Business-news- at Simplenewz your social news reader

simpleNewz

your social news reader

Find and read news in one place.
Share and comment the news you love.
Travel back in "news time".

Business News
for 03/22/2009

(last updated 7:30am EST 03/22/2009)

Custom Search

• WaMu Sues FDIC Over Fire Sale WaMu Sues FDIC Over Fire Sale
03/21/2009
Washington Mutual's holding company is suing federal regulators for billions of dollars, saying the fire sale of the bank's assets to JPMorgan Chase violated its rights. (13 h ago)

• Activists Protest Outside AIG Execs' Hom... Activists Protest Outside AIG Execs' Homes
03/21/2009
A busload of activists is paying visits to the homes of American International Group Inc. executives in Connecticut to protest tens of millions in bonuses awarded by the company. (18 h ago)

• Regulators Shut Banks In Colo., Ga., Kan... Regulators Shut Banks In Colo., Ga., Kan.
03/21/2009
Regulators shut down banks in Georgia, Colorado and Kansas, marking 20 failures of federally insured banks this year. More are expected to succumb to the prolonged recession. (19 h ago)

• "Job Squad" Set To Spring Into Action "Job Squad" Set To Spring Into Action
03/20/2009
Are you looking for work in this frigid market? Worried you will be? An Early Show weeklong series starting Monday, "Job Squad: Rewire To Get Hired," will have experts offering advice, and real-life job seekers just like you. (1 d ago)

• TALF Off To So-So Start TALF Off To So-So Start
03/20/2009
(1 d ago)

• Madoff To Remain Locked Up Madoff To Remain Locked Up
03/20/2009
A federal appeals court denied a motion to allow Bernard Madoff out of jail until he is sentenced for defrauding investors of billions of dollars. (1 d ago)

• New Estimate Has Deficit Topping $1.8T New Estimate Has Deficit Topping $1.8T
03/20/2009
Capitol Hill aides say the latest deficit figures produced by congressional economists show the federal budget deficit will exceed $1.8 trillion this year. (1 d ago)

• Banks Cite Two Paths To Disaster Banks Cite Two Paths To Disaster
03/20/2009
Bank executives warn that the government may force them to choose between accepting compensation restrictions that could cripple their ability to compete, or returning billions in aid, which could retard lending, the Washington Post reports. (1 d ago)

• What Did Madoff Clan Really Know? What Did Madoff Clan Really Know?
03/20/2009
Bernard Madoff's family may have known of the multi-billion-dollar fraud being perpetrated against thousands of clients, according to a former employee. (1 d ago)

• Applications Welcome, Clothing Optional Applications Welcome, Clothing Optional
03/20/2009
Hoping to take advantage of Rhode Island's floundering economy, owners of the Foxy Lady strip club in Providence plan to hold a job fair. (2 d ago)

• Ex-AIG CEO: Don't Blame Me For Bonuses Ex-AIG CEO: Don't Blame Me For Bonuses
03/20/2009
Hank Greenberg tells Maggie Rodriguez he "absolutely" wouldn't have paid them. He also says the current CEO should go. (2 d ago)

• AIG Credit Swapper Under Investigation AIG Credit Swapper Under Investigation
03/19/2009
In simplest terms, reports CBS News correspondent Elizabeth Palmer, Joseph Cassano sold big banks and brokerage firms insurance against their investments dropping in value. Now he, and those deals, are being blamed for AIG's collapse. (2 d ago)

• 13 Bailed Out Firms Owe Back Taxes 13 Bailed Out Firms Owe Back Taxes
03/19/2009
At least 13 firms receiving billions of dollars in bailout money owe a total of more than $220 million in unpaid federal taxes, a key lawmaker said Thursday. (2 d ago)

• Embattled AIG Turns To Crisis Managers Embattled AIG Turns To Crisis Managers
03/19/2009
AIG has turned to a seasoned Washington crisis manager to repair its tattered reputation and help it weather the escalating public backlash. (2 d ago)

• Battered Housing Market Gets Booster Sho... Battered Housing Market Gets Booster Shot
03/19/2009
The housing market is getting a huge influx of cash from the Federal Reserve. Anthony Mason reports that it's already having an effect. (2 d ago)

• Wall Street Puts Brakes On Rally Wall Street Puts Brakes On Rally
03/19/2009
Wall Street turned lower Thursday after a report on jobless claims gave mixed messages about the state of the economy. (2 d ago)

