Iceland takes emergency action
By Tom Braithwaite in Reykjavik
Published: October 6 2008 11:01 | Last updated: October 7 2008 07:21
Iceland on Monday drew up sweeping powers allowing it to nationalise banks and sack executives as the government said it would not flirt with national bankruptcy by taking on debt to prop up the ailing financial sector.
Geir Haarde, prime minister, said in a national address that the financial regulator would be given authority to dictate a bank’s operations and could force mergers and bankruptcies.
”We were faced with the real possibility that the national economy would be sucked into the global banking swell and end in national bankruptcy,” he said. It would not be responsible for the country to take on debt to shore up banks in their current form.
The krona fell as much as 45 per cent against the euro in advance of Mr Haarde’s speech and shares in Iceland’s banks were suspended from trading.
”We’re taking the interests of the population as a whole ahead of the interest of the banks and their shareholders and providing the economy with a functioning payments and liquidity system,” Mr Haarde said.
Bankers at Kaupthing and Landsbanki, the country’s two biggest banks, reacted with shock. ”At the moment we are just trying to evaluate what it all means,” Sigurjon Arnason, joint chief executive of Landsbanki, told the Financial Times. He said he did not know if Landsbanki would be nationalised.
”It’s conceivable that some [banks] will not be able to function without our... intervening,” Mr Haarde said. The government last week took a 75 per cent stake in Glitnir, the third largest bank, in what may be a template for further part-nationalisations.
However, Kaupthing said on Monday night that it had been granted a loan by the central bank – believed to be about €500m – suggesting that it may continue as the only Icelandic bank with significant international operations.
Mr Haarde had approached other world leaders for help – among them Gordon Brown, UK prime minister – to solve a liquidity emergency in Iceland’s banking system, but the global problems meant no feasible proposals were forthcoming.
”In a situation like this it’s turning out that it’s every man for himself, every country for itself... That’s what we’re doing,” he said.
As the currency plummeted, Antje Praefcke, analyst at Commerzbank, said Iceland faced a ”balance of payments crisis”. ”We would also not be surprised to see the Icelandic krona lose its function as a medium of payment,” she said.
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Iceland says Russia to offer €4bn loan
By Tom Braithwaite in Reykjavik
Published: October 7 2008 10:16 | Last updated: October 7 2008 10:16
Iceland on Tuesday said Russia had agreed to provide the country with a €4bn ($5.4 bn) loan as the crisis-hit country set about shoring up its foreign exchange reserves, although Russia’s deputy finance minister, Dmitry Pankin, later said no agreement had been reached.
Iceland’s currency, the krona, rallied on the news wiping out losses made on Monday and earlier on Tuesday.
Later on Tuesday morning Iceland’s central bank said it would peg the island’s krona to a basket of currencies at a level of 131 per euro effective immediately, confirming earlier reports.
”The Central Bank of Iceland has decided to peg the crown to a basket of currencies at the level of 131 to the euro,” Sedlabanki spokesman Stefan Stefansson
Iceland’s central bank said its Russian counterpart had provided €4bn on a four-year deal, with interest set at 30-50 basis points over the London interbank offered rate. The move follows discussions with other countries in the past few days and emergency legislation passed in Iceland on Monday night that allows the nationalisation of banks.
Geir Haarde, prime minister, signalled on Monday that any strengthening of foreign exchange reserves would not translate into extra liquidity for the stricken banking sector.
“By their nature the foreign exchange reserves are not intended for commercial use by the commercial banks,” he said. “Of course, it would have been nice to have had more liquidity from outside sources. We did investigate. We did check a number of other banks – we do have agreement with the Nordic central bank for example.”
“In a situation like this it’s turning out that it’s every man for himself, every country for itself, everybody’s taking care of their best interest and that’s what we are doing,” the prime minister added.
Landsbanki, Iceland’s second largest bank, was nationalised earlier on Tuesday as the country used the new powers that allow it to seize control of public companies in the financial services sector.
The Icelandic Financial Supervisory Authority announced that it would “take control of Landsbanki to ensure continued commercial banking operations in Iceland”. Parliament passed emergency legislation on Monday night, giving the IFSA the right to step in.
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Iceland says Russia to give 4 bln euro loan, Moscow denies deal
14:46 | 07/ 10/ 2008
MOSCOW, October 7 (RIA Novosti) - Iceland's Central Bank said Tuesday that Russia had agreed to grant it a 4 billion-euro ($5.4 billion) loan, prompting a senior Russian Finance Ministry official to deny any deal had been made.
"The Russian ambassador to Iceland, Victor I. Tatarintsev, informed the chairman of the board of governors of the Central Bank of Iceland this morning that Russia would grant the Central Bank a loan in the amount of 4 billion euros," the Icelandic Central Bank's website said, adding that Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin had confirmed this decision.
Russian Deputy Finance Minister Dmitry Pankin denied there had been any talks on a loan for Iceland.
"There have neither been any official requests for a loan from Iceland, nor talks, nor decisions made on the issue," he said.
Iceland's Central Bank said the maturity of the loan would be three to four years on terms ranging from 30 to 50 basis points over LIBOR.
According to the statement, Iceland's prime minister initiated contacts on this agreement some months ago, and representatives from the Central Bank and the government would finalize the agreement in Moscow.
The bank said the loan would significantly bolster Iceland's foreign exchange reserves, strengthening the stability of the exchange rate of the krona.
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Yen jumps on hopes for Japan
By Chris Flood in London
Published: October 6 2008 19:11 | Last updated: October 6 2008 19:11
The yen staged an extraordinary surge on Monday as the flight by investors seeking safety from the crisis engulfing global financial markets intensified.
The Japanese currency jumped 5.7 per cent against the euro, its largest one-day gain since the European single currency started trading in 1999. It also surged 4.2 per cent against the US dollar, its strongest one-day move against the greenback since October 1998.
“There has been a high correlation between the performance of the yen and signs of financial stress,” said Colin Asher, senior economist at Nomura.
Although the Japanese economy is currently in recession and the latest Tankan survey of business confidence pointed to a deepening of the downturn, analysts appear more upbeat about the outlook for Japan than other developed economies.
Goldman Sachs said that Japan was probably best-placed to lead the advanced economies out of the slump after completing the process of balance sheet restructuring, which has made it less vulnerable to the credit crunch than the US and Europe.
Steven Barrow, head of G10 strategy at Standard Bank, said: “The yen is going to be the strongest currency in the world.”
Derek Halpenny at Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi UFJ added: “The yen will remain a strong performer during these periods of intense risk aversion given its relatively healthy banking sector, its strong international investment position and substantial current account surplus.”
Analysts said the currency was also benefiting from the unwinding of “carry trades” where funds borrowed in Japan at low interest rates are invested elsewhere.
This has hurt high-yielding currencies like the Australian and New Zealand dollars. The Australian dollar plunged 12.3 per cent on Monday to Y71.16, while the kiwi fell 10 per cent to Y62.30.
Since the start of July, the yen has gained almost 44 per cent against the Australian dollar and 30 per cent against the kiwi.
Analysts said the erosion of interest rate differentials with Japan combined with the huge increase in volatility across currency markets to undermine carry trades’ risk/return balance.
Sterling has also found itself caught in the crossfire, dropping 6 per cent to Y174.60 on Monday.
The Bank of Japan holds its regular monthly meeting on interest rates on Tuesday amid mounting calls for co-ordinated rate cuts by central banks.
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The Short View: Market crash?
By John Authers, Investment Editor
Published: October 6 2008 21:10 | Last updated: October 6 2008 21:10
“Crash” is a sensitive word in markets. By common consent, there have only been two in the stock markets of the developed world: in October 1929 and October 1987. Must we now add October 2008 to the list?
There are good arguments against that. Both 1929 and 1987 involved daily falls of much more than 10 per cent, and they were generated by the stock market itself with shares trading at multiples that were plainly unjustifiable in 1929 and at very high levels in 1987. In both cases, the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the oldest established measure of US stocks, had gained more than 50 per cent in the preceding year.
This is plainly different. At the peak a year ago, stocks were overvalued but at nothing like the extremes of 1929; stocks have been falling for almost a full year; and the problem lies in bubbles in credit and housing markets, not stocks.
Also, the word crash is not that useful. After 1929, those buying immediately after the crash days would have lost almost 80 per cent over the following three years. After 1987, the gains over the following five years were nearly 50 per cent.
But on balance, it does seem that history should label what we are living through as a crash. The latest capitulation in the markets that had boomed in the past two years, thanks to theories that they would benefit from measures in place to fight the credit crisis, is total.
Some examples: the S&P GSCI energy index is down 41 per cent since mid-July; Brazilian stocks, in dollar terms, are down 61 per cent since May; and the archetypal “carry trade” of borrowing in yen and parking in the high-yielding New Zealand dollar would have lost 36.7 per cent since it peaked last year.
Will the future be like the post-1929 era or the post-1987 experience? The big difference between the two lay in governments’ response and in the health of banks. Those are the key questions now.
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The Short View: Late bounce
By John Authers, Investment Editor
Published: October 7 2008 02:55 | Last updated: October 7 2008 02:55
Markets dislike ambiguity. On Monday it looked as though they would at last get some certainty. It was a Monday in October, like several of the most infamous stock market crashes in history; stocks’ slide on Friday after Congress passed the Tarp relief plan showed that even that dramatic stroke had not assuaged sentiment; the weekend news from Europe was terrifying; and, the selling in Asia and Europe suggested the long-awaited “crash” had come.
But somehow US stocks averted their date with destiny. The critical hour of trading was the last. There were fears that hedge funds, whose problems drove last week’s sell-off, would sell into the close as they were hit by redemption notices. Instead, there was a rebound of 5 per cent from the day’s lows.
Trading in the market that has come to be the best proxy for global growth, Brazil, was intriguing. Down 22 per cent for the day at one point, in dollars, and forced to halt trading twice, it bounced back by 12 per cent from its lows.
That muddies the waters. Measures of panic suggested that a bottom had been reached. The Japanese yen, which rises when investors are risk-averse, gained an extraordinary 7.4 per cent against the euro and 5 per cent against the dollar, coming close to the landmark of 100 yen ($0.98) – but then fell back to 101.5 yen.
The CBOE Vix index of stock volatility crashed through the barrier of 50 for the first time and touched 58 – but closed at 52. Volumes were unremarkable, and in the case of the UK’s FTSE 100 were below the recent average.
Fear is at extremes, but this was not a crash.
An optimistic reading is that the late bounce might allow a bear market rally, particularly if markets get the rate cuts they want from central banks.
A more pessimistic reading is that it would have been healthier in the long run to end the ambiguity and get the crash out of the way.
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Russia seeks to mend ties with the west
By Catherine Belton and Charles Clover in Moscow
Published: October 6 2008 20:20 | Last updated: October 6 2008 20:20
Russia will seek to mend fences with the west after the conflict in Georgia by brokering more foreign direct investment deals amid fears that the country faces a period of stagflation, a senior adviser to Dmitry Medvedev on Monday said.
Igor Yurgens said officials were seeking to send signals of an improved business climate as Russia battles to restore investor confidence badly shaken by the conflict’s cold war rhetoric.
Mr Yurgens was speaking as the Russian stock market plummeted with the RTS falling 19.1 per cent, the biggest one day drop in its 13-year history. He said Russia faced “an insane situation of total non-confidence”.
Investors fear Russian companies will be hit by the global financial crisis as well as a dearth of cash after foreign investors pulled out $56.7bn (€42bn, £32.6bn) between August 8 and September 19.
Mr Medvedev, the president, and Vladimir Putin, his prime minister and predecessor, understand the government needs to improve the climate for foreign and, mainly, Russian investors “who are sort of scared”, Mr Yurgens said. “A big financial crunch outside and a crisis of confidence and cold-warish kind of attitude inside was too much.”
Mr Yurgens said a slowdown in growth because “credit lines are closed” was inevitable with a fall of as much as 4 percentage points from its, current, 8 per cent.
He warned Russia risked “classical stagflation” as inflation remained high while demand slowed. Tighter conditions for mortgages and consumer loans, together with inflation, threaten to hit living standards and risked political fallout, he said.
The head of a think tank advising the president, Mr Yurgens was a rare voice criticising Mr Putin this summer for his attack on Mechel, a coal and steel group, for price gouging. The comments helped trigger the investor exodus due to concern over political risks.
The government’s reining in of its rhetoric “is visible and is being substantiated by some megadeals in the pipeline and signed, such as Eon Ruhrgas”, he said, referring to last week’s deal between Eon and Gazprom.
“You could feel a little bit of discontent with the hawkish rhetoric and you see the adjustment,” he said, adding that Mr Medvedev hoped to push ahead with cutting back bureaucracy and stimulating growth in the oil sector via tax incentives.
Mr Yurgens said Russia might seek to bolster ties with France this week when Mr Medvedev attends a European summit in Evian, by boosting co-operation with Total and other French energy groups. He declined to name specific deals.
He said Russia was seeking to strengthen its negotiating position in the world by leveraging its status as an energy supplier, intensifying dialogue with Opec and gas producing nations, and also boosting ties with Venezuela. “They do want to continue dialogue with the west but they will raise the stakes by using the maximum national instruments in their possession,” he said.
