Airlines bow to Brussels on ticket websites

Airlines bow to Brussels on ticket websites

By Nikki Tait in Brussels and Kevin Done in London

Published: May 14 2009 03:00 | Last updated: May 14 2009 03:00

Dozens of European airlines, including budget carriers Ryanair, EasyJet and Wizz Air, have caved in to demands from Brussels to improve their websites in a move that should make booking tickets online cheaper and less confusing.

European Commission officials will announce today that more than 50 airlines have reformed their online booking sites, or will do so shortly, after the Com-mission threatened to "name and shame" them in its first European Union-wide consumer enforcement action.

The reforms will address concerns about the way some fares were displayed, so that taxes and additional charges were added only when a purchase was almost complete rather than at the start of the booking process.

There have also been worries about the use of pre-ticked boxes, which forced consumers to opt out of taking insurance, for example, rather than opting in, and about the advertising of special offers.

Anyone buying airline tickets online knows the problem. An extremely cheap flight is offered - perhaps costing as little as a few euros.

However, by the time one comes to pay, the price is revealed to be much larger because of items added at the end of the transaction, from booking fees to taxes.

Worse, the consumer finds that he or she has needlessly bought insurance or priority boarding simply because boxes on the website were "pre-ticked" and the consumer failed to change them

Ryanair said it changed its site at the beginning of April, while EasyJet said it would act in the summer.

Ryanair said it still disagreed with the changes, as some passengers might now fly without travel insurance by mistake rather than by choice.

There is still a hard core of about half a dozen airlines that either dispute the existence of any problem or have refused to reply to Brussels.

However, if no progress is made in these cases, national authorities could be asked to take direct enforcement action.

The European Union investigation of airlines' ticket selling practices started in September 2007, when an initial study suggested that one in three people buying flights online was being misled.

This was the first time member-state watchdogs had come together in a coordinated effort to enforce consumer protection laws.

A review in March of practices at almost 70 airlines found only 16, including Finnair and Virgin Atlantic, met appropriate standards,.

Of those that failed, about 50 - including EasyJet, Wizz Air and Austrian Airlines - have since agreed to deal with outstanding issues. Officials say Ryanair claimed to be in full compliance about three weeks ago.

The Commission says that the agreed improvements could benefit more than 300m travellers but there is still work to be done to make online ticket sales more transparent.

"The next step is an industry-wide agreement, and we will continue to monitor developments in the sector closely," Meglena Kuneva, the EU consumer commissioner, is expected to say this morning.

Officials in Brussels say they were surprised by the level of co-operation they received, after previous attempts to force carriers into changing their practices became bogged down in the companies' legal departments. Recently officials have put more emphasis on contacting senior management directly, which has proved more successful in winning commitments to comply.

The changes follow a review in March of practices at almost 70 carriers.

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MP claimed £16,000 for dead mortgage

By Alex Barker, George Parker and Jean Eaglesham

Published: May 14 2009 03:00 | Last updated: May 14 2009 03:00

A former Labour minister was dragged into the Westminster expenses furore last night after it emerged that he had claimed more than £16,000 for a mortgage that did not exist.

Elliot Morley, a former agriculture minister, said he had mistakenly claimed mortgage interest on his constituency home for more than 18 months after the loan had been paid off.

"I do not believe any offence has been committed. I have reported this to the finance department and chief whip," Mr Morley told The Daily Telegraph last night. "I have made a mistake, I apologise for that and I take full responsibility. My priority was to repay and if I suffer financially as a result of that, I have only myself to blame."

The unfounded expenses claim is the most serious of a torrent of revelations on parliamentary costs that have enraged the public and stunned MPs.

In November 2007, after Commons authorities requested mortgage documentation from MPs, Mr Morley redesignated his London property as his second home. At the time, Mr Morley was renting out the London house to Ian Cawsey, another Labour MP.

That meant taxpayers funded Mr Morley's mortgage on his London house, as well as the rent being paid to him. Mr Cawsey said he had no knowledge of Mr Morley's arrangements.

Other revelations last night included a Labour MP who was mistakenly overclaiming mortgage expenses while living with his mother. Fabian Hamilton said the claims were a mistake.

Labour attempted to take the initiative last night by calling on MPs to publish receipts independently, instead of waiting for the Commons authorities to release them. In a letter to Labour MPs, Tony Lloyd, the chair of the parliamentary Labour party, said he would be publishing details of his own receipts "as a first step to meeting our constituents' anger".

David Cameron called yesterday for a cut in the number of MPs and further reductions in members' allowances, as he attempted to turn the scandal over Westminster expenses into a question of Gordon Brown's leadership.

As Mr Cameron and Mr Brown battled over who was the toughest in cracking down on the expenses culture, their MPs scrambled to repay money for excessive claims in an attempt to rebuild their credibility.

Phil Hope, a junior health minister, repaid more than £40,000 in claims he made for furniture and fittings, taking the total sum refunded to the taxpayer by all MPs to more than £100,000.

Sir Menzies Campbell, the former Liberal Democrat leader, refunded almost £1,500 he claimed to pay a designer to oversee the refurbishment of his London flat, while Julia Goldsworthy, another Lib Dem MP, paid back £1,000 for a chair.

Amid the flurry of chequebooks, Mr Cameron challenged Mr Brown on his leadership during the exp-enses affair and urged him to back reform to cut the cost of politics.

The Tory leader wants to cut the number of MPs - currently 646 - by 10 per cent and called on members to publish all their expenses claims online and to end their annual £10,000 allowance to "communicate" with their voters. Labour is reluctant to lose that allowance, introduced two years ago, with the intention of helping MPs fight off a Conservative challenge in marginal seats

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An offshore port in a storm

By Robin Wigglesworth

Published: May 13 2009 18:13 | Last updated: May 13 2009 18:13

The extreme temperatures and shallow waters of the Caspian Sea combine to create a harsh operating environment. However, Kazakhstan’s Kashagan oilfield is providing a bountiful source of revenue for Renaissance Services, a small but ambitious Omani offshore services company.

Renaissance is servicing the offshore Kashagan development – one of the world’s largest hydrocarbon projects – with almost 50 of its specialised support vessels and barges. Lucrative contracts in Kazakhstan and nearby Azerbaijan are allowing Renaissance to breathe easier than many Gulf companies amid the fierce economic headwinds.

