Uruguay off tax haven 'black list': OECD

Uruguay off tax haven 'black list': OECD

Yesterday, 09:54 pm
AFP

Uruguay has been taken off the OECD blacklist of tax havens that had not agreed to respect international standards, after assurances from the country's finance minister, the organisation said Friday.

"The OECD welcomed today the formal endorsement by Uruguay of its tax information exchange standards," said the Paris-based organisation in a statement published on its website.

Uruguayan Finance Minister Alvaro Garcia had written to Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development secretary general, Angel Gurria, formally endorsing the organisation's standards in this area, it added.

The letter accepted the "standards on transparency and exchange of information, as set out in the 2005 version of Article 26 of the OECD Model Tax Convention," said the statement.

"I am pleased that Uruguay joins a growing number of nations willing to co-operate in fighting tax evasion and other tax abuses," Gurria said in the statement.

On Thursday, just hours after the G20 summit agreed to crack down on tax havens, the OECD released a "league table" of countries listed according to their degree of compliance with international standards in this area.

Uruguay was classed in the lowest category, along with -- Costa Rica, Malaysia and the Philippines -- designating countries that had "not committed to the internationally agreed tax standard."

Uruguay was quick to deny the accusation.

"In Uruguay, we are not a tax haven. Uruguay may not be a monastery, but it is not a casino," Uruguay's President Tabare Vazquez said Friday, during a visit to Chile for the summit of center-left world leaders.

Central Bank chief Mario Bergara also told reporters that the country's financial system was "sound" and "serious."

The nation's banking was constrained by strict regulation, especially the approval of Tax Reform legislation in 2007, he added.

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Luxury brands in HK weather the sales crisis

By Raphael Minder

Published: April 4 2009 03:24 | Last updated: April 4 2009 04:07

Three months ago, John Hardy, a Bali-based jeweller, opened its first store in Hong Kong, inside the International Finance Centre, one of the city’s main luxury shopping malls.

The timing might have seemed ominous. Hong Kong had just entered its first recession since 2003. The shop’s inauguration coincided with a round of job cuts by Hong Kong’s financial institutions, some of them also housed within the IFC.

The store has, however, since performed above expectations, including a “very good” February that, according to Guy Dernoncourt, John Hardy’s chief executive, was about 50 per cent above the company’s budgeted forecast. The jewellery is getting sold “almost at full retail price,” Mr Dernoncourt says, with occasional discounts “more because that is part of the Asian mentality rather than because there is a crisis.”

Indeed, Mr Dernoncourt says that John Hardy is on track to open a second, larger Hong Kong store before year-end. And, while few other fashion executives might be thinking about expansion now, many do argue that Hong Kong is holding up well thanks essentially to a continued influx of visitors from the Chinese mainland.

As Paul Cadman, Asia-Pacific chief executive for the Italian fashion house Salvatore Ferragamo, explains: “The business environment has been getting worse in mature markets. Although Hong Kong is one of these, the continued influx of leisure and business tourists offsets this downturn. Stores [that make a] large portion of [their] sales to mainland tourists, therefore, are holding their own, such as our flagship in Canton Road.”

Executives of luxury brands differ in their assessment of what proportion of their Hong Kong sales to ascribe to mainland buyers, with estimates ranging from 40 to 80 per cent. But the mainland’s importance has clearly soared over recent years, not only for Hong Kong but also for the neighbouring gambling centre of Macao, which recently suffered a major economic blow when Beijing tightened its travel visa regime.

Morgan Parker, president of the Asian arm of Taubman Centers, a leading shopping mall developer, suggests that the performance of Hong Kong stores can, in part, be measured in terms of how close they are to the traditional hunting grounds of mainland shoppers. Elements, Hong Kong’s newest shopping mall, was built above a train and bus terminal that connects the Kowloon district directly to Shenzhen airport, on the Chinese mainland.

“The Chinese consumer has become crucial to Hong Kong,” says Parker, “particularly for luxury retailers, and there seems to be no noticeable abatement in the number of shopping-orientated visits by mainland Chinese ... My observation, based on retail industry discussions, is that sales in Hong Kong island stores are now a little bit softer than in Kowloon. Chinese tourists tend to stay in Kowloon hotels but it could be that the propensity of Hong Kong residents to consume is waning a bit.”

That might also explain why mid-range brands that are not top of the shopping list for mainland visitors are taking a bigger hit. Underlining the difficulties in that segment, one of the earliest and most high-profile victims of the economic downturn was U-right, a listed Hong Kong fashion brand that went bankrupt last October.

Paul Ho, Hong Kong retail manager for the Italian denim brand Miss Sixty expects sales in the mid-range segment to fall by an average of 20 per cent this year, although he predicts that his company, which has eight stores in Hong Kong, will limit the decline to between 10 and 15 per cent.

He admits, however, that “we might be closing one or two [stores],” to rein in costs and to respond to widening discrepancies in the performance of his stores. “The sales drop in most stores compared to last Christmas was about 10 per cent, but we were actually up in a few places,” he says, including in Sogo, a giant department store in Causeway Bay. “Sogo is a place where we rotate merchandise very frequently and people right now are just not going to come back to a shop if they don’t find straightaway the right size.”

Similarly, an executive of a leading European brand says that at least one smaller Hong Kong outlet is currently “under review,” given the widening gap between its profitability and that of the flagship store. “Managing a slowdown does require some adjustments, both in terms of surface area and inventory, but the China story remains one of growth rather than collapse,” he says.