In a speech in Evian on Wednesday, Mr Medvedev will seek to bolster Russia’s position by making proposals for a new European security structure to replace the Helsinki accord. Russia claims the accord is no longer viable after Kosovo’s secession, the conflict over the breakaway enclave of South Ossetia and plans to place US missile defence components near its borders.
Mr Yurgens said Russia had the reserves to support bank liquidity, while its pledge last week of $50bn to refinance companies’ external debts had sent a “message that Russian assets – especially strategic assets – will be rescued”.
The forced divestment last week of a Russian-held 20 per cent stake in Magna, the Canadian car parts maker, to creditors, indicated, however, that foreign assets would not be saved, he said.
● Outbreaks of violence in Georgia on Monday underlined the fragility of security in the country after the war with Russia.
A guard in Abkhazia was killed during a shoot-out near Georgian-controlled territory, Reuters reported. The Abkhazian government blamed Georgian special forces but Tblisi denied it had any forces in the area.
Meanwhile, Russian forces continued to pull out from Georgian-controlled territory into South Ossetia and Abkhazia.
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Berlin shrugs off attacks on savings pledge
By Bertrand Benoit in Berlin and George Parker in London
Published: October 6 2008 18:56 | Last updated: October 6 2008 18:56
Germany on Monday rejected foreign criticism of its decision to guarantee all private bank deposits and denied comparisons with Ireland’s earlier move to underwrite all liabilities of six domestic banks.
The German guarantee, announced by Angela Merkel, the chancellor, on Sunday, sparked criticism as Berlin appeared to be taking unilateral action to tackle the financial crisis without consulting its European partners.
Torsten Albig, finance ministry spokesman, said the German guarantee did not apply to corporate accounts and would therefore not spark an inflow of capital. “Dubliners will not move their money to the Kiel savings bank because of this,” Mr Albig said.
Ms Merkel decided to offer the guarantee while in Paris for a meeting of Italian, British, French and German heads of governments on Saturday but she did not consult with her counterparts there.
One German official said the guarantee was “in the spirit” of the agreement between the four heads of governments not to let large financial institutions fail in the four countries. He said it was a “political statement” that did not need to be anchored in legislation.
During a telephone call on Monday, Ms Merkel reassured Gordon Brown, the British prime minister, that the measure would not distort competition in Europe.
“We had quite a lot of trouble finding anyone from the [German] finance ministry or chancellery to explain it on Sunday night,” one British official said. “The people we did speak to gave us conflicting accounts.”
The German scheme means the government will now act as a guarantor of last resort should a string of bank failures exhaust existing state and private-sector guarantee schemes, already among the most comprehensive in the world.
In a further sign of increasing nerves in Germany over the financial crisis, German officials were forced to quash expectations that Berlin would announce a US-like rescue package for German banks on Monday after Peer Steinbrück, finance minister, said the government should “erect a shield” for the country’s financial sector.
In what officials described as a slip-of-the-tongue, Mr Steinbrück told journalists that the government was working on “a plan B” to protect the German financial system. “We must try . . . to erect a shield so that we stop stumbling from one [bank crisis] case into the next,” he said.
Mr Albig said Mr Steinbrück’s “plan B” comment was misunderstood, adding that the minister was calling for “organisational arrangements” to ensure future bank crises could be tackled faster and more efficiently.
Mr Steinbrück already came under fire from bankers last week after saying a bailout deal for Hypo Real Estate, the stricken mortgage lender, would involve “an orderly unwinding” of the bank. In a second attempt to rescue HRE, banking, government and central bank officials agreed on Sunday on a €50bn emergency liquidity injection, €26bn of which will be underwritten by the government.
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Danish deposits backed in bank bail-out deal
By Robert Anderson in Stockholm
Published: October 6 2008 18:38 | Last updated: October 6 2008 18:38
The Danish government has guaranteed all bank deposits and some inter-bank lending in return for a pledge from the country’s banks to establish a rescue fund able to draw on up to Dk35bn ($6.5bn).
The agreement is designed to reassure both depositors and the banking community following a spate of local bank collapses caused by the global liquidity crisis. Up to now only deposits of up to Dkr300,000 were guaranteed.
“With this solution the government has demonstrated timely action,” said Peter Schultze, chairman of the Danish Bankers’ Association. “There is no doubt that action is needed now to get the blood circulation of the money market going.”
Central banks in other Nordic countries also took steps on Monday to improve deposit guarantees and banks’ liquidity, though none of their banks are yet in a critical position.
Sweden on Monday doubled the guarantee limit to Skr500,000 ($69,000) and the central bank issued Skr100bn in three-month loans at 5.4 per cent interest, up from a planned Skr60bn.
The Danish government has gone beyond neighbours such as Germany by guaranteeing some forms of unsecured debt but it has also insisted on a substantial contribution from the country’s banks that could total up to 2 per cent of gross domestic product.
“This is an insurance policy the banks have paid for to address their problems using the Danish government’s AAA rating,” said Steen Bocian, chief economist of Danske Bank, the largest Danish bank.
Several of Denmark’s small banks are struggling to stay liquid as wholesale funding dries up. Many small banks expanded their balance sheets aggressively in recent years using wholesale funding to take advantage of the country’s real estate boom. Two have already been rescued and five other small banks have been pushed into mergers.
Under the new plan banks will contribute Dkr10bn – with a possible extension to Dkr20bn – to the new rescue fund and pay a non-refundable Dk7.5bn both this year and next in return for the state guarantee.
During the two-year programme, banks cannot issue dividends, make share buy- backs or establish or renew share option schemes for managers.
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World oil prices likely to stay at $80-90 per barrel - ministry
13:56 | 07/ 10/ 2008
MOSCOW, October 7 (RIA Novosti) - World oil prices could plunge to $50 per barrel amid the ongoing global financial crisis but are likely to stabilize at $80-90 per barrel, a senior Russian government official said on Tuesday.
"The options of oil prices falling to $50 per barrel are being discussed. However, we [the Economic Development Ministry] consider real prices to be $80-90 per barrel," Andrei Klepach, deputy economic development minister said.
World oil prices plunged to below $90 per barrel Monday to $87.81 on fears of declining demand for crude.
Russian Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin said the 2008 budget would remain balanced with oil prices ranging from $60 to $70 per barrel. Next year, the federal budget will be deficit-free with oil prices at a level of $70 per barrel.
The draft federal budget for 2009-2011 is based on an average yearly oil price of $95 per barrel in 2009, $90 per barrel in 2010, and $88 per barrel in 2011. Inflation is expected to hit 7.5-8.5% in 2009, 5.5-7% in 2010, and 5-6.8% in 2011, Kudrin said.
Klepach also said that his ministry did not expect the ruble to fall considerably against the greenback.
The Bank of Russia set the official ruble/dollar rate at 26.1784 rubles to the dollar from October 7 down 27.91 kopeks from October 4.
"We do not expect any sharp decrease in the ruble exchange rate," Klepach said.
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Mauritania bemoans nautical graveyard
By Matthew Green in Nouadhibou
Published: October 7 2008 03:05 | Last updated: October 7 2008 03:05
A dust-blown town of half-built houses perched at the end of a peninsula of eerie rock formations on the Moroccan border, Nouadhibou boasts little to hint at the vast wealth trawled up since the European Union began negotiating fishing deals with Mauritania in 1987.
Dunes tumbling into the Atlantic provide a spectacular backdrop, but the wrecked hulks of more than 100 ships give the bay the feel of a nautical graveyard.
As a teenager growing up on Mauritania’s desert coast, Hassan Mohammed would while away afternoons flicking a line into the Atlantic surf, reeling in fish so easily it seemed they were queuing up to be caught.
Twenty years later, with his fishing business based on two dugout canoes struggling to survive, he blames a flotilla of European, Russian and Chinese trawlers for sucking the life out of the sea. “If it continues like this, there’ll be nothing left,” he says. “We can’t sell water.”
The EU, facing criticism from campaigners seeking fairer trade deals, has signed up to a reformed four-year fishing agreement with Mauritania. It will pay €300m ($405m, £233m) over four years for a reduced catch set at 250,000 tonnes a year. But it threatened to suspend the deal – the EU’s biggest fisheries agreement – after a coup in August in which Mauritania’s first freely elected president was overthrown. That threat, eventually dropped, increased local resentment.
“Our leaders aren’t Saddam Hussein or [Osama] Bin Laden,” said Ahmed Ould Yahya, a partner in a fishing company in Nouadhibou. “Sanctions don’t affect the leaders, but they affect the population.”
Just as African communities have long accused foreign companies of reaping the bulk of the income from oil, timber and gold, Mauritania’s coastal people feel cheated of the profits to be had from the rich catches of fish, shrimp and octopus in west Africa’s fishing grounds.
Nouadhibou has developed one thriving export business. Thousands of illegal immigrants struggle through the desert before seeking a passage to Spain’s Canary Islands, two days away by boat. Last year an estimated 31,000 west Africans took to sea. Some 6,000 died or are missing, according to one estimate cited by the United Nations.
Locals say Nouadhibou needs more fish processing industries to generate bigger profits and provide the jobs needed to stem the human tide.
“If there was work, there would be no immigration,” says Yahya Ould Ndiaye, one of the founders of a local charity that warns would-be migrants of the dangers. “How many years have Europeans been fishing in Mauritania? Where is the money?”
Campaigners say the latest EU fishing deal is an improvement, but does not provide enough safeguards. “The problem with the new agreement is that it still allows EU vessels to take too much of the fish and octopus that local fishermen need,” said Béatrice Gorez, of the Coalition for Fair Fisheries Arrangements in Brussels.
As disillusionment with the Europeans runs high, the country is open to new partners. Before the coup, the government signed a deal with China for a $300m project to extend the “Friendship Port” built by the Chinese in the early 1980s in Nouackchott, the capital.
Investors from Dubai have also been looking at projects to expand the pier and invest in a container terminal and refrigeration facilities.
Abasse Boughourbal, who owns one of the few fish processing factories in Nouadhibou, speaking over a meal of giant prawns, says: “The danger for the Europeans is that they’ll push us into the arms of the Chinese.”
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Broken Wall Street Means Merrill Model Succumbs to Independents
By Edgar Ortega
Oct. 6 (Bloomberg) -- John Krambeer left Merrill Lynch & Co. in 2003 after 16 years to start his own investment advisory firm in El Segundo, California. Now he says the turmoil on Wall Street may bring him $200 million from wealthy clients abandoning top-tier brokerages, including his former employer.
``The past 12 months have been one of the best for referrals in a long time, and I think it'll continue to get better,'' said Krambeer, whose Camden Capital Management LLC oversees $400 million, up from $50 million four years ago. ``The loss of confidence has people looking for an alternative solution to what's worked for them in the past 10 or 15 years, and we're winning business.''
While investment banks still dominate the financial advisory industry, the sale of New York-based Merrill to Bank of America Corp., the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. and the credit-market crisis that sparked a 25 percent drop in the Standard & Poor's 500 Index this year have upended the business of managing money for the wealthy. Takeovers and corporate failures may loosen the grip that the big financial institutions have on the affluent and accelerate a shift away from commissions toward charging clients a fee based on assets.
Almost 90 percent of customers of major brokerages say they plan to withdraw at least some of their money, and 70 percent say they want to fire their brokers, according to a September survey by Prince & Associates Inc., which polled 351 people with more than $1 million of investable assets. In July, about 68 percent said they planned to take money out, and 38 percent had had enough of their current adviser.
`Poor to Indifferent'
Investment banks managed about $5.30 for every $1 handled by independent firms last year, according to consultants at Boston- based Cerulli Associates Inc. That gap may narrow as brokers leave to strike out on their own and investors yank money from firms battered by losses on mortgage-related securities.
``People are assigning a lot of blame to their advisers, in part because of years of poor-to-indifferent service,'' said Hannah Grove, a managing partner at Prince & Associates, a research firm in Redding, Connecticut. ``Independent and boutique firms have a real advantage right now because advisers are more likely to be evaluated on their own expertise rather than the activities of the firms they're employed by.''
The number of registered investment advisers increased 2.9 percent to 16,575 between 2005 and 2007, while the number of brokers at the biggest firms such as Merrill, known as ``wirehouses,'' fell 7.9 percent to 59,020 in the same period, Cerulli data show. Independent advisers managed $1.1 trillion at the end of last year, up from $768.7 billion in 2004, according to Cerulli.
Switching Firms
Brokers collect commissions on trades, while registered investment advisers, regulated as fiduciaries under the 1940 Investment Advisers Act, charge fees based on a percent of assets.
Charles Schwab Corp. in San Francisco and Boston-based Fidelity Investments, the two largest companies that provide custody and brokerage services to independent firms, say they are handling record business. By July, the two companies had transferred more than 169 advisers, totaling $16.2 billion in client assets.
Pershing LLC, the world's biggest processor of trades, is working with 90 groups of advisers to handle the transfer of about $24 billion as they switch firms or start up as independents. That's about three times last year's number.
``Until recently we had been seeing the levee overflowing, but now we're actually seeing a crack because the pressure to leave is so great,'' said Mark Tibergien, head of the division that caters to investment advisers at Pershing, a unit of Bank of New York Mellon Corp.