The company’s main business remains in Oman, where it also has a large engineering division which repairs and manufactures energy industry components, among other businesses.

But Renaissance hopes the Caspian will in time prove as profitable a market for offshore service providers as the Mexican Gulf and the North Sea in Europe. Marine services contribute only a third of Renaissance’s revenue but more than half its profits.

The energy sector has been hit hard by the slump in hydrocarbon prices but analysts say that the nature of Renaissance’s business will largely shield it from the economic downturn and volatile energy prices.

Stephen Thomas, chief executive of the company, says: “The markets we work have more than 50 per cent of the world’s hydrocarbon reserves and even if global energy demand is weak, there are still key projects going ahead in this region, and servicing on existing installations that needs to be done.”

Crucially, about 70 per cent of Renaissance’s lucrative offshore service contracts, particularly in the Caspian, are long-term agreements with leading national and international oil companies, such as BP, Shell, Petroleum Development Oman and Halliburton.

“The Kashagan project is going to be producing oil for 50 years so whatever the oil markets are doing now, the work will progress,” says Ian Thom, an analyst at Wood Mackenzie, oil consultants.

This will ensure the main business remains robust in spite of the financial crisis, analysts say.

Renaissance admits demand for its engineering business has weakened somewhat, as some Middle East energy-related projects are cancelled, delayed or scaled back, but says its order book is still full for the next year.

“Wherever oil prices are, [companies] still need maintenance and logistical services at the offshore oilfields,” points out Fadi Al Said, head of equities at ING Investment Management in the Middle East.

This week, Renaissance reported a 16.2 per cent rise in first-quarter revenue to OR58m ($151m). Excluding capital gains from the sale of its technology business last year, net profit climbed 26 per cent to OR4.8m in the first three months of the year.

Most of the company’s shares are listed on the Muscat stock exchange while 15 per cent are held by the local Tawoos Group.

The shares have more than halved over the past 12 months, in line with the Muscat Stock Exchange, but Mr Thomas says this is due to misconceptions: “Our share price has tanked because of a perception that we were exposed to the oil and gas business, and because we were capital- intensive, so would struggle in this reality.”

Neither is true, he says. Renaissance’s long-term contracts protect it against earnings oil-price volatility, and even the short-term contracts often last several years and are largely in the Middle East, where day rates have been resilient, says Mr Thomas.

Renaissance is set for the delivery of seven new vessels this year, and the company plans to invest more than $200m in 2009, but the company says local banks are amenable thanks to the security of its long-term contracts.

“The credit crunch is costing us a bit more, but not punitively so,” says Mr Thomas. He estimates the current composite interest rate of Renaissance’s debt at about 6-7 per cent.

Nor is the Caspian Sea the only area of potential growth for Renaissance. Though Saudi Arabia is reviewing many of its projects in the light of the global slump in demand for energy, the company expects the world’s largest oil producer to continue to invest in its offshore industry.

“Saudi Arabia has pent-up demand for about 150 support vessels over the next four years for its offshore investment plans,” says Mr Thomas. “We will not win them all, but we are a serious tender for most of them.”

Renaissance’s subsidiary, Topaz Energy and Marine, has therefore formed a Saudi joint venture with Gentas – itself a co-operative enterprise between the Al Shoaibi Group and Saudi Trading & Research Company – to help capture some of the resulting business.

Gulf Baader Capital Markets, an Omani asset manager, estimates Renaissance will enjoy a “strong” 18.1 per cent profit growth this year, thanks to the prospects of new contracts and the strength of its marine services business in particular.

“We haven’t seen a downturn this spectacular in our lifetime so we’re being very careful and extremely vigilant in monitoring the risks, but so far so good,” says Mr Thomas. “We believe we’re resilient to this recession.”

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Europe's line must take in Turkish sand

By Tony Barber

Published: May 14 2009 03:00 | Last updated: May 14 2009 03:00

The southern French city of Nîmes was the venue last week for a political rally at which Nicolas Sarkozy, France's president, set out his vision of the European Union's future. "Europe must stop diluting itself in a never-ending enlargement. Europe must have frontiers. Europe must have limits," he said.

Specifically, Turkey, though deserving of a special relationship with the EU, should never become a full member, Mr Sarkozy went on. Instead, he said, the EU should start talks with Turkey on forming "a common economic and security space", a project in which the EU should include Russia, "which must not be considered an adversary of Europe but a partner".

Let us leave aside the awkward point that it is less than a year since Russia invaded and dismembered Georgia, an adventure that smacked less of partnership than of a primeval instinct to dominate weaker neighbours. Let us concentrate on Mr Sarkozy's argument that it is time for the EU to define its borders and tell Turkey, an official candidate for EU membership since 2005, to stay outside.

Turkey's EU accession would clearly bring profound changes to the bloc, some of which the country's supporters have not properly thought through. For example, Turkey's fast-growing population will number more than 100m by 2050, according to the forecasts of the United Nations Population Fund. By contrast, Germany, at present the most populous EU country with 82.2m, will shrink to 70.8m by 2060, according to Eurostat, the EU's statistical agency. Even the UK, projected to be the most populous member state, will have only 76.7m by 2060, Eurostat predicts.

As a result of these demographic trends, Turkey would acquire ever-increasing influence in the EU's Council of Ministers, the body in which national governments take decisions using a voting formula based partly on population size. Turkey would also have more seats than any other country in the European parliament, whose approval is already necessary for most EU legislation and whose powers are set to expand under the Lisbon reform treaty.

Moreover, although recent years have seen Turkey outperform the EU in economic growth, its per capita gross domestic product is still only about one-third that of the 27-nation bloc. In the poorest parts of Anatolia, it is barely 10 per cent. The share of agriculture in Turkish employment is falling, but stood at 26 per cent in 2005. If the EU were to keep unchanged its much-criticised (but French-supported) common agricultural policy, as well as its generous regional aid policies, their extension to Turkey would place huge strains on the EU budget.

Such considerations were doubtless in Mr Sarkozy's mind when he spoke in Nîmes. They also preoccupy Angela Merkel, Germany's chancellor. She, however, is mindful that the EU's self-image as a trustworthy guardian of a rules-based international order means that the bloc cannot just wriggle out of its commitment to negotiate membership terms with Turkey in good faith.