His company was also among many leading brands that, in order to reduce excess inventories before year-end, held Hong Kong sales early – last November – offering discounts on shoes and handbags of as much as 70 per cent. In previous years such sales would typically take place after the Christmas spending spree.

Still, executives believe that, if anything, the downturn will highlight the robustness of a Hong Kong market where high property prices helped to keep retail development in check during the recent boom years.

Parker from Taubman says: “Yes, the economic downturn will free up some space, and some marginal businesses will relocate to cheaper space or even close stores, but there is no risk of a major imbalance in the Hong Kong retail property market because there are simply no big new mall projects here.

“The waiting list for prime shopping malls is still pretty long. It’s not like in Japan where we are now seeing signs that the retail market is cracking.”

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Swiss counters impact of tax haven listing

By Vanessa Houlder in London and Haig Simonian in Zurich

Published: April 4 2009 02:11 | Last updated: April 4 2009 02:11

An attack by Switzerland on the list that forms the basis of the Group of 20 summit’s crackdown on tax evasion was batted away on Friday by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, which insisted Switzerland had not been stigmatised as a tax haven.

In a statement on a three-tier list issued by the OECD categorising tax havens and financial centres by their degree of co-operation, the Swiss finance ministry said: “President Hans-Rudolf Merz regrets this procedure. The list does not specify the criteria on the basis of which it was drawn up. Switzerland is not a tax haven.”

But Angel Gurría, secretary-general of the Paris-based OECD, said Switzerland’s appearance on a list of “other financial centres” that had not substantially implemented international standards meant it was not being treated as a tax haven.

“Members of the OECD, like Austria, Luxembourg, Switzerland and Belgium, are not tax havens,” he said.

Mr Merz tried to present the result as a success for Swiss diplomacy by having escaped inclusion on the “blacklist”. But behind the scenes many Swiss politicians were angry at their government’s apparent slowness in reacting to the growing threat to bank secrecy and the alleged “duplicity” of some of Switzerland’s international partners.

Mr Gurría said he expected the pressure from the G20 to prompt sufficient reform to render sanctions unnecessary. “They must know the game is over. There is nowhere to hide any more.”

But he warned that a meeting of G20 finance ministers in November might be too soon for the necessary legislative changes to be made in some jurisdictions. “We will see progress by November but we should not have these deadlines.”

Countries that were perceived to be making no progress might be put in a category of those unwilling or unable to meet the standard, he said. “One has to consider that if a country made a commitment in year 2000 and haven’t moved and have zero agreements, they were obviously not serious.”

Promises of greater transparency were extracted from all but a handful of the tax havens at the start of the decade. The OECD has published dates at which commitments were made.

● Hong Kong and Macao were at the centre of a heated debate at the G20, with the presidents of China and France arguing over their inclusion in the list of controversial tax havens, writes Tom Mitchell in Hong Kong. Donald Tsang, Hong Kong’s chief executive, said: “Indeed our tax rates are low but this does not mean we harbour irregularities in our system.”

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‘Offshore’ is not a no-go area – yet

By Ellen Kelleher

Published: April 3 2009 17:59 | Last updated: April 3 2009 17:59


Offshore tax havens still have their uses for tax planning, advisers say – in spite of a new raft of rules to limit bank secrecy and discourage Britons from moving money outside the UK.

Switzerland, Austria, Luxembourg and Macau are among the latest jurisdictions to agree to implement standards for transparency set by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

Regulators from the US Internal Revenue Service, meanwhile, are pressing UBS for the records of wealthy Americans. And world leaders at this week’s G20 summit agreed to take action against “uncooperative” offshore centres.

Indeed, the recent string of concessions on tax secrecy by the world’s leading private wealth centres is considered a breakthrough in the global assault on tax evasion being waged by the US, the UK and most European governments.

UK prime minister Gordon Brown and US president Barack Obama have both said eradicating tax havens is a priority – at a time when tax revenues are shrinking as a result of the economic crisis.

So, where does this leave private investors with portfolios offshore? The consensus is that while tax havens still offer benefits – particularly for non-domiciled UK residents looking to keep assets outside the Revenue’s tax net – their usefulness is diminishing.

So, while global markets are under siege, many investors are being advised to keep their portfolios within the UK.

“One of the fundamental problems is that offshore tax havens have had a lot of bad press,” says Steve Georgala, managing director of Maitland, the advisory firm. “It’s not easy for someone to move large chunks of money from one place to another. It’s not as if you wake up one morning and say ‘I’m going to bank offshore and not tell anyone about it’.”

The traditional way to take advantage of a tax haven is either to move there and become a resident for tax purposes, or to transfer assets to a company or a trust held within the jurisdiction to reduce tax paid on capital gains and income.

The Channel Islands – Jersey and Guernsey – and the Isle of Man are popular in both regards for UK residents, as are the Cayman Islands and Monaco where no income tax is paid.

However, offshore regulatory regimes are changing.

Guernsey has been forced to adapt its tax policy in the face of international criticism of harmful tax practices. The island has complied fully with the EU Code of Conduct on Business Taxation and the International Monetary Fund is to reassess its financial, regulatory and criminal justice structure.

Jersey has revamped its tax structures and increased co-operation with other jurisdictions in the exchange of information. Critics had attacked the fact that Jersey levied no tax on the corporate profits of companies with non-resident shareholders, while charging companies owned by resident shareholders 20 per cent.

But gaining residency in Jersey has long been perceived as a difficult process. The much-coveted 1(1)K status is reserved for wealthy individuals.

