患者不在の騒動に憤り 堺の病院医師一斉退職

患者不在の騒動に憤り　堺の病院医師一斉退職 (1/2ページ)
2008.10.6 01:45

　医療法人トップの座をめぐる経営陣の対立が、医師らの一斉退職、透析患者の大量転院という事態に発展した。「内輪もめに巻き込んでほしくない」。担当医から転院を迫られた４０代の男性患者は憤りをあらわにする。

　この男性患者は９月２１日、院内で開かれた説明会に参加した際、副院長が月末で退職し、大阪府内の別の病院に移ることを初めて聞かされた。「治療を継続するには転院するしかない」

　男性は国内の透析患者約２７万人のうち、まだ５％弱しか受けていない「腹膜透析」で通院。腹部に管状の医療器具のカテーテルを入れて透析液を流し込む治療法で、一般的な血液透析よりも高度な技術を必要とするため、「担当医が代わって症状が悪化することが怖かった。唐突な告知でも従わざるを得なかった」という。

　そもそもの発端は、長寿会理事長のポストをめぐるトラブルだった。関係者によると、元教授はクリニック設立に際し、大学人脈を生かした医師やスタッフの手配、資金調達などで貢献。近畿大を退職した平成１８年５月に理事長として招かれたが、院内改革を独断で実行しようとしたため、理事やスタッフらとの軋轢（あつれき）が生じ、同年９月の理事会で解任された。

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German guarantees savings as Merkel pushes bank rescue
AFP
By Deborah Cole AFP - 8 mins ago

BERLIN (AFP) - Germany extended a guarantee to all private savings accounts Sunday as Chancellor Angela Merkel said her government was scrambling to salvage a rescue plan for the country's fourth biggest bank.
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Finance ministry spokesman Torsten Albig told AFP that the unlimited guarantee would cover all Germans' personal deposits as Berlin moved to shore up confidence amid a spreading financial crisis.

Merkel told reporters earlier the government was "pulling out all the stops" to save stricken Hypo Real Estate (HRE) after a banking consortium withdrew from a 35-billion-euro (48-billion-dollar) rescue plan late Saturday.

"The government says today that we will not allow an institution's crisis to become a crisis for the entire system," the conservative leader said.

But hitting back at accusations that the government is preparing to bail out fat cats at average citizens' expense, Merkel warned that "those who did irresponsible business will be held accountable".

"We owe that to the taxpayers in Germany," she said.

Her remarks came after the leaders of France, Germany, Britain and Italy gathered in Paris Saturday to pledge a more coordinated approach to prevent the meltdown in US financial markets from engulfing their own economies.

While the four powers put on a united front, there was no talk of a joint bail-out fund for European banks on the model of the 700 billion dollar US package approved Friday, after the idea was shot down by London and Berlin.

The rescue bid for HRE was the largest in German history and came after the bank was sucked into the global financial turmoil by its inability to refinance debt, one of many high-profile European emergency cases in the past two weeks.

The deal was stitched together in haste at the end of September and its failure Saturday sent officials racing back to the drawing board.

Finance Minister Peer Steinbrueck said HRE had an "unforeseen liquidity gap in the billions" of euros range but also assured that the left-right government was determined to find a solution.

The Social Democrat said he was "quite appalled" that the bank's management had not revealed the extent of its liquidity crisis earlier.

But he said Berlin would nevertheless do what it could to avert its collapse "because the damage not only for the Federal Republic of Germany but also for many European financial services providers who are interlinked with us would be incalculably large."

Dropping its bombshell Saturday, HRE said in a statement that a consortium of German banks taking part in the rescue had "refused to provide liquidity lines."

The online service of Der Speigel news weekly reported that HRE would need 50 billion euros in liquidity by the end of this year with an additional 10 billion euros required in 2009.

Merkel and Steinbrueck made their joint statement as officials from the finance ministry, the financial market supervisory board and the Bundesbank huddled for crisis talks, sources said.

Senior staff from the three institutions aimed to determine the extent of HRE's needs and plot a way forward before markets reopen Monday.

Steinbrueck and representatives from private banks were expected to join the meeting later Sunday, the sources said.

In his remarks, the finance minister assured that German bank account holders need not worry about losing a "single euro" in the crisis.

"That is an important message intended to create calm and not reactions that would be disproportional and make the current crisis management and crisis prevention even more difficult," he said.

Despite the assurances, one German minister could not resist an alarmist take on the gathering storm in Europe's biggest economy.

Interior Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble warned in a magazine interview that the global financial crisis could have political repercussions, noting that Adolf Hitler rose to power following the 1929 Wall Street crash.

"We learned from the worldwide economic crisis of the 1920s (and 1930s) that an economic crisis can result in an incredible threat for all of society," he was quoted as saying in an advance copy of Der Spiegel's Monday edition.

"The consequences of that depression was Adolf Hitler and, indirectly, World War II and Auschwitz."

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Germany guarantees savings

By Bertrand Benoit in Berlin and James Wilson in Berlin and agencies

Published: October 5 2008 16:45 | Last updated: October 6 2008 08:00

Germany said on Sunday it would guarantee all private German bank accounts – currently worth €568bn – in a dramatic move to prevent panic withdrawals as fears over the worldwide financial crisis spread to Europe’s largest economy.

“We want to tell people that their savings are safe,” Angela Merkel, chancellor, said at an unscheduled press conference on Sunday. The scheme would cover existing accounts and others which savers might open.

German government officials also late on Sunday said the country’s commercial banks had agreed to inject an extra €15bn of liquidity into Hypo Real Estate, the ailing German mortgage and public sector lender, raising the bail-out agreed last week to €50bn, the largest since the outbreak of the financial crisis. The original rescue attempt had threatened to collapse after it emerged at the weekend that the full extent of Hypo’s funding gap had not been disclosed.

Berlin’s decision on savings – which followed controversial action by Ireland last week to guarantee the liabilities of six of its banks – will see the abolition of its current protection scheme, which guarantees 90 per cent of all bank deposits but only up to €20,000 per account.

The UK and France were trying on Sunday to learn details of the German plan, amid concerns other EU governments would have to follow Berlin’s lead and offer similar safeguards to savers, to avoid a cross-border flight of capital to more secure banks.

“We aren’t sure exactly what they’re proposing,” said one UK official, noting that there was annoyance that Ms Merkel had acted unilaterally only hours after attending an economic summit in Paris at which she agreed there should be greater cross-border co-ordination of measures during the economic crisis.

The Danish government early on Monday guaranteed all bank deposits in Denmark as part of a deal with banks to set up a Dkr35bn ($6.5bn) liquidation fund. Until now, deposits in Danish banks had been guaranteed up to DKr300,000.

Austria also quickly followed suit. Deposits there are currently guaranteed up to €20,000, but a finance ministry spokesman said on Monday it was not yet clear what the new limit would be.

At their weekend summit, leaders from France, Germany, Italy and the UK agreed not to let any large financial institution in their country fail, according to people familiar with the talks.

German officials said the move was agreed because of fear that the crisis at Hypo Real Estate would lead to widespread panic on Monday.

News of the German decision emerged as senior finance ministry officials were locked in talks in Berlin to hammer out a last-minute rescue of HRE.

Meanwhile, the Belgian government struck a deal with BNP Paribas, the French bank, to sell it a controlling stake in the remaining Fortis assets following the surprise nationalisation of Fortis’s Dutch banking and insurance businesses on Friday.

Geir Haarde, Iceland’s prime minister, said at a press conference on Sunday he hoped to announce at least a partial rescue package for his country’s banking sector before the opening of markets today. He declined to comment on the suggestion that Kaupthing might take over Landsbanki, its smaller rival. Mr Haarde and central bankers were also holding talks with pension funds and banks as the country looked overseas for funding.

On Sunday, the Italian bank UniCredit approved the raising of €6bn in new capital as it moved to shore up its defences against a sliding share price. The bank is set to tap its core shareholders for about €2.5bn convertible bonds, to scrap its cash dividend and to issue shares to investors instead, equivalent to issuing another €3.5bn in core capital.

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Europeans scramble to save failing banks

By MATT MOORE, AP Business Writer 39 minutes ago

STOCKHOLM, Sweden - Germany joined Ireland and Greece on Sunday in guaranteeing all private savings accounts, putting Europe's biggest economy at odds with calls for a unified European response to the global financial meltdown.
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The decision came as governments across Europe scrambled to save failing banks, working largely on their own a day after leaders of the continent's four biggest economies called for tighter regulation and a coordinated response.

Chancellor Angela Merkel said that no citizen should fear for the safety of their investments, speaking to reporters as her government held crisis talks on the collapse of a ballyhooed euro35 billion (US$48.4 billion) bailout of Hypo Real Estate AG, the country's second- biggest property lender.