The strongest counter-argument to Mr Sarkozy comes from the likes of Carl Bildt, Sweden's foreign minister, who warns that to define the EU's borders once and for all would be "destructive and dangerous". He raises a point too often ignored by opponents of Turkey's EU entry - namely, that the very act of drawing a line, and leaving a country forever on the wrong side of it, is sure to diminish the EU's power to encourage benign change in that country.

To some extent, this is already happening in Turkey. Many pro-European reformers in Ankara are no longer confident that the EU intends to keep its word. Politicians and business people are exploiting diplomatic and commercial opportunities elsewhere in Turkey's neighbourhood, from Iran and the Middle East to Russia and central Asia.

If the EU were to slam the door shut on Turkey, as Mr Sarkozy suggests, the consequences would be more unpredictable and perhaps more dangerous than they are today with the door half open. Turkey is a considerable regional power, in military and economic terms. Thanks to its imperial Ottoman past, Turkic culture and Islamic heritage, it understands its neighbours rather better than the EU does. In short, Turkey has options.

The EU can draw all the lines on maps it wants, but it should remember that Turkey can decide its destiny for itself - possibly, in ways the EU would not like.

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Weber, Kranjec Clash on Bonds a Week After Trichet Calls Truce
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By Matthew Brockett

May 14 (Bloomberg) -- European Central Bank policy makers clashed over the bank’s asset-buying program less than a week after President Jean-Claude Trichet engineered a truce.

Slovenia’s Marko Kranjec said yesterday the ECB is “likely” to spend more than the 60 billion euros ($82 billion) it has earmarked for covered-bond purchases and hasn’t ruled out acquiring corporate bonds and commercial paper. Germany’s Axel Weber, who has said there’s “no need” to buy any other assets, yesterday insisted 60 billion euros is the “maximum.”

The diverging views suggest the ECB is still split over the best way to tackle Europe’s worst recession since World War II, even after Trichet said the decisions taken last week by the 22- member Governing Council were “unanimous.” Weber has always opposed asset purchases and warned yesterday against stimulating the economy too much. Other policy makers have argued the bank may need to do more to counter the risk of deflation.

“The 60 billion euros they announced is peanuts for an economy the size of the euro zone,” economics professor and former Bank of England policy maker Willem Buiter said at a conference in Dublin yesterday. “I expect they will announce more or that the recession in the euro zone will be longer and deeper than would otherwise be necessary. They have a record of being somewhat behind the curve.”

Trichet’s Plan

Trichet on May 7 cut the benchmark interest rate to a record-low 1 percent and said that’s not necessarily its lowest level. He also announced the ECB will buy 60 billion euros of covered bonds, securities backed by mortgages and public-sector loans which have suffered a slump in demand during the financial crisis. Details of the plan are to be unveiled next month.

By contrast, the Federal Reserve, Bank of England and Bank of Japan have lowered their key rates to close to zero and are buying government and corporate debt, effectively pumping new money into their economies to prevent the development of a deflationary spiral.

Trichet was forced to compromise on the ECB’s asset- purchase program in order to get Weber on board. Weber argues Europe isn’t at risk of deflation and the ECB should avoid taking additional risk onto its balance sheet. He also wants the ECB to signal an end to rate cuts.

Kranjec, who heads the Bank of Slovenia, said in an interview in Ljubljana that the ECB can lower rates further if needed and 60 billion euros is “not the final amount” for the asset-purchase program. The bank has not ruled out buying corporate bonds or commercial paper, he said.

‘Guy From Slovenia’

The comments suggest “the Governing Council is much more open to buying other private-sector assets than the ECB president suggested last week,” said Laurent Bilke, an economist at Nomura International in London.

Still, Marc Chandler, head of global currency strategy at Brown Brothers Harriman in New York, said that as president of Germany’s Bundesbank Weber has considerable influence. His comments “probably reflect the attitude of most of the other participants,” he said. “Who’s going to agree with the guy from Slovenia against Weber?”

Weber said in a speech in London last night that inflation may make a “rapid and powerful comeback” if the economy recovers faster than expected and policy makers don’t tighten policy as quickly as it was loosened.

The ECB’s non-standard policies, which concentrate on improving funding conditions for banks, reflect “the specific circumstances of the euro area -- and will continue to do so,” he said.

Asked to respond to Kranjec and Buiter, Weber replied: “In five years of central banking you learn two things: Never comment on colleagues and never comment on academics.”

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Madoff Cases Impose Travel Restrictions on Luxembourg Lawyers
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By Stephanie Bodoni

May 14 (Bloomberg) -- Francois Kremer, a lawyer at Luxembourg’s largest law firm, returned from an Easter trip to find an in-box filled with e-mails with a common name: Bernard Madoff. Thirty minutes later he was at a hearing involving UBS AG and a fund that went bust after investing with Madoff.

Luxembourg, the second-largest mutual fund market after the U.S., has been flooded with dozens of lawsuits against banks and funds since Madoff’s Dec. 11 arrest. Kremer’s firm, which represents UBS and HSBC Holdings Plc, is one of the busiest.

“I haven’t pleaded in court this frequently in a very long time, I basically live at the court,” Kremer, who turns 46 today and is a specialist in white-collar crime, said in an interview at his office at Arendt & Medernach. “We’re handling about 80 cases for UBS and some 12 involving HSBC.”

With hundreds more cases expected to be filed, the country’s 1,600 lawyers realize the spotlight is on them. Madoff’s Ponzi scheme, which forced the closure of as many as 17 mutual funds, has the potential to deal a black eye to the legal system as investors struggle to hire the remaining financial specialists that don’t already have conflicts of interest.

“The whole world is watching,” said Karine Vilret-Huot, whose three-lawyer firm represents at least 10 investors in Madoff cases. “We’re very exposed in cases where so much is at stake and we’re not used to having our names spread all over the newspapers.”

Luxembourg is Europe’s largest fund market with 3,396 registered funds holding 1.53 trillion euros ($2 trillion) in assets. Europe’s funds hold about 4.5 trillion euros.

Villehuchet Death

Thierry Magon de La Villehuchet, chief executive officer of Access International LLC, which managed the LuxAlpha Sicav- American Selection fund, was found dead in his New York office in December after news about Madoff emerged. LuxAlpha, which once had assets of $1.4 billion, invested 95 percent of its money with Madoff.

LuxAlpha, which was dissolved on April 2, was among 17 Luxembourg funds and sub-funds forced to suspend customer redemptions after disclosing losses through Madoff. UBS faces months in court over its role as custodian bank for LuxAlpha.

