Belgian king rejects PM’s resignation

Belgian king rejects PM’s resignation

BRUSSELS JULY 17 Belgian King Albert refused to accept Prime Minister Yves Leterme’s resignation on Thursday and asked three senior politicians to seek a way out of the country’s political deadlock.

Leterme submitted his government’s resignation on Monday after less than four months in office, plunging Belgium into a new crisis and rekindling speculation that the 177-year-old nation would break apart.

Leterme went to the king after a mid-July deadline passed to broker a deal between French- and Dutch-speakers on devolving more powers to the regions.

The palace said on Thursday the monarch had asked two senior French-speaking politicians and the premier of Belgium’s small German-speaking community to establish how to start reform talks in a credible manner.

Francois Xavier de Donnea, Raymond Langendries and Karl-Heinz Lambertz accepted the mission and would report back at the end of the month.

”The king has refused to accept the resignation of the government and has asked the government to promote the chances of success of this mission as much as possible,” the palace said in a statement.

Leterme became prime minister in March after nine months of deadlock during which his predecessor Guy Verhofstadt was forced to head a caretaker administration.

Leterme’s Flemish Christian Democrats were the clear winners of the federal election in June 2007 on a pledge to transfer powers to Dutch-speaking Flanders.

However, Leterme failed to win over French-speaking parties from the southern region of Wallonia and the capital Brussels who feared they would lose out if their richer northern neighbours were able, for example, to vary taxes.

His political future is in the hands of three mediators, none of them Flemish.

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France and UK reduce trade ties with Iran

By Najmeh Bozorgmehr in Tehran

Published: July 17 2008 19:05 | Last updated: July 17 2008 19:05

The British and French embassies in Tehran have dramatically scaled back their trade sections amid a slowdown in business ties with Iran caused by international sanctions.

According to diplomats in the Iranian capital, the UK embassy has all but shut its trade section while the French economic section’s staff has halved over the past year as political pressure over the nuclear dispute erodes trade links.

“There have been lots of political efforts in Europe for the past year or so to decrease trade with Iran,” said a diplomat. “It is understandable that Britain, which has the closest ties with the US, has gone that far.”

Alan Attryde, the first secretary for commercial and economic affairs at the British embassy, will leave Iran this month, while his deputy left some time ago.

International sanctions, particularly the financial restrictions imposed by the US, have deterred business with Iran and forced banks in Europe to cut down dealings with Tehran. The European Union in June also tightened the screws by imposing sanctions on Bank Melli, the country’s largest.

This has led to Iranian trade moving away from Europe towards Asia. China, which has enjoyed growing trade since the early 1990s, ranked third behind the United Arab Emirates in 2006 with $4.48bn (€2.83bn, £2.24bn) of exports.

For now, diplomats say there are no signs that other European countries, notably Germany and Italy, which have the highest level of western trade with Iran, are planning similar reductions at their embassies. But the French and British moves are likely to undermine further the investment environment and affect the import of technology.

France’s Total announced its withdrawal from a multi-billion-dollar gas project last week, following a similar move by Royal/Dutch Shell two months ago.

Iran’s senior nuclear negotiator will meet representatives of world powers in Geneva on Saturday to discuss Tehran’s response to a package of economic and political incentives designed to persuade Iran to curb its nuclear programme.

Iranian officials have shrugged off the impact of international sanctions, saying they have not been damaging enough to force the regime to agree to a suspension of uranium enrichment. Although they admit doing business with Iran has become more difficult, they stress the government can afford the cost because of record oil revenues.

The British embassy refused to provide the latest trade figures but about £1bn ($2bn, €1.26bn) of goods were traded between the two countries in 2006. French exports to Iran stood at $1.5bn last year, down by 20.3 per cent compared to a year earlier, with exports of cars and equipment falling and consumer goods, including cosmetics, rising.

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Israeli trial opens debate on US donors

By Tobias Buck in Jerusalem

Published: July 17 2008 18:23 | Last updated: July 17 2008 18:23

The cross-examination of Morris Talansky in a Jerusalem courtroom on Thursday featured claims that have become all too familiar to the Israeli public: envelopes stuffed with money; the Israeli prime minister who accepted, even allegedly demanded, them; and Mr Talansky himself, the US-Jewish fundraiser who claims he gave Ehud Olmert $150,000 in cash over more than 15 years.

Mr Talansky’s testimony forms the basis for an escalating police corruption probe into whether Mr Olmert broke the law by accepting illegal funding.

Mr Olmert has denied any wrongdoing. Nonetheless it looks increasingly likely that the scandal could cut short the prime minister’s career. The probe has also led many Israelis to question not just Mr Olmert but also the role of the donor. Why, they ask, are Israel’s politicians so hooked on the support of US Jews? And how much influence does this give the US-Jewish community, the largest in the world, over the politics of their country?

Gideon Levy, a commentator for Israel’s Haaretz newspaper, fired off the opening volley in this debate after Mr Talansky’s first testimony in May: “It is time to say to the American Jews directly, as is customary among relatives: Leave us alone. Take your hands off Israel. Stop using your money to buy influence in Israel.”

Israel, wrote Mr Levy, was now mature and rich enough to look after itself. “You are American, not Israeli citizens, and no amount of money can or should change this fact.” This week, Shlomo Avineri, a professor of political sciences at Hebrew University, wrote: “The Israeli political system has for years suffered from the fact that certain groups among the Jews of the diaspora [those living outside Israel] who are not Israeli citizens and do not intend to come and live in Israel, have an influence over the reality and the political discourse here by way of their donations.”

There are signs that, at least when it comes to political funding, a majority of Israelis share that view. According to an opinion poll published by B’nai B’rith, a Jewish organisation, more than one in two Israelis said Jews from abroad should be prohibited from supporting Israeli political campaigns and politicians.

It is far from clear that such sentiment will translate into action. There is hardly a segment of Israeli politics, or, indeed, society at large, that does not benefit from US-Jewish largesse, which makes reform of Israel’s political funding rules hard to pull off.

Beyond politics, US-Jewish money goes to a vast variety of often conflicting causes – from promoting Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank to funding peace groups that call for an Israeli pull-out from the Palestinian territories. Hospitals, universities, parks, theatres, ambulances, and even flower-beds in Jerusalem are all marked with signs thanking US sponsors.

But how much influence does this money really buy? Not much, says Yossi Klein Halevy, a senior fellow at the Shalem Centre in Jerusalem and an expert in Israeli-diaspora relations. He argues that Jews from the US and other communities outside Israel have a say on issues that affect them directly, such as the rules governing Jewish immigration to Israel. But, he adds, “on the life-and-death issues of Israel, such as how to define borders in a future peace deal, diaspora Jews have almost no say”.

Indeed, there is no evidence that Mr Talansky’s generosity bought him any influence on Mr Olmert, who was mayor of Jerusalem and trade minister at the time of the alleged payments.

Even high-profile representatives of the US-Jewish community, like Sheldon Adelson, the billionaire casino owner, have less clout in Jerusalem than is often assumed, says one Israeli government official. Mr Adelson supports a wealth of causes – from Jerusalem’s Yad Vashem holocaust memorial to a free newspaper that lambasts Mr Olmert’s government while promoting the rightwing Likud party.

“Can a free-of-charge newspaper really make a difference? I think that is doubtful,” the official says. “I cannot think of one example where an Israeli policy was determined by American Jews.”

According to Mr Klein Halevy, the backlash against US-Jewish influence reflects the relationship between Israel and the largest Jewish community in the world: “American Jews are crucial in maintaining our most important alliance. Most Israelis are aware of that. When you are so dependent on support from one ally the emotions are conflicted: there is gratitude and there is occasional resentment.

“We cherish the support of our brothers and sisters in America as long as their support comes with no strings attached. When diaspora Jews are on my side of the ideological debate their intervention is welcome and if not they are seen as meddling.”

Lawyers seek to discredit witness

The key witness in the widening corruption case against Ehud Olmert on Thursday faced the first day of cross-examination by the team of lawyers defending Israel’s prime minister. Morris Talansky caused shockwaves with his first testimony in May, when he claimed he gave Mr Olmert about $150,000 in cash over 15 years, some of it to finance the prime minister’s taste for luxurious goods and first-class travel.

Mr Olmert’s lawyers say they are determined to show that the American’s claims are inaccurate and were made in order to escape his own legal troubles. They tried on Thursday to discredit the witness by pointing to previous legal wranglings involving Mr Talansky. They suggested that he had been pressed by prosecutors to provide damning evidence against the prime minister. But Mr Talansky denied claims that he provided wrong or misleading evidence against Mr Olmert, whom he described as a “dear, close friend”.

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Subprime woes increase draw of Gulf

By Robin Wigglesworth

Published: July 16 2008 16:27 | Last updated: July 16 2008 16:27

As if the geysers of oil were not sufficient, Gulf countries, and some hedge funds, are unexpected beneficiaries of the meltdown of the US subprime mortgage market.

While US and European banks are shedding tens of thousands to shore up earnings, Gulf banks face a crisis of a different sort – an acute lack of human resources.

Stories abound of entire trading desks in Dubai being lured away by competitors offering two-year guaranteed bonuses. According to one asset manager, the average time spent at a financial institution in the emirate is less than a year.

The international financial services industry has cut about 83,000 jobs, according to reports. For Middle Eastern banks this is quite an opportunity.

Jim Beck, head of human resources at Shuaa Capital, a Dubai-based investment bank, receives 20 to 30 applications a day. “Dealing with them all is a full-time job,” he says. “When we advertised an analyst position, we received 45 applications on the first day.”

It is not only people who have lost their jobs who are looking to move. While house prices tumble and bonuses are cut, the pay packages of those still in work in the financial services industry may drop by as much as 20 per cent this year, according to an April survey by Smart Cube, a Chicago-based consultancy. Not so in the Gulf, where bonuses are expected to remain attractive.

“There are literally waves of people relocating,” says Kristi Edwards of Hughes Castell, a legal recruitment company in London. “What is happening over here is quite scary, and the Middle East is booming.”

In the absence of taxes, salary packages have always been attractive. But until recently a job in the Middle East was seen as a hardship posting – or the result of an inability to hold down a job in a more dynamic financial centre such as London or New York.

Gulf states are investing billions of dollars in tourism, culture and infrastructure. These investments are designed to attract not only to tourists but also the accelerating inflows of expatriate professionals.

Dubai is proving a particular draw. Since the start of 2007, the Dubai International Financial Centre (pictured) has more than doubled its number of members to 675.

When the DIFC was being completed, it was hard to envisage how it would turn out, says Nigel Sillitoe of Thames River Capital. “There was a little Starbucks coffee shop and a few people walking around. It was like a ghost town,”

Now the situation is different. The corridors and hallways of the financial centre are thronged with financial professionals. To meet demand for parking, the centre is building a subterranean carpark that will house 35,000 vehicles. It will be the world’s biggest when completed in 2010.

But as much as the Gulf is booming while traditional financial powerhouses suffer, doubts persist whether there is enough business to go round.

Stiff competition is bringing down fees, while the battle for staff is fuelling wages and shaving margins. The promised listings of family-owned firms in the Middle East have largely been absent, mergers and acquisitions remain far and few between, and caps on foreign ownership in many equity markets limit the scope for capital markets earnings.

