German 10-year Bund auction fails for second successive time

German 10-year Bund auction fails for second successive time

By David Oakley

Published: February 12 2009 02:00 | Last updated: February 12 2009 02:00

A German sovereign bond auction failed yesterday amid growing danger signs for governments as they attempt to raise record amounts of debt to pay for fiscal stimulus packages and bank bail-outs, writes David Oakley .

It was the second successive failure this year of a 10-year Bund auction - usually one of the most sought-after - as demand fell 20 per cent short of the €6bn (£5.4bn)the German government wanted.

Gary Jenkins, head of fixed income at Evolution, said: "The failure of a German bond auction is a sign of the difficulties governments are going to face in raising debt at these historically low yields."

The outcome signals trouble for governments as a record $3,000bn of debt is ex-pected to be raised this year in sovereign bonds - three times that of 2008.

German bond auction failures were rare until the credit crisis. Before the seven that failed last year, the last German bond auction not to reach its target was in July 2000, after the dotcom crash.

Carl Norrey, head of Eur-op-ean rates trading at JPMorgan said the restricted demand for this latest issue - sold at a yield of 3.28 per cent - highlighted the price sensitive nature of government bond markets as investors have ever more debt to choose from. "Price is all important in a market with an enormous supply."

With spreads between German yields and those of other eurozone countries close to record wides, investors bought other eurozone paper this week be-cause of the extra premiums they could obtain for this debt.

Greece, the lowest-rated eurozone country that suffered a downgrade last month, comfortably sold €7bn on Monday, although it had to pay much higher yields than existing debt to sell the notes.

The Netherlands was also forced to pay higher yields than existing debt to sell 10-year bonds on Tuesday.

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Slowdown hits Czech industry

By Jan Cienski

Published: February 12 2009 02:00 | Last updated: February 12 2009 02:00

Industrial production in the Czech Republic plummeted by 14.6 per cent in December, according to figures released yesterday.

The bulk of the slowdown came from declining car production, which fell by 20.7 per cent. The prospects for the Czech economy have soured in recent months after the slowdown in Europe, and in particular Germany, which takes the bulk of Czech exports, responsible for 75 per cent of gross domestic product.

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Hitachi-led group favourite for train contract

By Robert Wright, Transport Correspondent

Published: February 13 2009 02:00 | Last updated: February 13 2009 02:00

One of the UK's most valuable train orders is likely to go to a Japanese manufacturer after the Department for Transport yesterday named a consortium headed by Hitachi as its preferred bidder to build and maintain new long-distance express trains.

The victory of Hitachi's consortium, known as Agility Trains, will come as a bitter disappointment to Bombardier Transportation, which runs the UK's only existing train manufacturing plant, at Litchurch Lane in Derby.

Bombardier had been part of the Express Rail Alliance consortium, which was the only other remaining bidder to build up to 1,400 carriages under the programme. The other partners were Germany's Siemens, Angel Trains and Babcock & Brown, the Sydney-listed asset manager.

Bombardier's only consolation was a DfT announcement that it was the preferred bidder in advanced negotiations to order 120 carriages for National Express East Anglia's Stansted express service.

However, the DfT insisted that Agility Trains would create or safeguard 12,500 British jobs over the 20-year contract to build and maintain the super-express trains. The consortium, which includes John Laing, the contractor, and Barclays, has undertaken to build a train manufacturing plant and maintenance facilities in Bristol, Reading, Doncaster, Leeds and London.

Lord Adonis, the rail minister, said the announcement was good news for passengers and heralded a big improvement in national rail services.

Hitachi has limited experience of the UK passenger train market, which is dominated by the big three international train makers: Bombardier, France's Alstom and Siemens. Its only previous order has been the domestic high-speed trains due to enter service between London St Pancras and Kent later this year, built entirely in Japan.

The new trains' body shells will be built in Japan, according to the DfT, because Hitachi's Japanese factories have unique welding equipment that makes trains far lighter than the 125mph models they will replace.

However, Lord Adonis said most other construction work would take place at a new factory in Sheffield, the East Midlands or north-east England and the number of UK jobs generated was "comparable" with the Express Rail Alliance bid.

The specification for the new trains was drawn up by DfT civil servants and has been widely criticised as unworkable. It calls for three versions of the train: fully diesel, electric and dualpowered.

The department has still not said precisely how many will be ordered. The original specification said there could be anything between 500 and 2,000 carriages and yesterday's announcement said only that there would be "up to 1,400" carriages.

Test-running of the first trains will start on the London-to-Edinburgh east coast main line in 2013. The main fleet will start running on that line in 2015, with services on the Great Western main line from Paddington and local Thames valley services due to start in 2016.

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G-7 Takes ‘Back Seat’ as Financial Crisis Pushes G-20 to Fore
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By Simon Kennedy

Feb. 13 (Bloomberg) -- The Group of Seven, whose finance chiefs convene this weekend in Rome, is ceding its traditional power to rebuild the world economy to a broader body of governments that now wield greater sway over global growth.

