Economy fears spark plunge in sterling
By Chris Giles and David Oakley
Published: January 22 2009 02:00 | Last updated: January 22 2009 02:00
The pound plunged to its lowest level against the dollar since 1985 yesterday amid growing fears for the economy and uncertainty about the government banking support package.
Sterling slid another 1.6 per cent against Britain's main trading partners, taking its losses since Friday to almost 6 per cent. Against the dollar, the pound closed at $1.3733, a fall of 11 cents this week.
The declines came on another day of grim news, with official figures showing the unemployment rate rose to a 10-year highof 6.1 per cent in the three months to November, while government borrowing in the first nine months of the financial year almost doubled from last year to hit £71.2bn, the highest ever.
Robert Stheeman, the man responsible for managing the UK's debt, raised the prospect of a government bond auction failing in coming months. He told the Financial Times: "Clearly, the chance of a bond auction failing has risen because we are having more than ever before."
But Mr Stheeman insisted: "A single uncovered auction is not my greatest concern...the most important point is that I do believe the amount of debt we are raising is sustainable."
He said there was anecdotal evidence that sterling weakness was encouraging investors to buy gilts because they were cheap.
Paul Myners, the financial services secretary to the Treasury, tries in today's FT to dispel fears that government policy amounts to creeping nationalisation of banks, insisting that they are "best managed and owned commercially".
His comments come against a growing clamour from MPs to nationalise Royal Bank of Scotland and the newly merged Lloyds Banking Group.
Shares in these two rose in afternoon trading after a difficult morning. But Barclays suffered another troubled day with its shares falling by another 9.3 per cent.
Most analysts dismiss fears that Britain is on the verge of a crisis that will bankrupt the country. Mounting evidence that the UK is experiencing a particularly severe recession has led some investors to suggest this. Jim Rogers, chairman of Rogers Holdings and co-founder of the Quantum Fund with George Soros, said: "It's simple, the UK has nothing to sell."
He added: "The City of London is finished, the financial centre of the world is moving east."
But Julian Jessop of the normally gloomy Capital Economics consultancy argued that investor confidence in government assets was strong.
Additional reporting by Peter Garnham
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View of the Day: Sterling in peril
By Jim Rogers
Published: January 21 2009 15:17 | Last updated: January 21 2009 15:17
The pound is a currency with no underpinning and should fall against the dollar and the euro, says Jim Rogers, chairman of Rogers Holdings and co-founder of the Quantum Fund with George Soros.
He says his view reflects the UK’s dire economic situation: “It’s simple, the UK has nothing to sell.”
Mr Rogers says the two main pillars of support for sterling have been North Sea oil and the strength of the UK financial services sector, in particular, the City of London’s role.
But Mr Rogers says just as North Sea oil is running out, so London’s standing as a major financial centre is set to suffer.
“I don’t think there is a sound UK bank now, at least, if there is one I don’t know about it,” he says.
“The City of London is finished, the financial centre of the world is moving east.”
“All the money is in Asia. Why would it go back to the West? You don’t need London,” says Mr Rogers.
Mr Rogers thinks the pound is more vulnerable than the dollar or the euro.
He says the UK housing market is arguably in a worse state than that of the US, given pockets of strength in the US and prices that are sliding across the board in the UK.
Meanwhile, he says, the UK is in worse shape economically than the eurozone, where most countries are not big debtors and do not run huge trade deficits.
“If the UK discovers more North Sea oil, I might change this view,” he says. “But I don’t see that happening.”
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Iron Ore Prices May Fall 50% on China Slowdown, Rinehart Says
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By Rebecca Keenan and Stephen Engle
Jan. 22 (Bloomberg) -- Iron ore contract prices may fall as much as 50 percent this year amid a slowdown in China, the world’s biggest consumer of the raw material, according to Australia’s richest woman and mining magnate Gina Rinehart.
“We’re hearing 30 percent, 40 percent, 50 percent discounts to last year’s contract price,” Rinehart, who controls closely held Hancock Prospecting Pty, said in an interview with Bloomberg Television. That compares with the average forecast of a 30 percent cut in a Bloomberg survey of 11 analysts last week.
Chinese steelmakers are likely to win their first cut in contract prices in seven years as a global recession curbs demand for commodities. Rinehart’s partner, Rio Tinto Group, the world’s second-biggest exporter of the ore, and Baosteel Group Corp. began talks this month to set prices from April 1, according to two company executives who asked not to be identified.
“The economy in China is very sad right now,” Rinehart said. China’s economy may rebound soon and “ultimately, prices will rise,” she said. Hancock isn’t party to the talks.
Hancock Prospecting is partner with Rio in the Hope Downs iron ore project in Western Australia. Hancock is also seeking to develop the Roy Hill iron ore mine in Western Australia.
Rio, BHP Billiton Ltd., and Brazil’s Cia. Vale do Rio Doce, which handle three-quarters of traded iron ore, sell the steelmaking material under long-term contracts to China’s 20 biggest mills and traders at agreed annual prices.
China may be asking for a price cut of between 40 percent and 45 percent, Macquarie Group Ltd. analysts led by London-based Jim Lennon said in a Jan. 12 report. UBS AG analysts have forecast a decline of 40 percent. A 30 percent cut would still be the second- highest price on record.
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Santander’s Madoff Sales Mean ‘Catastrophe’ for Teacher, Vendor
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By Charles Penty and Esteban Duarte
Jan. 21 (Bloomberg) -- Banco Santander SA sold Bernard Madoff investments to a teacher and a street vendor, not just to wealthy private banking clients in Spain and Latin America.
Branch managers channeled customers with money from property sales or inheritances to private banking salespeople, lawyers for the investors said. A retired school teacher put 300,000 euros ($388,000), half her savings, in a structured product linked to Madoff, said Jordi Ruiz de Villa, an attorney at the Barcelona law firm Jausas. The vendor invested 325,000 euros of lottery winnings in a similar product and may have to return to street sales, according to lawyers at Cremades & Calvo-Sotelo in Madrid.
“The fact that someone has a sum of money in the bank doesn’t make him a suitable customer for this type of product,” said Ruiz de Villa, who’s representing about 30 account-holders with potential claims of 10 million euros, including the teacher. “Some retail clients have suffered true personal catastrophes because of this.” He wouldn’t provide the teacher’s name.
Santander, Spain’s biggest lender, may lose customers at the domestic branch network that accounts for a third of profit if it is found to have misled people who trusted their neighborhood bankers, said Peter Hahn, a fellow at Cass Business School in London. The bank, led by Chairman Emilio Botin, has said clients have 2.33 billion euros invested with Madoff, including 320 million euros from private banking customers in Spain.
“The model in Spain where customers just left it to Big Daddy Botin to take care of things has been broken,” said Fernando Zunzunegui, a Madrid-based lawyer. He said he is taking on Madoff-related claims valued at 8.2 million euros from 20 clients who are “clearly retail.” He declined to provide detailed information about his firm’s clients.
‘Qualifying Investors’
Ruiz de Villa and Zunzunegui said they are signing up clients and reviewing the cases in preparation for filing possible lawsuits against Santander. Javier Cremades, chairman of Cremades & Calvo-Sotelo, said he’ll push for a settlement first.
New York-based Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC collapsed last month after Madoff told his sons it was a $50 billion Ponzi scheme, according to a complaint filed by the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation. Worldwide, the victims include banks, charities and investors such as Madrid-based billionaire Alicia Koplowitz and film director Steven Spielberg.
Santander, based in the Spanish city of the same name, on Dec. 14 said international private banking clients and institutional investors had 2.01 billion euros of potential losses in Madoff-related funds. The rest of the money is in investments sold to “qualifying investors” in Spain.
Legal Protections
Branch customers were sold products linked to Madoff through Santander’s Geneva-based Optimal Investment Services hedge-fund arm, said the three lawyers representing the bank’s customers. Investors were asked to sign statements that they understood what they were purchasing and met the criteria for investing.
The bank has said it won’t compensate clients who invested with Madoff because the losses involve fraud. A spokeswoman for Santander said the bank had no further comment on the matter.
Selling structured products to wealthy clients has been a popular strategy in Spain and wasn’t in itself wrong, because Santander believed it would yield safe and stable returns, said Fernando Luque, an analyst at Morningstar Inc. in Madrid.
“Many of these institutions like Santander are going to be protected by the documentation, but the question is how great is the business damage from all this,” Hahn of Cass Business School said.
Lottery Winner
Spanish securities law requires anyone offering investment services to “suitably evaluate” a customer’s experience and market knowledge and ensure that he or she understands the risks.
The criteria for being a potential private banking customer are lower in Spain than other countries, said Manuel Romera, head of financial industry studies at Instituto de Empresa, a business school in Madrid.
A 2006 study by the school showed that Spanish banks tend to start targeting clients with 500,000 euros in assets, compared with 1.5 million euros for international banks.
The lottery winner invested in a Santander structured finance product, according to Cremades & Calvo-Sotelo. The firm is representing some 80 individuals in Spain and Latin America, mostly Santander customers, who have about 35 million euros of claims. Cremades declined to provide the investor’s name.
‘Stable’ Fund
The teacher put half the proceeds from an apartment sale in a “multi-strategy” structured product, 35 percent of which was in Optimal Strategic U.S. Equity, an Irish-registered fund whose trades were executed by Madoff, according to Santander’s description of the investment, which was shown to Bloomberg by Ruiz de Villa.
The document describes the investment as “conservative” and “probably the most stable” of all funds run by Optimal. Structured products have a defined maturity date and include a mix of assets to meet investor needs in areas such as risk hedging and diversification.
‘Pending Valuation’
A retired electronics executive said his private banking account manager told him losses on a 400,000-euro investment he made three years ago could be 80 percent. His bank statement now lists the product as “pending valuation,” the executive said in an interview. He asked not to be identified because he may have to return to work.
Spain’s anti-corruption prosecutor last week said it had opened an investigation into Madoff’s alleged fraud.
M&B Capital Advisers, a brokerage founded by Botin’s son Javier and Guillermo Morenes, husband of his daughter Ana Patricia Botin, has said its investors put 152 million euros in funds linked to Madoff.
Santander shares have fallen 18 percent since the bank released details of potential Madoff-related losses. The Bloomberg Europe Banks and Financial Services Index dropped 27 percent in the same period.
In a speech at the Euromoney magazine awards last July in London, Botin urged bankers not to buy products they don’t understand.
‘Incalculable’ Damage
“The damage to reputation from all this to the Santander name is incredible, incalculable, the kind that takes years to repair,” said Bernhard Bauhofer, founder of Wollerau, Switzerland-based Sparring Partners GmbH, a consulting firm that specializes in corporate image management.
Santander, which calls itself “the world’s best bank,” has avoided most of the fallout from the U.S. subprime lending crisis. Last February, the bank took a 737 million-euro writedown on its stake in Sovereign Bancorp after the Philadelphia-based lender plunged in value following charges for loan losses. That compares with the $49 billion of losses and writedowns posted by Zurich-based UBS AG, the largest total among European banks.
In the five years through 2007, Santander’s net income tripled to more than 9 billion euros as Botin expanded in Latin America.
Spain has the world’s highest density of banks, with 96 branches per 100,000 people, compared with 18 for the U.K., according to a World Bank study. Santander has about 4,840 retail branches in Spain, while Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria SA has about 3,484.
In that environment, Santander has been expanding its private banking business. The division, with almost 110 billion euros under management, targeted 18 percent growth in managed assets in 2008 and a 20 percent increase in pretax profit, according to the bank’s 2007 annual report.