“There have been so many of these lawsuits that the courts are getting blocked,” said Jean Kauffman, president of the Luxembourg Bar Association. “I’ve already received complaints that it delays other cases.”

Budget Minister Luc Frieden has urged banks and investors to settle disputes, saying they could “damage the industry.”

‘High’ Stakes

“The stakes are extremely high because there hasn’t been much financial litigation over these types of funds in Luxembourg,” said Pierre Reuter, whose team at 11-lawyer Thewes & Reuter is managing about 70 claims against funds, banks and auditors.

Madoff, 71, pleaded guilty March 12 to defrauding investors by using money from new ones to pay off old ones. Before his arrest, he told clients that they had about $65 billion in accounts with him, U.S. prosecutors said.

The work from the 1991 collapse of the Luxembourg- registered Bank of Credit and Commerce International SA, which was operated largely out of the U.K. and the U.S., with as much as $16 billion in debt, may have been comparable, lawyers said.

‘Outside’ Fraud

“It’s not often that a bank goes bankrupt in Luxembourg, so it was huge,” said Thibaut Partsch, a lawyer in the 125- lawyer Luxembourg office of Loyens & Loeff, which represented LuxAlpha. Like Madoff, that case was “a fraud from the outside that affected operations in Luxembourg.”

As many as 1,000 Madoff cases may reach Luxembourg courts, said Paul Mousel, 55, a partner of Kremer’s at Arendt & Medernach. The 230-lawyer firm has been forced “to reorganize everything.”

Kremer can’t travel outside Luxembourg anymore to meet clients because of the cases. “The warning time for me as defending counsel equals zero. I never know whether the next day someone new will take us to court,” Kremer said.

The workload at smaller firms is increasing as foreign law firms seek local counsel. Under national law, only lawyers from the Luxembourg bar can defend clients in commercial cases.

“The most difficult thing was to find lawyers in Luxembourg that weren’t already conflicted,” said Marc Pierre Stehlin, a founding partner of Paris firm Stehlin & Associes, which hired three firms to represent French investors. “The important law firms specializing in financial matters had conflicts of interests because they acted for banks like UBS and couldn’t take on clients bringing claims against those banks.”

Luxembourgish

While the official language of the courts is French, discussions between judges and lawyers often switch to Luxembourgish, which is spoken by two-thirds of the country’s 480,000 residents.

“It’s absolutely indispensable to have” a Luxembourg lawyer “who knows the ropes,” said Bruno Quentin, a partner at Paris’s Gide Loyrette Nouel. Gide works with two smaller Luxembourg firms for clients including BNP Paribas SA.

Grappling with the workload brought one more challenge that lawyers will have to face for some time to come: more working hours and sleepless nights.

“I have been working as a lawyer for more than 25 years and in my life I haven’t worked as much as in the past year,” Mousel said.

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NEC to exit Japan-backed supercomputer project

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Struggling Japanese electronics giant NEC Corp. said Thursday it will withdraw from a government-backed supercomputer project as part of its efforts to cut costs during the economic slump. Skip related content
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NEC has taken part in the project to develop a next-generation supercomputer since 2007 along with the Riken institute and two other electronics companies, Hitachi Ltd and Fujitsu Ltd.

But NEC, which lost 296.6 billion yen (3.05 billion dollars) in the year to March, decided to leave the supercomputer project as the team has completed the development stage and is now moving to testing and manufacturing.

"The company is working to strengthen its profitability by all means including cutting jobs and reviewing projects amid the exacerbating economic environment due to the global downturn," NEC said in a statement.

"As the next-generation supercomputer project shifts to the phase of manufacturing, a large amount of investment linked to producing the hardware is expected," it said. "The spending would significantly weigh on the company's financial health."

Japan's high-tech giants have been badly affected by the global economic slowdown, which has pushed down demand for their products and sent the yen soaring, eroding export earnings.

NEC is cutting 20,000 jobs worldwide and withdrawing from the personal computer business in North America and Europe, shifting its focus on the more profitable network solutions and systems businesses.

It said it would keep its own supercomputer development division.

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新生銀、1430億円の最終赤字　09年3月期、海外投資などで損失

　新生銀行が13日発表した2009年3月期の連結最終損益は1430億円の赤字（前の期は601億円の黒字）だった。海外投資に伴う損失処理や不良債権処理費用が膨らんだことが響いた。同日記者会見した八城政基社長は、あおぞら銀行との経営統合交渉について「上場会社なので決定していないことをコメントするのは適切でない」と述べるにとどめた。

　大幅な赤字転落に伴い09年3月期の株主配当は見送る。新生銀が通期で無配に転落するのは00年の発足後初めて。

　金融・経済危機で大幅に価格が下落した債務担保証券（ＣＬＯ）で507億円の減損処理を実施したほか、欧州の資産担保証券（ＡＢＳ）への投資で279億円の損失を計上。不動産関連融資で189億円の貸倒引当金を積んだことも赤字幅の拡大につながった。(00:45)

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４月の街角景気、４カ月連続で改善　一部に経済対策の効果

　内閣府が13日発表した4月の景気ウオッチャー調査によると、景気の実感を示す「街角景気」の現状判断指数は前月に比べ5.8ポイント高い34.2となり、4カ月連続で改善した。企業の在庫調整が進んだほか、定額給付金など経済対策の効果で消費が持ち直す動きもあった。ただ景気が「良くなった」との回答は少なく、本格回復は見込めていない。

　調査は4月下旬に実施し、小売店主やタクシー運転手ら約2000人が景気を5段階で評価した。内閣府は基調判断を「景気の現状は厳しいものの、このところ悪化に歯止めがかかりつつある」と3カ月連続で上方修正した。

　回答には「高速道路料金の引き下げで日曜日の来店客が増えている」（四国の商店街）などと政府の追加経済対策の効果を指摘する声が増えた。製造業からは「2月が底で4、5月の売り上げは増えている」（東海の輸送用機械器具製造業）と生産の持ち直しを指摘するコメントもあった。(13日 23:10)

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遮音性能高い組み立て式防音室　ヤマハ、一般家庭にも販売

　ヤマハは防音室として高い遮音性能をもった、組み立て式のコメントブース（放送原稿を読むスペース）をＮＨＫと共同開発した。壁などの構造を改良し、造り付けの防音室とほぼ同程度の遮音性能にしたという。