As U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet join their G-7 counterparts, it’s the Group of 20 that occupies the vanguard responding to the financial crisis.

The shift in influence to the group, whose membership ranges from the U.S. to China to Saudi Arabia, reflects the fact that industrial nations lack the resources to fix the world’s economic woes alone. That curbs the G-7’s scope to deliver new initiatives this week, say economists and former officials.

“The world has changed,” said Paul Martin, Canada’s former prime and finance minister who attended G-7 meetings and helped establish the G-20 a decade ago. “The G-20 reflects the realities of the global economy. Its finance ministers are becoming the dominant policy-making body.”

The G-7’s finance ministers and central bankers meet tonight and tomorrow before releasing a statement and talking to reporters at about 2:30 p.m. local time. On the agenda: How to thwart protectionism, overhaul financial oversight and end what the International Monetary Fund calls a depression in advanced economies.

Rebuilding World Economy

Limiting the G-7’s scope to act is the fact that policy makers have given the task of rebuilding the world economy to the G-20, which was created after a spate of currency devaluations in emerging markets in the 1990s.

The G-20’s increasing influence reflects how the current slump is being led by the major economies, forcing them to look beyond their ranks for help in ending it. That’s a reversal from previous crises when the G-7 was in the driver’s seat of the recovery effort.

The IMF predicts advanced economies will shrink 2 percent in 2009. Still, the expansion of developing nations will keep the global economy growing at a 0.5 percent pace, it estimated last month.

“The crisis has escalated the awareness of how irrelevant the G-7 is,” said Jim O’Neill, chief economist at Goldman Sachs Group Inc. in London. “It’s in the back seat, and the focus on the G-20 is growing.”

China Rising

China overtook Germany in 2007 to become the world’s third-largest economy, new data showed last month, and in September passed Japan as the biggest foreign investor in U.S. government debt. China, Russia, Brazil and India together hold about 41 percent of global foreign exchange reserves. Together, the G-7 countries produce only slightly more oil a day than Saudi Arabia.

The emergent power of the G-20 “is a recognition of new realities,” said Nobel laureate Joseph Stiglitz, a former economic adviser to President Bill Clinton. “It’s effectively recognition by the G-7 that they don’t have the money. The money is in Asia, the Middle East.”

Leaders from the bigger group met for the first time in November in Washington and released a string of directives on strengthening accounting standards and oversight of derivatives, hedge funds and debt-rating companies.

It’s that manifesto rather than anything the G-7 has produced that is now garnering international attention. G-20 heads will meet in London April 2 to seek ways to implement it.

Bigger Than G-7

“The world economy is bigger than the G-7,” U.K. Prime Minister Gordon Brown said Feb. 9. “You cannot talk about the world economy and what you want to do without involving a whole range of countries.”

John Taylor, a former U.S. Treasury official and now at Stanford University in California, says even as the G-20 gains in importance, the G-7 can “still get things done better” because it’s smaller, involves only major economies and is monitored closely by investors.

Having this week pledged up to $2 trillion to spur new lending and address banks’ illiquid assets, Geithner will press his colleagues to take “bold actions” to combat the turmoil, according to a Treasury official. In turn, “there is a desire to have more particulars” of the U.S. plan outlined, said Canadian Finance Minister Jim Flaherty.

Emergency Meeting

The G-20’s role has grown as the current crisis festered. In November 2007, central bankers used its talks near Cape Town to hatch a plan to inject more dollars into markets. Last October, its finance ministers held an emergency meeting in Washington that President George W. Bush attended.

Modern challenges also mean the G-7 is not the proper forum to set international policy, said Goldman’s O’Neill. Fighting protectionism, global imbalances, climate change, money laundering and terrorist financing as well as reforming agencies such as the IMF and World Bank all require the input of nations outside the group, he said.

Even the G-20 may not be big enough. German Chancellor Angela Merkel wants a body akin to the United Nations Security Council to oversee the world economy. Philippine President Gloria Arroyo says the G-20 “must even go beyond” its membership to include African nations.

“Developing countries’ economies are doing better than the developed countries and yet don’t have a say in how to restructure the world,” said Arroyo.

Alastair Newton, political analyst at Nomura International, and a former U.K. trade official, says the G-7 and G-20 will both remain for now and that the bigger group must prove it can carry out its pledges.

“I wouldn’t suggest the G-7 has reached its sell-by date quite yet,” says Newton, a former U.K. official. “The G-20’s being pushed to the fore, which implies it’s becoming more important, but it has to deliver.”

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Russia could up gas supplies to Turkey by 1.7 bln cu m - official
18:59 | 12/ 02/ 2009

MOSCOW, February 12 (RIA Novosti) - Russia expects to increase natural gas supplies to Turkey to 25.5 billion cubic meters this year, up by 1.7 billion on 2008, a Kremlin official said on Thursday.