These residents pay a minimum of £100,000 a year in income tax. The first £1m of their taxable global income is taxed at 20 per cent, the next £500,000 at 10 per cent and anything above that at 1 per cent. So it is not worth considering a move if your taxable income is less than £500,000.

For investors planning to remain in the UK but wanting to keep some money in tax-advantaged jurisdictions, offshore investment bonds offer two advantages.

First, all income and capital gains within the bond are tax-free when they arise if they are never brought into the UK, apart from certain withholding taxes that may apply to dividends arising from UK equities or funds.

Second, up to 5 per cent of the original capital invested may be withdrawn each year, for 20 years, with the tax on the withdrawal deferred until the bond is encashed.

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Bankers warm to Abu Dhabi debt office plan

By Robin Wigglesworth in Abu Dhabi

Published: April 2 2009 04:04 | Last updated: April 2 2009 04:04

Bankers on Wednesday welcomed news that the oil-rich emirate of Abu Dhabi plans to set up a debt management office to handle its $10bn bond programme, the first $3bn of which was successfully raised on Wednesday.

Abu Dhabi has little need to borrow, but said it wants to secure financing for important projects and provide a sovereign yield curve for companies.

The Middle East debt market is small compared with the size of the region’s economy, due to a preference for share sales and direct bank lending, and a dearth of sovereign issuance to provide a pricing curve for companies.

An Abu Dhabi debt management office could invigorate the regional debt markets further, said Nish Popat, head of fixed income at ING Investment Management in Dubai.

“It would be a huge leap for the regional capital markets, as others will follow”, said Mr Popat.

“This issue is not about raising money but about setting up a yield curve.”

Saudi Arabia’s central bank handles that country’s sovereign debt, and an Abu Dhabi debt office would be the first in the region, he added.

Abu Dhabi cut short a road show for two initial tranches of its bond programme on Wednesday, after raising its target more cheaply than expected. A $1.5bn five-year bond went for 400 basis points above comparable US Treasuries, while a $1.5bn ten-year bond sold at a 420 basis point spread.

Abu Dhabi’s yield “is quite generous, but since it was the first issue from the region for some time, they wanted to give it a bit of extra ‘juice’ to make sure that it went well,” said Mr Popat.

A senior economist who attended the Abu Dhabi bond road show said officials stressed that the money would be spent on diversifying the emirate’s economy – not to lend to Dubai, Abu Dhabi’s debt-laden neighbour.

However, the economist said it could also be used to replenish reserves at the UAE central bank, which has seen its coffers depleted by an exodus of international capital, protecting a currency peg to the dollar and a $10bn lifeline to Dubai.

Reserves fell to $34bn in November from a peak of $83bn in March, the economist said.

Qatar also gave guidance for its planned $2bn bond sale on Wednesday. A five-year $1bn tranche has been priced around 350 basis points, and a ten-year $1bn tranche has been priced at 400 basis points, according to a credit strategist.

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US may cede to Iran's nuclear ambition

By Daniel Dombey in Washington

Published: April 4 2009 03:00 | Last updated: April 4 2009 03:00

US officials are considering whether to accept Iran's pursuit of uranium enrichment, which has been outlawed by the United Nations and remains at the heart of fears that Iran is seeking nuclear weapons capability.

As part of a policy review commissioned by President Barack Obama, diplomats are discussing whether the US will eventually have to accept Iran's insistence on carrying out the process, which can produce both nuclear fuel and weapons- grade material.

"There's a fundamental impasse between the western demand for no enrichment and the Iranian dem-and to continue enrichment," says Mark Fitzpat-rick, a former state depart-- --ment expert now at the International Institute for Strategic Studies. "There's no obvious compromise bet-ween those two positions."

The US has insisted that Iran stop enrichment, although Mr Fitzpatrick notes that international offers put to Tehran during George W. Bush's second term as president left the door open to the possible resumption of enrichment.

"There is a growing recognition in [Washington] that the zero [enrichment] solution, though still favoured, simply is unfeasible," says Trita Parsi, president of the National Iranian American Council. "The US may still have zero as its opening position, while recognising it may not be where things stand at the end of a potential agreement."

Yesterday, Mr Obama summarised the US message to Iran as, "Don't develop a nuclear weapon" - a form of words that would not rule out a deal accepting Iranian enrichment. Mr Bush was much more specific in calling Iran to halt enrichment.

A series of UN Security Council resolutions since 2006 has forbidden Iran from enriching uranium, with the European Union, Russia and China backing US calls for Tehran to halt the process.

But Iran has sped up its programme during that time and has installed more than 5,500 centrifuges to enrich uranium and has amassed a stockpile of more than 1,000kg of low-enriched uranium - enough, if it were enriched to higher levels, to produce fissile material for one bomb. "Across the political spectrum in Iran, enrichment as a right has become a non-negotiable position," Mr Parsi said.

Asked last month whether the administration was considering allowing Iran to keep a limited enrichment capability, Robert Wood, a state department spokesman, said: "I don't know . . . Let's let the review be completed and then we can spell out our policies."

Some analysts say priority should be given to winning greater access for UN inspectors, to acquire more information about Iran's enrichment plant in Natanz and fill in gaps in knowledge on Iran's nuclear-related activities across the country.

That could provide warning of any move to enrich uranium to weapons grade levels at Natanz and ease fears of clandestine facilities.

Privately both US and Israeli officials say that even the current, more limited inspection regime at Natanz would provide sufficient warning of any "breakout" towards a nuclear bomb. Outside Natanz, by contrast, information on Iran's programme is diminishing.

