作機械はマシニングセンター（ＭＣ）で商品名は「ＮＳ７０」。ＭＣは数種類の工具を自動的に切り替え、切削や穴開けなどの金属部品加工作業を1台で行う。警視庁によると、ウラン濃縮に使う遠心分離機の部品を加工する際に使用される可能性があるという。

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竹島帰属表記、再び韓国に…「主権未指定」から再変更

　ブッシュ米大統領は３０日、米政府機関「地名委員会」が先週、竹島（韓国名・独島）の帰属地説明を「主権未指定」に変更したことについてライス国務長官に見直しを指示、同説明は「元に戻される」と述べた。地名委の地名検索サイトは同日、同説明を「韓国・公海」に戻した。北京五輪に合わせた８月４日からの韓国、タイ、中国歴訪を前に訪問国のメディアと会見した。

　この問題では、説明変更を受けて韓国側の批判の矛先が米国に向けられ、８月６日に予定される米韓首脳会談への悪影響が懸念される事態となっていた。米側は「政策変更を反映した変更ではない」（ガイエゴス国務省報道部長）と強調していたが、首脳会談を前に軌道修正した形だ。米国のあっけない方針変更に日本側からの反発も予想される。

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年金問題：給与水準改ざん、さらに１５７人分

　厚生年金の保険料や受給額の算定基準になる標準報酬月額（給与水準）の改ざん問題で、総務省年金記録確認第三者委員会が改ざんの事実を認めた１６件中１１件で、申立人の同僚計１５７人の記録が同様に改ざんされていたことが分かった。舛添要一厚生労働相の特別チーム室が確認した。特別チーム室は、各地の社会保険事務所の関与を示唆しており、舛添厚労相は解明を進める方針。

　特別チーム室によると、調査対象は１６件のほか都内の会社社長が社保事務所職員による改ざんを証言したケース。１６件は７５～００年に東京、兵庫などで改ざんがあったと認められたケースだが、申立人と同じ事業所で同時期に勤務していた１１社計１５７人について、標準報酬月額が過去にさかのぼって低くされたり、加入期間を短くされるなどの不自然な訂正があった。特別チーム室は、社保事務所が事実と異なる届け出を事業主に促した場合も考えられるとしている。

　各社保事務所間には保険料の徴収率を巡る競争があり、少しでも率を上げるため、保険料を負担できない事業所と示し合わせ、書類上の給与水準を下げるなどの不正を行っていたとされる。

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外務省職員：宿泊代払わず、セミスイートに２９３泊１５３８万円

　外務省経済局の男性職員（４０）が昨年４月までの約１０カ月間、東京都内のホテルのセミスイートルームに宿泊し、約１５００万円の宿泊代金を支払っていないことがわかった。

　関係者の話によると、この職員はこのホテルの経営者の以前からの知人で、個人的な事情で自宅を出た後、０６年６月から０７年４月まで計２９３泊にわたってホテルに宿泊した。１泊の料金は５万２５００円で合計で約１５３８万円になったが、職員が代金を支払わないためホテル側が今年７月に職員に請求した。職員はホテル側に謝罪し、２９日に外務省に事態を報告した。

　職員はホテル側に「金額が大きいのですぐには払えないが、代金は支払う」と説明しているという。ホテルの支配人は「社長の知人なので支払いを待った。代金を払っていただければ問題はない」と話している。

　外務省は職員がホテル側に便宜を図っていなかったかなどを含めて事情を聴いている。外務省人事課は「個人的な話なので当事者間で解決するよう指導している。事情聴取の結果によって、必要と判断すれば処分することも検討する」としている。

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日銀：金融政策決定会合の議事録を初公開

　日銀は３１日、金融政策決定会合の議事録を初公開した。会合が初めて開催された９８年１月から６月までの１０回分。日本長期信用銀行（現新生銀行）の経営不安が広がった直後の６月２５日に開かれた会合では、当時の速水優総裁が「かなり危機的な状況」と名指しを避けながらも、長銀の経営破綻に強い懸念を示していたことが明らかになった。

　巨額の不良債権を抱えた長銀は６月上旬に経営不安が広がって株価が急落した。速水総裁は同月２５日の会合で「特定の銀行から資金の引き出しが起こり、ここしばらく安定していた株価は急落し、かなり危機的な状況になってきている」と発言。「民間で話し合いができていくのが望ましいと思っている」と長銀対象の提携交渉に期待感を示した。

　長銀は同月２７日に住友信託銀行と合併交渉に入ると発表。だが、９８年秋には経営破たんして一時国有化された。

　また、不良債権問題への対応で、速水総裁と中原伸之審議委員（当時、元東燃社長）の間で意見の対立があったことが分かった。

　速水総裁は「不良債権処理が済んでいないため日本経済全体への非常な不安感が横行している」と指摘。「（金融機関の不良債権処理は）護送船団方式で他を見ながらやっていく慣習が残っているので、銀行が自分たちの判断で（不良債権の）ディスクローズ（開示）をやり、具体的な対応をしていくべき」と主張し、金融機関に融資の回収可能性を分類する自己査定の公表を促す考えを示した。

　これに対し、中原審議委員は、大手行の破たん処理方法が決まっていないとして、「日銀が市場メカニズム（での不良債権処理）という言葉を出すのは非常に危険だ。破たんしてもいいと考えてると受け取られる」と反論した。

　最終的に速水総裁は会合後の１６日、金融機関に自己査定の自主公表を求める異例の談話を発表した。【斉藤望、清水憲司】

　【ことば】金融政策決定会合

　日銀の最高意思決定機関である政策委員会が、政策金利の変更などを議論するため、月１～２回開く会合。日銀の独立性と透明性の向上を目指した改正日銀法が９８年４月に施行され、その趣旨を先取りして、同年１月から開催された。改正法施行と合わせてメンバーは、総裁、副総裁２人、審議委員６人（民間から選出）の計９人となった（現在は副総裁１人と審議委員１人が欠員）。改正法は議事録公開を義務付けており、日銀は議事要旨は１カ月後、議事録は会合から１０年後に公開すると内規で定めている。

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消費税：７％なら、成長率０．６％減に－－内閣府試算

　内閣府は、消費税率を現行（５％）から２％引き上げて７％にした場合、初年度の国内総生産（ＧＤＰ）の実質成長率は０・６％押し下げられ、消費者物価は１・６３％押し上げられるとの試算をまとめた。日本経済が景気後退懸念と物価高の同時進行リスクにさらされる中、今回の試算は今後本格化する税制改正論議に影響を与えそうだ。

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気象衛星：「ひまわり」後継　予算確保に気象庁難航

　６～８年後に打ち上げが予定されている静止気象衛星「ひまわり」の後継機について、気象庁が整備費の予算確保に苦しんでいる。予備機を合わせた２機で約８００億円の整備・運用費が必要だが、現行の６、７号で半分以上を負担した国土交通省が今回は計画から外れ、民間の気象関連企業も費用の一部負担を拒否したためだ。３１年も続く宇宙からの気象観測に空白ができてしまう恐れも懸念されている。

　気象庁によると、ひまわりは故障に備えて２機体制で、６、７号は１５年に寿命を迎える。衛星の製造には５年かかり、来年度に着手しなければならないため、整備費を来年度予算に盛り込み、今後８年間で毎年１００億円近い予算を確保する必要がある。６、７号では、航空管制用の通信機を搭載することで旧運輸省航空局が予算の７割を負担したが、今回は「航空管制システムについて各国と議論中」として航空管制機能の相乗りをやめた。

　気象庁の年間予算は人件費も含め約５８０億円。「人件費以外はほとんどがアメダスや地震計などの更新整備・維持費に充てられ、予算を捻出（ねんしゅつ）する余力はない」（同庁気象衛星課）のが現状だ。観測データを有料化し、民間の気象予報会社や衛星画像販売会社に費用の一部を負担してもらうよう計画したが、猛反発され断念した。

　後継機がなくなると、台風の規模や進路のほか、低気圧や前線の動きも把握が困難になる。観測データはアジア各国などに送っているため、アジア・太平洋地域の約３０カ国の防災にも支障を来たす恐れがある。

　気象衛星課の横田寛伸課長補佐は「専門家の間でも『国民の視点から見れば税金の使い方として気象衛星は第一優先』との意見は共通している。コスト低減のため民間に衛星の運用を任せることも考えていく」と話している。

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日インドネシアＥＰＡ：看護師・介護士来日　予定の４割、２０８人

　インドネシアとの経済連携協定（ＥＰＡ）に基づき受け入れる今年度のインドネシア人看護師・介護福祉士候補は３０日、看護師、介護福祉士とも１０４人ずつの計２０８人で確定した。希望者は看護師が１７６人、介護福祉士が１３７人の計３１３人いたが、来日数は１００人以上下回り、当初の受け入れ予定数（看護師２００、介護福祉士３００の計５００人）の約４割にとどまった。厚生労働省の外郭団体「国際厚生事業団」によると、男女の内訳は、看護師が女性７５人、男性２９人、介護福祉士が女性５６人、男性４８人。来日数が希望者を下回ったのは、介護福祉士は女性の希望が多く男性で受け入れ先が見つからないケースが相次ぎ、看護師は大きな病院で働いた実績のある人に日本側の希望が集中したためという。

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13:30 GMT, Wednesday, 30 July 2008 14:30 UK
German court rejects smoking bans
Smoker in Munich

Germany's top court has ruled against smoking bans in small bars and clubs.

The Federal Constitutional Court upheld complaints against the bans in the city-state of Berlin and Baden-Wuerttemberg, in south-west Germany.

The two states are among 12 that introduced such bans at the start of the year. The court says they must now review their anti-smoking laws.

Smoking will now be allowed in one-room bars and clubs smaller than 75 sq m (807 sq ft), where no food is served.

The court gave Berlin and Baden-Wuerttemberg until the end of 2009 to draft new anti-smoking legislation.

Presiding judge Hans-Juergen Papier made it clear that German states could introduce blanket smoking bans in all public spaces if they so wished.

The complaint was brought by the owners of two small bars in Tuebingen and Berlin, who argued that the smoking ban was harming their business. They also said that, unlike larger premises, they had no space to create a separate smoking room.

The judge's ruling is seen as setting a legal precedent for Germany because most of the country's states have similar anti-smoking laws.

Bavaria has a total ban on smoking in bars and beer tents. In Saarland, smoking is allowed in small bars and larger ones that provide a separate smoking room.

The other states ban smoking in one-room bars but allow it in establishments that provide a separate smoking room.

Germany has a nationwide ban on smoking in government buildings.

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14:44 GMT, Wednesday, 30 July 2008 15:44 UK
Bodies dumped in Istanbul field
Map of Turkey

Turkish police have launched an investigation following the discovery of 13 bodies in a field on the outskirts of Istanbul.

The dead are thought to have been illegal immigrants who suffocated while being smuggled in a crowded lorry, officials said.

Most were believed to be Pakistani, media reports said.

Turkey is a major trafficking route for illegal immigrants trying to enter the European Union.

Police are looking for the driver, who fled after dropping off the bodies in the Kucukcekmece area, on the European side of Istanbul.

A local man told the Anatolia news agency that the driver dumped the bodies early in the morning, and abandoned about 130 illegal immigrants also in the truck.

Police have arrested about 50 migrants thought to have been on the lorry, 10 of whom were taken to hospital suffering from severe exhaustion and dehydration, the Hurriyet newspaper reported.

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06:55 GMT, Thursday, 31 July 2008 07:55 UK
Deutsche writes down 2.7bn euros
Deutsche Bank office

Deutsche Bank has written down another $3.6bn (£1.8bn) between April and June, taking its bill from the credit crunch to more than $11bn.

Unlike many of its global rivals, Deutsche Bank did still manage to make a profit in the quarter.

Pre-tax profits came in at 642m euros (£506m), well down on the 2.7bn euros it made in the same period last year.

Almost half of the write-downs came from investments in debt backed by residential mortgages.

Exposure to monoline insurers, which insure bonds, as well as poor investments in commercial property, made up much of the rest of the write-downs.

