アジアの富裕層資産9.5兆ドル、日本3.8兆ドル 07年末、メリル調べ

アジアの富裕層資産9.5兆ドル、日本3.8兆ドル　07年末、メリル調べ

　三菱ＵＦＪメリルリンチＰＢ証券は25日、アジア太平洋地域の2007年末時点の富裕層資産は前年比12.5％増の9.5兆ドル（約1000兆円）だったと発表した。北米、欧州に次ぐ世界3位で、全世界の富裕層資産の23％を占める。このうち日本は3.2％増の3.8兆ドル（約400兆円）だった。

　調査によると、アジア太平洋の富裕層資産は12年までに13.9兆ドル（約1470兆円）に達するという。欧州を抜き、世界2位になる見通しだ。アジア太平洋地域は日本、豪州、中国、香港、インド、インドネシア、シンガポール、韓国、台湾を指す。(21:01)

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The Short View: Value after Tarp

By John Authers, Investment Editor

Published: September 25 2008 18:23 | Last updated: September 25 2008 18:23

When an economist is stranded on a desert island with a tin of baked beans, the joke is that he “assumes a tin opener”. In the same way, stock markets on Thursday assumed a Tarp.

Thursday’s bounce in stocks could not have happened without confidence that the talks in Washington will end in a bail-out that at least alleviates the current crisis of confidence in the money markets.

We can say this because news about the US economy was awful. Data showed the lowest new home sales since 1991, and an overhang of unsold houses that is higher than it was at the start of the year. It was this excess supply of new houses that President Bush identified as the root cause of the crisis in his address to the nation on Wednesday night.

New claims for unemployment insurance, thanks in part to hurricane Ike, were the highest since 2001. Durable goods orders, which had held up thanks to exports, fell sharply. With or without a Tarp, the secondary effects of the crisis on the US economy are now being felt.

So if, like the market, we assume a Tarp, where might we find value? Crude yardsticks suggest Europe. Datastream indices show the US trades at an earnings multiple of more than 15, while big European markets like the UK and Italy, trade at a multiple of below 10.

Europe has only got cheaper relative to the US as the crisis deepens. Early last year, the FTSE-Eurofirst 300 traded at a p/e only 10 per cent lower than that of the S&P 500; it is now more than 50 per cent lower.

As US problems have intensified, so confidence in Europe has vanished. This looks like value – but it may be a “value trap”.

The Tarp might draw a line under the risk of a true “Great Depression”. But it will not thwart the ongoing weakness in the US economy. While that persists, the risk is that Europe’s stocks will continue to get cheaper.

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Money market conditions deteriorate further

By Michael Mackenzie in New York

Published: September 25 2008 21:49 | Last updated: September 25 2008 21:49

Money market conditions deteriorated further on Thursday illustrating the complete breakdown in lending among investors and banks.

The latest weekly data on commercial paper from the Federal Reserve showed a fall of $61bn in outstanding volume, the largest weekly decline since August last year. That followed a drop of $52.1bn the week before.

“The declines reflect the seizing up of the credit market and withdrawals of monies from money market funds,” said Tony Crescenzi, strategist at Miller Tabak. “The declines add to the urgency for fixes to the credit crisis.”

Commercial paper rates have risen sharply since mid-September as lending from money market funds has largely evaporated.

Mr Crescenzi said: “A continuation of this trend would be problematic for the economy, as the commercial paper market is where entities go to raise working capital to produce goods and services.”

Several barometers of credit fears moved further into record territory on Thursday. They are now at such elevated levels, dealers say they no longer reflect actual trading, simply the extreme dislocation that exists between Treasury, or government bonds, and money market collateral. “There is a complete breakdown in the interbank market,” said Fidelio Tata, derivatives strategist at RBS Greenwich Capital. “No one is willing to provide liquidity and passage of the Treasury plan is kind of a last hope for the market.”

Illustrating the lack of lending beyond one-day, the term London Interbank Offered Rate for leading currencies extended their recent rise led by the dollar.

Dollar three-month Libor rose 29.25 basis points to set at 3.77 per cent, and is up from about 2.80 per cent earlier this month. The rate is expected to rise much more on Monday, as the three-month period will include the end of the year, traditionally a time of acute funding pressure.

“Libor is expected to rise at least 20bp on Monday,” said Mr Tata.

Pressure on Libor pushed a swap, which measures the expected change between three-month Libor and Fed funds for the next three months, to a record 200bp on Thursday. Another key risk measure, the Treasury Euro Dollar (TED) spread also soared to a new peak, as Libor surged and investors pushed the yield on three-month Treasury bills as low as 0.35 per cent.

Big demand for owning Treasuries at the expense of money market debt, has roiled the government repurchase, or repo sector, where institutions lend Treasuries for short-term cash loans.

Scott Skyrm, senior vice president at Newedge, a repo broker said: “So many Treasuries have gone from the market. People have packed them away in their portfolios and are not lending them out.”

Repo rates have fallen to zero and some borrowers of Treasuries have failed to return them, sparking a chain of so-called “fails” in the market.

That threatens further turmoil between fixed-income counterparties.

Mr Skyrm said further repo fails were likely until the quarter end closed next week.

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US city council files for bankruptcy

By Michael Mackenzie in New York

Published: May 7 2008 23:40 | Last updated: May 7 2008 23:40

The city council of Vallejo in California late on Tuesday voted unanimously to file for bankruptcy, sparking a downgrade on Wednesday in some of its municipal bonds and prompting fears that other cash-strapped local governments might emulate it.

Vallejo, near San Francisco with a population of 117,000, faces an estimated $16m budget deficit for the fiscal year that starts on July 1. This comes amid a decline in tax revenues related to falling house prices coupled with rising salary and pension costs.

The council has been unable to persuade public employees to accept changes in their existing labour contracts at a time when California has been hard hit by the slump in housing and as the state faces a potential $20bn budget deficit.

Vallejo’s decision to seek bankruptcy means a judge will now become involved and that might yield concessions from labour unions.

Bond investors said the bankruptcy filing was a relatively minor matter but could reflect the start of a trend with costly implications for holders of municipal debt.

“Vallejo is an isolated case and a small issuer in a large market,” said Stephen Galiani, municipal bond fund manager at Wells Fargo. However, he said that, if the economy and the housing market continue to deteriorate, “other cities in California could get close to the edge”.

S&P lowered its underlying rating on revenue bonds linked to motor vehicle licence fees to B from a prior rating of A. S&P also lowered Vallejo Public Financing Authority revenue bonds, issued on behalf of the Vallejo-Glen Cove Community Assessment District to B from A-.

The $10.8m of debt was placed on CreditWatch with developing implications.

S&P said: “Pending a bankruptcy court decision or confirmation from the state that funds for the payment of the bonds will be directed to the trustee directly, timely payment of bonds could be compromised.”