Another drawback in the Gulf offering, as far as many mature professionals are concerned, is the limited number of places in high-quality schools.

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Oman’s tourism balancing act

By Simeon Kerr in Muscat

Published: July 16 2008 16:13 | Last updated: July 16 2008 16:13

Majlis al-Jinn, a vast cavern on Selma plateau, was closed to the public this year after one daredevil too many parachuted into the 150m-deep cave, a stunt that has often been performed as part of corporate promotions.

The Oman government now plans to turn the cave into an eco-resort and tourist attraction. And one of the entrances to the world’s eighth largest cave chamber will be reserved for base-jumping.

Oman is developing itself as an upmarket tourist destination with a focus on culture and adventure, as distinct from the more commercial offerings of its immediate neighbours, Bahrain, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.

The development of Majlis al-Jinn, which will include a train to the cavern, is the kind of environmentally friendly development Oman wants to encourage. Another cave, Al-Hoota, has been turned into a tourist destination already. The sultanate is building museums in some of its 500 ancient forts and plans to turn a mountain village into hotel apartments – the project, in an underdeveloped region, will highlight the traditions of rural Arabian culture.

Salim al-Mamari, director general of tourism promotion, says Oman has taken a “different approach” to tourism development. “We are paying attention to maintaining our identity. We are not into mass tourism. We are looking for responsible tourism, meaning those who can help me maintain Oman as it is.”

Balancing the need for job creation with preserving the local environment and ancient traditions is a trick many countries have tried to pull off – with mixed results.

Last year Oman attracted 1.2m tourists, half of them from Europe, mainly Britons and Germans. Tourism accounts for little more than 1 per cent of gross domestic product. The government is targeting 3 per cent by 2015.

Mr Mamari says Oman wants to increase the annual growth rate of tourists from 10 per cent to 17 per cent by 2012. Hotel capacity is projected to double to 18,000 rooms by 2018.

Darwish al-Bulushi, secretary-general of the finance ministry, says the sector is a priority. The government is investing in infrastructure and providing incentives for the private sector. Muscat airport and four regional airports have been expanded and many roads have been improved.

A ferry service is due to connect Musandam and Salalah, a lush southern port where the climate is wet and cool in the summer. Musandam is a peninsular with fjords and rocky outcrops on the Straits of Hormuz abutting the UAE.

So far the strategy has paid off. Glossy magazines and broadsheets in Europe and the US fawn over the natural wonders and authenticity of the Omani tourism experience. Arbiters of style fall over themselves in praise of the understated elegance of Muscat’s Chedi hotel (pictured left) in contrast to Dubai’s seven-star excesses.

But, until this year at least, Dubai has been more successful at luring summertime tourists, thanks to promotions such as an annual shopping festival.

While Oman’s hotels are full to the rafters in the winter, hoteliers argue that the sultanate will have to lure more than a few business travellers in the summer to meet its targets.

Mr Mamari says the country is decentralising by creating attractions away from Muscat, the capital. Areas in the central highlands and southern and eastern coasts are being developed. That will exploit anomalies in Oman’s weather which should prove attractive for tourists. At times when the capital is sweltering and humid, in the Hajar mountains the maximum temperatures is only 25°C.

Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund is developing an eco-resort in Ras al-Hadd, the most eastern point of Oman. From there 400km of beach runs down to the southern port of Salalah, whose moderate summer temperatures are the envy of the region.

For many Omani officials, tourism provides one of the most viable options for diversifying revenues away from declining hydrocarbons production.

Omanis speak with pride about the number of their compatriots who work in the hotel business. They say the hospitality sector is taboo in neighbouring countries but not in Oman.

The government forces the private sector to take on nationals: 60 per cent of hotel staff must be Omanis. This is a challenge for operators, who complain of a skills gap on the part of local job candidates. Expatriates who have similar qualifications are willing to take half the wages demanded by nationals.

Most Omanis covet an easy life in the public sector rather than the hard work and split-shifts of the hospitality industry, the operators say.

“We spend a lot of time training a local only for them to get snapped up by government jobs or move for better salaries elsewhere in the Gulf,” says one hotelier in Muscat.

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Saudi Arabia approves setting up of new fund

By Andrew England in Abu Dhabi

Published: July 16 2008 02:29 | Last updated: July 16 2008 02:29

The Saudi Arabian government has approved the setting up of a new state investment vehicle, considered by many as the oil-rich nation’s first sovereign wealth fund, which will have an initial capital of 20bn riyals ($5.3bn).

The investment company – Sanabil al-Saudia – will be a wholly owned entity of the Public Investment Fund (PIF) and act as a portfolio manager, with a focus on maximising long term returns with investments in Saudi Arabia and overseas across various sectors.

PIF officials have told the Financial Times that the size of fund’s capital could increase in the future if it was deemed appropriate. The company will have its own staff and will now be able to begin a recruiting process, an official said.

Saudi Arabia – the world’s largest oil producer – is home to the Gulf’s largest economy, with official net foreign assets of more than $345bn, but it has traditionally invested its oil wealth conservatively.

The Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency has had the role of managing the country’s foreign exchange reserves and investment portfolio, and it is estimated that around 85 per cent of the kingdom’s foreign reserves are invested in dollar dominated fixed income securities.

There has been much debate inside and outside the kingdom about whether it should launch a sovereign wealth fund to take advantage of the unprecedented oil boom. However, the nation’s leaders are notoriously cautious and have been keen to avoid the controversial debate generated by sovereign wealth funds as they have snapped up assets in the west.

The size of the fund was a disappointment to some, but reflected the kingdom’s cautious tendencies.

The PIF, which falls under the finance ministry, was set up in 1971 to invest and finance projects inside Saudi Arabia, and it has holdings in some 26 Saudi companies, including Sabic, the petrochemicals giant, and National Commercial Bank, the country’s largest.

Ibrahim al-Assaf, the finance minister, recently told the FT that the plan was to open up the new fund to outside investors at some point in the future.

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Institutions fail to flock to DIFX

By Robin Wigglesworth

Published: July 17 2008 03:00 | Last updated: July 17 2008 03:00

What is smaller than Cyprus, less active than Mauritius and thinner than Malta? The answer is the Dubai International Financial Exchange.

In the first half of 2008 the value of shares traded on the DIFX was $1.1bn, less than the total on the Cyprus stock exchange in the same time period. Only 17,600 individual trades were executed - almost half as many as on the Mauritius exchange. Three years after it opened, only 14 companies have listed on DIFX; Malta is broader with 18 public firms.

It was supposed to be so different. DIFX demands international standards of governance and transparency and is supposed to attract leading companies. DP World, the ports operator that acquired P&O of the UK, listed on DIFX last year, raising $5bn in the region's biggest initial public offering. But the shares have flattered to deceive.

"It has been a disappointment," says Ali Al Shihabi, chief executive of Dubai-based Rasmala Investments. "We used to say it required a major listing to attract liquidity and achieve scale, but [the DP World listing] didn't have the impact we hoped for."

Two factors have contributed to the lethargic first three years. First, the stock market tumble of 2006, when the MSCI Arabian Markets index lost nearly half its value, followed by a credit crunch that removed incentives to list.

Second, Gulf exchanges have always been dominated by retail investors. Authorities have tried to develop markets by educating investors and encouraging institutions, but retail investors are still responsible for the bulk of trading in the Arab world - and are absent on the DIFX.

Rather than par-value subscriptions, DIFX listings have been book-run. But in a region where undervalued subscriptions are the norm, and privatisations are used by governments to transfer wealth, expectations of huge returns at the time of listing have become entrenched.

"It's all happy days on the first day, but that sort of capital raising is highly inefficient for a company," says Sean Gardiner, head of Middle East research at Morgan Stanley. "Speculators might have expected something like that to happen to DP World. When it doesn't, they run away and never want to be there again."

Retail investors will probably have to be induced back to the DIFX. One solution could be to extend opening hours and open on Sunday, in line with the Gulf working week.

A deeper, wider market is also necessary, not least to attract institutional investors, for whom trying to obtain an allocation in a company with a freefloat of a few hundred million shares "is a waste of time", says Mr Gardiner. Through its parent company Borse Dubai, the DIFX has entered into a partnership with Nasdaq-OMX, hoping to boost listings and trading. It plans to unroll a derivatives trading platform in September.

An exchange official says investors trade "millions of shares daily" via the DIFX's close links with international and regional brokers. "However, not all issuers seek high trading volumes. Some have preferred to carry out an IPO with a small number of institutional investors who aim to hold the stock long-term."

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France orders probe at all nuclear sites

By Peggy Hollinger in Paris

Published: July 17 2008 20:47 | Last updated: July 17 2008 20:47

The French government on Thursday ordered an investigation into the water table around all of France’s 58 nuclear reactors in an effort to dispel fears raised by a leak from a treatment plant run by Areva in southern France.

Jean-Louis Borloo, ecology minister, has asked an independent committee to carry out the probe to stem mounting public concern over nuclear waste management after a low-grade leak at the Socatri treatment plant at Tricastin focused public attention on a still unexplained, older contamination of the water table.

“I do not want people to feel we are hiding anything, I want [the committee] to look at the radioactivity and environmental situation at all nuclear sites and I particularly want the state of the ground water tables around all French nuclear stations to be looked at,” Mr Borloo said in an interview in Le Parisien newspaper. “We have to carry out a review of the sites and I expect an analysis from the committee.”

Areva, the French nuclear group, and safety authorities insist the incident presents no threat. Government officials on Thursday played down the significance of the Socatri leak. “This is not a nuclear incident,” said the Ecology Ministry.

Sarkozy battles to keep reform package

Nicolas Sarkozy was on Thursday battling to avoid the biggest setback of his domestic reform programme ahead of a knife-edge vote next week in the French parliament on constitutional reform.

Lawmakers will meet in a special joint session on Monday to approve or reject changes intended to boost the powers of parliament while trimming those of the president.

President Sarkozy has made constitutional reform a central element of his drive to reform France, arguing the 1958 constitution needs to be rebalanced in favour of the legislature.

The proposals would give parliament more control over its legislative agenda and the right to veto a presidential nomination. It would also curb the government’s ability to pass laws by decree and limit a president to two five-year terms in office. The president would also be able to address parliament.

The revelation comes as President Nicolas Sarkozy is promoting French nuclear expertise abroad. In April, on a visit to Tunisia, he defended his campaign to bring nuclear power to developing economies and said French technology was “the safest in the world”.

The ASN has accused Areva, which handles waste treatment and fuel reprocessing for the nuclear sites, of “human negligence” and “dysfunctional” processes after storage tanks containing water from a nearby uranium enrichment plant overflowed on July 7. The basin holding the storage tanks was faulty after renovation and 30 cubic metres of liquid contaminated with natural uranium was released into two rivers and topsoil.

The ASN, which ordered the plant to shut down, has passed its findings to the prosecutor’s office, which will decide whether the incident merits a criminal investigation.

Areva announced a new manager for the Socatri site and published the findings of an internal inquiry into the incident, which said managers had taken too long to alert safety authorities to the leak. “We wish it had not happened,” Areva said. “But it never had any impact on people’s health.”