"We are continuing cooperation in the energy sphere," an unidentified Kremlin official said ahead of Turkish President Abdullah Gul's arrival on Thursday for a four-day visit to Russia. "Russian gas supplies to Turkey in 2008 amounted to 23.8 billion cu m. A rise in supplies to 25.5 billion cu m is expected in 2009."

Turkey receives about 65% of its gas from Russia, which is pumped via Ukraine and the Blue Stream pipeline that passes directly from Russia to Turkey under the Black Sea.

Russian supplies via Ukraine halted in early January amid a pricing and debt dispute with the ex-Soviet state. Russia is pushing for new routes to bring energy resources to Europe bypassing Ukraine, including South Stream gas pipeline to be built in the Black Sea's Turkish-controlled waters.

The official said brisk trade and business contacts were a driving force in bilateral relations. He said mutual trade exceeded $30 billion last year.

He highlighted a major presence of cost-efficient Turkish construction firms on the Russian market and large tourist flows from Russia to Turkey.

He said construction contracts worth a total of over $20 billion had been signed in the past 10 years, and more than 2.5 million Russians vacationed in Turkey in 2008 alone.

The Kremlin official said military-technological and hi-tech spheres were also of interest for the two countries.

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Russia to boost arms exports by 6% to $8.5 bln in 2009
12:43 | 12/ 02/ 2009

BANGALORE, February 12 (RIA Novosti) - Russia is planning to increase arms exports by 6% to $8.5 billion in 2009, a senior government official said on Thursday.

"Despite the financial crisis, we are planning to boost our arms exports in 2009. I believe I would not be mistaken if I were to mention a figure of around $8.5 billion," said Alexander Fomin, deputy director of the Federal Service on Military-Technical Cooperation.

Fomin, who is currently leading a Russian delegation at a major air show in Bangalore, India, also said Russia's arms exports exceeded $8 billion in 2008.

"Our plan for 2008 was over-fulfilled," he said.

Russia doubled its annual arms exports to $7 billion from 2000 to 2007, becoming the world's second-largest exporter of conventional arms after the United States.

Russia exports weapons to over 80 countries. Among the key buyers of Russian-made weaponry are China, India, Algeria, Venezuela, Iran, Malaysia and Serbia.

The most popular types of weaponry bought from Russia are Sukhoi and MiG fighters, warships, air defense systems, helicopters, battle tanks, armored personnel carriers and infantry fighting vehicles.

Russia also maintains traditionally strong positions in the sales of small arms and light weapons (SALW), and anti-tank and surface-to-air missile systems.

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Russia-China trade up 18% to $56.8 bln in 2008
11:37 | 12/ 02/ 2009

BEIJING, February 12 (RIA Novosti) - Trade between Russia and China increased 18% year-on-year in 2008 to $56.8 billion, Russia's trade envoy to China said on Thursday.

However, bilateral trade was down 42% year-on-year in January, with Russian exports falling 59% and imports from China declining 27%, Sergei Tsyplakov said, citing the ongoing global financial crisis as the cause for the decrease.

"This is a very alarming trend. In the past ten years, there has not been a single case showing declines both in exports and imports," the trade representative said.

In the fourth quarter of 2008, Russian exports to China declined by 17%, Tsyplakov said.

The Russian trade representative said the main task for 2009 in bilateral trade was to maintain last year's trade levels.

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Over 1.7 mln Russians officially unemployed - ministry

19:54 | 10/ 02/ 2009

MOSCOW, February 10 (RIA Novosti) - The number of officially unemployed Russians stood at 1,735,000 million as of February 3, a 90,000 increase in the space of seven days, the Ministry of Health and Social Development said on Tuesday.

The highest growth in unemployment rates between January 28 and February 3 was reported in the Kirov Region, in the northeast of European Russia, in the East Siberian republic of Buryatia, in Russia's Volga Republic of Tatarstan, in central Russia's Kostroma Region, and in northwest Russia's Leningrad Region.

However, unofficial unemployment rates are much higher, as most people do not register with the authorities after losing their job.

The number of Russians officially dismissed from their place of work since October 2008 has reached more than 150,000. Around 56,000 of them have since found another job, including 28,000 in the same company, the ministry said. Around 19,000 companies across Russia had announced staff layoffs of as February 3.

Deputy Health and Social Development Minister Maxim Topilin said last month that the total number of people out of work in Russia could reach 7 million by the end of the year.

Russia has been hard hit by the global financial crunch that was sparked by the subprime mortgage crisis in the United States last summer and quickly spread to the rest of the world. The value of the ruble has seen its sharpest decline against the dollar since the 1998 financial crisis.

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Migrant workers in Russia 'forced to work without labor contracts'
17:49 | 10/ 02/ 2009

MOSCOW, February 10 (RIA Novosti) - The refusal by employers to sign labor contracts is one of the most frequent problems encountered by migrant workers in Russia, an official with an international rights group said on Tuesday.

"Migrants are subject to numerous violations of their rights on the part of employers every day. One of the most frequent violations we have discovered is that migrants are forced to work without a labor contract," said Maria Lisitsyna, a researcher at Human Rights Watch's Europe and Central Asia Division.