`Wooing Period'
Some independent firms have grown big enough to vie for clients who were once the captives of large brokerages. Jim Blair, a principal at Clayton, Missouri-based Moneta Group LLC, which he joined in 1987, said his firm has grown to manage $7.9 billion by replacing some $1 million accounts with clients investing $5 million and more.
``With multiple billions under management, we don't give up economies of scale,'' said Blair, 48. ``We can negotiate lower fees, we can buy or do the research, and we have the hands on deck. We can't lend and we don't have proprietary products, so the large firms have some competitive advantages from the perspective of making money. But from an objectivity standpoint, nobody can touch us.''
Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC, a six-year-old New York-based firm that oversees $9.6 billion, plans to increase its roster of clients who have $30 million of assets on average.
Citigroup, UBS
``People with the kind of money that we typically manage don't change advisers overnight,'' said Managing Director Richard Hough. ``There is a fairly lengthy wooing and due-diligence period, and we're in the midst of that with a number of people. We have definitely seen an increase in the number of business opportunities.''
Jim Tracy, director of business development at Citigroup Inc.'s global wealth management unit, said that fewer than 10 of his New York-based firm's brokers generating more than $1 million in fees and commissions have gone independent this year.
``The numbers just don't bear out all the fanfare about the movement of advisers,'' Tracy said. ``There is a flight to quality, where in this kind of environment the asset flows go to the companies perceived as the strongest and most stable.''
At UBS AG, the European bank with the biggest losses from the credit crisis, the unrest among its 8,090 brokers in the U.S. may be subsiding. The Zurich-based company hired 26 brokers last month with about $10.9 billion, making up for withdrawals of $4.8 billion in the first half when 160 left.
Big Five
``What we put in place is beginning to take hold,'' said Paul Santucci, U.S. head of field development and talent acquisition for wealth management at UBS. ``We're feeling pretty good that we're pretty much through the storm.''
The five biggest publicly traded brokerages generated $23.5 billion of revenue in the U.S. during the first half of 2008, up 10 percent from a year earlier, regulatory filings show.
New York-based Merrill, the largest, had 16,690 brokers as of June 30 -- more than all the registered independent advisers in the U.S. -- followed by Citigroup with 14,983. Wachovia Corp. of Charlotte, North Carolina, which last week received a $15 billion takeover offer from Wells Fargo & Co., ranked third with 12,000 brokers, followed by closely held Edward Jones & Co. in St. Louis with 11,900. New York-based Morgan Stanley ranks fifth with 8,350.
Bank of America, the second-biggest U.S. bank by market value, agreed last month to pay about $45.3 billion for a chance to build on Merrill's lead. The combined company will have almost 20,000 brokers worldwide, assuming Chief Executive Officer Kenneth Lewis and Merrill CEO John Thain succeed in mitigating defections.
`In Play'
Takeovers like the one involving Merrill typically result in 8 percent to 12 percent of brokers changing firms during the first year, according to data compiled by industry consultants TowerGroup Inc. in Needham, Massachusetts. Recruiters say incentives to take new jobs often exceed 200 percent of annual fees and commissions.
``The total might be a little less than average now, given the difficulties in the market,'' said Matthew Bienfang, an analyst at TowerGroup. ``Advisers can't move that quickly. Clients are already scared enough.''
Merrill grew its brokerage ranks by an average of 5.5 percent during the past four years. The New York-based firm attracted $55 billion of net new assets in the past 12 months and recruited 16 brokers from other firms during the week of Sept. 15, when the deal with Bank of America of Charlotte was announced.
Sleepless Nights
``We are very near an historic low in turnover, particularly among our most productive class of advisers,'' said Lyle LaMothe, head of Merrill's U.S. advisory business, which focuses on clients with more than $250,000 to invest. ``A strong platform and leadership team combine to make competitor recruitment packages less of a factor. What advisers are doing is thinking about long-term growth.''
William Gurtin said he planned his departure from Morgan Stanley for almost 18 months, working most weekends and hiring three full-time people, including a former Accenture Ltd. consultant to handle logistics. Gurtin Fixed Income Management LLC in San Diego opened its doors in February, as Bear Stearns Cos. unsuccessfully tried to shore up investor confidence that it could weather the credit crisis.
``Did I have some sleepless nights? Yeah, there is no doubt that I did. But do I have any regrets? Absolutely not,'' said Gurtin, 48, who worked at Morgan Stanley for nine years. He retained almost all of his clients, totaling $5 billion in assets. ``We're a much stronger, better-positioned firm today than we would have been if we had stayed.''
`Personal Attention'
One Merrill broker who got away was Salvadore Vidrio, 35, who joined IFC Advisory in Culver City, California, in May after two and a half years at the firm. For Vidrio, a 42 percent drop in Merrill's shares last year eroded the value of his stock-based compensation and made the decision to leave a little easier. He took about 85 percent of his clients with him and $15 million of assets.
``It had lost a lot of value, so it didn't hurt as much,'' Vidrio said Sept. 24, while attending a conference in Atlanta for financial advisers organized by Charles Schwab. ``Clients are more apt to listen to an adviser when they know they're getting personal attention and that I'm not trying to steer them toward any products.''
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Bringing Goldman to Heel Makes Options Traders Rich (Update1)
By Jeff Kearns and Gareth Gore
Oct. 6 (Bloomberg) -- The same credit-market rout that sent stocks to the steepest loss in two decades is also making it the best year ever for options traders.
U.S. equity derivative prices and trading surged to records as one of the worst months for the Standard & Poor's 500 Index since the Great Depression wiped out three years of stock market gains. The retreat drove the Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index, a measure of how much options cost, to the highest level in its 18-year history.
Huntington Asset Management returned 70 percent in two weeks by selling contracts on Goldman Sachs Group Inc., the Wall Street bank that sold $5 billion of preferred stock to Warren Buffett. Target Corp.'s 25 percent plunge yielded about $12 for every contract traded by Scoggin Capital Management LP using a so- called no-cost collar. Contracts for Coca-Cola Co., Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and Campbell Soup Co. surged as much as 119 percent since the end of 2007, according to the implied volatility of options expiring in 30 days.
``It's astronomical,'' said Peter Sorrentino, who helps manage $16.5 billion at Huntington in Cincinnati, including $150 million in options. ``You're selling insurance to people who are scrambling and the markets are moving faster than they can react. It's heavily skewed toward fear.''
The VIX, as the CBOE index is known, jumped 15 percent to a record 52.05 today after the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped below 10,000 for the first time in four years on concern global growth is slowing. The measure topped last week's all-time high of 46.72 reached after Congress initially rejected a $700 billion financial-market rescue plan.
`Not Over Yet'
Volatility may remain high as concern grows the legislation isn't enough to unlock credit markets and restore confidence in the nation's banking system, said Michael Schwartz, options chief at Oppenheimer & Co. in New York. The S&P 500 fell 1.4 percent after the vote, capping its worst weekly decline since September 2001.
``Now that the vote has been made, volatility, which is a reflection of fear, is still going to be high,'' said Schwartz, the ``dean of options strategists,'' according to SmartMoney magazine. ``The implication of this credit squeeze is that it's not over yet.''
The VIX surged to a record 46.72 on Sept. 29 after the House of Representatives rejected the rescue plan. That pushed the S&P 500 to an 8.8 percent decline, the most since the 1987 crash, as borrowing costs climbed. The stock index lost 9.1 percent in September, the 12th-worst month since World War II.
Higher Prices
The all-time high in the VIX meant investors paid 2 1/2 times more for S&P 500 options than they did in 2007, based on its average level last year. The measure, calculated from the prices paid for S&P 500 options, has exceeded 30 for 16 consecutive days, the longest streak since 2002.
``This is the worst fear that I can think of in my career,'' said John Wilson, 63, co-director of equity strategy at Morgan Keegan & Co., which manages $120 billion in Memphis, Tennessee.
September's market gyrations sent trading of options on U.S. stocks, indexes and exchange-traded funds to an all-time high of 375 million contracts, according to the Chicago-based Options Clearing Corp. Volume was almost double the figure from a year earlier.
``People are nervous and they want protection for their portfolio, so they'll pay a premium,'' said Adam Stern, who oversees more than $1 billion at AM Investment Partners, a New York-based hedge fund that invests in options. ``It's possible to make a bit of money as people bid for that premium.''
Calls, Puts
Options are derivatives, or securities that derive their value from an underlying asset. Calls give the right to buy a security for a certain amount, the strike price, by a given date. Puts convey the right to sell.
Investors who sold one-month call options on the S&P 500 with strike prices equal to the current level of the index collected a 3.6 percent premium, more than double the 1.7 percent average over the last 22 years, according to CBOE data.
The CBOE S&P 500 BuyWrite Index lost 5.8 percent last month, less than the stock benchmark's decline. The gauge tracks the performance of investing in the S&P 500 and then selling calls with strike prices higher than the index's current level. The strategy works best if the calls remain ``out of the money,'' meaning the S&P 500 stays below the strike price, preventing the contract's buyer from exercising it.
Diane Garnick, who helps oversee $500 billion as a New York- based investment strategist at Invesco Ltd., recommends that retirement funds and endowments use a buy-write strategy.
`Extra Income'
``If ever there was an environment where options overwriting makes sense, it's now,'' she said. ``When you sell those calls, you get extra income.''
Huntington's Chip Hendon sold October $80 puts linked to New York-based Goldman Sachs on Sept. 16 as the stock tumbled to an almost three-year low of $133.01. He collected a premium of $3.72 for each contract. Because that put can now be purchased for $1.13, Huntington has gotten a 70 percent return.
Investors who initiated a buy-write strategy on New York- based American Express Co. on Aug. 15 would have generated a 5.5 percent profit by the next month's expiration on Sept. 19. That scenario, based on selling the September $42.50 call, outperformed owning the shares, which rose 3.4 percent to $40.40 during the period, while the S&P 500 declined 3.3 percent.
Craig Effron, who oversees $3.1 billion as co-founder of Scoggin Capital, bet that Target would retreat after the second- largest U.S. discount retailer surged 33 percent in less than two months to $57.89 on Sept. 8.
`Parabolic Move'
``We thought that seemed like a parabolic move, which we're always suspect of,'' Effron said. ``But I didn't want to short the stock in case I was wrong.''
Effron used a modified version of a ``collar'' strategy, buying the October $55 puts while selling the October $60 calls on Sept. 16 as the stock remained near the same price. Effron pulled in about $12 for each of his positions, which he declined to quantify.
Implied volatility, a key gauge of option prices, reached the highest levels since the end of 2007 last week for Atlanta- based Coca-Cola, Bentonville, Arkansas-based Wal-Mart Stores, and Camden, New Jersey-based Campbell Soup. Coca-Cola increased as much as 119 percent to 40.69, Wal-Mart added 58 percent to 40.61 and Campbell Soup rose 76 percent to 38.94.
``It's a fantastic time to trade options,'' said Jody Smith, a London-based volatility trading analyst at Russell Investments, which oversees about $213 billion. ``You have people that need to own contracts, people who want to sell, and there's a lot of opportunity to put on positions and take them off.''
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Russia's Nuclear Shutdown Pads Reactor Orders, Purges Chernobyl
By Yuriy Humber
Oct. 6 (Bloomberg) -- ``All zones, fire at the nuclear power plant,'' booms a loudspeaker at 9:00 a.m. near the Volgodonsk station deep in southwest Russia.
Within 3 minutes, emergency personnel known as liquidators spill out of fire trucks wearing rubber boots and gloves to guard against electric shock as flames dance inside. At 9:14 a.m. an armored car rolls up, turret slowly twisting, measuring radiation. The command center receives a reading transmission: Abnormal.
The shutdown, staged over two days each September and involving 800 specialists, is a rehearsal for an event the Russians are trying to show will never happen again 22 years after the Chernobyl disaster. At stake this year is an $80 billion global backlog of orders for Russian reactors and nuclear fuel that underpin the industry's future.
``Moscow, we are in the Ready-for-Emergency mode,'' Volgodonsk director Alexander Palamarchuk reports over a satellite camera to his superiors in the Russian capital 1,200 kilometers (740 miles) north.
Officials from 11 countries, including Iran, South Korea and France, observed the simulation on Sept. 24 and 25. At the event, Russia staged a technical flaw, similar to one that occurred at the Three Mile Island plant in Pennsylvania in 1979, the worst nuclear incident in U.S. history. The glitch involved a relief valve failing to close automatically.
``Globally, the issue of nuclear safety is closely tied to Russia,'' said Alexander Pikayev, a nuclear non-proliferation specialist at the Institute of World Economics and International Relations in Moscow. ``Russia needs to combat this image.''
Iranian Interest
Russia is seizing on record oil and natural gas prices to market its nuclear reactors abroad and plans to gain as much as 20 percent of the global market. China, India and Iran already are buyers, and Russia is the only bidder for a contract to build Turkey's first nuclear plant, Istanbul-based utility Tetas said last month.
Bulgaria is paying ZAO Atomstroyexport, Russia's state-run reactor builder, $5.2 billion for two units; India has an accord for four units; and China is in talks on two more, according to the company's Web site. In addition, Rosatom Corp., the parent company of Atomstroyexport, has Russian government contracts for 26 reactors by 2020, according to the Web site of Rosatom's energy division, OAO Atomenergoprom.