‘Back to Basics’
“Spain is a country of salesmen, but we also need financial experts to better explain the product to clients,” said Romera, at Instituto de Empresa.
The Madoff case highlights the need for Spanish banks to return to good investment practices that should preclude clients from putting more than 15 percent of their money in a single security or product, said Jose Miguel Mate, chief executive officer of Tressis SV, a Madrid-based wealth management company.
“There will be a way back to the basics and to common sense,” said Mate, a former commercial director of Banif, another private bank owned by Santander.
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パイオニアが賃金削減提示、業績悪化で 全社員対象
2009.1.22 17:21
パイオニアは２２日、約５０００人の全社員を対象に期間限定の賃金削減案を労働組合に提示したことを明らかにした。景気悪化で業績不振が続いているため。労働組合と合意すれば、今年４月から平成２３年３月まで実施したい考えだ。課長級以上の管理職は２月から賃金を１０％減らし、他の一般社員の削減幅は今後交渉する。賃金削減は１７年１１月から１８年９月に管理職を対象に実施したことはあるが、一般社員を含めるのは初めて。
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中田英寿氏、農業に意欲？ 人道支援の財団法人を設立
2009.1.22 17:28
サッカー元日本代表の中田英寿氏が２２日、自身が代表理事を務める一般財団法人「テイクアクションファウンデーション」の設立発表会を行い、「サッカーを通じて人道支援など貢献したい」と目標を示した。
各地でイベントや試合を行い、収益を子供の予防接種などに役立てる。昨年６月、中田氏の発案により日産スタジアムで行われた試合に６万人が集まったことなどから、財団として本格的に活動することになった。
「地域の活性化にもなれば」と中田氏。４月１２日には、出身地の山梨県甲府市で元日本代表選手ら３０人を集め、試合を行う計画も明かした。
サッカー以外の分野にも強い興味を示し、「食の安全性や自給率のために何かできれば。野菜嫌いなのに何を、と思うかもしれませんが」と笑う。畑を耕す中田氏の姿を目にする日も近い？
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広島県医師会：証券損失で提訴 １０億円返還求め
「限りなく元本保証に近い」などの説明を信じて証券を購入したのに、世界金融危機で損失が出たとして、広島県医師会が、三菱ＵＦＪメリルリンチＰＢ証券（本社・東京都）に対し、購入額１０億円の返還を求めて広島地裁に提訴していたことが分かった。
提訴は１２月２４日付。訴状によると、県医師会は資金の損失が発生しないよう元本が保証される運用を依頼。０５年６月に「合成債務担保証券」１０億円分を購入した。
この証券は、世界の企業１２５社の債務などを束ねた金融商品。１２５社の一部が経営破綻（はたん）などして、債務の一定額が回収不能になると、元本が返らない特約事項があった。医師会は「同社から説明がなかった」と主張している。同証券広報部は「係争中なのでコメントは差し控える」としている。
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戦後最悪のマイナス成長へ 日銀予測 ０９年度まで
2009.1.22 20:17
日銀は２２日の金融政策決定会合で、２００８年度と０９年度の実質経済成長率予想をそれぞれマイナス１・８％、マイナス２・０％に大幅下方修正することを決めた。金融危機による世界的な不況で戦後最悪だった１９９８年度のマイナス１・５％を２年連続で更新することになる。消費者物価も２年連続の下落を見込んでおり、デフレの恐れも出てきた。
決定会合後に記者会見した白川方明総裁は「景気は大幅に悪化しており、当面、悪化を続ける可能性が高い」との認識を示した。
会合では、２００８年１０月に示した「経済・物価情勢の展望（展望リポート）」の中間評価を実施。実質成長率は従来予想の０８年度０・１％、０９年度０・６％からそれぞれ大幅に下振れした。消費者物価（生鮮食品を除く）は０９年度が１・１％下落、１０年度が０・４％下落と予測した。
ただ、白川総裁は「（景気悪化と物価下落が歯止めなく続く）デフレスパイラルに陥っていく感じではない」との見方を示した。
日銀は同日の会合で、企業の資金繰り支援策として、不動産投資法人債も日銀が受け入れる担保として認めることを決めた。
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赤坂は“火薬庫”さながら 稲川会“極秘移転” (1/4ページ)
2009.1.17 13:00
３大暴力団の一角、指定暴力団稲川会（角田吉男会長）が今月、本部事務所を東京・六本木から赤坂に移転させた。移転理由は「建物の老朽化」ということのようだが、移転先の目と鼻の先に稲川会以上の構成員数を誇る指定暴力団住吉会（福田晴瞭会長）の本部があるため、地元住民は大きな危険と不安を抱え込む事態になった。「現在、両組織に目立った軋轢（あつれき）はない」（警視庁幹部）とはいえ、過去には“血の歴史”も。地元で抗議活動が活発化する中、「撤退する」との情報も流れており、暴力団の“火薬庫”になりそうな「赤坂」は揺れている。
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稲川会事務所問題、赤坂のビルを売却意向 再移転先は横浜か
2009.1.22 20:27
指定暴力団稲川会の本部事務所移転問題で、稲川会が、移転先である東京都港区赤坂のビルを売却する意向を警視庁に伝えていたことが２２日、分かった。
赤坂のビルにはこの日、窓ガラスや出入り口に、不動産会社とみられる連絡先が書かれた紙が張られた。同会関係者は警視庁に対し、「売却し、赤坂から撤退する予定」などと話しているという。売却を決めた背景には、２１日に排除協議会が立ち上がるなど、地元住民の猛烈な反発があったとみられる。今後の移転先については、同会の拠点施設「稲川会館」（横浜市）という情報もあり、警視庁で確認を進めている。
本部事務所をめぐって稲川会は、同区六本木の事務所の建物老朽化を理由に、昨年９月に関連企業を通じて赤坂のビルを購入。今月７日に移転を宣言していた。
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The New York Times Is Dead: Long Live the New York Times
by: ManagingMoney.com January 22, 2009 | about stocks: NYT
The iconic newspaper the New York Times (NYT), is facing an expiring credit line of $400 million dollars in May. To you and me, that's like your credit card companies, mortgage bank, and car loan companies all saying they want us to repay the full loans in the next three months. If that happened to us, we'd have three choices that are essentially the same choices that the New York Times has.
The first option would be to admit defeat and declare bankruptcy. For us, that means the banks take away everything we own. For the New York Times, that would mean closing up shop, selling off all its assets and calling it quits. Of course, someone might buy the name and continue using it, but it would be a whole new company. Shareholders would get nothing, creditors would get pennies on the dollar, and subscribers would have to find something else with which to line their bird cages.
The second option is to get a new loan from someone else. If we could get someone to refinance our house then we could pay off the first mortgage before the deadline and move on as we were. Of course, we might have to pay a higher interest rate and our payments might go up a little, but we would probably survive. Unless we were having trouble making the original payments in which case we'd just be prolonging the agony. The New York Times just found a new lender to loan it enough for the mortgage, but not the credit cards and the car loans. Carlos Slim, one of the richest men in the world, has agreed to loan the New York Times $250 million dollars. Of course, the Times will be paying 14% interest on that loan, for a tidy annual profit of $35 million dollars for good old Carlos. That's just the interest payment, by the way. After paying $35 million in interest, the Times will still owe its benefactor the entire $250 million.
Of course, that leaves the Times with another $150 million to cover the closing line of credit. The third option we would face is to sell the cars and the house and use the proceeds to pay off the loans. That would leave us with fewer assets, but hopefully in a debt-free and cash flow positive situation. The New York Times needs to sell some of its assets to make up the difference between the loan value and the existing credit line. Oddly enough, one of the assets of the New York based newspaper is a significant stake in the New York Yankees' arch rival, the Boston Red Sox. If you've ever wanted to own a baseball team, you can buy a minority stake in the BoSox from a motivated seller sometime later this year.
The New York Times also owns the building that houses its headquarters. It has announced that it would like to sell it and lease it back from whoever buys it. Imagine selling your house and telling the buyer you'd like to rent it back. Those rent payments would have to cover the new buyers' costs and some profit as well. So it might give you some cash up front, but in the long run, it's probably not that good of a deal. If the bank is foreclosing, though, you do what you gotta do.
You see the main issue for the New York Times is that it is one of the best buggy whip makers left standing. Technology has passed it by. Newspapers have lost their relevance for mainstream America. Instead of reading this article in a daily column buried in the business section of a newspaper, you are reading it on the internet. Thank you for that, by the way. To complicate matters, the economy is in such a mess that most companies are reducing their advertising budgets, and that means even less income for newspapers.
So what's a poor paper to do? With the extra cash infusion they get from the sale of the assets, the NY Times must build itself into a strong web presence. It needs to make itself relevant to today's news audience, the audience that searches YouTube for clips of Obama's inaugural address, the audience that argues the relevance of that speech on the message boards beneath an online article. In other words, the New York Times needs to stop making buggy whips and start making electric cars. Good luck to the once and would-be future king.
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New York Times Asset Sales Restricted Under Slim Deal (Update2)
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By Greg Bensinger
Jan. 21 (Bloomberg) -- New York Times Co. is restricted from selling or transferring certain of its assets under the terms of a $250 million loan from companies controlled by Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim.
The New York-based publisher will also be limited in its ability to merge or consolidate with other companies, according to a securities filing today.
Any of the $225 million the company is trying to raise through sale-leaseback of its Manhattan headquarters would have to be used to refinance existing debt, according to the filing.
The company had been seeking to sell assets, trim staff and increase revenue through front-page advertisements as it faces a $400 million credit line expiration in May. Circulation and advertising have plunged as readers turn to the Internet for news.
Slim’s companies will receive more than 14 percent interest on the loan, which may add up to as much as $35 million annually, according to estimates by Barclays Capital Research. The companies, Banco Inbursa SA and Inmobiliaria Carso, also received warrants to buy as much as 17 percent of New York Times’ shares.
The publisher is seeking a buyer for its 17.5 percent stake in the Boston Red Sox baseball team, according to a person familiar with the talks. It is also trying to convince about 50 employees to take voluntary buyouts at its Boston Globe newspaper.
New York Times gained 9 cents to $6 at 4:15 in New York Stock Exchange composite trading. The shares declined 60 percent in the past 12 months.