In Iceland — particularly hard-hit by the credit crunch — government officials and banking chiefs were discussing a possible rescue plan for the country's overstretched commercial banks.

Belgian Prime Minister Yves Leterme said he aims to find a new owner for troubled bank Fortis NV to restore confidence in the company before the opening of markets on Monday.

Leterme told two media outlets that government officials were going over a takeover bid for Fortis' Belgian operations. The bank's Dutch operations were nationalized amid fears they could go insolvent.

British treasury chief Alistair Darling said that he was ready to take "pretty big steps that we wouldn't take in ordinary times" to help the country in weather the credit crunch.

In the past year the government has acted to nationalize struggling mortgage lenders Northern Rock and Bradford & Bingley.

"The European banking industry is feeling the wind of default blowing from the other side of the Atlantic," said Axel Pierron, senior vice president at Celent, a Boston, Massachusetts-based financial research and consulting firm.

The erosion has also been seen in overall confidence and concern among investors, politicians and the European public, too.

The leaders of Germany, France, Britain and Italy met Saturday to discuss the growing meltdown which has leapfrogged across the Atlantic from the U.S. to Europe, but shied away from the massive US$700 billion (euro506 billion) bailout passed by the U.S. Congress a day earlier that President Bush signed into law.

Their failure to agree an EU-wide plan showcased the divisions in Europe on how to deal with the crisis.

France had suggested a multibillion-euro (multibillion-dollar) EU-wide government bailout plan, but backed off after Germany said banks must find their own way out.

Hypo Real Estate said Saturday that the rescue plan had fallen apart after private lenders withdrew support, a key element to the proposal that had already been approved by the EU earlier this week.

Icelandic banks expanded rapidly after deregulation of the domestic financial market in the 1990s and now have combined foreign liabilities in excess of euro100 billion (US$138.34 billion) — dwarfing the tiny country's gross domestic product of euro14 billion (US$19.37 billion.

The government last week took over Iceland's third-largest bank, Glitnir, a decision that prompted major credit ratings agencies to downgrade both Iceland's four major banks and its government credit rating.

Looming large was a growing sense that the Federal Reserve and Europe's major central banks — which have been flooding euros and dollars to banks that have become increasingly stingy about lending money even to themselves — were ready to institute emergency cuts to their benchmark interest rates this week.

None of the banks, including the European Central Bank and Bank of England, have commented on potential rate hikes or cuts. But analysts believe the Bank of England, which meets this Thursday, will likely lower its rate from 5 percent. The ECB left its rate unchanged at 4.25 percent on Thursday, but opened the door to a rate cut.

Robert Brusca, chief economist at the New York-based Fact and Opinion Economics, said that the ECB does issue such a cut it would a be a sign "that they're really, really scared."

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Lehman Cash Crunch Caused by Lender JPMorgan, Creditors Say

By Linda Sandler and Jeff St.Onge

Oct. 4 (Bloomberg) -- Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc.'s main lender and clearing agent, JPMorgan Chase & Co., caused the liquidity crisis that led to Lehman's collapse, creditors said.

JPMorgan had more than $17 billion of Lehman's cash and securities three days before the investment bank filed the biggest bankruptcy in history on Sept. 15, the creditors committee said in a filing Oct. 2 in bankruptcy court in Manhattan. Denying Lehman access to the assets on Sept. 12, the bank ``froze'' Lehman's account, the creditors claimed.

JPMorgan, the biggest U.S. bank by deposits, financed Lehman's brokerage operations with daily advances, while money market funds and other short-term lenders provided overnight loans, according to bankruptcy court documents. When JPMorgan shut Lehman off from funds, Lehman ``suffered an immediate liquidity crisis that could have been averted by any number of events, none of which transpired,'' according to the filing.

The creditors asked the judge in charge of the case to let them interview a witness and request relevant documents from JPMorgan and to pursue possible legal claims. U.S. Bankruptcy Judge James M. Peck is scheduled to hold a hearing Oct. 16 on that request, the creditors said.

Harold Novikoff, a lawyer for JPMorgan at Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz, declined to comment, saying he didn't see the filing until midnight. He previously said in court hearings that the bank continued to finance Lehman's brokerage after its parent went into Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings.

$23 Billion Claim

Brian Marchiony, a spokesman for New York-based JPMorgan, declined to comment. Creditors' lawyers at Quinn Emanuel Urquhart Oliver & Hedges didn't return calls seeking comment.

Once the biggest U.S. underwriter of mortgage-backed securities, Lehman was stuck with the assets as their values fell and it searched unsuccessfully for a merger partner.

Lehman had surplus cash of $15 billion when it announced preliminary third-quarter results on Sept. 10, even after taking an estimated net loss of $3.9 billion and marking down assets by $7.8 billion, the creditors said in the filing.

The stock of the investment bank was increasingly targeted by short sellers after Moody's Corp. said that same day it might lower its ratings for Lehman unless it reached a ``strategic'' merger with a stronger partner, according to the filing.

Lehman seemed to have enough liquidity to meet its obligations on Sept. 12, the Friday before its bankruptcy filing, creditors said, referring to the cash and collateral at JPMorgan. In addition, the bank held ``highly liquid'' securities bought with secured financing amounting to $188 billion from banks and other lenders, they said.

Funds Frozen

The ``freezing'' of Lehman's account meant it no longer had funds to support its operations, they said.

Explaining Lehman's collapse to the judge after the bankruptcy filing, company executives and lawyers said the $188 billion pool of loans mostly financed the bank's least liquid assets, subprime mortgages and structured financial instruments.

``Secured financing fell out of reach'' because of the devaluation of assets securing the loans, forcing Lehman to deplete its cash to continue trading, said lawyer Shai Waisman of Weil Gotshal & Manges in a Sept. 16 court hearing. ``This began the stranglehold on Lehman,'' Waisman said.

JPMorgan is Lehman's largest secured creditor, with an estimated claim of $23 billion, according to a Sept. 25 court filing. Unsecured creditors have claims on Lehman that might be worth 15 cents on the dollar or less, according to analysts including Peter Plaut of Imperial Capital LLC.

$87 Billion Advance

After Lehman's filing, JPMorgan advanced the company $87 billion on Sept.15 and $51 billion the next day to pay short- term lenders and settle trades, according to court documents.

``There was a great amount of concern, and that concern was expressed as well to us by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York'' that ``we would be creating market havoc had we not made an advance at that time,'' JPMorgan lawyer Novikoff said in court Sept. 16 as he asked for ``comfort'' that the bank's post- bankruptcy loans would continue to be secured.

The bank's collateral was valued in court at $17 billion, including almost $7 billion in cash and a claim on the assets of Lehman's brokerage, by Weil Gotshal.

Lehman, once the fourth-largest U.S. investment bank, filed for bankruptcy with debt of $613 billion as of May 31.

The creditor panel, reconfigured yesterday, includes Bank of New York Mellon Corp. and Wilmington Trust Co. as trustees for bondholders owed about $127.6 billion, according to court papers. Vanguard Group Inc., Shinsei Bank Ltd., Mizuho Corporate Bank Ltd. and MetLife Inc. also are members of the committee, which acts for thousands of unsecured stakeholders in the bankrupt securities firm.

Lehman Brothers Commodity Services Inc., sued by Bank of America Corp. last month for failing to return collateral provided for derivative transactions, filed yesterday for bankruptcy in New York, along with affiliated units. Bank of America was seeking the return of $500 million from three of the units.

The case is In re Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc., 08-13555, U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Southern District of New York (Manhattan).

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A global downturn in the power of the west

By Dominique Moïsi

Published: October 5 2008 18:21 | Last updated: October 5 2008 18:21

It is not too early to assess the first geopolitical lessons of the current financial maelstrom. As the crisis unfolds, trends are emerging. The near collapse of financial capitalism both confirms and accelerates a revolution that was already under way in international politics. Who are the losers and who are likely to be the winners – that is, those who lose the least – in the present mess? In the language of Wall Street, the west is down and the state is up. Moreover, democracy itself risks falling into disrepute if solutions are not found to the crisis.

First, the shock reinforces the relative decline of the US and the passage from a unipolar to a multipolar world. Whoever is its next president, America will not only have to face more diverse and complex challenges but will have fewer means with which to confront them. The interaction between the infectious greed of its financial class and its politicians’ dereliction of duty has impoverished the country. The torch of history seems to be passing from west to east. It is true that China and India are also affected by the financial turmoil; less so Japan, a country whose financial conservatism is the product of bitter experience 20 years ago. But to paraphrase French President François Mitterrand: growth is in the east and debts are in the west. Furthermore, fear is in the west and hope is in the east, so we are equipped in very different ways to face this crisis.