　天井と壁はパネルを２枚並べる2層構造にした。壁の外側のパネルの内側には、石こうなど複数の素材をさらに４枚重ね、低音域の振動を吸収する柔らかい素材を使って取り付けることで遮音効果を高めた。同社の従来品では防音室の外のピアノの音が小声で話す程度の音量で聞こえたが、新製品では耳を澄まさないと聞こえないレベルになったという。コンサートホールなどでの収録でも周囲の音を気にせずに原稿を読めるとしている。

　全国の放送局のほか、企業の研究所や楽器を演奏する一般家庭に向け6月から順次売り出す。価格は6―10平方メートルで税抜き1400万―1800万円（工費等別）。初年度で1億円の販売を目指す。(11:47)

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東芝や日立など、薄型ＴＶの海外生産を集約

　東芝や日立製作所など電機各社が海外の薄型テレビ組み立て生産拠点を集約する。東芝は2009年末までに英国工場での生産を中止、日立製作所はチェコ工場を閉鎖。ソニーも拠点の見直しを進める。自社拠点の集約と同時に、ＥＭＳ（電子機器の受託製造サービス）への生産委託を拡大して固定費を削減する。韓国勢などとの価格競争が激化する中、水平分業体制に移行することでコスト競争力を高める。

　東芝は東芝情報システム英国社プリマス工場（デボン州）の液晶テレビの組み立てを打ち切る。設計機能だけを残し、従業員の約8割に当たる250人程度を削減する。全世界のテレビ生産拠点は6カ所になる。(10:15)

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東シベリアのガス田開発　ガスプロム、三井物産と協力交渉

　ロシアの独占天然ガス会社ガスプロムのメドベージェフ副社長は13日、日本経済新聞の取材に対し、東シベリアやバレンツ海で開発中の大規模ガス田について、三井物産などと事業協力する方向で交渉していることを明らかにした。ガスプロムはサハリン沖の資源開発で日本企業と協力しているが、今後はロシア全土で日本の技術や資金を活用したい考えだ。

　東シベリアの「チャヤンダ・ガス田」は埋蔵量1兆2000億立方メートル。バレンツ海の「シュトックマン・ガス田」は埋蔵量3兆立方メートル超と、世界有数の規模を持つ。2013年に生産を開始する計画で、第一段階の総事業費は150億ドル（約1兆5000億円）を見込む。(07:00)

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「チンギス・ハン」はどこの人？　韓中蒙で大論争

オンラインゲームめぐり、三つ巴の“国際問題”に発展
ウランバートルの政府庁舎前に置かれたチンギス・ハンの像。明らかにモンゴルの英雄だが…（共同、クリックで拡大）
ウランバートルの政府庁舎前に置かれたチンギス・ハンの像。明らかにモンゴルの英雄だが…（共同、クリックで拡大）

　韓国のゲームメーカーが先ごろ、「チンギス・ハン」というオンラインゲームをリリースしたところ、中国のメディアが「“わが国”の民族的英雄をおとしめるものだ」とかみつき、騒ぎになっている。韓国や中国が双方の風習や文化遺産などを「自国がルーツ」と主張することは以前から問題になっているが、この争いに今回はモンゴル人も参戦。「チンギス・ハンはモンゴルの英雄だ」と不快感を見せている。ゲームをめぐる“国際問題”勃発だ。

　韓国では、民族学会代表のポール・キム氏が「モンゴル、靺鞨（まっかつ＝ツングースの一族）などは朝鮮族の子孫で、その意味ではチンギス・ハンも韓民族」と主張しており、今回のゲームはその主張に基づいて制作されたとみられる。

　これに対し、中国のゲーム専門サイト「多玩遊戯」は７日、同ゲームについて、「怒！　韓国はオンラインゲームにチンギス・ハンを利用、中国の民族的英雄をおとしめた」「韓国のゲームはいつも、中国の人物や名所を利用している」という記事を掲載した。

　続けて「韓国の一部の人間は孔子も韓国人だなどと、大笑いの研究成果を発表した。このように幼稚な行為では大韓民族を美化できないばかりでなく下劣な心情が暴露されてしまうだけだ」などと怒りをあらわにした。

　だが、この中国の怒りに対し、モンゴル・ウランバートルの旅行会社経営者、アルタンゲレル・ジャバワさん（３５）は、「この記事を書いた中国人も何も分かっていませんね」と憤る。

　「モンゴル国民、蒙古民族にとって、チンギス・ハンは国家創建の“神”。現在、中国の支配下にある内蒙古も含めた『大モンゴル帝国』という意味なら、中国も確かに関係していますが、それを言うなら中国がモンゴル国の一部だったというのが真実。中国の英雄ではなく、モンゴルの英雄、蒙古民族の英雄と主張すべきでしょう」

　チンギス・ハンがモンゴル建国の祖であることは誰もが知っている。そのチンギス・ハンの死後百数十年を経て、大モンゴル帝国は解体。蒙古は内外に分裂し、現在の内蒙古住民の８割以上は漢民族だ。歴史的に中蒙両国の関係は悪く、今回の中国の記事はモンゴル人を大いに刺激しそうだ。

　ウランバートルでＩＴ企業を経営するジャザグ・アンフバトさん（３４）も「仮にチンギス・ハンが中国の英雄なら、鎌倉時代の『蒙古襲来』（＝元寇）は清の仕業ということになりますが、中国は否定するでしょう。そもそも中国には、蒙古民族は中国の少数民族の一つでチンギス・ハンも中国人という誤解と矛盾に満ちた思想があるのです」と話す。

　３国の威信（？）をかけたこの論争。日本で最も有名なモンゴル人、ドルゴルスレン・ダグワドルジ氏（２８、横綱・朝青龍）にも意見を聞いてみたいところだが…。

ZAKZAK 2009/05/14

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ＷＳＪが日本進出へ…メディア、金融界は戦々恐々

ＳＢＩとダウ社の思惑一致
北尾代表
北尾代表

　総合金融グループのＳＢＩホールディングス（北尾吉孝代表）は、米情報大手ダウ・ジョーンズと合弁で、同社傘下の経済紙、ウォールストリート・ジャーナル（ＷＳＪ）の日本語版ウェブサイトを年内にも立ち上げる。名門の日本進出は、金融、メディア界に大きな影響を与えそうだ。

