相撲協会：違法薬物検査、早期実施へ…全協会員対象に

相撲協会：違法薬物検査、早期実施へ…全協会員対象に

　日本相撲協会の生活指導部特別委員会（委員長・伊勢ノ海生活指導部長＝元関脇・藤ノ川）が７日、東京・両国国技館で開かれ、全協会員を対象にした、大麻など違法薬物の抜き打ち検査の概要が固まった。既に協会員からの同意書の回収を終え、近く検査機関と契約を結ぶ見込みで、早期に検査が行われる見通しとなった。

　検査実施責任者の友綱委員（元関脇・魁輝）が実施を決定し、伊勢ノ海委員長がデータ管理の責任者を務める。大西祥平委員（慶大教授）によると、医療関係者立ち会いのもと、１検体３０ＣＣの尿を採取し、検査機関に送る。検査は公表されず、結果が陰性だった場合も明らかにされない。陽性だった場合は、判定委員会や理事会などを経て警察に通報する。

　大西委員は「検査が実行可能なところまでこぎ着けた。捕まえることが目的じゃなく抑止力。薬物検査に関しては他の競技団体にはない厳しいルール」と話した。山本浩委員（ＮＨＫ解説委員）も「かなり本気度が高い。日本オリンピック委員会に入っていない団体として自立しないといけないという覚悟はある」と評価した。

　また、同委員会は土俵上や日常生活での力士のあり方を記したマニュアル本の内容をまとめた。ＤＶＤも作製中で、今月中にも各部屋に配布する予定。

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Europe concerned over sterling slide

By Ben Hall in Paris, Chris Giles in London and Gerrit Wiesmann in Frankfurt

Published: April 7 2009 19:57 | Last updated: April 7 2009 23:40

The pound’s slide against the euro has begun to trigger concerns on the continent that the UK is seeking to gain a competitive advantage over its European Union partners.

Sterling has fallen by more than 25 per cent on a trade-weighted basis since the autumn of 2007, raising the question as to whether Britain is letting its currency fall to help its exporters at a time when the eurozone is falling more deeply into recession.

Asked about sterling’s fall in an interview with Sky News on Monday, Christine Lagarde, French finance minister, said that all G20 countries had last week promised to minimise any negative impact on trade and investment of their domestic policy actions.

The European Central Bank, which rarely comments directly about exchange rates, uses similar code to warn countries to support their currencies.

Without naming the UK, Lorenzo Bini Smaghi, a member of the ECB’s executive board, on Monday reminded EU states outside the single currency that they had to treat their exchange rates as a “matter of common interest”, as stated in article 124 of the EU treaties.

“The question arises whether the single market can function smoothly when the exchange rate is allowed – or even encouraged – to depreciate sharply,” he said.

Mr Bini Smaghi went on to outline the ECB’s steps for correcting the perceived over- or under-shooting of exchange rates, beginning with private talks then “public verbal interventions” and finally interventions on the currency markets.

One senior EU policymaker told the FT that, in his view, the UK was in breach of article 124.

Brian Lenihan, the Irish finance minister, in January directly accused the UK of running a policy of “competitive devaluation”, putting other countries under “immense pressure”.

Ms Lagarde was careful not to say that the UK was manipulating the exchange rate. “I wouldn’t suggest that for a micro-second,” she said.

But there is still a view in some quarters that the UK has a duty to its European partners to do more to prop up its currency. “It’s in [the Bank of England’s] interests to support it a little more,” Ms Lagarde told France’s national assembly three months ago.

European concerns about sterling’s level are met with bemusement in London. UK policymakers have neglected the value of the pound since it was kicked out of the exchange rate mechanism of the European monetary system in 1992.

Sterling’s plunge since 2007 initially surprised and alarmed the UK authorities as it suggested a lack of international confidence in Britain.

As the pound has stabilised a little in recent months, the Bank of England now sees the benefits of a lower currency, not in rising exports but in a rapid fall in imports contributing positively to economic growth.

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Fresh warning over UK deficit

By Chris Giles, Economics Editor

Published: April 6 2009 11:41 | Last updated: April 6 2009 11:41

The public finances have deteriorated so much since November that the basic rate of income tax would need to rise by the equivalent of 8 percentage points to bring government borrowing back on track by 2015-16, the Institute for Fiscal Studies said on Monday.

Bringing its out-of-date forecasts into line with others, the independent institute said that there was a £40bn gap between the government’s hope of borrowing only for capital spending in 2015-16 and the likely outcome.

The warning came ahead of a meeting on Monday between Gordon Brown, prime minister, Mervyn King, the bank of England governor, and Adair Turner, Financial Services Authority chairman, to take stock of the G20 conclusions.

Even the figures presented by the IFS on Monday are already likely to be an underestimate of the true deterioration of the public finances. They were based on the Bank of England’s central economic forecast from February, which suggested a contraction of 2.7 per cent in 2009. As Alistair Darling, the Chancellor, conceded at the weekend, the likely figure is worse than this.

But the IFS analysis presents Mr Darling with difficult Budget choices. He ditched the government’s previous fiscal rules in November, replacing them with much weaker temporary constraints, but even these will be breached, the IFS analysis shows. It projects that a string of enormous deficits will lead to a growing burden of government debt in perpetuity.

This contradicts the government’s new operating fiscal goal of having a declining burden of debt once the global economic shocks have worked through the economy.

The IFS’s £40bn figure for additional borrowing in 2015-16 represents 2.7 per cent of national income, the same fiscal tightening as Mr Darling imposed in the pre-Budget report, when he took an axe to the government’s future capital spending programme.

The IFS was certain that a similar measure was needed in the Budget in two weeks, citing the intervention of Mervyn King, Bank of England governor, who “publicly and pre-emptively withheld” support for a further fiscal stimulus.

If such a fiscal tightening was introduced in the Budget, it would be the equivalent of every family paying an additional £1,250 a year in taxes if public expenditure plans remained unchanged. If public spending plans were cut and no tax rises imposed, there would need to be a five-year freeze in total public spending after adjusting for inflation.

Because some areas of government spending rise automatically faster than this, the IFS said, “this would require real cuts in most other areas of government spending, and even favoured areas such as health or education would undoubtedly see much lower spending growth than they have received in recent years”.