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メラミン混入、酪農業者らに死刑判決 中国の地裁
2009年1月22日20時48分
【北京＝坂尻顕吾】新華社通信によると、中国で多数の乳幼児に腎臓結石の被害を出した粉ミルクへの有害物質メラミン混入事件で、河北省石家荘市の中級人民法院（地裁）は２２日、メラミンの入った粉を製造し、生乳に入れたとして公共安全危害罪などに問われた酪農業者ら２人に死刑、別の１人に執行猶予つきの死刑判決を言い渡した。
また、自社の粉ミルクにメラミンが混入したことを知りながら、販売を続けて最大の被害を出した乳製品メーカー三鹿集団の前会長で、劣悪品生産販売罪に問われた田文華被告（６６）には無期懲役、他の同社元幹部３人には懲役５年から１５年を言い渡した。仲買業者ら５人も懲役５年から無期懲役の判決を受けた。
この事件は昨年９月に発覚し、年末までに中国各地の乳幼児２９万６千人が腎臓結石の被害を受け、うち６人が死亡。中国政府は三鹿集団など２２社の粉ミルクにメラミンが混入していたと断定した。今回、計１２人に死刑を含む一斉判決が出た背景には、中国当局が「食の安全」に厳しく取り組んでいることを国内外に訴える狙いがうかがえる。
判決によると、酪農業者はメラミンを生乳に入れればたんぱく質の含有量を高く見せかけられると気付き、自ら生乳に混入したり、仲買業者にメラミンを販売したりした。三鹿集団は昨年８月初旬には粉ミルクへのメラミン混入を把握していたが、９月に問題が発覚するまで生産と販売を続け、被害を広げた。
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日銀、２年連続マイナス成長を予測 3兆円のＣＰ買い取りも
日銀は22日の金融政策決定会合で、2008年度と09年度の経済成長率がそれぞれマイナス1.8％、マイナス2.0％となり、戦後最悪の落ち込みが2 年続くとの予測をまとめた。白川方明総裁は「景気は当面、悪化を続ける可能性が高い」と指摘し、昨年10月公表の経済・物価情勢の展望（展望リポート）を下方修正した。物価も10年度まで2年連続で下落するとした。会合では最大3兆円のコマーシャルペーパー（ＣＰ）などの買い取りも決め、年度末に向けた企業の資金繰り支援策を拡充した。
政策金利である無担保コール翌日物金利の誘導目標は、現行の年0.1％前後に据え置くことを政策委員8人の全員一致で決めた。景気の現状認識は初めて「大幅に悪化している」と表明。輸出や生産の急激な落ち込みを踏まえ、利下げを実施した昨年12月より判断を引き下げた。(21:02)
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08年貿易黒字、80％減 12月輸出額、落ち込み最大
財務省が22日発表した2008年の貿易統計速報（通関ベース）によると、輸出から輸入を差し引いた貿易収支の黒字額は前年比80.0％減の2兆 1575億円と急減した。世界的な景気減速で自動車など主要品目の輸出に急ブレーキがかかったことが背景にある。足元の状況は一段と悪化しており、外需頼みの成長の道筋が見えなくなっている。
08年の輸出額は前年比3.4％減の81兆492億円。通年で輸出が減少するのは7年ぶり。金融危機が実体経済に及び、輸出の急減速が日本企業の業績悪化を招く構図だ。
輸出環境は厳しさを増している。併せて発表になった08年12月の統計によると、貿易収支は3207億円の赤字。原油価格の下落などで輸入額が前年同月比21.5％減となったものの、輸出額は35.0％減で、比較可能な1980年以降で最大の下落率。(15:01)
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特会、資産超過100兆円 07年度末、有効活用求める声強く
政府が今国会に提出した国の特別会計の財務関係資料によると、特会の資産から負債を差し引いた資産超過額が2007年度末で100兆円に達したことが明らかになった。与野党内には特会資産の有効活用を求める声が多いが、財務省は「自由に使える資産は限定的」と説明。将来の消費税率の引き上げを前に、保有資産の適正規模などを巡り一層の検討を迫られそうだ。
全28特会の07年度末の資産は635兆508億円、負債は534兆2981億円。資産から負債を引いた資産超過額は100兆7527億円となった。(13:57)
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漁業者の経営安定事業、水産庁が加入要件緩和 燃料高受け
水産庁は漁業者の経営安定化を目的に今年度から導入した事業の加入要件を緩和した。同事業は漁業共済に加入する人を対象としているが、過去3年間に一定以上の所得があることが必要。最近の燃料高で所得が減り、事業に加入できない人を念頭に置いて、30万―57万円を燃料高による影響額とみなして加入しやすくする。(07:00)
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西田東芝社長も経団連副会長に 渡辺・宗岡氏含め16人に
日本経団連は21日、トヨタ自動車の渡辺捷昭社長（66）、新日本製鉄の宗岡正二社長（62）を副会長に充てる方針を正式に固め、東芝の西田厚聡社長（65）をもう1人新しく選任することを決めた。28日の会議で内定し5月に就く。
御手洗冨士夫会長は2010年5月に2期4年の任期を終える。今まで15人の副会長が支えてきたが、任期最終年は世界同時不況下で1人増やして16人の手厚い体制にする。東芝の西田社長は経団連の助言機関である評議員会からの登用となる。
次の経団連会長は、現役の副会長から昇格する可能性が高い。今春から「ポスト御手洗体制」の模索が本格的に始まる。5月に退任するのはトヨタの張富士夫会長（71）と新日鉄の三村明夫会長（68）の2人。トヨタの渡辺社長は6月にトヨタ副会長に就任することが内定している。(07:00)
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12月の半導体製造装置の受注額、74.2％減
日本半導体製造装置協会（ＳＥＡＪ）は22日、2008年12月の日本製半導体製造装置の受注額（暫定値、前3カ月の平均値）が、前年同月比74.2％減の340億4700万円だったと発表した。前月の11月と比べても約3割減っており、半導体メーカー各社の設備投資は急速に落ち込んでいる。
販売額も489億6000万円で前年同月比63.5％減。
1を下回れば市況が悪化していることを示すＢＢレシオ（受注額を出荷額で割った値）は0.70（前3カ月の平均値）。前月からさらに0.05ポイント下落し、4カ月連続で1を割り込んだ。(20:07)
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ＪＦＥスチール、広島に鋼板の熱処理設備 170億円投資
ＪＦＥスチールは22日、広島県の西日本製鉄所（福山市）に飲料缶などに使う容器用鋼板を熱処理する設備を新設すると発表した。投資額は約170億円で、2011年1月の稼働をめざす。これに伴い、老朽化した1ラインを休止する。
新設するのは月に4万トンの鋼板を熱処理できる設備で、休止分を差し引くと生産能力は1カ月あたり1万8000トン増える計算だ。従来よりも薄くて幅が広い鋼板を扱えるようにするほか、熱処理後のゆがみを調整する装置なども一連のラインにして生産効率を高める。(18:01)
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世界粗鋼生産、12月は24％減 08年は10年ぶり減少
世界鉄鋼協会（ワールドスチール、旧国際鉄鋼協会＝ＩＩＳＩ）がまとめた2008年12月の世界粗鋼生産（速報値、66カ国・地域）は8440万トンとなり、前年同月に比べて24.3％減った。自動車メーカーなど製造業の大規模な減産が続き、鉄鋼需要が急減しているため。北米が48.3％減ったほか、欧州連合（ＥＵ）も39.4％減。中国は5.5％減だった。
同時に発表した08年通年の世界粗鋼生産は13億2971万トンとなり、前年から1.2％減った。前年を下回るのは1998年（2.7％減）以来10年ぶり。これまでけん引してきた新興国経済の失速などが響いた。(16:00)
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08年の全国スーパー売上高、12年連続で減少
日本チェーンストア協会が22日発表した2008年の全国スーパー売上高は13兆2753億円で、既存店ベースでは07年比0.7％減と12年連続で前年を下回った。食料品は内食志向のために堅調だったが、衣料品や住居関連品が落ち込んだのが響いた。08年12月も2.8％減と2カ月ぶりに前年割れした。(14:19)
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アブダビ、コスモ石油の油田権益を20年延長 新規鉱区付与も
【アブダビ＝松尾博文】アラブ首長国連邦（ＵＡＥ）アブダビのユセフ・オメール国営石油会社総裁は日本経済新聞などの取材に応じ、2012年に45年間の期限を迎えるコスモ石油の油田権益について20年の更新を認めることを明らかにした。増産につながる新規鉱区の付与も検討しているという。資源争奪戦が激しさを増すなか、コスモは世界第5位の埋蔵量を誇る中東産油国に足場を維持できることになり、日本の原油安定調達にも寄与しそうだ。
権益更新が決まったのはコスモ石油子会社のアブダビ石油（東京・品川）がアブダビ沖合で1973年から操業している油田。同社が単独で権益を保有する。(07:00)
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道銀、ロシア２位行と提携 道内企業の進出支援
北海道銀行は、商業銀行ではロシア第2位のロシア連邦外国貿易銀行（ＶＴＢ銀行）と2月上旬に業務提携し、極東ロシアでの道内企業のビジネス展開を後押しする。成長の可能性を秘めるロシア市場を開拓できれば道内経済の活性化にもつながる。現地で需要が高く進出をうかがう道内の建設業や食品関連の企業にとって期待は大きい。
道銀はＶＴＢ銀のハバロフスクとウラジオストクの両支店のほか、ユジノサハリンスク出張所と業務協力の覚書を交わす。両銀が取引のある企業の相互紹介のほか、投資情報の提供や人材交流でも協力する。
ウラジオストクでは2012年のアジア太平洋経済協力会議（ＡＰＥＣ）開催に向け、インフラ整備が急ピッチで進む。経済発展に伴い、比較的高級な日本製の食品や、建築資材などを売り込む余地も広がっている。
道銀は昨年12月31日付でＶＴＢ銀ハバロフスク支店とコルレス（為替取引）契約も締結済み。3月から地銀としては極東で初めてルーブル建ての送金業務を扱い始める。
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全相続人の同意必要なし、預金口座取引記録の開示 最高裁判決
遺産相続を争っている相続人の1人が、他の相続人の同意なしに故人の預貯金口座の出入金記録を開示するよう金融機関に求めることができるかが争われた訴訟の上告審判決が22日、最高裁第1小法廷（涌井紀夫裁判長）であった。同小法廷は「相続人全員の同意がなくても、金融機関は取引記録の開示義務を負う」との初判断を示した。
そのうえで、開示請求を拒否した城南信用金庫（東京・品川）の上告を棄却、取引記録の開示を命じた2審・東京高裁判決が確定した。
金融機関は相続人が複数いる場合、プライバシー保護や守秘義務などを理由に全員の同意がなければ口座の取引記録を開示しないことが多いとされる。地・高裁では開示を認めるかどうか判断が分かれており、最高裁判決は相続の実務に影響を与えそうだ。(13:01)
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住基ネット離脱訴訟：住民側の敗訴確定
住民基本台帳ネットワークシステム（住基ネット）はプライバシー権を侵害し違憲だとして、福島県喜多方市の住民４人が国や県などに本人確認情報の削除（ネット離脱）などを求めた訴訟で、最高裁第１小法廷（泉徳治裁判長）は２２日、住民側の上告を棄却する決定を出した。住民側敗訴の１、２審判決が確定した。最高裁は０８年３月、住基ネットについて合憲判断している。
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再処理工場：放射性廃液漏れる 日本原燃
日本原燃（青森県六ケ所村）は２２日、使用済み核燃料再処理工場で、高レベル放射性廃液が漏れたと発表した。コンクリートで仕切られた部屋「セル」内での漏えいで、外部への放射能漏れの心配はないとしている。廃液を送る配管のボルトが緩んでいたという。
高レベル放射性廃棄物をガラスと混ぜて固める溶融炉を観察する作業に伴い、昨年１２月に配管をボルトで閉めてふたをしていた。しかし２１日、ふたの下に置いたトレー（幅１０センチ、奥行き５０センチ、高さ２センチ）に廃液約１リットルが漏れているのを社員がカメラで確認。さらに約７メートル下の漏えい液受け皿（幅４０センチ、奥行き７０センチ、高さ２０センチ）にも約２０リットルの廃液が漏れ落ちていた。原燃はボルトを締め直し、受け皿の廃液を回収した。ボルトが緩んだ原因を調べている。
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父子家庭：全国に９万世帯 ３７％は年収３００万円未満－－毎日新聞調査
◇父子家庭もつらい 「母子」と同等１１自治体が実施
母子家庭と違って国による経済的な支援制度がない父子家庭について、０２年以降、少なくとも全国で１１の自治体が母子家庭と同等の手当を支給していることが毎日新聞の調べで分かった。ただ、国側の取り組みは手つかずな上、財源の確保が障壁となっている。シングルファーザーや自治体担当者は「平等に扱ってほしい」と、国に対して支援や制度改正を訴えている。【沢田勇】
０５年の国勢調査によると、母子家庭が７４万９０４８世帯に対し、父子家庭は９万２２８５世帯。母子家庭には児童扶養手当法に基づき「児童扶養手当」が支給されるが、父子家庭にはない。
その理由は収入格差だ。厚生労働省の０６年度全国母子世帯等調査によると、母子家庭の平均年収２１３万円に対し、父子家庭は４２１万円。ただ、年収３００万円未満の父子家庭は３７・２％を占める。
甲府市で６歳の長女と暮らす会社員、佐野臣功（たみのり）さん（３４）もその一人。妻と別居後、定時に帰宅できる仕事に転職したが、年収は約２５０万円と前職の３割程度に激減し、生活は困窮したという。「同じ１人親家庭なのになぜ支援がないのか、と思います。厚労省の『母子家庭等』という言い方自体、私たちが認知されていない証拠だ」と憤る。
０２年７月、全国で初めて児童扶養手当と同条件で父子家庭に手当を支給する「児童育成手当」を導入した栃木県鹿沼市。当時、担当の児童福祉係長だった御地合晋守（おちあいしんじ）さん（５１）は「相談に来る父親に、児童扶養手当の対象ではないことを告げるたび、不公平感を覚えていた」。国や県に改善を申し入れてもらちが明かず、０１年に市単独事業としての導入を市長に直訴して実現したという。
「国がやるべきだというのが市町村の本音です。子供は親を選べない。子供たちに福祉を平等に与えるのが行政の責任だから、国がやらないなら市町村がやるしかない」
これに対し、厚労省母子家庭等自立支援室は「父子家庭については、家事や育児支援に力を注ぐ」として、制度の見直しには否定的。児童扶養手当に準じた父子家庭支援制度のある自治体についても把握していないという。
◆父子家庭に児童扶養手当と同等の
支援をしている自治体（毎日新聞調べ）
自治体 制度名 導入年月
栃木県鹿沼市 児童育成手当 ０２年７月
茨城県牛久市 児童育成手当 ０３年１月
千葉県野田市 父子家庭等支援手当 ０３年４月
福井県越前市 児童育成手当 ０３年４月
（旧武生市）
岡山県新見市 父子家庭児童養育手当 ０３年４月
（旧哲西町）
大津市 児童福祉手当 ０３年８月
静岡県島田市 父子家庭等支援金 ０４年４月
千葉県習志野市 父子家庭支援手当 ０７年８月
東京都港区 ひとり親（父子）家庭 ０８年４月
支援助成
栃木県日光市 父子手当 ０８年７月
愛知県春日井市 子ども福祉手当 ０８年８月
＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝
■ことば
◇児童扶養手当
１９６１年創設。母や祖父母が、１８歳未満の子供や孫を養う家庭が対象。国が３分の１、３分の２を市（町村は都道府県）が負担する。子供１人の母子家庭の場合、年収３６５万円未満の世帯に、所得に応じ月額９８５０～４万１７２０円が支給される。０８年３月末現在、全国で９５万５９４１人が受給している。
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US prepares to block influx of GM food
* 21 January 2009
* Magazine issue 2692. Subscribe and get 4 free issues.