The meltdown has also revealed the depth of an identity crisis, not just in America but also in Europe. Nationalisation may have been the initial American response to the crisis. But it is nationalism that is the main obstacle facing Europe. The temptation of the “to each his own” mindset was present in Europe in the good times, but has become irresistible in bad times. Nicolas Sarkozy, French president of the European Union, may be mounting a brave and gallant fight to produce a “European answer”, but his activism is not sufficient to hide deep divisions among member states. The gold medal for selfishness may once more be given to the Irish, who have followed the ingratitude of their No vote on the Lisbon treaty with absolute contempt towards the search for a collective solution to the financial crisis. The European spirit is low and a “European political will” is lacking.

The financial crisis has also shaken Russia and demonstrated the gap between its ambition to recover cold war superpower status and its true means as a country whose wealth is solely based on energy. By contrast, thanks to the diversity of its resources, Brazil is likely to come out of the present morass stronger. Though they are affected too, the Emirates might engage in a shopping spree on the devalued jewels of western capitalism. On the African continent, only the energy-rich countries may emerge relatively unaffected, while the rest risk falling further. When the rich become less rich, the poor tend to become even poorer.

As the west withers, the state is on the rise. On the eve of the last World Economic Forum in Davos in January, its president and founder Klaus Schwab asked “what business can do to save the world”. The question has been reversed today: “What can the state do to save the business of finance?” The present crisis has much more to do with the 1907 bankers’ panic in America than with the Great Depression. At that time, the solution was found by John Pierpont Morgan, who convinced other bankers to provide a backstop for the crisis. Today it is the state that is called upon as the ultimate saviour of capitalism.

However, while citizens of the western world are expressing their need for state protection, they are also increasingly cynical towards politics and politicians. Their fear is growing as their trust is diminishing. If state intervention were unsuccessful, the comments made by many African leaders – comparing the stability of authoritarian regimes with the chaotic condition of democratic ones – would be raised too in many western countries. The 1929 stock market crisis led to the second world war. If we fail to resolve it, the 2008 financial crisis will accelerate the comparative decline of the west as a force today and as a model for the rest of the world tomorrow.

The writer is a senior adviser at France’s Institute for International Relations and author of the forthcoming ‘The Geopolitics of Emotion’, to be published in Britain by Bodley Head

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Iceland in emergency talks to prevent bank meltdown

By Tom Braithwaite in Reykjavik and Robert Anderson in,Stockholm

Published: October 6 2008 03:00 | Last updated: October 6 2008 03:00

Iceland's prime minister and central bankers were holding emergency talks with pension funds and banks yesterday as the country looked overseas for funding to shore up its crisis-ridden financial system.

Pension funds were being urged to repatriate foreign assets, while the Central Bank was looking to bolster its foreign exchange reserves. The government may this morning announce plans for several billion euros to be injected into the Central Bank, people with knowledge of the talks said, although others warned there was no certainty that a deal would be reached or that it would be sufficient to reassure nervous markets.

Geir Haarde, prime minister, yesterday met banking executives, including Hreidar Mar Sigurdsson, chief executive of Kaupthing, the country's biggest bank, to discuss measures to ease the crisis, which has seen the Icelandic krona depreciate significantly and led to the quasi-nationalisation of Glitnir, the country's third largest bank.

"We are in the middle of important discussions," said Trygvvi Palsson, director of financial stability at the Central Bank, who declined to comment further. Trygvvi Herbertsson, special economics adviser to the prime minister, said it was too early to speculate on the outcome.

Bankers in Reykjavik want any additional funds made available to the Central Bank to passed on to them to substitute the drying up of wholesale funding, which has caused liquidity problems for banks around the world.

Officials said Iceland was also looking to its neighbours for support, although Sweden's central bank said it had not had "more or less contact" than usual with Icelandic authorities. "We have not had any official request from them to use the swap facility that we arranged with them this spring," a spokeswoman added.

In its most important and controversial intervention so far, the Central Bank last week agreed to spend €600m ($826m, £465m) on a 75 per cent stake in Glitnir. The decision - which the Central Bank said was the only option available - was criticised by Jon Asgeir Johannesson, whose Stodir investment company is the lead shareholder in Glitnir, and Richard Portes, professor of economics at London Business School.

The krona has fallen 20 per cent against the euro in the past month, exacerbating fears about the country's ability to emerge from the current crisis and adding to acute problems facing Iceland's 320,000 citizens.

A significant minority of Icelanders have in the last decade turned to loans for cars and homes denominated in lower interest rate currencies such as the Japanese yen and Swiss franc. But with the krona's decline, consumers are left stretched.

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Iceland halts trading in bank shares

By Tom Braithwaite in Reykjavik

Published: October 6 2008 11:01 | Last updated: October 6 2008 11:43

Trading in shares in Iceland’s banks was suspended before the opening of markets on Monday as the country’s regulator sought to head off further instability in the beleaguered financial services sector.

Shares and other financial instruments issued by Kaupthing, Landsbanki and Glitnir were all suspended along with Exista, the investment company, Straum Burdaras investment bank and Sparisjodur Reykjavikur, a savings bank.

The Icelandic Financial Supervisory Authority said in a statement it that it had imposed the suspensions because it wanted to “safeguard the equality of investors while awaiting an announcement”.

On currency markets the Icelandic krona fell a further 7 per cent against the euro after a weekend of emergency talks that have so far failed to produce a bail-out plan to ease the plight of the stricken banking sector.

Officials have issued apparently divergent views on whether and when a deal might be reached to bolster the central bank’s foreign exchange reserves and extend liquidity to the banks.

Geir Haarde, prime minister, said late on Sunday night that no rescue plan would be forthcoming “at this time”. But other officials said on Monday that talks were continuing, with pension funds being urged to repatriate overseas assets and banks asked to help solve their own liquidity problems by selling foreign assets.

There were hopes on Sunday that the central bank would receive funding from counterparts in Europe to bolster its foreign exchange reserves.

Mr Haarde said: “The banks have agreed to decrease their activities abroad and sell assets.”

Such a move by Kaupthing, the country’s leading bank, and Landsbanki, the second biggest, would be likely to have further repercussions in other countries, including the UK.

In spite of the market turmoil, Kaupthing, the country’s biggest bank, remains well capitalised and is trying to quell doubts among savers in the UK and prevent a run on deposits.

On Friday Kaupthing contacted some clients using contracts for difference, derivatives that allow investors to take a position on a stock without owning it outright, to request that they add to the cash component of the CFD.

The bank has also attempted to reassure the foreign customers who put their savings in its high yielding accounts, saying that their money is guaranteed by the UK government up to £50,000.

Commercial customers include Baugur, the retail investment company that owns Hamleys, and Robert Tchenguiz, the entrepreneur.

Mr Haarde on Sunday met banking executives, including Hreidar Mar Sigurdsson, Kaupthing chief executive, to discuss measures to ease the crisis, which has seen the Icelandic krona depreciate significantly and led last week to the quasi-nationalisation of Glitnir, the country’s third largest bank.

Bankers in Reykjavik want any additional funds made available to the central bank to passed on to them to substitute the drying up of wholesale funding, which has caused liquidity problems for banks around the world.

In its most important and controversial intervention so far, the central bank last week agreed to spend €600m ($826m, £465m) on a 75 per cent stake in Glitnir.

The decision – which the central bank said was the only option available – was criticised by Jon Asgeir Johannesson, whose Stodir investment company is the lead shareholder in Glitnir, and Richard Portes, professor of economics at London Business School.

The krona has fallen more than 20 per cent against the euro in the past month, exacerbating fears about the country’s ability to emerge from the current crisis and adding to acute problems facing Iceland’s 320,000 citizens.

A significant proportion of Icelanders have in the past decade turned to loans for cars and homes denominated in baskets of lower interest rate currencies such as the Japanese yen and Swiss franc.

But with the krona’s decline, consumers are left stretched.

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Darling plans ‘big steps’ to aid UK banks

By George Parker, Political Editor

Published: October 5 2008 23:31 | Last updated: October 5 2008 23:31

Alistair Darling was on Sunday considering a dramatic taxpayer-funded recapitalisation of Britain’s banks, amid signs of cross-party and central bank support for an effective part-nationalisation of the sector.

The chancellor said on Sunday he was “looking at some pretty big steps which we would not take in ordinary times”. Government officials say these include a contingency plan for the taxpayer to inject capital into ailing banks.

Although the Treasury said no decision had been taken to activate any contingency plan, it would not rule out a voluntary bank recapitalisation scheme. “It is a pretty fast-moving situation,” said one official.