The last city in California to file for bankruptcy was Desert Hot Springs in 2001 while Orange County sought protection from creditors in 1994 after making poor investments with interest rate derivatives.

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US muni market hit by capital freeze

By Nicole Bullock in New York

Published: September 25 2008 22:48 | Last updated: September 25 2008 22:48

Financing for US states, cities and other municipalities has ground to a halt and borrowing costs have risen as the latest chapter of the credit crunch unfolds.

The upset in the public finance market is a symptom of the overall lock-down on capital this week as the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers and uncertainty about a Federal bail-out has indiscriminately drained liquidity from the financial system.

“It’s the nature of what the borrowing is for – building a hospital and making sure Johnny and Susie have a school that is open – that makes a freeze in the muni-market significant,” said Thomas Doe, CEO of Municipal Market Advisors (MMA). “If you can’t get access to the capital markets, you may have to raise taxes to generate the revenue for those projects.”

In the last two weeks, roughly $10bn in new municipal issuance has been shelved, including two issues from the state of New York.

“It’s difficult to say at this point what the long-term impact of the recent turmoil on Wall Street will be on the municipal bond issuers,” said Matt Anderson, spokesman for the division of the budget for New York state. “We’re hopeful that any delays in bond sales are simply temporary and that we can go forward with these transactions as soon as market conditions become more advantageous.”

Yields on fixed-rate 30-year municipal bonds of the highest quality, or triple A rated, were 5.24 per cent on Wednesday, the highest in six years and up from 4.85 per cent on September 12, the last trading day before Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy, according to the MMA AAA benchmark index.

The Lehman bankruptcy has also disrupted the market for variable rate demand notes (VRDNs), which municipalities use for short-term funding needs. VRDNs are structured in a way that enables buyers to sell them back to the dealer. Many funds exercised that option when Lehman collapsed, sending yields soaring towards 8 per cent, Mr Doe said. Traditionally, this rate is in the low single digits.

Lehman was a counterparty to swaps contracts used for interest–rate hedging strategies with many municipalities. It remains unclear how those hedges will be unwound and what effect it will have on issuers and the municipal bond market in general.

The municipal bond market, once a sleepy corner of the investment universe, has been at the centre of the credit crisis almost since it began. Yields surged this year when bond insurers, which had guaranteed about half of the market, ran into trouble because they had also guaranteed risky mortgage debt. The collapse of the auction-rate securities market in February forced many municipalities to refinance, sometimes at higher rates.

Even when the municipal finance machine gets up and running again, investors expect a different market, reflecting the takeovers, mergers and collapses among investment banks that have changed the shape of Wall Street.

“The primary market will be greatly reduced. There is less underwriting and buying capacity,” says Tom Spalding, a portfolio manager at Nuveen Investments. “Even when we get back to so-called normal, there will be a premium necessary to entice buyers.”

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Gold coin sales halted after retail rush

By Javier Blas in London

Published: September 25 2008 23:03 | Last updated: September 25 2008 23:03

The rush by retail investors into gold on Thursday forced the US government to “temporarily” suspend the sales of the popular American Buffalo one-ounce bullion coin after depleting its inventories.

The shortage of gold coins is the latest sign of investors seeking a safe haven into bullion amid Wall Street woes. Gold prices this week surged above $900 an ounce, up about 20 per cent from its level before the collapse of Lehman Brothers.

Safe-haven buying spurred by a weakening dollar and rising inflation on the back of high commodity prices have also benefited gold sales, analyst said.

The US Mint said in a memorandum that “demand has exceeded supply” and, therefore, it was “temporarily suspending sales of these coins”. “We are working diligently to build up our inventory and hope to resume sales shortly,” it added.

Spot gold in New York on Thursday traded at $875 an ounce, down $5 on the day. Traders said bullion prices came under pressure from a strengthening in the dollar. Gold set a record of $1,030.80 an ounce in March.

The US Mint said it has sold 164,000 ounces of gold in American Buffalo one-ounce bullion coins since January, almost 54 per cent more than in the same period of last year. Demand for other gold coins from the US Mint is also very strong.

Last August, a shortage of American Eagles one-ounce bullion coins, another popular gold investment, due to “unprecedented demand” also forced the US Mint to suspend sales and later to place limits on the number it ships to dealers.

The US Mint has sold since last January about 419,500 ounces of bullion in the form of American Eagles coins, more than double the 198,500 ounces it sold during the whole 2007. In 2006, it sold 261,000 ounces.

The scarcity of gold coins comes as investors in bullion-backed exchange traded funds (ETFs) have amassed a record 1,054 tonnes of bullion, becoming the largest holders of gold after the reserves of the US, Germany, the International Monetary Fund, Italy, France and Switzerland.

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Loss of liquidity shatters Gulf faith

By Simeon Kerr in Dubai

Published: September 26 2008 03:56 | Last updated: September 26 2008 03:56

It is blazing hot outside, but few are breaking a sweat in the calm, marbled walkways of Dubai International Financial Centre, the financial heart of the oil-rich Gulf, in spite of Wall Street’s meltdown.

Bankers and lawyers sit in cafés and restaurants, retreating behind curtains that protect fasting Muslims from the temptation of coffee or noodles.

Most are shocked at the speed of the scythe passing through western markets and the nationalisation of finance’s biggest names. They also express relief that their jobs are in a region set to grow through the forthcoming global economic downturn. “Rather here than there,” says one executive, whose company is still hiring furiously to match the pace of work. “The CVs are flying in,” says a senior executive of a European bank.

Yet the notion that the Gulf is immune has been shattered. Dubai’s ruler said last week that the United Arab Emirates’ economy would not be harmed, as most of his investments were domestic, rather than in unsettled overseas markets. The breezy outlook contrasted with free-falling local equity markets and liquidity-starved interbank markets, but analysts saw his words as a clarion call to divert more of the region’s oil revenues into its own economies.

“It is a way of building confidence in the region, of showing investors that the focus is on the Gulf and growth will carry on as normal,” says Karim Souaid, managing partner of Gulf buy-out firm GrowthGate Capital.

But the UAE central bank, eyeing a dire liquidity loss in its domestic banking system, said on Monday it would make Dh50bn ($13.6bn, €9.3bn, £7.4bn) available for banks, which, if used, would probably be the authorities’ largest such intervention since the first Gulf war.

Kuwait, while more optimistic about liquidity levels, also says it could intervene if necessary. Last week its sovereign wealth fund intervened to stem the slide on the country’s equity market.

The irony of the oil-rich Gulf region being struck by a liquidity crisis is lost on no one. As central banks tightened lending requirements this year to combat rising inflation, international investors took out big bets on Gulf countries dropping dollar pegs or revaluing their currencies.

As that prospect receded, billions of dollars fled and the international crisis began to bite. The Gulf’s interbank market all but dried up last week and spreads on corporate debt in regional firms rose.