【年内にも立ち上げ】

　ＷＳＪの日本本格進出が実現したのは、ＳＢＩの北尾代表と、ダウ社を２００７年に買収した米情報大手ニューズ・コーポレーションのルパート・マードック会長が「ソフトバンク時代からの旧知の仲」（関係者）だったことが背景にあるとされる。

　経済情報の配信事業を強化したいＳＢＩと、アジアで拡大路線を推し進めるマードック氏との思惑が一致した格好だ。

　「ニューズ社は９６年、ＳＢＩの親会社だったソフトバンクと共同でＣＳ放送プラットホーム『ＪスカイＢ』を設立した。マードック氏はＪスカイＢの会長に就任。北尾氏はＳＢＩがソフトバンクとの資本関係を解消する０６年までの数年間、ＪスカイＢの関連会社の役員を務めていた」（同）という。

　ＷＳＪの日本進出をめぐっては、読売新聞が今年２月にＷＳＪアジア版の販売・印刷で提携したばかり。米国発の金融危機が拡大するなか、海外の経済情報を求めるビジネスマンのニーズに応えるのが狙いだ。東京、名古屋、大阪などの大都市圏で英字のアジア版を１日に約１万部販売し、ごく一部の見出しを日本語に翻訳して夕刊２面の片隅に掲載している。

　ＳＢＩと設立する合弁会社には、ＷＳＪを発行するダウ社が６０％、ＳＢＩが４０％出資する。資本金は総額４億円。単なる事業提携にとどまらず資本関係にまで踏み込み、読売新聞との差別化を図った。日本語に翻訳する編集チームを発足させ、ほぼ毎日ネット配信できる態勢を整える。

　ＳＢＩ関係者は「他社に比べ圧倒的に便利なサービスを提供できます」と胸を張る。ＷＳＪの記事をほぼ網羅するだけでなく、ダウ社の日本法人が運営する顧客向けのオンライン日本語サービスもそのまま合弁会社に移管する。

【海外の経済情報網羅で差別化】

　ＳＢＩグループは、インターネット証券のほかに、ネットを活用した銀行、生保、損保など総合金融サービスを手掛けている。ダウ社との合弁サイトを通じて「投資家への情報サービスを強化する」（ＳＢＩ関係者）ため、ＳＢＩに口座を保有する顧客以外でも一部情報を無料で購読できるサービスを検討している。

　「貯蓄から投資へ」の流れを受けて投資家が増えたうえ、海外経済が日本市場の動向に与える影響が大きい現状を踏まえると、「日本経済の情報を提供するだけでは足りない」（カブドットコム証券役員）のが実情。

　ＳＢＩは日本語版ＷＳＪにより、同業他社との“情報戦”を有利に戦えることになる。

　また、経済情報の雄の本格進出は、すでに提携している読売新聞のみならず、日本経済新聞グループや時事通信社といった経済情報をウリにするメディアにとっても脅威となりそうだ。

ZAKZAK 2009/05/14

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GM executives dump stock as trading window opens
Mon May 11, 2009 6:17pm EDT

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DETROIT, May 11 (Reuters) - Six General Motors Corp (GM.N) executives disclosed on Monday they sold almost $315,000 in stock and liquidated their remaining direct holdings in the struggling automaker.

In filings with U.S. securities regulators, the GM insiders led by former GM Vice Chairman and product chief Bob Lutz detailed stock sales on their behalf on Friday and Monday during a trading window for such transactions.

Lutz, who is now an adviser to the automaker, sold $130,989 worth of GM stock at the closing price of $1.61 on Friday.

That sale of the 81,360 shares cleared out all of Lutz's direct holdings of GM stock, according to his filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The five other executives, including Lutz's successor, Thomas Stephens, GM North America President Troy Clarke, Chief Information Officer Ralph Szygenda and manufacturing chief Gary Cowger and head of European operations Carl-Peter Forster also sold all of their GM stock holdings, according to the filings.

GM is headed for either a bankruptcy filing or an out-of- court restructuring that would wipe out current stockholders by flooding the market with new shares to pay off creditors.

The automaker's stock could be either worthless in a bankruptcy or worth less than 2 cents per share if it proceeds with its plans to issue shares to creditors led by the U.S. Treasury, the company has said.

Insider trading restrictions have prevented GM's senior executives from selling stock holdings for most of this year as the automaker has scrambled to restructure under the oversight of the Obama administration's autos task force.

But after the filing of its quarterly report with the SEC last week, GM executive officers and directors were notified a "trading window" had opened on Friday, spokeswoman Julie Gibson said.

The trading window remained open on Monday and could be open for Tuesday as well, she added.

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麻生首相、任命責任を否定「健康まで…」
2009.5.14 05:01

麻生首相、任命責任を否定「健康まで…」
辞任した鴻池官房副長官への任命責任を「否定」する麻生首相。やっぱり空気読めない！？＝１３日午後（撮影・鈴木健児）【フォト】

　麻生首相は１３日夜、週刊誌で知人女性との宿泊旅行が報じられた鴻池房副長官が引責辞任したことについて「（辞任は）健康上の理由だ。健康まで任命責任なのか分かりかねる」と自身の任命責任を否定した。

　河村官房長官は同日午前の記者会見で「任命責任は避け得ない」と厳しい認識を示し、午後にも今回の問題が政権運営に「打撃なしとはしない」と発言しており、首相の姿勢に与野党から批判が出そうだ。

　共産党の志位委員長は「首相が『健康上の理由』として問題の本質を認めないのは、許されない態度だ」と指摘。民主党の鳩山幹事長は首相発言に先立ち「（最初に）スキャンダルが発覚した１月の時点でなぜ首相は鴻池氏をかばったのか。首相の任命責任も極めて重い」と強調した。

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麻生内閣 末期状態の象徴
志位委員長が批判
写真

　日本共産党の志位和夫委員長は十三日、ＪＲ無料パスを使って女性と私的旅行をしたと週刊誌で報じられた鴻池祥肇官房副長官が「健康上の理由」で辞任したことについて記者団の質問に答え、「とってつけたような理由としか考えられない」「問題の本質をきちんと認めない、反省もしない、許されない態度だ」と批判しました。

　志位氏は、鴻池氏は、新型インフルエンザ対策で政府としての対応が求められるなか、「内閣官房副長官がそういう行動をしていたことは、まさに重大な政治問題だ」と批判。「麻生内閣の末期的な状況のひとつのあらわれ、象徴だと思う」と指摘しました。