* For similar stories, visit the GM Organisms Topic Guide
AFTER a decade of exporting its genetically modified crops all over the world, the US is preparing to block foreign GM foods from entering the country - if they are deemed to threaten its agriculture, environment or citizens' health, that is.
The warning was given to the US Department of Agriculture, which polices agricultural imports, by its own auditor, the Office of Inspector General (OIG): "Unless international developments in transgenic plants and animals are closely monitored, USDA could be unaware of potential threats that particular new transgenic plants or animals might pose to the nation's food supply."
The OIG expects the number of GM crops and traits, and the number of countries producing them, to double by 2015, raising the risks of imports of GM crops unknown to the USDA.
The report urges the USDA to strengthen its links with countries where research is exploding, such as China, India and Brazil. China, for example, is ready to launch the world's first commercial GM rice, but it has yet to be approved by the USDA. Problems will arise, says the OIG, when new GM products enter the US undeclared - the USDA would be unprepared to test or even identify them.
The OIG cautions against blocks on imports that could be seen as trade barriers, however. In 2006, the World Trade Organization ruled in favour of the US, arguing that the European Union's stringent regulations on GM crops were anti-free trade.
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EU OKs more genetically modified corn
by Bridget Macdonald
Jan 21, 2009
The European Union Commission recommended Wednesday that farmers be allowed to plant two new varieties of genetically modified corn, an endorsement that if approved, could ease restrictions against U.S. corn and corn traits.
The EU Commission’s recommendation breaks ground for use of Bt-11, developed by Syngenta AG, and TC-1507, developed by a joint venture between Pioneer Hi-Bred International, a subsidiary of DuPont Co., and Mycogen Seeds, a unit of Dow Chemical Co. The EU has not allowed the cultivation of any new genetically modified crops since it approved a strain of corn developed by Monsanto Co. in 1998.
Genetically modified corn accounted for 80 percent of all the corn planted in both the U.S. and in the state of Illinois in 2008, up from 73 and 74 percent respectively in 2007, according to Mark Schleusener, a statistician for the Illinois Department of Agriculture.
The nod from Europe is a step in the right direction, according to Mark Lambert of the Illinois Corn Growers Association. Although there is government support for genetically modified crops in the U.S., “[the EU] has been using biotech as a false barrier to trade,” he said. Approval from the EU Commission will open the doors for American corn, which Lambert said is essential to meet global food demand. The EU accepts some corn from the United States, but only for use as animal feed, not for human consumption. Any processed food containing genetically modified corn must be clearly marked.
"If something is labeled GMO, it’s a death sentence,” said Dr. Marty Sachs, a research geneticist at the Maize Genetic Stock Center. For the EU, “the issue is mostly protectionist rather than scientific or safety. [The EU] would like to keep our technology and companies from infringing upon theirs,” he said.
Sachs theorized that the EU Commission has “erred on the side of caution” in the wake of food scares, such as mad cow disease, but said there is nothing dangerous about genetically modified corn.
Geneticists developed Bt strains of corn using protein from a soil-born bacterium that occurs throughout the world, Sachs said. The protein has insecticidal properties. “When you have a caterpillar munching on the leaves, they ingest it and it kills them,” he said, adding that Bt’s toxicity is specific to certain pest insects and is innocuous when consumed by other animals.
"Organic farmers use Bt as a spray on their crops,” Sachs said. “It enables farmers to grow corn without using harsher insecticides or chemicals.”
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service oversees the approval of genetically modified crops in the United States using tests that Sachs called “reasonable” compared to the EU’s strict standards. U.S. breeders must demonstrate that their crops are as safe as a conventional equivalent through a process he said takes only a couple of years.
Despite the apparent backing of the EU Commission, Lambert said suspicion of genetically modified crops is embedded in European culture and will be hard to overcome. But he said biotechnology has done a lot for the environment by significantly reducing the tonnage of pesticides used in agriculture, a factor that might help win over the “green” mentality that has become prevalent abroad.
Illinois, which vies with neighboring Iowa for the No. 1 ranking in U.S. corn production according to the USDA, would reap the benefits of a more lenient agricultural policy abroad. “If they have actually accepted that farmers can grow these crops in Europe, it will prevent them from using that standard to bar importing products with same traits,” Sachs said.
From a global perspective, the EU Commission’s decision is good news for farmers around the world, who Lambert said have been at a serious disadvantage.
"A lot of countries don’t have the agencies and watchdog groups we do to ensure proper testing is done. In lieu of having expertise, they look to the U.S. or the EU,” he said.
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Hackers accused of plot to swindle Japanese bank
By Megan Murphy, Law Courts Correspondent
Published: January 22 2009 02:00 | Last updated: January 22 2009 02:00
Computer hackers used sophisticated passworddetection software in an attempt to swindle £229m from one of Japan's largest banking groups, a court heard yesterday.
In a plot seemingly cribbed from a Hollywood film, a "dishonest, bold" gang of cyber-crooks raided the City premises of Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporationat night to install "keylogger" programmes to record employees' log-in details, prosecutors allege.
Assisted by an "inside man" who worked as a security supervisor at the bank, the thieves then attempted to make more than 20 electronic transfers involving multi-million pound sums from the accounts of big Sumitomo customers, including Nomura Asset Management and Toshiba, it is alleged.
The money was intended for accounts set up in locations such as Dubai and Singapore, but the men failed to realise that the keylogging software had inadvertently captured an error, jurors at Snaresbrook Crown Court in east London were told.
Several members of the gang, including two computer experts and the Sumitomo security guard, have pleaded guilty to conspiracy to steal.
The Crown is now pursuing three other people suspected of serving as "fronts" for the companies and bank accounts set up to receive the stolen funds in September and October 2004.
"The attempt was made by surreptitiously entering the bank at night, by corrupting its computer system and by attempting to electronically transfer money," said prosecutor Simon Farrell, QC. "A number of people were involved in different ways to steal the money and some were closely connected to its distribution around the world."
Hugh Rodley, David Nash and Inger Malmros deny the charges in what is expected to be a six-week trial. Bernard Davies, another defendant, died last weekend.
Jurors were told how the keylogger software could capture staff passwords and log-in details surreptitiously by taking frequent pictures of their computer screens. The fraudsters would then return to the bank to re-trieve the screen shots and plug the information into electronic transfer requests.
"Fortunately for the bank, those transfers failed," said Mr Farrell. Staff discovered the plot after realising their computers had been tampered with.
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GM loses top spot for first time in 77 years as Toyota takes the lead
By Bernard Simon in Toronto, Nicole Bullock in New York,and John Reed in Detroit
Published: January 22 2009 02:00 | Last updated: January 22 2009 02:00
For the first time in 77 years, General Motors can no longer describe itself as the world's biggest carmaker.
The Detroit company, dependent on billions of dollars in government aid for its survival, said yesterday its global sales dipped to 8.35m last year, behind Toyota Motor's 8.97m.
GM's shipments fell 11 per cent; Toyota's dropped 4 per cent. Total industry sales shrank by 3.5m vehicles last year, with the US, Japan and Europe accounting for about half the drop.
Mike DiGiovanni, GM's sales analyst, brushed off losing the top slot, saying: "We're really focused on being a healthy, profitable company."
However, the rivalry between North America's and Japan's largest carmakers remains intense.
They are racing to bring plugin rechargeable cars to the market.
Mr DiGiovanni said GM was still ahead in emerging markets such as Brazil, Russia, India and China. The carmaker sold 64 per cent of its vehicles outside North America last year, up from 59 per cent in 2007.
GM and Chrysler, its Detroit rival, are due to submit turnround plans to the government by February 17 to justify their emergency loans and possible requests for more funds. Washington has approved $13.4bn for GM and $4bn for Chrysler.
Toyota expects a 15 per cent drop in volumes, excluding sales to its Chinese joint ventures.
While Toyota has a smaller exposure to the US than GM, the drop in US sales has also been costly.
Sales of its Tundra pick-up truck, hailed just two years ago as the Japanese company's most important US product launch in half a century, tumbled by more than half last month from a year earlier.
Separately, people close to the matter said Pimco, the world's largest bond manager, had resigned from a committee negotiating a debt restructuring that is part of the terms of GM's federal aid package. Pimco declined to comment.
Some bondholders said lingering contention over a debt swap at GMAC, GM's financing arm - which called on debtholders to make concessions to facilitate federal aid - played a role in Pimco's departure.