George Osborne, the shadow chancellor, told the BBC Today programme that he hoped public spending restraint would take the “bulk of the strain” in reducing ballooning government deficits. But he was reluctant to outline areas for pruning apart from suggesting that public sector pay should “reflect the prevailing economic conditions”.

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UK manufacturing decline worst in 40 years

By Daniel Pimlott, Economics Reporter

Published: April 7 2009 10:48 | Last updated: April 7 2009 23:21

The sharp economic decline continued almost unabated in the first quarter of this year, according to estimates published on Tuesday by a leading economics think-tank.

But while the contraction is steep, official data on Thursday also offered hope that the recession might be moderating after manufacturing production fell at its slowest pace for six months in February.

The economy contracted by 1.5 per cent in the first quarter of 2009 – almost as much as the 1.6 per cent decline in the final three months of last year – according to estimates by the National Institute for Economic and Social Research.

The slightly smaller contraction in the first quarter does “not indicate recessionary pressures are easing”, according to Martin Weale, director of the NIESR, but he said that it was “quite likely that the rate of the recession will . . . ease [as] most recessions seem to be sharpest when they start”.

The continued retrenchment in the economy means the total depth of the contraction has already far exceeded the downturn of the early 1990s, though it is not yet as bad as the 1980s’ recession. The total decline in output between the economic peak in 1979 and the trough at the beginning of 1981 was 6.3 per cent, compared with 2.5 per cent in the early 1990s, official data show. The NIESR estimates the economy has already contracted by 4.2 per cent since the recession began last May.

Manufacturing outputSo far the downturn has progressed at a similar pace to the decline of the 1980s but much faster than during the early 1990s. If the recession follows the pattern it did in the 1980s, the economy would face another year of contraction and a further two years before it returned to pre-recession output levels. Many economists do not see growth returning until the end of this year or the beginning of next.

The snapshot of the dire state of the economy came as data from the Office for National Statistics suggested that manufacturing production was falling at its slowest pace since August.

Manufacturing output fell 0.9 per cent in February, far less than January’s 3 per cent decline and well below the 1.5 per cent drop economists had expected.

The overall deterioration in manufacturing has been extreme – production fell by a seasonally adjusted 6.5 per cent in the three months to the end of February compared with the previous three months.

That was the most rapid decline the sector had seen since records began in 1968, including during the last two recessions that were felt most keenly in Britain’s industrial heartlands.

The slump in manufacturing comes amid a collapse in world trade, with companies unable to get credit to make new orders and shutting production lines in order to sell off stockpiles of goods .

The fall in manufacturing output helped to drag down overall industrial production, which includes mining, electricity, gas and water production, by 5.8 per cent in the three months to the end of February – the sharpest pace of decline since 1974.

“The data continue to point to a first-quarter GDP contraction around as deep as in the fourth quarter,” said Allan Monks, an economist at JPMorgan.

The slowing pace of decline signalled by the official manufacturing data comes amid mixed recent indications for the sector. Data from the CBI employer group’s industrial trends survey and the British Chamber of Commerce have not registered any improvement.

However, the closely watched purchasing managers’ index for the sector showed a sharp improvement in March after reaching a record low in February.

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UK is urged to print money

By James Mackintosh

Published: April 6 2009 03:00 | Last updated: April 6 2009 03:00

The government will have to print money to finance public spending, moving quantitative easing to a new level, according to the manager of one of London's biggest hedge funds.

Mike Platt, co-founder and chief executive of BlueCrest, Europe's fifth-largest hedge fund, had been predicting quantitative easing in the UK for six months before it was adopted by the Bank of England last month.

But the bond trader said the government, facing plunging tax revenues, now had little choice but to move to "heavy" quantitative easing, printing money to buy new gilts to support public spending.

Last month the Bank began buying up £75bn of outstanding gilts and corporate bonds in an effort to support spending by boosting the money supply.

Mr Platt said "significantly" more quantitative easing was needed. "The easiest way for the system to be saved is to print money," he told the Financial Times. "It is the only policy option left."

His comments come as many hedge funds, including Blue-Crest, are betting that printing money will lead to inflation in the medium term.

But unlike many other big funds - including Greenlight Capital, TPG Axon, Paulson & Co and Third Point - he is not putting money into gold, arguing that there are "better ways to play inflation".

BlueCrest's two main funds are doing well, with its $5.5bn (£3.7bn) computer-driven BlueTrend up 43 per cent last year and its $3.5bn Capital International, which trades bonds and fixed income derivatives, up 6.2 per cent, according to investors.

However, it is in the process of closing its $1.1bn BlueCrest Strategic fund after poor performance prompted it to retreat from emerging markets.

The fund, once a vehicle for Mr Platt's best ideas, was hit by withdrawals after losing 21 per cent last year.

The closure comes as many hedge fund managers retreat from positions they took in the past few years to focus on core business.

"The environment has definitely changed," Mr Platt said. "Eighteen months ago the emphasis for all firms was growth and expanding into new products. Now very much the name of the game is to focus on your relative strengths and the areas you excel at."

The fund has paid out about half its money, and is likely to take another year to close out all positions and repay investors.

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View of the Day: Sterling’s rally

By Dhaval Joshi

Published: April 7 2009 16:05 | Last updated: April 7 2009 16:05

Sterling’s recent rally has less to do with signs of “green shoots” in the UK economy and more with the broad direction of global financial markets, says Dhaval Joshi, economist at RAB Capital.

He says the UK punches well above its weight when it comes to the size of its equity and corporate bond markets relative to its own economy. “So when global investors want a broad and diversified exposure to equities or corporate bonds, they have to allocate money to the UK,” he says.

Mr Joshi points out that foreign investors own 42 per cent of the UK’s £1,300bn equity market and 61 per cent of the £1,600bn corporate bond market.

“In total, foreign ownership of UK equities and corporate bonds equates to a huge 135 per cent of the amount of pounds in existence – the money supply,” he says. “The comparable numbers for the US, eurozone and Japan are 57 per cent, 49 per cent and 12 per cent respectively.”

When risky assets such as equities are in favour globally, there is a large net demand for pounds, he says. But when investors shift out of risky assets into domestic cash, selling pressure on the pound intensifies.

“If equity markets are close to a bottom, then the downside to sterling is limited. But if the S&P 500 index reached the historic low valuations seen in 1932, 1942 and 1982, it would be trading close to the 500-point level – and in that scenario, the pound could be trading below $1.20.”