``The Russians are very scrupulous in detailing instructions for what to do in every situation,'' says Hossein Abbasibilandi, an observer from the Bushehr nuclear plant in Iran. ``In an emergency, the first thing people do is panic. We need to be ready to deal with a real situation.''
Chernobyl Stigma
Since 2007, Russian specialists have been training Abbasibilandi to oversee safety at Bushehr, Iran's first nuclear power plant, which Russia may finish building this year.
The Chernobyl accident of 1986, when a cooling experiment caused a so-called RBMK reactor to explode, remains a stigma.
Last month's simulated shutdown is designed to keep Russian authorities on alert, says Nikolai Sorokin, chief of the country's nuclear plant emergency team.
``This is a game, but its point is to raise our reactions,'' says Sorokin. ``Then, should something happen, we just act.''
The United Nations estimated in 2005 that the Chernobyl explosion, which was equal to 400 Hiroshima bombs, directly killed 56 people. It may have also caused 4,000 cancer deaths and exposed 600,000 to high radiation, the UN said.
After Chernobyl and Three Mile Island, the U.S. and Russia worked in the 1990s on safety measures that exist at all reactors today, Pikayev said. Russia's new VVER reactor can withstand the impact of a 20 metric ton jet and has a hermetic seal to keep steam from escaping should the core leak.
The safety features add 40 percent to reactor costs, says Yury Kormushkin, a nuclear physicist for 45 years who works at Volgodonsk.
`Well Equipped'
Russia's nuclear safety program may now rank among the best in the world, says Stig Husin, an expert at the Swedish Radiation & Safety Authority who observed the exercise.
``You're very well equipped here,'' says Husin, who observed a similar drill in Russia in 2005.
The use of a video link between the power plant and crisis centers in Moscow and other cities is something other countries could learn from, Husin said. The system helped Volgodonsk stabilize the emergency within three hours.
Wan Joo Kim, senior researcher at Korea's Institute of Nuclear Safety in Daejeon, is on his first visit to Russia after the two countries signed a nuclear cooperation accord in 2005.
``It'd be great if we had this,'' Kim says, pointing to a man-size robot with tractor-tire shoes and a rotating pincer-arm.
As confidence in the Russian nuclear program rises, a group of Korean companies last week agreed to mine uranium in Russia together with state-owned ARMZ Uranium Co.
The chance of another Chernobyl, or even the combination of problems posed in the exercise, ``is practically impossible now,'' given advances in technology, Sorokin said. ``Still, we need something very strong to test the evacuation procedures.''
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Chavez's Cheap Oil Gives Him Sway Over U.S. Allies, Aid Funds
By Matthew Walter
Enlarge Image/Details
Oct. 6 (Bloomberg) -- President Hugo Chavez has figured out how to use Venezuela's vast oil reserves to increase his regional influence while diminishing U.S. clout: He all but gives it away.
The self-proclaimed socialist revolutionary is allowing impoverished U.S. allies such as Honduras and the Dominican Republic to buy discounted oil with low-interest loans. Then he rebates the revenue back to those countries in the form of aid - - attached to strings he controls.
Venezuela's oil wealth gives it ``much more capacity for an aggressive foreign policy,'' says Jose Manuel Puente, a professor at the Center for Public Policy at the Instituto de Estudios Superiores de Administracion in Caracas. ``You can cultivate and multiply your revolution, and you can create more friction with the U.S.''
Record oil prices have allowed Chavez, 54, to boost spending on such agreements this year. Crude exports from Venezuela, the Western Hemisphere's biggest oil exporter, exploded since 2007.
Crude prices have soared 52 percent since the beginning of last year. In July, they touched a record $147.27 a barrel before retreating to $92.70 on Oct. 3. Revenue at state-owned Petroleos de Venezuela SA rose 69 percent in the first half of the year to $72.4 billion, according to the company's earnings statement.
Chavez's oil-subsidy program is aimed at the 18 Central American and Caribbean countries in Petrocaribe, an alliance he created in 2005.
Favorable Terms
Member nations, many of which have been buffeted by inflation in prices for fuel, food and other necessities, get 1 percent financing for their purchases and may be required to pay as little as 30 percent of the market price for the oil within 90 days, then get 25 years to pay the rest, Chavez explained at a July Petrocaribe summit in Maracaibo, Venezuela.
Through the program, Venezuela supplies more than 200,000 barrels a day to those countries, most of which rely entirely on imports for fuel. Some countries are receiving financing to cover more than half their oil imports.
Meanwhile, a portion of the loan repayments go neither to Venezuela's treasury nor the state oil company; instead, they are deposited into an aid fund for Petrocaribe countries that Venezuela jointly controls.
Costa Rican President Oscar Arias said in a Sept. 26 interview that he plans to join Petrocaribe and begin receiving 20,000 barrels of oil products a day.
Small Country, Big Help
``This will be a big help for a small country with such a high oil bill like ours,'' he said. ``This will provide a huge relief for our balance of payments.''
While Arias insisted that Chavez's ``tangible assistance'' won't affect his government's policies, the impact of the Venezuelan leader's efforts, political as well as economic, is visible throughout the region.
In Honduras, which began taking advantage of Chavez's largesse in January, a long history of friendly relations with the U.S. -- it took economic advice from the American-led World Bank in the 1990s and has allowed the U.S. to use its military bases -- has given way to a sharper tone.
In August, Honduran President Manuel Zelaya denounced U.S. ``imperialism,'' and praised Chavez's economic model.
``If the system that governed Honduras for 40 years had resolved the poverty, the indigence, the exclusion of more than 4 million Hondurans, we wouldn't be looking to the south, toward socialism,'' Zelaya said on Aug. 25 in Tegucigalpa as he signed up for new Venezuelan credit lines for agriculture initiatives and for oil-funded subsidies.
Off-Budget
Petrocaribe's funds are largely off-budget, in recipient nations as well as at home. Opposition parties in Argentina, Nicaragua and elsewhere have complained that their governments' Venezuelan aid programs lack transparency, both in terms of how much money they generate and how it is used.
Nicaragua's National Assembly held a special hearing Sept. 18 to investigate how much aid Venezuela has sent the country. While President Daniel Ortega says the total is $521 million since 2007, the central bank says it can only account for an estimated $185 million.
``The money is for the people of Nicaragua, not for Ortega,'' Victor Tinoco, a congressman with the opposition Sandinista Renovation Movement, said at the hearing.
Ortega has said he used the funds for his ``Zero Hunger'' program and for loans to farmers and to poor families to start small businesses.
`Extremely Murky'
``All of these funds are extremely murky,'' says Patrick Esteruelas, an analyst at the Eurasia Group in New York.
Chavez claims Petrocaribe was born out of concern for the impact rising oil prices were having on the poor in a region where, according to the World Bank, 17.9 percent of the population lives on less than $2 a day.
``We became alarmed when oil shot up to $120, $130, $140,'' Chavez said in a July 16 speech. ``Immediately, we activated Petrocaribe to protect our brothers, the smallest ones, the weakest ones.''
As oil prices rise, the amount each country borrows from Venezuela also increases. As of June, the Dominican Republic owed Venezuela $800 million, Dominican Finance Minister Vicente Bengoa told reporters at a conference in Cancun, Mexico.
Leaders associated with Chavez increasingly are imitating his class-warfare, anti-American rhetoric. After Chavez and his ally, Bolivian President Evo Morales, both kicked out their nation's U.S. envoys, Honduras delayed the acceptance of its U.S. ambassador's credentials in a show of solidarity.
Fuel Subsidies
The World Bank last year ranked Honduras as the fifth- poorest nation in Latin America and the Caribbean, with a per capita income of $1,600. The Central American nation has spent more than $140 million on fuel subsidies as of August, up from $55 million for all of last year, Finance Minister Rebeca Santos Rivera said in an interview.
Honduras's initial agreement with Chavez authorized it to import $800 million worth of Venezuelan oil products in 2007 and 2008. The Honduran government immediately resells the shipments to private importers, putting the profit into a fund administered by the central bank for state-sponsored investment projects, she says.
Venezuela's oil-related subsidies compete with aid to Latin America and the Caribbean from the U.S. Agency for International Development, which is projected to total $859.7 million this year, up 8.4 percent from last year and down from $1 billion provided in 2005.
Struggling U.S.
``The U.S. is struggling to come up with adequate alternatives to encourage or co-opt supporters within Latin America and rival Chavez's oil largesse,'' says the Eurasia Group's Esteruelas.
In some cases, Chavez has said he would accept goods and services as payment. In August, he suggested that the Dominican Republic could reduce its debt with tourism packages for Venezuelans.
``Already, the flexibility from Petrocaribe is greater than what we're receiving from the Inter-American Development Bank and the World Bank, in terms of financial conditions and time,'' says Santos, the Honduran finance minister.
President George W. Bush, tied up with a war in Iraq, hasn't given the region the attention he promised during his 2000 election campaign and this year couldn't get the Democratic-controlled U.S. House of Representatives to even vote on a free-trade agreement with Colombia, the U.S.'s strongest ally in South America.
Creating an Opening
That failure raises questions in the region about the U.S.'s reliability and creates an opening for Chavez, says Peter Hakim, president of the Washington-based Inter-American Dialogue, a policy analysis center focusing on Western Hemisphere affairs.
As small nations line up behind Chavez and his growing affinity for Iran and Russia, the U.S. risks fading cooperation on trade, energy projects and drug trafficking.
``We've seen how President Chavez's influence, with his rhetoric and his resources, has had an impact on our internal politics,'' says Felipe Salaberry, a Chilean lawmaker who helps run the Union of Latin American Parties, an alliance of ``center and center-right'' political groups.
``Using an anti-Yankee discourse among a population that's in a great state of need is always going to be attractive,'' he adds.
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South Korea assumes the role of Russia's strategic partner
21:25 | 03/ 10/ 2008
MOSCOW. (RIA Novosti foreign news commentator Ivan Zakharchenko) - South Korea, the closest military-political ally of the United States in Asia, seems willing to become Russia's strategic partner.
Although developments in the Caucasus have been sharply criticized in the West, South Korean President Lee Myung-bak spoke pragmatically about promoting relations with Russia during his visit to Moscow late last week.
Strategic partnership provides for economic cooperation and close diplomatic, political, security and defense ties. The joint Russian-South Korean declaration on the results of Lee Myung-bak's visit consists of 10 points reflecting bilateral accords in different fields and includes a common assessment of Georgia's invasion of South Ossetia.
In the declaration, the sides expressed their concern over the recent situation in Georgia and their support for using peaceful means and dialogue to settle the problem.
President Lee Myung-bak is considered a conservative yet pragmatic pro-American politician. Evidence of that is his decision to open the South Korean market to beef imports from the U.S. contrary to public protests. He has also initiated talks with the U.S. to revive the close military ties eroded during the 10-year rule of Liberal Democrats, who had worked to ease tensions in relations with North Korea.
The current Seoul authorities are busy tackling economic problems, and business ties with Russia apparently influence Lee Myung-bak's political priorities.
The South Korean president likes to speak about his visits to the Soviet Union even before diplomatic relations were established with South Korea, when he was Hyundai's CEO. He says he has been willing to take part in developing Russia's East Siberian and Far Eastern resources since then.
When he was in Moscow last week, Lee Myung-bak met with President Dmitry Medvedev and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin. They agreed that South Korea would participate in projects in Russia's Far East within the federal program of economic and social development of the Far East and the Trans-Baikal Territory approved for 1996-2005 and up to 2013.
According to the South Korean government, the two countries' striving for peace and security in Northeast Asia, their proximity to each other, and their mutually complementary economies hold promise for their relations established in September 1990.
Lee Myung-bak was accompanied to Moscow by a group of leaders of major South Korean companies. One of them, Hyundai-KIA CEO Chung Mong-koo, told journalists upon his return to Seoul that Russia could become a global automotive leader. He said the Hyundai assembly plant in the Kamenka industrial park near St. Petersburg would produce 150,000 cars annually beginning in 2011.
The two countries also signed a memorandum of understanding in the gas sector stipulating the delivery of 7.5 million metric tons of Russian natural gas to South Korea for 30 years beginning in 2015. This is approximately 20% of South Korea's annual natural gas consumption.
The South Korean leader is fully aware that stable relations and cooperation with Russia would be impossible without political rapprochement. Besides, Seoul needs to balance the interests of Russia, the U.S., China and Japan in order to maintain stability on the Korean Peninsula and the rest of the region.
The Korean authorities believe that Russia as the legal successor of the Soviet Union can influence North Korea in the event of problems with its nuclear program.
South Korea is working jointly with Russia, the U.S., China and Japan to convince Pyongyang, which tested its nuclear weapons in October 2006, to terminate its nuclear programs. This dialogue has stalled because of the upcoming presidential elections in the U.S., and North Korea has reportedly resumed its nuclear programs.
Russia and South Korea have agreed to strengthen cooperation to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula.
They have also agreed to consider civilian nuclear cooperation and upheld Russia's initiative on setting up an international uranium enrichment center so as to prevent nuclear proliferation and ensure uninterrupted supplies of nuclear fuel to international players.