David Cameron, writing in Monday’s Financial Times, signals Conservative support for “drastic capital measures” which would see the taxpayer offering to take an equity stake in banks, to give them the financial strength to begin lending again.

“It is possible to imagine the circumstances in which government injections of capital, with proper safeguards and strict conditions, may be the best way to safeguard the long-term interests of the taxpayer,” he says.

Mervyn King, governor of the Bank of England, who met Mr Cameron last week, is also thought to favour a recapitalisation plan to supplement the central bank’s own operations to boost liquidity to the financial system.

The scheme, which has echoes of a similar operation by the Swedish government in the early 1990s, would be available to all banks. In exchange for the capital injection, taxpayers might be protected through preferred shares or warrants, giving them generous dividends in future.

Vincent Cable, Liberal Democrat treasury spokesman, also favoured recapitalisation, arguing it gave shareholders “the upside when banks recover”. He said the situation was now so grave that a piecemeal approach to failing banks was no longer sufficient.

With the prospect of a consensus behind the approach, Mr Darling may decide the recapitalisation plan is the best way to deliver a shot in the arm to the banking system. The Treasury regards it as preferable to the $700bn (£394bn) US bank bail-out in which the taxpayer buys toxic assets.

Mr Darling will on Wednesday set out how he intends to manage the deteriorating public finances during the downturn, while on Thursday the Bank of England is widely expected to cut interest rates from 5 per cent.

The chancellor will give a statement to MPs on Monday on the financial turmoil, as the Commons returns after its summer break. Meanwhile, Gordon Brown will on Monday convene the first meeting of the National Economic Council, a cabinet committee set up to co-ordinate the response to the economic situation. Peter Mandelson, the new business secretary, will be among those attending.

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BNP to take control of Fortis

By Michael Steen in Amsterdam, Joshua Chaffin in Brussels and Peter Thal Larsen in London

Published: October 5 2008 22:50 | Last updated: October 6 2008 11:55

BNP Paribas, the French bank, will take control of the remaining assets of Fortis after the Belgian government was forced to find a buyer following the shock Dutch nationalisation of its part of the troubled banking and insurance group.

The all-share deal, announced on Sunday night by the Belgian government, is set to make BNP the biggest bank in the eurozone by deposits and will over time make Belgium and Luxembourg shareholders in the French bank.

There was no immediate word on how much BNP will pay for Fortis Bank in Belgium, Luxembourg, the Belgian insurance operations and its Turkish banking unit.

The Belgian government is to keep a blocking minority of 25 per cent in Fortis Bank and its subprime and related assets will be moved into a special vehicle, according to Belgian media.

There had been fears that the Dutch nationalisation would cause a fresh rout in shareholder confidence unless a solution was found by the opening of trading on Monday.

In a second weekend of tumult for Belgian banks, Dexia, which was bailed out by France, Belgium and Luxembourg last week, was forced to state that its credit links to Hypo Real Estate, the crisis-hit German company, would have ”a very limited impact” on the group’s solvency.

Belgium’s race to sell Fortis followed the controversial decision on Friday by the Dutch government to take full control of all of Fortis’s operations on its side of the border for €16.8bn ($23.2bn, £13bn), including the parts of ABN Amro bought by Fortis last year.

That left in tatters an agreement drawn up the previous weekend that had been heralded as an example of harmonious co-operation by the Dutch, Belgian and Luxembourg governments.

Under the initial deal, each country was to take a 49 per cent stake in the respective country banks of Fortis, leaving the healthy insurance operations fully owned by shareholders.

But the Dutch government managed to renegotiate on Thursday and Friday as, unlike Belgium and Luxembourg, it had not yet paid the €4bn for its share.

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S. Korean banks struggle to raise dollars

By Song Jung-a in Seoul

Published: October 6 2008 07:15 | Last updated: October 6 2008 09:28

South Korea’s finance minister on Monday said that local banks were having difficulties securing foreign currency liquidity due to the global credit crunch.

Kang Man-soo, the finance minister, urged local banks to sell overseas assets to raise foreign currency funds and to boost lending to small and mid-sized enterprises struggling with rising borrowing costs.

”Recently, our financial institutions began experiencing troubles in securing foreign-exchange liquidity,” Mr Kang said in a meeting with heads of local banks. ”The government judges that we need to deal with the situation preemptively while assuming the worst-cast scenario.”

The government last week said it would provide $5bn to local banks to help them boost lending to troubled SMEs and it would pump $10bn of foreign currency to the local won-dollar swap market to curb the local currency’s slide.

Mr Kang cautioned that South Korea may fail to achieve its 4.7 per cent growth target for this year as the global financial crisis spreads to the real economy.

”The global financial market turmoil has already started to affect our economy,” Mr Kang told lawmakers on Monday. ”And it is likely to take quite a while until the credit crunch eases in the emerging markets.”

Mr Kang added that South Korea had sufficient foreign exchange reserves to overcome any crisis. But concerns about the liquidity shortage at the banking sector pushed the won to the lowest level in six years and the benchmark stock index more than four per cent.

Last week, Moody’s Investors Service lowered the financial strength rating outlook for the country’s four major banks – Kookmin Bank, Woori Bank, Shinhan Bank and Hana Bank – from ”stable” to ”negative” as the banks find it increasingly difficult to raise funds in the global capital market amid soaring funding costs.

South Korean banks have been borrowing heavily in overseas markets to fund rapid growth in lending to companies and households in recent years, making themselves more vulnerable to the global credit crunch.

And their trouble is compounded by the won’s slide. The Korean won has become the world’s worst-performing major currency this year, falling 24 per cent against the dollar, hit by heavy foreign selling of Korean stocks and bonds.

The won’s continued weakness has prompted local companies and financial institutions to buy even more dollars, making the dollar shortage more severe.

But the chief executives of local banks yesterday tried to assure investors, saying that they do not see any big problem in dollar liquidity until the end of this year. And the government vowed to ”actively back up” foreign currency liquidity at struggling local banks by tapping its $240bn international reserves. But the stock market fell 4.3 per cent as investors remained jittery about the health of the banking sector.

The average credit risk of Korean banks is expected to remain high in the fourth quarter, as SMEs are likely to delay repaying their debt and households face greater debt burden amid slowing economic growth, a survey by the Bank of Korea showed.

”Although we are not expecting a banking crisis in Korea, the credit crunch is likely to be most severely felt in Korea among Asian economies, given the highly leveraged Korean corporate and households,” UBS said in a research note.

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How to say ‘pre-emption’ in Korean

“Contagion” is never a happy word but in Asia right now it has particularly scary connotations, particularly for South Korea, which is exhorting its banks to flog off foreign assets and bring home dollars.

South Korea was once known as the “hedge fund of the global economy”, although it now might be more appropriately called “Asia’s weakest link”.

On Monday, the country saw its already battered currency plunge a further 5 per cent to its lowest level in six years as the costs of borrowing on the money-market surged and analysts predicted a steeper slide in the won amid growing difficulties in refinancing short-term debt.

The won’s fall came as Seoul - clearly shaken by the global financial turmoil - took the extreme step of advising banks to sell off and liquidate their foreign assets to raise funds to boost lending to companies struggling with higher foreign-currency borrowing costs. Seoul also promised to use its currency reserves to shield lenders from the financial crisis engulfing the US and Europe.

But, as Reuters observed, the promise “did little to reassure markets in a country that analysts say faces greater risks than most in Asia from the upheaval that destroyed Wall Street investment banks last month and now threatens lenders from Iceland to Italy”.

Korea’s particular problem is one of excessive leverage: its banks have an extraordinarly high loan-to-deposit ratio, which climbed to 139 per cent after a lending spree between 2002 and 2007. And according to Moody’s, which last week downgraded its outlook to negative for four Korean banks, that ratio rose further in the second quarter to a staggering 150-180 per cent.

Most Asian countries by comparison have loans-to-deposit ratios below 100 with Malaysia at around 74 per cent, Japan slightly higher and the Philippines at 57 per cent.

The loans-to-deposit ratio of the big four Korean banks - Kookmin Bank, Woori Finance Holdings, Shinhan Financial Group and Hana Financial Group - ranged between 135-177 per cent in the first quarter of 2008, Moody’s noted.

Korean household debt meanwhile has hit 82 per cent of GDP and 148 per cent of disposable income, according to Reuters.

System-wide, Korea’s financial liabilities are estimated at 2.7 times GDP – ranking it at the top for Asia. But as Korean banks have been amongst the most aggressive lenders, this problem could well become a regional problem - and quickly.

Korea’s other main vulnerability, as Lex observed last week, is the preponderance of loans to the small and medium-sized enterprises likely to feel the pinch when growth slows.