Central bank officials say they will take action against local banks overexposed to the real estate market. “The Gulf’s cooling property markets are a big worry: the real estate sector will have repercussions on banking, consumers, everything,” a Dubai-based banker said. “If the corrections in the US, the UK, Russia and China continue, then [the markets] are likely to correct here too.”

A harder-than-expected landing for the frothy Dubai real estate market continues to worry many analysts, though government developers can cushion any correction by curtailing supply. Most research continues to project a continued rise in prices before a peak next year.

The prodigious financial reserves created by the longest sustained oil price rise in history still provide a nice cushion for regional policymakers.

The region’s ever-growing sovereign wealth funds may avoid more investments in western financial assets but they are looking seriously at distressed real estate assets while cash-rich Gulf companies have mostly continued overseas investments, shrugging off global economic gloom.

The region’s fortunes have long been hostage to the vagaries of oil prices, which continue to look solid.

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Japan’s banks step on to world stage

Published: September 24 2008 18:55 | Last updated: September 24 2008 18:55

“Whenever a friend succeeds, a little something in me dies.” By Gore Vidal’s measure the Japanese financial sector is in rude health: after years of watching others make millions, Japan’s banks can now luxuriate in the failure of Wall Street. It is less clear, however, whether they can take advantage of Wall Street’s woes through their own ventures into the shark-infested waters of investment banking.

Several have decided to try. Nomura has bought the Asian and European arms of Wall Street’s greatest victim, Lehman Brothers; Mitsubishi UFJ is to invest about $8bn for between 10 and 20 per cent of Morgan Stanley. Sumitomo Mitsui and Mizuho – both too early – bought stakes in Barclays and Merrill Lynch respectively earlier this year. None has managed the same terms as that true investment master, Warren Buffett – who has persuaded Goldman Sachs, the best franchise of them all, not only to pay him a preferred 10 per cent coupon but give him options on the upside as well – but MUFG is paying about book value for its stake in Morgan and Nomura is paying peanuts for what is left of Lehman.

These may be good investments. The key question is how much they really increase the banks’ value.

Minority stakes are unlikely to add much to the business of the banks. Wall Street trades minority investors like any other asset (see, for example, the fate of various investors in Salomon Brothers in the 1980s, including Mr Buffett). Maybe they will absorb investment banking by osmosis, but Sumitomo Bank, which bought into Goldman in 1986, did not seem to learn much.

Nomura’s investment in the Lehman operations, however, is something different. Nomura has learnt a lot from operating abroad. It is a risk-taking business, sponsoring big private equity buy-outs in Europe, and it was ruthless in closing its US subprime operations as soon as the crisis hit. Where it may struggle is with its brand – weak outside Japan – and in fitting the extravagant bonuses of Lehman high-rollers into its pay structure.

But Nomura is right to try. It is one of a number of Japanese businesses that are becoming truly multinational, where foreign operations, foreign executives and foreign opinions carry weight at home. Nomura’s deal to buy the Lehman bits was buccaneering, rarely said of any Japanese institution, and it is one of a wave of foreign acquisitions by Japanese companies this year. It may not be a march to global dominance, but scarred and educated by experience, Japan’s banks should start to take their rightful place on the world’s financial stage.

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Lebanon agonises over phone sell-off

By Anna Fifield in Beirut

Published: September 25 2008 03:00 | Last updated: September 25 2008 15:21

Pressure is growing on Lebanese authorities to push ahead with the privatisation of the country's two mobile phone networks, sales that could net the heavily indebted Beirut government as much as $7bn.

Telecoms companies from around the region - including the United Arab Emirate's Etisalat and Orascom Telecom of Egypt - are lining up to bid for the networks, but the sales process has been hampered by Lebanon's ongoing political limbo.

There is now a short window of opportunity for the sales to take place. Lebanon is due to hold parliamentary elections next May, but if the auctions do not occur before the polls, then the process is likely to be delayed until the end of next year, analysts say.

"I expect a decision this month on whether to proceed with privatisation," Kamal Shehadi, chairman and chief executive officer of the country's Telecommunications Regulatory Authority, told the Financial Times.

The government has been seeking to auction off the two state-owned mobile telephone networks partly to solve Lebanon's huge public finance problem. The public debt stands at $44.5bn.

Credit Suisse, the investment bank, last year estimated that the networks would fetch between $2.4bn and $3.4bn each.

The two networks are operated on the government's behalf by MTC Touch, a subsidiary of Kuwaiti telecoms company Zain, and Alfa, a joint venture of Germany's Deutsche Telekom and Fal Holdings of Saudi Arabia.

At least 10 international telecoms operators have expressed interest in the networks: in addition to Etisalat and Orascom, Qatar's Qtel and Zain, and Noor Financial Investment, a Kuwait-based investment company, have also signalled they are interested in bidding.

Mr Shehadi is hopeful that big names such as T-Mobile and Vodafone will also join the competition.

Lebanon has about 1m mobile phone users, who pay among the highest charges in the Middle East, with calls costing as much as 47 cents a minute.

"This will lead to a revolution in telecommunications," Mr Shehadi says. "The penetration rate is only 30 per cent but it will double or triple in a very short period of time, as prices drop dramatically because of competition, and quality of service improves."

The sale of the networks would, however, deprive the government of a significant source of income. Mobile phone revenues contribute almost $1.5bn a year to the government's coffers - representing an eye-popping 40 per cent of the state's total income.

Plans to privatise the networks have suffered repeated delays, not least because of the political problems that have afflicted Lebanon during the last two years. An 18-month political crisis, which almost brought the country to the brink of a new civil war in May, left the country without a government.

Lebanon now has a national unity government but this creates additional problems in that all sides - including the opposition, led by the Hizbollah armed Shia movement - must agree to the privatisation. Some analysts are pessimistic about the chances for progress on such a thorny issue.

"This is very political," says Marwan Barakat, head of research at Bank Audi, Lebanon's largest lender. "Now with the national unity government, they have to get the approval of everyone but at this point in time there is no stated position from the opposition."

But Ramzi El Hafez, editor of the Lebanon Opportunities business magazine, says selling the networks is only half the story.

"What is important is not ownership but liberalisation - allowing others to enter this business," Mr El Hafez says. "Lebanese companies have accumulated a lot of know-how and if you open up this market and let them play, they will learn more."

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Pressure grows on Bank of England to act

By Norma Cohen and Jean Eaglesham

Published: September 25 2008 22:01 | Last updated: September 25 2008 22:01

Pressure is mounting on the Bank of England to lend billions of pounds to the money markets for terms of at least three months to prevent what traders describe as an unprecedented market collapse.

Traders said bankers were so fearful of extending cash to a possibly insolvent counterparty that lending for anything longer than overnight, even when backed by high quality collateral, had nearly halted.