• Auto Suppliers To Get $5B In Aid Auto Suppliers To Get $5B In Aid
03/19/2009
The Treasury Department, trying to stabilize the battered auto industry, will provide up to $5 billion in financing to troubled auto parts suppliers who are linked to Detroit's carmakers, officials said Thursday. (2 d ago)

• FDIC: "Too Big To Fail" Motto Needs To G... FDIC: "Too Big To Fail" Motto Needs To Go
03/19/2009
The head of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. says the government's strategy in the financial crisis of bailing out huge institutions deemed "too big to fail" must be replaced by a new model. (2 d ago)

• Cisco Buys Flip Video Maker Cisco Buys Flip Video Maker
03/19/2009
Cisco Systems, the world's largest maker of switches and routers that power the Internet, has taken another step toward becoming a major player in the consumer electronics market. (2 d ago)

• "Meltdown" Blames Feds For The Crash "Meltdown" Blames Feds For The Crash
03/19/2009
Our current recession is deep, severe, and about to become the longest since the Great Depression. Author Thomas Woods' latest book makes a strong argument for laying the blame squarely on the shoulders of Washington politicians and regulators. (2 d ago)

• Fears grow that Legal & General will cut... Fears grow that Legal & General will cut dividend
03/21/2009
Concern is mounting in the City that Legal & General, the life insurance and pensions group, will freeze or cut its dividend this week amid concern that it could be forced to put more capital aside to cover itself against the risk of default on its corporate bond investments. These are tradeable loan products issued by companies to raise money that pay interest to investor institutions such as L&G. Tim Breedon, head of the life and pensions group, said last month that L&G planned to double its credit default reserves to £1.2bn, a measure he described as prudent and appropriate to cover all reasonably foreseeable circumstances. But worries over the dividend continue and L&G's share price has suffered a rollercoaster ride. The financial crisis shows little sign of abating and stock markets remain volatile, increasing the risk of companies defaulting on their bonds. Analysts at City broker Keefe, Bruyette & Woods said on Friday that they believed L&G could reduce the dividend by 30% and that the group's credit rating was likely to be cut in the near future. Some of L&G's investors fear that it could launch a deeply discounted rights issue, another factor that has driven down the share price in recent weeks. But KBW is sceptical that a rights issue will be necessary. Breedon said in February that "we have no plans whatsoever at this stage to raise capital". The company points out that it had a surplus of £1.6bn on 31 December, albeit one lower than the £2.9bn reported in September. Nevertheless, it has also indicated it is preparing to weather economic conditions last seen in the 1930s. Legal and General guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds (13 h ago)

• RBS faces probe into alleged 'threats' t... RBS faces probe into alleged 'threats' to directors
03/21/2009
Peer's criminal inquiry warning on bank The scandal engulfing the Royal Bank of Scotland reaches new heights today with serious allegations from a senior Labour politician that at least three of its former non-executive directors may have been intimidated and threatened with the sack for asking searching questions about its financial affairs. The Observer can reveal that a former government minister, Lord Foulkes of Cumnock, who has been extensively briefed by former bank insiders, has written to the Financial Services Authority, the City watchdog, asking it to pursue the claims which, if true, could trigger a criminal investigation. The intervention by Foulkes, who is also a member of the Scottish parliament and sits on the Commons security and intelligence committee, comes amid fears that the bank will be exposed as the UK's equivalent of Enron - the US trader that collapsed amid systemic fraud. Last night Foulkes said there was "widespread public anger among the public and Parliament that bankers in the midst of this financial crisis appear to be profiting and no action is being taken in relation to action which could constitute criminal offences". In relation to claims of intimidation, Foulkes said: "If it were to transpire that executives were pressured in such a way, then that is a most serious matter indeed that needs urgent action." He is also understood to have been disturbed by claims that the bank misled investors over its exposure to bad debts. Yesterday it was reported that more than £30bn of "toxic" sub-prime mortgages were bought for RBS by traders in 2007 without the board being informed - a claim denied by the bank. Foulkes's letter to the FSA chairman, Lord Turner, states: "You will be aware that there is widespread disquiet that, unlike in the USA, there appears to be no action being taken against any of the UK bankers who may have been culpable of one or more offences in their dealings." He asks Turner to address "whether any knowingly false statements were made or prospectuses issued that could have led potential investors or depositors to believe the position was more favourable than the board knew it to be and whether there was any intimidation of non-executive directors who had been asking probing questions which led them to believe they would not be reappointed if they continued to pursue such searching questions". Matthew Oakeshott, the Liberal Democrat treasury spokesman in the Lords, said: "I have never come across such damaging claims of megalomania, cover-up and intimidation ... Never mind Northern Rock. I am really afraid that RBS will turn out to have been another Enron." Foulkes's letter will be seen as the latest attempt by the establishment to up the ante on Sir Fred Goodwin, the bank's former chief executive, who has been blamed for its demise. Last month, Gordon Brown made a personal demand for Goodwin to hand back some of his £16m pension and pledged to take "all the legal action necessary" if he did not comply. The bank's financial reports reveal that the former non-execs, who included Peter Sutherland, chairman of BP, Jim Currie, the former head of Customs and Excise and Steve Robson, a former adviser to the Treasury, were paid a basic fee of £72,500 a year. According to RBS, they were meant to "satisfy themselves on the integrity of financial information and that financial controls and systems of risk management are robust and defensible". Concerns that the bank's non-executives failed to hold the board to account are bound to throw up further questions about how RBS was being run as it transformed itself from a relatively small outfit into one of the world's largest financial institutions. RBS said the bank had not seen Foulkes's letter and could not comment. However, a source close to the bank said allegations that the non-executive directors were pressurised may have some foundation. "Bullied is too strong a word, but, like many companies, somebody is clearly the leader and they may throw their weight around," the source said. Last month RBS recorded a loss of £28bn - the largest in UK corporate history. Its catastrophic collapse has forced the government to take a 75% stake in the bank. UK taxpayers are also having to underwrite billions of pounds of its toxic loans bought by subsidiaries in the US. When contacted about Foulkes's letter, a spokesman for the FSA said: "We don't comment on whether or not we are going to pursue individual companies unless it is decided it is a matter of interest to the public." Royal Bank of Scotland Economic policy Banking Scottish politics Executive pay and bonuses guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds (13 h ago)