Strategic dialogue between Moscow and Seoul should strengthen mutual trust. Consultations will be held at the level of deputy foreign ministers, with First Deputy Foreign Minister Andrei Denisov representing Russia and his colleague, Kwon Jong-nak, speaking on behalf of South Korea.
South Korea needs to promote relations with all of the above-mentioned four countries, but its relations with them differ in scale and intensity.
According to South Korea's diplomatic vocabulary, it has "strategic allied relations" with the U.S., "mature allied relations" with Japan, and "allied relations of strategic cooperation" with Russia and China.
In other words, South Korea's relations with Russia, although not as close as with the U.S., should help maintain the balance of regional forces and create a positive precedent of global importance. This can be interpreted as one more proof that unipolarity in international affairs is untenable and unviable.
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22:10 GMT, Monday, 6 October 2008 23:10 UK
Croatia 'mafia hit' spurs sacking
The coffin of Ivana Hodak is carried out of her apartment block in Zagreb on 6/10/08
Croatia's prime minister says he is sacking his interior and justice ministers following the "mafia killing" of a prominent lawyer's daughter.
Prime Minister Ivo Sanader said he had also fired the national police chief after the latest in a series of brutal daylight attacks in the capital Zagreb.
Ivana Hodak, 26, was shot dead in her Zagreb building on Monday morning.
Her father Zvonimir Hodak is defending an ex-general suspected of stealing $5m in diamonds used in wartime deals.
Mr Sanader said he was asking parliament to approve the sackings of the two ministers and the police chief.
Parliament is expected to endorse his proposal.
"I expect swift police action. It is high time we cracked down on the mafia," he told a news conference.
'Heinous crime'
Ms Hodak, a law intern, was shot twice in the head in the stairwell of her apartment block in central Zagreb.
President Stjepan Mesic called it a "heinous crime, all the more dangerous as it happened in broad daylight".
Local media have speculated that Ms Hodak's death may be linked to her father's work, although police have refused to confirm a link.
Zvonimir Hodak is representing former Gen Vladimir Zagorec, a defence ministry official who is accused of embezzling $5m in jewels for use in deals during Croatia's independence war.
Zagreb has been hit by a wave of mob-style violence in recent months.
A prominent crime reporter, a city administration official and a construction firm boss are among those who have been subject to assaults in various separate incidents.
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Monday, 6 October 2008 16:54 UK
EU opens 'job centre' in Africa
African migrants in a boat
The European Union has opened its first immigration centre outside Europe, in Mali's capital, Bamako.
Thousands of young West Africans try to make it into Europe illegally each year and many die on the way.
The EU hopes the new centre will help people find legal work in Europe and cut down on illegal migration by warning about its dangers.
It is also expected to encourage development within Mali, which lies at the centre of key migration routes.
The BBC's West Africa correspondent Will Ross says young Malians desperate for work would have hoped this new centre would be a recruitment agency, but at this point the EU is stressing that no specific job vacancies will be on offer.
In the future, however, European countries may recruit via the Bamako office.
Spain is already doing this in Senegal by offering seasonal contracts picking fruit or working in hotels to several hundred people each year, with demand so high it is in effect a job lottery.
'Natural phenomenon'
Malian President Amadou Toumani Toure was in Bamako to open the centre on Monday, as was EU development commissioner Louis Michel and French Immigration Minister Brice Hortefeux.
"People will continue to look for ways of migrating without taking into consideration the regulated channel"
CISP's Sandro De Luca
Spanish migrant solidarity
Mr Toure said Mali and France "will have to find solutions to our common problems".
"Let's be clear, a solution of 100% security is not realistic but neither is [a] 100% humanitarian solution," he was quoted as saying by AFP news agency.
"The real trouble is finding work for young people."
Mr Michel said migration was a natural phenomenon, as old as the world and criticised the idea of creating what some refer to as "Fortress Europe".
He said a repressive response to migration was counter productive and dangerous because he said it would promote xenophobic or racist feelings.
Patrick Taran, a migration expert at the International Labour Organization, said Europe - with its ageing workforce - is increasingly realising it needs workers of different skill levels.
"It makes a lot more sense for people to come through legal channels so that their rights are protected and they can demand and receive fair pay for their work," he told the BBC's Network Africa programme.
Risky routes
Thousands of young West Africans set off from the north of Mali each year across the Sahara Desert towards Europe.
They are often ill-prepared for the journeys and many die on the way.
Travelling by sea from the West African coast to the Canary Islands is also a popular and risky route.
Young men from countries like Ghana and Nigeria often pass through Mali on their way to the coast of Senegal or Mauritania, where they are crammed into rickety fishing boats.
map Last week, the Spanish coastguards rescued a group of 230 young Africans - the largest single boatload of illegal immigrants to reach Spain.
A sharp increase in the cost of food and fuel has recently made life even harder for people in this region, our correspondent says.
In many West African countries, even university graduates struggle to find employment and a menial job in Europe is therefore a surer way of supporting a family.
Many observers say that making world trade fairer is the best way to tackle illegal migration as it would help reduce the main cause - poverty.
Mali is one of the world's poorest countries and growing cotton is a popular livelihood.
But subsidies paid to US cotton farmers make it almost impossible for Malians to compete.
Sandro De Luca of the Rome-based International Committee for the Development of Peoples (CISP) said it was too early to judge the immigration centre initiative, but it would not solve the problem of illegal migration alone.
"People will continue to look for ways of migrating without taking into consideration the regulated channel of doing this," he told the BBC.
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21:49 GMT, Monday, 6 October 2008 22:49 UK
Rabbi gives first Synod address
A Jewish cleric has addressed a worldwide gathering of Roman Catholic Bishops for the first time.
Shear-Yashuv Cohen, chief rabbi of the Israeli city of Haifa, explained to the Pope and his bishops the importance of the Bible to Jewish believers.
He also used the occasion to denounce the Iranian president for his comments about Israel at the UN last month.
The first day of the Vatican Synod saw some strong opinions expressed, the BBC's David Willey in Rome says.
Not only did the bishops cover the role of the Bible in the modern world - the official theme of the discussions - but also international politics and the world financial crisis.
Pope Benedict XVI described the current financial crisis as proof that the pursuit of money and success is pointless. "Only the word of God endures," he told the synod.
'Vicious words'
Before the gathering of 253 bishops, Rabbi Cohen spoke of the "long, hard and painful history" of relations between Catholics and Jews, describing it as "a history of blood and tears".
He said his presence at the synod sent a signal of "hope and a message of love, co-existence and peace for our generation, and for generations to come".
And he appealed for all religious leaders to defend and protect Israel from outside threats.
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad told the UN in New York last month that Israel "is on a definite slope to collapse and there is no way for it to get out of the cesspool created by itself and its supporters".
Without mentioning the Iranian president by name, Rabbi Cohen said Israelis felt "deep shock at the terrible and vicious words" he had uttered against their nation.
Improving relations
Canadian Cardinal Marc Ouellet, chief rapporteur of the synod, stressed the importance of dialogue with both Jews and Muslims.
"Bearing in mind the tragic history of the relations between Israel and the Church, we are invited... to repair any injustice committed against the Jews," he said.
The history of Christian persecution of Jews includes genocide, exile, pogroms, crusades and anti-Semitism going back several centuries.
Cardinal Oullet described Muslims as "allies in the defence of human life and in the assertion of the social importance of religion".
The Vatican will be hosting a major meeting with Muslim clerics and scholars in November as part of the Pope's plan to improve relations with the Islamic world, says our Rome correspondent.
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GMT, Tuesday, 7 October 2008 03:44 UK
Lehman Bros head took home $300m
The head of failed US investment bank Lehman Brothers has told Congress that he took home about $300m in pay and bonuses over the past eight years.
Richard Fuld, whose firm went bankrupt last month, made the statement during testimony before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.
The panel is holding its first hearing into the cause of the financial crisis.
It is being held amid renewed market turmoil, with shares plummeting further in Europe and the US.
Committee chairman Henry Waxman opened the hearing by saying the credit freeze threatened the entire economy.
"To restore our economy to health, two steps are necessary," he said. "First, we must identify what went wrong. Then we must enact real reform of our financial markets."
'Feeling horrible'
Turning to Mr Fuld, Mr Waxman asked whether it was true he had received $480m (£276.2m) in pay and bonuses since 2000 - and whether this figure was fair.