“In the past two weeks, I have seen two loans for two week terms, a handful for one week and that is it,” said one trader, who estimated that loans longer than 24 hours were “down about 95 per cent”.

Insecurity is so great that the cost of banks’ unsecured borrowing from each other for three months, the sterling Libor rate, rose on Thursday to 6.27 per cent compared with 5.70 per cent just before the Lehman Brothers collapse.

“Market conditions look horrible,” said Philip Shaw, economist at Investec Securities. Traders believe the Bank has to reinstate the three-month injections of cash it carried out in January and February but which were allowed to roll off after the creation of the Special Liquidity Scheme in which banks could swap mortgage backed securities for longer-term cash.

Both the Bank and the Treasury declined to comment on plans to provide liquidity.

The weight of money looking for a home sent overnight money market rates to below 2 per cent on Wednesday against an official Bank rate of 5 per cent. Banks deposited nearly £6bn in a low interest facility with the Bank of England rather than lend to each other.

The facility has been used on only a handful of occasions since it was created in 2006, and never for more than £1bn. On Monday September 22, £9.472bn was deposited and £5.9bn the next day. On Wednesday, when the Bank drained a further £10bn of reserves, deposits were £35m.

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WaMu becomes biggest bank to fail in US history

By MARCY GORDON, SARA LEPRO and MADLEN READ, AP Business Writers Marcy Gordon, Sara Lepro And Madlen Read, Ap Business Writers – 6 mins ago

NEW YORK – As the debate over a $700 billion bank bailout rages on in Washington, one of the nation's largest banks — Washington Mutual Inc. — has collapsed under the weight of its enormous bad bets on the mortgage market.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. seized WaMu on Thursday, and then sold the thrift's banking assets to JPMorgan Chase & Co. for $1.9 billion.

Seattle-based WaMu, which was founded in 1889, is the largest bank to fail by far in the country's history. Its $307 billion in assets eclipse the $40 billion of Continental Illinois National Bank, which failed in 1984, and the $32 billion of IndyMac, which the government seized in July.

One positive is that the sale of WaMu's assets to JPMorgan Chase prevents the thrift's collapse from depleting the FDIC's insurance fund. But that detail is likely to give only marginal solace to Americans facing tighter lending and watching their stock portfolios plunge in the wake of the nation's most momentous financial crisis since the Great Depression.

Because of WaMu's souring mortgages and other risky debt, JPMorgan plans to write down WaMu's loan portfolio by about $31 billion — a figure that could change if the government goes through with its bailout plan and JPMorgan decides to take advantage of it.

"We're in favor of what the government is doing, but we're not relying on what the government is doing. We would've done it anyway," JPMorgan's Chief Executive Jamie Dimon said in a conference call Thursday night, referring to the acquisition. Dimon said he does not know if JPMorgan will take advantage of the bailout.

WaMu is JPMorgan Chase's second acquisition this year of a major financial institution hobbled by losing bets on mortgages. In March, JPMorgan bought the investment bank Bear Stearns Cos. for about $1.4 billion, plus another $900 million in stock ahead of the deal to secure it.

JPMorgan Chase is now the second-largest bank in the United States after Bank of America Corp., which recently bought Merrill Lynch in a flurry of events that included Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. going bankrupt and American International Group Inc., the world's largest insurer, getting taken over by the government.

JPMorgan also said Thursday it plans to sell $8 billion in common stock to raise capital.

The downfall of WaMu has been widely anticipated for some time because of the company's heavy mortgage-related losses. As investors grew nervous about the bank's health, its stock price plummeted 95 percent from a 52-week high of $36.47 to its close of $1.69 Thursday. On Wednesday, it suffered a ratings downgrade by Standard & Poor's that put it in danger of collapse.

WaMu "was under severe liquidity pressure," FDIC Chairman Sheila Bair told reporters in a conference call.

"For all depositors and other customers of Washington Mutual Bank, this is simply a combination of two banks," Bair said in a statement. "For bank customers, it will be a seamless transition. There will be no interruption in services and bank customers should expect business as usual come Friday morning."

Besides JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo & Co., Citigroup Inc., HSBC, Spain's Banco Santander and Toronto-Dominion Bank of Canada were also reportedly possible suitors. WaMu was believed to be talking to private equity firms as well.

The seizure by the government means shareholders' equity in WaMu was wiped out. The deal leaves private equity investors including the firm TPG Capital, which gave WaMu a cash infusion totaling $7 billion this spring, on the sidelines empty handed.

WaMu ran into trouble after it got caught up in the once-booming subprime mortgage business. Troubles then spread to other parts of WaMu's home loan portfolio, namely its "option" adjustable-rate mortgage loans. Option ARM loans offer very low introductory payments and let borrowers defer some interest payments until later years. The bank stopped originating those loans in June.

Problems in WaMu's home loan business began to surface in 2006, when the bank reported that the division lost $48 million, compared with net income of about $1 billion in 2005.

At the start of 2007, following the release of the company's annual financial report, then-CEO Kerry Killinger said the bank had prepared for a slowdown in its housing business by sharply reducing its subprime mortgage lending and servicing of loans. Alan H. Fishman, the former president and chief operating officer of Sovereign Bank and president and CEO of Independence Community Bank, replaced Killinger earlier this month.

As more borrowers became delinquent on their mortgages, WaMu worked to help troubled customers refinance their loans as a way to avoid default and foreclosure, committing $2 billion to the effort last April. But that proved to be too little, too late.

At the same time, fears of growing credit problems kept investors from purchasing debt backed by those loans, drying up a source of cash flow for banks that made subprime loans.

In December, WaMu said it would shutter its subprime lending business and reduce expenses with layoffs and a dividend cut.

The bank in July reported a $3 billion second-quarter loss — the biggest in its history — as it boosted its reserves to more than $8 billion to cover losses on bad loans. Over the last three quarters, it added $10.9 billion to its loan-loss provisions.

JPMorgan Chase said it was not acquiring any senior unsecured debt, subordinated debt, and preferred stock of WaMu's banks, or any assets or liabilities of the holding company, Washington Mutual Inc. JPMorgan also said it will not take on the lawsuits facing the holding company.

JPMorgan Chase said the acquisition will give it 5,400 branches in 23 states, and that it plans to close less than 10 percent of the two companies' branches.

The WaMu acquisition would add 50 cents per share to JPMorgan's earnings in 2009, the bank said, adding that it expects to have pretax merger costs of approximately $1.5 billion while achieving pretax savings of approximately $1.5 billion by 2010.

"This is a definite win for JPMorgan," said Sebastian Hindman, an analyst at SNL Financial, who said JPMorgan should be able to shoulder the $31 billion writedown to WaMu's portfolio.