• Geithner to unveil big regulatory reform... Geithner to unveil big regulatory reforms
03/21/2009
Timothy Geithner, the US treasury secretary, is poised to unveil a broad package of sweeping regulatory reforms this week in an effort to prevent further systemic breakdown of the type that led to the current economic crisis. The measures, which Geithner and Federal Reserve and White House officials have been working on for weeks, is expected to include greater government monitoring of banks and financial firms, and wider protection to consumers. The timing of the announcement, provisionally set for Thursday according to officials, might go some way to defuse the criticism of Geithner for his role in granting $165m (£114m) of bonuses to executives at AIG, the troubled insurer. But those critics showed no sign of letting up last night. "You will see pressure on Geithner intensify," a spokesman for John Boehner, the House Republican leader, said. A group of angry Republicans has already called for Geithner to resign over the AIG bonus scandal. More are expected to join their ranks this week, while some Democrats have also begun asking questions about Geithner's role in the AIG awards. Boehner, the top Republican in the House of Representatives, has not yet called for Geithner to step down, but has repeatedly said he believes the secretary is on "thin ice". US economy Regulators United States guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds (13 h ago)

• Americans angered by fresh revelations a... Americans angered by fresh revelations about AIG's bonuses
03/21/2009
Embattled American insurance giant AIG, which is at the centre of a huge political row over bonuses, has paid out far more than previously thought to its executives, it was revealed yesterday. In shelling out a reported $165m in bonuses to its top staff, AIG had already caused an almost unprecedented wave of anti-corporate anger in the US. The row has rocked President Barack Obama's administration and prompted new laws in a bid to try to claw back the money. But now documents obtained by Richard Blumenthal, the attorney general of Connecticut, where AIG has offices, show the firm in fact has in fact paid out $218m in bonuses, 32% more than previously thought. The shocking news is certain to further inflame popular emotions against AIG, the financial sector as a whole and embattled Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner. For many Americans AIG has become the unacceptable public face of the economic crisis. The AIG brand has in fact become so toxic that security guards have been placed outside the firm's offices and the homes of senior executives. Yesterday in Connecticut a group of protesters toured the state holding demonstrations outside houses owned by senior AIG management. They were hand-delivering a letter that asked for the executives to pay their bonuses back. Many AIG executives have also faced death threats in the wake of bonus revelations as ordinary Americans, struggling in the face of the deepest economic crisis since the Depression, have wondered why financiers who helped cause the disaster should profit so much from it. An internal security memo issued last week by AIG warned its staff to travel in pairs in public, to avoid going out at night, to keep an eye out for unfamiliar faces near their work or homes and not to wear an AIG logo in public. But the impact of the AIG scandal has gone far beyond the security fears of the firm's management. Though the actual amount of the AIG bonuses is relatively trivial compared to the more than $170bn the firm has received in bailout aid, and the several trillion dollars the government has flung at trying to end the recession, the saga has had a huge political impact. The symbolism of the AIG bonuses has triggered an epic political battle in Washington, with some Republicans seeking to use the crisis to force Geithner to resign and to slam Obama. They have demanded to know when Geithner knew about the bonuses and why legislation that could have prevented them was removed at the apparent request of Treasury officials. The furore has not left Obama unscathed. The normally slick message machine in the White House was stuttering all last week and left the president looking unusually beleaguered. "The administration has really had to scramble on this. It shows how angry and how politically dangerous the mood of the American public is right now," said Steve Mitchell, a political pollster and founder of Mitchell Research and Communications. Though Obama remains essentially popular, the last week has seen a steady erosion of support for America's first ever black president. One study showed his approval rating dropping from 64% to 59%. Another revealed that the number of Americans who disapprove of Obama's performance had risen from 17% to 26%. "I don't think the honeymoon with Obama is over. But the public is spending a lot more time in the sun on the beach than in the hotel bedroom right now. He is slipping in the polls," said Mitchell. AIG Executive pay and bonuses United States Insurance industry Obama administration guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds (13 h ago)