"We remain cautious for the remainder of 2008," said chief executive Josef Ackermann.

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18:34 GMT, Wednesday, 30 July 2008 19:34 UK
Singles 'face Alzheimer's risk'
Couple

Being single when you reach middle age could mean more than having the house to yourself - it could increase your risk of dementia.

Swedish research, presented at a US conference, found that marriage or having a partner halved the risk of developing dementia.

Scientists believe social interaction between couples may ward off illness.

The Alzheimer's Research Trust said the results were worrying, given the high divorce rates in the UK.

"These findings are particularly worrying for the UK - a society with a high divorce rate, marriage at an all-time low, and ageing population"
Rebecca Wood,
Alzheimer's Research Trust

The study by the Karolinska Institute suggested that the problem might be even greater for some people.

Divorcees who remained single, they noticed, had a trebled risk of dementia, while those widowed at a young age who stayed single faced a six times greater chance.

The research looked at 1,449 people from a Finnish database, who were asked about their relationship status in mid-life, then revisited 21 years later to see if they had developed dementia.

In total, 139 of them had some sort of cognitive impairment, and Alzheimer's had been diagnosed in 48 of these.

Even after other factors which might have an impact on dementia were adjusted for, the study consistently showed people with partners as less prone to the illness.

Advice for the single

Dr Krister Hakansson, who led the study, said: "Living in a couple relationship is normally one of the most intense forms of social and intellectual stimulation.

"If social and cognitive challenges can protect against dementia, so should living as a couple.

"Singletons shouldn't worry - there are many other ways to reduce your risk of dementia that don't involve popping the question "
Susanne Sorenson,
Alzheimer's Society

"This study points to the beneficial effects of a married life."

Rebecca Wood, from the Alzheimer's Research Trust, said that more research along these lines was urgently needed.

"These findings are particularly worrying for the UK - a society with a high divorce rate, marriage at an all-time low, and ageing population.

"This is the first study of its kind to examine the link between midlife marital status and dementia, adding to previous research suggesting that social interaction reduces dementia risk."

However, Susanne Sorenson, from the Alzheimer's Society, had some words of cheer for partnerless people.

She said: "Singletons shouldn't worry - there are many other ways to reduce your risk of dementia that don't involve popping the question.

"The best evidence is around eating a Mediterranean diet, exercising regularly and not smoking."

She also said that the findings were consistent with other research showing social interaction could be beneficial.

She added: "Whether it's reaching for the vacuum cleaner or going for long romantic walks, lifestyle factors associated with being married may also help."

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12:55 GMT, Wednesday, 30 July 2008 13:55 UK
Intel and Portugal in school deal
Classmate laptop

Intel has signed the largest ever deal for its child-proof laptop, the Classmate.

500,000 of the specially designed educational machines are being given to six to 10 year olds in Portugal.

Originally intended for the developing world, Intel has shifted its focus in recent months to more mature markets.

It stressed its commitment to supplying the Classmate PC to the developing world and said it had projects underway to use it in 50 countries.

The deal will change the way education works in Portugal, according to Paulo Campos, the Portuguese government's secretary of state assistant for public works.

"It will change the educational system, change the way that students look upon school and how we communicate with parents," he said.

Holistic approach

Broadband access in Portugal is still relatively low. Official figures suggest 15% have fixed broadband access and another 16% have mobile broadband.

There are other projects in the pipeline to increase connectivity and PCs to school children aged 10-16, said Mr Campos.

Intel chairman Craig Barrett was in Portugal to oversee the deal and reiterate the chip makers commitment to educational programmes.

"In any environment there is an issue about hardware but there are also issues about connectivity, software, infrastructure and training teachers so they know how to use it," he told the BBC.

"Our philosophy is holistic and the hardware is just a piece of that. There must be local content to go with the hardware," he said.

But the biggest issue he sees is that of teacher training.

Intel had already trained five million teachers to make better use of technology and aimed to train millions more in the coming years said Mr Barrett.

Row with OLPC

Nigerian children using the classmate

Intel's efforts in education have been overshadowed in recent months by a highly publicised row with rivals, the One Laptop Per Child foundation (OLPC), run by Professor Nicholoas Negropronte.

In July 2007 the two rivals decided to join forces but the partnership was short-lived and in the following January, they split.

"Our relationship with OLPC did not last very long because they told us to stop promoting the Classmate," said Mr Barrett.

"It is up to individual countries which educational philosophy they follow. There are now a number of relatively inexpensive machines available," he added.

But he remains committed to Intel's education programme.

"Whenever I talk to a teacher, they tell me that children using PCs get more excited and want to stay in school. They learn faster, are more enthusiastic and successful," he told the BBC.

-----------------------
Indian Farmers Moving Toward Organic Farming & Shunning Genetically Engineered Crops

* Indian farmers shun GM for organic solutions
By Sue Branford
The Guardian, UK, July 30, 2008
Straight to the Source

Genetically modified cotton was to be the saviour of India's farmers, but ill-health and financial worries are fuelling a backlash

"My family was one of the first to stop using pesticides," says Sattemma, a lively Indian woman in her mid-40s, confidently talking to a group of visiting farmers. "Three years ago, we realised we were spending over half our income on chemicals. It was too much. We were getting into debt and the pesticides were making us ill." Sattemma is in the village of Lakshminayak Thanda in Warangal district of Andhra Pradesh. The visitors are keen to know how she and other villagers are progressing after their decision to stop using pesticides and Bt cotton, the genetically modified variety manufactured by US biotechnology firm Monsanto.

Bt cotton was engineered to combat pests, with the introduction into the cotton seed of a gene from a soil bacterium called Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt), which has a natural insect-killing poison called Bt-toxin. When it was introduced into India at the turn of the century, it was promoted as the "wonder product" that would solve the serious problem of pests, which many of India's 17 million cotton farmers were facing.

Many of the farmers had not been growing cotton as a cash crop for very long. In the late 1980s, under pressure from the International Monetary Fund, India had opened up its strongly protected economy and encouraged its farmers to switch to modern farming, with its hybrid seeds, fertilisers and pesticides. The idea was to turn India into an important exporter of commodities, including cotton.

At first, cotton farmers did well. They got high yields and enjoyed a real increase in income. But then problems arose. The hybrid cotton proved susceptible to pests and diseases, and it was not uncommon for farmers to spray their fields up to 30 times in a single season. Production costs went through the roof and farmers got trapped in debt. They became desperate for a technical fix, and Bt cotton seemed to be the answer.

In its first year of sales, Mahyco-Monsanto sold its entire stock of Bt cotton. According to the company, the area in India under Bt cotton rose from 3.1m acres in 2005 to 14.4m acres in 2007. According to Sekhar Natarajan, regional leader of Monsanto India, Bt cotton yielded 700kg-900kg per acre, compared with 300kg-400kg an acre with conventional seeds.

However, some say that what has been happening on the ground has been very different from the official success story. Scientists Abdul Qayum and Kiran Sakhari assessed Bt cotton's performance in the first three years and found that, despite claims by the company, farmers were not achieving big yields. This perhaps was to be expected, because Bt cotton had been engineered to reduce pesticide use, not to increase yields. But, more surprisingly, they found that pesticide use was not falling either, because farmers were facing serious problems with secondary pests. They worked out that, on average, the income of non-Bt farmers was 60% higher than that of Bt farmers. Monsanto contests these numbers.

There have been other, more alarming problems. In her chat with the visiting farmers, Sattemma says she had seen several of her neighbour's goats die after spending all day grazing on post-harvest Bt cotton plants. Such a story could be dismissed as anecdotal, if it were not backed up by more solid evidence. In 2006, more than 1,800 sheep died in similar circumstances in other villages in Warangal district. The symptoms and post-mortem findings suggested that they had died from severe toxicity. Hundreds of agricultural workers had also developed allergic symptoms when exposed to Bt cotton.

Full Story: http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2008/jul/30/gmcrops.india

----------------------------
Monsanto's New Front Group

* Ethanol Lobby's "Alliance for Abundant Food and Energy" Seeks to Gorge on Tax Subsidies
PR Watch, July 25, 2008
Straight to the Source

Source: Washington Post, July 25, 2008
Monsanto, Dupont, Archer Daniels Midland and the PR giant Burson-Marsteller are some of the corporations behind the Alliance for Abundant Food and Energy. No doubt feel-good ads from this front group will soon fill the airwaves, especially in Washington DC. The Washington Post reports, "A group of the world's biggest agribusiness companies announced it will use lobbyists on Capitol Hill and national ads to build the case for fuels such as ethanol and biodiesel, even as grain prices climb worldwide. The biofuels industry has blossomed under federal mandates requiring the United States to increase alternative fuel usage by 2009. The mandates are under attack from groups who blame the new industry for rising food prices that have sparked riots and hoarding in several countries. ... The alliance has a budget of several million dollars for the campaign, but it did not disclose the exact amount."

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Libya seeks arms deals, closer energy ties with Russia
17:55 | 31/ 07/ 2008

MOSCOW, July 31 (RIA Novosti) - Libya's prime minister told his Russian counterpart on Thursday that his country plans to buy more Russian arms, and wants to step up cooperation in nuclear power as well as and oil and gas production.

Vladimir Putin said after hosting talks with Libya's al-Baghdadi Ali al-Mahmoudi: "We are committed to continuing cooperation in the military-technical sphere, among others, especially since the Libyan leadership has confirmed its interest in buying quality products from the Russian defense industry."

The Libyan premier said the sides had agreed on specific forms of bilateral cooperation aimed at "strengthening the Libyan Armed Forces."

The premiers discussed Libya's plans to build a nuclear power plant and linked desalination facility, as well as Russian investment in the North African state's oil and gas sector.

Al-Mahmoudi said the Libyan National Oil Corporation enjoys a "special relationship" with Russian energy giant Gazprom, and that the sides are engaged in active consultations.

He invited Putin to visit Libya in August to attend the launch of a $2.2 billion railway construction project.

Doha trade talks collapse

Doha trade talks collapse

By Alan Beattie and Frances Williams in Geneva

Published: July 29 2008 17:33 | Last updated: July 29 2008 23:07

The Doha round of global trade talks, now in its seventh year, broke up without agreement on Tuesday after nine days of tense negotiations.

Sharp divisions between the US, India and China about access to agricultural markets in the developing world could not be bridged and the talks came to a grinding halt, scuppering efforts by Pascal Lamy, director-general of the World Trade Organisation, to broker a compromise.

The failure marks the third summer in a row that ministers have left a high-profile summit empty-handed. Several ministers and officials admitted that any substantive progress would now have to wait until a new US president was in the White House.

The breakdown followed several marathon negotiating sessions among ministers from the world’s leading economies, with the talks running on long after their original schedule.

Tempers occasionally flared, with the US and China accusing each other of not making enough concessions. But in the immediate aftermath, there was relatively little trading of blame.

Susan Schwab, US trade representative, said the US remained committed to the Doha round. “This is not a time to talk about collapse,” she said. “The US commitments remain on the table.”

Peter Mandelson, European Union trade commissioner, said: ”I realise that you will ask who is to blame for this failure. The answer of course is that it is a collective failure.”

But Mr Mandelson said that the agriculture talks had been harmed by the five-year programme of agricultural subsidies recently passed by the US Congress, which he said was ”one of the most reactionary farm bills in the history of the US”, though he did give credit to President George W.Bush for attempting to veto the bill.

The meetings, which nearly broke down at the end of last week, got a new lease of life when a draft agreement circulated by Mr Lamy was accepted as a basis for negotiations. But renewed tensions between China, India and the US proved insurmountable.

Mr Lamy defended his decision to call a meeting of ministers when large negotiating gaps remained between delegations.

“None of the ministers to whom I have put this question told me I should not have done it,” he said. “The reason they believe this is just getting where we are now, and constructing – on the basis of seven years’ negotiation – a bridge towards the end, was worthwhile.”