Pimco pulled out of a preliminary agreement to participate in the GMAC debt exchange.
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Kirin maintains its thirst for overseas acquisitions
By Michiyo Nakamoto in Tokyo
Published: January 22 2009 02:00 | Last updated: January 22 2009 02:00
Like the mythical creature that graces its beer cans, Kirin is galloping its way into foreign lands. Having made a big push into the Australian beer market in 1998 with the acquisition of a 46 per cent stake in Lion Nathan, the Japanese beer company has diversified both in terms of the products it sells and where it sells them.
Its rush to acquire overseas businesses, which resulted in a Y440bn ($5bn) bill in less than two years, at one point raised eyebrows at ratings agencies.
But that has hardly dented its appetite, judging from its decision to stump up another Y300bn for acquisitions, and this week's news that it is looking to buy up to 43.25 per cent of San Miguel Brewery in the Philippines.
Kirin's aggressive overseas foray reflects the inexorable reality of a shrinking home market that has pushed other Japanese companies to go shopping overseas.
Beer shipments have been falling for 15 years as the number of beer-drinking Japanese has declined and the price of competing alcoholic beverages - particularly wine - has dropped significantly.
In contrast to Japan, beer demand in the Philippines is growing at about 2 per cent annually.
Meanwhile, the yen's strong appreciation against many currencies and the worsening outlook for Japanese consumption should give Kirin an incentive to stamp its footprints in other promising markets.
Alliance in limbo
In September, the Compagnie Financière Edmond de Rothschild and the Bank of China announced a novel strategic alliance. They described it as "a little ray of sunshine" amid the global financial storm.
The Chinese bank, the world's fifth-largest, signed an agreement to buy a 20 per cent stake in the family-held Paris-based Rothschild asset management and private banking business. The French government applauded a deal. It also seemed a sign of a tangible improvement in Franco-Chinese relations after the summer row over the pro-Dalai Lama demonstrations when the Olympic flame passed through Paris.
For the first time, Bank of China was taking a stake in a eurozone financial institution as part of its efforts to develop the necessary expertise and products to serve its 130m depositors. For the Rothschilds, it was not only a vote of confidence in their banking savoir-faire , but offered one of Europe's oldest and most aristocratic banking houses an opportunity to expand in the promising Chinese market.
Yet nearly four months later the deal has still not been consummated as it awaits official clearance from the China Banking Regulatory Commission. Indeed, the original agreement between the Chinese bank and Rothschild expired at the end of December, although the two parties have since extended the closing deadline to the end of March. The Rothschilds are not only puzzled by the seemingly endless delay, but are starting to become irritated.
Neither can Bank of China be too happy. It has recently seen two European investors - UBS and Royal Bank of Scotland - sell stakes in the state-controlled Chinese bank, and its international reputation now risks taking a further knock by raising questions over the reliability of the bank's signature.
After all, it was the Chinese bank that appears to have insisted in taking a direct stake in the Compagnie Financière to underpin its banking alliance with the Rothschilds. Indeed, Benjamin de Rothschild, the French bank's controlling shareholder, was not at all keen to see his stake diluted too heavily and ultimately persuaded Quebec's Caisse de Dépôt et Placement to sell its 10 per cent stake in the Compagnie Financière to the Chinese. Even more puzzling was the warm welcome given by the Chinese banking regulator to Rothschild top managers when they visited China just before Christmas.
The regulator apparently told them that he considered the agreement exemplary. But he has still not formally approved it.
The Rothschilds cannot understand why. The Chinese authorities have undoubtedly become wary of investing in western banking groups given the stock market meltdown. But the €236m total consideration for the Rothschild stake is hardly going to break the Bank of China.
The explanation presumably can only be political. Since the deal was first announced, Franco-Chinese relations have once again slumped. They are now so bad that Wen Jiabao, Chinese premier, is making a point of avoiding France during the grand European tour he is undertaking next week. But then again, why pick on the Rothschilds?
Mr Wen's European visit will also coincide with the 45th anniversary of General de Gaulle's official recognition of the People's Republic of China. The Rothschilds are hoping that this could be a good occasion for the Chinese authorities to clear the Bank of China deal. But no one is holding their breath in Paris.
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Sabic profits sharply lower
By Abeer Allam in Riyadh
Published: January 20 2009 12:22 | Last updated: January 20 2009 12:22
Saudi Basic Industries Corp, the biggest listed company in the Middle East, said on Tuesday that its fourth-quarter net profit fell by a massive 95 per cent, sharply below analysts’ expectations.
Net profit fell to SAR311m ($83m), from SAR6.87bn a year earlier, the company said in a statement. It attributed the sharp drop to a decline in demand for petrochemical products, particularly speciality plastics, in the global automotive industry and building sectors.
The company said affiliates outside Saudi Arabia had been particularly adversely affected but the scale of the underperformance caught analysts by surprise. Shares in Sabic, which is 70 per cent owned by the Saudi government, fell by nearly 10 per cent on Tuesday, dragging the wider market lower.
“They are producing but not selling – except maybe in China or India. The company is suffering from the economic slowdown that caused steel prices to drop by 50 per cent and fertilizer by 70 per cent since July. This is massive,’’ said Laurent-Patrick Gally, an equity analyst at Shuaa Capital, a Dubai-based investment bank.
“The unusual drop could be attributed to write-downs of inventory or provisions [but] they should explain.”
Shuaa said last week it expected a 69 per cent drop in profit to around SAR2.3bn from SAR4.7bn two months earlier.
“We are totally shocked by the results. Sabic has not provided any detailed figures to explain the drop,’’ said another financial analyst in Riyadh who asked not to be named. “Fund managers here have been in a meeting all morning and they are scrambling to deal with the losses.’’
Mohamed al-Mady, Sabic’s chief executive, told the FT in November that the company’s exposure to diversified markets, such as India, China and the Middle East would mitigate the impact of the financial crisis.
Sabic has spent $20bn on expansion in the past five years. In 2007 the company bought GE Plastics for $11.6bn as part of its strategy to increase capacity outside the kingdom.
Up to 70 per cent of its operations are overseas in countries ranging from China, to the Netherlands to Brazil.
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State interventions fail to pay off
By Robin Wigglesworth in Abu Dhabi
Published: January 21 2009 16:27 | Last updated: January 21 2009 16:27
When Kuwait’s government – under pressure from irate, day-trading citizens – announced late last year that it would support domestic equity prices, a Kuwaiti banker observed ruefully: “Moral hazard doesn’t exist in the Gulf.”
Oman would seem to agree. Last week the government announced it would proceed with an OR150m ($389m) stock market stabilisation fund to offer succour to the Muscat Stock Exchange, which lost 41 per cent last year.
Qatar also decided to intervene last year – albeit in a roundabout way. The Qatar Investment Authority, the country’s sovereign wealth fund, said it would buy stakes of up to 20 per cent in all the country’s banks through fresh share sales, thereby injecting extra capital for lending and extending its gold-plated sovereign guarantee across the sector.
But how much has government intervention helped? Not much, according to asset managers and analysts.
“Let’s call it [Oman’s move] what it is: an investor bail-out, not a ‘market stabilisation’ fund,” says Zahed Chowdhury, Deutsche Bank’s regional head of research. “It’s a rescue for existing investors, but doesn’t support the market in any way. The extra money just disappears.”
Direct government intervention in public markets has been most pronounced in Kuwait, but even there the stock market has lost more than 40 per cent of its value in the past three months, according to MSCI Barra.
The bourse has not been helped by the travails of embattled investment companies, but money managers say the clumsy attempt to prop up the stock market has exacerbated the situation by unsettling investors.
“Kuwait did it in a confusing way, backwards and forwards, with different figures for the rescue thrown around, and with a lack of co-ordination,” says Fadi Al-Said, regional head of equities at ING Investment Management. “They hoped that a lot of announcements would bolster sentiment – but it has done the opposite. Investors don’t like uncertainty.”
Though rescue packages “aren’t a good idea” anywhere, Qatar has handled its intervention better, says Mr Said. “Qatar has beefed up the capital of banks, and this is a cleverer way of doing it. It was done at market prices, didn’t crowd out or save existing shareholders, and will help support growth.”
Nonetheless, the Doha stock exchange has continued to tumble, losing more than a quarter of its value already this year. Oman is down a fifth and Kuwait has lost nearly 15 per cent, following record losses last year.
Interventions could also do lasting damage to the Gulf’s capital markets by continuing to foster an expectation of government rescues whenever losses mount, says a local fund manager. “Governments are seen as a white knight, but short-term investments only lead to long-term problems,” he says.
Oman, with a projected 2009 budget deficit of about OR810m – or about 5 per cent of the country’s gross domestic product – would perhaps be wise to hold its fire and spend its capital on more effective measures to support growth than buying public companies.
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Sinking oil money into UK
Published: January 22 2009 02:00 | Last updated: January 22 2009 02:00
At a time when some advisers are calling for investors to pull out of the UK, Abu Dhabi's Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan has a lot of money tied up in the country.
The 38-year-old is the owner of Manchester City football club - which has seen transfer negotiations for AC Milan's Kaka fail - owns the trendy Asian fusion restaurants Hakkasan and Yauatcha.
Not to mention that last year he pumped £3.5bn of his personal fortune into Barclays, which has seen its share price plummet.
One of the many sons of Abu Dhabi's founding father Sheikh Zayed, Sheikh Mansour runs the affairs of his half brother, the president of the United Arab Emirates, and is also the full brother of the crown prince.
The Man City deal combined his wish to diversify his investments and his enthusiasm for football, while his entry into the world of restaurants ties into Abu Dhabi's ambitions to enhance its tourism offerings: a branch of Hakkasan is expected to open in Abu Dhabi's luxurious seven-star Emirates Palace hotel, which falls under Sheikh Mansour's oversight.
Educated in the US, he is also chairman of Abu Dhabi Petroleum Investment group and First Gulf Bank.
Married to the daughter of Dubai ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, he is a keen horse rider.
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Profits fall at Rothschild
By Peter Thal Larsen
Published: January 6 2009 02:00 | Last updated: January 6 2009 02:00
The UK arm of Rothschild, the independent investment bank, suffered a sharp drop in profits in its most recent financial year as a result of losses on complex debt instruments.
NM Rothschild, the UK subsidiary of the investment banking group, reported pre-tax profits of £28.5m for the year to March 2008, less than half the £79.7m it made in the previous 12 months, according to the bank's annual report, recently filed at Companies House. The drop was largely due to a £65.6m loss NM Rothschild suffered on a portfolio of complex debt securities, including collateralised debt obligations, which suffered as a result of the credit crunch.
The division, which generates most of its revenues from advising on corporate transactions and does almost no trading on its own account, also received a £103.1m capital injection from its parent company during the year.
Peter Thal Larsen
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Former bank chairman Edmund de Rothschild dies
Tuesday, January 20 05:13 pm
Reuters
Corrects to remove mistaken reference in second paragraph to Evelyn de Rothschild being current chairman of N M Rothschild & Sons, as he retired in 2003.
Edmund de Rothschild, former chairman of the family's London-based bank, N M Rothschild & Sons, has died aged 93, according to a notice in the Times on Tuesday.
He first became a partner in 1946, played a key role during the bank's international expansion in the 1950s and 1960s, and was chairman from 1970 to 1975.
In 1953 N M Rothschild & Sons led a syndicate that financed the construction of a hydro-electric power station in Newfoundland, Canada, then the largest-ever construction project led by a private company.
De Rothschild was deputy chairman of the British Newfoundland Corporation between 1963 and 1969.