• G20 warned unrest will sweep globe as re... G20 warned unrest will sweep globe as recession hits poorest
03/21/2009
Crunch 'will cost developing world £520bn' A wave of social and political unrest could sweep through the world's poorest countries if G20 leaders fail to come to their aid, the World Bank warns today, as new research says the credit crunch will cost developing countries $750bn (£520bn) in lost output and drive millions more into poverty. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, managing director of the World Bank, is urging G20 leaders to use the London summit in less than a fortnight's time to help protect the developing world against the worst effects of the financial crisis. "We have to look at the impact of this on low income countries. Otherwise, without wanting to sound alarmist, social unrest and political crisis could be the result. It's in the self-interest of everyone to prevent that," she told the Observer Her stark warning came as a new report from the Overseas Development Institute (ODI) said the collapse of the global economy would cost 90 million lives, lead to an increase to nearly a billion in the number of people going hungry and cost developing countries $750bn in lost growth. "Tens of millions of people will be forced back below the poverty line. There will be irreversible effects on the very poorest," said Simon Maxwell, the ODI's director. The ODI is calling for an extra $50bn in aid for Africa, and urging G20 countries to set aside a "significant proportion" of the cash they are spending on fiscal packages, to help build up the infrastructure in poor countries, and lift people above the breadline. "When they sit down around the table at the G20, there will be plenty for the leaders to disagree about. This should not be one of those things, but it might well be," Maxwell said. The ODI also said the G20 should not set unrealistic expectations about resuscitating the stalled Doha round of international trade talks, and should instead make a firm promise to avoid tit-for-tat protectionism. Okonjo-Iweala said hundreds of thousands of workers were losing their jobs across the developing world, where social safety nets are almost non-existent, and called for more resources for the World Bank's "vulnerability fund," which helps cash-strapped governments to make direct welfare payments. "There is a credit crunch in many of these countries: foreign direct investment has dried up," she said. Gordon Brown will fly to Brazil this week to try and win the support of President Lula for his agenda of co-ordinated fiscal stimulus, free trade, and a boost to overseas aid budgets. Downing Street wants to secure a doubling in the resources of the International Monetary Fund, so it can bail out the worst-affected countries; and a promise of new loans to help facilitate cross-border trade. With budgets tight at home, and noisy demands for help from domestic constituencies, however, Brown is concerned many countries are failing even to live up to the promises on aid they made at the Gleneagles G8 meeting in 2005. In Italy, Silvio Berlusconi has slashed aid spending in the face of a fiscal crisis. G20 Global economy Protest guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds (13 h ago)