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Morgan Stanley suffers client flight

Morgan Stanley lost close to a third of assets in its prime brokerage last week, amounting to hundreds of billions of dollars, as hedge funds panicked that Morgan Stanley could follow Lehman Brothers into trouble, and moved to rival banks. The losses, confirmed by several people familiar with the business, are a big blow to Morgan Stanley as its prime brokerage – the world’s biggest – is one of its most profitable businesses. The flight of cash and stock out of the division occurred as spreads in the credit default swap market ballooned, but has since slowed to a trickle. Several of Morgan Stanley’s hedge fund clients said they were likely to return to the bank once markets stabilised. The prime brokerage, which provides hedge funds with custody and loans and assists short selling, is highly rated by many managers. Many of the world’s biggest hedge funds moved their assets to commercial banks last week.

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Nomura offers bonuses to Lehman staff

By Peter Thal Larsen and Lina Saigol in London

Published: September 25 2008 21:30 | Last updated: September 25 2008 21:30

Lehman Brothers’ top investment bankers in London have been offered large guaranteed cash bonuses by Nomura, the Japanese lender that this week bought the European and Asian operations of the bankrupt Wall Street bank.

Nomura has offered to pay Lehman investment bankers the equivalent of last year’s bonus, in cash, if they stay until the autumn of 2009. It has also promised that the 2009 bonus pool will be the same size as last year, though a proportion will be in the form of restricted stock.

News of the cash bonuses – part of a $1bn (£544m) pot Nomura has set aside to keep Lehman staff – comes at a time when compensation in the City is under intense scrutiny from politicians and regulators.

Gordon Brown has called for an overhaul of investment banking bonuses and the Financial Services Authority has threatened to impose additional capital charges on banks that do not adopt longer-term bonus structures.

The Nomura pledge contrasts with the mood at many rival investment banks, which are cutting bonuses and firing staff as a result of the markets slump. Even during the boom, cash bonuses were increasingly rare as investment banks paid staff in restricted shares in an effort to tie them in.

Nomura has structured its deal so that the 2008 cash bonus will be divided into two tranches, with the first paid in spring 2009 and the second in the autumn.

“I think it’s attractive,” one banker familiar with the offer said on Thursday. “Most people will be inclined to take it.”

Nomura, which declined to make any comment, this week bought Lehman’s European equities and investment banking operations for an undisclosed sum.

It is taking on about 2,500 ex-Lehman staff, though bankers said about 700 are expected to leave as a result of the integration. The people who leave are expected to receive full redundancy packages.

The bonus offer was negotiated by a group of Lehman’s top bankers in an effort to ensure that the benefits of the takeover were shared by the entire staff.

Bankers said the emphasis was on making sure that as many people as possible kept their jobs.

The negotiations came after Lehman’s US operations were sold to Barclays Capital.

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野村のリーマン欧州・中東部門買収、取得金額わずか２ドル

　野村ホールディングスが買収することで合意した米証券大手リーマン・ブラザーズの欧州・中東部門について、取得金額がわずか2ドルだったことが25日分かった。野村がリーマンの会社資産は引き継がないことで、今回の「タダ同然」の買収が実現した。野村は同部門の約2500人の従業員の大半は引き受ける計画で、リーマンは雇用の維持を優先した。

　経営破綻したリーマンの欧州・中東部門について野村は買い手として名乗りを上げ、英大手銀のバークレイズなどと競った結果、23日に投資銀行と株式の両事業の引受先に決まった。(10:23)

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野村のリーマン部門買収、人材に数百億円　5500人大半引き受け

　野村ホールディングスが買収を決めた米証券大手リーマン・ブラザーズのアジア・太平洋と欧州・中東の両部門について25日、リーマン社員の野村への移籍作業が始まった。野村は両部門で約5500人に達する従業員の大半を引き継ぐ計画で、野村の社員として雇用契約を結び直す。従業員の引き受けで追加発生する人件費は数百億円に達する見通しだ。

　リーマンは米国、欧州、アジアの地域ごとに法的整理を申請。野村はアジアと欧州について主に従業員だけを引き継ぐ計画を提示し、両部門の引受先に決定した。(07:00)

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Angry US public lights fire under fat cat CEOs
AFP
By Sebastian Smith AFP - 56 minutes ago

NEW YORK, (AFP) - An angry US public and Congress demanded to snip the rip cord on golden parachutes used by fat cat CEOs to escape Wall Street's mayhem.
(Advertisement)

Both Democrats and Republicans in Congress insisted that an emergency multi-billion dollar government bailout for the financial industry include restrictions on executive pay.

Their push caught the mood of a nation sickened at watching the titans of finance walk away from Wall Street disasters not only unscathed, but enriched.

"The wealthiest people, those ... in the best position to pay, are being asked for no sacrifice at all," read a petition to Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, which on Thursday, after three days, had 32,600 signatures.

The petition, organized by independent Senator Bernie Sanders from Vermont, attacked what it described as the Treasury's attempt to let bungling executives "continue to make exorbitant salaries and bonuses."

Those gigantic pay checks, bonuses, and Midas-like farewells encapsulate what the public sees as Wall Street's greed-is-good philosophy.

For example, the CEO of bankrupt Lehman Brothers, Richard Fuld, was paid 22 million dollars in 2007, including stock options and other compensation, according to a survey published by USA Today.

Martin Sullivan, the chief executive of AIG, who left the insurance giant before it was rescued this month by the federal government, received 14 million dollars, the survey said.

Even punishment for those at the center of the chaos comes with a gold lining.

When the government took over collapsed mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, ousted bosses Daniel Mudd and Richard Syron were not allowed 12.59 million dollars worth in severance payments.

Yet they still got out the door with 9.43 million dollars in retirement benefits.

Public anger at such figures underlies skepticism about the entire government rescue.

"We'll never see that money again," said Mathew May, a 24-year-old economics student who skipped lectures to attend a small demonstration at the iconic bronze bull statue near the New York Stock Exchange.

"They deregulated the markets and ran wild. Now we're bailing them out."

Arun Gupta, an editor of alternative New York newspaper The Indypendent, said there was "socialism for the rich and dog-eat-dog capitalism for the rest of us."

"Think about it," he wrote in an email that quickly circulated to thousands of activists and appeared on several websites. "They said providing healthcare for nine million children, perhaps costing six billion dollars a year, was too expensive, but there's evidently no sum of money large enough that will sate the Wall Street pigs."

But left-wingers are not the only ones speaking out.

Newt Gingrich, the fiercely conservative former speaker in the House of Representatives, wrote in the National Review that the bailouts, likely to top a trillion dollars, smack of "crony capitalism."

"Doesn't that mean that we're using the taxpayers' money to hire people to save their friends with even more taxpayer money?" he asked.

Forbes, the magazine for and about the rich, also says enough is enough.

"The compensation schemes for Wall Street CEOs should be capped to a small fixed amount," wrote national editor Robert Lenzner.