The ASN and the IRSN, which conducts safety tests on nuclear sites, said the leak had no serious environmental or health consequences. Residents and farmers were barred from using mains water as a safety precaution.

The incident has also brought to light older contamination in the region’s water table, which the IRSN has said could not have come from the Socatri leak.

Authorities have long been aware of the contamination, which according to experts could be natural, but it has raised questions over a military nuclear waste installation dating from the 1960s, which since 2006 has been managed by Areva.

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Qatar becomes Barclays’ biggest shareholder

By Amanda Vermeulen

Published: July 18 2008 08:19 | Last updated: July 18 2008 08:41

The Qatar Investment Authority has become Barclays’ largest investor after less than a fifth of the bank’s existing shareholders participated in its £4.5bn capital-raising issue.

Barclays said on Friday that 19 per cent of existing shareholders had taken up their rights in the ‘claw-back’ issue. The bank had conditionally pre-placed shares with around 20 institutional investors as well the QIA and Challenger, a Qatari fund.

The China Development Bank and Singapore’s Temasek, both existing shareholders, were also part of the underwriting group.

The pre-placed shares were then offered to existing shareholders to allow them to retain their proportional shareholdings in Barclays. However, 81 per cent opted not to exercise this right, and their shareholdings will now be diluted.

The offer was priced at 282p a share, which was a 9 per cent discount to the existing share price at the time of the announcement.

Although shares in Barclays rallied this week as the deadline for the offer approached, they dropped below the offer price last week. Recent weakness in the price of the shares is likely to have affected the enthusiasm of existing shareholders to participate in the capital raising.

Shares in Barclays opened 2.8 per cent lower at 282.6p amid general weakness in UK financial stocks.

Barclays said the extent of the dilution of existing shareholders had not yet been quantified, but further details would be released next week. It confirmed that the QIA would become the single biggest shareholder, with about 6 per cent. Other investors that participated in the pre-placement included Japan’s Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, which now owns 2.1 per cent. Challenger, an investment vehicle controlled by the family of the Qatari prime minister, would own a little under 2 per cent.

China Development Bank retains its roughly 3 per cent of Barclays, while Temasek has raised its interest from 2 per cent to between 2.5 and 3 per cent.

The new shares will start trading from Tuesday, and the listing of the new American Depository Receipts on the New York Stock Exchange is expected the same day.

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Art market boom benefits Christie's and Sotheby's

By Deborah Brewster

Published: July 18 2008 03:00 | Last updated: July 18 2008 03:00

The boom in the art market has handed strong results to the two big auction houses, with Christie's and Sotheby's together selling about $7bn worth of artworks in the first six months of the year - 12 per cent more than last year.

Christie's said yesterday it had total worldwide sales of £1.8bn ($3.6bn), a rise of 10 per cent on the same period last year. That includes both auction sales and private treaty sales.

It sold 457 works for more than $1m each, compared with 430 sold in the same period last year.

Christie's is privately owned by French billionaire Francois Pinault, and does not provide profits or revenue. Ed Dolman, the chief executive of Christie's, said: "Christie's robust results for the first half of 2008 reflect the ongoing strength of the international art market... Christie's extensive international network has introduced an increasing number of buyers to the international art market from growth markets including Russia and the CIS States, the Middle East, India and China."

Sotheby's, which is publicly traded, said it had auction sales of $3bn in the first half.

However, it said its big contemporary art sale was held in early July, a few days after Christie's equivalent sale in late June.

If that sale were included in Sotheby's sales, the total would be $3.1bn. Its private sales will be released in August, the group said.

Christie's said Europe and the UK comprised £837m in sales, and the US £631m. Asia and the Middle East contributed £179m, and Dubai - reported separately - contributed £20m. Christie's said its growth in Asia alone was 63 per cent, as Chinese and Indian buyers emerge as increasingly big buyers of both their own art and western art.

Despite the widely reported growth in contemporary art, Impressionist and Modern works were the single biggest category at Christie's, selling £497m, just ahead of post-war and contemporary art, which contributed £408m.

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UK estate agents head to the Middle East

Angela Giuffrida

* Last Updated: July 02. 2008 11:52PM UAE / July 2. 2008 7:52PM GMT

An estimated 15,000 estate agents in the UK are expected to lose their jobs by the end of the year. Chris Ratcliffe / Rex Features

The slump in the UK housing market has led to a surge in the number of property professionals seeking work in the UAE and wider Middle East, according to recruitment experts.

A recent report by the UK-based Centre for Economic Business Research (CEBR) said estate agents in the UK would be worst hit by the market downturn, with an estimated 15,000 expected to lose their jobs by the end of the year. But the slowdown has also had an impact on other workers in the property sector, including those who structure finance for property deals, architects, quantity surveyors, facilities managers and mortgage brokers.

CEBR predicts that a further five per cent of those working in the UK property sector will lose their jobs by the end of next year as banks rein in lending and the rate of housing transactions continues to slide.

But the influx of property professionals from the UK could now help to plug the skills shortage gap that the regional property sector has been grappling with in the last few years.

William Buck, an international director at the recruitment firm, MacDonald and Company, a UK company with offices in the UAE, said the firm had seen an increase in the number of UK applicants in the past six months.

“Because we’re a UK company, we’ve always had a large number of applicants from the UK, but the downturn there has certainly seen the number of strong professionals coming here increase,” he said.

“We also expect to see more from the UK and other faltering markets internationally, which will naturally affect recruitment here. But the situation has definitely helped to fill skills shortages here. It will also help employers in the long term and shift the balance from where we currently are.”

Mr Buck added that the biggest take-up in job applications had come from property investment people who structured the finance in property deals such as joint ventures, followed by property agents and project managers.

“But as more areas of the property sector in the UK get even more depressed, we’re seeing applicants from across the board,” he said. “Also, people from the UK are more open to coming to the UAE than they were before, although now it is a necessity, as there is nothing for them to sell back home and there are no new developments coming onto the market.”

Fewer housing transactions in the UK and tighter home loan conditions from banks have also led to an increase in the number of mortgage brokers seeking work in the region.

The sector for mortgage brokers in the UAE has strengthened in the past few years as more banks have started to provide property loans. At the same time, home buyers are beginning to turn to mortgage brokers to facilitate their transactions.

“Mortgage brokers work on commission, so if the market’s buzzing and they’re selling mortgages, then great, but when transactions stop and banks are reluctant to lend, then they either get a new job or carry on trying to sell where they are,” said Chris Dommett, the chief executive for the Dubai subsidiary of the UK-based mortgage broker, John Charcol.

“We’ve seen some movement from our UK office to Dubai. It’s not that we’re poaching – if there isn’t much business happening, then people want to go where they can earn money.

“Also, Dubai has had a lot of publicity in the UK over the last few years, and people are looking towards a place where transactions are being made.”

But despite the upturn in the number of professionals looking for work on the property side, the construction sector is still struggling to draw key talent from the UK.

“There has definitely been an increase in the number of people coming here – we don’t have to go hunting for them as much as before, as they’re coming to us,” said Nigel Timms, a recruitment manager at Millennium Solutions. “But from a construction point of view, the trend isn’t so much that the highly qualified engineers are coming here – it’s more tradesmen, such as people at foreman or site manager level, who want to work their way up the ladder.”

Mr Timms added that while high profile construction projects in the UK were under way – such as the development of the site for the London Olympic Games in 2012 and the widening of the M25 – fewer top construction professionals were attracted to the UAE.

“These are good jobs to have on their CV, so any opportunity here has to be good enough for them to make the move.”

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Home sales at 30 year low according to RICS

Category: House Prices | July 15th, 2008

Home sales have fallen to a 30 year low last month; this is a direct result of the current mortgage market, as it is dragging down house prices in the UK. Estate agents have reported that they are now selling an average of just 15 properties in the three months to the end of June. These figures have been supplied by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS).

According to The Times Online, these figures show that house sales are now 40 percent lower than the same period last year; these results are now the lowest since RICS began its series in 1978. The value of houses has also gone down, buyers have been forced to do this, just to try and get a buyer in this tough market.

You would have thought that with falling house prices it would help to increase sales, but this has been cancelled out by mortgages being harder to get. The number of mortgage applications now being processed is much lower.

This is a direct result of mortgage lenders demanding larger deposits from first-time buyers, along with tougher criteria. If buyers do not have the five percent needed for a mortgage, then they will find it all but impossible to get on the housing ladder.

Getting a fixed rate mortgage is also getting more expensive as lenders demand larger set up fees, if you want a better deal, then they are reserved for those who can put down a deposit of 25 percent or more.

Going by what we have seen over recent months, home sales are expected to fall even further.

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Americans stash away 1.5 trillion dollars in tax havens
AFP
By P.ameswaran AFP - 2 hours 27 minutes ago

WASHINGTON (AFP) - UBS bank vowed Thursday to stop offering offshore banking services in the US after legislators accused it and other banks of helping wealthy Americans hide about 1.5 trillion dollars in overseas tax havens.
(Advertisement)

Mark Branson, UBS' chief financial officer of global wealth management, made the vow Thursday as a Senate panel was told that the country had lost 100 billion dollars in revenue to tax cheats hiding money with the help of foreign banks.

"We have decided to exit entirely the business in question," Branson told the panel of senators.

The hearing centered on a 115-page report into alleged abuses by UBS in Switzerland and the smaller LGT Bank in Liechtenstein.

"The evidence we have been able to obtain breaks through some of the wall of secrecy to show that these two banks have employed banking practices that facilitate, and have resulted in, tax evasion by US clients," said Senator Carl Levin, who led the six-month investigation.

The offshore tax evasion problem is of "staggering proportions," said Senator Norm Coleman.

"These tax havens hold an estimated 1.5 trillion dollars in American assets, resulting in lost taxes of roughly 100 billion dollars," he said.

The OECD group of mostly industrialized economies estimates that between five to seven trillion dollars are held in tax havens or banking secrecy jurisdictions globally.

In response to the Senate probe, UBS, the world's largest manager of private wealth, said 19,000 of the 20,000 US client accounts in Switzerland were "undeclared" in the range of nearly 18 billion dollars.

US authorities have initiated enforcement action against 100 US taxpayers in connection with accounts in the secretive European principality of Liechtenstein after a former LGT employee provided tax authorities around the world with data on about 1,400 people with bank accounts.

The ex-employee, who has gone into hiding, gave the US probe panel 12,000 pages of documents related to US clients.

Former UBS banker Bradley Birkenfield had already pleaded guilty to conspiring to help US clients evade millions of dollars in taxes by hiding assets in Switzerland and Liechtenstein.

Another UBS official was detained as a "material witness."

The enforcement actions appear to represent the first time that the United States has criminally prosecuted a Swiss banker for helping a US taxpayer evade US taxes.

"The details of their tax evasion scheme are sordid enough," Levin said.

The Senate panel had also obtained a document showing that UBS provided its Swiss private bankers with training on how to detect surveillance by US customs agents and law enforcement officers while travelling to the United States, he said.

Branson told the Senate committee that the bank "genuinely regrets" failures in complying with US regulations.

He added that "we are working with the US government to identify the names of US clients who may have engaged in tax fraud."