• City grandee defends B&B and Rock City grandee defends B&B and Rock
03/21/2009
Sir George Cox, a former director of Bradford & Bingley, has mounted an astonishing defence of both his erstwhile employer and fellow failed bank Northern Rock. Cox, who was until recently the most senior non-executive at B&B, made the extraordinary claims that Rock supremo Adam Applegarth had been doing what shareholders required and that Bradford & Bingley was "well-managed" with an "excellent" board. The remarks from Cox, a former director-general of the Institute of Directors, will strain the credulity of savers, borrowers and taxpayers who have watched the ignominious collapse and nationalisation of the two former building societies. In an interview with the Observer, Cox argued that the now discredited Applegarth "was doing exactly what his investors required of him. If he hadn't, he'd have been under pressure to perform. And if you read all the comments in the financial press, the guy was a star". He added that even if Northern Rock had been less aggressive in its pursuit of new business - which included its now infamous "Together" mortgage with a loan-to-value ratio of up to 125% - that would not have saved it from collapse when the credit crunch struck. Cox sat on the B&B board for six years, before stepping down in December 2007 - before Bradford & Bingley hit the buffers with a failed rights issue in 2008. He said: "Bradford & Bingley was a well-managed, quite conservative mortgage bank. It had an excellent board. "Like all mortgage banks, it borrowed in the money market. You couldn't fund the level of mortgages required by the market from retail savings, which would only have provided about a third of the mortgages that we've enjoyed in recent years. So everyone was doing this for many years." He added: "The idea that wholesale funding would seize up for months was never considered." Responding to Cox's comments, Vince Cable, the Liberal Democrat shadow chancellor, voiced criticism of the banks' behaviour in the run-up to the crisis. "Sir George Cox is right to say that very few people anticipated the failure of wholesale funding markets. However, there were people warning about risky lending at high multiples of income and high loan-to-value ratios," he said. "A bank like Bradford & Bingley should have been considering the risks of a rapidly expanding buy-to-let portfolio in the middle of a housing bubble which was unsustainable." Northern Rock Bradford & Bingley guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds (13 h ago)

• Split vote on Goodwin pension looms Split vote on Goodwin pension looms
03/20/2009
Major City investors could face a showdown with the government over the £703,000-a-year pension awarded to the former chief executive of RBS, Sir Fred Goodwin. City investors will vote on the pay policies of Royal Bank of Scotland at the shareholders' annual meeting. In an unusual situation, major institutions appear to be shaping up to show their anger at the payout, but UK Financial Investments, the body established to manage the government's stake in RBS, does not appear ready to vote against it. The taxpayer could end up owning up to 95% of the bank. The Association of British Insurers (ABI), whose members own 20% of the stockmarket, is warning that the decision by the RBS board to double Goodwin's pension pot when he was ousted in October was a "bad one". It has issued an alert to its members to signal areas of concern. Investors have three choices at annual meetings. They can vote in favour of the remuneration report, vote against it or abstain to register a protest rather than cause unnecessary management disruption. Investors, however, are powerless to force the board to stop paying Goodwin's pension, although a vote against would register a powerful protest. Pirc, a body that advises local authority pension funds on how to vote, is recommending a vote against the remuneration report. However, it is understood UKFI is considering voting in favour even though public opinion is against the pension payout and UKFI itself is considering ways to recoup the pension deal from Goodwin. The vote comes at a crucial time for the major institutions which have been under fire from government ministers, particularly City minister Lord Myners, for failing to police banks' boardrooms. He has suggested they failed in "examining and approving compensation culture". It is the first time traditional City investors will vote alongside UKFI, which is run at arm's length from the Treasury. The government will argue that it has no influence over how the vote is cast. The ABI would ordinarily have given the remuneration report a "red top" to alert investors to the most serious breaches of best boardroom standards. But the investor body is also aware that the old management has left, to be replaced by chief executive Stephen Hester and chairman Sir Philip Hampton. Peter Montagnon, head of investment affairs at the ABI, said: "The decision on Sir Fred Goodwin's pension was a bad one which would normally have warranted a red top. However, the remuneration committee which made that decision has now largely departed and the company has changed its policy with regard to the abatement of pension for directors who retire early. To have red-topped on this occasion might seem unfair criticism of the present board which is now substantially different." UKFI refused to comment. Sir Fred Goodwin Royal Bank of Scotland Banking Executive pay and bonuses guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds (1 d ago)