Sure, the Korean government, with large stakes in the country’s banks, is more likely than their western counterparts to respond rapidly in crises. But the real risks mean bank shares – now mostly at or below book value – will continue to tank.

For Korea’s embattled banks, it is hardly an idea time to sell off foreign assets, given the turmoil elsewhere. Even as the won tumbled and borrowing costs surged, the Seoul stock market, tracking a regional selloff, plunged nearly 5 per cent to a 20-month low. Overall, the Korean bank index has fallen 25 per cent this year, against a 28 per cent loss in the broader market.

South Korean Finance Minister Kang Man-so put the problem thus: “Recently our financial institutions have begun experiencing troubles in securing foreign-exchange liquidity,” he told a meeting of executives from local commercial banks, according to Reuters.

“The government judges that we need to deal with the situation pre-emptively, while assuming the worst-case scenario.” While he did not elaborate on what “pre-emptive action” might include, Kang said banks should take measures themselves such as selling foreign-currency securities and other assets to secure foreign exchange liquidity.

However, his reiteration of a government pledge to give banks access to Korean forex reserves, the world’s sixth largest at nearly $240bn, was hardly comforting for the big banks now under pressure to liquidate overseas assets and bring in the dollars (the Korean government owns a good chunk of the banks).

Many analysts say the fears of a 1997-style Asian financial crisis are overblown:

“This rush for foreign currency has been heightened not only due to the global credit squeeze but also because Korea has seen its current account falling sharply in recent months, even as investment outflow continues,” said UBS analysts in a note. “Although we are not expecting a banking crisis in Korea, the credit crunch is likely to be most severely felt in Korea among Asian economies given the highly leveraged Korean corporate and households.”

Meanwhile, Lim Ji-won, economist at JPMorgan Chase told Reuters: “It’s different from the previous crisis because foreign reserves are now more than enough to cover short-term foreign debt.”

But others disagree. As Lex asked in an August note on Korea: “If Sleeping Beauty, the heroine of European folklore, were to wake up in Seoul today, would she know she had been asleep for 11 years?”

And Bloomberg reports Monday that Korea’s debt-financing problems are likely to deepen from now, with the won likely to lose a further 10 per cent against the dollar in the next six months as the credit crisis reduces exports and investors repatriate capital, according to CFC Seymour in Hong Kong.

The won, which is already the world’s worst-performing major currency this year with a loss of 26 per cent, will weaken to 1,400 to the dollar as Korea struggles to refinance its short- term debt, CFC’s chief investment strategist Dariusz Kowalczyk wrote in a report Monday. The last time the currency breached that level was amid the Asian financial crisis, in 1998, when the won lost half of its value.

To add to the cheer, Reuters reminds us that Korea is also on track to post its first annual current account deficit since that crisis and foreign investors notched up net stock sales of 30 trillion won ($24.57bn) this year, already the highest on record.

South Korean debt maturing in less than a year is worth about $210bn. The cost of protection against a default on South Korea’s five-year sovereign debt, meanwhile, has surged six-fold this year to 240bp. Although little changed in recent weeks, an investor would need to pay $240,000 a year to insure $10m of South Korean bonds against default.

As Lex noted: “Although a massive collapse is not immediately on the cards, some of the fault-lines do look eerily familiar.”

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LEX: Korean banks

Published: October 6 2008 09:39 | Last updated: October 6 2008 12:07

On the basis that public funds seem to be going into banking systems in broadly alphabetical order – starting with America, Belgium, Germany and last week moving to Iceland and Ireland – it looks like time up for Korea. And right on cue, Asia’s fourth biggest economy is exhibiting signs of panic. On Monday, Korea’s finance minister urged banks to sell overseas assets to raise foreign funds and promised them access to the country’s foreign exchange reserves. Short term funding rates jumped to a seven and a half year high, while the won, one of the world’s worst performing currencies, fell a further 5 per cent against the dollar.

Korea was always Asia’s most obvious trouble spot for financial contagion. Companies, banks and households are horribly over-leveraged: private sector debt as a percentage of GDP stands at 180 per cent, above the US. Banks, unusually for Asia, lend far more than they take in deposits and are reliant on offshore markets for around 12 per cent of funding. Meantime, their penchant for lending to the vast but ailing small and medium enterprises sector raises the prospect of a jump in non-performing loans. Households also look vulnerable. Korea is primarily an export nation, and stalling global demand will quickly feed through to lower corporate profitability and job losses.

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Funds dry up in Golden State

By Matthew Garrahan and Nicole Bullock in Los Angeles

Published: October 5 2008 21:25 | Last updated: October 5 2008 21:25

California’s economy, which would be the eighth biggest in the world if the state was a separate country, is teetering on the brink of a financial crisis intensified by the credit crunch.

California is weeks away from running out of money. In a letter to Hank Paulson, the US Treasury secretary, Arnold Schwarzenegger, California’s governor, last week admitted an immediate $7bn (€5bn, £4bn) was needed to pay for essential public services, such as police and fire-fighters.

California would normally generate interim funding by issuing “revenue anticipation notes” in the short term credit markets to tide it over until tax revenues arrive later in its financial year. But the door to the credit markets is firmly closed.

Other states are also suffering from poor economic conditions and declining tax revenues.

Florida, Nevada, Massachusetts and Ohio have dipped into their reserves to maintain spending, according to Robert Kurtter, managing director of Moody’s US public finance group. But he said California’s situation was unique as it often relied on the capital markets to maintain spending commitments.

“When you have that dependency year-in-year-out you are going to get caught out when the markets are disrupted,” he said. “And that’s exactly what happened.”

Unlike most other states, California does not have a reserve fund and because it depends heavily on capital gains tax and stock option realisations, its revenues can be volatile. The looming cash flow crunch has caused considerable alarm.

“We are two weeks or so away from not being able to pay teachers and fire-fighters,” said Ross DeVol, director of regional economics at the Milken Institute, a Los Angeles-based think-tank.

Passage of the $700bn bail-out bill last week may not have solved the state’s immediate problems. “If we could get through the next two or three weeks without another financial institution being taken over that might restore confidence in counter-parties. But I don’t think the bill will free up the credit markets in the near term.”

Others in the municipal bond arena are more hopeful the bail-out will ease credit conditions for state borrowers. “I am hopeful that this bill will serve as the catalyst to provide stability and a resumption of normal activity,” said Ben Watkins, director of bond finance for the state of Florida.

Florida is facing a projected budget deficit of about $1.4bn and recently postponed a $200m bond issue earmarked for school construction.

Bill Lockyer, California’s treasurer, said immediate cash needs could be met with as little as $3bn.

But to end its reliance on the markets, California must first become better at balancing its budget, said Mr Kurtter. “Typically, when entities get into trouble it begins with cash flow. And when you are chronically running budget deficits, your cash is going to dry up.”

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Dubai merges troubled mortgage lenders

By Simeon Kerr in Dubai

Published: October 5 2008 19:08 | Last updated: October 5 2008 19:08

The government of Dubai yesterday sought to reassure increasingly nervous real estate investors by announcing that it is to build the world’s tallest towerblock as part of a Dh140bn ($38bn) project. The building, if completed, will be higher than the Burj Dubai, the current record holder.

At the same time the Dubai administration, led by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Matkoum, the ruler of the second largest emirate in the United Arab Emirates, moved to merge the emirate’s two largest mortgage providers.

Amlak Finance and Tamweel, which have a combined balance sheet of Dh27bn ($7.35bn), said on the eve of Dubai’s Cityscape real estate convention, an important marketing event, that they were in merger talks. The Dubai government has a large stake in both publicly-listed companies.

The planned merger, which is due to be completed next year, comes amid rising concerns about Gulf companies’ access to credit lines as both local and international markets have dried up or become expensive.

Tamweel is one of the companies embroiled in a widespread corruption probe launched by Sheikh Mohammed and the Dubai Public Prosecution service.

Adel Al Shirawi, the company’s former chief executive, is being held without charge as part of an investigation into alleged ”embezzlement and mistrust”, and Abdullah Nasser Abdullah, Tamweel’s deputy chief executive, is being held by the public prosecution office, the company said in September.

Analysts said yesterday that combining the two government-controlled mortgage companies would create a stronger business. Between them, the two have much as two-thirds market share, but they are not likely to not be immune to funding concerns.

The Dubai Financial Market fell 7 per cent yesterday. Real estate companies bore the brunt of concerns that liquidity shortages are having an impact on property developments. Emaar, Dubai’s property giant, fell 12 per cent.

”Markets aren’t as bullish as they were, so this may be a prudent and preparatory step to strengthen their position, get their house in order and cut costs before harder times arrive,” said Khalid Howladar, a senior credit officer with Moody’s.