Several ministers said the issue on which the talks had foundered – a mechanism allowing countries such as India and China to protect farmers from surges in imports – was a relatively small part of the talks, and there had been good progress in issues such as the long-running dispute over banana imports to the EU.

But they admitted it was not clear whether those gains could be preserved and picked up again at a later date.

Kamal Nath, Indian trade minister, said: “It is unfortunate in a development round, this is the last mile we couldn’t run because of an issue of livelihood security.” But he said India’s confidence in the WTO and the multilateral system remained intact. “I’m very disappointed this had to be the final result,” he said.

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Steel group dives after Putin attack

By Catherine Belton, Rachel Morarjee and Charles Clover in Moscow

Published: July 29 2008 18:43 | Last updated: July 29 2008 18:43

Foreign investors in Russia have been served a costly reminder of the political risks of doing business in the country after a week in which a few sentences from Vladimir Putin, the prime minister, helped wipe out half of the value of a New York-listed steelmaker.

Mechel saw its shares plummet after Mr Putin accused Igor Zyuzin, the group’s majority owner, of price-gouging and tax evasion. Before the remarks Mr Zyuzin ranked as Russia’s 12th richest man with a fortune estimated at $11bn. On Tuesday, his worth was about $5.5bn (€3.5bn, £2.7bn).

The reclusive tycoon, a mining engineer, was first the target of criticism from Mr Putin at an industry conference last Thursday when he was accused of charging domestic consumers more than foreign ones. The premier threatened to send him a doctor to deal with his claimed ill health.

“Sickness is sickness,” Mr Putin said. “I think Igor Vladimirovich [Zyuzin] should get better as quickly as possible; otherwise we’ll have to send him a doctor to clear up all these problems.”

Then, just as investors started to recover their poise, after Mechel and a senior aide to Dmitry Medvedev, the Russian president, made conciliatory statements, Mr Putin on Monday accused the company of evading taxes. For the second time in less than a week a third of the company’s value was wiped out.

Investors are at a loss as to how to read Mr Putin’s attack. The only thing that is clear, analysts and bankers said, is that Mr Putin – even though he stepped down as president in May – merely has to flex his muscles to send investors fleeing. The RTS index is down about 10 per cent since Mr Putin’s criticism began.

“The political risk premium is rising again,” said a banker, speaking on condition of anonymity. “Putin can wake up, target any company he wants and investors take it in the shorts.”

The criticism prompted fears of a repeat of the state-led attack on Mikhail Khodorkovsky’s Yukos oil group, which led to its takeover by the state and the incarceration of the oligarch for fraud and tax evasion. Igor Shuvalov, Mr Putin’s second in command, on Tuesday dismissed the comparison.

Vladimir Zhukov, metals and mining analyst at Lehman Brothers, said that Mechel might have been targeted as part of a government inquest into price gouging in the steel industry. Mechel is one of Russia’s largest producers of coking coal, a critical material for steel, and has boosted prices sharply to domestic customers. Since the beginning of the year domestic coal prices have risen as much as 150 per cent.

Mr Putin claimed that Mechel was exporting for lower prices than it was charging in Russia in order to avoid tax.

Chris Weafer, chief strategist at Uralsib investment bank in Moscow, said that with inflation running high, keeping producer costs down had become a priority for Mr Putin. He said, the case showed that “Putin is the one investors listen to, Medvedev has been silenced on this while Putin is making the running.”

Mechel declined to comment on Tuesday. On Friday it said in a statement it shared official concerns about price rises and said it would co-operate with the authorities.

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France to tax insurers in move to cut health bill

By Ben Hall in Paris

Published: July 30 2008 03:00 | Last updated: July 30 2008 03:00

The French government unveiled a tax on health insurers and a raft of other measures yesterday aimed at trimming an annual €4bn ($6.2bn, £3.1bn) overspend on healthcare.

The tax on the turnover of private health insurance companies and mutual insurance funds, which provide top-up cover, will raise €1bn a year.

The government will also try to curb overprescription of medication and will reduce the price paid for x-rays, blood tests and hospital transport.

France has one of the best health systems in the world but it comes at a high price. The health budget will amount to €152bn this year, about 11 per cent of gross domestic product.

It is funded by compulsory social insurance but for years the revenues have not covered the rapidly growing expenditure.

Increasing social charges paid by employees and employers would add to France's non-wage labour costs, already among Europe's highest.

Eliminating the health overspend is deemed essential by the government if France is to meet its goal of balancing its books by 2012, after a total public sector deficit of 2.7 per cent of GDP last year.

The health system notched up a deficit of €4.6bn last year, a big improvement on the €11.6bn overspent in 2004. But Eric Woerth, the budget minister, gave warning yesterday that the deficit was set to grow rapidly.

"If we do nothing, the deficit will widen each year by an additional €2bn," Mr Woerth told Le Parisien newspaper.

The government could have plugged the deficit by putting up prescription costs and increasing the percentage of treatment costs not reimbursed to patients, but it chose to find other forms of raising revenue instead.

President Nicolas Sarkozy triggered a political storm a year ago when he raised prescription charges, albeit by a modest sum, not least because the move coincided with a €15bn tax-cut package skewed toward the wealthy.

However, opposition socialists claimed that health insurers would simply pass on the tax to patients in the form of higher premiums.

French governments have repeatedly taken steps to trim spending and increase revenues but have never balanced the books, not least because the French health system comprises selfemployed doctors and free-standing institutions whose work is paid by an insurance fund, rather than directly from government coffers.

Over the past 25 years health spending has increased on average each year by 1.3 per cent faster than the growth of the economy. CNAM, the body that oversees compulsory health insurance, believes that if the trend of the past decade continues, health spending could increase from €140bn in 2006 to €210bn by 2015.

One structural problem in the French system is that patients can go directly to specialist doctors without being referred by a generalist or family doctor. The government has set out to curb that by making patients pay more if they consult a specialist directly. It has also introduced higher prescription charges and has considered scrapping other benefits, such as free eyeglasses.

Additionally, it has begun a hospital rationalisation programme, grouping smaller hospitals under the control of regional centres. Hospitals are to be paid entirely in relation to their activity in an effort to boost productivity. The government also wants to limit doctors' freedom to choose where they practise.

The savings announced yesterday will be achieved in part by shifting costs from one budget to another. For example, the health insurance fund's €9bn of debts will be taken off the books and placed with a different standalone entity. That will save the health system €400m a year in interest payments, although the government will still have to foot the bill.

The government will also try to ensure that payments for work-related illness and accidents come from a fund established for that purpose, not from the general health insurance fund.

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China's factory workers gain recognition for grievances

By Tom Mitchell in Shenzhen

Published: July 30 2008 03:00 | Last updated: July 30 2008 03:00

In March 2006 Zhang Zhiru, founder of the Shenzhen Migrant Workers Association, collected 10,000 signatures requesting free arbitration services for workers in labour disputes. For his trouble, police in the southern Chinese manufacturing hub detained the activist for four hours.

A few months later, Mr Zhang organised an online drive that generated a similarly strong response. "The two petitions were quite successful," he says. "But as a result, our association was banned by the government."

Two years on, the indefatigable Mr Zhang is director of the Shenzhen Chunfeng Labour Disputes Service Centre, which offers workers free courses on their legal rights and helps them pursue industrial injury claims.

The shift in his fortunes is telling. Like other activists who for years have been fighting for workers' rights in the Pearl River Delta in Guangdong province, source of most of the cheap Chinese goods that have flooded the world over the past decade, Mr Zhang now operates with the approval of the government, which has granted Chunfeng an official registration.

It is still a delicate balance. While China's rising number of middle-class malcontents are quick to protest one-off threats to their relatively comfortable existences - such as a nuclear plant or rail project nearby - they are otherwise coddled by government policies. Workers' grievances, by contrast, range from exploitation by employers to administrative discrimination against migrants who have moved to coastal factory towns from poor provinces in the interior.

They also have a lot less to lose than China's professional classes, making any independent labour movement forged outside the official All China Federation of Trade Unions one of the greatest potential threats to the Communist party's grip on power.

Official preoccupation with economic output, to which independent trade unions are seen as a threat, places limits on the activities even of tolerated nongovernmental organisations such as Chunfeng. Union organisation "is a sensitive subject", Mr Zhang says. "We would like to [help workers organise] but that's the government's job. We are just trying to make workers more aware of their legal rights."

Despite the restrictions, Chunfeng has never been busier. "Before this year, we handled about 10 cases a month," says Mr Zhang, who turns 34 this year. "Now it's up to about 30." The catalyst is China's new Labour Contract Law, which took effect in January after two years of intense debate.

In January, the number of labour disputes accepted for arbitration in Shenzhen more than quadrupled to 740. Similar leaps have been recorded in other cities. Worker activists have welcomed the law for beginning to address a Dickensian imbalance in employer-employee relations belying the official push to build a more "harmonious" society.

"You began to see [the political shift] in 2006 when the consultation period for the Labour Contract Law started," says Han Dongfang, director of the Hong Kong-based China Labour Bulletin. "That was the official signal that enough was enough. The situation had gone too far. It wasn't a harmonious society. It was the opposite." Seen from this perspective, the new law is as much a consequence of China's emerging labour movement as it is a spur for it.

The law entitles more workers to open-ended contracts and a month's compensation for every year served if they are made redundant. It also restricts companies' ability to hire workers on an informal basis through third-party labour agencies and later fire them without compensation.

At least as important, the law appears to enshrine a right to collective bargaining. That raises the prospect of in-house unions that are independent in practice, if not in name, from the government-affiliated ACFTU. Unions established outside its umbrella remain illegal.

Since 2006, ACFTU has intensified efforts to establish branches in companies where those did not previously exist, with an emphasis on large foreign multinationals such as Wal-Mart. These unions are now beginning to flex their collective bargaining muscles. Agreements were recently concluded at Wal-Mart stores in three cities including Shenzhen.

"Negotiations went slowly because everything had to be approved by Wal-Mart headquarters," says Fu Furong, head of the ACFTU branch in Quanzhou, Fujian province. "But the process was quite smooth. It does not compare to the effort involved in establishing the first Wal-Mart union two years ago."

This year, ACFTU's Shenzhen chapter, which Mr Han and other activists say is among the country's most progressive, displayed its new-found sense of initiative by retaining six law firms to represent workers. Considering the relatively tame request for free arbitration services that landed Mr Zhang in trouble two years ago, the retainers are one measure of just how far the labour debate has moved in China. Zheng Ma, a lawyer at one of the firms, says: "I see changes in the Shenzhen ACFTU's attitude. It wants to provide better service."

ACFTU officials in Shenzhen declined requests for an interview. But Mr Han of China Labour Bulletin sees a simple imperative behind ACFTU's actions - survival. Itrisked irrelevance because it was neither preventing unrest nor adequately representing workers. "If I were an ACFTU official, I wouldn't have been able to sleep," Mr Han says. "The Labour Contract Law presented ACFTU with a big opportunity."

Implementation, however, can vary widely, as illustrated by Zou Pingzhen's mixed experience with the new law. In January, Mr Zou's employer of 13 years, a Hong Kong printing company with operations in Shenzhen, offered him a three-year contract, even though his long service entitled him to an open-ended one. "There were over 400 workers with more than 10 years' service in the factory," says Mr Zou, a 38-year-old father of two. "I wrote to ACFTU but it wouldn't help. Then we turned to NGOs and I led more than 100 people to the [district] labour bureau to complain." The workers eventually prevailed in April, when those entitled to open-ended contracts received them.

But Mr Zou, a warehouse supervisor at the outset of the dispute, says he was demoted and denied overtime, reducing his salary from Rmb3,000 ($440, £220, €280) a month to Rmb1,100. "They said I was illegally trying to organise my own trade union, which was not true," he says. "I am just a normal person who knows how to protect himself and help others."

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ArcelorMittal surprises with 31% profit surge, sees more
AFP
AFP - 17 minutes ago

PARIS (AFP) - ArcelorMittal, the biggest steel group in the world, reported a 31-percent leap in net profit to 8.2 billion dollars (5.3 billion euros) on Wednesday and said it expected even stronger trends in the third quarter.
(Advertisement)

ArcelorMittal said that the figures, well ahead of targets, were driven by a rise in its steep prices and strong demand from emerging countries.