She said a labor contract was a necessary requirement for any migrant worker to maintain his or her status in Russia.

"If there is no contract, a migrant ... is considered unemployed and must leave the country within 90 days," Lisitsyna said.

Human rights activists said the confiscation of passports, wage payment delays and the lack of adequate living and safety conditions were next on the list of the most frequent violations of migrant workers' rights in Russia.

Human Rights Watch said most labor migrants in Russia had "almost no idea of their rights."

Russia trails only the United States on migrant worker numbers, Lisitsyna said. According to various sources, there are between 4 and 9 million migrant workers in Russia. Some 80% are from former Soviet republics and are eligible for visa-free entry to Russia. Around 40% of the migrant workers are employed in the poorly regulated construction industry.

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NATO cannot boost presence in Arctic - Russian president's envoy
16:46 | 12/ 02/ 2009

MOSCOW, February 12 (RIA Novosti) - A Russian lawmaker and presidential envoy on Arctic and Antarctic international cooperation said on Thursday that NATO lacked the technical capability to enhance its military presence in the Arctic.

"Only our country has the unique technical equipment capable of solving the problems of extreme Arctic conditions, and nothing can be compared with our fleet of icebreakers in terms of mobility and effectiveness," polar explorer Artur Chilingarov said.

NATO spokesman James Appathurai said recently that the Arctic region is of high strategic importance for NATO in terms of providing security for allies.

However, Chilingarov said that Russia is not refusing cooperation with other countries in the Arctic region, including with NATO member states.

"For us, the Arctic remains an important geopolitical direction and we are ready for direct dialogue as well as within the framework of international organizations," Chilingarov said.

Russia has undertaken two Arctic expeditions - to the Mendeleyev underwater chain in 2005 and to the Lomonosov ridge in the summer of 2007 - to support its claims to the region. Moscow has pledged to submit documentary evidence to the UN on the external boundaries of Russia's territorial shelf in 2009.

The move irritated a number of Western countries, particularly the United States and Canada. Under international law, these Arctic Circle countries, as well as Denmark, Norway and Russia, each currently have a 322-km (200-mile) economic zone in the Arctic Ocean.

Last September, President Dmitry Medvedev called for a new Arctic frontier law. Some Western media outlets linked the move to Russia's claim to a large part of the Arctic, believed to be rich in oil and gas.

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Iran to launch first manned spaceflight by 2021 - space agency
12:18 | 12/ 02/ 2009

TEHRAN, February 12 (RIA Novosti) - Iran will send its first man into space on board its own spacecraft by 2021, the head of Iran's Aerospace Agency announced on Thursday.

"Scientific research has already begun in Iran," Reza Tagipur was quoted by Iranian media as saying. "According to our plans, a successful Iranian manned spaceflight will be carried out before 2021."

"India and China were able to send their astronauts into space after 15 years of research and preparations. We will also go the same route, but believe we will achieve our goal in a shorter period," he said.

Iran put its first communications satellite, Omid (Hope), into a low Earth orbit on February 2. The research satellite, which contains communications and digital equipment, was carried into orbit by a domestically-made launch vehicle, Safir (Messenger).

With the February launch, Iran became the eighth country in the world able to independently put satellites into space, after Russia, the U.S., France, China, India, Japan, and Israel.

The United States, France, Israel and Britain have already expressed concern over the launch, voicing suspicions that Tehran may be developing long-range ballistic missile technology that could be used to launch nuclear weapons. Iran insists that its space program is of an entirely peaceful nature.

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Bangalore: aircraft and missiles
16:26 | 12/ 02/ 2009

MOSCOW. (RIA Novosti military commentator Ilya Kramnik) - Russia pins special hopes on the Aero India-2009 show opening in Bangalore.

Aside from being a good selling pitch for Russian producers, such airspace exhibitions, and particularly the present show in Bangalore, give them an additional chance to show off - which is important, considering a current tender to supply 126 fighters for the Indian air force.

The main exhibits will therefore be tender bidders: Russia's MiG-35 Fulcrum fighter jet, U.S. F-16 and F/A-18 fighters, France's Rafale, Sweden's Gripen, and European EADS's Typhoon.

Each bidder has its advantages and disadvantages, but the American and Russian aircraft builders are among the favorites. A point in favor of the Americans, who offer a choice between the latest modifications F-16 and F/A-18, is fine workmanship, existence of upgraded models, an edge in avionics, and close trading ties with India, which offer wider scope for offset deals.

The MiG-35 Fulcrum is the main rival of the Americans: it is an entirely new model built around the MiG-29. It is well ahead of its competitors in flying characteristics, has competitive electronics and most likely a lower price tag than the American counterparts.

A factor in favor of the MiG-35 is that the Indian air force is already using MiG-29s. Besides, MiG-29KUB fighters have been ordered for Indian naval aviation, and India is creating a repair and maintenance infrastructure for the planes of this type, which will make the mastery and operation of a technologically close cousin easier.