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【麻生首相ぶら下がり詳報】鴻池副長官辞任「入院してるのでやむを得ない」（１３日夜） (1/2ページ)
2009.5.13 20:07

　麻生太郎首相は１３日夜、週刊誌で女性問題を報じられた鴻池祥肇副長官（６８）＝参議院兵庫選挙区＝が健康問題を理由に辞任したことについて「入院しているのでやむを得ない」と述べた。国会内で記者団に答えた。

　ぶら下がり取材の詳報は以下の通り。

　【鴻池副長官辞任】

　－－週刊誌に女性問題が報じられた鴻池副長官が健康を理由に辞任したが、受け止めを

　「今朝でしたかね。官房長官経由で、議員の申し出がありましたので、健康上ということで、もう入院もしておられるという話だったので、やむを得ないと思いました」　

　－－鴻池氏は今年１月にも同じ女性との関係を報じられた。内閣を支える副長官が再び女性問題を報じられたが、政権に与える影響は

　「事実関係を知りませんので、そのことに関しては、なんとも申し上げようがありません。今回の場合は、健康の理由でしたし、この前の時も、病院に入院していましたんで、あんまり良くないとは知っていましたから」　

　－－鴻池氏は、私的な旅行にもかかわらず公務用に国会議員に支給されるＪＲの無料パスを利用した。与党内からも厳しい指摘もあがっている。首相の任命責任については

　「今のＪＲの話については、事実関係を知りませんので、何とも答えようがありません。少なくとも、そういったようなことに関しては、間違われるとか、誤解を生むとか、そういった不信感をかわないようにしておくというのは大事なことだと思っております。任命責任については、健康上というのであれば、その点に関しましては、うん。健康までちょっと任命責任になるのは、よくわかりかねます」

　－－鴻池氏の行動に問題は

　「行動。詳細を知りませんので、行動に対してお答えのしようがありませんとお答えしておきます」　

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NATO incubates plot against Obama
13.05.2009 Source: Pravda.Ru URL: http://english.pravda.ru/world/americas/107549-nato_obama-0

A 'war party' inside NATO does not want to let the partnership between Russia and the North Atlantic Organization happen. Moreover, this party plots against the US President who strives to reset the relationship between Washington and Moscow, Russia's Ambassador to NATO Dmitry Rogozin said.

Rogozin is sure that this 'war party' masterminded the expulsion of two Russian diplomats from Brussels.

“Someone wanted to push Russia towards making tough measures. They wanted to trigger an international scandal, but Russia is not playing these games,” he said.

Rogozin presumes that there are officials the Alliance who are highly discontented with the policy of the new American leader.

“The USA is now forming a new team. They are selecting new foreign affairs staff and new negotiators. There are people who received their posts under the previous administration, and they still adhere to the principles that they were following in the past. We regard a plot inside the North Atlantic Organization against Obama as conceivable” Dmitry Rogozin said.

Rogozin supposes that the difficulties in relations between Russia and NATO are connected with “two mutually exclusive concepts that coexist in the heads of NATO strategists”. The first concept is to play the role of an international policeman. The second one is to defend collectively against a specific enemy. In the first case, the role of an enemy is played by international terrorism, but the second concept needs a more “palpable” enemy.

“This “bugaboo role” was previously played by the USSR, now Russia must play it according to the second concept. So, any improvement of relations with Russia will damage the second project”, the official said.

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Russia
Putin says Japan must agree to Russia's terms for peace treaty
20:35 | 13/ 05/ 2009

Print version

ULAN BATOR, May 13 (RIA Novosti) - Russia will only sign a formal peace treaty with Japan on terms that meet Moscow's interests, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday.

Russia and Japan have yet to sign a formal treaty ending World War II hostilities, due to their territorial dispute over the four South Kuril Islands, former Japanese territory annexed by the Soviet Union after the war.

"This [peace treaty] can only be done in a way that will meet the national interests of the Russian Federation," Putin told reporters.

He said the content of a peace treaty would be a focus of future bilateral negotiations.

The premier said on Tuesday that President Dmitry Medvedev would discuss territorial issues and a formal peace treaty with Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso at the upcoming G8 summit in Italy.

Putin visited Tokyo on Tuesday to discuss the long-standing dispute, along with economic, energy and international issues.

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Russia, U.S. against pressure on N.Korea over nuclear program
19:32 | 13/ 05/ 2009

Print version

MOSCOW, May 13 (RIA Novosti) - Both Russia and the United States are against applying pressure on North Korea as a means of settling the dispute surrounding the country's nuclear program, a Russian diplomat said on Wednesday.

Russian ambassador-at-large Grigory Logvinov, representing Moscow at the six-nation talks on North Korea's nuclear program, and the U.S. special envoy for the talks, Sung Kim, met in Moscow to discuss Pyongyang's recent withdrawal from the talks.

"We share the same approach - to search for diplomatic solutions, without applying any pressure, and this approach enjoys support from both the Republicans and the Democrats in the United States," Logvinov said.

"What's important is that everybody is willing to continue the talks. We need to preserve what has been gained since 2005," he added.

During the two-hour meeting, Logvinov and Sung Kim discussed in detail various aspects of the current situation, and means of resuming the talks involving North and South Korea, Russia, Japan, China and the United States.

The six-nation talks were launched in 2003 after Pyongyang withdrew from the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty.

Under deals reached in 2007, the North began disabling a nuclear reactor and other facilities at Yongbyon under U.S. supervision in exchange for economic aid and political incentives.

However, in December last year, a round of six-nation talks ended in deadlock over a U.S. demand that nuclear inspectors be allowed to take samples out of the country from North Korean facilities for further analysis.

The reclusive communist regime recently announced it was resuming work at its Yongbyon nuclear facility, which produces weapons-grade plutonium, and withdrawing from six-nation talks after the UN Security Council condemned a rocket launch on April 5, which Pyongyang said was carrying a communications satellite.

North Korea also said it would conduct further nuclear tests and rocket launches to ensure its security and defense capability.

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Black Sea Fleet to remain in Ukraine after 2017 - ex-commander
14:59 | 13/ 05/ 2009

Print version

SEVASTOPOL/MOSCOW, May 13 (RIA Novosti) - Russia and Ukraine can reach an agreement on the Russian Black Sea Fleet retaining its main base in Crimea's Sevastopol even after 2017, the fleet's former commander said Wednesday.