In the second quarter alone, net profit rose by 114 percent to 5.8 billion dollars.

First-half profit before earnings, interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation rose by 35 percent from the equivalent figure last year to 13.09 billion dollars.

The figure for the second quarter was 8.04 billion dollars compared with a forecast of 6.5 billion dollars.

Sales in the first half rose by 31 percent to 67.6 billion dollars.

The price of shares in the group rose by 8.39 percent to 57.76 euros on the stock market here. The overall CAC 40 index showed a gain of 1.05 percent.

----------------------------
British bank Lloyds TSB net profit falls 63%
AFP
AFP - 13 minutes ago

LONDON (AFP) - Lloyds TSB, Britain's fifth biggest bank by market value, reported on Wednesday a 63-percent drop in net profit during the first half of 2008 as its revenue fell and bad debts increased.
(Advertisement)

"A strong underlying business performance was offset, largely by the impact of market dislocation and adverse volatility relating to the group's insurance businesses," Lloyds TSB chief executive Eric Daniels said in an earnings statement.

"Looking forward, we expect a lower level of growth in the UK economy which will impact our business," he added.

Lloyds TSB said that it had no direct exposure to the US subprime housing market that has caused a number of banks worldwide to post heavy write-downs during 2008.

Lloyds said that net profit stood at 576 million pounds (732 million euros, 1.14 billion dollars) in the six months to June 30 compared with 1.54 billion pounds during the same period in 2007.

Group income dropped 17 percent to 4.63 billion pounds and impairment charges, or losses from loans written off, jumped by 31 percent to 1.1 billion pounds, the bank added in the results statement.

Pre-tax profit slumped by 70 percent to 599 million pounds.

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Rio Tinto to invest $2.15 bln in Brazil iron ore mine
AFP
AFP - 20 minutes ago

SYDNEY (AFP) - Anglo-Australian mining giant Rio Tinto announced Wednesday that it will invest 2.15 billion US dollars in a major expansion of its iron ore mine in Corumba, Brazil.
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The investment would boost annual capacity of the mine more than five-fold from 2.4 million tonnes a year to 12.8 million tonnes, with new production starting in the fourth quarter of 2010, the company said in a statement.

Rio Tinto will also undertake a feasibility study for a further expansion that would take annual capacity to 23.2 million tonnes.

The expansion of Corumba would capitalise on increasing demand for iron ore in South America and the Middle East and increase Rio Tinto's presence in Europe, the company said.

"This is a very significant step forward in our drive to extend iron ore operations beyond the Pilbara region in Western Australia," said Rio Tinto chief executive Tom Albanese.

Rio Tinto announced recently it had reached agreement with all of its customers in Asia for iron ore price increases of up to 97 percent, enabling it to expand production from the Pilbara.

The Corumba investment brings to nearly 11 billion dollars the total capital expenditure that Rio Tinto has committed since 2003 to develop its iron ore business.

"The development of Corumba reinforces our capability to expand capacity rapidly to match increased demand wherever it occurs," Albanese said.

"The move strengthens our position as the only iron ore producer with a truly global production and growth platform, giving us access to a wide range of markets."

Two new ports will be constructed together with improved infrastructure networks to link a multinational supply chain for the mine, the company said.

A new northern river port will be established at Albuquerque in Brazil, barging operations will operate through the international zone of the River Paraguay and a new southern river port will be constructed at Agraciada in Uruguay.

Rio Tinto is the target of a hostile takeover bid by the world's biggest miner, BHP Billiton. The bid is under scrutiny by the European Union's executive commission.

Europe's top antitrust watchdog has said it will rule by November on whether to block the 147-billion-dollar takeover or allow BHP Billiton to try and complete its push to forge an unrivalled global resources giant.

Rio Tinto says BHP's offer significantly undervalues its assets and prospects.

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SKorea, Turkey in 400 mln dlr tank deal: officials
AFP
AFP - Wednesday, July 30 07:44 am

SEOUL (AFP) - South Korea said it has signed a 400-million-dollar contract to help Turkey develop a new tank, in what will be the first time Seoul has exported tanks or related technology.
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Under the deal signed in Ankara on Tuesday, South Korea will help Turkey develop its new main battle tank by 2015, the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) said in a press statement.

"The Turkish government has recognised our rich experience and advanced technology in developing battle tanks," DAPA said. "It also demonstrates the superiority of our defence technology."

The deal includes technology transfer worth 330 million dollars and the production of four prototypes worth 70 million dollars, Hyundai Rotem said.

When development is completed, Turkey reportedly plans to produce some 200 of the tanks.

"This project is a new landmark in the two countries' cooperation in defence technology," Defence Minister Lee Sang-Hee was quoted as saying by Yonhap news agency.

Turkey is one of the largest customers of South Korean defence products.

State-funded Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) last year signed a 500-million-dollar contract to deliver 55 KT-1 trainers to Turkey's air force by 2013.

Yonhap said Turkey also wants to buy some 100 million dollars worth of weapons, including 155mm self-propelled artillery, from South Korea this year.

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IMF says Japan likely to endure 'modest' economic slowdown
AFP
By Justin Cole AFP - Wednesday, July 30 03:25 am

WASHINGTON (AFP) - Japan's economy looks set to endure a "modest" slowdown as economic problems hamper the United States and as global stock markets continue to be plagued by turmoil, an IMF report warned Tuesday.
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In an annual review of the world's second-largest economy, the International Monetary Fund said Japan has shown resilience to the US slowdown and global market jitters, partly because of the low exposure of Japanese banks to the ailing US mortgage market, but said it was being buffeted by trade shortfalls and "weakening" consumer confidence.

"We see the economy in Japan clearly slowing down," said Daniel Citrin, the IMF's deputy director and mission chief for Japan.

IMF economists expect Japan to experience a so-called economic "soft landing," but they said that further global economic turbulence could affect this outlook.

The Washington-based multilateral institution forecasts that Japan's economic growth will cool to 1.5 percent this year, compared with annualized gross domestic product (GDP) growth of 2.1 percent in 2007 and 2.4 percent in 2006.

Citrin, talking to reporters on a conference call, said Japan's economy struggled for momentum during the second quarter of this year, but predicted that growth would pick up modestly during the second half of 2008.

Economists have been keeping a nervous watch on Japan's economy to see if it has been impacted by slowing US growth, which has been weighed down by a sharp housing market slump, a credit squeeze and soaring world oil prices.

America is a vital export market for Japanese goods and many large Japanese firms, such as Toyota and Sony, have a big presence in the world's largest economy.

The IMF said that demand from countries other than the United States, particularly in Asia, had helped prop up Japanese exports this year.

The international financial watchdog also said the spike in oil and other

commodity prices over the past year could present a risk to Japanese growth.

Japan is vulnerable to oil price shocks because it imports all the oil consumed by its voracious economy.

Asked how rocketing fuel costs have impacted Japan, Citrin replied:"It's had a big impact."

Oil prices streaked to record highs over 147 dollars a barrel earlier this month, but have since moderated to around 122 dollars on international markets.

Private economists have voiced increased concern recently about mounting inflationary pressures in Japan which are unsettling consumers.

Japan's core inflation rate hit 1.9 percent in June, the fastest pace since January 1998 when consumer prices rose 2.0 percent, according to a government report Friday. It was the ninth straight monthly increase in prices.

The IMF meanwhile praised the Bank of Japan (BoJ) for its liquidity operations, saying its proactive stance had helped underpin the country's financial markets during global market turmoil.

The BoJ has kept interest rates pegged at 0.50 percent since February. BoJ chief Masaaki Shirakawa said earlier this month that the Japanese economy was slowing, but predicted it would avert a recession.

The losses of commercial Japanese banks, who invested in US mortgage securities, have risen to eight billion dollars, but such losses pale in comparison to the vast losses sustained by some US banks, a small number of which have gone out of business this year.

The IMF said the profits and capital held by Japan's banks should enable them to comfortably absorb the eight billion dollars in losses endured so far by their exposure to the US housing downturn.

Citrin added that the economic policies of Japan's government had been "broadly appropriate."

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SEC extends restrictions on short-selling

By RICHARD JACOBSEN, Associated Press Writer 1 hour, 48 minutes ago

Federal regulators on Tuesday extended through mid-August a temporary order banning a certain kind of short-selling of the stocks of mortgage finance companies Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and 17 large investment banks.
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The Securities and Exchange Commission said the ban on so-called "naked" short selling will be in effect until 11:59 p.m. EDT on Aug. 12 and will not be extended.

Short sellers make a bet that a stock's price will fall so that they can profit from it. They borrow shares of the stock and sell them. If the price drops, they buy cheaper actual shares to cover the borrowed ones, pocketing the difference.

"Naked" short selling occurs when sellers don't even borrow the shares before selling them, and then look to cover positions immediately after the sale. The SEC order requires short sellers to actually borrow shares before selling them.

SEC Chairman Christopher Cox said the order was also helping prevent potential "distort and short" manipulation of stocks, which occurs when rumors and misinformation are used to drive down the price of a stock that has been sold short.

"In addition to continuing the existing order against naked short selling, the commission will continue exploring other remedies for the broader marketplace to further protect investors from 'distort and short' artists," Cox said in a statement.

The SEC said that extending the restrictions on short selling will allow regulators more time to collect and analyze data on the order's impact and effectiveness.

After ban runs out, regulators will move to draw up formal rules to provide additional protections against abusive naked short selling in the broader market, while allowing legitimate short selling, the SEC said.

Advocates for smaller banks and investment firms have been urging the SEC to expand the ban on naked short selling to cover additional financial companies.

Analysts and government regulators blamed aggressive short selling for exacerbating the recent plunge in Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac's stock, as well as that of big investment house Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc.

The SEC initially announced the emergency order on July 15 after a perilous slide in shares of Fannie and Freddie, the government-sponsored companies that together hold or guarantee more than $5 trillion in home mortgages — nearly half the U.S. total.

The regulators' move followed a 13 percent drop in the price of Fannie shares and a 22 percent plunge in Freddie's on July 10, when a news report said the government had begun contingency planning in the event the companies failed. The next day, Freddie shares plummeted 33 percent at one point and Fannie stock lost 29 percent of its value.