"The rest should be dependent on performance in a way that does not reward taking greater risk than is prudent. If CEOs don't perform, they should get nothing."

One worker in the New York finance sector, who asked not to be named, told AFP that his colleagues are as angry as the general public.

"A lot of people are very upset that managers in their own companies and captains of industry in other areas made some really, really bad decisions," he said.

"The most insulting thing is the golden parachutes where these jackals from Fannie and Freddie, having destroyed the company, walked away with millions ... It all comes down to greed."

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HSBC cutting banking and market jobs
Reuters
Reuters - 25 minutes ago

HONG KONG (Reuters) - HSBC Holdings , Europe's biggest bank, said on Friday it was cutting 1,100 jobs in its global banking and markets operation, or 4 percent of the unit's total, amid the global financial crisis.
(Advertisement)

"We're doing it because of market conditions and the economic environment, and our cautious outlook for 2009," Hong Kong-based spokesman Gareth Hewett told Reuters.

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Bank of England cuts liquidity offering

By Norma Cohen

Published: September 25 2008 12:50 | Last updated: September 25 2008 14:06

The Bank of England cut its offer of liquidity to the sterling money markets on Thursday, offering only an additional £5bn in one-week repurchase agreements, down from an additional £25bn last week.

The total auction was £52.8bn, down £14bn from the previous week. Weekly offerings fluctuate with the Bank’s estimate of the market’s reserve requirements.

The Bank reduced its offering after it became apparent that banks were squirrelling away cash in low-interest accounts at the central bank rather than lend to each other and take on counterparty risk.

The Bank’s low-interest acccount, which pays 1 per cent below its target rate, has sustained an unusually high usage since September 19th, a day when fears about counter-party risks nearly froze interbank lending altogether.

It has only been used on a handful of occasions since it was created in 2006, and never for sums greater than £1bn. But on September 19, £5.0bn was deposited overnight, followed by £9.472bn on Monday September 22 and a further £5.9bn on Tuesday. On Wednesday, however, a day when the Bank drained a further £10bn of reserves, deposits only totalled £35m.

Meanwhile, the Bank’s auction of $40bn in the US currency on Thursday morning saw its highest take-up yet, with banks bidding for $35bn of that. Money market participants said that many UK banks prefer to borrow in dollars after the US markets open when typically the cost of funds is cheaper

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消費者物価、上昇品目幅広く

　消費者物価の上昇に歯止めがかからない。原材料価格の上昇を受けた価格転嫁が進み、値上がり品目のすそ野は食料品から日用品まで広がっている。ガソリン価格の低下が見込めるのはプラス材料だが、物価水準は当面、高止まりする公算が大きい。景気の後退局面入りが確実となる中で、家計を取り巻く環境は一段と厳しさを増している。

　与謝野馨経済財政担当相は26日午前の閣議後の記者会見で「賃金が上がらない中で、生活関連物資の上昇は生活者に大きな影響を与える。動向を注視したい」との考えを示した。

　全国指数の先行指標とされる東京都区部の指数をみると、値上がり品目が徐々に広がっている様子がうかがえる。総務省は指数上昇に寄与した品目として、ティッシュペーパーや食品包装ラップなどの台所用品、洗濯用洗剤などを挙げた。穀物などの資源高に直面する食料品だけでなく、石油を原材料に使う日用品にも価格転嫁の動きが及んでいる。

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無許可で毒ヘビ保管容疑で逮捕、東京のペット店経営者

　無許可で毒ヘビを保管したなどとして、警視庁保安課は26日、東京都調布市小島町のペットショップ「黒い森」経営、阪東直樹容疑者（37）＝同市佐須町2＝を動物愛護法違反（無許可保管）容疑で逮捕した。

　同容疑者は、渋谷区の自宅で毒ヘビ51匹を飼育したとして同法違反（無許可飼育）罪などで起訴された港湾作業員、柏木信一被告（41）に今年1月、カミツキガメ1匹を6万円で販売した特定外来生物被害防止法違反（譲渡禁止）の疑いも持たれている。

　調べによると、阪東容疑者は8月19日、猛毒を持つコブラ科のトウブブラウンスネーク1匹を都知事の許可なしに販売目的で保管するなどした疑い。(14:01)

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契約後に有害物質規制、土地売り主に除去責任　東京高裁判決

　土地の売買契約時には無害とされていた土中のフッ素が12年後に有害として法規制されたため、買い主が売り主に汚染除去費を請求した訴訟の控訴審判決が 25日、東京高裁であった。渡辺等裁判長は「後から有害物質として法規制された場合も売り主は除去費を負担すべきだ」と判断、買い主側敗訴の1審・東京地裁判決を変更し、売り主側に約4億4800万円の支払いを命じた。

　訴えていたのは足立区土地開発公社（東京）。賠償を命じられたのは旭硝子子会社の「ＡＧＣセイミケミカル」（神奈川県茅ケ崎市）。

　同公社は1991年、ＡＧＣ社から足立区内の土地約3600平方メートルを約23億円で購入。2003年施行の土壌汚染対策法が高濃度のフッ素を有害物質として新たに規制したため、公社が05年に調査したところ、土壌に基準を超えるフッ素が含まれていたことが判明。公社はＡＧＣ社に汚染土壌の除去費用を請求した。

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仮登記農地：残土放置で周辺耕作地に悪影響　埼玉・羽生

　埼玉県羽生市で、開発業者が農家に売買代金を払って所有権移転を仮登記した農地に残土が放置され、周辺農地の耕作にまで悪影響を及ぼす事態になっている。仮登記のまま業者間で売買が繰り返されて指導対象が判然としないため、自治体も頭を抱える。農地法の趣旨に反し、農業の担い手以外にも農地の所有を事実上可能にする農地の仮登記が、適切な農地管理を阻害している実情が浮かんだ。【田村彰子】

　東北自動車道羽生インターチェンジ付近に広がる約０．７ヘクタールの農地には残土が積まれ、草木が生い茂る。約４０年前に最初の仮登記が付けられ、耕作放棄状態になった。０１年、当時仮登記していた開発業者の許可を受け、別の業者が大量の残土を搬入。影響で周辺の農地が隆起してしまい、耕作に被害が出た。

　現在も周辺で農業を営む男性は「１晩で３０センチ以上も土地が盛り上がり、田んぼに水が入らなくなった。１年半ぐらいは耕作が全くできない状態になった」と振り返る。市や県に何度も訴えた結果、残土を出した元の業者が土をならしたため耕作は再開できた。しかし、今でも１メートルを超す残土から水が流れてくるため、降雨時などは残土に近い土が軟らかくなるといい、「完全に元に戻るには時間がかかる」とため息をつく。

　別の男性は、土地が元に戻らず耕作をあきらめた。「土を運んできた業者が直すと口約束したが、もうどうしようもない。自分で直そうにも土を持っていく場所もないし、金もかかる」と話す。