The fleet uses a range of naval facilities in Ukraine's Crimea as part of a 1997 agreement, under which Ukraine agreed to lease the bases to Russia until 2017.

"Statements by some Ukrainian politicians on the need for the prompt withdrawal of the Black Sea Fleet from Sevastopol are nothing more than political bravado," Adm. Igor Kasatonov, who is also an advisor to the chief of the Russian General Staff, said.

"The Black Sea Fleet is a stronghold of stability and security for two states - both Russia and Ukraine," he said. Kasatonov commanded the fleet in 1991-1992.

On Wednesday the fleet celebrates the 226th anniversary since its establishment.

Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko announced last summer that Ukraine would not extend the lease of the base in the Crimean city of Sevastopol beyond 2017, and urged Russia to start preparations for a withdrawal.

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Gazprom agrees on Greek firm's role in South Stream gas project
18:21 | 12/ 05/ 2009

Print version

ATHENS, May 12 (RIA Novosti) - Gazprom and a Greek gas company have agreed on setting up a consortium to build the South Stream gas pipeline section across Greece, a source close to the negotiations said on Tuesday.

"The accords have been agreed upon and their signing is expected in coming days," the source said.

The South Stream pipeline is designed to annually pump 31 billion cubic meters of Central Asian and Russian gas to the Balkans and on to other European countries, but its capacity could be increased by a further 16 billion cu m. The project involves Bulgaria, Serbia, Hungary, Italy and Greece.

Russia and Greece signed in April 2008 an intergovernmental agreement on cooperation in the construction and operation of the Greek section of the South Stream gas pipeline. In the fall of 2008, Gazprom and Greece's DESFA started talks on a consortium to implement the project.

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「裁判受ける権利を侵害」　宮城刑務所に弁護士会が警告
2009.5.14 16:41

　仙台弁護士会は１４日、男性受刑者が申し出た民事訴訟の抗告状発送にすぐに対応しないなど、裁判を受ける権利を侵害しているとして、宮城刑務所（仙台市）に文書で警告した。

　同弁護士会によると、男性受刑者は昨年２月、自らが当事者である慰謝料請求訴訟が仙台簡裁から徳島簡裁へ移送されることになった決定を受け、即時抗告を決意。期限前日の午前８時ごろ、翌日必着と伝えて抗告状を出すよう申し出たが、刑務所側が守らず、期限経過で即時抗告は却下されたという。

　同年３月には、この受刑者が絡む仙台地裁での民事訴訟で、受刑者が決定に不満があったため期限２日前に抗告状の提出を申し出たが、刑務所側は期限２日後に発送。また、所有が認められているはずの裁判関係書類の保管を制限するよう求められ、従わなければ懲罰を科すと告げられたこともあったという。

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特別検査でＦＲＢが譲歩＝公表前に資本不足額を圧縮－米紙報道

　【ワシントン９日時事】米紙ウォール・ストリート・ジャーナル（電子版）は９日、大手１９金融機関に対する特別検査（ストレステスト）を行った連邦準備制度理事会（ＦＲＢ）が７日の公表直前に資本不足額を大幅に圧縮していたと報じた。検査は厳格に行われたとするＦＲＢの主張に疑いが生じかねず、今後論議を呼びそうだ。

　それによると、銀行の収益力などをめぐり、ＦＲＢと一部金融機関の見解が鋭く対立。２００９年１－３月期の好決算をもとに銀行側がＦＲＢを押し返し、少なくとも１９行のうち半数が資本不足額を圧縮させたという。

　このうちシティグループの資本不足額は当初約３５０億ドル（約３兆５０００億円）に達すると判断されていた。公表された５５億ドル（約５５００億円）の６倍以上で、最も多い不足額を指摘されたバンク・オブ・アメリカの３３９億ドルを上回っていたことになる。（2009/05/09-14:57）

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「日本大使、情報見返り３００万円」　中国の裁判所認定

2009年5月14日3時7分

　【北京＝峯村健司】宮本雄二・駐中国大使が、国家機密漏洩（ろうえい）罪で懲役１８年の実刑判決を受けた元新華社通信外事局長の虞家復被告（６２）に対し、情報提供の見返りに計２０万７千元（約３００万円）を渡したと判決で認定されたことがわかった。宮本大使は大使館を通じ、「外交活動の個別のやりとりについてはコメントできないが、現地の法令を尊重しており、何ら問題はないと考える」とコメントしている。

　判決は北京市第２中級人民法院（地裁）が今月５日に出した。起訴状は宮本大使の実名を記載したが、判決文は「大使館員」となった。中国では国家機密にかかわる裁判は非公開だが、関係者への取材で明らかになった。

　新華社は中国政府直属機関で、報道のほか、指導部向け内部情報を扱う。中国当局は情報漏洩の取り締まりを強めているが、外交官の情報活動がこうして明るみに出るのは珍しく、中でも一国の大使自身がかかわる形でスパイ罪が認定されたのはきわめて異例といえる。

　判決によると、虞被告は宮本氏の大使着任後の０６年９月から０７年７月ごろにかけ中国の外交政策に関する情報を伝え、金を受け取った。０６年１１月８日には、北朝鮮が同年１０月に核実験を実施したことに関して、北朝鮮への送金停止など中国の措置について情報を提供した。

　また、虞被告は０３年７月から０５年８月にかけ、中国駐在の韓国公使（当時）に対して、胡錦濤（フー・チンタオ）国家主席の訪朝日程や、北朝鮮の核問題をめぐる６者協議の米朝間秘密接触などの情報を漏らし、３千ドル（約２９万５千円）、３千元（約４万３千円）とゴルフセットを受け取った。

　金品がどのような形で渡されたか判決は明らかにしていない。また、宮本大使や韓国公使は立件されていない。

　虞被告は国際畑が長く、日本で開かれた討論会にも出席したことがある。０７年７月、国家安全当局の取り調べを受け、同１２月に逮捕された。虞被告は情報提供について「いずれも外国メディアがすでに報道している」「金品は友人同士の贈り物に過ぎない」として控訴し、現在は北京市国家安全局の留置所にいる。

　中国では今年１月、中国社会科学院幹部が北朝鮮の情報を漏らした疑いで拘束された。また中国の北朝鮮核問題担当大使だった人物は金正日（キム・ジョンイル）総書記の訪中情報を外国メディアに流したとして０６年末に拘束されている。