The US line that Iran is seeking the capability to develop nuclear weapons - but not necessarily such weapons themselves - contrasts with Mr Bush's insistence while in office that it sought nuclear weapons.

Iranian regime insiders have said they would expect a compromise by the US on enrichment to be reciprocated.

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De Beers freezes Congo projects

By Tom Burgis in Johannesburg

Published: April 4 2009 03:00 | Last updated: April 4 2009 03:00

De Beers, the world's biggest diamond producer, has put exploration in the mineral-rich Democratic Republic of Congo on ice, the latest retrenchment in an industry that is scrambling to come to terms with a collapse in prices for the precious stones.

The suspension of operations in DR Congo - rated the most difficult place on the planet to do business - by a company that in February mothballed its mines in Botswana until later this month. De Beers has also trimmed output from the rest of its operations in Namibia, Canada and South Africa.

The world's biggest diamond company said it would concentrate on "exploration activities that have more immediate potential and that will help ensure future growth enabling De Beers to maintain its leadership position in an increasingly competitive industry".

Its other principal areas of exploration are Angola, where the fields that once attracted rebels seeking "blood diamonds" are now luring foreign investors, along with Botswana and South Africa.

The focus in the industry at present is cash conservation rather than exploration. Diamonds do not trade on open markets like other commodities but in auctions and private placements. Analysts estimate that prices have fallen by between 30 and 70 per cent from last year's highs.

The US, which accounts for about half of global demand for the stones, is in recession.

A small pick-up in prices in recent days "is off a low base and it is not a start of a new rising trend", wrote analysts at RBC Capital Markets. A true recovery would "need growing off-take at the retail end in jewellery stores around the world, and notably in the US, Europe and Japan".

De Beers, which still produces 40 per cent of the global supply of rough diamonds, has declined to put a figure on how far it wishes to cut production this year, saying only it will be "in line with demand".

But Ian Khama, Botswana's president, told the Financial Times in a recent interview that Debswana, his country's joint venture with De Beers whose output contributes half of the company's annual total, aimed to mine only 60 per cent of what it did last year.

De Beers is a private company, counting Anglo American, South Africa's Oppenheimer family and Botswana's government among is biggest investors.

Earlier this year it tapped its shareholders for a $500m interest-free loan but faces hefty interest payments next year on its $3.6bn interest-bearing debt. Its sales last year were $6.89bn.

For DR Congo, facing hundreds of thousands of job losses in an economy shattered by the commodity crash, the decision is a further blow. Marie-Chantal Kaninda, De Beers' Congo administration chief, said: "For De Beers, the DRC remains highly prospective, but we cannot ignore the current global economic crisis. When economic conditions improve, De Beers will assess new opportunities for accessing prospective ground-holdings in this country."

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誤発表：日本政府「発射」…５分後に訂正　官房長官が陳謝

　北朝鮮が「人工衛星」の打ち上げを予告した初日の４日午後０時１６分、日本政府は「北朝鮮から飛翔（ひしょう）体が発射された模様だ」と長距離弾道ミサイルの発射情報を発表し、５分後の同２１分に「さきほどの情報は誤り」と訂正した。防衛省内の情報伝達ミスが誤発表の原因としている。発射情報の早期探知はミサイル防衛（ＭＤ）システムの根幹と言え、日本の防空能力への信頼を揺るがしかねない失態に河村建夫官房長官は「ご心配をかけたことは率直におわびしたい」と陳謝した。

　防衛省によると４日午後０時１６分、技術研究本部飯岡支所（千葉県旭市）で空自が運用する警戒管制レーダー「ＦＰＳ５」が日本海上空に何らかの航跡を探知。防空指揮群（東京都府中市）を経由し航空総隊司令部（同）にただちに伝えられた。

　通常は米国の早期警戒衛星からミサイルの発射を感知した「早期警戒情報」（ＳＥＷ）などが入らなければ「発射」と判断することはないが、航空総隊司令部の担当官が勘違いして「ＳＥＷ入感（受信）」と防衛省（東京都新宿区）の中央指揮所に通報。判断の権限がない運用企画局の職員が「発射」とアナウンスし、首相官邸の危機管理センターから各自治体や報道機関に一斉に伝達されたという。

　その後、ＦＰＳ５が航跡を見失ったほか、日本海に展開している海上自衛隊のイージス艦からもミサイル発射情報が入らず、ＳＥＷが来ていないことに中央指揮所が気付いた。官邸も「誤報」を確認した。中央指揮所には米国からのＳＥＷを表示するモニターがあるが、誤発表の前にはチェックされなかった。

　秋田県の複数の自治体にはこれに先立つ同日午前１０時４８分にも陸上自衛隊幕僚監部指揮所からコンピューターの不具合で誤った発射情報が流れた。

　浜田靖一防衛相は同日夕、防衛省内で記者団に「防衛省・自衛隊における情報伝達の不手際。一刻も早く国民に情報を伝えたい気持ちもあり、正確を期す部分が少々足りなかった」と陳謝した。

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誤発表：自治体混乱「正確な情報を」、住民からも苦情
エムネットでミサイル発射の連絡を受け、騒然となった秋田県危機管理対策本部＝秋田市の県庁第２庁舎で２００９年４月４日午後０時１８分、野原寛史撮影
エムネットでミサイル発射の連絡を受け、騒然となった秋田県危機管理対策本部＝秋田市の県庁第２庁舎で２００９年４月４日午後０時１８分、野原寛史撮影