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２月国際収支、経常黒字55.6％減　輸出入とも最大の減少率

　財務省が8日発表した2009年2月の国際収支速報によると、海外とのモノやサービス、投資など全体の取引状況を示す経常収支は前年同月比55.6％減の1兆1169億円の黒字となった。1月は13年ぶりに赤字となったが、2月は黒字に転じた。ただ、輸入額が44.9％減と過去最大の減少率になったことで貿易収支が改善した面が大きく、国内、海外ともに経済が低迷している状況は変わらない。

　輸出額も前年同月に比べ50.4％減となり、減少率は統計がさかのぼれる1985年以来で最大となった。差し引きの貿易収支は2021億円の黒字となり、前年同月に比べ黒字額は8割減った。

　輸出の動向を品目別にみると、自動車が前年に比べ7割減と大きく落ち込んだ。米欧の金融危機が個人消費に波及し、売り上げが低迷。アジア向けの半導体も前年比で半減した。(11:02)

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経済全体の縮小映す　２月国際収支

　世界経済の低迷を受け、日本と海外との経済取引が急速に縮小している。財務省が8日発表した2月の国際収支速報では、経常収支が前年に比べ半減したうえ、輸出入も過去最大の落ち込みを記録した。ここにきて、自動車や電機で在庫調整の進展がみられるものの、モノやサービスのやり取りはなお鈍い。経常収支の悪化は世界経済全体の縮小を映している。

　経常収支はモノやサービスの輸出入を示す貿易・サービス収支と、海外との投資活動で得た損益を示す所得収支などで構成。日本の海外との経済取引を総合的に表す指標だ。(16:01)

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三菱ＵＦＪ証券管理職、全顧客１４８万人分の情報持ち出す

　三菱ＵＦＪ証券（東京都千代田区）は８日、同社システム部の男性管理職（４４）が、同社のすべての顧客１４８万６６５１人分の個人情報を不正に社外に持ち出したうえ、うち４万９１５９人分を、名簿業者に売却していたことを明らかにした。

　同社は同日付で、男性管理職を懲戒解雇としたうえで、警視庁に通報。刑事告訴の準備を進めている。

　同社によると、男性管理職が売却した個人情報は、昨年１０月３日～今年１月２３日に、新規で同社の証券口座や投信ラップ口座を開設した顧客の情報。情報の内容は、顧客の氏名や住所、電話番号、性別、生年月日、職業、年収区分、勤務先名、役職など。男性管理職は通常業務を装って、同社のサーバーからＣＤ―ＲＯＭに顧客情報のデータを保存し、自宅に持ち帰ったうえで、４万９１５９人分を名簿業者３社に売り渡したという。個人情報はさらに、名簿業者から金融関係や不動産関係の１３社に販売されたと見られるという。

　今年３月中旬以降、流出した顧客の元に、業者から勧誘の電話が相次ぐようになり、問題が発覚。男性管理職が不正を認めたという。

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08年度の企業倒産、3年連続増の1万6146件　上場企業は戦後最多

　民間調査会社の東京商工リサーチが8日発表した2008年度の全国企業倒産状況（負債総額1000万円以上、私的整理を含む）によると、倒産件数は07 年度比12.3％増の1万6146件だった。3年連続で前年度を上回った。負債総額は約2.4倍の14兆189億円で、年度としては1997年度（1兆 4523億円）に次いで、過去5番目の規模となった。

　上場企業の倒産件数は45件で戦後最多。負債額1000億円以上の大型倒産が6件発生し、その負債総額は前年度比約12倍の2兆3528億円と、7年ぶりに1兆円を上回った。

　業種別にみると、建設業が前年比11.0％増の4540件で最も多く、これに製造業（2540件）などが続いた。10業種のすべてで倒産件数が前年度を上回った。また、倒産の形態でみると、再建せず会社を清算する「破産」が9738件で戦後最多となった。(14:31)

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外国人投資家、日本株の売越額最大に　08年度

　財務省が8日発表した2008年度の対内・対外証券投資動向によると、外国人投資家による日本への株式投資は8兆1775億円の売り越しとなった。売越額は現行の統計が始まった2005年以来、最大となった。昨年秋からの金融危機の影響で、当面の資金を確保するための換金売りが膨らんだ。

　中長期債も含めた外国人による08年度の投資は11兆7453億円の売り越しだった。中長期債は9月から、売りが優勢の展開が続いている。

　日本人による08年度の海外の証券売買動向は、株式が7兆1822億円の買い越しだった。(14:03)

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個人の外貨取引量、半年ぶり高水準に　「くりっく３６５」

　外国為替市場で個人投資家の外貨取引が活気を取り戻しつつある。東京金融取引所の外為証拠金取引「くりっく３６５」では6日の取引量が40万5566枚（枚は1万通貨単位）となり半年ぶりの高水準となった。株価が堅調に推移していることで個人の投資余力が向上しているとの指摘もある。

　豪ドルなど上昇幅の大きい通貨が大幅に買われたほか、ドルの下落を見込んで売りから始める取引も好調だった。「取引倍率を高めて、少ない元手で大きな金額を売買する投資家が増えているのが最近の特徴」（東京金融取引所）という。(07:02)

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住商、豪州で電力事業に参入　発電所権益、60億円で取得

　住友商事は豪州で電力事業に参入する。まず西豪州で発電容量32万キロワットの火力発電所の権益70％を取得した。投資額は60億円前後とみられる。同社の発電事業はアジアや中東地域に集中している。今後、安定した電力需要の拡大が見込まれる豪州で複数の発電所を買収し、同国を新たな収益の柱に育てる計画だ。

　住商は2008年12月に100％出資で電力事業を手掛けるサミット・サザンクロス・パワー（シドニー）を設立。同社を通じて発電所の買収を進め、 3―4年で豪州をアジアや中東、米国に続く電力事業の収益拠点とする。すでに西豪州で複数の発電所について買収交渉を進めている。(09:02)

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石油・化学各社、コンビナート連携を強化　出光・三井化学など

　化学会社と石油精製会社がコンビナートで連携を強化する。出光興産と三井化学は、出光の製油所と三井化学の工場を配管で結び、石油化学製品の基礎原料ナフサを共同利用する。住友化学と富士石油は石化原料の液化石油ガス（ＬＰＧ）を送る配管を整備する。いずれもプラントの操業を効率化するのが狙い。中東やアジアで石油・化学一体の大型コンビナート建設が相次いでおり、国内勢も業種を超えた連携で競争力を高める。