Branson said client identity is usually protected under Swiss law, but not when a foreign government formally requests the information for a tax fraud investigation.

"We will fully support and assist that process," he said.

LGT denied the Senate's accusations and refused to appear at the hearing.

Liechtenstein told the panel it was in negotiations with the United States to enter into a tax information exchange agreement and with its European neighbors to expand tax cooperation in connection with an anti-fraud pact.

Levin showed a chart summarizing tax haven bank secrecy "tricks" uncovered during the probe -- banks using code names for clients, telling staff to use pay phones instead of business phones so authorities cannot trace calls, and giving staff encrypted computers when they travel so authorities cannot read any client information.

Other methods included funneling money through so-called transfer companies to cover the tracks of the funds and make audit difficult, and opening accounts in the names of foreign shell companies to hide the real owners.

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German Dresdner Bank about to be sold: report
AFP
AFP - Thursday, July 17 01:07 pm

FRANKFURT (AFP) - The German Dresdner Bank is about to be sold, possibly to the second-biggest German bank, Commerzbank, a newspaper said Thursday, in a report on which a Dresdner spokesman declined to comment.
(Advertisement)

The financial daily Boersen-Zeitung said a decision was expected on Friday, when Dresdner's supervisory board was to hold an extraordinary meeting, but did not identify its sources.

"No comment," a Dresdner bank spokesman told AFP.

According to the press report, the most likely scenario would be a tie-up with Commerzbank, while Dresdner's parent company, the insurer Allianz, would retain a minority stake.

But the deal was not finalised, and Allianz had an alternative plan waiting just in case, the newspaper said.

Allianz has never said officially it wants to sell the banking unit, but it is planning to separate its corporate and private activities.

Dresdner has hit hard times owing to the US subprime home loans debacle and subsequent international financial crisis.

Last week, the regional French bank Credit Mutuel said it would pay 4.9 billion euros (7.8 billion dollars) for the German subsidiary of US giant Citibank, a move seen as a signal that a long-awaited German banking sector consolidation was now underway.

Dresdner Bank and Postbank, which has the biggest German retail banking network, are logically the next targets for a takeover, and Postbank's parent company Deutsche Post has said it is in talks with potential buyers.

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Spain's Santander 'to sell asset management unit'
AFP
AFP - Thursday, July 17 01:53 pm

MADRID (AFP) - Santander, the second-biggest European bank, wants to sell its asset management unit for up to 2.5 billion euros (3.96 billion dollars), Spanish media said on Thursday.
(Advertisement)

The newspaper El Pais said that possible buyers who have been approached include JP Morgan, Templeton and State Street.

A spokeswoman for the bank declined to comment on the reports.

The business newspaper Expansion said the bank hopes to sell Santander Asset Management for 2.0 to 2.5 billion euros.

Expansion said the unit has been badly hit by a drop in investors in recent months due to Spain's economic downturn, although it remains the sector leader in the country.

The bank said on Monday it had reached agreement to buy British lender Alliance and Leicester in an all-share deal worth 1.26 billion pounds (1.57 billion euros, 2.51 billion dollars).

Santander is Europe's second largest bank by market capitalization after Britain's HSBC, and the largest in the eurozone.

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消えた年金記録の審査受け付け１年、処理率まだ37％

　「消えた年金記録」を回復するため、総務省の「年金記録確認第三者委員会」が記録訂正の受け付けを始めてから17日で丸1年になる。受付件数は4万 7000件弱にのぼるが、どのくらい判定したかを示す処理率は37％にとどまることが分かった。スピードの遅さだけではなく、地域による審査手法のばらつきも目立つ。申請は今後も増える見込みで、体制再構築が課題になりそうだ。

　消えた年金記録は社会保険庁の入力ミスや企業担当者の横領、本人の記憶違いなどが原因とみられる。政府は領収書など保険料を納めた証拠が無い人に支給の道を開くため、昨年6月に第三者委を設置し、7月から審査を始めた。第三者委が「納付した」と認めれば、記録を修正して給付を認めるよう総務相が社保庁長官にあっせんする。

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野村、インドに本格参入　株売買の免許取得、現法体制を拡充

　野村グループがインド市場で証券ビジネスを本格展開する。株式売買の取り次ぎ免許を取得したほか、現地企業のＭ＆Ａ（合併・買収）に対する助言や株式引き受けなど投資銀行業務にも乗り出す。資産運用業務では現地金融大手との提携交渉にも着手した。株式売買・投資銀行・資産運用の証券主力3事業を手掛け、インド市場を開拓する。

　証券大手では大和証券グループ本社も17日、ブラジルの民間最大手の総合金融グループ、バンコ・イタウ・ホールディング・フィナンセイラと包括提携に関する覚書を結んだと正式に発表。日本だけでなく欧米市場の低迷が強まる中で、日本の証券会社は将来の成長が期待できるＢＲＩＣｓ（ブラジル、ロシア、インド、中国）など新興国で事業の拡大を急ぐ。

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証券大手、新興国に照準　Ｍ＆Ａニーズに対応

　野村グループや大和証券グループなど証券大手が新興国での事業拡大に相次いで乗り出した。自前の拠点拡充や現地金融機関との提携を通じ、投資信託など顧客に販売する新興国の投資商品を組成するほか、現地で台頭する投資家や企業向けにも金融サービスを提供していく方針だ。

　野村がインド市場への進出を図るのは今回が3度目。1991年にデリーに駐在員事務所を開いたが、93年に閉鎖。98年にムンバイに駐在員事務所をつくったものの、直後のロシア危機のぼっ発で1年もたたないうちに閉めた。

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海外投資家の国債保有残高、50兆円突破　３月末時点で20％増

　海外投資家の日本国債への投資が増えてきた。日銀の資金循環統計によると、海外投資家の保有額は今年3月末時点で前年同月末比20.6％増の50兆 2205億円となり、初めて50兆円を突破した。量的金融緩和を解除した2006年以降の金利上昇や日本国債の格上げ、ドル安の観測などを背景に、投資対象として見直されているようだ。ただ日本国債の金利が海外勢の動きに左右されやすくなるとの見方も出ている。

　海外投資家の保有額は政府短期証券（ＦＢ）を除くベースで初めて50兆円を超えた。3月末時点で比べた保有額は03年から拡大。06年は前年同月末比 13.7％増、07年3月末は同36.6％増と伸びが加速している。海外投資家の保有比率も高まっており、今年3月末は7.2％と同1.0ポイント上昇した。

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ゼファー、民事再生法を申し立て　負債総額949億円

　マンション建設中堅で東証１部上場のゼファーは18日、東京地方裁判所に民事再生手続きの開始を申し立てたと発表した。同日付で受理され、保全命令と監督命令が発令されたという。負債総額は2008年５月31日時点で949億4800万円。

　同社は子会社の近藤産業（大阪市）の経営破綻に伴い、関係会社整理損として142億円の損失を計上。不動産市況の悪化で棚卸し資産の売却もままならず、運転資金の調達のメドが立たなくなった。

　併せて、同社の社外取締役を務めるＳＢＩホールディングス（8473）取締役執行役員専務の相原志保氏が同日付で辞任したと発表。相原氏はＳＢＩの経営に注力するという。

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粗鋼生産量、６月は3.9％増　25カ月連続で前年上回る

　日本鉄鋼連盟が18日発表した6月の粗鋼生産量（速報値）は、前年同月比3.9％増の1037万1300トンだった。25カ月連続して前年実績を上回り、6月単月でも2007年の998万トンを抜いて史上最高となった。

　鋼材別では、普通鋼が3.3％増の808万7000トン。自動車や産業機械に使われる特殊鋼は228万4300トンで、6.3％伸びた。品種別では、自動車や電機で広く用いられる広幅帯鋼や船舶需要の大きい厚板が伸びた。

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６月の電力需要、２カ月ぶり減少　冷房需要少なく

　電気事業連合会が18日発表した6月の電力需要実績（速報、10社合計）は前年同月比0.2％減の698億7500万キロワット時だった。昨年と比べて暑い日が少なく、家庭やオフィスでの冷房需要が減少した。

　家庭向けの電灯は0.3％減の185億1800万キロワット時だった。オフィスや商業施設などの業務用電力も1.1％減り、161億9800万キロワット時となった。

　産業用の大口電力は2.2％増の259億7600万キロワット時で、35カ月連続して前年実績を上回った。繊維を除くすべての主要業種で需要が増え、特に鉄鋼（8.0％増）や半導体関連など非鉄金属（6.8％増）の伸びが大きかった。

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日本企業、北米生産を一斉見直し

　日本企業が米国経済の減速を受け、北米の生産体制を一斉に見直す。三菱重工業とコマツは米工場の稼働率を維持するため建機などを中南米に輸出。いすゞ自動車も米工場でエンジンを4割減産する。日本企業の収益拡大をけん引してきた米国事業の採算は悪化しつつあり、車、機械、化学など幅広い業種が減産などを迫られることで、業績の先行き懸念が一段と強まる。

　日本企業では自動車メーカーが今春から減産や生産車種の入れ替えに動いていた。機械など他業種にも見直しの動きが広がっている。

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三菱化学、植物樹脂を量産　「脱・原油依存」進める

　三菱化学は植物を使った合成樹脂の量産に乗り出す。2010年度にも生産設備を新設する計画で、従来の主原料である石油の使用量を減らして食器や家電などプラスチック製品を作れるようにする。植物樹脂は高価格など難点があったが、原油価格が1バレル100ドル程度なら競争力があると判断した。三井化学も木材からの樹脂生産を目指しており、石化業界で「脱・原油依存」の動きが加速している。

　樹脂2種類で植物転換を進める。土中で分解する「生分解性プラスチック」では、原料の約6割を占めるコハク酸をイモなどの糖分から作る方式に変更。従来は原油由来のナフサ（粗製ガソリン）から生産していた。

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東京都、正社員就職へ奨励金　月最大15万円

　東京都は8月から非正規社員やフリーターが、正社員として就職できるように支援を始める。年収など一定の要件を満たした希望者に就職に必要な職業訓練を施す。3年間で約6500人を見込む受講者に月額15万円まで奨励金を提供する。受け入れ企業に対しても1人当たり60万円を助成する。職業訓練に助成金を組み合わせる制度は珍しい。低所得の非正規雇用者層が増えるのを防ぐ。

　都の「就職チャレンジ支援事業」の対象となるのは、課税所得が年間50万円以下、預貯金が600万円以下といった12の要件を満たしている65歳未満の都民。

　市区町村の福祉相談窓口で要件を満たしているかを確認する。確認書をもらった人に対し、飯田橋、大崎、日暮里、国分寺の4カ所の支援相談室で職業訓練の中身を説明、セミナーや合同面接会も紹介する。

　さらに、9月からは都内13カ所にある都立職業能力開発センターで約1900人を対象に最長で半年間の職業訓練を実施する。

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静岡東部の酒販店、生き残りへ統合　３事業者が新会社設立

　静岡県東部で酒販店を経営するカワナ、久保商店、山本酒店が今月、経営統合した。健康志向による若者の酒離れや飲酒運転規制の強化を背景に酒の消費量が減るなか、合併により配達や仕入れに共同で取り組み業務を大幅に効率化する。小売店同士の合併は全国でも珍しく、収益の悪化が目立つ酒販店の新しい生き残り策として注目を集めそうだ。