　「人工衛星打ち上げ」を名目にした北朝鮮の長距離弾道ミサイル発射情報に関して４日起きた政府の誤発表に、各自治体は振り回された。秋田県では防衛省側のミスで１日２回誤報が流れ、住民から苦情も寄せられた。自衛隊の出先機関に自治体から誤報が「逆送」されたケースも。各地の担当者からは「正確な情報を流してほしい」との声が上がった。

　秋田県では、発射予告時間の午前１１時から午後４時にかけて部活動を休み、「万が一」に備える学校もあった。最初の誤報は、予告時間直前の午前１０時５０分。危機管理対策本部は各市町村や県施設など計１６６カ所に「発射された」と断定したメールを送信した。

　午前１１時８分に訂正情報が届いたが、既に能代市や八峰町など７市町村が防災無線で住民に発射情報を伝達、２市がホームページやＦＭ局を通じて情報を公表した後だった。７市町村は昼過ぎの政府による「誤探知」と合わせて２回、防災無線で住民に誤った発射情報を伝えてしまった。

　秋田県総合防災課には１０件近い電話が寄せられた。同課によると、「日本には技術力があるのだからしっかり調べてほしい」「防災無線の音が鳴ると、どきっとする」といった苦情や「本当に今日中に発射されるのか」などの問い合わせがあり、各市町村にも数件の電話があった。

　群馬県危機管理室は、午後０時１７分に緊急情報ネットワークシステム「エムネット」を通じて「発射」情報を受信。防災行政無線とファクスを使い、前日の訓練より１０秒程度短い約３０秒で県内全３８市町村に情報を伝えた。誤報は、陸上自衛隊第１２旅団（司令部・榛東村）にも伝えられた。

　市民への“誤通知”も続出した。宮城県白石市では、市民に防災情報を配信する「しろいし安心メール」に登録している市民約１５００人の携帯メールに「発射された模様」と送信した。防災無線で発射情報を放送した同県南三陸町の担当者は「１００％に近い正確な情報を流してほしい」と注文を付けた。

　岩手県は、誤報を含めた「不測の事態」に備え、初日の３倍に当たる１５人前後に体制を増強する。県の担当者らは「今回は練習、次が本番」「想定外」。一方で、一部市町村に誤った情報を伝えた長野県の担当職員は「自治体に連絡するより、テレビの速報を見た方が早い」と苦笑した。

　こうした中、大分県では政府の誤報メールの受信を確認できなかった。受信と同時にアラームが鳴る仕組みだったが、エムネットを休止状態にしていたといい、約２５分後にパソコンを再起動すると、ようやく受信できた。

　省庁も誤探知に振り回された。国土交通省交通局は午後０時１８分、航空機に「発射」情報を伝える「航空情報」（ノータム）を出し、３分で取り消した。海上保安庁も船舶に対して発射情報を伝え、落下物があった場合の連絡を呼びかける「航行警報」を出した。

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北朝鮮：「衛星発射」通告　政府が「発射」誤探知　防衛省レーダー情報を誤判断

　北朝鮮が「人工衛星」として長距離弾道ミサイルの発射を準備している問題で、政府は４日午後０時１６分、「北朝鮮から飛翔体が発射された模様だ」と発表した。しかし、５分後の同２１分、「さきほどの情報は誤りで、飛翔体の発射は確認されていない」と発表を訂正。同２４分、「誤探知」と発表した。官邸連絡室は同５７分、「今回の誤報は、何らかの理由で、飛翔体に関する情報を誤探知したことが原因であると推測されるが、詳細は現在確認中」とのコメントを出した。

　防衛省の中村吉利広報課長は「飯岡（千葉県旭市）のＦＰＳ５レーダーが日本海で何らかの航跡を探知した。それが発射情報として（首相官邸に）伝達された」と説明。

　ミサイルの発射情報は、米国の早期警戒衛星からまず防衛省に連絡が入り、それが首相官邸危機管理センターに送られることになっている。同センターは発射から５～１０分後に、緊急情報ネットワークシステム「エムネット」でテレビ、ラジオなどの報道機関と自治体に通報する体制をとっており、誤情報も各自治体に流れた。

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Threat to shut Boston Globe shows no paper is safe
AP

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People go into the main entrance of The Boston Globe newspaper, in this Feb. 1, AP – People go into the main entrance of The Boston Globe newspaper, in this Feb. 1, 2006, file photo in Boston. …
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By VERENA DOBNIK, Associated Press Writer Verena Dobnik, Associated Press Writer – 1 hr 50 mins ago

NEW YORK – When it bought the Boston Globe for a record $1.1 billion in 1993, the New York Times Co. added one of the nation's most acclaimed and profitable newspapers to its empire.

But analysts say the 137-year-old Globe has been a money-loser in recent years, and the Times, now $1.1 billion in debt, is threatening to shut down Boston's pre-eminent paper unless it gets $20 million in union concessions.

Faced with the global recession and declining revenues, the newspaper business is reeling — one major paper has already folded this year and several others are seeking bankruptcy protection. But the threat to the Globe, announced Friday on the Globe's Web site, has shocked some industry insiders, who say it shows no one is safe.

"It is a huge warning shot across the bow of the newspaper industry. If this can happen to the storied Boston Globe, pretty much nothing is safe," said Boston University communications professor Tobe Berkovitz.

Of the major dailies that have gone down, none has the cachet of the Globe, he said.

The threat to close the paper "sends a very clear message to all employees and unions of surviving newspapers — that this is not business as usual," said Ken Doctor, a media analyst with the research firm Outsell. "This is uncharted territory."