Against the backdrop of one Russian and two American fighters, other offers look pale, although a European manufacturer is not unlikely to win - provided it offers India acceptable terms. The chances of France, which has cooperated with India for years, are much better.

Another likelihood considered by experts is a "pie shared" between two or three producers. Given some advantage by way of diversification, this scenario has its drawbacks - different types of aircraft of one class adopted for service do not add to combat efficiency, so this toss-up is the least likely.

In addition to the MiG-35, the show will also feature SSJ civilian airliners currently undergoing tests and a joint Russian-Indian medium-class airliner project. Also of interest is a fifth generation fighter, which India wants to develop jointly with Russia. The jet is scheduled to take to the air this year, and its batch production is planned for the beginning of the next decade.

India is expected to make a certain contribution to its final stages of development and testing, which will guarantee its further role in the manufacturing program, adaptation to Indian conditions, and adoption for service simultaneously with Russia.

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

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１５日に「賃貸住宅追い出し屋対策全国会議」結成　大阪、東京の弁護士ら
2009.2.13 20:36

　賃貸住宅の入居者が、家賃滞納を理由に不動産業者や賃料保証業者らによって部屋から閉め出される被害が全国で相次いでいる問題で、大阪や東京、福岡などの弁護士と司法書士が１５日、全国組織「賃貸住宅追い出し屋対策全国会議」（仮称）を結成する。電話相談や集団提訴を通じて被害の救済を図るとともに、国に低所得者向けの住宅政策や公的保証制度の整備、違法な締め出しの法規制を求めていく。

　長引く不況で雇用不安が増大する中、「追い出し屋」による被害は低所得者層などに人気のある敷金・礼金なしの「ゼロゼロ物件」で急増している。入居者が家賃を少しでも滞納すると不動産業者や賃料保証会社が高率の違約金を徴収したり、鍵を付け替えて閉め出した上、家財道具を無断で処分したりするという。

　大阪の被害者支援組織に寄せられた相談は昨年１０月以降、３８件。２０～４０代で年収２００万円以下の男性が多く、被害者の一部はすでに提訴に踏み切った。相談に対応した堀泰夫司法書士は「低所得者層に厳しい条件の契約を強いて搾取する構造は高利貸と一緒。賃料保証業は貸金業と同様に登録制にして国が規制すべきだ」と指摘する。

　全国会議結成日の１５日、大阪市内で記念集会を開き、全国の被害者が被害実態を報告。１６日には大阪府と福岡県で「全国追い出し屋被害１１０番」を実施、被害の実態を調査するとともに集団提訴などの法的救済につなげる。

　電話相談は午前１０時～午後４時、大阪会場（（電）０６・６３６１・０５４６）か福岡会場（（電）０９２・７２４・３９８０）へ。

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失業補償、希望退職もＯＫ　住宅ローン、保険で安心　地銀中心に相次ぎ導入 (1/2ページ)
2009.2.13 08:09

　景気落ち込みで人員削減の嵐が吹き荒れ、ようやく頭金ができて家を買おうと思っても、ローン返済に不安を感じる人が少なくないのでは？　こんなとき、返済を一定期間肩代わりする失業補償保険が心強い。顧客サービスとして地方銀行を中心に導入が進み、保険料を負担する銀行も増えている。（八並朋昌）

　群馬銀行（本店・前橋市）は、同行の保険料負担で全住宅ローンに失業補償を付けた。倒産や解雇、希望退職などで１カ月以上再就職できないと、１回の失業で最長半年間、ボーナス分も含む返済を肩代わり。期間が限定されない仕事をする２０歳以上の人が対象で、６回の失業（延べ３年間）まで返済を補償する。金利も固定１０年型で２・１５％（今月現在）と有利だ。

　「失業補償はローン商品の付加価値を高めるため、平成１７年から導入した。反響は大きく、利用は順調に推移している」と広報室長の松山伸一さん（５４）。

　住宅ローンの一般的な団体信用生命保険は死亡や重度障害のみ補償なので、同行は病気やけがで働けない場合に返済を肩代わりする返済支援保険も、返済１万円当たり５８円の保険料で設定。がんや脳卒中、糖尿病などで返済免除になる疾病特約は金利０・３％上乗せで用意する。地方銀行といっても群馬県のほか栃木、埼玉両県と東京都に複数、長野県上田市と横浜市、大阪市に各１カ所の支店があり、各地域で利用できる。

　愛媛銀行（同・松山市）も今月から、全住宅ローンに保険料銀行負担で失業補償を付けた。

　両行の失業補償などを手がけるカーディフ（東京都渋谷区）は、世界的金融グループＢＮＰパリバの保険部門で、平成１２年に日本進出。「正式には失業信用費用保険といい、昨年末時点で地銀など約２０金融機関の約５万５０００人が加入している。保険金支払いは多数ある」と、同損保マーケティング営業部長の宮川賢一さん（４３）は話す。