• EU to remove Switzerland, Austria and Lu... EU to remove Switzerland, Austria and Luxembourg from 'tax haven' blacklist
03/20/2009
In recent days Switzerland, Liechtenstein and other 'tax havens' have agreed to loosen their notoriously opaque rules on banking secrecy under severe pressure from EU leaders EU leaders today agreed to remove Switzerland, Austria and Luxembourg from the "tax haven" blacklist being drawn up by the OECD for the G20 summit in London early next month. Mirek Topolanek, Czech premier, who is chairing the two-day summit, said that the three countries had unconditionally accepted the OECD 's standards and criteria so they would no longer face the threat of being on the list. "I don't think any EU member state should be on any blacklist," he said. This follows heavy pressure from Jean-Claude Juncker, the veteran Luxembourg premier, who has been enraged that his country should be treated as a haven for tax frauds. A draft summit communique circulating among the 27 delegations for the G20 summit said the London meeting should agree to "fight with determination tax evasion, financial crime, money laundering and terrorist financing as well as any threat to financial stability and market integrity". It says the financial system should be protected from "non-transparent, non-co-operative and loosely regulated jurisdictions, including off-shore centres". These should be placed on a blacklist and subjected to a "toolbox of sanctions". In recent days Switzerland, Liechtenstein and other "tax havens" have agreed to loosen their notoriously opaque rules on banking secrecy under severe pressure from EU leaders, including Gordon Brown and Peer Steinbrueck, German finance minister. This follows a series of dramatic cases, with Klaus Zumwinkel, ex-head of Deutsche Post, sentenced to two years probation and fined ¤1m (£940,000) for secreting about ¤10m (£9.4m) in Liechtenstein trust accounts to avoid tax. Swiss bank UBS, fined $780m (£535m) by the US authorities for helping wealthy Americans avoid federal taxes through offshore accounts, is fighting against pressure to disclose the names of a further 52,000 Americans with Swiss accounts. Steinbrueck said earlier this week he has received threatening letters calling him a "Nazi thug" because of his campaign against banking secrecy and tax fraud, which costs western countries hundreds of billions of dollars each year. French president Nicolas Sarkozy said the very notion of "tax havens" had not even surfaced at the previous G20 summit in Washington last November. "Now Europe is in complete agreement on the blacklist and in demanding changes in the system of accountability," he told reporters. He added that the agreed restrictions should apply to all offshore havens, including the UK-administered Cayman Islands and even the Shetlands. "What's true for us is true for our friends in the UK and there can't be any exceptions. Our credibility depends on that," he said. "The banks, our banks, are not allowed to work in and with places which are on the blacklist." Tax avoidance Economic policy G20 guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds (1 d ago)

• Protectionism row flares as Renault 'rep... Protectionism row flares as Renault 'repatriates' production
03/20/2009
Renault and Peugeot, both running out of cash, were given billions in low-cost guarantees and loans provided they kept French plants open and saved as many jobs as possible French president Nicolas Sarkozy was today at the centre of a fresh row over protectionism when Renault said it would create 400 jobs at a plant near Paris by "repatriating" Clio production from Slovenia. Sarkozy tried to douse the flames of the row after they were fanned by his industry minister, Luc Chatel, who said Renault's move was the result of the government's €7.5bn (£7bn) aid for the car industry . A "surprised" Neelie Kroes, EU competition commissioner, immediately dubbed the move illegal state aid in flagrant contradiction of Chatel's previous assurances that the bailout of Renault, Peugeot Citroen and their suppliers would not entail preferential treatment for French firms or plants. But Kroes was disavowed by her boss, European commission president José Manuel Barroso, a Sarkozy loyalist, who said he had seen no evidence of a breach of EU internal market rules. Kroes only approved the French aid scheme after receiving Chatel's guarantees. The flare-up threw the EU into disarray and marred a two-day summit which declared itself a bastion of anti-protectionism and non-discrimination, ahead of the G20 summit in London on 2 April. Gordon Brown said: "We are an anti-protectionist EU." From Novo Mesto to Flins Renault and Peugeot, both running out of cash, were given the billions in low-cost guarantees and loans provided they kept French plants open and saved as many jobs as possible. Renault is axing 6,000 jobs and not replacing 3,000 others and Peugeot is cutting more than 5,000 after reducing output by as much as 45% in the face of the worst downturn to hit the European car sector for more than 50 years. Renault, in which the French state owns 30%, said today the success of the government's "scrappage" scheme — paying €1,000 for drivers to trade in their 10-year-old bangers for new fuel-efficient models such as the Clio and Twingo — meant it could switch some production of the Clio Campus from Novo Mesto, Slovenia, to Flins, near the French capital. Flins will assemble the model between June and October while the Slovenian plant will build more Twingos, the second-bestselling car in France last month as the "scrappage" scheme boosted demand. Urging the "reindustrialisation" of the French economy with state help, Sarkozy insisted that the move would mean no job cuts or closure in Slovenia where Novo Mesto was working at full capacity. Claiming French leadership in revitalising Europe's manufacturing sector, he said: "We can defend production in France without costing one job in Slovenia. That makes me happy. Thanks to our boost to demand there's more buying of cars in a period of dire news." More than 1 million people took to the streets in France on Thursday to protest against rising unemployment and tax-breaks for the rich. His comments were confirmed by a Slovenian spokeswoman who said no job cuts were planned and Novo Mesto could not meet all the increased demand for Clios and Twingos. The plant, one of several in east Europe built by western firms because of low-cost labour and surging demand pre-recession, produced 200,000 cars last year. But officials at the communist CGT union in France accused Chatel of falsely trumpeting job creation as the 400 jobs at Flins would be filled by Renault employees at other French sites. Sarkozy told reporters he planned more measures to boost French manufacturing and help contain soaring youth unemployment. "We should be more offensive in firms which don't have a future and reindustrialise the areas where they are based with investments and retraining grants." Renault Automotive industry France Nicolas Sarkozy Financial crisis G20 guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds (1 d ago)