The Times bought the Globe in 1993 for $1.1 billion — the highest price ever for a single American newspaper — getting one of the country's most respected papers. The Globe has won 20 Pulitzer Prizes and has been lauded for some of its work, including its coverage of Roman Catholic clergy sex abuse scandal.

But since its purchase, the Globe has gone through several rounds of layoffs and buyouts. As readership shifts to online news, the newspaper's average weekday circulation fell 10 percent to 323,983 for the six months ending Sept. 30, compared to the same six-month period in 2007, according to the Audit Bureau of Circulations.

Advertising revenues industrywide have plunged by more than 16 percent in 2008, according to the Newspaper Association of America.

Newspapers all "have a sword over their heads," said Doctor. If the industry wants to survive, he said, "everyone has to give some blood."

The Globe reported the Times' demands a day after executives from the Times delivered its ultimatum to leaders of the Globe's 13 unions. Boston Newspaper Guild president Daniel Totten told the Globe the concessions could include pay cuts, the end of company pension contributions and the elimination of lifetime job guarantees. The Guild is the Globe's biggest union, representing more than 700 editorial, advertising, and business employees.

But some say the Times' threat may be a negotiating tactic as it strives to shed its debt, which stood at $1.1 billion at the end of 2008. It recently sold 21 floors of its new midtown Manhattan headquarters building for $225 million, asked most employees to accept a 5 percent pay cut through the end of the year and secured a $250 million infusion from a Mexican billionaire by agreeing to pay an abnormally high interest rate of 14 percent in addition to giving him potentially valuable stock warrants.

"We're a long way from a newspaper that needs to be shut down. I think it's a bargaining strategy," said Alan Mutter, a former journalist-turned-entrepreneur who writes a blog called Reflections of a Newsosaur. He said he doesn't think the Globe is in imminent danger of folding.

Globe spokesman Bob Powers declined to comment Saturday; Times spokeswoman Catherine Mathis did not immediately return a call for comment.

Doctor said the Times' threat to close the Globe parallels what Hearst Corp. did with the money-losing San Francisco Chronicle, threatening to shut it down barring concessions. Chronicle staffers took 120 buyouts last week, but the paper's seeking 150.

Elsewhere, Scripps Co. stopped publication earlier this year of Colorado's oldest newspaper, the Rocky Mountain News, in Denver. Major newspaper companies that have filed for bankruptcy protection in recent months include the owners of The Philadelphia Inquirer, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, the Chicago Tribune and the Los Angeles Times. Newspapers like the Seattle Post-Intelligencer and another venerable Boston publication, The Christian Science Monitor, stopped daily publication in favor of online news.

Matt Storin, who was the editor of the Globe when the Times purchased it, said he was shocked and saddened when he saw Friday's headline. The threat to close it "is obviously a negotiating tactic, but one that has to be taken seriously," said Storin, who now teaches journalism at Notre Dame University.

"I do think it's obvious that the Times would like to get the Globe off its books," he said. "It's possible they're trying to reduce costs because they have a prospective buyer who is negotiating on that basis."

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Recession 'worse than we thought': UK minister

8 hours 40 mins ago
AFP

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Britain's recession is worse than the government expected, and the country is unlikely to return to economic growth until the end of the year, finance minister Alistair Darling said in an interview Sunday. Skip related content
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Finance Minister Alistair Darling Enlarge photo

Speaking to The Sunday Times, chancellor of the exchequer Darling said he would be forced to revise his economic forecasts lower when he presents Britain's annual budget on April 22.

"It's worse than we thought," he told the weekly newspaper, adding that though figures on how the economy did in the first three months of the year were not yet available, "we think they will be bad, because if you look around the world there's nothing that tells you otherwise."

He refused to specify how much he thought the economy would shrink in 2009.

"I thought we would see growth in the second part of the year," he said.

"I think it will be the back end, turn of the year time, before we start seeing growth here."

Darling said that while last week's agreement by the G20 grouping of countries would help revive the global economy, "we have to be realistic about this."

"You cannot, you must not, build up false hope."

Asked by the Sunday Times whether the worst was over for Britain's economy, Darling replied: "I think there is some way to go yet. A lot really depends on how much other countries do."

Britain's economy has been hammered by the international financial crisis and resulting global downturn, with unemployment soaring to a 12-year high as the country endures its first recession in 18 years.

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US relaxes mark to market regulations
America's accounting regulator ignited a storm of controversy on Thursday by relaxing a rule that banks insist is hindering their recovery, just as the G20 leaders agreed to reform accounting standards across the globe.


By Richard Blackden
Last Updated: 3:24PM BST 03 Apr 2009

The Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) agreed to ease fair-value rules that require banks to price assets to reflect current market prices each quarter. Following the changes, banks will now be able to use "significant" judgement when assessing the value of assets sitting on their balance sheets.

The move was welcomed by banking chiefs who have argued that the rule has proved destructive given the market for many assets, including now toxic mortgage-backed securities, has long since seized to function.

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"Good decision," said Richard Parsons, the chairman of Citigroup. The bank's shares were among those boosted by the decision.

Wall Street analysts estimate the change, which can be applied to banks' first-quarter results, will cut write-downs and potentially lift profits in the sector by up to 20pc.

The FASB's move comes after pressure from Congress and drew a stinging rebuke from investors groups.

Fair-value rules deliver the "kind of transparency essential to restoring public confidence in US markets," Arthur Levitt, the former chairman of the SEC, told Bloomberg.

The difficulty of pricing the billions of pounds of impaired assets owned by banks, in the UK, Europe and the US, remains one of the biggest stumbling blocks in returning banks to health.