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５地区で基調判断を下方修正　財務局長会議

　財務省は30日の全国財務局長会議で、4―6月期の地域経済情勢報告をまとめた。全国11地域のうち北海道、東海、近畿、中国、福岡の5地域で、基調判断を前回（1―3月期）より下方修正した。5つの地域で基調判断を下方修正するのは3四半期連続。各地域からは米経済の減速に伴う企業生産の伸び悩みや、物価上昇による消費者心理の冷え込みを指摘する声が相次いだ。

　47都道府県の経済情勢に関しては、35都道府県の基調判断を下方修正した。都道府県別の判断を公表し始めた2004年以降、最多の下方修正となった。

　全国では「多くの地域で足踏み状態にあり、また一部の地域に弱い動きがみられる」との総括判断を示し、2四半期連続で表現を後退させた。「海外経済や原油・原材料価格の動向などに留意する必要がある」との見通しも示した。

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(7/30)東海・近畿など５地域、景況判断を下方修正　財務局長会議

　財務省は30日の全国財務局長会議で、4―6月期の地域経済情勢報告をまとめた。全国11地域のうち北海道、東海、近畿、中国、福岡の5地域で、基調判断を前回（1―3月期）より下方修正した。5つの地域で景況判断を下方修正するのは3四半期連続。各地域からは米経済の減速に伴う生産の伸び悩みや、物価上昇による消費者心理の冷え込みを指摘する声が相次いだ。

　47都道府県の経済情勢に関しては、35都道府県の基調判断を下方修正した。県別の判断を公表し始めた2004年以降、最多の下方修正となった。

　全国では「多くの地域で足踏み状態にあり、また一部の地域に弱い動きがみられる」との総括判断を示し、2四半期連続で表現を後退させた。「海外経済や原油・原材料価格の動向などに留意する必要がある」との見通しも示した。

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ハウス野菜に燃料サーチャージ　ＪＡ宮崎経済連が11月にも

　ハウス栽培の野菜に燃料サーチャージ（価格変動調整金）をかけようという動きが浮上している。ＪＡ宮崎経済連（宮崎市）は29日、ピーマンなどに制度を導入する方針を明らかにした。暖房に必要な重油の価格変動分を野菜の出荷価格に反映させる仕組み。11月の導入を目指して卸会社や小売りと交渉する。燃料費高騰の影響が野菜の店頭価格にも及ぶ可能性が出てきた。

　ＪＡ宮崎経済連が同日、東京・大田市場で全農やホクレンなど21のＪＡ組織に概要を説明し連携を呼びかけた。会議では「小売りや消費者の理解が得られないのではないか」といった声も出たが、品目やサーチャージの幅を独自に定めれば独占禁止法に抵触しないという。

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連続・大量のデータ通信、ａｕが対象契約者の通信速度を制限

　ＫＤＤＩと沖縄セルラー電話は30日、ａｕ携帯電話のインターネット接続サービス「ＥＺｗｅｂ」で、連続的に大容量データを通信する契約者の通信速度を 10月1日から制限すると発表した。2カ月前の通信データ量が月300万パケット（「着うたフル」で250―300曲分のデータ量に相当）以上の利用者を対象とする。通信ネットワークの負荷を軽減し、契約者全体に対する通信品質の向上につなげる。

　速度制限の程度は通信網の状況や地域で異なる。通信量が多い午後9時から午前1時までの時間帯を制限の対象とする。対象となる契約数は全体の1―3％にあたる30万―90万件程度と見ている。

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エムアールシー・デュポン、人工大理石を15％値上げ

　米デュポンと三菱レイヨンの合弁会社、エムアールシー・デュポン（東京・港）は30日、人工大理石製品を値上げすると発表した。9月出荷分からで、全製品の価格を15％引き上げる。ナフサ（粗製ガソリン）の高騰で原料となる樹脂の価格が上昇しているため。人工大理石はキッチンの天板や洗面所のほか、商業施設のショーケースの材料として使われており、キッチンメーカーなどに供給している。

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新日鉄八幡が生産再開、20時間ぶり　コークス緊急手配

　29日朝に発生した火災の影響で一時休止していた新日本製鉄八幡製鉄所（北九州市）の高炉が30日午前7時26分、約20時間ぶりに稼働し、粗鋼生産を再開した。製鋼以外の後工程も操業を始めており、午後3時までには火元であるコークス工場を除く全工程が復旧する見通し。

　同製鉄所では同日午前1時ころコークス工場周辺で2回爆発があったがけが人はなかった。火災現場ではガスの燃焼が続いており鎮火は午後以降になると見られる。

　今のところ鋼材ユーザーへの影響はないが、新日鉄の嶋宏副社長は30日午前、都内で記者団に対し「品種によっては納期調整（遅れ）もあり得る」と話した。

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日航、国際貨物を半日短縮　緊急の部品輸送など開拓

　日本航空は日本発の国際貨物の輸送時間を従来より半日ほど短縮できる新サービスを8月に始める。顧客企業から貨物を集荷する際に物流会社の施設を経由せず、空港内の日航の施設に直接持ち込むことで集荷の締め切り時間を遅らせる。海外の工場に部品などを緊急輸送する需要を取り込む。日航は通常より料金を割高に設定し、国際貨物事業の採算を改善する。

　新サービスはフォワーダー（混載事業者）と呼ばれる物流会社が集荷した貨物を成田、関西国際、中部国際の3空港にある日航の施設に直接持ち込む。日航は午前6時ごろまでに持ち込まれた貨物を当日午前や昼の旅客便でアジアや欧米に空輸する。日本通運や近鉄エクスプレスなど物流各社と協力する。

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生活関連卸、３年ぶり減益　07年度、衣料品不振響く　日経調査

　食品、医薬品、繊維など生活関連の卸売業の経常利益は2007年度（一部見込み含む）に前年度比5.0％減少し、3年ぶりに減益となった。日本経済新聞の調査でわかった。衣料品の売り上げ不振が続く繊維卸が全体の足を引っ張った。昨秋以降、メーカーによる値上げが相次ぐ一方、消費者の節約志向は高まるばかりで、卸を取り巻く経営環境は厳しさを増している。（詳細を30日付日経ＭＪに）

　調査は消費財を中心に扱う卸売業932社を対象に実施。685社の有効回答をまとめた。全体の経常利益は4770億円（比較可能な426社）。全14業種のうち10業種が減益で、時計・貴金属卸、家具卸など6業種の落ち込みが目立つ。特に繊維卸の経常利益は06年度の1.2％増から14.4％減になった。主力の婦人服でワンピース以外のヒット商品がない上、食品やガソリンの価格上昇で買い控えが広がり、不振に拍車をかけた。

　一方、売上高首位となったメディセオ・パルタックホールディングスなど医薬品卸は好調だった。

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電力６社業績、悪化鮮明に　今期、3社最終赤字転落へ

　東北電力など電力6社の業績悪化が鮮明だ。相次いで2009年3月期の業績見通しを下方修正。原油高で燃料費がかさみ、6社中3社が09年3月期は最終赤字に転落する見通しだ。

　東北電力は09年3月期の連結最終損益が630億円の赤字に転落する見通し。想定原油価格を1バレル90ドルから125ドルに引き上げ、燃料費負担が 900億円程度増えることが響く。最終赤字となるのは29年ぶり。中国電力も想定原油価格の見直しで燃料費などが650億円程度増える。電力会社は火力発電所で使う燃料として原油などを利用する。

　四国電力と沖縄電力は通期業績を下方修正したものの、最終損益は黒字にとどまる。「原子力発電所の利用率が（他の電力会社に比べ）高く、原油高の影響を受けにくい」（四国電力）ためだ。東京、関西電力も最終赤字に陥るとの業績見通しを28日に発表済み。

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メキシコの水処理大手を買収　三井物産と東洋エンジ

　三井物産は東洋エンジニアリングと共同でメキシコの水処理大手、アーステック・メキシカン・ホールディングスを買収した。買収金額は60億円程度とみられる。アーステックは産業廃水や下水の処理設備の設計・建設などに独自技術を持つ。三井物産はアーステックとメキシコで共同事業を手掛けてきたが、傘下に入れることで中東や北米などに協力の範囲を広げる。

　発行済み全株式を米エンジニアリング大手のエイコム・テクノロジー社から買い取った。出資比率は三井物産が85％、東洋エンジ15％。

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千代田区、来春にも共同集配　トラック減へ物流拠点

　東京都千代田区で来春にもビル事業者や運送会社、自治体が協力し、同区内から地域外に出す荷物、同区内に入る荷物の共同集配を始める。送り手、受け手ごとにバラバラに搬入、搬出されている荷物を江東区と品川区に設ける共同配送拠点で方面別に仕分け、混載することで千代田区内を走る物流車両の量を減らす。交通混雑の緩和と二酸化炭素（ＣＯ2）排出量の削減をめざす。

　対象地域は千代田区の大手町・丸の内・有楽町と神田地区。ビル所有企業などで組織する「大手町・丸の内・有楽町地区再開発計画推進協議会」、商店街組織「神田駅西口商店街振興組合」と都市計画、環境対策のコンサルティング会社、エックス都市研究所（東京・豊島）が計画づくりをしており、８月中に千代田区、都、警察当局、運送会社の業界団体などと共同配送を運営する新しい協議会を立ち上げる。

　新協議会は年内に参加する運送会社などを決め、共同集配事業に荷物を託すよう自家配送する事業者や地域内のテナントに呼び掛けを始める。荷物の受託料は１個100―150円の範囲を検討している。

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海自最大演習、中止も視野　原油高で海幕長

　海上自衛隊トップの赤星慶治海上幕僚長は29日の記者会見で、毎年秋に実施している海自最大規模の実動演習について「原油高の影響が大きい。重要な訓練だが、最悪の場合は中止も視野に検討する必要がある」と述べた。

　同演習は1954年の自衛隊発足以来1度も中止したことはない。海自で原油価格高騰を受けて訓練方法を見直してきたが、予想以上の価格上昇で一層の燃料節減を迫られている。

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燃料高、自衛隊も痛手　海上演習の中止も検討

　戦車や戦闘機の省エネ操縦から風呂の追いだき禁止まで―。燃料価格の高騰は、年間1000億円以上の燃料費予算を計上する自衛隊を直撃。日々の任務や訓練、部隊生活での節約にとどまらず、秋の演習シーズンを前に演習の規模縮小や中止も検討し始めるなど、想定外の“敵”への対応に追われている。

　海自トップの赤星慶治海上幕僚長は29日の定例会見で、毎年秋に恒例の「海上自衛隊演習」について「規模見直しや中止も視野に検討しなければならない」との見通しを示した。

　防衛省によると、ジェット燃料、艦船や戦車用の軽油などの燃料費は、当初の見通しより平均で約6割上昇。護衛艦や潜水艦などのほか、Ｐ３Ｃ哨戒機など航空機も多く抱え、3自衛隊で最も多い燃料費約472億円を計上する海自は、基地に近い海域で訓練したり、2つのスクリューのうち片方を止めるなど省エネに努めてきた。

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原油高騰：「陛下が懸念」海上パレード中止　宮内庁、新潟県に連絡

　原油高の影響が、公式行事の海上パレードにまで波及した。半世紀以上続く海上自衛隊の実動演習までも見直す異常事態に。一方、庶民は物価高も相まって、夏休みにマイカーで繰り出す家庭も減る。

　新潟県は２９日、９月６～７日に新潟市で開かれる「第２８回全国豊かな海づくり大会」の「海上パレード」について、宮内庁を通じて伝えられた天皇陛下の意向を受け中止すると発表した。水産資源の保護、環境保全の大切さを訴えるため各県持ち回りで毎年開かれ、例年、天皇、皇后両陛下が臨席している。

　宮内庁によると、陛下は、現下の漁業及び漁業関係者を取り巻く厳しい環境を踏まえ、日々の漁業活動に及ぼす影響を最小限にとどめつつ、今回の海づくり大会の運営に当たっていただきたい、との気持ちを示したという。

　燃料費高騰を懸念されたとみられ、全国一斉休漁があった今月１５日、同庁から「これ（海上パレード）に代わることができないか検討いただけないか」と、県秘書課に電話があった。実行委員会会長の泉田裕彦知事は１６日、専決でパレード中止を決定。２９日に漁業関係者や関係自治体などに文書で連絡した。

　県大会推進室によると、海上パレードはこれまで、しけで２回中止されたが、天候以外の理由の中止は初めてという。【渡辺暢】
　◇海自演習も検討

　赤星慶治・海幕長は２９日の会見で、燃料費の高騰で今秋の実動演習「海上自衛隊演習」の中止を検討していることを明らかにした。同演習は１９５４年から半世紀以上続いているが、７０年代のオイルショック期を含め中止されたことはない。

　赤星海幕長は「緊急用、災害派遣用燃料を確保するには、もっと大規模な削減を図らなければ」と話した。

　海自はこれまで、艦艇の訓練を従来より近い海域でやったり、洋上訓練を港に係留したままで実施するなどして燃料節減に努めてきた。しかし、燃料費が当初想定より５割増になり、さらに見直しを迫られていた。

　同演習は護衛艦や潜水艦約８０～９０隻、航空機約１７０機が参加する海自最大の運用演習。

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夏休み、働く人の21％が「帰省」　ガソリン高で増加

　電通子会社の電通リサーチ（東京・中央）がまとめた夏休みに関する調査によると、働いている人に休暇の過ごし方を聞いたところ「帰省する」と回答した割合が前年比6.0ポイント上昇して21.6％となり、前年の2位から1位に順位を上げた。一方で、国内旅行は4.3ポイント低下して20.4％となり、前年の1位から2位に後退した。