　新会社「和楽」（静岡県三島市）を設立、1日に合併した。社長にはカワナ（三島市）の川名正洋社長が就いた。専務には山本酒店（長泉町）の山本勝美代表が、常務には久保商店（函南町）の久保修平社長が就任。カワナと久保商店は配送の統合による事業提携を一時検討し、山本商店の山本氏はカワナから独立した経緯があることから今回の合意に至った。

　新会社の設立をきっかけに業務内容を見直す。酒の消費量が落ち込んでいるため食品販売を開始し、新たな収益源に育てる。有力な農場、牧場などと協力し味や質、安全性の高い食品を提供する。自社の独自商品として「和楽」ブランドの酒や食品を開発、利益率の高い収益モデルを築く。

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韓国大統領「強硬一辺倒、得策でない」　日韓関係

　【ソウル＝山口真典】韓国の李明博（イ・ミョンバク）大統領は17日、外交安保分野の専門家と青瓦台（大統領府）で懇談し、日韓関係に関して「一時的に興奮して強硬的な対応ばかりするのは得策ではない。より長期的な目で、緻密（ちみつ）に戦略的に対応すべきだ」と述べた。

　大統領は竹島（韓国名・独島）問題に「断固対応」を指示したが、韓国世論の反応を見ながら慎重に対応を判断する考えとみられる。

　一方、一時帰国した権哲賢（クォン・チョルヒョン）駐日大使は同日の記者会見で「もう（日本に）戻りたくない。私のすべき仕事は全部なくなってしまった」と語った。「冷静になれば何をすべきか見えるかもしれないが、今は興奮状態だ」とも語り、日本の対応を繰り返し批判した。

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国選弁護人の報酬増額　法務省方針

　法務省は被告や容疑者に国費で弁護人を付ける国選弁護制度について、国が支払う報酬を増額する方針を固めた。今年度中に報酬体系を見直し、平均約1万円増やす見込み。来年5月に始まる裁判員制度や容疑者段階の国選弁護対象事件の大幅拡大で国選弁護人の負担が増えるため、待遇改善でなり手を確保する狙いがある。

　国選弁護報酬は、日本司法支援センター（法テラス）が作成した報酬基準に基づいて支払われる。開廷回数などで金額は異なるが、例えば地裁の裁判で初公判から判決まで3回で終了した場合の基礎報酬は8万4000円。法務省や法テラスは1万円の増額を目安に報酬基準の改定作業を進める。

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旧長銀の粉飾決算、大野木元頭取ら３被告に逆転無罪　最高裁

　経営破綻した旧日本長期信用銀行（現新生銀行）の粉飾決算事件で、証券取引法違反と商法違反の罪に問われた元頭取、大野木克信被告（72）ら旧経営陣3 人の上告審判決で、最高裁第２小法廷（中川了滋裁判長）は18日、3人を有罪とした二審・東京高裁判決を破棄し、全員に逆転無罪を言い渡した。３被告の無罪が確定する。

　ほかに無罪とされたのは元副頭取、鈴木克治被告（71）と同、須田正己被告（68）。

　３被告は4月の最高裁弁論で「従来の会計慣行に従って決算を作成した。粉飾決算や違法配当で有罪となる余地はない」と無罪主張。

　一方、検察側は「３被告は回収の見込みのない不良債権を少なくみせかけ、うその決算を公表した」と主張していた。

　1、2審判決は、旧大蔵省が97年3月に出した資産査定通達が、98年3月期決算の当時には「唯一公正な会計慣行だった」と指摘。３被告が同期の有価証券報告書で大蔵省通達から著しく逸脱した自己査定基準により、不良債権を約3130億円過小に記載し、配当原資がないのに約71億円を違法に配当したと認定した。

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旧長銀粉飾決算：元頭取ら３人に逆転無罪判決　最高裁

　破綻（はたん）した日本長期信用銀行（現・新生銀行）の９８年３月期決算を粉飾したとして、証券取引法違反（有価証券報告書の虚偽記載）と商法違反（違法配当）に問われた元頭取、大野木克信被告（７２）ら旧経営陣３人の上告審判決で、最高裁第２小法廷（中川了滋裁判長）は１８日、有罪とした１、２審判決を破棄し、逆転無罪を言い渡した。破綻責任追及をうたった金融再生法適用第１号の事件は、無罪が確定することになった。

　ほかに無罪が確定するのは元副頭取の須田正巳（６８）、鈴木克治（７１）両被告。

　９８年３月期決算で関連ノンバンクなどへの不良債権を処理する際に行った回収見込みの自己査定が、当時の「公正なる会計慣行」に反していたかが争点だった。大蔵省（当時）は早期是正措置の導入を控え９７年３月、査定の厳格化を求める通達を出すなどしていたが、長銀は回収見込みをこれらの基準より甘く査定していた。

　１、２審は「通達などに基づく新基準は唯一の『会計慣行』になっており、３被告は大きく逸脱して故意に不良債権を隠した」と認定し、大野木被告に懲役３年、執行猶予４年、須田、鈴木両被告に懲役２年、執行猶予３年を言い渡していた。

　今回の判決は、１、２審で有罪となった旧経営陣３人が上告した旧日本債券信用銀行（現・あおぞら銀行）の粉飾決算事件の審理にも大きな影響を与えそうだ。【北村和巳】

　【ことば】長銀旧経営陣の刑事責任追及

　長銀はバブル期の行き過ぎた融資が原因で多額の不良債権を抱え、９８年１０月、一時国有化された。再建のため投入された公的資金は最終的に約７兆９０００億円。東京地検特捜部は９９年６月、大野木元頭取ら３人を逮捕、起訴した。起訴事実は（１）９８年３月期決算で、実際には約５８４６億円の未処理損失があったのに、回収不能が見込まれる貸出金計約３１３０億円について償却や引き当てをせず、損失を約２７１６億円に減額した虚偽の有価証券報告書を大蔵省に提出した（２）損失を正しく計上すれば配当可能な利益がないのを知りながら約７１億円を違法配当した。

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斎藤ＣＢ頭取“不倫騒動”…みずほ首脳人事を直撃
来春「会長就任」も強まる逆風

　斎藤宏・みずほコーポレート銀行頭取（６４）とテレビ東京美人記者の不倫騒動に揺れるみずほグループ。何より信用を重んじる銀行のトップの不倫が表ざたになったのは、「来年春の人事を見据えた動きだろう」（金融筋）といわれている。グループ内で今、何が起きているのか。

　みずほグループは力が拮抗した３銀行（旧第一勧業銀行、旧富士銀行、旧日本興業銀行）が経営統合して誕生した。力が拮抗しているため、役員人事も均衡を保っている。

　トップをみると、持ち株会社みずほフィナンシャルグループ（ＦＧ）の前田晃伸社長（６３）は旧富士銀出身、みずほ銀行の杉山清次頭取（６１）は旧第一勧銀出身、みずほコーポレート銀の斎藤頭取は旧興銀出身で、きれいに旧３行でトップのポストを分け合っている。

　また、持ち株会社と傘下の２行を合わせた役員を出身行別にみると、旧富士銀が３２人、旧第一勧銀と旧興銀がそれぞれ３１人とこちらも均衡を保っている。

　そんなみずほグループをめぐる最大の関心事は来年春の人事だ。

　「本来なら２００７年春に前田社長をはじめ３トップが交代するとみられていたが、前田氏がこの年の５月に日本経団連の副会長職を三菱ＵＦＪと争った末に勝ち取り、トップ交代はなくなった。前田氏は副会長職を１期２年務めてトップを退くとみられており、それが来年春の人事ということになる」（金融アナリスト）

　みずほグループは均衡人事が信条だから、前田氏が交代すれば、杉山、斎藤両頭取も一緒に交代することになる。問題は交代後の３トップの処遇で、金融筋はこう解説する。

　「来年春の人事で、みずほＦＧ、みずほ銀、みずほコーポレート銀にそれぞれ会長職を設け、前田氏ら３トップがそのまま就任するとみられています。当然、子飼いを後任に据えるでしょうから、院政を敷く形になるだろう。ただ、斎藤頭取だけは他の２人と取り巻く環境が違うようだ」

　斎藤氏が率いるみずほコーポレート銀は、０８年３月期（連結）に５５６億円の最終赤字に転落。グループ内には、経営責任を取ろうとしない斎藤氏に対する不満が根強い。

　加えて、「強烈な個性で銀行を引っ張ってきた斎藤頭取は言うことをきかない部下をかなり飛ばしてきたとされ、それだけに敵も多い。グループ内には、来年春の人事で斎藤頭取がそのまま会長の椅子に座り、院政を敷くのをよしとしない向きもいる」（みずほ関係者）という。

　そんななかで出てきた不倫騒動は「来年春の人事を見据えた動き。女性スキャンダルで斎藤頭取の失脚をねらい、会長就任で院政を敷くのを阻止しようということだろう」（金融筋）とみられている。

　斎藤氏といえば、水産大手のマルハグループ本社とニチロの経営統合を指南するなど、業界再編を背後で精力的に推進し、行内でついたあだ名が「平成の鞍馬天狗」。

　その斎藤氏の出身母体である旧興銀はかつて、産業金融の雄として日本の産業再編を主導してきた。その遺伝子を引き継ぐ斎藤氏は「みずほコーポレート銀をＭ＆Ａ（合併・買収）業務に力点を置く投資銀行に変えて産業再編を牽引することで、往時の興銀復活を目指しているのではないか」（みずほ関係者）とみられている。

　そうした夢を追い求められるかどうかは、来年春の人事次第。不倫騒動に次ぐ二の矢、三の矢が飛んでくることがあるのかどうか、みずほや斎藤氏の周辺から目が離せない。

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ケンタッキー大幅減益…食材価格の高騰響く

　日本ケンタッキー・フライド・チキンが１８日までに発表した２００８年５月中間期決算（連結）は、営業利益が前年同期比５３．５％減の１１億円で、大幅減益となった。フライドチキン事業、「ピザハット」ブランドで展開する宅配ピザ事業ともに売り上げが減少しているほか、鶏肉などの食材価格の高騰が響いた。

　全体の売上高は同１．０％減の４４１億円。このうち宅配ピザ事業は競合激化の影響を受けて１３．１％減の８２億円だった。

　営業利益は、世界的に飼料用穀物の価格が高騰していることを受けて鶏肉価格が上昇しているため、ほぼ半減という結果になった。同社は４月に、オリジナルチキンの価格を１ピース２１０円から２３０円に引き上げるなどの対策を取ったが、業績への影響は避けられなかった。

　通期では、売上高こそ３．９％増の８８２億円を見込むが、営業利益は３６．５％減の１８億円と大幅減益となる見通し。

　ファストフード業界では、日本マクドナルドホールディングスも０８年１－３月期（第１四半期）決算で営業利益が３２．５％減の３３億円になるなど苦戦している。

　消費者のサイフのひもが固くなるなか、値上げをすれば売り上げに響き、かといって価格を据え置くと利益を圧迫する。袋小路に入り込んだ感のあるファストフード業界は今、正念場を迎えている。