　出光興産の千葉製油所（千葉県市原市）から三井化学の市原工場（同市）に原料ナフサを供給する延長6キロメートルの配管を2010年度までに整備する。投資額は約20億円で両社が負担する。出光が生成したナフサを分解し、三井化学の工場と出光の化学工場の双方に供給する。(07:02)

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伊藤忠エネクス、格安レンタカーに参入　中古車を活用

　伊藤忠商事系の石油販売会社、伊藤忠エネクスは格安レンタカー事業に参入する。ガソリンスタンドに店舗を併設することで人員や設備を共通化。スタンドで買い取った中古車を活用し、料金を大手の4割程度に抑える。ガソリン販売の減少でスタンド経営が厳しさを増しており、新たな収益源の確保とガソリン販売の底上げを狙う。

　「イツモレンタカー」の名称で4月中に始める。伊藤忠エネクス子会社のエネクスオート（東京・港）が消費者からインターネットや電話で予約を受け付け、近くのスタンドで車を貸し出す。料金は小型車で1時間約1000円、12時間で約2600円など。新車が中心の一般レンタカー会社より4割程度安いという。(07:02)

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Henry Paulson’s Son Finds Dad’s Money Won’t Buy Soccer Bliss
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By Anthony Effinger

April 7 (Bloomberg) -- Former U.S. Treasury Secretary and multimillionaire Henry Paulson spent much of his last year in office trying to save global capitalism.

His son, Merritt, spent much of the last year trying to bring Major League Soccer to Portland, Oregon. His job seemed much easier -- until last month.

Paulson is using $50 million of his father’s fortune for the $129 million project. The problem is that Paulson wants the city to sell $65 million of bonds to turn the downtown home of his Portland Beavers minor league baseball team into a soccer stadium that meets major league requirements, and erect a brand new park for the Beavers.

Building two new stadiums for the son of a millionaire is a tough sell in a town hit hard by a recession that deepened in part because Henry Paulson’s efforts to stave it off at the U.S. Treasury were unsuccessful. Oregon’s unemployment rate hit 10.8 percent in February, third-highest in the nation after Michigan and South Carolina, according to the U.S. Labor Department.

“We have many more challenging issues right now,” said City Commissioner Amanda Fritz, a soccer fan who grew up in Leeds, England.

The five-member city council, which includes Fritz, voted 3 to 2 on March 11 to work with Paulson on getting a team. Nine days later, Major League Soccer awarded Paulson a franchise -- the league’s 18th --for $35 million.

$15 Million Hole

The bad news was that Paulson could get a third vote on the council only after commissioners agreed to strip out a plan to create a new urban renewal area around the existing stadium and sell $15 million of bonds backed by taxes generated within the new district.

That left a $15 million hole that Paulson says must be filled by Sept. 1, or the stadium won’t be done in time for the 2011 MLS season. He says he can’t commit any more family money. He and his father are paying $35 million for the franchise and $12.5 million for the stadiums. They’re also guaranteeing rent and ticket taxes for 25 years and will pick up construction overruns beyond $2.5 million.

“We’ve ended up putting a lot more on the table to make this thing happen,” Paulson, 36, said in an interview in his office overlooking a rainy baseball field.

His father amassed about $500 million before becoming George W. Bush’s Treasury secretary in 2006, a job he took after seven years as chief executive officer of Goldman Sachs Group Inc.

Late Bloomer

At 6-foot-4 (1.93 meters), Merritt Paulson looks like an ex-jock eager to stay involved. To the contrary, he was short until his senior year in high school and spent most of his time playing tennis and skiing at his grandparents’ chalet in Keystone, Colorado.

“I was a very late bloomer,” Paulson said.

He studied English at Hamilton College in Clinton, New York, before earning an MBA at Harvard. He managed HBO’s on- demand service at Time Warner Inc., then went to work in marketing at the National Basketball Association. He started hunting for a franchise in 2004. Three years later, he bought the Beavers and the Timbers, Portland’s minor league soccer team, and moved his family from New York.

Paulson’s allies on the city council are Mayor Sam Adams and Commissioner Randy Leonard, a former fireman. Adams and Leonard say MLS will create jobs and bring visitors from rival cities. The Seattle Sounders started playing this year and sold out 22,000 season tickets. Vancouver will field a team in 2011.

School Protest

To foot part of the city’s bill, Adams agreed to draw the new urban renewal area around the existing baseball stadium. That part of the plan drew complaints from Ted Wheeler, chief executive of Multnomah County, which includes Portland and shares its tax base, and from Trudy Sargent, co-chair of the Portland School Board.

They protested because once a new urban renewal area is designated, the amount of tax the county and schools get from property there is frozen. Any increase from higher property values goes to pay off bonds sold to make improvements in the area, such as a new stadium.

“Creating a new urban renewal area could add to our fiscal crisis,” Wheeler said at the March meeting.

His criticism prompted the council to amend the soccer plan so they didn’t commit to the new area.

Paulson says Portland wouldn’t be the same without urban renewal. The program helped turn a seedy industrial area into a condo-and-restaurant district called the Pearl, and funded a light-rail line to the airport.

‘Politicized’

“This is a city that owes a tremendous amount to urban renewal districts,” Paulson said. “It’s become very politicized. That’s clear to me.”

After the city council vote, Adams said the amendment doesn’t preclude a new urban renewal area. It means that he must negotiate with Wheeler and the school board before designating the boundaries of one.

“We left the hearing with a broader array of potential funding sources,” Adams said.

Paulson is betting Adams can pull it off. If he can’t, the millionaire’s son will stay in the minor leagues.

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Dutch Success in Afghanistan May Hold Little Promise for Obama
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By Indira A.R. Lakshmanan

April 7 (Bloomberg) -- As U.S. President Barack Obama tries to change the course of the war in Afghanistan, the Dutch army’s gains there against the Taliban have captured the attention of his advisers. Temper your enthusiasm, say the Dutch.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton praised the Netherlands- led mission last week as an inspiration for the mix of military muscle and economic development at the heart of Obama’s new strategy. But officials in The Hague say the formula their forces have used to stabilize the south-central province of Uruzgan might not work across the rest of the country.