In the 1960s N M Rothschild was a key player in the birth of the Eurobond market, which allowed companies to raise debt finance from international investors.
Later, as chairman, de Rothschild oversaw the transition of the bank from a privately owned family firm to one open to non-family members, according to an obituary in Tuesday's Daily Telegraph.
He died on Saturday, the Times notice said.
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Germans see signs of return to growth amid deepening gloom
By Bertrand Benoit in Berlin
Published: January 22 2009 02:00 | Last updated: January 22 2009 02:00
Germany could see a return to positive growth as early as April and keep growing for the remainder of the year, the government said yesterday, although this would not prevent the country from recording its worst postwar recession in 2009.
Michael Glos, economics minister, said: "We are foreseeing an improvement by the middle of the year." He said Axel Weber, president of the Bundesbank, had presented an even more optimistic forecast to the cabinet yesterday.
According to its quarterly projections, the government expects the worst of the downturn to have happened in the last quarter of 2008 and in the three months to April.
It is forecasting steady growth every quarter between April and December. However, the decline in activity in the half-year since the autumn has been so sharp that the modest rebound would not be enough to offset it when averaging quarterly growth figures for the whole year.
Despite the expected return to gross domestic product growth as of the second quarter, the government expects GDP to contract by 2.25 per cent for the whole year, a drastic revision of the government's estimate in October of 1.2 per cent annual growth for 2009.
Speaking at the presentation of the government's annual economic report, Mr Glos said the swift, if initially modest, recovery would be fed by the large fiscal stimuli being implemented in other countries. "These should help our exports to rebound," Mr Glos said.
In addition, the report said the weakening of the euro against the US dollar, lower oil prices, hefty wage rises in the past year, which should boost consumption, and its own packages of growth-boosting measures would also spur economic growth.
Without the government's fiscal package, the economy would shrink by more than 3 per cent in 2009.
Mr Glos said there was evidence that the economy had already contracted by 1.75-1.8 per cent in the fourth quarter of last year.
Until it unveiled a €50bn ($65bn, £47bn) fiscal package last week, the German government had faced criticism abroad for relying too heavily on the growth-boosting measures of other governments to prop up its exports. These are expected to fall by 8.9 per cent over the year, with capital goods investments dropping by 11.9 per cent.
The government is also predicting a rapid rise in unemployment by 500,000 to 3.5m. Private sector economists expect unemployment to reach 3.9m.
* Germany's finance ministry said yesterday that Günther Merl, head of the government's €500bn financial sector bail-out fund, was to step down, reports James Wilson in Frankfurt .
Mr Merl is the second of the fund's three-person managing committee to resign since it was established in October. The move will fuel speculation of splits over strategy with the politicians who oversee the fund's disbursals. The finance ministry said it was in talks over a successor to Mr Merl.
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French and British stay away from Spain
By Mark Mulligan in Madrid
Published: January 22 2009 12:14 | Last updated: January 22 2009 12:14
The number of foreign tourists travelling to Spain fell an annual 2.6 per cent in 2008, as high fuel prices early in the year and then the spreading financial crisis kept Britons and the French at home.
According to government figures, the country received 57.4m tourists last year, down 1.8m on 2007. It was the first year-on-year fall since the current method of measuring the sector was introduced, in 1997.
The number of people visiting from the UK, by far the most important feeder market, dropped 3 per cent, to 15.75m. The French also stayed away in droves; the total number of visitors from Spain’s third largest feeder market was down 8.5 per cent at about 8.2m.
Germany, the second biggest market, held up relatively well, with visitor numbers almost flat at just over 10m.
This year could be even worse, according to industry representatives, dealing a further blow to an economy already weakened by the collapse in house-building, and a sharp consumer downturn. Output in the tourism sector, which includes airlines, tour operators, hotels, car hire firms, and museums and other attractions, normally accounts for about 11 per cent of gross domestic product in Spain, and about 13.5 per cent of total jobs.
Some economists see Spanish GDP shrinking by more than 2 per cent this year, after growth decelerated from nearly 4 per cent in 2007 to 1.2 per cent last year. Joblessness is seen rising from about 13 per cent now to nearly 20 per cent.
Joan Mesquida, state secretary for tourism, noted that the tourist flows had thinned dramatically in the last few months of 2008, with the number down 14 per cent in December. The pound’s fall against the euro was seen as a factor, combined with rising unemployment and uncertainty after the September collapse of Lehman Brothers, the investment bank.
“What we are seeing is a downward trend that could continue throughout 2009,” he said.
“Tourism is not an oasis and we still depend and the performance on the three large feeder markets,” he said.
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Pound heads down towards lows
By Peter Garnham
Published: January 22 2009 11:25 | Last updated: January 22 2009 13:14
The pound suffered on Thursday, falling back down towards the 23-year low it hit against the dollar on Wednesday.
Renewed concerns over the health of the UK financial system saw the pound trade down to a low of $1.3618 on Wednesday, its weakest level since September 1985.
But the pound rebounded sharply on talk that sterling weakness would be on the agenda at next month’s G7 meeting of finance ministers in Rome.
This followed comments from French and German officials, who expressed concern over the impact of the pound’s rapid fall on their already slowing economies.
But the pound’s fall gained fresh impetus on Thursday as a survey showed a fresh plunge in the UK manufacturing sector as export orders tumbled.
By early morning in New York, the pound fell 1.6 per cent to $1.3759 against the dollar, lost 1.1 per cent to £0.9440 against the euro and dropped 2.6 per cent to Y121.84 against the yen.
Ashraf Laidi at CMC Markets said he expected more sterling volatility ahead of the G7 meeting as the chorus of remarks from German and French officials about the pound intensifies.
“Currency swings will be especially pronounced as German and French tensions may be further countered by the tacit support for sterling weakness by UK Treasury officials,” he said.
“After all, the weak pound is the only silver lining of the UK recession. The fact that neither the Bank of England nor the Treasury expressed concern with the pound’s rapid fall has also helped fuel the recent move.”
Meanwhile, the Swiss franc lost ground after the country’s authorities warned they could intervene to stem the currency’s recent strength.
Philipp Hildebrand, vice-chairman of the Swiss National Bank, said with interest rates already close to zero, other steps might need to be taken to prevent appreciation in the Swiss franc or even trigger depreciation.
These would include physical intervention from the SNB by selling “an unlimited amount of Swiss francs” against other currencies and in an extreme case, even committing itself to buying foreign currencies at a fixed rate.
David Woo at Barclays Capital said Mr Hildebrand’s comments were very significant for the Swiss franc and introduced downside risk for the currency against both the dollar and euro.
“With the SNB likely to lean against any safe-haven led appreciation in the Swiss franc, the outperformance of the other funding currencies – the dollar and the yen – will continue in our view,” he said.
The Swiss franc fell 0.6 per cent to SFr1.1560 against the dollar, lost 0.1 per cent to SFr1.5020 against the euro and dropped 1.5 per cent to Y76.55 against the yen.
Meanwhile, the dollar and the yen advanced as worries over the health of the global economy fed safe haven demand for both currencies.
Analysts said news of a sharper than expected fall in Chinese growth and a plunge in Japanese exports heightened investors concerns, helping to stem a strong rally in equities overnight.
Commodity producers were particularly hard hit, with the Australian dollar sliding across the board.
The dollar rose 0.5 per cent to $1.2987 against the euro and climbed 1 per cent to $0.6565 against the Australian dollar.
The yen fared better, rising 1 per cent to Y88.55 against the dollar, climbing 1.5 per cent to Y115.03 against the euro and gaining 2 per cent to Y58.14 against the Australian dollar.
The yen’s gains came despite the Bank of Japan releasing a sharp downgrade to both its inflation and growth projections for the next two years.
The central bank said Japanese inflation was now expected to decline from a forecast level of 1.6 per cent in the fiscal year ending in March to -1.1 per cent in the next fiscal year and is still expected to be negative in 2010. That represented a 1.1 per cent reduction in the 2009 forecast and a 0.7 point reduction to the 2010 forecast.
The dramatic turnarounds and were based on the fact that real GDP is expected to contract by 1.8 per cent in the current year and by 2 per cent next year.
Derek Halpenny at Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ said the projections increased the risk that the Japanese authorities were growing concerned once more about the deflationary effects of the recent surge in the yen.
The yen climbed to a a 13-year high of Y87.11 against the dollar on Wednesday, with many analysts predicting it could test the record high of Y79.70 it hit in April 1995.
“The BoJ forecasts have certainly shifted the balance of risks toward eventual action in the foreign exchange market to stem yen gains,” said Mr Halpenny.
“We would expect nothing like the intervention from 2003-2004, but a lurch below Y85.00 toward the 1995 low may require dollar buying intervention that Japan has avoided since March 2004.”
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Losers litter battlefield for Europe’s gas
By Quentin Peel
Published: January 22 2009 02:29 | Last updated: January 22 2009 02:29
The natural gas war between Russia and Ukraine that caused dire energy shortages across eastern Europe in the past three weeks appears to be over. But, as with most wars, the battlefield is littered with losers and there are very few winners to be seen.
Gazprom, the Russian state-controlled gas monopoly, has probably lost at least $1.5bn (€1.2bn, £1.1bn) in sales and sorely damaged its reputation as a reliable supplier to Europe.
Ukraine has demonstrated political incoherence in failing to adopt a consistent negotiating position and by allowing vast debts to Gazprom to accumulate. The deal it finally struck – gas at 20 per cent below the European market price this year – is a compromise both sides should have agreed at the start.
Consumers in other parts of eastern Europe have been forced to shiver without heating in the depths of winter, and factories have cut back or shut. Slovakia says its economic growth will be cut by 1.5 percentage points.
Those most severely affected – Bulgaria, Serbia and Slovakia – are Russia’s most loyal energy clients. They failed to take any measures to set up alternative sources of supply, or increase gas storage facilities, because they trusted Gazprom to look after them. So Russia has alienated some of its best friends.
Sergei Stanishev, prime minister of Bulgaria, says he will seek compensation in the form of additional gas supplies at a discount price. And Bulgarian officials are talking much more enthusiastically about supporting alternative energy supply routes, such as the proposed Nabucco pipeline to bring central Asian gas via Turkey.
The European Union has been shown to be still acutely vulnerable to any shut-off, and to have done virtually nothing to prepare for such an event, such as increasing cross-border links and expanding storage capacity, since the last Russia-Ukraine showdown in 2006.
In spite of a huge Russian public relations effort, and an incompetent Ukrainian response, Moscow has largely failed to persuade Europeans that the fault lies entirely at Kiev’s door.
“The Russians overplayed their hand,” a European Commission official said in Brussels this week. “Behind the scenes the Russians were playing games.” EU monitors of the restoration of gas supplies said the Russians “were creating every obstacle and finding every excuse” to disrupt the process.
José Manuel Barroso, the Commission president who spent virtually all his time for three weeks attempting to broker a deal, could not hide his anger in Brussels on Tuesday. He blamed both countries for failing to keep promises and said: “I will not forget that.”
Chris Weafer, chief strategist at Uralsib, a Moscow investment bank, identifies only two “clear winners”: the central Asian gas producers, including Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, that are now getting the full European price from Gazprom; and the Nord Stream pipeline consortium planning an alternative gas supply route under the Baltic Sea to Germany. But it faces environmental objections.
Top of his list of “clear losers” is the Ukrainian economy. The country was already running up huge debts to Gazprom at $179.50 per 1,000 cubic cm of gas last year. Gazprom says the new deal will mean an average price of $280. Yulia Tymoshenko, the Ukrainian prime minister who negotiated the deal with Vladimir Putin, her Russian counterpart, says it will be $228.80.