　3位は12.3％の「なるべく家にいる」で、順位は前年と同じだったが2.7ポイント上昇した。同社は「ガソリン高でレジャーを控え気味にしたい消費者が増えた」と分析している。

　調査は6月12―22日にかけて訪問面接方式で実施。東京駅から30キロ圏内に住む15―59歳の男女630人から回答を得た。

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国税滞納残高、９年連続で減少　07年度

　2007年度の所得税や法人税、消費税など国税の滞納残高は前年度比4.1％減の1兆6151億円となり、9年連続で減少したことが29日、国税庁のまとめで分かった。ピークの1998年度の2兆8149億円に比べ、6割程度の水準。

　滞納の新規発生は同1.9％減の8825億円と2年連続で減少。同年度中に滞納の整理を終えたのは9517億円と、新規発生を約690億円上回り、滞納残高が圧縮された。

　滞納の新規発生を税目別でみると、消費税が3984億円と全体の45.1％を占め最も多かった。国税庁は「少額の滞納は電話の催告を活用し、従来は少額案件に携わっていた職員を大口や悪質な徴収逃れに重点配置することで、全体の徴収効率の上昇につながった」としている。

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関東で激しい雷雨　ＪＲ山手線、一時運転見合わせ

　関東地方では29日夜、局地的に激しい雷雨に襲われた。東京都内では落雷によりＪＲ山手線全線などが一時運転を見合わせ、国立競技場ではサッカー五輪代表の壮行試合が途中で打ち切りとなるなど各地で影響が出た。1時間の最大雨量は練馬で41.5ミリ、世田谷で32.5ミリなど。上空にある寒気の下層に暖かく湿った空気が流れ込んだため大気の状態が不安定になったのが原因。

　東京都北区のＪＲ田端駅付近で29日午後8時40分ごろ、落雷による信号トラブルが発生。山手線全線と京浜東北線の大宮―大船駅間で約1時間半にわたり運転を見合わせるなど40本が運休し、約12万人に影響が出た。

　国立競技場のサッカー五輪代表のアルゼンチン戦は、落雷の危険が出てきたため、後半途中の午後9時15分ごろ試合を打ち切った。

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業績低迷でスポンサー激怒…すかいらーく社長退任せよ

　ＭＢＯ（経営陣による自社買収）で非上場化した外食チェーン最大手すかいらーくの主要株主の投資会社２社が、創業一族の横川竟（きわむ）社長（７０）に退任を要求したことが３０日、分かった。原油高や原材料高の影響で、外食産業全体が不振に陥るなか、投資会社は「業績低迷から抜け出せないでいる経営者は切る」とのシビアな姿勢を示したとみられる。

　退陣要求を突き付けたのは、野村証券系の投資会社の野村プリンシパル・ファイナンスと英系投資会社のＣＶＣキャピタルパートナーズの２社。

　すかいらーくは２００６年、投資会社２社に横川氏ら経営陣が加わり、同社をＭＢＯで非上場化した。

　ＭＢＯ額は２７００億円に達し、昨年末時点の持ち株比率は野村が６１．５％、ＣＶＣが３５．６％で２社合わせて約９７％を占める。２社はすかいらーくを０９年中にも再上場させ、投資資金を回収することを念頭に置いていた。

　【２期連続の最終赤字】

　ところが、すかいらーくは０７年１２月期まで２期連続の最終赤字で、０８年１２月期も外食離れが進み苦戦が予想されている。投資会社２社は、横川社長のもとでは低迷脱却は見込めず、投資資金の回収に支障が出るおそれもあると判断し、退陣を求めたとみられる。

　ＭＢＯは、経営陣が投資家と共同で自社株を買い取って経営権を取得するもので、敵対的買収を防ぐために用いられることが多い。

　ただ、実態は投資会社による「買収」のような意味合いが強い。

　「ＭＢＯは、投資会社がもうけるために考案した仕組みです。経営者に会社を買い取るカネはないので、ほとんどの資金を投資会社が出す。買収するのは経営陣ではなく投資会社で、経営者は雇われ社長になる。投資会社は再上場するか、転売するかして投資したカネを回収する」（外資系証券幹部）

　すかいらーくの場合、ＭＢＯ時の契約で投資会社が社長を退陣させるには、野村とＣＶＣに融資した銀行団の了解を取り付けることが必要。投資会社は了解を取り付けた上で退陣要求したとみられる。対する横川氏は、不振店舗の閉鎖などで業績回復が見込めるとして、銀行団に続投の意向を示しているという。

　すかいらーくの例は、ＭＢＯが創業一族や経営陣が会社を支配し続ける方法には必ずしもならないことを物語っている。

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ライバル松下電器と明暗くっきり…ソニーに３つの誤算
４－６月期大幅減益

　ソニーと松下電器の２００８年４－６月期決算は明暗がくっきり分かれた。「３つの誤算」で大幅減益に追い込まれたソニー。対する松下は薄型テレビなどが世界的に好調で、最終利益が４－６月期としては２３年ぶりに過去最高を更新した。「ソニー・ショック」と呼ばれた０３年以降の業績悪化から立ち直った同社だが、世界的な消費低迷や原材料価格の高騰など新たな試練に直面している。

　「液晶テレビを除くと、北米市場のＡＶ（映像・音響）関連の伸びはマイナスになるだろう」「中国市場も五輪需要を想定していたが、地震の影響もあって想定以下」

　「３つの誤算」に見舞われたソニーの大根田伸行ＣＦＯ（最高財務責任者）は２９日の決算説明会で、厳しい環境について語った。

　第１の誤算は、本業のエレクトロニクス部門で稼ぎ頭のデジタルカメラ、ビデオカメラ、パソコンが不調だったことだ。これらはテレビやゲームの大赤字をカバーしてきた“優等生”だが、ソニーが得意とする高級機種が伸び悩んで減益となってしまった。

　いずれも低価格化が進んでいることが要因。あるソニー関係者は、ビデオカメラの低価格化に拍車をかけているのが「ユーチューブ」などのインターネットの動画共有サイトとみている。欧米を中心に録画した動画のネット投稿が定着し、「画質が粗くても３００ドル（３万円強）程度のビデオカメラで気楽に撮る人が増えている」という。高画質のビデオカメラが主流の日本とは対照的だ。

　パソコンはおひざ元の日本で不調。「市場が（低価格の）普及機種に流れている」（大根田ＣＦＯ）ためで、象徴的なのが台湾メーカーの５万円を切るノートパソコンの人気だ。先のソニー関係者は「（こうした低価格機は）あくまで２台目としての需要。ソニーが追随する考えはない」とするが、他社も参入する動きがあるだけに、低価格機の市場がさらに拡大することもありうる。

　第２の誤算は携帯電話事業の不振。持ち分法適用会社の英ソニー・エリクソンは高い収益性を誇ってきたが、４－６月期については９７％もの減益となった。ここでも同社が得意な高級機種などが売れず、低価格帯の機種が売れる現象に巻き込まれた。

　第３の誤算は原材料価格の高騰だ。コバルトやプラスチックを中心に数百億円の負担増となり、輸送費も１００億円近く増えるという。大根田氏は「予算内に織り込んでいるが、今以上に（原材料価格が）上がると厳しい状況になる」と危機感を募らせる。

　ただ、光明がないわけではない。大幅減益となった今回の決算も「想定よりはいい数字」（原直史業務執行役員）。薄型テレビと家庭用ゲーム機「プレイステーション３（ＰＳ３）」では赤字幅が縮小し、今期中の黒字化を見据える。

　一方、決算が好調だった松下は、４－６月期の最終利益が同期としては７年連続の増益となり、２３年ぶりに過去最高を更新した。

　欧米や中国、アジアなど海外の全地域で２ケタの増収を達成。特に薄型テレビとデジカメが全地域で増収となった。北米市場では、プラズマテレビ中心から、液晶テレビ、デジカメ、ブルーレイ・ディスク（ＤＶＤ）など幅広い商品を展開し、販路も全国規模の量販店中心から地域量販店にまで間口を広げたことが功を奏した。

　公式スポンサーを務める北京五輪関連の商戦も「６月中ごろから盛り上がっている」（上野山実取締役）が、９月中間期は五輪後の価格下落の影響などで減益を見込む。

　世界経済の不透明感が強まるなか、松下とソニーの盟主争いはますます激しさを増しそうだ。

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痴漢でっちあげ、共犯の女に懲役４年求刑…大阪地裁

　大阪市営地下鉄の痴漢でっち上げ事件で、被害者に成り済ました虚偽告訴などの罪に問われた奈良市の無職の女（３１）の公判が３０日、大阪地裁（樋口裕晃裁判官）で開かれ、検察側が懲役４年を求刑し、結審した。判決は８月８日。

　論告で検察側は「何の落ち度もない男性を陥れた悪質な犯行で、痴漢の被害申告に影響を及ぼしかねない」と述べた。弁護側は反省しているとして執行猶予付き判決を求めた。

　起訴状によると、女は元大学生の男（２４）と共謀。２月１日夜、市営地下鉄天王寺駅の駅長室で堺市の男性会社員（５９）が服の上から体を触ったなどと警察官にうその申告をした。

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司法修習生：就職未定２５％…日弁連調査

　日本弁護士連合会が年内に修習を終える司法修習生に実施したアンケートで、弁護士登録を目指しながら就職先が決まっていない修習生が２５％に上り、前年同期のほぼ倍になっていることが分かった。司法試験合格者増に伴う弁護士の就職難を示す結果だ。

　アンケートは４～５月に実施し、修習生２３８３人のうち１０４１人が回答を寄せた。弁護士志望で就職先未定は計２６３人。内訳は、修習を９月に終える旧司法試験合格者３１人（合格者の１２％）、１２月に終える新司法試験合格者２３２人（同２９％）だった。前年同時期のアンケートでは就職先未定は全体の１３％だった。

　日弁連は「新司法試験合格者が初めて就職した前年は、全国の弁護士事務所に採用を強く働きかけたので、今年は受け入れ幅が少ないと予想していた」と受け止める。今年からホームページで修習生ら向けに求人情報を提供するシステムの運用も始めた。

　司法試験合格者数を巡っては、政府が１０年に年間３０００人に増やす方針を示し、法曹人口は現在の約２万９０００人から、１８年には５万人に達すると見込まれている。しかし、日弁連は今月１８日、増員のペースダウンを求める緊急提言を採択した。日弁連は「急増する志望者を吸収する法律事務所の増加には時間の猶予が必要。このままでは実務を通じた弁護士育成が難しく、質の低下が懸念される」と主張している。

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通勤手当不正受給：陸自守山駐屯地の防衛技官を懲戒免に

　陸上自衛隊守山駐屯地（名古屋市守山区）は３０日、通勤手当を不正に受給していたとして、男性防衛技官（４８）を同日付で懲戒免職処分にした、と発表した。

　同駐屯地によると、技官は自転車で通勤していたにもかかわらず、バス通勤していると届けを出し、５年５カ月の間に計４９万円の通勤手当を不正に受け取った。知人から回数券カードを借りてコピーし、バス通勤の証拠として隊に提出するなどの偽装工作をしていたという。

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英国：全中央官庁が温暖化対策　パソコン小まめにオフなど

　英政府はこのほど、中央官庁のパソコンの電源を小まめに切るなど情報関連機器の節電・節約などを通じ、同機器を利用することで排出される温室効果ガスを４年以内に計算上ゼロにし、中央官庁からの同ガスの排出を２割近い年４６万トン削減する地球温暖化対策を打ち出した。

　ワトソン内閣府次官は、全中央官庁が情報機器関連の温室効果ガス排出削減に取り組むのは世界初だと指摘。コンピューターの製造と使用は航空産業と同量のガスを排出するとして「真剣な対策が必要だ」と述べた。

　計画によると、各官庁はパソコンの電源の入れっぱなしをやめ、業務時間外に電源を自動的に切る仕組みをつくるほか、休日は卓上パソコンの電源を１６時間オフに。これにより、車４万台分の二酸化炭素（ＣＯ２）排出量に相当する年１１万７５００トンを削減できる。