--------------------------
チェンバロ：「最高傑作」壊された…製作者が市民楽団提訴

　国際的に有名なチェンバロ製作者、高橋辰郎さん（５６）と演奏家の妻尚子さん（５５）＝東京都江戸川区＝が、ずさんな扱いでチェンバロを壊されたとして、江戸川区の市民楽団「江戸川フィルハーモニーオーケストラ」と団員を相手取り、８８０万円の賠償を求め東京地裁に提訴した。原告代理人によると、高額な楽器の賠償を巡る裁判は珍しいという。【銭場裕司】

　破損したのは、辰郎さんが８６年に製作したチェンバロ。米国のジャズピアニスト、キース・ジャレットさんが買いたいと申し出たが、高橋さんは「自己の最高傑作で売る気持ちになれない」と断った。その代わりに同じ型のチェンバロを製作し、８９年に４００万円で売った。同型は世界に２台しかなく、そのうち１台が壊れた。

　訴えによると、尚子さんは０６年７月、江戸川フィルから協演依頼を受けた。演奏会前日のリハーサルで、団員３人が会場にチェンバロを搬入する際に、高さ約７０センチの台車から落とした。亀裂が入り弦を張れず、修復も不能となったという。

　このチェンバロには、現在では入手が困難な良質のインド産の紫檀（したん）を使っており、同じ物を製作するのは難しいという。高橋さん夫妻は楽器の価値を６００万円とし、慰謝料などを加えた賠償を求めている。

　高橋さん側は「タイル目地に台車がひっかかったのに無理に押して台車を壊した」と主張。江戸川フィル側は「無理な力はかけていない。ボルトの脱落で台車が崩落した」と争っており、３０日に最終弁論が開かれる。

　辰郎さんは、製作が途絶えたチェンバロを独自の設計で製作することで知られ、ジャレットさんら著名な演奏家から高い評価を受けている。
　◇「ずさんな管理」を批判…高橋さん夫妻

　高橋さん夫妻は、提訴した理由の一つにずさんな楽器管理の問題を挙げる。「楽器を動かすには専門業者が必要で、繊細な扱いが求められるのに、素人判断で漫然と動かそうとした」と憤り、「団員が通路に置いたコントラバスをまたいで歩くのも見た。アマチュアといえども見識を疑う。なあなあで済ませたらまた次の事故が起こる」と訴える。

　裁判所が楽器の価値をどう認定するかも注目される。尚子さんは新しいチェンバロで演奏活動を続けるが、「２０年間育てて体の一部のようだった。自分の意思に反応するのが楽器であり、育てるには時間が必要」と失った存在の大きさを語る。原告代理人の山下幸夫弁護士によると、希少な楽器であるチェンバロに対応する保険商品はないという。

　江戸川フィルの福井豊信団長は、毎日新聞の取材に「手で運ぼうとしたら台車に乗せてくれと言われた。同情はするが、責任はないと考える。楽器をまたぐような扱いはないと思う」と反論している。

　【ことば】チェンバロ

　グランドピアノを小さくしたような鍵盤楽器の一つ。１６～１８世紀にヨーロッパ音楽で広く使われたが、ピアノの隆盛とともに一時製作が途絶えた。

----------------------------
心筋梗塞：「せっかち」は危険低い　日本男性、欧米と逆

　日本人男性は、行動がせっかちで怒りっぽい人の方が、そうでない人より心筋梗塞（こうそく）などの発症の危険が低いことが、厚生労働省研究班（担当研究者、磯博康・大阪大教授）の大規模調査で分かった。国際疫学会誌電子版に今月掲載された。欧米では、せっかちな行動の人の方が発症しやすいことが報告されているが、逆の結果になった。

　研究班は９０年と９３～９４年、８県の４０～６９歳の男女計約８万６０００人に、自分の行動パターンについてアンケートを実施した。せっかち、怒りっぽい、競争心が強い、積極的という行動傾向は「タイプＡ」、Ａと対照的な傾向は「タイプＢ」とし、その程度によって全体を４グループに分けた。

　０３年までに、６６９人が心筋梗塞などの虚血性心疾患を発症。男性は、Ｂの傾向が強まるほど虚血性心疾患の危険が上昇し、Ｂの傾向が最も強いグループの発症の危険が、Ａの傾向が最も強いグループより３２％高かった。また、ＢよりＡの方が飲酒量や喫煙者が多かった。女性は、統計学的に意味のある違いはみられなかった。

　磯教授は「日本は協調性を大事にする社会のため、温和なように振る舞っているＢの人の中に、感情を押し殺してストレスをため、発症の危険を高めている人がいるようだ。一方、Ａの傾向が強い日本人男性は、酒を飲むことなどによってストレスを発散させているのではないか」と分析している。

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メリルリンチ：サブプライム問題、損失４兆円－－４四半期連続赤字

　【ワシントン斉藤信宏】米証券大手のメリルリンチは１７日、０８年４～６月期決算が４６億５４００万ドル（約４９３０億円）の大幅赤字になったと発表した。赤字計上は４四半期連続で、過去１年間の赤字は累計約１８７億ドルに達した。低所得者向け高金利住宅ローン（サブプライムローン）の焦げ付きによる証券化商品の資産評価損などが９７億５０００万ドル（約１兆３３５億円）に膨らんだことが大きく影響した。市場予想平均を大きく上回る赤字幅となり、サブプライム問題の根深さを改めて浮き彫りにした。

　メリルは０８年１～３月期までにサブプライム関連の証券化商品の評価損などとして計３２２億ドルの損失を計上しており、今回の損失と合わせると計４１９億５０００万ドル（約４兆４４７０億円）となった。４～６月期の損失には、住宅ローン担保証券（ＲＭＢＳ）などサブプライム絡みの証券化商品の価格下落による評価損に加え、投資ファンドなどへの融資の焦げ付きや住宅ローンの焦げ付き、保有銀行株の値下がり分などが含まれている。

　メリルは巨額赤字の穴埋めのために、保有していた米金融情報大手ブルームバーグの株式（発行済みの２０％）を４４億２５００万ドルで売却したと発表。さらに金融関連の事務管理業務を行う子会社を３５億ドルで売却する方針を明らかにした。１～６月に４２００人の人員削減を実施しており、退職金などにあてた４億４５００万ドルを特別損失として計上した。

　メリルリンチは、既にシンガポールの政府系投資ファンドやみずほコーポレート銀行などから総額１２０億ドル強の出資を受けているが、さらなる資金確保が必要として株式や子会社の売却を決めた。

　サブプライム問題では、世界の大手金融機関の損失が３５００億ドル（約３７兆１０００億円）超に膨らみ、各金融機関の増資額も合計３３００億ドル近くにのぼっている。今月１３日には、米政府系住宅金融会社２社の経営危機が表面化し、米政府が初めて公的資金の投入検討を表明するなど影響が深刻化している。

＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝

　■ことば
　◇サブプライムローン

　クレジットカードの延滞履歴のある人や低所得者など返済能力の低い借り手を対象にした住宅ローン。金利は当初、低く抑えられているが、一定期間を過ぎると大幅に上昇し返済額が急増する。住宅価格の上昇が止まり担保価値増加による追加融資などが受けられなくなり、返済できなくなる人が続出した。自宅を差し押さえられるケースも急増し、米国で大きな社会問題になっている。

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21:42 GMT, Thursday, 17 July 2008 22:42 UK
Gaddafi son arrested for assault
Hannibal Gaddafi (2005)

The youngest son of the Libyan leader, Muammar Gaddafi, has been released on bail in Switzerland after being charged with assaulting two of his servants.

Hannibal Gaddafi and his wife, who is heavily pregnant, were taken into custody on Tuesday after the alleged incident at a luxury hotel in Geneva.

The couple face charges of bodily harm, threatening behaviour and coercion. They have denied any wrongdoing.

In 2005, a French court convicted Mr Gaddafi of hitting his girlfriend.

He was given a four-month suspended jail sentence and fined $790.

A year earlier, two of Mr Gaddafi's bodyguards were taken into custody for attacking several French police officers after they stopped him for speeding on the Champs Elysees in Paris.

They were released after Libyan diplomats apologised. Mr Gaddafi was also detained, but was released because he had diplomatic immunity.

Exclusive hotel

It is still unclear whether Mr Gaddafi has immunity in Switzerland, where he and his wife had travelled for the birth of their child.

Earlier, one of his lawyers, Robert Assael, said that two of his staff, a Moroccan man and a Tunisian woman, had accused the couple of hitting them in their suite at the President Wilson Hotel.

They then showed a judge their injuries, which were confirmed by a medical certificate, he added.

Two of Mr Gaddafi's bodyguards were also detained after they clashed with police making the arrests, local media reported.

Mr Gaddafi was freed on a bail of 200,000 Swiss francs (124,000 euros), while his wife was freed on an additional bail of 300,000 francs (186,000 euros), officials said.

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06:33 GMT, Friday, 18 July 2008 07:33 UK
Government funds Muslim thinkers
By Dominic Casciani
BBC News home affairs reporter

The Koran

The British government is to fund a board of Islamic theologians in an attempt to sideline violent extremists.

The move will see Oxford and Cambridge Universities host a group of scholars who will lead debate on key issues such as women and loyalty to the UK.

The plans have angered some hardline activists who accuse ministers of trying to create state-sponsored Islam.

But Communities Secretary Hazel Blears said it was government's job to support Muslim leaders on controversial issues.

Under the plans, the two universities will bring together about 20 leading thinkers, yet to be named, to debate critical issues affecting Muslims in the UK. The Department for Communities is responsible for the government's strategy to combat violent extremism, known as "Prevent".

"Anything that helps to make our communities stronger should be welcomed - provided that it's not used to isolate, control or change"
Sheikh Ibrahim Mogra

Send us your comments

It will provide funding and support for the project but maintains that the board's work will be completely independent of political interference.

The board's work will focus on examining issues relating to Islam's place in Britain and obligations as a citizen.

Ministers say the board's membership will "reflect the diversity of Islam and Muslim communities in the UK" and the work will include seminars around the country.

Sheikh Ibrahim Mogra, a leading imam with the Muslim Council of Britain, said establishing a specialist board was the brainchild of a group of Muslims, not the government.

He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "We felt we needed something of this nature to help create a better structured approach to how we are educating our children.

FROM THE TODAY PROGRAMME
More from Today programme
"We feel our children need to be taught that they can be proud Muslims and proud young British people."

Sheikh Mogra urged communities to support the board - but said there would be reservations about the relationship with government.

"Anything that helps to make our communities stronger should be welcomed - provided that it's not used to isolate, control or change what a community is.

"This board has to be something owned by us, driven by us but supported by government. We've made it clear that it's not for government to touch our theology or touch the way we train our people."

'Stronger leadership'

Ms Blears said the department's support for the project emerged out of debate with Muslim communities who asked ministers for help in supporting the work of key thinkers across the UK.

"The British government's interference amongst the Muslim community, and matters of Islam, is unprecedented in comparison with any other religion"
Taji Mustafa, Hizb ut-Tahrir

"We have made significant progress working with communities to build an alliance against violent extremists," said Ms Blears.