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国富、07年末には2.3％増　２年連続で増加

　内閣府が13日発表した2007年度の国民経済計算（確報）によると、土地や建物などの資産から負債を差し引いた国の正味資産（国富）は07年末時点で 2794兆5000億円と、前年末に比べて2.3％増えた。土地の値上がりや経常収支の黒字を受け、2年連続で増加した。ただ景気は07年11月から後退局面に入っており、国富の伸びが続くかどうかは不透明だ。

　07年末の国富の内訳は、土地資産が前年末比0.9％増の1253兆6000億円だった。増加は2年連続。土地資産はバブルの崩壊を受け、1991年末から15年続けて減少。06年末から増加（1.7％増）に転じたが、07年末の増加率は前年を下回った。

　機械や建物といった設備投資の積み上がりを示す有形固定資産は1.0％増。経常収支が黒字だったことと、為替の円安が進んだことで、対外純資産は16.3％増えた。(22:02)

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高音質のＩＰ電話機、ＮＴＴ東西が家庭用を発売

　ＮＴＴ東日本とＮＴＴ西日本は13日、安定した高速通信が可能な次世代ネットワーク上のＩＰ（インターネットプロトコル）電話サービスに対応した電話機を18日に発売すると発表した。一般的な電話機より広い周波数帯の音に対応するため、高音質で通話できる。これまで法人向けに提供していたが、一般家庭にも販売対象を広げる。

　発売するのは「高音質電話機　ひかりクリアフォン　ＨＱ―100」。利用するには通信回線サービス「フレッツ光ネクスト」とＩＰ電話サービス「ひかり電話」の両方に加入し、高音質で通話できる付加サービスを申し込む必要がある。通話の相手が一般の電話や携帯電話だった場合は、端末の内部の装置で音を変換し、疑似的に広い帯域を作り出して高音質を維持する。ＩＰ電話サービスを利用しない場合は、普通の電話機としても使用できる。

　価格は2万6040円。当面はＮＴＴ東西のウェブサイト上と電話で購入の申し込みを受け付ける。発売から1年間でＮＴＴ東西あわせて1500台の販売を目指す。(17:55)

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「行列」出演弁護士事務所：依頼放置で賠償命令　東京地裁

　東京都内の衣料品卸会社から依頼された自己破産の申し立てを２年間放置し会社の財産が失われたとして、同社の破産管財人が、弁護士法人アディーレ法律事務所（東京都豊島区）に約４９６万円の損害賠償を求めた訴訟で、東京地裁（針塚遵裁判官）は１３日、全額の支払いを命じた。同事務所側は控訴した。

　判決によると、同事務所は会社から依頼を受けた約２年後の０７年１２月、破産手続き開始を東京地裁に申し立てた。この間、会社から預金通帳を預からなかったため、役員の報酬などで約１０１７万円が出金され残高は約６万円になった。針塚裁判官は「速やかに破産を申し立て、管財人に引き継ぐまで財産が散逸しない措置が求められた」と述べ、重大な過失があったと認定した。

　事務所代表の石丸幸人弁護士はテレビ番組「行列のできる法律相談所」への出演などで知られる。「破産法の運用を十分に理解していない裁判官による極めて不合理な判断で、到底許容できない」とのコメントを出した。【銭場裕司】

　▽管財人の佃克彦弁護士の話　当然の判決。受任から数カ月で破産を申し立てるのが普通で、資産が散逸した例は珍しい。

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かんぽの宿：日本郵政、悪影響拡大を懸念

　鳩山邦夫総務相の「待った」をきっかけに、日本郵政が「かんぽの宿」のオリックス不動産への一括譲渡の断念に追い込まれた。撤回を決めた背景には、批判や疑惑が急拡大するなか、企業イメージがこれ以上悪化するのを避けたいという思惑がにじむ。

　鳩山総務相によると、日本郵政の西川善文社長が９日、オリックスの宮内義彦会長と会い、白紙撤回を申し入れた。宮内会長は「これ以上進められないから、仕方がない」と了承したという。

　日本郵政は今回の入札について「Ｍ＆Ａ（企業の合併・買収）では一般的な形式であり、不正はない」と自信を見せてきた。だが、入札の途中で、スポーツ施設の「ゆうぽうと世田谷レクセンター」を売却対象から外したほか、最終入札の参加社がオリックス１社だけだったことが発覚するなど「国民が疑念を持つのは当然」（鳩山総務相）の状況となった。

　さらに、施設の地元自治体の意向を全く聞いておらず「地域を無視したやり方だ」（埼玉県の上田清司知事）などの不満も相次いだ。西川社長は１３日の鳩山総務相との会談で「反省している。市況が非常に悪いなかで（売却を）急ぎ過ぎた」と謝罪した。西川社長が一括売却を急いだのは、「日本郵政の株式上場を視野に、赤字事業を一刻も早く切り離したいという焦りがあったのでは」（関係者）との指摘もある。