“At the very least, Ukraine will continue to struggle to pay its gas bill,” says Mr Weafer, regardless of the ultimate price in a contract woefully lacking in transparency. The deal is meant to last 10 years, but accumulation of arrears may well force a renegotiation and precipitate a rerun of the dispute.
Or Ukraine will be forced to sell its pipeline to Gazprom, probably precisely what the company has been angling for all along.
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MGT sells Evening Standard to Lebedev
By Ben Fenton and Salamander Davoudi
Published: January 21 2009 07:29 | Last updated: January 21 2009 11:36
Daily Mail & General Trust announced on Wednesday morning that it has sold the Evening Standard to the Russian oligarch Alexander Lebedev, a former lieutenant colonel in the KGB, for a nominal sum.
Martin Morgan, chief executive of DMGT, said the Evening Standard had been facing declining revenues for some years and incurring significant losses. The sale was in the “best interests of staff and shareholders,” he said.
The deal, which has been agreed after more than six months of negotiations, was not subject to regulatory approval and DMGT said it did not consult with government despite the fact that Mr Lebedev is a former member of the KGB. “We did not think that appropriate,” said Mr Morgan.
“Mr Lebedev has a very good record in newspaper ownership. Staff on their papers have reported that they do not interfere with ownership.”
The group refused to comment on redundancies but said the paper’s 400 staff would now go into a period of consultation because of the transfer of ownership.
The future of Veronica Wadley, the editor of the Evening Standard, was up to the new owner, DMGT said.
The paper was sold to a company called Evening Press Ltd, which was formed by Mr Lebedev and his son Evgeny Lebedev and is owned by Lebedev Holdings Ltd.
A new company, Evening Standard Ltd, will own the Evening Standard and in it Associated will be a minority shareholder with 24.9 per cent.
Evgeny Lebedev is the sole director of the newly-established group with £40m equity value and two shareholders, one of whom, Geordie Greig, is a long-standing friend of the Lebedev family.
Associated will continue to provide services such as office space, printing and distribution.
If the Standard moves back into profit, Associated will receive preferential rights to some of the profits.
Mr Lebedev, who lives in Moscow, will become the first Russian citizen to own a leading UK newspaper.
The disposal of the London title marks the first time in decades that DMGT, which publishes the Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday, has sold a major title. Estimates of the annual losses of the Standard range between £10m and £20m.
Peter Williams, finance director, told the Financial Times on Monday that DMGT did not regard the sale as “hugely significant” as it had already “crossed the Rubicon” of selling papers when the board decided to seek buyers for its Northcliffe regional newspapers arm in 2005.
DMGT is seeking to portray itself as more of a business-to-business publisher.
Mr Lebedev, 48, whose son Evgeny, 28, spends much of his time in London, made his fortune as a banker after the collapse of communism and owns a minority share in the Moscow-based Novaya Gazeta newspaper in partnership with Mikhail Gorbachev, the former Soviet president.
Lord Rothermere, chairman of DMGT, said: ”We are very proud to have owned the Evening Standard. I believe that Alexander Lebedev shares my commitment to newspapers and will continue to invest in the Evening Standard.” He insisted that DMGT was ”fully committed” to journalism and newspaper ownership.
Alexander Lebedev said: ”We are strong supporters of a free and independent press and we greatly admire the Evening Standard as an iconic publication with its pedigree of fine journalism and commentary.”
”We are committed to strengthening the newspaper’s competitiveness and look forward to working with Associated, which will continue to be involved as a minority shareholder.”
The Standard has been under threat since the freesheet wars in London began in 1999, when its owners launched Metro in an attempt to forestall the arrival of the Swedish Modern Times Group with its own title of the same name.
The London market then saw the arrival of the London Lite titles, another DMGT “spoiler” and the London Paper from Rupert Murdoch’s News International.
DMGT said it would continue to back the London Lite and invest where needed.
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The spy who came over the fold
By Charles Clover
Published: January 22 2009 02:00 | Last updated: January 22 2009 02:00
After the tragic events of the week, Aleksander Lebedev was not inclined yesterday to reflect on his purchase of 75 per cent of the UK's Evening Standard newspaper. "My thoughts are elsewhere right now," he said when reached by phone.
On Monday, a lawyer for Moscow's Novaya Gazeta - owned by Mr Lebedev - was shot dead in broad daylight in Russia's capital. A trainee journalist was also killed.
Mr Lebedev said he would have a different set of challenges with the loss-making London based paper: "My commitment is that for quite some period of time I will make sure that the losses are not hurting the newspaper."
Mr Lebedev's purchase of a majority stake in the Evening Standard comes on the heels of Carlos Slim's rescue of the New York Times this week with a $250m loan. The investments by Mr Lebedev and Mr Slim - Mexico's richest man - raise the question of whether private ownership is the only way newspapers can survive in the current climate.
Daily Mail & General Trust, which sold the Evening Standard for about one pound, retains responsibility for the paper's pension fund liabilities. Mr Lebedev will cover the paper's running losses for more than a year.
Conditions attached to the sale prevent the Russian oligarch from using the paper to favour a competitor, such as News International.
Martin Morgan, chief executive of DMGT, said the Evening Standard had been facing declining revenues for some years and incurring significant losses. The sale was in the "best interests of staff and shareholders," he said.
DMGT said it did not consult with the UK government despite the fact that Mr Lebedev was a former member of the KGB. "We did not think that appropriate," Mr Morgan said. "Mr Lebedev has a very good record in newspaper ownership."
The deep pocketed oligarch, worth an estimated $3.1bn by Forbes magazine in 2008, gets high marks from the Novaya Gaezta staff for what they describe as a protective attitude towards the paper, which is often the subject of official ire for its critical investigative reporting on corruption. "He's not only our main shareholder, he is a great guy" said Nadezhda Prusenkova, an editor and spokesman for the newspaper.
Mr Lebedev bought a share of the paper in 2006, and subsidises according to his own estimate, about 80 per cent of the costs, which he describes as part of his contribution to promoting democratic values in Russia: "It's the only independent newspaper here, I think that is evident. If it ceases to exist, I'm afraid we would lose the chance for this country to be free, so its quite emotional for me" he said.
He declined to be specific about his plans for the Evening Standard. "How to make it more attractive? It is quite a difficult task in a competitive market which is moving against newspapers, all of them. I've been reflecting on it for some time.
"I think it's a very good newspaper - I think there is a lot that can be done as long as you can rely on good journalism."
His background as a Lt Col in the KGB - he served in London for four year under diplomatic cover, leaving the agency in 1992 - have been a source of controversy in Britain where there have been calls to investigate the national security implications of his take over of a major UK newspaper. Of his first career, he said: "I prefer to call it foreign intelligence - the KGB is normally thought of as killing people in the 1930s, with oppressing dissidents and that sort of thing. I don't think my work had any connection to that... My job was basically to read and write."
He says, however, that he is aware of the scrutiny he will be under: "Im very far from influencing any political trends inside Britain, it would be very impolite ... especially with my biography," he laughs.
Even when he was a mere attaché in the Soviet embassy in London, however, his former colleagues remember him talking about his eventual ambition to become a banker. After he left the KGB, he went into finance, buying distressed foreign debt, and in 1995, bought National Reserve Bank. "I made a lot of money in 1996, 1997, and first part of 1998, and then lost it all," he said, during the financial collapse that year.
But NRB survived, and he rebuilt his fortune. In 2002 he bought Aeroflot shares, acquiring 30 per cent of the majority state owned airline. While the share price has been hammered by the financial crisis, and the value of the stake which was nearly $1bn at its highest point, is down 75 per cent "its going to come back, its all paper losses," he said confidently.
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Manufacturing outlook at 50-year low
By Daniel Pimlott, Economics Reporter
Published: January 22 2009 12:17 | Last updated: January 22 2009 14:31
Demand for UK manufactured goods has plummetted over the last three months and is weaker than at any time since July 1991, according to the CBI employers’ group.
The CBI’s Quarterly Industrial Trends Survey for January found that the rate at which demand has fallen away is strking. While only three per cent more employers reported falling, rather than rising orders in July, the balance is now 43 per cent more.
“The pace of the decline and the suddeness of the decline is one of the key features of this Survey,” said Ian McCafferty, chief economic adviser to the CBI.
Indeed, the rapidity of the decline and its broad-based nature have led to an exceptionally gloomy outlook among manufacturers. Expectations for new manufacturing orders this quarter are at their lowest level since the survey began in 1958, with both domestic and export order books falling.
The poor outlook came after 56 per cent of companies in the sector reported a fall in orders in the final three months of 2008 and as a number of other indicators hit fresh lows.
Expectations for employment and confidence in the sector hit its lowest in nearly 30 years. Investment intentions also reached their lowest since records began in 1958.
The weakness in the survey, which is closely watched because it has in the past been a good indicator of future manufacturing activity, led the CBI to predict that manufacturing production would fall by 4.5 per cent in the first quarter of this year.
Ian McCafferty, the CBI’s Chief Economic Adviser, said: “The survey shows that manufacturing in Britain, as elsewhere, is being hit hard by the economic downturn. Demand for goods in the manufacturing sector has plummeted dramatically in the last three months.
“Sentiment and the outlook for the next three months are also very negative. Most firms expect conditions to get even worse, with further falls in orders expected, leading to more job cuts. Companies unsurprisingly plan to cut back investment sharply over the next year.”
“The CBI’s latest quarterly industrial trends survey paints an unremittingly gloomy picture of conditions in the manufacturing sector,” said Jonathan Loynes of Capital Economics.
The fall in demand came in spite of a sharp depreciation in the value of sterling at the end of last year and into this year – 38 per cent of companies reported a fall in export orders in the quarter, and a large majority expect them to continue to fall in the first three months of this year.
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Intel to close its last Silicon Valley plant
By Richard Waters and Chris Nuttall in San Francisco
Published: January 22 2009 00:27 | Last updated: January 22 2009 00:27
Intel is to shut its last remaining manufacturing plant in Silicon Valley as part of a wider series of closures that will lead to the loss of up to 6,000 jobs.
The closure of the D2 wafer fabrication plant, based at Intel’s headquarters in Santa Clara, ends a chapter in Silicon Valley history that began 41 years ago.
Since then, the company has shifted most of its testing, manufacturing and assembly operations elsewhere, even though it has remained one of the Valley’s driving forces in new technology.
The latest round of closures, which will affect five facilities in the US and Asia, follows an unexpectedly severe slump in chip demand in recent weeks, as computer makers have cut back on inventory in anticipation of deep cuts in consumer and corporate demand.
The company said it would close two US “wafer fabs” that make the large discs from which processor chips are cut, as well as three assembly and test facilities in Asia.
The move will lead to the loss of between 5,000 and 6,000 jobs, out of a total of nearly 84,000.
The facilities being closed were all based on an older generation of technology that was set to be phased out eventually, Intel said. The fabs make 200mm wafers, which are smaller than the latest generation of 300mm technology that has brought down unit costs considerably.
The cuts would not affect plans to continue investing in new manufacturing capacity based on the latest generation of technology, Intel said.
The company, which said last week it would hold capital spending in 2009 close to the levels of last year, typically holds to its investment plans during the chip industry’s cyclical falls, in order to gain an edge over competitors once markets turn up again.
The closures were foreshadowed in Intel’s latest earnings announcement last week. Then the company said it was taking capacity utilisation charges to cover adjustments it planned to make as a result of the falling demand.