Though “elements of what we’re doing can be copied, replicated in other provinces,” it’s impossible to use the model where violent extremists are more numerous and hard-core, says Peter Mollema, a former top Dutch diplomat in Afghanistan. Mollema and his military counterpart were invited to Washington two months ago to brief General David Petraeus, head of U.S. Central Command, and administration officials.

“We told them yes, we think civil-military cooperation is essential,” Mollema says. “But this is a slow and incremental process, and there is no magic wand.”

The Dutch have focused on winning over and protecting the local population rather than seeking out the enemy, and transferring decision-making and responsibility for security and development to residents, the Afghan Army and police. With improved public safety, men who formed militias or allied with the Taliban for protection have a reason to lay down their arms, the Dutch say.

‘Dig It Yourselves’

“We tell them ‘if you want a well, we deliver the shovels, but you dig it yourselves,’” said Lieutenant Bart Noordzij during a break from a recent training exercise in central Holland that included role-playing outreach to local tribes. “If you want to run a shop, we’ll make sure you get education in how to run a shop, but you have to open it yourself.” Noordzij, 27, served in Uruzgan in 2006 and returns in July.

Obama wants to make Afghanistan and neighboring Pakistan inhospitable for al-Qaeda terrorists plotting attacks on the U.S. That means Afghanistan, a country ravaged by war for 30 years, needs security and basic services, and locals must take charge of both for them to be sustainable, an administration review concluded.

Announcing his new plan on March 27, Obama committed to send hundreds of U.S. civilians and 21,000 more troops for combat and training this year. The reinforcements are intended to curb Taliban violence and expand Afghan security forces. Clinton said development-aid programs must start to show results after wasting “heartbreaking” sums. The U.S. Agency for International Development has spent about $7 billion on nonmilitary funding since 2002.

‘Intelligent Enemy’

“This is going to get harder before it gets easier,” Petraeus told the Senate Armed Services Committee April 1. “This is a thinking and intelligent enemy and we must adapt.” he added. “What works today won’t necessarily work tomorrow, and what works today in one place won’t work necessarily in the other.”

The Netherlands is among 42 nations that contribute coalition forces to Afghanistan. Its Uruzgan mission has almost 2,000 soldiers, among them reservists with civilian expertise and 12 diplomats, including a civil servant with as much authority as the top soldier.

Though the Dutch have won over villagers from Taliban control and enjoyed the only dip in enemy attacks in southern Afghanistan last year, they are set to pull out their troops in 2010. As in other European nations, public support has waned as the war has dragged into an eighth year.

Complicated, Costly

Chief of Defense General Peter van Uhm knows firsthand how complicated the faraway mission is -- and its cost. The April morning after he became the top Dutch officer last year, his son, a 23-year-old lieutenant, was killed by a Taliban-made roadside bomb in Afghanistan.

Nineteen Dutch have died there; the latest was a soldier killed in an April 6 rocket attack on the Netherlands’ main military base in Uruzgan. The total is a fraction of the losses for British and Canadian troops in neighboring provinces.

Van Uhm believes as strongly as ever in what the Dutch and other coalition partners are trying to accomplish -- and what the Obama administration wants to replicate -- by marrying the “three Ds of defense, diplomacy and development.”

“If you want to get Afghanistan back on its feet again, the military alone will never give you that result,” says van Uhm, whose conference table at defense headquarters in The Hague is surrounded by photos of Dutch soldiers and diplomats alongside Afghan security forces and aid workers.

Hunting Insurgents

Not everyone is convinced that keeping soldiers in population centers instead of having them hunt down insurgents is the right paradigm.

“The Dutch model is essentially defensive” and works only because the Taliban doesn’t feel threatened by Dutch aid projects, says Gilles Dorronsoro, an Afghanistan scholar at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington. If the Dutch left, “the place could be taken by the Taliban in a matter of hours.”

Colonel Leo Beulen, head of operations for the Dutch Defense Ministry, says the majority of fighters identified as Taliban are simply peasants who make alliances to survive. He believes Obama is right that many militants can be reconciled without firing a shot.

Still, extrapolating the Dutch success to other Afghan provinces would require a real civilian surge, says Ken Katzman, senior analyst at the Congressional Research Service in Washington. He defines that as enough senior diplomats and technical specialists to share decision-making at local levels with military commanders.

Afghan Culture

Obama should implement his strategy in a way that is patient and respectful of Afghan culture, says Farah Karimi, a former member of the Dutch parliament who worked in Afghanistan for the United Nations Development Program and now funds Afghan projects through the Oxfam International aid organization in the Netherlands. Expectations for the U.S. were very high after the ouster of the Taliban, and Afghans became disillusioned when the U.S. shifted its focus to Iraq.

The biggest challenge, she says, will be “to win back the trust of the people.”

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「野菜工場」政府支援…室内で安定栽培、レタス２０連作も
１～３月にかけて経済産業省内に設置されたモデル野菜工場。イチゴとレタスを栽培している

　野菜や果物を、室内で安定的に栽培する「野菜工場」の普及に、政府が本格的に乗り出す。

　工場建設費の低利融資や設備投資減税などを行い、今後３年間で工場数を約４倍の１５０か所、生産量を約５倍に引き上げることを目指す。「安全・安心」の食材として外食産業などでの需要が高まっている上、新たな雇用を生み出すと期待され、政府・与党が取りまとめる追加の景気対策に盛り込む。

　野菜工場は、内部を外気から遮断し、空調で温度や湿度を一定に保ち、植物の生育に必要な光や水、二酸化炭素のほか、温度や栄養分などはコンピューター管理する。品質や形を均一にしやすく、害虫の混入も防げるため農薬も使わずに済む。すでに大手食品メーカーなどが全国で約４０施設を稼働させている。品目はレタスやトマト、イチゴなど約１０品目で、レタスは年２０回の連作が可能だという。

　野菜工場の設置場所は、工場跡地や耕作放棄地、商店街の空き店舗などを想定している。遊休地の活用と、高齢化が進む農村対策に有効で、新たな雇用を生み出す期待もある。だが、大規模な野菜工場の建設費は十数億円に達する上、農業と工場を組み合わせる野菜工場は、立地規制があいまいな面もあるため、政府は法整備を進める。