Lacking deposit bases and snubbed in attempts to obtain banking licenses from the UAE central bank, Amlak and Tamweel are likely to need to raise more funding to cover lending requirements, analysts said.

”Given the credit crunch, the value of cheap retail deposits cannot be underestimated. These two merging doesn’t address this funding issue,” Mr Howlalar said. ”But in terms of consolidating market share and cutting costs it’s a good move.”

One person close to the mooted merged said yesterday that the transaction should have a stabilising effect on the market and will be followed by other plans to address funding issues.

Despite the crisis in international markets and concerns about a local liquidity squeeze, Nakheel, a mainstream property developer backed by the government of Dubai, sent out a message yesterday when it it said it would build a kilometre-high towerblock.

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Dubai market falls sharply for second day

By James Drummond in Abu Dhabi

Published: October 6 2008 09:01 | Last updated: October 6 2008 09:01

On its first day of trading since the end of the Eid al-Fitr holiday, Saudi Arabia on Monday joined other Gulf bourses in falling sharply in early trading.

In heavy volumes, the Tadawul index, which tracks shares on the Gulf’s largest stock market, fell nearly 10 per cent. The Saudi Arabian market has fallen by nearly 40 per cent this year, according to Zawya.com, a data provider.

In the United Arab Emirates, Dubai was down 4.5 per cent, after falling 7 per cent on Sunday. The slump brings year to date losses to 38 per cent. Abu Dhabi fell 3.7 per cent on Monday meaning that the market has lost a fifth of its value since January. Blue chip property stocks Emaar and Aldar were particularly affected, as overseas investors liquidated positions, according to reports.

Investors in Dubai have been spooked by the weekend merger of two state-backed Islamic mortgage lenders amid concerns over a liquidity shortage in the second largest emirate within the UAE. Several property sector executives are also the subject of fraud and embezzlement investigations by the Dubai public prosecutor’s office.

In the north Kuwait, which has seen a stock market intervention by its sovereign wealth fund, fell 2.6 per cent on Monday, while Muscat in the south was down 4.6 per cent, according to Zawya. Doha was down 4.5 per cent, while Bahrain was flat.

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Germany opposes tighter investment rules

By Chris Bryant in Berlin

Published: October 6 2008 03:00 | Last updated: October 6 2008 03:00

Berlin will this week try to block efforts to regulate energy investments by non-EU companies, including the Russian monopoly Gazprom.

The German government has drawn up plans to oppose the reciprocity clause, a rule that would force companies buying EU energy transmission assets to abide by the same open market rules that govern EU companies, according to documents obtained by the Financial Times.

German resistance poses a threat to efforts by the French EU presidency to finalise rules governing the European electricity and gas market at a meeting of energy ministers in Luxembourg on Friday.

An outline agreement was reached at the last energy summit in June and Paris would like to see resolution of remaining issues before the European parliament packs up for election in 2009. However, the key elements of this energy package - unbundling of transmission networks, trans-national regulatory oversight and rules governing the ownership of power grids by non-EU countries - all remain disputed.

The European Commission wants to introduce a reciprocity clause to create a fair business environment for European operators and to prevent a huge sell-off of strategic energy assets as a result of ownership unbundling - the forced separation of energy producers and suppliers from their lucrative gas pipelines and electricity power lines.

Gazprom's interest in acquiring these assets is no secret. However, its decision to cut gas supplies to Ukraine in 2005 over a pricing dispute created widespread alarm within the EU over energy security and these fears increased further after Russia's decision to send troops into Georgia.

Although most member states support a reciprocity clause, Germany's dependence on Russia for more than 40 per cent of its gas imports mean that Berlin is reluctant to upset Moscow on this issue.

One particular reason is that it would derail a strategy pursued by German energy companies of securing upsteam oil and gas rights in Russia by offering European retail and distribution rights in return.

For example, in 2006 chemical giant BASF's Wintershall subsidiary won a stake in a Siberian natural gas field in return for allowing Gazprom to increase its stake in BASF's energy trading unit Wingas to just under 50 per cent.

Government sources told the Financial Times that the European Commission must not be granted a veto over investment decisions, which should be left to national regulatory authorities.

The German government is also set to resist efforts to modify a compromise agreement reached in June on energy unbundling.

The European Commission originally set out to force vertically integrated energy companies to sell their transmission businesses to increase competition and encourage investment.

A watered-down version was still not enough to appease eight countries, forcing energy ministers to accept a "third way". This option would allow energy groups to retain ownership as long as they transferred their networks to an "Independent Transmission Operator" with a separate management.

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Credit crisis takes heavy toll on Russian car market

By Richard Milne and John Reed in Paris

Published: October 5 2008 17:23 | Last updated: October 5 2008 17:23

Russia’s largest carmaker warned the credit crunch was taking a heavy toll on its customers, dealers and suppliers in a clear sign the real economy of one of the world’s most promising emerging markets is being hit by the crisis.

Yann Vincent, chief operating officer of Avtovaz, told the Financial Times the lack of credit was “jeopardising the consumption of cars”, dealers could not afford to pay for vehicles they had already received, and the weak situation of many suppliers was “threatening our balance sheet”.

The comments from the company, in which France’s Renault owns 25 per cent, come as foreign carmakers also begin to struggle in Russia, a country many had hoped would compensate for the sharp slump in western markets this year.

Mr Vincent said that about 40-45 per cent of purchases in Russia were on credit. “Credit for customers is sharply restricted . . . Until the end of September we haven’t seen a big difference, but during the last days credit became more difficult to get.”

Many small dealerships who receive their cars before paying for them, were also having difficulty getting credit. “It is a financial danger for us,” Mr Vincent said. “If they don’t get credit, we won’t get paid.”

Avtovaz’s suppliers faced a similar situation. “We have suppliers that are crying,” he said. “They say, ‘If you don’t pay us X million roubles we won’t be producing because we don’t have credit’.”

Avtovaz and the Russian market are central to Renault’s strategy of compensating for falling sales in western Europe by boosting volumes in faster-growing emerging markets.

Carlos Ghosn, Renault and Nissan’s chief executive, played down the slowdown, saying: “There are reasons to be bullish about Russia.”

At the Paris motor show he said: “The car market is not going to grow by 30 per cent a year, but even if it grows by 8, 9, or 10 per cent a year it’s still good.”

Russia’s car market grew by 6 per cent in August, down from 22 per cent in July, according to consultants J­D Power.

“It is a danger in the short term,” he said. Avtovaz sells about 900,000 cars a year, mostly in Russia and neighbouring markets such as Ukraine and Kazakhstan. Renault is helping Avtovaz revive the Lada brand, which has increased sales this year but is losing market share to imports.

Other carmaking executives acknowledge the Russian market is cooling fast.

Rupert Stadler, chief executive of Volkswagen’s Audi brand, said the premium carmaker’s volume growth in Russia was just 3 per cent in September, compared with 13 per cent for the year until the end of the month.

“We still see a huge potential in five or six years for premium carmakers in Russia,” he said.

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Israel to press Russia on arms sales to Iran

TEL AVIV, Oct 6 - Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert will press Russia during a visit starting on Monday not to sell advanced missiles and weapons technology to Iran and Syria.

Addressing his cabinet on the eve of the two-day trip, Olmert said he would discuss issues of ”special, immediate concern” including the supply of weapons to ”irresponsible elements”.

Olmert, caretaker prime minister until a new government is formed following his resignation last month in a corruption scandal, meets Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on Tuesday and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov later on Monday.

Israeli defence sources, revising earlier statements that a deal between Moscow and Tehran was imminent, said on Sunday Iran had not received Russia’s advanced S-300 anti-aircraft system yet though the countries were still discussing a purchase.

The S-300 would help Iran fend off any Israeli or U.S. air strike against its nuclear facilities. Analysts believe a purchase of the system by the Iranians could accelerate the countdown to military action designed to deny them the bomb.

Russia has denied intending to sell Iran the S-300, the best version of which can track 100 targets and fire on planes 120 km (75 miles) away. The system is known in the West as the SA-20.

Asked whether Iran had bought the missiles, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman, Hassan Qashqavi gave a vague response on Monday in comments translated by Iran’s English-language Press TV.

”Iran’s defensive might is based on our indigenous capabilities and whatever action which helps with expanding and strengthening our military and defensive might, we’ll look into that,” Qashqavi said.

”We have good defence cooperation with the Russians. One example would be anti-aircraft systems. We have had good cooperation and we continue to cooperate with them,” he said.

Iran says its uranium enrichment activities are aimed at generating electricity. Israel, believed to have the Middle East’s only atomic arsenal, has called Iran’s nuclear programme a threat to the existence of the Jewish state.