Intel predicted last week its first-quarter gross margins would fall from 53 per cent to the low 40s, due to the higher under-utilisation charges for its factories and start-up costs related to moving to the latest 32-nanometre level of miniaturisation.
Inventory reductions by Intel and its customers meant its factories could not run at full capacity.
Paul Otellini, chief executive, did not reveal any new cost-cutting measures on its earnings call, saying a restructuring and efficiency programme that began in 2006 was an ongoing process. He said this had saved more than $800m in 2008 and more than $3bn since its launch.
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Japanese rescuers drop search for Russian crew of lost ship
22.01.2009, 12.01
PETROPAVLOVSK-KAMCHATSKY, January 22 (Itar-Tass) -- Japanese rescue teams have dropped the search for a 12-strong Russian crew of a ship lost in the Sea of Japan off Hokkaido. The fate of the crew remains unknown, the Vladivostok Rescue Coordination Centre told Itar-Tass on Thursday.
Despite Japanese search planes sent for help the search efforts have yielded no result. It has been decided now whether a plane of the Russian Pacific fleet might continue the search.
The lost ship that belonged to a South Korean company departed from the seaport of Mukho and had been operating off the Japanese coast in the zone of responsibility of Japanese rescue centers. A dead sailor with a safety belt on was found in the area of the Japanese seaport of Rumoi (Hokkaido) on January 19. Passports of four Russian citizens were found on his body,
The Vladivostok Rescue and Coordination Centre asked their colleagues from South Korea and Japan to provide documents on the ship, its crew and the results of search efforts.
Rescuers presume it is a fishing vessel. It is a small ship 26.8 meters long and 5.8 meters wide.
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Russia, Cuba step up economic cooperation - Sechin
22.01.2009, 11.35
MOSCOW, January 22 (Itar-Tass) - Russia and Cuba have been boosting their economic cooperation of late and intend to build it up by means of implementing new joint projects, Vice Premier Igor Sechin said at the meeting with the Vice President of the Cuban Council of Ministers, Ricardo Cabrisas, on Thursday.
“We pleased with growing activity in relations between our countries. We expecte that the results of our commission’s work will contribute to stepping up relations between Russia and Cuba,” he said.
Sechin recalled that the current meeting takes place on the eve of Cuban leader Raul Castro’s visit to Russia.
“We expect that as a result of preliminary work, we will reach concrete results due to which this visit will be a success,” he said adding that the commission’s work helps to boost cooperation between the two countries’ businesses.
He also recalled that Russian President Dmitry Medvedev visited Cuba in late 2008.
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Russia-Ukraine talks on nuclear fuel supplies near completion
17:11 | 22/ 01/ 2009
Print version
KIEV, January 22 (RIA Novosti) - Discussions on Russian nuclear fuel supplies to Ukrainian nuclear power plants in 2009 are nearing completion, Ukraine's deputy fuel and energy minister said on Thursday.
Russia's state-run nuclear fuel manufacturer TVEL has been the sole supplier of nuclear fuel to Ukrainian rectors, but Kiev is currently negotiating with U.S. firm Westinghouse on cooperation in 2010.
Natalya Shumkova said Ukraine's state-run nuclear power utility, Energoatom, and TVEL were currently discussing a short-term contract for supplies in 2009, a longer-term deal for deliveries from 2010, an agreement on the purchase by TVEL of uranium concentrate for enrichment purposes, and a memorandum of intent to build a nuclear fuel production facility in Ukraine.
"The four documents are already effectively ready to be signed. Separate provisions are now being agreed," Shumkova said.
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Russians see Metropolitan Kirill as most likely patriarch
16:31 | 22/ 01/ 2009
Print version
MOSCOW, January 22 (RIA Novosti) - Russians identify Metropolitan Kirill, the interim leader of the Russian Orthodox Church, is the most likely candidate to become the next patriarch, the Russian VTsIOM pollster said on Thursday.
Patriarch Alexy II, who led the revival of Orthodoxy in the country after the demise of communism, died of heart failure at the age of 79 in December 2008. Kirill, Metropolitan of Smolensk and Kaliningrad, was chosen by the Holy Synod as interim patriarch until a larger ruling body gathers on January 27-29 to elect Alexy II's successor.
According to the VTsIOM survey, 28% of Russians expect Kirill, 62, to be chosen as the new patriarch. However, 71% of those surveyed failed to make any prediction, including 69% of the respondents who could not name any member of the Russian Orthodox Church hierarchy.
Half the respondents said they would like the next patriarch to be a spiritual leader and a mentor to the Russian nation. The opinion was most often voiced by elderly respondents (52%) and Orthodox believers (57%).
Another 8% of those surveyed view a patriarch as a prominent statesman, and a member of the country's top authorities.
The pollster said 14% of the respondents would favor an intelligent and educated patriarch, and another 12% said they would like the candidate to be kind and sympathetic.
The VTsIOM conducted the poll on January 10-11 among 1,600 people in 140 towns across 42 Russian regions.
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ライブドア側、３１０億円賠償へ フジテレビ側と和解
2009年1月22日22時46分
第三者割当増資で引き受けたライブドア株が急落して損害を受けたとして、フジテレビの持ち株会社「フジ・メディア・ホールディングス」が「ＬＤＨ（旧ライブドア・ホールディングス）」に約４０８億円の損害賠償を求めた訴訟は、２２日に東京地裁（浜秀樹裁判長）で和解が成立した。両社によると、ＬＤＨがフジテレビ側に約３１０億円を支払うことなどで合意したという。
ライブドアとフジテレビは０５年、フジテレビが子会社化をめざしていたニッポン放送株の買い占めをライブドアが進めたことで対立が激化。同年４月に両社が資本・業務提携をすることで和解した。この時に、フジテレビがライブドアの増資に応じることも合意され、フジテレビは同年５月に約１億３３００万株を１株当たり３２９円で引き受け、ライブドアに約４４０億円を支払った。
しかし、０６年にライブドアの有価証券報告書の虚偽記載が発覚し、東京証券取引所は同年３月に同社の上場廃止を決定。フジテレビ側は同月に１株当たり７１円で売却し、差額の約３４５億円の損害が出たなどと訴えていた。
ＬＤＨは、すでに堀江貴文元社長ら旧経営陣に対して起こしている約３５億円の損害賠償請求訴訟で、今回の和解金額を追加請求する方針だ。同社によると、ライブドア株をめぐり株主から起こされた訴訟はほかに１０件あり、その請求総額は約４２０億円に上るという。
ＬＤＨは和解について「ほかの訴訟は（当事者の）流通市場における責任を争っているもので、今後も主張していく」としている。
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昭和シェルに命じた２千万円賠償判決確定 男女差別訴訟
2009年1月22日18時22分
「女性であることを理由に、男性より低い賃金しか支払われなかった」として、昭和シェル石油（東京都港区）を退職した野崎光枝さん（７６）が同社を相手に、賃金や年金の差額など５千万円余りを求めた訴訟で、最高裁第一小法廷（泉徳治裁判長）は２２日、野崎さん、会社側双方の上告を棄却する決定をした。男女差別を認め、同社に約２千万円の賠償を命じた二審・東京高裁判決が確定した。
一審判決は約４５００万円の賠償を命じたが、二審は一部に時効が適用されるとして減額していた。
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「現住所はネットカフェ」でも給付金支給 総務相表明
2009年1月21日19時22分
鳩山総務相は２１日の参院予算委員会で「ネットカフェで長期契約をして明らかに居住を認めることができれば、救済というか、住民登録できるようにして定額給付金を配れる方向に持っていきたい」と述べ、インターネットカフェでの住民登録を認め、給付金を支給する考えを表明した。
藤末健三氏（民主）の質問に対する答弁。総務省が把握しているネットカフェでの住民登録は、埼玉県蕨市の「ＣＹＢＥＲ＠ＣＡＦＥ（サイバーアットカフェ）」だけだ。蕨市は、同店の長期滞在者に住民登録を認め、２１日時点で９人が「住所」にしている。
同店経営者の佐藤明広さん（４６）は国の方針を歓迎しながらも、「ネットカフェに来るお金がない人もいる。その場しのぎでなく、政治にもっと現場をしってほしい」と話した。
また、総務省は２１日の予算委で、給付金の銀行振込手数料が１５０億円以上にのぼることを明らかにした。
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イスラエル、白リン弾２０発を市街地で使用 地元紙報道
2009年1月22日18時52分
【エルサレム＝古谷祐伸】パレスチナ自治区ガザへの攻撃で、イスラエル軍が白リン弾２０発を市街地で使ったことが明らかになったと、イスラエルの有力紙ハアレツが２１日伝えた。白リン弾は激しいやけどなどの原因になり、非人道的との批判が出ている。
ハアレツ紙によると、イスラエル軍の内部調査で、白リンを主成分とする砲弾計２００発が使われたことが分かった。うち１８０発はパレスチナ側の戦闘員が占拠した農地に向けて使われたが、残り２０発はガザ北部ベイトラヒヤの市街地で使われたという。
人口密集地での使用は、紛争時の民間人保護を規定する国際人道法に抵触する可能性がある。国連は、１５日の国連パレスチナ難民救済事業機関の現地本部（ガザ市）への攻撃にも白リン弾が使われたと見ている。
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米アップル最高益、ｉＰｏｄ好調 １０～１２月期決算
2009年1月22日21時44分
【ニューヨーク＝丸石伸一】米アップルが２１日発表した０８年１０～１２月期決算は、売上高が前年同期比６％増の１０１億６７００万ドル（約９０５０億円）、純利益が同２％増の１６億５００万ドル（約１４３０億円）となり、ともに四半期での過去最高を記録した。
携帯音楽プレーヤー「ｉＰｏｄ」の販売が好調で、売り上げ台数は２２７２万７千台と四半期での最高記録を塗り替えた。ただ、ＩＴ業界にも景気後退の影響が出ており、半導体最大手の米インテルは同日、大規模リストラに踏み切ると発表した。米国内外４カ所の工場を閉鎖または休止する。計５千～６千人の従業員は一部を除き年末までに解雇される可能性があるという。
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日本、権益２０年延長へ アブダビの「ムバラス油田」
2009.1.21 21:25
【アブダビ＝今井裕治】コスモ石油が保有するアラブ首長国連邦（ＵＡＥ）・アブダビ首長国の「ムバラス油田」の開発権益が、失効期限を迎える２０１２年以降も、２０年間延長されることが、２１日分かった。アブダビ国営石油のユセフ・オメール最高経営責任者（ＣＥＯ）が明らかにした。
ムバラス油田は１９６８年に旧大協石油・丸善石油（現コスモ石油）と旧日本鉱業（現ジャパンエナジー）が権益を取得し、１９７３年から商業生産に移行した。現在はコスモ石油の連結子会社、アブダビ石油（東京都品川区）が１００％の権益を持っている。生産量は現在、日量１万８０００バレルで、ほぼ全量を日本勢が引き取っているが、４５年間の開発権益契約は２０１２年に満了するため、権益の延長を求めていた。
これに対し、アブダビ首長国は原油の最大の輸出国である日本に対し、権益更新を認めることが今後の関係上、得策と判断した。新鉱区の開発も認める。
世界的な景気後退で石油需要は低迷しているものの、長期的には石油の需給は逼迫（ひつぱく）する見通し。資源小国である日本にとって、自主開発油田であるムバラス油田の権益延長が認められたことは、エネルギー安全保障上、重要な意味を持つ。アブダビ首長国には、２０１８年に権益が切れるアドマ鉱区と、１９年が期限のエル・ブンドク油田という日本の自主開発油田もあり、両油田の権益更新につながる可能性がある。
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