Mr Fuld replied that the correct total was about $300m (£172.6m).
"We had a compensation committee that spent a tremendous amount of time making sure that the interests of the executives and the employees were aligned with shareholders," he said.
Mr Waxman also criticised Mr Fuld for requesting multi-million dollar bonuses for departing executives just days before last month's collapse.
"In other words," he added, "even as Mr Fuld was pleading with [Treasury] Secretary [Henry] Paulson for a federal rescue, Lehman continued to squander millions on executive compensation."
Mr Fuld said he took "full responsibility for the decisions that I made and for the actions that I took" and defended his actions as "prudent and appropriate" based on information he had at the time.
"I feel horrible about what happened," he added.
Lehman's failure set off a financial panic which prompted a $700bn rescue package approved by Congress last week.
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個人向け国債、10月販売額が半減 金融不安で需要が減退
15日に発行する個人向け国債の販売額が4390億円と前回7月発行分（9952億円）から半減することが7日、明らかになった。財務省は「利率の低下に加え、世界的に金融不安が高まるなかで個人投資家が長期投資に慎重になった」とみている。
個人向け国債は固定金利型の「固定5年」と変動金利型の「変動10年」の2種類。変動10年の販売額は461億円と2003年の発行開始以来、過去最低となった。固定5年は3929億円だった。(17:06)
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経産相、石油代替エネ法の見直し検討を発表
二階俊博経済産業相は7日の閣議後の記者会見で、石油代替エネルギー法の見直しを検討すると発表した。電力、ガス、石油の各社に、太陽光や水力、原子力など温暖化ガスを排出しない非化石燃料の導入拡大を促し、低炭素社会づくりに弾みをつける。10日に総合資源エネルギー調査会の総合部会を開き議論を始める。(13:02)
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三菱ＵＦＪ、米金融持ち株会社の資格取得
三菱ＵＦＪフィナンシャル・グループとその傘下の3銀行は7日、米国の金融持ち株会社の資格を米連邦準備理事会（ＦＲＢ）から6日付けで取得したと正式発表した。資格を取得したのはＭＵＦＧのほか、三菱東京ＵＦＪ銀行、三菱ＵＦＪ信託銀行、ユニオンバンカル・コーポレーションの3行。すでにみずほコーポレート銀行などが米国で金融持ち株会社の資格を取得している。(11:01)
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９月末の外貨準備、9958億ドル ２カ月連続で減少
財務省が7日発表した9月末の外貨準備高は前月末に比べ8億5100万ドル減の9958億9000万ドルとなった。減少は2カ月連続。金利の低下で保有債券の時価評価額が増えたものの、ユーロ相場が対ドルで下落し、ユーロ建て資産のドル換算額が目減りしたことが響いた。(10:06)
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日本貿易保険、キューバ向け貿易保険を再開へ
独立行政法人の日本貿易保険が新規引き受けを停止していたキューバ向け貿易保険を12月にも再開する見通しとなった。9月下旬までにキューバ国立銀行と基本合意した。引受枠は大幅に圧縮される見込みだが、日本からの輸入再開を強く求めるキューバ側の意向が反映された。
合意はキューバ国立銀行が滞納している対日公的債務と新規の引受額を合わせた計255億円を今後4年間で全額支払うのが条件。日本貿易保険は10月から2カ月間の支払いを確認した後、同行の格付けを引き受け停止前の水準に戻す。(07:01)
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日証協、アーバンコーポ型資金調達 年内にも規制
日本証券業協会は、アーバンコーポレイションが経営破綻直前に使った手法と同様の資金調達に対し、規制をかける方向で検討に入った。日証協は昨年、株価により条件が変わる転換社債（ＭＳＣＢ）の規制ルールを導入したが、ＭＳＣＢのように既存株主の利益を損なう可能性のある手法に広く網をかける。
日証協はアーバンの不適切な資金調達・開示の責任の一端は、ＢＮＰパリバにもあるとみている。ただ、現行ルールに違反しているとはいえないため、ＢＮＰパリバへの処分は見送る方向だ。(07:01)
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投信から個人マネー流出 日本株や新興国株、新規設定見送りも
世界的な金融不安を受けて、個人マネーが投資信託から流出している。投信の運用大手5社の新規購入から解約を差し引いた資金流出入額は9月月間で 1000億円程度の資金流出超になったもようだ。株価低迷が続く日本株投信に加え、新興国の株式投信からも資金が流出。投信の新規設定を見送る動きも相次いでおり、証券会社など金融機関の業績に逆風が強まりそうだ。
野村アセットマネジメントや大和証券投資信託委託など、公募株式投信（上場投信＝ＥＴＦ＝を除く）で運用残高の多い大手5社の資金流出入動向をまとめた。9月は日経平均株価が13％超下落するなど国内外の株価が低迷し、投信の運用環境が悪化。大和投資信託の「日本好配当株ファンド」は1カ月で純資産残高が15％近く減少した。資金流出に加え、運用悪化により資産が目減りした。
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野村、リーマン欧州法人から債券部門の150人採用
野村ホールディングスは6日、破綻した米証券大手リーマン・ブラザーズ欧州法人の債券市場部門から150人強の人員を新たに採用すると発表した。野村はこれまでにリーマンの欧州・中東地域の株式、投資銀行部門の人員約2500人を引き継ぐことを決めているが、債券・為替業務の専門家も増員することでグローバル展開を加速する。
6日までに野村が採用を決めたのはリーマン欧州法人で債券、外国為替市場を担当していた150人強。同部門全体では700人強が在籍していたもようだが、うち2割の人員が野村に移籍することになる。リーマンの人員が加わると、野村の欧州法人である野村インターナショナルの債券・為替部門の陣容は倍増する見込み。
野村はリーマンのアジア・太平洋事業と欧州・中東地域の株、投資銀行事業の買収を決めたばかり。インドのＩＴ（情報技術）拠点の人員と合わせ、受け入れるリーマンの人材は計8650人強と、現在の野村グループの人員の46％を占めることになる。(07:01)
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マルハニチロ、カナダの漁業会社に出資 80億円
マルハニチロホールディングス（ＨＤ）は7日、カナダの漁業会社「クリアウオーター・シーフーズ」（ハリファクス市）と資本・業務提携すると発表した。約80億円を出資し、33.4％を握る。水産資源の安定調達につなげるとともに、カ社ルートを活用して欧米向けの水産物販売を強化する。
クリアウオーター社は6日付で非上場化しており、マルハニチロＨＤはクリアウオーター社の株式を100％保有する企業に出資する。出資は16日付で、取締役の派遣などは未定。
クリアウオーター社はカナダの東海岸沖で主にホタテ、エビ、ロブスターなど漁獲し欧米などで販売している。2007年12月期の売上高は約282億円。(17:13)
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自動車購入時の支払い「現金」が７割、民間調べ
中古車買い取り・販売のガリバーインターナショナルは1年以内に自動車を購入した1000人を対象にした意識調査をまとめた。それによると購入時の支払い方法として最多だったのは「現金」で69％に達した。将来の下取り価格を車両価格から差し引いた金額を分割払いする「残価設定型ローン」を利用した人は全体の5％にとどまった。
ローン利用者が使ったローンの種類は「販売店で取り扱うローン」が最多で63％、「銀行などで借り入れ」が19％、「残価設定型」が15％だった。自動車各社は新車販売のテコ入れ策として、ひと月当たりの支払いを少なくできる残価設定型ローンを宣伝している。しかし「利用しようと思わなかった」は 59％、「知らなかった」は31％に上った。
9月下旬にインターネットを使って調査した。購入者の内訳は新車が678人、中古車が263人、中古の「未使用車」が59人だった。(08:45)
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レナウン、英ブランドのアクアスキュータム売却へ
アパレル3位のレナウンは6日、子会社の英高級ブランド、アクアスキュータム売却などを柱とする再建計画を固めた。本社ビルなどの保有不動産も売却し、調達資金を有利子負債の圧縮などに充てる。同社は2009年2月期に3期連続で連結最終赤字になる見通し。不採算ブランドの廃止・売却のほか、約400人の希望退職も募集して人員を削減、経営立て直しを急ぐ。
レナウンは1990年に約200億円で買収した英アクアスキュータムの全株式を来年2月までにすべて売却する方針。同ブランドは150年以上の歴史を持つが、07年12月期まで4期連続の赤字で、今後も収益改善は難しいと判断した。売却後も同ブランドのライセンス生産や輸入販売は続けたい意向で売却先と交渉する。(07:00)
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シャープ、４割減益 今期予想を下方修正
シャープは6日、2009年3月期の最終的なもうけを示す連結純利益が前期比41％減の600億円になる見通しと発表した。3％増を見込んでいた従来予想を450億円下回り、一転して大幅減益となる。純利益の減少は7期ぶり。国内で携帯電話端末の販売が不振で、中小型液晶や半導体など関連部品の落ち込みも響く。
売上高は横ばいの3兆4200億円、営業利益は29％減の1300億円と、それぞれ1800億円、650億円下方修正した。携帯電話は端末販売方法の変更などで市場全体が低迷、大手の4―6月の出荷台数は2割程度減少している。国内シェア首位のシャープの落ち込みは業界平均を上回り、同日記者会見した浜野稔重副社長は「下方修正の要因の大半は携帯電話関連」と説明した。(07:00)
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日立、海外で鉄道事業加速 中国で制御システム受注
日立製作所は鉄道事業の海外展開を加速する。海外で標準となりつつある規格に準拠した列車制御システムを、このほど中国で受注した。日本メーカーによる同規格対応システムの受注は初めて。これを機に、独シーメンスや仏アルストムなど欧米大手が事実上独占している海外の鉄道市場に参入、国内に依存していた事業構造の転換を図る。
中国の広州と深センを結ぶ高速旅客鉄道路線の列車制御システムを受注した。受注額は約70億円。鉄道路線は全長110キロメートルで、2010年7月に営業運転を開始する予定。中国の列車制御システム会社と共同で受注した。(07:00)
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「さくらシティ日立」閉店へ 中心街の地盤沈下一段と
米証券大手リーマン・ブラザーズの経営破綻の影響が茨城県内にも出始めた。同社日本法人の関連会社に資金面で協力を受けていた日立市の大型商業施設「さくらシティ日立」は15日までに閉店する。リーマン破綻で施設の運営管理に必要な資金調達が難航、営業の継続が困難になった。日立市の中心部に位置するさくらシティの閉店で、市中心街の地盤沈下が一層進む可能性がある。
さくらシティ日立は2005年５月に閉店した百貨店「ボンベルタ伊勢甚日立店」を引き継ぐ形で、06年11月に開業。売り場面積は約４万平方メートル。ファーストリテイリングの低価格衣料ブランド「ジーユー」やくまざわ書店、食品スーパーのカスミなどがテナントとして入居していた。
さくらシティ日立を運営するのは不動産投資会社の「ニューシティコーポレーション」（東京・港）。不動産流動化のために同社が設立した特別目的会社（ＳＰＣ）が実質的な所有者。
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覚せい剤大量密輸事件、主犯格の男を逮捕 警視庁
1998年に高知県沖の太平洋で北朝鮮ルートの覚せい剤が大量に見つかった事件で、警視庁組織犯罪対策5課は7日までに、主犯格の元暴力団住吉会系幹部、青山幸男容疑者（60）を覚せい剤取締法違反（営利目的所持）の疑いで逮捕した。「間違いありません」と容疑を認めているという。
同容疑者は2003年、国際刑事警察機構（ＩＣＰＯ）を通じ国際手配されており、時効が今月27日に迫っていた。6日夕、潜伏先の千葉県鎌ケ谷市のアパートから出てきたところで身柄を確保された。
調べによると、青山容疑者は98年8月、高知県沖で航行中の漁船に覚せい剤約300キロ（末端価格約180億円相当）を所持していた疑い。同容疑者は密輸実行役のリーダーとして自ら北朝鮮に渡航し、覚せい剤の梱包や船への積み込みなどの作業を行っていたとみられている。(13:01)
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恐喝未遂：のり「ヤマト」脅した総会屋逮捕 警視庁
のり大手「ヤマト」（東京都中央区）から現金を脅し取ろうとしたとして、警視庁組織犯罪対策３課と中央署は７日、総会屋、金子金次郎容疑者（７７）＝台東区柳橋２＝を恐喝未遂容疑で逮捕した。「のりを改良してもらいたかっただけ」と容疑を否認している。
調べでは、金子容疑者は７月２４日、理事長を務めていた「廃棄物循環適正処理事業協同組合」（台東区）の事務所にヤマト社の社員を呼び出し、「のりを使用したらレシートの印字が消えた。対応しなければ産廃車を乗り付ける」などと脅すなど計５回、暗に現金を要求した疑い。８月末、ヤマト社が被害届を提出していた。
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トルエン：中国製あんから検出 食べた男性めまい 名古屋
名古屋市中川区のスーパーで９月、袋詰めのつぶあんを買って食べた同区内の男性がめまいを起こし、気分が悪くなったと中川保健所に訴えた。保健所が残っていたあんを調べ、今月２日に有害物質のトルエンと酢酸エチルを検出した。あんは静岡県の会社が輸入した中国製で、市は同県を通じてこの会社から商品の輸入時期や流通経路を聴くとともに、農薬などがあんに混入していなかったかどうかも調べている。
市によると、男性宅に残っていたあんからは、トルエン０．００８ｐｐｍ、酢酸エチル０．１６ｐｐｍが検出された。また、近くのスーパーで売られていたあんからもトルエン０．００８～０．０１０ｐｐｍ、酢酸エチル０．１１ｐｐｍ～０．２８ｐｐｍが検出された。食べた男性はつぶあんの袋をすぐに捨てたため、どこのスーパーで買ったかは不明だが、同店で購入した可能性が高い。
男性は９月２５日に保健所に苦情を訴え、入院はせずに回復した。市食品衛生課は検出された物質の量について「微量でただちに命にかかわることはない」としている。
つぶあんは中国製で、静岡県磐田市の食品輸入販売「マルワ食品」が輸入。１キロの袋詰めで売られていた。賞味期限は来年４月。
同社によると、つぶあんは静岡県を中心に全国のスーパーなどに販売。１キロ入りと３５０グラム入りの袋詰め商品があり、１キロ入りの場合だと、１２袋入った商品の箱を月に５００～６００個出荷している。つぶあんのほかにこしあん、漬物類も中国から輸入している。
同社には７日午前、保健所からトルエンなどの検出の連絡があったといい「詳細は把握していない。どこで混入したか分からないので、輸入元は言えない」と話した。
トルエンは、一連の中国冷凍ギョーザによる中毒事件でも検出されており、ギョーザに混入していた殺虫剤「ジクロルボス」「メタミドホス」の溶剤として使用されていた。また酢酸エチルは、毒劇物取締法で劇物に指定されている。
◇食品含有あり得ぬ
吉田武美昭和大教授（毒物学）の話 トルエンも酢酸エチルも検出された量では、口から入った場合には普通は健康に影響はない。大量に摂取すれば頭がふらふらする症状が出ることはある。両方とも水に溶けにくいものを溶かすために使う薬剤で、農薬や工業用に使われることが多く、食品に含まれていることはない。
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三浦元社長：「殺人」で上訴へ 米ロス検察、訴追に自信
【ロサンゼルス吉富裕倫】米ロサンゼルス郡地検の関係者は６日、ロス銃撃事件（８１年）で逮捕された元輸入雑貨販売会社社長、三浦和義容疑者（６１）へ共謀罪だけの訴追を認めたロサンゼルス郡地裁の決定を不服として、検察側が殺人罪での訴追も求めて上訴する方針であることを明らかにした。
同地裁は９月２６日の決定で、三浦元社長の逮捕状無効申し立てに対し、同じ事件を再び裁くことを禁じる一事不再理の原則を理由に殺人罪の訴追を退け、日本にない共謀罪だけの訴追を認めた。検察関係者は、外国の裁判を除外した州刑法改正により、「（日本で無罪が確定していても）殺人罪で訴追できると考えている。上訴審が判断することだ」と話した。
一方、ロサンゼルス市警は６日、三浦元社長の移送のため、サイパンに捜査官を派遣した。週内にロサンゼルスへ移送される見通し。
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英皇太子：２７日に来日 カミラ夫人も同行
外務省は７日、チャールズ英皇太子が２７日から３１日の日程で来日すると発表した。２８日に麻生太郎首相と会談し、同日夜、天皇皇后両陛下との夕食会に出席する。カミラ夫人も同行する。
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Israeli govt approves transfer of St Sergius mission to Russia
05.10.2008, 20.33
TEL AVIV, October 5 (Itar-Tass) -- The Israeli government has approved the transfer of the St. Sergius Ecclesiastical Mission in Jerusalem to Russia, a source at the premier’s office told Itar-Tass.
The government had the vote prior to the Russian visit of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. The visit will start on Monday.
Grand Prince Sergei Romanov bought land for the Jerusalem mission in the end of the 19th century. A hotel for Orthodox pilgrims from Russia was built there. Some of the Russian property was sold to Israel within the framework of the so-called ‘orange deal’ in 1967 as the diplomatic relations were broken off. The deal did not apply to the St. Sergius mission, and the place was rented by Israeli offices.
Negotiations on the lost property began after the restoration of diplomatic relations in 1991. A visit of then President Vladimir Putin in 2005 gave a boost to the talks. The Israelis conditioned the deal on Russia’s funding of a new location of the Israeli offices. The funds will not come from the federal budget; that would be private donations.
A Jerusalem court backed up the St. Sergius mission’s transfer on July 27, 2008, but a number of local public organizations challenged the verdict at the Supreme Court. The latter asked the Israeli Foreign Ministry to explain the deal.
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Russia holds African ship for poaching in Sea of Japan
15:35 | 07/ 10/ 2008
MOSCOW, October 7 (RIA Novosti) - Customs officers in Russia's Far East have detained on suspicion of poaching a Sierra Leone-flagged vessel carrying more than 40 metric tons of crab, a border guards spokesman said Tuesday.