In his comments at Sunday’s cabinet meeting, Olmert said his first face-to-face talks with Medvedev since the Russian leader was elected in March would focus on the ”security, military, diplomatic and international agenda between us and Russia”.

Israel is also concerned about reports Russia plans to supply advanced missiles to Syria. Russia has said any arms sales to Damascus would be solely for defensive purposes.

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Britain risks US rift in war against Taliban

By Jimmy Burns in London and Daniel Dombey in Washington

Published: October 6 2008 03:00 | Last updated: October 6 2008 03:00

The British government yesterday risked fuelling a rift with the US and some members of the Afghan government by supporting a military commander's statement suggesting that the war against the Taliban cannot be won.

A spokesman said the UK's ministry of defence "did not have a problem" with warning the UK public not to expect a "decisive military victory" and to prepare instead for a possible deal with the Taliban.

"Our ministers have said before that the combat in Afghanistan is not about winning or losing. We have always said it is about improving infrastructure and making sure that the Afghanistan army and police can take over security. We are also looking for a political settlement," the spokesman told the FT.

In an interview with the Sunday Times, the UK's commander in Helmand province, Brigadier Mark Carleton-Smith, said his forces had "taken the sting out of the Taliban for 2008" but it was necessary to "lower expectations".

"We are not going to win this war," he told the newspaper. "It's about reducing it to a manageable level of insurgency that's not a strategic threat and can be managed by the Afghan army."

Nato commanders and diplomats have been saying for some time that the Taliban insurgency cannot be defeated by military means alone and that negotiations with the militants will ultimately be needed to bring an end to the conflict.

But the brigadier's statement airs a view on the subject at a time when there are signs of policy rifts developing among the allies.

The US, which has stepped up its efforts on Afghanistan in recent months, is sceptical about any idea of negotiating with the Taliban.

"We all agree on the need for the people of Afghanistan to come together if they are going to succeed in creating a lasting and viable state," Gordon Johndroe, a White House spokesman, told the FT.

"It remains to be seen if some in the Taliban will really renounce violence and extremism and play a constructive role in Afghanistan."

Asked about the brigadier's comments, he said: "We plan on winning in Afghanistan. It's going to be tough and going to take some time, but we will eventually succeed."

Despite the worries among Washington's European allies over whether the conflict with the Taliban can ever be won, President George W. Bush, and both the Republican and Democratic presidential contenders favour sending more troops to Afghanistan.

Afghanistan's defence minister yesterday expressed his disappointment at the commander's statements, maintaining the insurgency had to be defeated.

"I think this is the personal opinion of the commander," Abdul Rahim Wardak told reporters. "The main objective of the Afghan government and the whole international community is that we have to defeat this war on terror and be successful," he said.

However, a senior UK official has confirmed his government's backing for Afghan president President Hamid Karzai's latest initiative to try to broker peace talks with the Taliban. "We support it. It is absolutely the right thing to do," the senior official told the FT.

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Gas pipeline for southern Peru

By Naomi Mapstone

Published: October 6 2008 03:00 | Last updated: October 6 2008 03:00

Construction of a $1.4bn, 700-mile pipeline to carry natural gas from Peru's Camisea fields to its impoverished south will begin in 2010, according to Kuntur Transportadora de Gas, which will sign a contract with the country's government today.

Kuntur, a subsidiary of US private equity firm Conduit Capital which focuses on infrastructure in Latin America and the Caribbean, has announced that construction will take up to three years.

"This will be a major economic driver in this region for years to come," said Samuel D. Gómez, president of Kuntur.

"The south is the most economically deprived area in the country and in addition to the pipeline we could see billions of dollars of incremental investment, including petrochemical plants, power plants and cement plants."

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琴欧洲から１００万円！春日錦も　元若ノ鵬が八百長力士告発…「週刊現代」が掲載
力士会に出席した琴欧洲

　大麻取締法違反で逮捕され、日本相撲協会を解雇された元幕内・若ノ鵬（２０）が、６日発売の週刊現代誌上で、大関・琴欧洲（２５）＝佐渡ケ嶽＝と十両の春日錦（３３）＝春日野＝を名指しして、八百長を持ちかけられ、応じたと明かしていることが５日、分かった。両力士はこの日、時津風親方（元幕内・時津海）の断髪式が行われた両国国技館で記事の内容を全面否定した。

　週刊現代が最終兵器を投入した。元幕内・若ノ鵬が予告通り八百長を告発した。記事によると、具体的に八百長をもちかけたのは琴欧洲と春日錦。春日錦からは十両時代の０７年秋と新入幕場所の同年九州の２場所で八百長をもちかけられ、琴欧洲には大関が初優勝した今年夏の初日に１００万円を渡すから負けてくれと頼まれたという。

　記事では春日錦から取り口を指示されたことを証言。琴欧洲には今年夏をカド番で迎えたため、大関からの陥落を防ぐために負けることを頼まれたことや、報酬の１００万円を千秋楽の支度部屋で、テーピングの箱に入れられ、受け取ったことなどが掲載されている。
八百長疑惑報道で名前のあがった春日錦（左）

　元若ノ鵬によればいずれも八百長を断ると巡業のけいこで「かわいがり（制裁）」を受けると両力士から脅迫され、恐怖心から不本意ながら八百長を受けたというトーンが貫かれている。これに対し、琴欧洲は「全部ウソ。考えられない。八百長をやったことはない」と全面否定。春日錦も「身に覚えがない」と断言した。週刊現代の発行元の講談社と八百長疑惑報道を巡り係争中の協会では、今回の記事に対しても提訴するかどうか今後判断する意向だ。

　横綱・朝青龍（２８）＝高砂＝が出廷した３日の口頭弁論では、現代側の証人からは八百長を証明する有力な証拠を提示できなかった。元若ノ鵬の証人申請も裁判所から留保されただけに今回の告発記事は世間に「クロ」の印象を与えたい狙いがあるとみられる。なりふり構わない告発記事の掲載で、逆に現代側の法廷での苦境が透けて見えた。

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八百長名指し 琴欧洲＆春日錦完全否定
　取組を終えファンに囲まれる琴欧洲＝両国国技館

　角界にさらなる八百長疑惑がかけられた。６日発売の「週刊現代」（講談社刊）で、元若ノ鵬が自分に八百長を持ちかけた力士として大関琴欧洲と十両春日錦の名を挙げる記事が掲載された。５日、時津海引退時津風襲名披露大相撲に出場した両力士は、ともに記事内容を否定したが、係争中の裁判に影響を与える可能性もある。

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　「週刊現代」誌上で元若ノ鵬は０７年の秋場所と九州場所で春日錦と、今年の夏場所、名古屋場所で琴欧洲と八百長相撲をしたと告白している。春日錦からは着物の帯や飾り物を割安で販売されたことがきっかけになり白星のやりとりをしたと暴露。琴欧洲からはロシア語の「プライグライ（負けてほしい）」という言葉をかけられ、元若ノ鵬が難色を示すと“かわいがり”による制裁をちらつかされ、渋々、八百長に応じたとしている。

　八百長を持ちかけられた場所や説得された言葉にまで証言は踏み込んでいる。琴欧洲からは対価として１００万円が入ったテーピングの箱を支度部屋で受け取ったり、路上で封筒を手渡されたりしたとしている。

　春日錦は花相撲や巡業中に支度部屋で帯などを販売していたことは認めた。「うちの女房が一人社長で（販売を）している会社がある。高いものだし安く分けてあげたいと思った」と説明した。八百長については「びっくりした。身に覚えがないです」と否定した。

　もう一人名指しされた琴欧洲も「全部うそ」と断言。初優勝した今年の夏場所が「八百長」と断定されているため「優勝したのは一生懸命頑張ったから。悲しい」と怒りをあらわにした。

　今後について琴欧洲は「内容をまだ見ていない」と明言を避けた。師匠の佐渡ケ嶽親方（元関脇琴ノ若）は「若ノ鵬の言うことは信じられない。相手にしないのがいいのかなあ。これから考えます」とした。

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琴欧州が若ノ鵬告発の八百長疑惑全面否定

塩をまく琴欧洲。「週刊現代」の元若ノ鵬による八百長告発を否定した
塩をまく琴欧洲。「週刊現代」の元若ノ鵬による八百長告発を否定した

　大関琴欧洲（２５＝佐渡ケ嶽）が八百長疑惑を全面否定した。６日発売の「週刊現代」で元幕内若ノ鵬（２０＝本名ガグロエフ・ソスラン）が、琴欧洲から八百長を持ちかけられ、実行したなどと告発。５日、東京・両国国技館での「臨時力士会」に参加した琴欧洲は、記事内容を伝え聞いて「全部ウソ。悲しい」と語った。十両春日錦（３３＝春日野）も同様に八百長行為を実名で報じられたが、こちらも完全否定した。