"We have a responsibility to ensure that our young people are equipped with the skills they need to stand up to violent extremists and help them understand how their faith is compatible with wider shared values.

"It is not for government to dictate on matters of faith or religious teaching. But Muslim communities themselves have told us that stronger leadership is needed on what are often controversial issues."

But Islamic groups who have clashed in the past with the government have already attacked the plans.

Taji Mustafa of Hizb ut-Tahrir, a group that fought government attempts to ban it, predicted that many ordinary Muslims would be suspicious.

"The British government's interference amongst the Muslim community and matters of Islam, is unprecedented in comparison with any other religion," said Mr Mustafa.

"The government would like nothing more than to have credible figures pronounce that opposition to their foreign policy is tantamount to heretical extremism. Their problem hitherto has been to find credible figures to do their work."

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19:29 GMT, Thursday, 17 July 2008 20:29 UK
Israel condemns Qantar on YouTube
Released militant Samir Qantar (waving) walks alongside Hezbollah military official Sheikh Nabil Qawuq in Naqoura

Israel's government has posted a video on the website, YouTube, explaining to the Arab world its position on the freed Lebanese militant, Samir Qantar.

Qantar, convicted of murdering three people, had been Lebanon's longest-held prisoner in Israel until Wednesday.

His release, part of an exchange for the remains of two Israeli soldiers, was greeted with jubilation in Lebanon.

But the video says in Arabic that for the rest of the civilised world Qantar is "the most despicable of murderers".

The prisoner exchange agreement has caused controversy in Israel, with some government ministers opposed to exchanging five live Hezbollah prisoners for two bodies.

Qantar was jailed in 1979 for killing a four-year-old Israeli girl, her father and a policeman. The girl's two-year-old sister was accidentally smothered by her mother as they hid.

'Cold-blooded murder'

In the YouTube video, Ofir Gendelman, deputy director of the Arab press and public affairs division in the Israeli foreign ministry, explains who Qantar is and the background to the deal.

"For Hezbollah, Samir Qantar is a first-rate hero, while for Israel and the rest of the civilised world, he is the most despicable of murderers," he says.

"The age of waiting for an interview with an Arab station is over"
Ofir Gendelman
Israeli Foreign Ministry

"This is a child killer whom Hezbollah is welcoming with praises, cries and parades. This is a savage murderer, whom you extremists see as a hero.

"Hezbollah is a radical terror organisation that is working under Iranian sponsorship. Hezbollah is proud of cold-blooded murder."

The video ends with the warning that "if Hezbollah tries to carry out another kidnapping, the Israeli response will be tougher than it was in July 2006", when it invaded Lebanon after the capture of the two Israeli soldiers.

Mr Gendelman said the clip was part of a new Israeli initiative to target the Arab world directly through the internet.

"The age of waiting for an interview with an Arab station is over," he told Yedioth Ahronoth. "The aim is to create a dialogue through the channel's talkback mechanism."

Hezbollah's television station, al-Manar, is reporting that the Israelis are also sending voice messages to mobile phones in Lebanon, promising Israeli retaliation for any Hezbollah attack.

The Lebanese minister for telecommunications has said he has ordered his staff to take all necessary steps to stop such a "flagrant violation" of his country's sovereignty.

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17:24 GMT, Thursday, 17 July 2008 18:24 UK
'No decision' on giant database
A woman using a mobile phone

No decision has been taken to create a huge database containing details of all phone calls, e-mails and internet use, security minister Lord West says.

The Information Commissioner has warned that such a database could be a "step too far for the British way of life".

Asked in the House of Lords about that warning, Lord West said: "It is very early days as to where we go on this."

But the switch from traditional phones meant the "entirely new" communication methods had to be assessed, he said.

There have been reports that the giant database is planned for the government's proposed Communications Data Bill.

That led Information Commissioner Richard Thomas to call in his annual report this week for a full public debate first.

Mr Thomas acknowledged that "targeted and duly authorised" interception of communications by terrorists and other suspects could be "invaluable".

But he warned that people must still "stand up" for their "fundamental liberties" and freedoms.

"There will be more people look at your internet information than look at a postcard when you write it"
Security minister Lord West

"Lines have to be drawn somewhere, and there should be a full democratic debate about where exactly the lines should be drawn," Mr Thomas said in his report.

"Do we really want the police, security services and other organs of the state to have access to more and more aspects of our private lives," his report added.

Speculation that the government was considering collecting the information - including numbers dialled, websites visited and location of mobile phones being used - has increased because it has talked about "modifying procedures for acquiring communications data" in the Communications Data Bill.

Postcard

Currently police and intelligence agencies can ask telecommunication providers for information on phone calls made, texts sent and internet sites visited.

The provider can query the request, which might then go to the interception commissioner and another watchdog - but under the new proposals, that right would be removed

Lord West, who is a former First Sealord and Chief of the Naval Staff, also issued a general warning about the lack of privacy in using the internet.

He said internet service providers could already assess "information about the consumer's internet use for the provision of value-added services".

"People must realise - and I used to say this within the Navy - there will be more people look at your internet information than look at a postcard when you write it," he told the House of Lords.

"People tend to forget that - and [that] it is used for quite legal purposes, some of it."

'Test case'

Lord West was also asked about trials by BT of an online system of advertising involving more than 30,000 of its customers, known as Phorm.

In 2006 and 2007 this matched adverts to users' web habits, although BT did not inform customers they were part of such a project.

The peer said the government was "not aware" of the tests beforehand, and an investigation was now checking if these had been "appropriate".

Since then BT had made a formal approach to begin a trial "of about 10,000 broadband subscribers", Lord West said, but he was unclear if this was "covered by law".

A test case might be needed to consider whether this was a form of "interception", he added.

Meanwhile a 40% pay rise for Mr Thomas has been put on hold until the autumn.

His salary had been due to increase from £100,000 to £140,000, but this has been delayed owing to a review of his powers, responsibilities and salary scale later in the year.

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0:43 GMT, Thursday, 17 July 2008 11:43 UK
Veteran rockers set for windfall
Sir Cliff Richard

Ageing rock stars and session musicians will keep receiving royalties for their old recordings for the rest of their lives under a European Union plan.

Performers currently lose the rights to their recordings after 50 years.

Veteran artists like Sir Cliff Richard and Roger Daltrey are among those who have campaigned for it to be extended.

The EU has now announced a scheme for copyright on recordings to last for 95 years. EU governments and the European Parliament still need to give approval.

Under the current regime, the first rock 'n' roll recordings will go out of copyright in the coming years.

That means performers, producers and record labels would no longer get paid for sales or airplay, and the songs could be released cheaply by any record label.

"A 95-year term would bridge the income gap that performers face when they turn 70, just as their early performances recorded in their 20s would lose protection"
Charlie McCreevy
EC Single Market Commissioner

Sir Cliff's first hits will go out of copyright on 1 January next year, while The Beatles' catalogue will start to enter the public domain in 2013.

Sir Paul McCartney and U2 have also spoken out in favour of extending the copyright.

But the EU plan is potentially more important for the thousands of lesser-known band members, session musicians and producers who may be in greater need of an income during their retirement.

The proposals were unveiled by European Commission Single Market Commissioner Charlie McCreevy.

"A 95-year term would bridge the income gap that performers face when they turn 70, just as their early performances recorded in their 20s would lose protection," his scheme said.

'Invisible' musicians

Former Undertones singer Feargal Sharkey, now chief executive of British Music Rights, welcomed the move.

He said: "I am especially pleased that the announcement focuses on the 'invisible' members of our industry - the musicians, engineers and session players whose names are hidden away in the liner notes and credits.

"It is they, and not just 'featured' artists and record labels, who could derive real benefits from this move - and at a time in life when their earning power would be severely diminished."

The BPI, which respresents British record labels, said the change would "ensure that our performers and labels are no longer treated as the second class citizens in the copyright world".

'Higher prices'

But the UK government, which rejected its own extension to the copyright term last year, said it was "not convinced" that there was an economic case for the move.

When it looked into the matter, the government said most artists would not benefit from an extension because of their record contracts.

Most musicians had contracts requiring them to pass royalties back to their record labels, the government said.

It also concluded that an extension would lead to increased costs for consumers, who would be forced to pay for royalties for longer.

And Anthony Baldwin, a musician and sound engineer who restores old recordings, told The Times: "If the legislation gets through, you can say goodbye to independent European vintage CD reissues."

Separate royalties are paid for songwriting. Those payments will continue for 70 years after the death of the writer.

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New Russian law singles out Gazprom, Rosneft for continental shelf

MOSCOW, Jul 18 (Prime-Tass) -- A new Russian law effectively gives exclusive rights to develop the country's continental shelf to government-controlled Gazprom and Rosneft .

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has signed a federal law giving the federal government an opportunity to choose developers of the country's continental shelf without auctions or tenders, the presidential press service said Friday, ITAR-TASS reported.

Only Russian companies that are controlled by the Russian government are eligible to develop the country's continental shelf, said Deputy Prime Minister Igor Sechin at a meeting with Medvedev Friday. These companies must also have at least five years of experience working on the continental shelf, he added.

It was not immediately clear whether any Russian companies other than natural gas monopoly Gazprom and oil major Rosneft meet the eligibility criteria.

No tenders or auctions will be held for licenses to develop the deposits on the continental shelf, Medvedev said Friday at the meeting.

Licenses for some gas deposits "of federal import" considered crucial for the uninterrupted supply of gas to Russian regions will be also offered at the government's discretion, without tenders or auctions, Sechin said.

"The continental shelf is our national wealth," Medvedev said. The aim of the law is to ensure that the national wealth is used rationally, he said.

He ordered the government to start working on by-laws in order the implement the law on the continental shelf as soon as possible.

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Jehovah's Witnesses plans for stadium service in Russia blocked

16:17 | 18/ 07/ 2008

MURMANSK, July 18 (RIA Novosti) - Prosecutors in the northeast Russian city of Murmansk said on Friday that a planned series of Jehovah's Witnesses services in a stadium cannot go ahead, as they contravene a law on the use of sports facilities.

The statement said that according to Russian law, sports facilities cannot be used for religious purposes. The group had signed a contract with the Murmansk Central Stadium for services from July 18-20.

In May 2007, the Murmansk branch of the Jehovah's Witnesses, which has around 800 members, clashed with the local administration when authorities refused to allocate land for the construction of a religious center in a densely-populated area of the city.

The group, known in the West for persistent door-to-door evangelism, was formed in the 19th Century in the United States. It rejects deity of Jesus Christ and claims that the Christian church has corrupted the Bible. The group's religious text is the New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures

The Jehovah's Witnesses have been banned in some post-Soviet countries.

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Why Russia lacks aircraft carriers
17:05 | 16/ 07/ 2008

Print version

MOSCOW. (RIA Novosti political commentator Andrei Kislyakov) - Soviet military policies never called for building full-fledged aircraft carriers operating multi-role warplanes. Nor did Russia draft any clear carrier construction program at the turn of the century.

On July 4, Admiral Viktor Kravchenko, former chief of the Russian Navy's Main Headquarters, said the country had to build a carrier fleet in the near future. This call is a reaction to reports of two aircraft carriers being built for the British Royal Navy. As before, Russia is reacting slowly to Western naval successes.