The captain of the Sun Bee, which was sailing in the Sea of Japan, said the vessel was heading to Japan for refueling and was carrying no cargo.
However, a search of the ship revealed a total of 46 tons of blue crab, snow crab and Kamchatka crab stored in containers of sea water. The vessel, with a crew of 17 Russians, Ukrainians and Indonesians, was escorted to the Far Eastern port of Nakhodka for further investigation.
This year, Russia has launched a crackdown on illegal exports of crab and other seafood. In May 2007, Russia banned the export of live crab, but large volumes continue to be smuggled out of the country, primarily to Japan and South Korea.
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Russia almost doubles quota for foreign workers in 2008
13:58 | 07/ 10/ 2008
MOSCOW, October 7 (RIA Novosti) - The Russian government has increased its quota for foreign workers this year by 90%, to 3.4 million people, the cabinet said on its website on Tuesday.
Earlier this month, the government announced plans to raise the quota for foreign workers in 2009 to around 3.7-3.9 million people.
Following the introduction of sweeping new migration laws, the number of CIS migrant workers allowed to work legally in Russia was previously reduced from around 6 million in 2007 to 2 million in 2008, and non-Russians were banned from working in markets and retail outlets.
Central Asian countries from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), a confederation of ex-Soviet republics, provide the bulk of the workforce needed to quench Russia's demand for cheap labor.
There are currently at least 5 million foreigners illegally living and working in Russia. Many of them find semi-skilled jobs for meager wages and are often cheated by their employers.
The leaderships of some Central Asian ex-Soviet republics have urged the Russian leadership to improve their citizens' working conditions, and honor their rights on Russian territory.
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Japanese to build space elevator invented in Russia
17:00 | 06/ 10/ 2008
MOSCOW. (Yury Zaitsev for RIA Novosti) - Japanese engineers intend to build an elevator to deliver cargo into space. Japanese authorities are prepared to allocate $10 billion for the project.
The space elevator is expected to cut the cost of delivering cargo into space and is considered one of the most ambitious projects of the 21st century. The Japanese plan to unveil a schedule for the elevator's assembly and commissioning this November.
The idea of a space elevator is over 100 years old. Russia's Konstantin Tsiolkovsky, the founder of theoretical astronautics, suggested building a tower thousands of kilometers high attached to some firmament in orbit. Steel, the most durable material of Tsiolkovsky's time, however, was not capable of bearing even a small part of the expected physical stress.
In 1960, before the first manned flight was performed by Yury Gagarin, Yury Artsutanov, a post-gradate student at the Leningrad Technology Institute, using Tsiolkovsky's ideas, suggested creating a cable-guide connecting a spot on the equator and a space platform in a geostationary orbit at 35,786 km, whose orbit would remain synchronous to that of the location on Earth. Gravity and centripetal force would keep the cable, connecting the platform to Earth, constantly taut, making transportation possible. The time required for cargo from Earth to reach the platform was estimated at one week.
Later, science fiction writer Arthur Clark wrote of a space elevator in his novel, The Fountains of Paradise, attracting attention to the concept. In 1999, NASA and its Scientific Research Institute included it in the list of probable tasks for early third millennium.
A major problem in the construction of a space elevator is to create the cable, which must be extremely durable and light-weight. The durability of carbon nanotubes, invented in 1991, exceeds the requirements for the space elevator, with a far higher tensile yield strength and density six times less than that of steel. A one millimeter diameter strand made up of nanotubes is capable of supporting up to 60 metric tons. Still, the technology for industrial production of nanotubes and the weaving of strands into a thread is in its early development.
Some scientists say the inevitable crystal-lattice defects could decrease the durability of the nanotubes. Even if flawless threads could be produced, the micrometeorites, cosmic rays, and atmospheric oxygen could still damage the cable.
Space junk and the natural vibrations of the giant "rope" could also cause the cable to fail.
Another problem is energy supply. Existing battery technology could not provide the necessary energy for the whole distance. This means that an external energy supply will be needed, possibly a laser or microwave source, which will require corresponding receivers to be installed on the elevator itself. Another option would be to use the elevator's braking energy on its way down.
Let us assume that all the problems with materials and energy are solved. The cable weighing thousands of tons has been manufactured, and needs to be placed into space. There are no carrier rockets capable of doing this, which means the cable would have to be launched into space in pieces, which need to be joined somehow afterwards. Or one could drop down a thin strand from the orbiting platform and splice it into the full diameter of the cable. Neither placement concept seems any easier to implement than creating a suitable material for the cable.
So far scientists have been experimenting in space with cable systems of up to several hundred meters long, made of materials which are far less difficult to produce than nanotubes.
In 1965, Russia's Rocket and Space Corporation Energia, then called the Central Design Bureau for Engineering, led by Academician Sergei Korolev, was preparing the first ever space experiment with a cable system. The project involved creating artificial gravity on the Soyuz spacecraft, which would be connected with the carrier rocket's final stage via a steel cable, both rotating.
After Korolev died, however, the project was cancelled. Development of cable systems was resumed at Energia 20 years later.
A series of experiments with cable systems were performed within U.S., U.S.-Italian and U.S.-Japanese programs. Although some of them failed, part of the planned research was done.
In recent years, scientists at the Space Research Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences have been researching the possibility of setting up a group of orbital cable systems to ensure cyclic delivery of cargo from Earth to Moon. Each system will consist of two space vehicles interconnected with a cable and rotating like a slingshot, with its centre of mass moving along a predetermined orbit. If one of the two space vehicles is "unclogged," the rotational energy released will cause its translational movement, like a jet engine.
Theoretical and experimental research has shown that, to keep a transport corridor between Earth and Moon functioning, the design should include three cable systems, two in low earth orbits, low circular and elliptic, and one in a lunar orbit. Cargo would have to be transported between the three systems, eventually making their way to the final destination.
Calculations have revealed that this kind of transport system would weigh 28 times less than the cargo it would be capable of delivering from Earth to Moon, while traditional delivery by a rocket requires an amount of fuel that weighs 16 times more than the cargo itself. This concept would be much simpler and cheaper to implement than a space elevator.
Yury Zaitsev is an academic adviser at the Russian Academy of Engineering Sciences.
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傷害致死罪認める 力士暴行死 名古屋地裁 初公判で兄弟子３人
2008年10月7日 夕刊
兄弟子３被告の初公判を前に、斉藤俊さんの遺影を手に会見する父・正人さん＝７日午前９時３６分、名古屋地裁で
写真
大相撲時津風部屋の力士だった斉藤俊（たかし）さん＝当時（１７）、しこ名・時太山（ときたいざん）＝が昨年六月、愛知県犬山市のけいこ場で死亡した事件で、傷害致死罪で起訴された兄弟子伊塚雄一郎（２５）＝同・怒濤（どとう）、木村正和（２５）＝同・明義豊、藤居正憲（２３）＝同・時王丸＝の三被告の初公判が七日、名古屋地裁であった。起訴事実について、三被告は「傷害致死罪の成立については間違いありません」と認めた。
弁護側は前親方の山本順一被告（５８）＝傷害致死罪で公判前整理手続き中＝との共謀について「指示に逆らえなかった」と主張した。