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FASB、時価会計基準の緩和を承認

　ワシントン（ウォール・ストリート・ジャーナル）米財務会計基準審議会（FASB）は2日、米連邦議会議員からの圧力に応じ、非流動的な住宅ローン関連資産などを評価する際、企業の会計監査人がより柔軟に判断できるようにする新たな規則を全会一致で承認した。これにより、そうした資産は長期にわたって価値を持つ資産と見なされる可能性がある。

　新たな規則は、時価会計基準を緩和するもので、銀行が4月中にも発表する1-3月期決算で営業利益を押し上げるとみられている。これまでの時価会計は、銀行やその他の企業に、住宅ローン関連証券、クレジットカード債権、学生ローン債権投資などの資産を、最新の市場価格に基づいて評価するよう義務づけている。

　銀行は、「一部の資産は市場が機能していないため売却できないが、資産の価値自体は劣化しておらず、十分なキャッシュフロー（現金収支）を生み出す」と主張している。

　こうした問題を解決しようと、FASBの新たな指針は、銀行とその監査法人に、非流動的な資産の評価で「大幅な裁量」を持たせることにした。例えば、企業のキャッシュフローが見積もり可能で十分な額である場合、非流動資産の市場価値の見積もりにこのキャッシュフローを用いることができる。この方法は、銀行の監査法人が「新たに発行する場合の市場価格が大幅に下落している」と判断した場合、つまり、プライマリー（発行）市場はあったがセカンダリー（流通）市場がなくなってしまった場合に適用できる。

　FASBが承認したもう1つの条項によると、評価損の計上を余儀なくされるような一部の非流動性負債を「その他の包括的利益」に算入できるようになる。その結果、金融機関では損益計算書に記載される損失が減り、営業利益が改善される。

　これらは価値の劣化した非流動性の証券であり、企業が満額を取り戻すことができないと考えているもの。

　今回の規則緩和で、銀行は、4月半ばまでに発表する1-3月期決算に変更を加えることができる。だがFASBの委員は、銀行がそれまでに決算をやり直すのは極めて難しいと主張している。企業がバランスシートに新規則の1つを適用したい場合、もう1つの条項も適用する必要がある。

　ほとんどの銀行が4月半ばまでに1-3月期決算を発表する。したがって、新たなFASB規則は、今年1月、2月、3月にさかのぼって適用される。

　コロンビア・ビジネス・スクールのロバート・ウィレンズ教授（会計学）は、新たな監査指針によって銀行は非流動資産の評価に社内のモデルや分析を用いることができるようになり、最終損益が平均20％押し上げられる可能性がある。米シティグループ（NYSE：C）のような大手行は、非流動性の住宅ローン関連証券やその他の証券を過度に大量に保有しているため、資産価値の再評価による利益の恩恵を最も大きく受けることになる。

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時価会計適用基準を緩和へ　米の審議会、透明性に懸念も

2009年4月3日10時10分

　【ニューヨーク＝山川一基】米国の企業会計基準をとりまとめる独立機関、米財務会計基準審議会（ＦＡＳＢ）は２日、時価会計の適用基準を緩和することを正式に決定した。証券化商品などの時価が下がっても損失を計上しなくて済むケースが増え、金融機関の業績が底上げされそうだが、財務開示の透明性が損なわれる懸念も出ている。

　主に金融機関が保有している売買目的の金融資産は、サブプライムショック後の信用不安で売買が成立しにくくなっている。このため、会計上、極めて低い価格でしか評価されず、金融機関の損失を膨らませている。

　もともと米会計基準では、市場が機能していない場合、金融資産の評価に企業独自のモデルや判断などを使える例外規定があったが、適用基準が明確でなかった。２日の決定では「市場が機能していない場合」を「取引が量においても頻度においてもほとんどない」などと定義し、例外規定を使いやすくした。

　また満期保有を目的とした金融商品について、市場価格が下がるたびに損失計上しなくて済むよう、時価会計の適用基準を緩和した。新基準は０９年１～３月期決算から適用可能。米メディアによると、投資家の間では今回の基準変更で「金融機関の収益が２割程度改善する」との見方が広がっている。

　ただ企業側の裁量の幅が増えたことで「短期的に収益にプラスになっても、財務の透明性が損なわれ投資家の不信を招くことが心配だ」（米エコノミスト）との指摘もある。金融機関が不良資産を保有しやすくなるため、政府による買い取りが進まず、金融危機の抜本解決が先送りになる可能性もある。

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百貨店：「街の顔」閉鎖、出店断念　地方の疲弊さらに拍車

　全国の地方都市で、百貨店の閉鎖や出店断念が相次いでいる。人口減や郊外型ショッピングセンターなどへの顧客流出で売り上げがじり貧傾向にある中、「戦後最悪」の不況が直撃。地場の百貨店だけでなく、大手百貨店も店舗閉鎖や新規出店断念を余儀なくされている。百貨店を失った地方都市の中心部はますます空洞化が進む。百貨店消滅に直面する地方都市の動揺を追った。【小倉祥徳、大塚仁、平林由梨】
　◇札幌

　「丸井今井存続の署名をお願いします」。３月１５日、日曜日。小雪が舞う中、北海道第２の都市・旭川市中心部の商店街「平和通買物公園」で、旭川平和通商店街振興組合理事長の鳥居幸広さん（５８）らの必死な呼びかけが続いていた。市中心部に支店を置く百貨店のうち「丸井今井」（本店・札幌市）が１月末に民事再生法適用を申請。２月には近接する西武百貨店も閉鎖を検討していることが表面化したためだ。