　コンピューター製造時には大量のＣＯ２が出るため、古い機種の再利用も進める。さらに温暖化対策事業への投資などで情報関連機器からの排出を相殺。１２年までに計算上、排出量をゼロにする「カーボンニュートラル」の実現を目指す。

　英政府は同ガス排出を５０年までに６０％削減（９０年比）する計画を打ち出している。

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4年制私大、ほぼ半数が定員割れ　08年度入試

　日本私立学校振興・共済事業団は30日、今春の2008年度入試で、4年制私大の47.1％に当たる266校で入学者数が定員に届かなかったと発表した。定員割れの割合は07年度に比べて7.4ポイント上昇し、過去最高となった。

　ほぼ2校に1校が定員割れを起こしている状況。少子化が進む中、志願者が一部の有名校に集中する傾向も続いており、私大の経営環境は一段と厳しさを増している。

　調査は全国の私大565校を対象に実施した。08年度の入学定員は総計44万8580人で、前年度比0.8％増えた一方、入学者は逆に1.4％減って47万7918人だった。この結果、入学者を定員で割った「定員充足率」は106.5％と2.4ポイント低下した。

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私大の４７％定員割れ　２６６校に達する　半数未満は２９校に (1/2ページ)
2008.7.30 19:08

　今春の入学者数が定員を下回る「定員割れ」となった私立４年制大学が全体の４７・１％の２６６校に達したことが３０日、日本私立学校振興・共済事業団の調査で分かった。前年度より４４校（７・４ポイント）増え、過去最悪の数字を大幅に更新した。定員の半分を下回る危機的な学校は１２校増の２９校に上っており、地方の小規模大学を中心に、経営難が深刻化している状況が浮き彫りになった。

　調査は通信教育部のみの学校や株式会社立の学校を除く４年制大５６５校、短大３６０校を対象とした。

　調査結果によると、少子化で１８歳人口は１２４万人と前年度より６万人減少しているが、私立４年制大学数は５６５校と６校増加。総志願者数は３０６万２８２５人で、３万９１３８人（１・３％）増えた。だが、人気は都市部の大学に集中したため、全体の底上げにはつながらず、定員割れの大学は２６６校と半数近くに達した。このうち、定員の半分も満たせず、補助金が出ない危機的な大学は２９校で、全体の５・４％を占めた。

　学生数の規模や地域における人気の格差は拡大している。定員８００人以上の大学の総志願者数が約６万７０００人増えた一方で、８００人未満は約２万８０００人減り、大規模な大学に人気が集中する傾向が浮き彫りになった。地域別にみると、定員に占める入学者の割合を示す「定員充足率」が１１０％を超えたのは東京のみ。北海道、北関東、甲信越、北陸、中国、四国、九州の７地域は１００％を割った。

　首都圏の大規模大学が『地方会場入試』や『全学統一入試』などの入試改革で受験生の囲い込みを始めている影響で、「地方より大都市部」「小規模大学より大規模大学」という人気の二極化傾向に拍車がかかっている。

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東京医科大：学長不在…文科省が行政指導

　東京医科大（東京都新宿区）が２年間、学長を置かず、学校教育法に違反しているとして、文部科学省が口頭で行政指導していたことが分かった。指導は２９日付。文科省は「長期にわたって最高責任者がいない状態は不適切」と判断。大学側は「早急に正式な学長を選任したい」と話している。

　学校教育法は「大学には学長を置かなければならない」と定めているが、伊東洋理事長が０６年８月末に学長を任期満了で退任して以来、不在が続いており、当時の副学長が職務代理をしている。

　文科省によると、大学側は「教授会で推薦が決まらなかったり、理事会で推薦通りに決まらないなどの事態が続いている」などと説明している。

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41教委が採用透明化策　大分の汚職受け、基準の公表増加

　教員採用権限を持つ47都道府県と17政令市の教育委員会のうち、41の教育委員会が採用の透明化や不正防止に向けた対策を決めたことが29日、文部科学省の調査で分かった。29教委が新たに不正防止策に取り組む。文科省は「まだ改善の余地がある」として、8月下旬をめどに再調査する。調査過程で金銭の授受など新たに判明した不正行為はなかったという。

　大分県の教員汚職事件を受け、調査は10日から25日にかけて実施した。

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18:49 GMT, Tuesday, 29 July 2008 19:49 UK
'Laser jumbo' testing moves ahead
ABL (Bob Ferguson)

A US military plane equipped with a powerful laser has moved a step closer to becoming a viable weapon.

Engineers have started flowing chemical fuel through the laser to test its sequencing and control.

This will set up the first test firing of the weapon aboard the aircraft while it is on the ground.

The US Air Force's Airborne Laser (ABL) is designed to shoot down enemy ballistic missiles in the early stages of their flight.

"The Airborne Laser team has done a great job preparing the high-energy laser for these fuel tests, which will lead the way toward achieving 'first light' of the laser aboard the aircraft," said Mike Rinn, vice president of Boeing, which is prime contractor on the project.

"Once again, we made and demonstrated enormous progress toward ushering in a new age of directed-energy weapons."

Airborne intercept

The ABL illuminates the missile with a laser tracking beam, while computers measure its distance and calculate its course and direction.

After acquiring and locking onto the target, a second, high-power laser fires a three-to-five-second burst from a turret located in the 747's nose.

The beam heats up the pressurised fuel tank of the outbound missile and causes it to rupture, destroying the missile. Turret ball (Boeing)

The high-energy weapon is a Chemical Oxygen Iodine Laser (COIL) capable of producing megawatts of power.

Built by defence giant Northrop Grumman, it is designed to destroy "all classes" of ballistic missiles, including tactical ballistic missiles (TBMs) and intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs).

Its fuel consists of chemicals found in hair bleach and drain cleaner - hydrogen peroxide and potassium hydroxide - which are then combined with chlorine gas and water.

The COIL is housed in the back half of the 747. The aircraft's front half contains the beam control/fire control system, developed by Lockheed Martin, and the battle management system, built by Boeing.

Pros and cons

After the laser has undergone a series of test firings on the ground, the entire system will be flown to carry out functional check-outs.

The first airborne intercept of an in-flight ballistic missile is planned for 2009.

Destroying ballistic missiles during their boost phase - while their rockets are firing - carries several advantages.

The bright, hot rocket exhaust aids detection, discrimination and targeting of the missile. And it is much more difficult to use countermeasures, such as decoys, during this phase of flight. Beam control system (Boeing)

The wreckage will usually land in enemy territory, although collateral damage in surrounding countries could be a concern.

However, it may be difficult to position the intercept weapon - in this case the aircraft - to shoot down the missiles. There is also limited time in which to destroy the missile in this early stage of flight.

The ABL's range is limited by the distance its beam can propagate through the atmosphere and remain focused.

This is affected by atmospheric conditions, turbulence (changes in air density as the result of heating and cooling), humidity, clouds and the time of day.

According to an American Physical Society report in 2004, the Airborne Laser could shoot down a typical

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ビール瓶で県会議長殴り建設業協会理事逮捕
2008.7.28 05:02

　愛媛県警宇和島署は２７日、結婚披露宴で県議会の清家俊蔵議長（５９）＝自民党＝を殴ったとして、傷害容疑で同県宇和島市川内、県建設業協会理事、浅田毅容疑者（７４）を逮捕した。

　調べなどによると、披露宴は宇和島市内の結婚式場で２６日午後４時から約２８０人が出席して開かれた。浅田容疑者は６時すぎ、清家議長にビールをつぎに行き、話の途中でいきなり相手の左側頭部をそのビール瓶で殴打。全治１週間～１０日の軽傷（裂傷）を負わせた疑いが持たれている。式場内は騒然となった。

　清家議長によると、浅田容疑者が「次期衆院選で支持政党を民主党に変えたい」と話し、「今後親しくできない」と答えたところ、殴られた。

　２人は顔見知り。浅田容疑者は酒を飲んでおり、調べに「殴ったのは間違いないが、理由はいわん」と供述している。

　清家議長は当選５期目。今年３月、議長に就任した。関係者によると、事件の当事者２人は新郎側来賓だという。

　愛媛県は衆院全４選挙区を自民党が占める保守王国だが、宇和島市を含む４区は自民現職と民主新人、保守系無所属新人の計３人がすでに次期衆院選出馬を表明。激戦が予想されている。

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外務官僚、ホテル代１５００万“踏み倒し”　セミスイートに３００日宿泊 (1/2ページ)
2008.7.30 17:10

　外務省経済局の男性官僚（４０）が、都内のホテルの宿泊代１５００万円以上を支払わず、ホテル側とトラブルになっていることが３０日、関係者の話で分かった。ホテル側は刑事告訴や民事訴訟を検討しているという。この官僚は産経新聞の取材に、「確かに支払いはしていない」などと事実関係を認めた。外務省では以前、ホテル代の水増し請求事件などで職員が逮捕されており、再び外務官僚の“たかり体質”の一端が浮かんだ。

　複数の関係者によると、この官僚は平成１８年６月から１９年４月までの２９３日間、該当のホテルのセミスイートルームに宿泊。１泊の料金は５万２５００円で、合計で約１５３８万円の債務が生じたが、現在まで全く支払われていない。

　官僚は家庭の事情で都内の自宅を出た後、知人の紹介などがあってホテル宿泊を始め、そこから東京・霞が関の外務省に出勤していた。１９年４月以降は官舎に移り住んでいるという。

　ホテル側はこれまで再三にわたって支払いを求めたが、応じる気配がないとして、今年７月に請求書を送付。官僚は数日後にホテルに出向き、謝罪文を示したという。

　この謝罪文では「極めて礼節を欠いた不義理を働いたことにつき、一人の人間として本当に恥じ入るばかりであり、申し開きのことばもございません」としながら、「今の自分にはとても支払い能力はございません。せめて金額を一般客室料金×宿泊日数としてお支払いさせていただくことでご検討頂けないでしょうか」と“割り引き”を求めている。

　だが、ホテル側は「これまで誠意ある態度が一切みられなかった」と納得しておらず、官僚に対し刑事・民事両面での措置を検討しているという。

　官僚は産経新聞の取材に、「宿泊したことや料金を支払っていないのは事実で、金額については先方とお話させていただきたい。もちろん払う意志はあり、誠意は尽くすつもり」などと話している。

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暴力団元幹部が撃たれ死亡　福岡・須恵の路上

2008年7月30日18時43分

　３０日午後４時５７分ごろ、福岡県須恵町上須恵の路上で、男性が銃で撃たれたと、目撃者から１１０番通報があった。県警によると、撃たれたのは、北九州市に本拠を置く指定暴力団工藤会の元幹部の篠崎一雄さん（６６）。病院に運ばれたが、間もなく死亡が確認された。県警は、現場付近で拳銃を持っていた男（４０）の身柄を確保し、現場から車で逃げた数人の行方を追っている。現場は篠崎さんの自宅近くで、付近には中学校や図書館などがある。

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市役所内で男性刺され重傷　埼玉・新座

2008年7月30日13時20分

　３０日午前１０時５０分ごろ、埼玉県新座市役所から「市役所の中で人が刺された」と１１０番通報があった。新座署員が駆けつけたところ、男性（４２）が背中や腹など数カ所を刃物で刺されていて、病院に運ばれた。重傷という。同署は、被害者の知人の同市野火止５丁目、無職倉成吉宣（よしのぶ）容疑者（５１）を殺人未遂の疑いで現行犯逮捕した。

　同署や市などによると、男性は市役所１階の生活福祉課の相談室を訪ねていた。午前１０時４５分ごろ、同課の係長と男性が話していたところ、倉成容疑者がいきなり、背後から近づき、切りつけてきたという。

　２人がもみ合いになったため、係長が「１１０番を早くしろ」と叫び、職員の女性が「やめて下さい」と何回も大声を出していたという。男性は数回刺された後、血まみれになって、床に倒れていた。

　倉成容疑者は刺した後、逃げることなく、近くの通路にいて、駆けつけた警察官に取り押さえられた。

　市生活福祉課などによると、現場となった相談室は、主に生活保護などの説明に使っている。予約制で当時、他の相談者はいなかったが、数人の市民が近くにいたという。倉成容疑者の「この野郎」という大きな叫び声に一時、騒然となったという。

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900-kilometer high-speed fiber optic cable laid between Russia, Japan

27.07.2008, 18.42

TOKYO, July 27 (Itar-Tass) -- Japan’s KDDI and Russia’s Rostelecom have laid a high-speed fiber optic cable across the Sea of Japan (East Sea), NHK channel said on Sunday.