　空調コストなどから、野菜などの店頭価格は通常よりも２～３割高くなる「欠点」を解消するため、野菜工場の省エネルギー技術化を支援するなどし、生産コストを今後３年間で約３割減らす目標も掲げている。

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海外から株取引…インサイダー容疑、投資会社元会長を逮捕

　東証２部上場の投資事業会社「ジェイ・ブリッジ」（東京都墨田区）の元会長が、ジェイ社の業績予想が悪化することを知りながら、公表前に保有していたジェイ社株を売却した疑いが強まり、東京地検特捜部は８日、同社元会長・野田英孝容疑者（５４）を旧証券取引法（現金融商品取引法）違反（インサイダー取引）容疑で逮捕した。

　野田容疑者はシンガポールに開設した口座を使って発注を繰り返しており、国境を越えて株取引を行う「クロスボーダー取引」の摘発は初めて。

　発表などによると、ジェイ社は２００６年５月１２日、同年３月期の連結業績予想で、経常利益を当初より６０億円下方修正することなどを公表した。野田容疑者は取締役会長としてこの情報を知りつつ、公表前の同年５月８日～１１日、法人名義で保有していたジェイ社株７万株を約６５００万円で売り抜け、約２０００万円の損失を回避した疑い。

　ジェイ社の株価は、野田容疑者が株を売却した当時は一株９００円台で推移していたが、下方修正の情報を公表した後の同年５月末には５００円台に落ち込んだ。

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US moves against Iran nuclear trade

By Joanna Chung in New York and Daniel Dombey in,Washington

Published: April 8 2009 03:00 | Last updated: April 8 2009 03:00

New York prosecutors joined the Obama administration yesterday in shutting down a China-based network that allegedly supplied Iran's nuclear and missile programmes with the unwitting aid of some of Wall Street's biggest banks.

The move comes as Washington seeks to slow down Tehran's progress towards nuclear arms capability, and President Barack Obama tries to win time for possible negotiations with Iran. It may also prove a test of the administration's relationship with Beijing, which has so far been unenthusiastic about sanctions on Tehran.

Robert Morgenthau, the Manhattan district attorney, unsealed an 118-count indictment, accusing Li Fang Wei, a Chinese national, of setting up front companies to disguise the illegal sales.

The indictment claims that Mr Li, also known as Karl Lee, used different names and the front companies to access the US bank system, using at least six big banks, including Citigroup, JPMorgan and Bank of America. The US Treasury banned individuals and companies from doing business with Mr Li, eight front companies and six alleged connected Iranian groups.

New York banks were allegedly used to provide dollar financing for sales of components to Iran in a complex chain that involved payments by Iranian banks in euros and dollar transactions by Chinese institutions. Under changes instituted by the Bush administration, Iranian banks are themselves no longer able to access dollar financing.

"Our banks have high standards and sophisticated systems to stop these transactions, but this conduct was specifically designed to defeat their systems," said Mr Morgenthau. "We may not be able to shut down Mr Li's factories, but we can shine a spotlight on his conduct. We want the public and the [US] leadership to understand the extent of the efforts by Iran to buy these banned materials."

He said he would seek Mr Li's extradition and did not know whether China's government was aware of the alleged scheme. The Chinese embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

At the heart of the case is Mr Li's company, LIMMT Economic and Trade Company. The administration has banned US groups from dealing with LIMMT since June 2006 on the grounds that it provides material support to Iran's missile programme, which analysts see as one of the three components of nuclear weapons capability, together with building warheads and uranium enrichment.

Mr Morgenthau said Mr Li's companies acquired financing to ship large quantities of components to Iran's missile and nuclear programmes between November 2006 and September 2008.

These included 24,500kg of steel rods, which could be used for both missiles and centrifuges for enrichment; 15,000kg of specialised aluminium alloy, used almost exclusively for long-range missiles; and tonnes of other substances. Mr Morgenthau's office said "dozens" of illegal payments had financed such transactions.

The Iranian missile and nuclear programmes and the groups supplying them have been targeted by the United Nations Security Council since 2006. But many analysts say US actions to block Iran's access to the global banking system have been more effective in increasing Tehran's programme costs.

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Gates to slash top military projects

By Sylvia Pfeiffer in London and Demetri Sevastopulo in,Washington

Published: April 7 2009 03:00 | Last updated: April 7 2009 03:00

Robert Gates, US defence secretary, yesterday unveiled an overhaul of defence priorities, taking an axe to some high-profile weapons programmes as part of his spending proposals for 2010.

He said that the Pentagon would place more emphasis on "irregular" warfare as he outlined a series of programme cuts and additions as part of President Barack Obama's $534bn defence budget.

The defence chief said that the Pentagon had to rebalance its programmes to "institutionalise and finance our capabilities to fight the wars we are in today and the scenarios we are most likely to face in the years ahead".

Mr Gates proposed dramatic changes, including cancelling the VH-71 helicopter programme, which saw Lockheed team up with AgustaWestland, the UK subsidiary of Italy's Finmeccanica, and proposing a new competition for the contract. Mr Obama this year signalled that the contract was in danger when he said it had "gone amok".

The Marine One helicopter programme, as it is known, was widely welcomed in Europe when it was won in 2005 as it signalled that the Pentagon was willing to award big deals to consortiums with large non-US partners. Mr Gates said the Pentagon would launch another competition to supply the air force with refuelling tankers later this year.

The Pentagon will also end production of the F-22 Raptor fighter jet at 187 jets. While that would affect Lockheed Martin, the Maryland-based company would benefit from plans to increase production next year of the F-35 Lightning II fighter jet.

Mr Gates also proposed a major restructuring of US missile defence programmes, ordering cuts that would slice $1.4bn off the previous $10bn budget for 2010. The US would focus on "rogue" missile threats, such as from North Korea, which this weekend fired a long-range rocket over Japan.

Boeing's anti-missile Airborne Laser programme made with subcontractors Northrop Grumman and Lockheed Martin would be limited to one test aircraft under the proposals.

"Secretary Gates has made some important and transformative strategic decisions today in regards to the defence budget," said Gordon Adams of the National Security Network.

The budget proposals were welcomed by critics of the ballooning in defence spending after 9/11. But politicians welcomed his overall plans while criticising cuts in projects that would affect their districts.