• Sony Ericsson issues profit warning Sony Ericsson issues profit warning
03/20/2009
Consumers are clinging on to their existing handsets as the global recession bites Sony Ericsson, the world's fourth-largest mobile phone maker, has warned of a dramatic plunge into the red as mobile phone sales have slumped since Christmas. In the first three months of this year, the company estimates it will sell almost half the number of phones it sold in the same period last year. The warning is the latest evidence that cash-strapped consumers are clinging on to their existing handsets in order to qualify for cheaper call tariffs from their network provider. In the mass market, Sony Ericsson's initial lead in music phones (with the Walkman range) and camera phones (with its Cyber-shot devices) has been lost to rivals such as second-placed Samsung and there is little to differentiate it from other manufacturers. Some mobile phone customers are "trading up" to feature-rich smartphones such as the iPhone, but that market is still small and Sony Ericsson will not have an obvious answer to the Apple device until the second half of this year. The profit warning is the third in the space of a year from Sony Ericsson, a joint venture between Sweden's Ericsson and Japan's Sony. It comes just days after market leader and bitter rival Nokia announced plans to cut 1,700 jobs, on top of 600 losses already announced, as it also battles with the slowing handset market. The Finnish company, which makes roughly four out of every ten mobile phones sold worldwide, warned earlier this year that it reckons global handset sales will be down 10% in 2009 to just over a billion. Some analysts now believe that prediction looks overly optimistic as the global recession bites. "Despite some signs of improvement in the first quarter of 2009 compared with the fourth quarter of 2008 in markets such as China and India, the market overall continues to be very challenging," Carolina Milanesi, research director at the industry specialists Gartner, said. "Imaging and music are now features that most vendors have in their portfolio and this is making it more difficult for Sony Ericsson's products to stand out. Increased competition in western Europe coupled with a slower market and the delay in adopting touchscreen devices are heavily impacting its performance." In a trading update ahead of its results next month, Sony Ericsson warned that first-quarter sales and profits "continue to be negatively affected by weak consumer demand as well as de-stocking in the retail and distribution channels". It now expects to ship about 14 million phones in the three months to end March, down from 22.3 million last year and analysts' forecasts of about 18 million. Profits are being squeezed as intense competition pushes down prices. In the first quarter of 2009, the average selling price of a Sony Ericsson phone was €120 (£110). That is down €1 from the previous three months despite the increasing complexity of its handsets, which now include the sort of digital cameras that a few years ago would have cost several hundred pounds. The company now expects to make a quarterly loss of between €340m and €390m, excluding restructuring charges of €10m to €20m, meaning it is heading into its second year of losses. Part of the problem faced by Sony Ericsson is its failure to produce a compelling alternative to the Apple iPhone at a time when internet-enabled touchscreen phones, which can be personalised by downloading applications, are about the only devices being snapped up by consumers. HTC and Samsung have rushed into this market in the wake of the iPhone, while Nokia and RIM – makers of the BlackBerry corporate email device – have had only limited success with their alternatives, the Nokia 5800 and BlackBerry Storm. A report from the industry consultants Juniper Research, released this month, forecast that so-called smartphones will account for 23% of all new handsets sold, or about 300 million devices, by 2013. At the industry's annual get-together in Barcelona last month, Sony Ericsson gave a sneak preview of its answer to the iPhone. Code-named the Idou, the full touchscreen phone has a mammoth 12.1-megapixel camera, making it the most powerful camera phone on the market. But it is unlikely to be available in the UK until Christmas. Telecommunications industry Sony Mobile phones iPhone Profit warnings guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds (1 d ago)