　平和通買物公園は、五十嵐広三旭川市長（当時、後の官房長官）が発案、７２年に日本初の恒久的な歩行者天国を始めるなど全国の街づくりのモデルとなったことで知られる。衣料専門店や飲食店が約１キロにわたって軒を連ねる。８０年ごろには休日１日で約４０万人の買い物客を集めた。だが、９０年代以降、郊外の大型店舗に客を奪われ続け、０８年は約１３万人に減った。署名の日も、かき入れ時の日曜の午後なのに買い物客はまばらだ。

　対照的に、駅前のバス通りは、市郊外に０４年に開業したイオンのショッピングセンター行きの無料送迎バスを待つ若者であふれていた。西川将人旭川市長（４０）は「札幌などに若者が流出している。百貨店がなくなれば、この流れが加速し、雇用も悪化する。なんとしても阻止したい」と話す。

　両百貨店の２月の売上高は、全国の百貨店が前年同月比１１．５％減となる中、商店街関係者や住民の「買い支え」に助けられ、ともに前年実績を上回った。だが、丸井今井幹部は「経営不振のアパレルが物流コストのかかる地方店への商品供給を絞り込んでおり、売り場維持は難しい」。丸井今井支援を表明した伊勢丹と高島屋の関係者はいずれも旭川店について「存続は困難」、西武も「丸井今井が残るなら、店舗過剰で売り上げ増が見込めないのでうちは即撤退」（首脳）と話す。
　◇浜松

　「経済環境が激変したため出店を見直します」。１月２７日、大丸の山本良一社長（５８）が浜松市役所に鈴木康友市長（５１）を訪ね、市中心部にある旧松菱百貨店跡地の再開発施設内への出店断念の意向を伝えた。市最大の再開発事業が頓挫した瞬間だった。

　しかし、大丸はその１カ月後、浜松の開店費用の倍以上にあたる３７９億円で、心斎橋店（大阪市）に隣接するそごう店舗を買収すると発表した。大丸を傘下に置くＪ・フロントリテイリングの奥田務社長（６９）は「まず（金融危機以降の）大都市部の急激な落ち込みを立て直すのが課題」と強調。景気悪化で投資抑制を迫られる中、大阪での生き残りを優先させるため、浜松出店を断念した。

　大丸出店断念で、浜松駅前の活性化は事実上、白紙に。市内の商店街で作る「浜松商店界連盟」の御園井宏昌会長（８０）は「土地を市が買い上げて、百貨店やテナントを誘致するぐらいでなければ前に進まない」と訴える。
　◇鹿児島

　３月１８日午前１０時、鹿児島市最大の繁華街・天文館。５月６日で閉店する三越鹿児島店入り口に、買い物客の行列ができた。衣料品を中心に最大８割引きとなる閉店セール初日。山本正隆店長（５４）は「最後の盛況」に「２５年間の感謝を込めて対応したい」と語った。

　天文館の日曜日の集客数は９８年の平均２万人から０８年は１万人に半減した。「改装しても投資回収を見込めない」（三越首脳）ため、閉店を決めた。同じ天文館にある地元最大の百貨店「山形屋」も今年２月、１００億円を投じる増床計画を当初の１１年春から１年以上延期すると発表した。

　客離れを食い止めようと、両百貨店と地元商店街は０７年６月、協議会を結成し、合同イベントの企画などを進めていた。だが、三越撤退で主要メンバーを失うことになる。跡地のテナント選びも進められているが、三越と同じ存在感を示せるかは不透明だ。
　◇０８年度、地方の６店舗姿消す

　地方都市に立地する百貨店の競争環境は厳しさを増している。大都市圏に比べ少子高齢化による市場縮小のスピードが速いうえ、マイカー利用が多いので、郊外に展開する大型ショッピングセンターなどに顧客が流れているためだ。日本百貨店協会によると、１０大都市を除く地方店の０８年の既存店売上高は前年比４．５％減の２兆６４１７億円で、２年連続で下落幅は１０大都市（０８年４．２％減）を上回った。

　しかも、売り上げ規模が１０大都市の半分程度なのに、店舗数は２倍近くの１８４店あり、小さなパイを奪い合う状態になっている。全国展開する大手百貨店はこれまで、販売不振の地方店を大都市部の収益で支えていたが、景気後退の深刻化でこのビジネスモデルも崩壊。三越が昨年９月に鹿児島店や名取店（宮城）の閉鎖を発表し、Ｊ・フロントリテイリングは昨年１２月に今治大丸（愛媛）を閉店。北東北３県に出店していた中三は昨年１０月に秋田店を、九州地盤の井筒屋も２月末に久留米店（福岡）を閉めるなど、０８年度だけで地方の６店舗が姿を消した。

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元露鵬と元白露山　４月下旬に審尋

　昨年９月に尿検査で大麻の陽性反応で日本相撲協会を解雇され力士としての地位確認を求めた仮処分申し立てを東京地裁で却下された元露鵬（２８）、元白露山（２７）が３日までに東京高裁への抗告を終えたことが分かった。代理人を務める塩谷安男弁護士（５８）は「３月３０日に抗告しました。審尋の日程は早くて４月下旬になると思います」と話した。２人は現在も日本で復帰を目指してトレーニング中。ただ、裁判が長引き生活費に苦慮しており「本人たちもイライラしている」と塩谷弁護士は代弁していた。

（2009年4月4日06時02分 スポーツ報知）