Shares in the major defence contractors gained after the announcement. Analysts said investors saw the news as positive because it had put an end to months of uncertainty. Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman both rose about 9 per cent.

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UK bankers' pay plummets as bonuses are cut

By Jennifer Hughes

Published: April 7 2009 03:00 | Last updated: April 7 2009 03:00

UK bankers' average pay has plummeted in the past year, falling below Wall Street levels for the first time in three years as bonuses were slashed.

Average bonuses dropped 62 per cent in London, according to an industry survey by Napier Scott Search, the headhunter. Around the world, bonuses were 55 per cent lower.

The switch in favour of the US means some Wall Street bankers received up to 40 per cent more than their UK-based counterparts.

The slump in sterling, down 25 per cent on last year, accounted for a significant part of UK bankers' falling fortunes, but lower bonuses and the timing of those pay-outs were almost equally to blame.

Many UK banks decided and paid out their bonuses this year, while US banks tended to make their decisions in late November for year-end or early January pay-outs - before the public anger at the industry's pay practices reached the fever pitch seen in February, when European executives made their allocations.

In February, senior bankers faced a hostile committee of MPS to answer questions over their pay-outs.

European-based staff with bonuses paid in euros saw a 48 per cent fall in their package, but this would have been greater were it not for the strength of the euro against the pound.

The best-off were top-level private bankers within the biggest financial institutions, where remuneration held steady. Currency traders suffered the smallest bonus cuts, while bankers in structured credit - the complex asset class at the heart of the financial crisis - were the hardest hit, with an average fall of 86 per cent.

"The banks weren't acknowledging any political or social pressure in November. The timing combined to make European institutions far more socially aware when it came to the bonus issue," said Shaun Springer of Napier Scott.

Last year's pay-outs still included bonuses that far outweighed basic compensation. However, Mr Springer expects that structure to change in the coming years, even as he expects overall packages to fall further.

"Say you had someone who last year earned £1m, of which £100,000 was basic. The absolute trend is that in five or six years' time, an individual of similar experience will be earning £300,000 basic and £300,000 bonus. That will be in both Europe and the US," he said.

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CMA CGM set to return vessels as demand slumps

By Robert Wright in London

Published: April 8 2009 03:00 | Last updated: April 8 2009 03:00

The operator of the world's third-largest container ship fleet could hand hundreds of chartered vessels back to their owners this year as it seeks to cut costs in the face of slumping traffic volumes.

Marseilles-based CMA CGM said charters on 182 of the 395 vessels it operates would expire this year. It could hand many of these back to their owners, mostly German finance vehicles.

CMA CGM, privately held by Syrian-born Jacques Saadé and his family, has been one of the fastestgrowing container lines of the past few years and, according to Paris-based AXS-Alphaliner, has enough ships on order to expand its fleet by 59 per cent.

However, compared with other important container lines, it charters a very high proportion of its fleet - 75 per cent - rather than owning them directly.

Operators with large numbers of chartered ships have far more flexibility about their fleet size in market downturns but generally face higher costs to secure ships than direct owners. CMA CGM announced its plans as part of a $600m cost-saving programme announced yesterday alongside its 2008 results. Net income for the year fell to $124m on $15.1bn revenue for 2008, against $966m on $11.8bn revenue for 2007.

Jean-Yves Shapiro, finance director, said the fall in profit was mostly down to a $700m write-off of the value of instruments to hedge against high fuel prices.

While other container carriers have said they expect to lose money this year, Mr Shapiro said he expected CMA CGM to remain profitable. Because of its size and range of operations - CMA CGM is a specialist in the still increasing Africa and South America trades - the company was less dependent than others on the unprofitable Asia-Europe route, he said.

Mr Shapiro declined to say exactly how many of the chartered vessels CMA CGM would hand back. He said the company had already returned 50 ships this year, while chartering a further 20 to 25. Prices to charter the new ships were 70 per cent less than the prices charterers were demanding last July, when the market was at its peak.

A combination of new ship deliveries, handing back of chartered ships and new charters of cheaper vessels could keep CMA CGM's fleet size roughly stable, Mr Shapiro said.

"We're not expecting to shrink the fleet," he said. "We're in a position where we can adjust the fleet to the volumes we transport."

CMA CGM's flexibility meant it would not have to lay up large numbers of vessels out of use, he added. Many container lines, including Singapore's Neptune Orient Lines and Denmark's Maersk Line have had to put vessels into storage to save money.

CMA CGM was also negotiating with shipyards over orders but only to delay deliveries, rather than to cancel them altogether as some container lines have done, Mr Shapiro said.

CMA CGM's plans highlight the problems facing the many specialist investors in container ships, mostly funds based in Hamburg as hundreds of expensive but unemployed container ships are returned to them.

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Gazprom in $4.2bn deal with Eni over Neft asset

By Carola Hoyos in London

Published: April 8 2009 03:00 | Last updated: April 8 2009 03:00

Gazprom, Russia's natural gas monopoly, yesterday signed a $4.2bn deal to acquire Italian oil group Eni's 20 per cent stake in Gazprom Neft.

Alexei Miller, Gazprom's chief executive, had long warned Eni that he would be exercising his right to buy the asset, but concerns over whether the Russian company would be able to come up with the financing created the possibility that the purchase would have to be delayed.

Gazprom has been struggling under the weight of the global financial crisis, the drop in the value of the rouble, the collapse in oil and gas prices and the decline in gas demand from Europe, its most important market.

But the company has a strong ally in the Kremlin, for which it is the strategically most important company.

Gazprom Neft, its oil arm, is seen as an asset Russia was reluctant to give up.

Paolo Scaroni, chief executive of Eni, said in an interview yesterday: "I always said I wanted to keep it. What I didn't like was the grey area, the possibility of payment in kind or a delay."

He added that it was not a big surprise that Gazprom was able to come up with the financing because Gazprom Neft was the " crème de la crème " of the Russian oil business with the 1m barrels it produces each day being relatively cheap to extract and the company paying dividends.

"It's not very big money, $4.2bn," he said.

For Eni, it means the company will be able to reduce some of its €18bn ($23.9bn) debt as it continues its aggressive capital expenditure programme.

Eni bought the 20 per cent stake in Gazprom Neft at auction in 2007 following the dismantling of Yukos, which had owned the assets until it was nationalised and its politically ambitious chief executive was imprisoned on charges of tax evasion.