Two 900-kilometer lines were laid down between the Japanese city of Joetsu (Niigata perfection) and the Russian city of Nakhodka. They are capable of transmitting 640 gigabit per second.

The commercial operation of the new telecom line will start this September. The channel said that the new line might intensify bilateral financial operations.

Another undersea fiber optical cable was launched on June 3 between Nevelsk and Ishikari, Hokkaido. That was a project of NTT Communications and TransTelecom and the first direct telecom line between Russia and Japan.

The number of Japanese businesses in Russia has tripled over the past three years. JETRO said that 169 companies had offices in Moscow at the end of last year. However, they had to maintain contact with their headquarters via the United States, in the absence of a direct telecom line.

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USA lures poverty-stricken Nicaragua with medical equipment in return to Russian missile systems
29.07.2008 Source: Pravda.Ru URL: http://english.pravda.ru/world/americas/105917-nicaragua-0

The US administration offered Nicaragua to exchange 657 Russian man-portable, shoulder-fired surface-to-air missile systems to medical equipment for the nation’s healthcare system, RIA Novosti reports with reference to Nicaraguan TV channel Canal 8. The amount of the transaction has not been exposed yet.

“The US government put forward a suggestion to the Nicaraguan administration to deliver medical equipment in exchange to 657 Strela-2 Russian-made missile systems. I hope that we will sign an adequate agreement in the nearest future,” the US Ambassador to Nicaragua, Paul Trivelli said in a statement.

The Nicaraguan Army currently uses 1,000 Strela-2 systems, which the country purchased from the USSR during the 1980s. About 400 of those systems will be left at Nicaraguan army storage facilities in the event the nation decides to sign the deal with the USA.

It is worthy of note that the USA has repurchased over 22,000 man-portable, shoulder-fired missile complexes in different countries of the world over the recent several years. The Pentagon says that the USA conducts such policy not to let various terrorist groups take possession of the complexes.

The 9K32 "Strela-2" (NATO reporting name SA-7 Grail) is a man-portable, shoulder-fired, low-altitude surface-to-air missile system with a high explosive warhead and passive infrared homing guidance. It is broadly comparable to the US Army FIM-43 Redeye. It was the first generation of Soviet man portable SAMs, entering service in 1968, with series production starting in 1970.

The 9K32M "Strela-2M" (NATO reporting name SA-7b "Grail" Mod 1) was introduced in 1971 and featured a number of improvements, increasing both its range and the size of its warhead.

The SA-7 is a tail-chase missile system and its effectiveness depends on its ability to lock onto the heat source of low-flying fixed and rotary-wing aircraft. The missile's simple infra-red seeker mechanism is easily overwhelmed by simple countermeasures like flares, and pulsing "hot brick" jammers, and even environmental effects like infra-red reflections from clouds.

The Strela-2 has a small directed-energy blast fragmentation warhead with impact and grazing fuzes. The impact fuze detonates the warhead immediately upon impact, while the grazing fuze reacts to the slightest bending of the missile fuselage. The warhead weighs 1,1kg, including 370g HE content in a pre-fragmented casing.

The small warhead had the drawback of low kill probability against jet, and especially multi-engine targets; as the missile homed in on the hottest spot, it typically hit only the afterburner nozzles, and due to the small size and instantaneous fuzing was not unusual that it failed to destroy even the engine that was hit. Although the basic warhead design remained the same in all Soviet MANPADS from Strela-2/2M through Strela-3 and Igla-1 to the final Igla, the later missiles had much-improved lethality with little extra warhead weight due to better terminal homing aimed at hitting the aircraft fuselage, delayed fusing allowing the missile to penetrate into the target before detonation, and in later variants also a 20g secondary charge to set off remaining rocket fuel.

Despite its shortcomings in range and lethality the Strela-2 did force enemy pilots to fly higher, into the engagement envelope of more capable air defence systems. In addition, in several cases it has forced enemy pilots to adopt higher altitude bombing tactics, which degraded the accuracy and usefulness of air strikes.

The maximum range and altitude of these missiles were consistently underestimated in the West. For example, although an altitude limit of 1,500' was widely quoted, an SA-7 hit an Omani jet (in 1974) at 11,500 feet.

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Russia to USA: 'Don’t tell us whom we should be friends with and whom we should sleep with'
29.07.2008 Source: Pravda.Ru URL: http://english.pravda.ru/russia/kremlin/105928-russia_usa-0

Relations between Moscow and Washington may seriously aggravate after the presidential election in the United States. Furthermore, an anonymous source at Russia’s Foreign Affairs Ministry said that the relations between the two countries may virtually come to nothing, Interfax reports.

“We are ready for any development of the situation,” a source from the ministry told reporters Tuesday. The source added that Moscow may afford not to maintain relations with any partners, if the latter desire so.

The above was the reaction of the anonymous source from the Foreign Affairs Ministry of Russia to recent remarks from Republican John McCain, who stated that the USA must take a tougher stance on Russia and exclude the country from the Group of Eight.

The source also said that the USA had put its relations with Russia to test.

“Everything is fine until we are told how we should behave, whom we should be friends with, whom we should sleep with and whom we should turn out of doors. At the end of the day, we are not going to baptize children with them, we have others whom we can communicate with,” an anonymous Russian diplomat said.

Russia does not exclude that Moscow may stop conducting negotiations with the USA regarding the questions, which Washington is particularly interested in, ITAR-TASS reports with reference to the unnamed source at Russia’s Foreign Ministry.

“We can reach the point when we can end discussions of the questions, which America is interested in,” the official said.

The Russian administration believes that the United States may soon suffer from a serious political crisis, the diplomat believes.

“America is standing on the verge of a large-scale crisis of its own existence,” the source said. “They will first need to learn how to live within means,” the Russian diplomat said.

“We are not enemies with the United States, and unfortunately, we have not become friends either. However, we depend on each other a lot less than we did before,” the diplomat added.

Russia has problems with the American government, not with the American nation, the official pointed out. “We have problems with American ideologists who impose such foreign politics of the United States,” he said.

As for the forthcoming presidential election in the USA and the development of further relations with Russia, the source said that Moscow was ready for any development of the situation.

“McCain needs to become the president first so that we could start listening to what he says. The same refers to the second runoff, Obama,” the official said.

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Antarctic penguins invade sunny beaches of Brazil
29.07.2008 Source: Pravda.Ru URL: http://english.pravda.ru/science/earth/105929-penguins-0

Penguins that were previously spotted in Brazil’s southern waters can now be seen in the north-east of the Latin American nation, RIA Novosti reports.

Holiday-makers have spotted dozens of these Antarctic birds in subequatorial waters of north-eastern Brazilian states of Bahia and Sergipe. Biologists say that it was the record northward movement of penguins.

Click here to see the video of penguins on Brazilian beaches.

Scientists believe that global warming can be the most probable explanation to this unusual phenomenon. Antarctic ice continues to melt, whereas the cold-water Falkland Current along the Atlantic coast of South America intensifies.

The birds inhabiting Antarctica and Patagonia have to swim too far searching for food at sea mainly because of excessive fishing. They find themselves trapped in strong ocean currents that eventually carry them to sunny beaches of Brazil.

The Brazilian Institute of Environment and Renewable Natural Resources (IBAMA) said that the invasion of penguins in Brazil had resulted in the appearance of illegal businesses to sell the exotic birds. The price of one baby penguin may reach up to 500 Brazilian reals ($318) on the black market.

Many local residents attempt to take penguins home and tame them, although specialists recommend not to feed or wash the birds at home. They recommend to ask for professional aid for the majority of penguins reach Brazilian beaches exhausted, hungry and extremely weak, having overcome the distance of up to 5,000 kilometers in cold waters.

Specialists say that hundreds of dead baby penguins have been beached in Brazil over the recent two months. The birds die because of water pollution, ecologists believe.

The word Penguin is thought by some to derive from the Welsh words pen (head) and gwyn (white), applied to the Great Auk which had white spots in front of its eyes (although its head was black); or from an island off Newfoundland known as Pengwyn, due to its having a large white rock. (In the latter case, the name may also have come from Breton.) This theory is supported by the fact that penguins look remarkably like Great Auks in general shape.

It is also possible that penguin comes from the Latin pinguis, “fat”. This is supported by the fact that the corresponding words in most other languages (e.g., French pingouin, German Pinguin) have ‘i’ instead of ‘e’ as the first vowel. However, a Welsh ‘i’ is often sound-shifted to an ‘e’ in the English language.’

Another theory states that the word is an alteration of “pen-wing”, with reference to the rudimentary wings of both Great Auks and penguins, but there is no evidence to support this.

What may be a King Penguin but certainly is a member of the Spheniscidae appears on a 1599 map at the Strait of Magellan with the caption "Pinguyn". The map's features are labeled in Latin, such as Fretum Magellanicum ("Strait of Magellan"). In addition, there is ample evidence that the Latin term anser magellanicus ("Goose of Magellan" or "Magellanic Goose") was the usual term for penguins in the scholarly literature of that time. If the English word was derived from Latin – e.g. avis pinguis ("fat bird") or pinguinus ("the fat one" – it must have originated considerably earlier than 1600.

In a final twist to the story, the term "Magellanic Goose" (today usually "Magellan Goose") in our time has come to denote an actual anseriform, namely a Chloephaga sheldgoose.

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How to gain profit on US economic crisis
29.07.2008 Source: URL: http://english.pravda.ru/business/finance/105916-us_economic_crisis-0

Gas prices are high; the real estate market isn’t good, stocks are down, and many banks are in a mess. The media keeps drilling it into our heads like we had no idea.

Despite their negativity this may actually be an excellent time to better your life and the lives of those around you. Tough times are some of the best times for people to become resourceful, innovative, and make positive changes.

Here are the ways you can take advantage of this “terrible” economy.

1. Buy foreclosures and invest in real estate

It’s a buyer’s market for sure. You don’t want to look back in ten years from now and have a “shoulda, coulda, woulda” moment. Even if prices aren’t low in your area, explore different towns and states for commercial locations and empty lots. Even if you don’t have the resources and funds to develop right now, stake your claim while you can.

2. Invest in green technology

High oil prices are igniting interest in alternative fuels and green technology. If you’re active in the stock markets, perhaps you should consider doing some research on emerging green companies. If you’re not an active trader, another way to invest is to explore purchasing a hybrid or electric car. It might be costly now, but in a few years you’ll be happy.

3. Start a company

Sure, there are a lot of companies shutting down but this maybe the right time to start a company up. Here are some tips to think about if you want to launch a start up:

- Look for an industry or market with a large number of businesses closing. Are the big competitors shutting down? If so, you’ll have less competition.

- Research the reason why they closed.

- Find a solution and an opportunity in what they did wrong.

- Many of the companies shutting down are large corporations. So one of the best things going for you is being small but thinking big.

4. Switch careers

I know exactly what you’re thinking or even saying right now, “well there are no jobs, and my job’s safe.” Is it really though? Do you like what you do? Is there a long commute? And many expenses? You must ask yourself questions like these. Wouldn’t you rather be your own boss? Or have a job that you enjoy so much you don’t care what you get paid or what it costs you to get there?

5. Move somewhere you’ve always wanted to

A location or town you’ve dreamed about living in might be at its most affordable right now. Seize this window of opportunity to make a big change.

Click here to read the full text of the article

Source: Lyved.Com