検察側は冒頭陳述で入門して二カ月足らずの斉藤さんは相撲のけいこの中で最も厳しい「ぶつかりげいこ」の本格的な練習は初めてだったと指摘。山本被告が、相撲を辞めたがっている斉藤さんに罰として、ぶつかりげいこなど一連の暴行を加えるよう兄弟子らに指示を出したとした。
二日間の暴行については、六月二十五日の夜、山本被告が夕食後にビール瓶で十回にわたり腹部などを殴打した後、伊塚被告ら三人もそれぞれ暴行。翌二十六日は、木村被告とぶつかりげいこをさせた上、藤居被告らが木の棒で殴るなどの暴行を継続的に加え、外傷性ショックで斉藤さんを死亡させたとした。
死亡後は、山本被告が暴行を隠ぺいする口裏合わせをするよう兄弟子に指示をしていた状況も明かした。
一方、弁護側は冒頭陳述で、三被告が相撲部屋で絶対的な存在である山本被告の指示に逆らえなかったと強調。動機について、木村と藤居の両被告は斉藤さんの教育係であり、伊塚被告は「部屋のまとめ役」であったことから「被害者を立ち直らせたいと思っていた」のが主な動機だったと述べた。この事件に関しては、今年三月から公判前整理手続きが適用され、動機や共謀の時期など、量刑に影響する情状面が争点になっている。七日から四日間、連続審理するほか、検察側の論告求刑が十一月十日に予定されている。
◆丸刈り、声小さく ３被告「力士です」
力士の象徴であるまげを落とした丸刈りに白いシャツ。兄弟子の三被告は同じ髪形と服装で入廷すると、斉藤俊さんの遺影を持って見守る父正人さん（５１）のいる傍聴席に向かって順番に一礼した。
「力士です」。裁判長から職業を問われた三被告は、その大きな体とは対照的な小さい声で答えた。
伊塚雄一郎被告は一回り小さくなった印象。身長一八九センチと三被告の中でもひときわ大きい木村正和被告も腰回りが細くなり、将来を期待された力士の面影はなかった。
部屋内では、物おじしない堂々とした態度で知られた藤居正憲被告は、一転して神妙な様子。起訴状の内容を聞いて感情が高ぶったのか、ハンカチで涙をぬぐっていた。
検察は冒頭陳述で、法廷に設置されたスクリーンを使って暴行の様子を説明。正人さんは、俊さんが受けた仕打ちを確認するようにスクリーンを凝視。三被告は顔を上げることなく、前の一点を見つめるようにして聞き入っていた。
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検察「後援会員にも口止め」 力士死亡、暴行の全容詳細に
2008年10月7日 15時35分
言うことを聞かない新弟子に怒り何度も暴行を指示する前親方、その意をくみエスカレートさせる３人の兄弟子。大相撲時津風部屋の力士だった斉藤俊（たかし）さん＝当時（１７）＝が死亡した事件で７日に開かれた初公判。検察側は冒頭陳述で事件の構図をこう主張した。検察官は前親方が後援者にまで口裏合わせをしていたことを指摘。出廷した３人の力士は大きな体を丸め、時折、涙ぐんだ。
検察側が主張した事件の構図は次の通り
【６月２５日夜の暴行】
「おまえらも教えてやれ。こいつまた逃げるかもしれないから、鉄砲柱に縛り付けておけ」。前親方山本順一被告（５８）＝傷害致死罪で公判前整理手続き中＝は午後８時ごろ、兄弟子の藤居正憲被告（２３）らに指示した。
その１時間半前、宿舎の大広間でちゃんこが始まり、山本被告は俊さんを右後ろに座らせ、部屋を２度も抜け出したことから「やる気あるのか」と問い詰めた。俊さんははっきり答えず、山本被告はビール瓶で斉藤さんの額や腹などを１０回ほどたたいていた。
藤居被告らは指示を受け、洗濯場で俊さんの顔を殴った後、３０分間、鉄砲柱に縛り付けた。午後１０時ごろ暴行を終え、藤居被告らが山本被告の部屋に行くと、同被告は「やる気があるならおれのところに来い、と伝えろ」と命じた。だが俊さんは同被告の部屋に行かなかった。
【２６日朝の暴行】
「胸を出してやってくれ」。けいこが終わった午前１１時ごろ。前夜部屋に俊さんが来なかったことに腹を立てていた山本被告は木村正和被告（２５）に、俊さんのぶつかりげいこの相手をするよう指示した。
俊さんは木村被告に土俵で倒されたがまともに受け身が取れず、肩から落ちるなどしていた。山本被告が木の棒で、伊塚雄一郎被告（２５）は金属バットで、俊さんの尻をたたいた。この「ぶつかりげいこ」が約３０分で終わり、俊さんは土俵に倒れ込んだ。
山本被告らは俊さんが動かないため、宿舎の外壁にもたれさせて座らせた。俊さんがゼーゼーと荒い息を立てているのを見た同被告は、俊さんが大げさに見せていると考え、３－４分間、ホースで水を掛ける暴行をした。
【口裏合わせ】
山本被告は愛知県警の事情聴取が始まると藤居被告ら力士を集め、ビール瓶で俊さんを殴ったことを口止めした。伊塚被告には金属バットで殴った回数を少なく供述するように指示。藤居被告には、けいこ後のぶつかりげいこがこれまでにもあったよう供述するように言外に指示した。
ぶつかりげいこを見ていた後援会員には、２６日夜に電話をかけ「あなたはいなかったことになっていますから」などと伝え、目撃していないように口裏合わせを頼んだ。
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「かわいがりは制裁」 検察側、経緯を詳述 力士暴行死（1/3ページ）
2008年10月7日18時0分
印刷
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角界を揺るがした大相撲・時津風部屋の若手力士暴行死事件。名古屋地裁で７日始まった初公判には、遺族だけでなく大勢の傍聴人が詰めかけた。検察側は冒頭陳述で、兄弟子らが絶対的な存在である前親方と共謀して無抵抗の若者に暴行を加えたとして、その経緯を詳述した。
◇
検察側が冒頭陳述で主張した暴行の実態は、「かわいがり」に名を借りた制裁にすぎないというものだ。
■０７年６月２５日夜の暴行
「おまえらも教えてやれ」
午後８時ごろ、親方（当時）の山本被告が空になったビール瓶を斉藤さんの額に打ち下ろすと、３被告らに言い放った。斉藤さんの額からは血が流れていた。
さらに、親方は「逃げるかもしれないから、鉄砲柱に縛り付けておけ」と指示。
意図を察した藤居被告は「連れて行きます」と言って、斉藤さんを大広間から洗濯場に連れ出した。藤居、伊塚、木村の３被告が代わるがわる顔や腹を殴り、下半身をけりつけた。
その後、けいこ場に連れて行き、他の兄弟子と鉄砲柱に縛り付けた斉藤さんに約３０分間、藤居、木村の両被告が顔面に数回張り手を浴びせた。
大広間に連れ戻された斉藤さんに親方が「おれがここまで怒ったのは初めてぐらいだ。なめとんのか。怒らしたら怖いんだ」などと怒鳴りつけたため、３被告らは再び洗濯場で殴るけるの暴行を加え、藤居被告は直径約４センチの木の棒で尻などを打ち据えた。
暴行の後、親方は藤居被告に「お前ら、あんまりやっていないなあ。顔とか全然腫れてないじゃないか」と注文をつけた。
■２６日午前の暴行
午前１１時ごろ、通常のけいこが終わり、親方は木村被告に斉藤さんとぶつかりげいこをするよう指示した。投げられて土俵に突っ伏し、起きあがれない斉藤さんを無理やり立たせ、数十発の張り手を浴びせ、土俵上を引きずり回し、脇腹をけり上げた。伊塚被告ら他の兄弟子も土俵に上がった。
親方自身は木の棒を両手で持ち、斉藤さんの尻をバットスイングのように打ちつけた。斉藤さんは「うわっ」と悲鳴を上げた。親方が土俵内に木の棒を投げ込むと、これを兄弟子の１人が拾い上げて尻などを殴りつけた。伊塚被告は金属バットを持ち出し、尻を殴った。
動かなくなった斉藤さんを見て、親方は土俵の外に連れ出すよう兄弟子らに指示。親方は、起きあがらない斉藤さんを座らせ、顔面にジェットノズル付きのホースで水を浴びせた。斉藤さんはそのまま、動かなくなった。
親方は、斉藤さんの死後、愛知県警の事情聴取が始まるとビール瓶で殴ったことを兄弟子らに口止めした。
◇
３被告はいずれも白いワイシャツに黒いズボン姿で入廷し、傍聴席の遺族に向かってそれぞれ一礼した。まげを落とし、丸刈りになっていた。
裁判長に促され、大きな体の３人が被告席に並んだ。検察官が起訴状を読むと、藤居被告は顔の汗をぬぐった。
罪状認否で伊塚被告は「傷害致死については認めます」とか細い声で述べた。木村被告を含む３人とも起訴事実は認めつつ、「違うところがある」「一部異なるところがある」などと主張した。
３被告が罪状認否を始めると、傍聴席の最前列に座った斉藤俊さんの父正人さん（５１）は、身を乗り出すようにして３人を見つめていた。
弁護側は冒頭陳述で、前親方が「鉄砲柱に縛り付けろ」と最初に指示した際、「異常な指示だったので、兄弟子たちは最初、誰も動かなかった」と述べた。
６月２６日にぶつかりげいこを前親方から指示された木村被告の心境についても「内心は『なぜ』と不満に思ったが、親方の指示に従うことが原則で、逆らえなかった」と説明した。この間、３被告は下を向いたままじっと聴き入っていた。
検察側は大型モニターを使って冒頭陳述をしたが、３被告はモニターに目をやることなく聞いていた。
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時太山暴行目撃の後援会員を尋問 「罰のように感じた」
大相撲の時津風部屋の序ノ口力士、時太山＝当時（１７）、本名斉藤俊さん＝が暴行を受け死亡した事件で、傷害致死罪に問われた兄弟子伊塚雄一郎（２５）、木村正和（２５）、藤居正憲（２３）の３被告の初公判は７日午後、暴行の様子を目撃した部屋の後援会員の証人尋問などが行われた。
後援会員は昨年６月２６日、斉藤さんに対するぶつかりげいこの場に遭遇。「何かの罰としてのしごきのように感じた」と述べ、通常のぶつかりげいこよりも長時間に及んだことを証言した。
また検察側は冒頭陳述などで、元親方の山本順一被告（５８）＝傷害致死罪で起訴＝がぶつかりげいこの後、倒れ込んだ斉藤さんを見て「大げさに『ぜーぜー』と荒い息を立ててつらそうにしている」と憤慨し、１人で斉藤さんにホースで放水したり、木の棒を腹部に押し当て、体重を掛けるなどしていたことも明らかにした。
検察側は、こうした元親方の行為について伊塚、木村両被告と共謀したと主張。弁護側は「元親方が１人でやった行為であり、共謀は成立しない」と反論した。
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時津風部屋の３被告は現役を断念 初公判後、弁護士明かす
時津風部屋の力士暴行死事件で、傷害致死罪に問われた兄弟子ら３被告の弁護士は７日の初公判後、３人とも現役続行を断念していることを明らかにした。
日本相撲協会は３月の理事会で有罪が確定した時点で解雇処分とし、それまでは出場停止とすることを決定している。
弁護士は、３被告が協会に自ら引退を申し出ることはないとした上で、「協会の処分に従う。全く未練がないわけではないが、３人はもうあきらめている」と話した。７月上旬に保釈された後、親族に会って冷静に考え、まげを切ることを決断したという。
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相撲協会、判決まで静観＝力士死亡
大相撲の時津風部屋で起きた暴行死事件の初公判が開かれた７日、日本相撲協会の武蔵川理事長（元横綱三重ノ海）は被告の３力士について「すべては終わってから。結論が出るまで何ともできない」と述べ、裁判の推移を見守る姿勢を示した。相撲協会は、有罪が確定した時点で３人を解雇する方針を決めている。
この日の公判に相撲協会が担当の親方を派遣し傍聴することはなかったが、３人の現師匠である時津風親方（元幕内時津海）が８日の公判に出廷し、被告側証人として情状酌量を求める。
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大相撲：週刊現代報道 八百長持ちかけ、２力士全面否定
大麻取締法違反で逮捕された大相撲の元幕内・若ノ鵬（８月２１日に解雇）が「大関・琴欧洲と十両・春日錦から八百長を持ちかけられた」と、６日発売の「週刊現代」が報道した。日本相撲協会の再発防止検討委員会は同日、琴欧洲と春日錦から事情聴取したが、ともに「身に覚えがない」と報道を全面否定した。
報道によると若ノ鵬は、０７年秋、九州両場所で春日錦から負けるように持ちかけられ、春日錦から買った帯などの代金支払いで融通してもらった。入幕後は、今年夏と、翌名古屋場所で琴欧洲の依頼通り負け、それぞれ１００万円受け取ったという。委員会は法的手段について「今後の報道を見て検討する」としている。
和装品については、関取の間で昇進の贈り物としてやり取りするが、販売する例はない。伊勢ノ海委員長は春日錦の行為を「軽率な行動」として注意した。春日錦は「妻が帯などの取扱会社を経営しており、注文を引き受けていた。浅はかだった」と話した。
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総合転向を否定、石井慧の会見全文「団体との交渉は全くない」
2008/10/07
10月7日（火）東京・国士舘大学にて、一部でプロ格闘家への転向が報道された北京五輪柔道金メダリスト石井慧が記者会見を行った。
会見場には大勢のマスコミが駆けつけたために、「取材は一媒体につき一カメラマン、一記者」という規制がしかれる中、石井、そして柔道日本代表監督・斉藤仁氏、国士舘大学柔道部監督・山内直人氏が出席した。
まず、斉藤監督が「新聞に出た一連の報道のことについてや、石井本人の今の心境を皆さんの前でお伝えしたいと思います」とあいさつし、石井がコメント。そして記者との質疑応答へ。
石井 今は国士舘大学の学生なので卒業することを第一に考えています。総合格闘技に関しては、興味みたいなものはありますけど卒業のことで頭がいっぱいです。これから振り出しに戻ってゆっくり考えていきたいので、時間をいただきたいと思います。
――昨日（全日本柔道連盟の）吉村和郎強化委員長が、5日の団体世界選手権の後に石井選手の方からプロ転向の意思があったことを明かしたが、その事実は間違いないですか？
石井 「将来、（プロ転向の）興味はある」と伝えました。
――その石井選手の言葉を聞いて、吉村委員長は「格闘技界に行きたいのだったらいけばいい。（2012年に開催される）ロンドン五輪に向けた強化構想から外す」と言っていることについてはどうですか？
石井 以前から、来年の世界選手権には出場しないで休みながら自由にやりたいと自分は言っていました。今柔道はポイント制になってきています。来年の世界選手権に出なく次の年も出なかったりしたらポイントがたまらなくなるので、自然と（ロンドン五輪出場は）なくなると思います」
――進路についてゆっくり考えたいということですが、ご家族や友人に相談して、どんな意見やアドバイスをもらいましたか？
石井 父親も先生も大学卒業を第一だと考えています。自分は授業に出るようにしています。
――まだ今後のことははっきり決めてないということですが、いつぐらいまでに将来の進路を決めたいというのはありますか？
石井 まだ時間があるし、焦ってもしょうがないのでゆっくり考えていきたいと思います。
――総合格闘技の練習はやってるのですか？
石井 全然やっていません。
――柔術の道場に通っているという話を聞きます。
石井 それは（北京）オリンピック前からやってきたことなので、全く関係ないです。
――報道によると、色んな格闘技団体からオファーがあると言われてますが、実際に団体側と交渉はしてるのですか？
石井 そういうのは全然ないですし、話も聞いてません。
――オリンピック後の石井選手の発言や言動で、全柔連や吉村委員長から「柔道家としてふさわしくない」という意見が出てますが、どう考えてますか？
石井 今後気をつけて、直していくところは直していきたいです。
――将来的に、プロ格闘家になったとしても柔道界に残りたいという気持ちはありますか？
石井 指導者として柔道家に残ることはないと思います。
――今後、進路としては格闘技界にいくことは十分にあると考えていいですか？
石井 卒業後に振り出しに戻って、自分がやりたいことは柔道なのかを考えていきたいと思います。
斉藤監督 格闘技転向のために5日に行われた団体世界選手権を欠場したと紙面や噂などで言われていて、本人には今マイナスイメージにある。どういう経緯で欠場になったかを本人の口から言ってもらいたい。
石井 自分は試合に出たかったんですけど、準備不足で焦って練習してしまいました。昔の古傷の股関節を痛めてしまいました。これでは試合できないし、みんなの足を引っ張ると思いました。それに、柔道で自分にウソはつきたくないし、常に120％でやりたいので棄権を決めました。
――強化選手指定の辞退届けを出すつもりはありますか？
石井 今はないです。
――将来的にプロ格闘家になりたいということですが、いつぐらいを考えてますか？
石井 30歳ぐらいになるかもしれないですし、それはわからないです。
――来年の可能性もあると？
石井 全然考えてないので、これから考えていきます。
――10日に行われる国士舘の行事には出られますか？
斉藤監督 大学のパレードや報告会などの行事もありますし、全部出ます。地元・大阪での祝賀会もあります。オリンピック選手なので過密スケジュールです。大学の先生のご理解のもとで、本人を卒業させたい。これから石井は卒業モードなので、我々もサポートしていきたいと思います。
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柔道：石井慧、将来は格闘家も いまは学業優先
北京五輪柔道男子１００キロ超級金メダルの石井慧（２１）＝国士大４年＝が７日、東京都内で会見し、関係者に話したとされるプロ格闘家への転向について「将来行ってみたいという興味はあるが、今は卒業のことで頭がいっぱい。これから振り出しに戻って考えていきたい」と話した。全日本柔道連盟（全柔連）の指定強化選手を辞退する可能性は「今は全然考えていない」と否定した。
大学卒業までは学業を優先する意向を示した石井。しかし、その後については「本当にやりたいことを考えてみたい」と表現。「指導者として柔道界に残ることはないと思う」とも語り、将来のプロ転向の可能性が高いことを明かした。
国際柔道連盟（ＩＪＦ）は、国際大会の成績によるポイントでランキング制度を創設し、これに基づいて五輪出場権を配分する案を今月２１日のＩＪＦ総会（タイ）に提案する見通し。実施されれば、０９年世界選手権（オランダ）、翌年の同選手権東京大会等の成績が１２年ロンドン五輪の出場権獲得に大きく影響することになる。
石井が「しばらくは（国際大会の出場を）休んで自由にやりたい」との希望通りの行動を取った場合、必然的に五輪出場の可能性は遠のく。吉村和郎・全柔連強化委員長が６日に「（石井で）ロンドン五輪は考えられない。構想から外れている」と語った背景には、こうした事情もある。
上村春樹・全柔連専務理事は石井の会見を受けて「柔道を続けてくれるなら温かく見守って支持したい。退路を断つつもりはない」と話した。一方で「総合（格闘技）とかに進みたいなら、彼の人生なので本人の決断にイエスとかノーとかいう必要はない」とも語り、慰留はしない方針だ。
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