Gazprom gained the right to buy back the stake within two years.

The $4.2bn price tag is equal to the price Eni paid, plus interest.

Gazprom will also exercise its option to buy a majority stake in gas assets acquired by Enel and Eni after the collapse of Yukos.

Flavio Conti, chief executive of Enel, said yesterday that the deal would be signed this month.

Investors had been worried that Eni would have faced difficulties continuing to pay its dividend without going into further debt had the cash injection from Gazprom failed to materialise.

Analysts at Sanford Bernstein, the financial services group, said in a recent report: "Eni already has the highest leverage of any of the majors, and therefore the company may struggle to increase debt without putting its credit rating at risk."

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Sukhoi sells stake to Finmeccanica

By Charles Clover and Guy Dinmore

Published: April 8 2009 03:00 | Last updated: April 8 2009 03:00

Russia's Sukoi Sukhoi Corp said yesterday it had sold a 25 per cent stake in its civil aviation division to Finmeccanica, the Italian aerospace and defence group, for $183m following their two-year joint venture to produce the regional Sukhoi Superjet 100.

Finmeccanica said the SSJ100 had received 98 orders to date. It confirmed the purchase by its Alenia Aeronautica unit but declined to put a figure on the value of the deal, which analysts said underlined the growing strategic business relationship between Russian and Italian companies under state control in energy, security and infrastructure.

First delivery of the SSJ100 is scheduled for the end of this year to Aeroflot.

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US fund freezes Argentine assets

By Jude Webber

Published: April 8 2009 03:00 | Last updated: April 8 2009 03:00

A US fund has succeeded in temporarily freezing Argentine assets in France in a quest by creditors burned by Buenos Aires' sovereign default in 2001 to recover their funds.

Elliott Associates, one of the biggest creditors that is owed some $1bn (€753m, £679m) in total, said Argentine state assets "held by a long list of banks and commercial entities with which Argentina does business", had been frozen. A spokesman said the firm would pursue "all available legal remedies" to recover its investment.

Elliott and other funds are also pursuing actions in New York that have resulted in Argentine assets being embargoed in the US.

Argentina defaulted on $95bn of debt in 2001 and creditors are now owed $29bn, including interest.

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【舞鶴・少女殺害事件】京都府警が会見「ノーコメント」繰り返す　
2009.4.7 21:32
中勝美容疑者の逮捕について記者会見する京都府警の西裕捜査1課長（右）＝７日午後、京都府警本部中勝美容疑者の逮捕について記者会見する京都府警の西裕捜査1課長（右）＝７日午後、京都府警本部

　「捜査の支障になるので言えない」。舞鶴市の高１少女殺害事件で中勝美容疑者を逮捕した京都府警幹部は７日、記者会見したが、矢継ぎ早に飛ぶ質問に「ノーコメント」を繰り返し、捜査の詳細は明らかにしなかった。

　京都市の府警本部で午後３時に始まった記者会見には報道陣約７０人が詰め掛けた。３月に就任したばかりの西裕捜査１課長は「捜査を進め、証拠を固めて本日逮捕した。適正な捜査をした」と硬い表情。「どんな証拠があるのか」「容疑者を特定した経緯は」との質問が続いたが「詳しいことは言えない」の一点張りだった。

　昨年１１月に６日間かけて容疑者宅を家宅捜索したことについては「必要な捜査をやっただけ」。「本当に証拠が固まったと信じていいのか」と詰め寄る記者には「やるべき捜査を尽くしている」とだけ語った。

---------------------------
極めて異例な捜査手法
2009.4.7 13:37
京都・山科署に入る中勝美容疑者を乗せた警察車両＝７日午後１時３分京都・山科署に入る中勝美容疑者を乗せた警察車両＝７日午後１時３分

　事件や犯罪に詳しいジャーナリストの大谷昭宏氏　「これまでの（京都府警の）捜査手法は極めて異例。大規模な家宅捜索で物的な確証や聞き込みによる有力な情報も得られなかった。逮捕するまでの捜査が極めて遅く、（今回の逮捕に結びつく）防犯カメラの映像解析なども有力な証拠とはいえない。状況証拠の積み重ねで逮捕できても起訴へのハードルは高く、起訴できても公判を維持するのは難しい。今後（捜査当局には）容疑者の自供が頼りとなるが、５月から始まる裁判員制度をにらみ取り調べは全面的に可視化すべきだろう」

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「裁判員制度」避ける？舞鶴殺人事件、異例の“一括逮捕”

　京都府舞鶴市で府立東舞鶴高浮島分校１年小杉美穂さん（当時１５歳）が殺害された事件で、府警は今回、中勝美容疑者を殺人と死体遺棄の両容疑で一括して逮捕することを選択した。

　物証の乏しい殺人事件の場合、警察当局は死体遺棄など関連容疑で逮捕し、２０日間の拘置期限まで取り調べた後、殺人容疑で再逮捕することが多い。今回もこの手法を取って拘置期限を最も長く取れば、来月２１日が拘置満期になる計算だ。

　来月２１日は、同日以降に起訴された殺人などの事件が裁判員裁判の対象となる大きな節目。７日に記者会見した京都府警の西裕捜査１課長は「裁判員裁判とは関係ない」と述べたが、府警や京都地検の一部には、「裁判員ではなく、職業裁判官に判断してもらいたい」という声があったことは確かだ。物証や自供がない中、状況証拠を積み上げて容疑者を逮捕した今回の捜査を、裁判員がどう評価するかは不透明で、捜査当局はぎりぎりの決断を迫られたとみられる。

　同じように直接的な物証がなかった「和歌山・毒物カレー事件」（１９９８年７月）の公判では、林真須美被告（４７）の自宅周辺から見つかったヒ素と、カレー鍋のヒ素の同一性が高いとする鑑定結果や、現場の夏祭りの分刻みのタイムテーブルなどの状況証拠をもとに、林被告しかヒ素を混入できなかったことを立証。１、２審で有罪判決を導き出した（上告審判決は今月２１日に言い渡し）。

　京都府警も今回、防犯カメラの映像や新たな目撃証言から、中容疑者にしか犯行は不可能との結論にたどり着いたとしている。しかし中容疑者がどこで被害者と会い、その後、どう行動したのかは明らかになっていない。今後の捜査で、起訴や公判を維持できるだけの証拠を固めることができるのか注目される。