In the early 1970s, the Soviet Union could have built a real prototype aircraft carrier. The Project 1160 carrier design would have balanced the Soviet-U.S. naval strengths. The United States had more surface warships and long experience of carrier operations.

Under Project 1160, the U.S.S.R. was to have built three nuclear-powered aircraft carriers with catapult-launched Sukhoi Su-27K Flanker warplanes. The projected carrier force was supposed to operate in conjunction with naval strategic bombers and attack submarines for the purpose of hindering the deployment of enemy carrier task forces.

However, Project 1160 was opposed by an alternative program for building heavy air-capable cruisers (Russian acronym TAVKR), supported by Dmitry Ustinov, secretary of the Soviet Communist Party's Central Committee in 1965-1976 with oversight of the armed forces, the defense industry and security agencies.

TAVKR was an unviable hybrid warship combining the specifications of a heavy cruiser and an aircraft carrier. The government decision to build TAVKRs also heralded the beginning of a program to develop VTOL/STOVL (Vertical Take-Off and Landing/Short Take-Off and Vertical Landing) aircraft.

This was an ambitious task. Such aircraft are notoriously difficult to develop, and the British Aerospace Sea Harrier remains the only effective VTOL/STOVL aircraft to date.

The Soviet VTOL/STOVL aircraft program was a complete failure. In the fall of 1991, a Yakovlev Yak-141 Freestyle plane turned into a fireball after crashing on the deck of the air-capable cruiser Admiral Gorshkov. Fortunately, the program was cancelled in 1992.

In the mid-1970s, the government discarded project 1160, focusing on the TAVKR program instead and impeding the development of VTOL/STOVL aircraft. However, conventional fighters cannot be converted into carrier-borne aircraft because the latter experience 100-200% greater loads during landing. Consequently, such planes must be designed from scratch.

Nevertheless, Ustinov carried on with the TAVKR program and supervised construction of the Admiral Gorshkov, the fourth warship in the series. She is now being refitted as the Vikramaditya for the Indian Navy, highlighting the fiasco of the TAVKR concept, because nobody in the world is willing to pay for such hybrid warships.

Russia's only aircraft carrier currently in service was laid down in Nikolayev, Ukraine, in 1982. Originally called the Riga, the carrier was subsequently renamed as the Leonid Brezhnev, the Tbilisi, and the Fleet Admiral Kuznetsov.

However, the Admiral Kuznetsov features a steam-turbine power-plant with turbo-generators and diesel generators, while all modern carriers are nuclear powered. She has a limited range and endurance and lacks the steam catapult necessary for carrier fighters. The warship does have a ski-jump in her bow section, but numerous experiments have revealed that catapults are the only way to ensure safe take-off in any weather conditions, regardless of the plane's weight.

Moreover, the Russian carrier has just a few navalized aircraft and only about 20 experienced carrier pilots.

This year, the United States Navy will commission its tenth Nimitz-class nuclear-powered aircraft carrier. There are plans to launch the new-generation carrier CVN-78 with electromagnetic catapults and about 100 aircraft, including unmanned aerial combat vehicles, by 2013.

"The state rearmament program until 2016 stipulates no allocations for carrier programs," Kravchenko said. In 2009, the government will approve a concept for expanding the Russian Navy until 2050. Hopefully, the document will call for building new aircraft carriers.

The opinions expressed in this article are the author's and do not necessarily represent those of RIA Novosti.

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Russia issues visa to TNK-BP President Robert Dudley

18.07.2008, 15.07

MOSCOW, July 18 (Itar-Tass) - The Russian Federal Migration Service issued a Russian visa to TNK-BP President Robert Dudley on Friday, press secretary of the Federal Migration Service Konstantin Poltoranin told Tass.

The visa was issued for a term of ten days and is valid until July 29, Poltoranin said. We are hoping that during this time the company will settle its internal disputes. We cannot issue a work visa in Russia to Mr. Dudley yet because his work contract has not been submitted to the Migration Service, Poltoranin said.

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ベスト電器、中東に出店へ　８月までにクウェートで開業

2008年7月18日18時0分

　ベスト電器は１８日、原油高で活況が続く中東に家電量販店を展開する計画を明らかにした。クウェートに１号店を出すため、現地の家電販売会社と８月までに契約を締結。アラブ首長国連邦（ＵＡＥ）のドバイでも提携先を探して交渉を進めている。国内家電量販店の中東進出はベストが初めてになる。

　ベストのシンガポール子会社の役員がすでにクウェート入り。契約先の家電販売会社が首都クウェート市にもつ店を改装して「ベスト電器」の名前で開業する。売り場面積は１千～２千平方メートルと日本の中型店程度になる見込み。

　その後、契約先がもつ４店を順次フランチャイズ化するほか、新規出店も検討する。薄型テレビや携帯電話といった富裕層向け商品を中心に日韓メーカーのほか、欧米製もそろえる。

　中東の金融センターとして資金流入が続くドバイでも、フランチャイズ契約を結ぶ提携先を絞って交渉に入っているという。

　関係者によると、中東の家電販売はメーカーの代理店がそれぞれ独立して店舗展開するのが主流。ベストは、複数メーカーの製品を１カ所で見て選べる日本流の売り方は受け入れられる可能性があるとみている。

　ベストは伸び悩む国内販売を補うため、アジア中心に約４０店を展開。５年後には海外売上高を現在の約２倍の１千億円に伸ばす計画を進めている。

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節約志向がデパート直撃　売上高２年ぶりマイナス (1/2ページ)
2008.7.18 20:48

　消費者心理の冷え込みに歯止めがかからない。日本百貨店協会が１８日発表した平成２０年上期（１～６月）の全国百貨店売上高は、前年同期比２・８％減の３兆６１７１億円と２年ぶりのマイナスとなった。６月の全国百貨店売上高が前年同月比７・６％減（店舗数調整後）の５８８０億円と、単月としては過去１０年間で最大のマイナスを記録したことなどが響いた。記録的なガソリン高が買い物の足かせになっているほか、頼みの綱だった食料品も食材高騰のあおりを受けて減速、雇用や賃金の先行き不透明感が“節約志向”に拍車をかけている実態が浮き彫りになった。

　集計によると、上期の前年同期比２・８％という減少幅は平成１５年上期以来の悪い数字という。５・１％減となった衣料品、２・３％減だった雑貨などが、広まる“節約志向”の実態を示している。「昨年１１月から悪化した」（西田光宏・日本百貨店協会企画開発部長）という。

　６月については、昨年には同月に各店で実施された夏季セールが７月にずれ込んだことに加え、ガソリンや加工食品、日用品の値上がりが集客を直撃。堅調とされた高額品についても、株安などが影響して振るわなかった。

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サブプライム損失、米シティで３四半期連続の赤字

　【ニューヨーク＝山本正実】米銀行最大手のシティグループは１８日、２００８年４～６月期決算を発表し、低所得者向け住宅融資「サブプライムローン」の焦げ付き急増から約７２億ドル（約７７００億円）の損失が生じた結果、純利益が２４億９５００万ドル（約２７００億円）と３四半期連続で赤字になった。

　１７日には、米大手証券メリルリンチも４～６月期決算で約９７億ドル（約１兆円）の損失が生じ、４四半期連続の赤字になった。

　サブプライム問題の表面化から間もなく１年たつが、米金融機関の経営への打撃の深刻さが改めて示された形だ。

　シティの赤字額は、今年１～３月期の５１億ドルより減ったが、証券化商品の評価損などによる損失額は、昨年からの累計で約５１０億ドル（約５兆４０００億円）に達し、世界の金融機関の中で最大規模となった。

　メリルリンチの赤字額は４６億ドルと、１～３月期の１９億ドルから２倍以上に膨らんだ。損失額は、四半期の損失額としては０７年１０～１２月期の１４１億ドルに次ぐ大きさで、昨年からの累計で約４２０億ドル（約４兆５０００億円）に達した。

　一方、経営が悪化している米住宅公社の米連邦住宅貸付抵当公社（フレディマック）が、財務を立て直すため、５０億～１００億ドル（約５０００億～約１兆円）の増資を検討していることが明らかになった。

　米紙ウォール・ストリート・ジャーナル（電子版）が１８日報じた。

　米財務省が１３日に緊急発表した公的資金投入を含む支援策や、米証券取引委員会（ＳＥＣ）が１５日に決めた株式の空売り規制を受け、同社の株価が急回復したため、自力で資本調達する方向に傾いたとみられる。

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兄弟子３人を保釈＝時津風力士傷害致死－名古屋地裁

　大相撲時津風部屋の序ノ口力士斉藤俊さん＝当時（１７）＝が宿舎で暴行を受け死亡した事件で、傷害致死罪で起訴された兄弟子３人が保釈されていたことが１０日、分かった。名古屋地裁が先月２７日保釈を認め、名古屋地検が準抗告したが、同地裁が棄却していた。

　保釈されたのは、伊塚雄一郎（２５）＝序ノ口怒涛＝、藤居正憲（２３）＝番付外時王丸＝、木村正和（２４）＝三段目明義豊＝の３被告。保釈保証金はそれぞれ３５０万円。　

　起訴状によると、３被告は昨年６月、元親方山本順一被告（５８）＝公判前整理手続き中＝らと共謀。愛知県犬山市の宿舎を逃げ出すなどした斉藤さんに集団で暴行を加えるなどして、死亡させた。

　３被告は、山本被告とは別に公判前整理手続きが進められている。（了）

斉藤俊（さいとう・たかし）、伊塚雄一郎（いづか・ゆういちろう）、怒涛（どとう）、藤居正憲（ふじい・まさのり）、時王丸（ときおうまる）、木村正和（きむら・まさかず）、明義豊（あきゆたか）、山本順一（やまもと・じゅんいち）（2008/07/10-11:36）

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三浦元社長の審問、８月１５日に延期
特集 ロス疑惑

　【ロサンゼルス＝飯田達人】ロス疑惑「一美さん銃撃事件」を巡り、米自治領北マリアナのサイパンで拘置中の元輸入雑貨会社社長、三浦和義容疑者（６０）（日本で無罪確定）が逮捕状破棄を求めた訴訟で、ロサンゼルス郡上級裁判所は１７日、１８日に予定していた次回審問を、８月１５日に延期すると発表した。

　スティーブン・バンシックレン裁判官が求めていた東京高裁の判決文などの英訳作業は終わったものの、同裁判官やロス郡検事局がその分析に時間を必要としているため延期が決まった。

　【サイパン＝山下昌一】三浦元社長のサイパンの弁護人、ブルース・バーライン弁護士は１８日、ロサンゼルスでの審問の延期を受け、「検察側の準備が不十分で延期になった。これ以上の長期拘置は許されない」と批判した。

　三浦元社長が今年２月、米自治領北マリアナのサイパンで逮捕され、サイパンの留置施設での拘置生活はまもなく５か月。バーライン弁護士によると、三浦元社長は一貫して気丈に振る舞っているが、長期拘置の疲れも見せ始めているという。

　また、三浦元社長は今月、新たに完成した留置施設に移されたが、日本側の弁護人の弘中惇一郎弁護士によると、環境が変化したせいか、食べ物へのアレルギーなども訴えているという。