　琴欧洲は淡々と疑惑を否定した。「全部ウソ。（八百長について）話したことも見たこともない。優勝した場所で一生懸命に頑張ったのに、悲しいですね」。

　週刊現代に掲載された元若ノ鵬の告発によると、元若ノ鵬は今年春場所中に琴欧洲から八百長を持ち掛けられたという。かど番となる翌場所でわざと負けるように依頼されたというもので、２人は夏場所初日に対戦し、琴欧洲が勝った。琴欧洲はその場所１４勝１敗で優勝。千秋楽に、元若ノ鵬は見返りとして現金１００万円をもらったという。翌名古屋場所でも同様に八百長を持ち掛けられ、現金をもらったという内容だ。

　記事では、同じ欧州出身ということで、琴欧洲は元若ノ鵬が下位力士だったころから目をかけていたとしている。しかし、この日は「けんかをしたことはないけど、特に仲が良かったわけではなかった」と発言。食事をしたのも、元若ノ鵬が間垣部屋入門前、大嶽部屋の預かりでけいこを続けていた０４年の話で、露鵬と一緒だったと説明し、深いつきあいがあったわけではないと主張した。

　また、最初に八百長を持ちかけてきたと元若ノ鵬に名指しされた春日錦も「一切ない。話が独り歩きしている」と困惑した。「一門も違うし、話したことも付き合いもない。どうしてこういう話になるのか、ビックリしている」とかかわりを否定。ただし、支度部屋で帯や雪駄（せった）などを販売していたと指摘された事実は認め、「女房が個人的にやっている。手伝えればと思ってやった。やってしまった自分も悪いですが…」と反省。今後、協会から注意を受ける可能性はある。

　琴欧洲は法的な対抗措置について「まだ記事の内容も見ていないし、師匠（元関脇琴ノ若の佐渡ケ嶽親方）にも話していない」とし、春日錦も現時点では考えていないという。ただ２力士とも完全否定しているだけに、相撲協会側も週刊現代の記事をこのまま見過ごすわけにはいかない。すでに３つの案件で係争中の講談社との間で、新たな火種を抱えてしまった。

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柔道「金」の石井はプロ格闘技へ、強化委員長が意思明かす

　柔道の北京五輪男子１００キロ超級金メダリストの石井慧選手（２１）（国士大４年）が、プロの総合格闘技へ転向することが濃厚になった。

　全日本柔道連盟の吉村和郎強化委員長が６日、転向の意思表示を受けたことを明かし、「（４年後の）ロンドン五輪は考えられない」と語った。

　吉村委員長は、５日の世界団体選手権終了後、石井から「総合（格闘技）へ行きたい」と打ち明けられたという。「自分が進みたい道へ行けばいい」と特に慰留もしなかったといい、「近いうちに転向が発表されるだろう」と語った。

　石井は先月、母校・国士舘高の祝勝会で、「北京で優勝したのは自分の才能のおかげ」などと発言。吉村委員長は最近の奔放な言動も問題視しており、「金メダルを取ってからの石井はおかしくなった。このままでは柔道界にいられなくなる」と、「三下り半」を突きつけた格好だ。

　全柔連の競技者規定では、柔道選手が現役のままプロレス、Ｋ―１などの格闘技系競技でプロ契約することを認めていない。

　過去に格闘技に転向したバルセロナ五輪金メダリストの吉田秀彦、同五輪銀メダリストの小川直也選手らは、柔道から引退後にプロの道へ進んだため、大きな騒動にはならなかった。

　石井はこの日、国士大の道場や寮に姿を見せず、報道陣に対応しなかった。前日は「プロになる気はないです」などと転向を否定していた。

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柔道：石井慧選手、プロ格闘技に転向か　連盟幹部が言及

　全日本柔道連盟（全柔連）の吉村和郎強化委員長は６日、北京五輪男子１００キロ超級で金メダルを獲得した石井慧（さとし）選手（２１）＝国士舘大４年＝がプロ格闘技転向に興味を示していることを前提に「向こう（プロの世界）へ行きたいのだろう。次のロンドン五輪は、違う選手を鍛え上げる。強化選手の辞退届を出せばいい」などと語った。

　一方、国士舘大柔道部で選手の指導もしている斉藤仁・全柔連男子監督は「２週間ぐらい前に石井から『総合（格闘技）に行きたい』と言われた」と話したが、石井選手から時期的な説明はなかったという。国士舘大柔道部では「現時点で石井選手のコメントは出せない」としている。

　吉村委員長は、５日に東京都内で開かれた世界団体選手権の後で石井選手と今後の競技活動について話し合い、その際の印象を「（プロ転向について）迷っていないようだった」と説明した。石井選手は同日の試合を練習不足と故障を理由に欠場したが、今後の活動についての質問には「プロになる気はない」と答えていた。

　石井選手は、プロ格闘家となった９２年バルセロナ五輪の銀メダリスト、小川直也選手の道場に「金メダルを寄贈したい」と話すなど、プロ格闘家との付き合いを強調する発言が目立っていた。全柔連では、競技者の禁止事項として「柔道以外の格闘技系競技（プロレス、Ｋ－１等）において、プロ選手またはプロコーチとして登録され、または契約すること」と定めている。

　柔道の五輪メダリストでは、小川選手のほか、バルセロナ五輪金の吉田秀彦選手や、００年シドニー五輪金の滝本誠選手がプロ格闘家に転向している。【来住哲司、滝口隆司】

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“異端児”事実上の追放　石井プロ転向容認の全柔連 (1/2ページ)
2008.10.6 21:23

　柔道界からプロ格闘家への転身は、小川直也氏や吉田秀彦氏をはじめ先例が多い。いずれも選手としては峠を越した時期の転向であり、石井慧のような日本柔道界を背負う選手がプロに“流出”するとなれば極めて異例のケース。柔道界にとっては大きな損失となる。

　だが、全日本柔道連盟には慰留する気配がない。５日に石井と会談した吉村和郎強化委員長は「お前の人生だ。好きなようにすればいい」と、プロ転向を容認したといい、上村春樹専務理事も６日、「本人が『行きたい』といえば、引き止めはしない」と吉村氏の態度を追認した。

　五輪後、石井は「（金メダルを）川に捨てることも考えた」と発言したり、金メダルを親交のある小川氏が開く道場に寄贈するなど、一連の言動が、全柔連側には五輪を軽視するものとして受け取られ、反発を招いたとみられる。

　全柔連は競技者規定で選手のプロ活動を禁じている。その一方で競技者登録規定では特例として、プロ格闘家としての登録か契約が終了してから３年が経過すれば、再び選手登録することも認めている。例えば一時的にプロ活動を行った石井が３年後に柔道家として復帰すれば、ロンドン五輪への挑戦は理屈の上では可能。だが、吉村氏は「４年間鍛えてきた選手の方がかわいいし、こちらとしては使えない」と厳しい。

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金メダリスト石井がプロ格闘家へ　柔道連盟に意向伝える
2008.10.6 20:22

　北京五輪の柔道男子１００キロ超級金メダリスト、石井慧選手（２１）＝国士舘大＝が、プロ格闘家に転向する意向を全日本柔道連盟に伝えていたことが６日、関係者の話で分かった。全柔連に石井選手を慰留する考えはなく、早ければ年内にも強化指定選手を外れる可能性が出てきた。

　石井選手のプロ転向は５日に一部メディアで報じられていた。全柔連側は同日、東京で行われた世界柔道団体選手権の終了後に、吉村和郎強化委員長が石井選手と会談。吉村委員長によれば、石井選手は「総合（格闘技）に行きたい」と希望を伝えてきたという。

　石井選手は現在、全柔連の強化指定を受けており、４年後のロンドン五輪では２連覇の期待が懸かるが、吉村委員長は「本人の意思が固いなら仕方ない」と話し、石井選手を強化選手として扱う考えは「頭の中にはない」とした。仮に石井選手から強化選手を辞退する届け出があれば、外すとみられる。

　全柔連の競技者規定によれば、柔道以外の格闘技系競技でプロ活動を行った選手は、全柔連の選手登録を取り消され、大会出場などの競技活動は一切できなくなる。

　石井選手は大阪府茨木市出身。国士舘大２年の平成１８年４月、柔道日本一を決める全日本選手権で、史上最年少の１９歳４カ月で優勝した。今年４月には同選手権で２度目の優勝を飾り、８月の北京五輪では金メダルを獲得。五輪後は、ユニークな言動で注目を集めていた。