　今後は、入札の透明性の確保が最大の課題になる。これまで日本郵政の不動産売却は、明確な基準が設けられていなかった。総務省は「旧日本郵政公社から引き継いだ不動産については、国有地の処分に準じる基準が必要」（幹部）という考えで、日本郵政は今後、第三者検討委員会で、透明性の高い不動産売却のルール作りを急ぐ。

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ビール４社：海外事業で増益…国内市場は縮小　１２月期

　ビール大手４社の０８年１２月期連結決算が１３日出そろい、販促費の削減や好調な海外事業に支えられ各社とも増益を確保した。ただ主力のビール事業はサントリーを除き減収で、同日発表された１月のビール類出荷量も過去２番目に低い水準。国内需要がしぼむ中、各社は成長が期待できる海外市場に活路を見いだそうとしている。

　キリンは協和発酵や豪乳業最大手のナショナルフーズを買収した効果などで連結売上高が初めて２兆円を超えた。アサヒビールは出資する中国飲料会社などが好調で経常利益が過去最高。サントリーは昨年８月末まで値上げを踏みとどまった効果などで連結売上高が過去最高となり、サッポロホールディングスも販促費削減で大幅増益となった。

　国内でビール離れが進む中、メーカーにとって成長のカギを握るのが海外市場だ。キリンは０７～０８年に豪州の乳業大手２社を相次いで買収。フィリピンのサンミゲルビールとも１０００億円以上の出資交渉を進めている。サントリーは今年２月、ニュージーランドの飲料大手フルコアを７５０億円で買収。アサヒは今年１月、中国２位の青島ビール株約２０％を取得し、中国全土での販売網を確保した。サッポロは０６年に買収した北米のスリーマン社で今期１割の販売増を見込む。

　これまで積極的な買収を通じ事業拡大してきた世界最大手アンハイザー・ブッシュ・インベブ（ＡＢＩ）が、金融危機に伴う資金繰りの悪化から子会社の売却を進めていることも日本企業には好機となった。

　アサヒは青島株をＡＢＩから取得したのに続き、ＡＢＩ子会社で韓国２位のＯＢビールの買収も検討。

　課題もある。成長が期待される中国では「とんでもなく激しい競争がおきている」（加藤壹康キリンＨＤ社長）といい、上海を基盤とするサントリーは価格競争の激化で中国事業が減益となった。
　◇くすぶる再編の火種

　一方、国内市場はサッポロ株の約１８％を保有する米投資ファンドのスティール・パートナーズの動向が注目される。スティールは株価下落で戦略の見直しを迫られ、江崎グリコなどの食品会社株を相次いで売却した。サッポロ株についても売却に動く可能性がある。今のところ国内ビール会社がサッポロ買収に動く目立った兆候はないが、ビール以外の食品会社を巻き込んだ提携や再編の火種はくすぶり続けている。

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時津風部屋公判で弟子が初出廷

　大相撲時津風部屋の県人力士、時太山（ときたいざん）＝当時(17)、本名斉藤俊（たかし）さん・新潟市北区出身＝の暴行死事件で、傷害致死罪に問われた元親方山本順一被告 (58)の第２回公判が13日午前、名古屋地裁で開かれた。弟子で新潟市出身の同部屋力士(29)が証人として出廷し、死亡当日のぶつかりげいこを「罰としてだと思った」と証言。山本被告の主張と対立した。

　この力士はぶつかりげいこについて「（罰と分かっていても）親方がその場にいる限り、けいこに入らなければならない」と述べ、親方の指示と受け止めたことを証言。

　前夜にけいこ場の柱に斉藤さんを縛り付けたことには、山本被告から「明日（新潟に斉藤さんを）帰さなきゃいけないから、今は逃げられては困るからてっぽう柱に縛っておけ」と命じられたと述べた。

　山本被告がビール瓶で斉藤さんの額にけがを負わせた点について、山本被告から「腕時計が当たったことにしよう」と持ち掛けられたことを明かした。

　力士はまげ姿で入廷。山本被告は、終始弟子と目を合わせず、目を閉じて顔をしかめながら耳を傾けていた。

　愛知県警は昨年２月、証言した力士を含む３人を傷害致死容疑で書類送検している。

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「ぶつかり、罰と思った」力士死亡公判で別の力士

　大相撲・時津風部屋の序ノ口力士だった斉藤俊さん（当時１７歳）＝しこ名・時太山(ときたいざん)＝が暴行を受けて死亡した事件で、傷害致死罪で起訴された元親方、山本順一被告（５８）の第２回公判が１３日、名古屋地裁で行われた。

　既に有罪が確定した兄弟子３人とは別の時津風部屋の力士（２９）（傷害致死容疑で書類送検）が証人として出廷し、山本被告から「明日帰さないといけない。今逃げちゃ困るから鉄砲柱に縛っておけ」と指示を受けたと証言した。斉藤さんが死亡した直前に行われた「ぶつかりげいこ」については、「罰として行わせたと思った」と述べた。