　この農地は現在、０１年当時とは別の業者が仮登記を付けている。関係する業者は、登記簿上の本店の住所地に表札も見当たらないなど実態が不明。市の担当者は「所有者に指導するのが本来の姿だが、転用の相談もなく実態がつかめない。どう指導したらいいのか分からない」と話している。

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日本人：遺伝子２集団　「琉球」「本土」地域差も

　遺伝子のわずかな個人差によって、日本人が二つの集団に大別できることを、理化学研究所が明らかにした。沖縄の人の大部分が含まれる「琉球クラスター（集団）」と、本土の人の大部分が属する「本土クラスター」があるという。２５日付の米国人類遺伝学会誌に発表した。

　日本人の集団構造を巡っては、耳あかが湿ったタイプか乾いたタイプかといった身体的特徴で２つのグループに分かれるとする説がある。理研チームは、遺伝情報の網羅的な解析によって、二つの集団に分かれることを裏付けた。

　ヒトの全遺伝情報は約３２億個の塩基からなり、個人によって１２００～１５００カ所に１つの割合で微妙な違い（一塩基多型＝ＳＮＰ）がある。ＳＮＰが病気のかかりやすさや薬の効きやすさなどの個人差を生んでいる。

　理研の鎌谷直之グループディレクター（応用数学）らは、このＳＮＰに着目。日本人約７０００人について、それぞれ１４万カ所のＳＮＰを統計学的に解析し、二つの集団に分かれることを突き止めた。

　東北や東海・北陸の人はほぼ全員が本土クラスターに属していたのに対し、九州の人は琉球クラスターに近い人が比較的多いなど地域差がみられた。

　また、「琉球」と「本土」の２集団では、耳あかのタイプや髪の毛の太さに関連する遺伝子の違いが最も顕著だったという。

　鎌谷さんは「病気や薬効に関連する遺伝子を特定する際には、こうした地域差を考慮する必要がある。また、アジアの近隣諸国の人のデータと組み合わせれば、民族の移動の程度などが解明できるのではないか」と話している。【西川拓】

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日本とスイス、ＥＰＡ締結で基本合意

　【ジュネーブ＝藤田剛】日本とスイスは25日未明、関税の撤廃などを盛り込んだ経済連携協定（ＥＰＡ）を締結することで基本合意した。日本はすでにシンガポールやインドネシアなど9カ国・地域とＥＰＡを締結しているが、欧州が相手となるＥＰＡは今回が初めて。今後、数日間で詳細を詰め、近く正式に発表する見通しだ。

　日・スイスの両国政府は2007年にＥＰＡの締結交渉を開始し、今月22日からスイスの首都ベルンで8回目となる政府間協議を開いていた。夜を徹した協議で両国政府が歩み寄り、交渉は大筋で決着した。

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Germany seeks wider business, culture ties with Russian regions

25.09.2008, 17.29

TULA, September 25 (Itar-Tass) -- Germany has set the task of expanding business and cultural ties with Russian regions and the Tula region is of great importance to the program for Russian-German cooperation, Germany’s ambassador to Russia, Jurgen Schmid said in Tula, a city some 200 kilometers south of Moscow he visited with a group of businessmen, cultural workers and scientists.

At the regional authorities’ office there was a meeting with local officials and German businessmen operating in the region.

Governor Vyacheslav Dudka said cooperation with German businesses was developing well. The region’s foreign trade grew noticeably of late. On the list of the major German companies having operations in the region are Knauf, Heidelberg Cement, and Hess.

Within the framework of the Tula economic forums held in 2006 and 2007 a number of investment agreements with German companies was signed and more are to be concluded at the third such economic forum in October.

In the region “there have been created all the necessary conditions for drawing investments, and for the successful cooperation of Russian and foreign companies,” Governor Dudka said.

“The Tula region has a very advantageous geographic position and advanced engineering and road infrastructures. It boasts energy resources and a major scientific, technological and personnel potential,” he said.

The German delegation visited a number of joint ventures and met with students and teachers at the Tula State University.

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September 25, 2008
EU Tells Savers to Invest Outside Europe

With an average tax burden consuming more than 40% of GDP, the 27-member European Union already has some of the world’s highest taxes.

At the same time, the EU faces a fiscal crisis. Most EU countries have huge unfunded liabilities, especially for pensions. Unless EU economies grow at a much higher rate than they have over the last 20 years, taxes will skyrocket as Europe’s baby boomers retire.

You might think that the EU would encourage countries to take steps that can spur economic growth, such as reducing taxes. That’s the approach EU member Ireland took in the 1980s and 1990s. The results were dramatic. While 20 years ago, Ireland was one of Western Europe’s poorest countries, it now has the second highest standard of living in the EU.

But instead of encouraging other countries to emulate Ireland’s example, EU leaders accused Ireland of “harmful tax competition.” And, starting in 2005, it began an initiative to prevent Europe’s savers from escaping the EU’s suffocating taxes.

This initiative is called the EU Savings Tax Directive. Under the Directive, EU members have two choices. The choice the EU prefers is to exchange information on the offshore savings of EU residents with their home tax authorities. That way, the home country can tax these savings.

Alternatively, EU members may impose a 20% withholding tax (rising to 35% in 2011) on savings income generated by EU residents. Most of this revenue goes back to the EU residents’ home countries. This option allows EU countries with bank secrecy laws (e.g., Luxembourg and Austria) to comply with the directive without sacrificing confidentiality. Under heavy pressure from the high-tax EU, non-EU members Switzerland and Liechtenstein agreed to impose the tax on deposits from EU residents.

However, the plan has serious flaws, and the EU now has the worst of both worlds: minimal revenues from the savings tax initiative combined with massive capital flight to countries not participating in it—primarily Hong Kong and Singapore. In addition, since the directive only covers interest payments, it's easy for EU depositors to switch to dividend paying stocks or real estate—neither of which is covered by the directive—to preserve financial privacy.

Under the circumstances, the smartest thing the EU could do is to ditch the plan. But instead, it’s planning to expand the Directive. According to the European Commission, the governing body of the EU, amendments will likely include:

* Increase the amount of data exchanged between EU members on accounts held outside a EU resident’s home country
* Increase the number of investments subject to information exchange or withholding, such as life insurance
* Restrict the use of intermediaries to avoid tax by handling interest payments on behalf of EU residents
* Tie in information exchange mechanisms to anti-money-laundering regulations to more easily identify the beneficial owner of accounts.

I predict the expansion of the EU Savings Tax Directive will result in even more spectacular capital flight from Europe. Asia’s offshore havens will boom. And the EU’s high-tax economies will continue to stagnate.

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German Prosecutors Open 966 New Tax Probes Over Liechtenstein

By Karin Matussek

Sept. 25 (Bloomberg) -- German prosecutors opened 966 new probes against suspects who may have evaded taxes by using bank accounts in Liechtenstein.