　また、山本被告がビール瓶で斉藤さんの額を殴ったことについて、愛知県警が捜査を始めた後、山本被告が弟子を集めて「腕時計があたったことにしよう」と話し、口裏合わせを図ったと証言した。

　山本被告は１２日の初公判で、兄弟子への指示や共謀を否定、「ぶつかりげいこ」についても斉藤さんの力量向上のためだったとして、起訴事実を否認している。

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ありえね～かつての師弟の法廷バトル

　【元親方山本順一被告公判】力士暴行死事件の公判で１３日、事件当時に元親方山本順一被告の弟子だった力士が証人として出廷し、元親方の言動を暴行指示と理解したと述べた。一方、１２日には元親方は暴行指示を否定。かつての師弟の主張は対立する形になった。

　角界では師匠は絶対的な存在で、こうした構図はあり得ないものといえる。聖域である稽古場で汗と砂にまみれ、時には涙も流しただろう師匠と弟子が法廷で対決。時津風部屋の部屋頭である豊ノ島は「自分の“オヤジ”だった人とうちの力士が争うのは、正直言ってつらいものがある」と心情を吐露した。

　師匠は相撲の指導はもちろん、礼儀から生活面まで全責任を負う。豊ノ島のように弟子が師匠のことを「オヤジ」と呼ぶのは、まさに父親代わりだからだ。武蔵川理事長（元横綱三重ノ海）の弟子に当たる元大関武双山の藤島親方は「自分は今でも師匠の前では“はい”しか言えない。師弟関係とはそういうものでしょう」と話す。

　この日、山本被告と弟子だった力士は久々に対面した。視線を時折送る前師匠に対し、２力士は一度も目を合わせることなく退廷。かつての“オヤジ”と息子の関係は消え去っていた。

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兄弟子、暴行指示と理解　土俵に木の棒投げ入れられ '09/2/13

　大相撲時津風部屋の序ノ口力士、時太山ときたいざん＝当時（17）、本名斉藤さいとう俊たかしさん＝の暴行死事件で、傷害致死罪に問われた元親方山本順一やまもと・じゅんいち被告（58）の公判は十三日午後、名古屋地裁（芦沢政治あしざわ・まさはる裁判長）で続き、傷害致死の疑いで書類送検された別の力士（28）への証人尋問が行われた。

　力士はぶつかりげいこで、山本被告が土俵に木の棒を投げ入れたことに触れ、「（斉藤さんを）たたけという意味だと思った」と述べ、暴行指示だったとの理解を示した。力士は斉藤さんを五回ぐらい殴打したという。

　力士によると、これまでけいこ中に、親方以外が木の棒などで力士をたたくことはなかった。約三十分間続いたぶつかりげいこについては「斉藤さんが力を出してぶつかっていなかったし、元親方も怒っていたからだと思う」と述べた。

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元若ノ鵬、ロシアに帰国＝大相撲

　昨年８月に大麻取締法違反容疑で逮捕され、日本相撲協会を解雇された元幕内若ノ鵬（２０）＝本名ガグロエフ・ソスラン＝が１３日、航空機でロシアに帰国した。代理人が明らかにした。

　帰国に際し、元若ノ鵬は代理人を通じて「ご迷惑を掛けて本当にすみませんでした。日本と相撲が大好きでした。日本で生活し相撲を取れたことを一生の宝物にしたいと思っています」とコメントした。　（了）

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元若ノ鵬がロシアに帰国 大麻事件で相撲協会解雇

　昨年８月に大麻所持容疑で逮捕（不起訴）され、日本相撲協会を解雇された元幕内若ノ鵬（２０）＝本名ガグロエフ・ソスラン＝が１３日、航空機で母国ロシアへ帰国した。代理人を務める弁護士が明らかにした。

　元若ノ鵬は力士としての地位保全を求め、相撲協会を相手に訴訟を起こしたが、仮処分の申し立てが東京地裁や東京高裁から認められず、訴えを取り下げた。相撲協会からは退職金にあたる養老金約５８０万円の支払いを受けた。元若ノ鵬は「ご迷惑をかけて本当にすみませんでした。日本で生活し、相撲を取れたことを一生の宝物としたいと思っています」とのコメントを発表した。

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元若ノ鵬が帰国「日本と相撲が大好きでした」
2009.2.13 18:36

　大麻取締法違反容疑で逮捕され日本相撲協会から解雇された元若ノ鵬（２０）＝本名・ガグロエフ・ソスラン、起訴猶予＝が１３日、帰国した。代理人の宮田真弁護士が明らかにした。元若ノ鵬は「本当にすみません。日本と相撲が大好きでした。日本で生活し相撲を取れたことを一生の宝物としたい」と述べていたという。

　元若ノ鵬は今月上旬から帰国の準備作業をしていたが、転居の手続きが遅れ、同日夕、新潟空港発ハバロフスク行の航空機で帰国した。

　元若ノ鵬は解雇無効を主張して同協会を相手取って提訴したが、訴訟を取り下げ、協会から養老金（退職金）約５８０万円を支給された。