The investigations are based on 2,000 bank statements received by a man currently on trial on charges he and two others blackmailed Liechtensteinische Landesbank AG over possible tax evasion by the bank's clients, Peter Lueckemann, a spokesman for prosecutors in the northern German city of Rostock, said in a statement.

The new probes cover more than 1 billion euros ($1.47 billion) of bank deposits in Liechtenstein. The cases have been transferred to prosecutors all over Germany for follow up, Lueckemann said.

Germany has been roiled by a nationwide probe of hundreds of people suspected of failing to tell tax authorities about bank deposits in Liechtenstein, the principality sandwiched between Switzerland and Austria. The investigation has led to tax-evasion probes in about a dozen countries, including the U.S., where prosecutors and regulators are investigating Zurich- based UBS AG.

Prosecutors in Bochum in western Germany started the probe after authorities received a computer disc containing allegedly stolen account information. The Bochum data concerned clients of LGT Group, the Liechtenstein bank owned by the principality's ruling family. The first man charged in the Bochum case was convicted last month.

Rostock Trial

The men that have been on trial in the Rostock case since April, identified only as Michael F., Jens P. and Michael A., are accused of threatening Liechtensteinische Landesbank, or LLB, and its customers that they would tell German authorities about funds the clients deposited with the institution.

The men in 2005 obtained 2,325 account statements from a former LLB employee who is also being investigated, according to a court statement. They are suspected of using the statements to try to blackmail bank clients and later coerce LLB into paying 13 million euros ($20.3 million) for the data.

In an effort to avoid harm to its reputation, LLB, the principality's oldest bank, paid 7.5 million Swiss francs ($7.2 million) in 2005 in exchange for 700 account statements and 4 million euros in 2007 for another 900 statements. A final payment of 4 million euros was set for August 2009 for the rest of the data, the court said. The plan was thwarted when the men were arrested.

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September 20, 2008
Brazil Blacklists Delaware as Tax Haven! Nevada, Wyoming Next?

The National Congress of Brazil has adopted a law, effective January 1, 2009, that expands the legal definition of "tax havens" in such a way as to include the America State of Delaware within the new definition. Reports indicate that the changes were made specifically so that Delaware, legal home to many thousands of corporations, would be designated as a tax haven.

Brazil_flagThe Brazilian politicians took aim at a special target, the second smallest state in the United States, home of U.S. Senator Joe Biden, Barack Obama's vice presidential running mate. Delaware will now join the likes of the Cayman Islands, Panama, the British Virgin Islands and Bermuda. A final listing awaits rules to be issued by Brazil's tax collection agency, the Federal Revenue Service (SRF).

Tax Punishment

Under Brazilian law, corporations or other legal entities that dare to register in any jurisdiction Brazil designates as a "tax haven" will be punish by much higher taxes. The new law means there will be a dramatic impact on the tax rates Brazil levies on payments made to persons or companies located in Delaware.

Delaware_revInterest and royalty payments, and payments for service fees to companies or persons located in Delaware will be subject to 25% withholding tax rather than the general 15% rate others enjoy. Capital gains taxes applicable to the sale of the shares of Brazilian companies by legal entities registered in Delaware will also be increased. Payments made to non-related parties located in Delaware will be treated as if they were payments made to related parties, and subject to much higher tax rates as well.

Financial Privacy a Target

Prior to this new law Brazil defined "tax havens" as jurisdictions that did not tax income at all, or taxed it at a maximum rate of up to 20%. The new law goes well beyond the issue of low taxes per se. It is a frontal attack on financial privacy laws by expanding the definition to include jurisdictions that do not permit access to information about a legal entity's shareholders, members or partners, how much equity they own, or the identity of its nonresident beneficial owners. Mandatory listing of beneficial owners has been a shrill demand of the global political Left for many years.

1cash1This new law is a blatant Leftist political attempt to punish jurisdictions, and the persons who use them, if a jurisdiction doesn't require and permit access to a registry of the shareholders. This sort of tax attack goes well beyond the phony blacklists of the Organization for Economic and Community Development (OECD) aimed at what the high tax bureaucrats disingenuously called "unfair tax competition" -- which the OECD defines as low or no taxes.

Tax Hungry Leftists

Locals suggest that the reason for this high-tax attack by Brazil is the increasing popularity among Brazilian business persons who use Delaware limited liability companies (LLCs) as partners and equity holders of Brazilian companies and investment funds. It appears that the FRS taxocrats think that Brazilian investors and investment funds are using Delaware LLCs to conceal their identity and avoid paying taxes.

Of course this punitive course by tax hungry Brazil may turn out to be futile and meaningless at best. No doubt Brazilian business people are smart enough to find other jurisdictions, (perhaps even Nevada or Wyoming), that don't meet the expanded definition -- or simply to move their business elsewhere in the global economy.

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丸大、１商品からメラミン検出と発表

　丸大食品が有害物質メラミン混入の可能性がある菓子などを出荷していた問題で、同社は26日、自主回収した商品5種類のうち1種類と中国の工場に在庫として残っていた牛乳から、それぞれメラミンが検出されたと発表した。濃度は商品が1キログラムあたり14ミリグラム、牛乳が12―10ミリグラムで、同社は「健康に影響はない」と説明している。日本国内で流通していた商品へのメラミン混入が分かったのは初めて。

　メラミンが検出された商品は「グラタンクレープコーン」。在庫の牛乳は3検体のうち2検体から検出された。

　同社は、中国でメラミン混入が確認された「内蒙古伊利実業集団」から仕入れた牛乳を、クリームやまんじゅうの皮のつなぎなどに使用していた。同社製牛乳を使用した5商品は、2007年4月以降、全国のスーパーなどに計約31万5000袋出荷された。26日までに約1600袋を回収したが、大半はすでに消費されたり、賞味期限切れで廃棄されたとみられる。 (20:23)

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生活保護世帯：過去最多、初の１１０万世帯突破　０７年度

　０７年度の生活保護世帯は、１カ月平均１１０万５２７５世帯（前年度比２．７％増）で過去最多だったことが厚生労働省の社会福祉行政業務報告で分かった。０５年以降３年連続で１００万世帯を突破し、今回初めて１１０万世帯を超えた。

　最も多かったのは６５歳以上の高齢者世帯で、４９万７６６５世帯（前年度比５％増）と全体の４５％を占めた。障害者・傷病者世帯は４０万１０８８世帯（同０．９％増）、母子世帯は９万２９１０世帯（同０．３％増）だった。また、生活保護を受給する際の主な理由は「傷病」が最多の４３％。「収入減や失業」「貯金の減少」などの経済的事情は計３９％だった。

　厚労省保護課は「１人暮らしの高齢者の増加や障害者・傷病者の高齢化に加え、景気の悪化が増加の要因」と分析している。