• OECD: China can't save the world OECD: China can't save the world
03/20/2009
The west's leading economic thinktank expects "very negative" growth this year, its head warned today. However, Angel Gurría, secretary-general of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, said in Beijing that China's gross domestic product would expand by 6-7% – below last November's forecast of 8%. The World Bank cut its growth forecast for China to 6.5% this week. Gurría added: "Even positive growth in big emerging economies like India and China is not going to be able to offset the negative growth [elsewhere]." According to a provisional OECD forecast disclosed yesterday by a Slovenian minister, the Paris-based group expects the eurozone's economy to contract by 4.1% this year. The International Monetary Fund has projected a 3.5% fall. Gurría said China's "cruising speed" to keep unemployment acceptably low was about 7%, adding that growth had fallen from 13% in 2007. The OECD will release a formal forecast on 31 March. A new OECD report says the global crisis is hitting China's already impoverished countryside, with migrant workers returning home and household incomes dropping because they are no longer sending wages back. It argues judicial independence and proper defence of farmers' land rights – a sensitive issue – is needed to improve conditions for rural inhabitants. It also calls for increased investment in education, social security and basic services such as a clean water supply, and greater support for non-agricultural jobs. "The current recession has put into harsh relief the low level of the social safety nets and the livelihood of migrant workers," warned Gurría. He told the press conference that protectionism was "rearing its ugly head" because of the economic crisis and would only make matters worse. But he played down China's rejection of Coca-Cola's bid for the country's top juice maker, Huiyuan, this week, saying it acted from concern that the deal would have hurt competition. He also backed China's appeal for more say in global finance bodies, which it will press at next month's G20 summit in London. "The fact that China has less votes than Belgium tells you [it's needed]," he told reporters. The 30-member OECD, composed of wealthier nations, is forming closer ties with the emerging economies of China, India, South Africa, Brazil and Indonesia. Economic growth (GDP) China Global recession guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds (2 d ago)

• Weavering hedge fund falls into liquidat... Weavering hedge fund falls into liquidation
03/20/2009
Investors in one of the City's older hedge funds were warned this morning that they have probably lost most of their money, after it fell into liquidation. PricewaterhouseCoopers announced this morning that the firm has been appointed as liquidator for Weavering Macro Fixed Income Fund, the flagship fund of Weavering Capital. Weavering, which was set up in 1998, called in PwC last week after being hit by a wave of withdrawal requests which it was unable to satisfy. The fund has been valued at $506m (£350m). But according to PwC, once it investigated the books it discovered that the fund's only major asset was a $637m (£440m) "interest rate swap". PwC said this derivatives contract "had been struck with a company which was revealed to be related to the fund manager", adding that this unidentified company "lacked the value necessary to support the swaps". This left the Weavering Macro Fixed Income Fund with no chance of paying its debts. "It appears likely that there will be a very substantial shortfall to the Fund's creditors and its remaining shareholder investors may be left with little," warned Matthew Wilde, partner and head of PwC's Hedge Fund restructuring team. "It is clear that there is much to be understood about the circumstances of these trades and creditors and shareholders will soon be advised of details of a meeting of creditors to which the liquidators will report their findings," Wilde added. A statement on Weavering's website confirmed that an internal investigation was being conducted into "a transaction between the fund and a company controlled by a related party of Weavering". It has already suspended all redemption requests and said it will not issue a net asset value of its main fund while the investigation continues. Private equity Credit crunch Recession guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds (2 d ago)

• Harvey Nichols profits slump 40% Harvey Nichols profits slump 40%
03/20/2009
Harvey Nichols, which has UK stores in London, Leeds, Bristol, Birmingham, Edinburgh and Manchester, is now expected to make bottom-line profits of £10m in the year to 31 March Upmarket department store chain Harvey Nichols has seen its profits slump 40% as the global financial crisis tears holes in the pockets of its wealthy customers , it was reported today. Chief executive Joseph Wan said sales had suffered a sudden drop following the banking crash and went into "freefall" from October , stabilising after the winter sales. Harvey Nichols, which has UK stores in London, Leeds, Bristol, Birmingham, Edinburgh and Manchester, is now expected to make bottom-line profits of £10m in the year to 31 March, down from £18m the previous year. "A lot of wealth has evaporated and cannot be replaced overnight," Mr Wan told Retail Week magazine. "The total consumption pool has shrunk since last year. We must adapt." He said group sales for the year were likely to have fallen around 5%. But Wan expressed optimism that Harvey Nichols would be able to ride out the downturn. "As long as we don't end up with a mountain of stock, survival should be no problem," he said. The group is introducing new measures to help it cope with the difficult trading environment, including focusing on better stock management and a new marketing campaign launched this week in London aimed at overseas tourists. Foreign visitors have flocked to the capital in recent months, drawn by the cheap shopping potential of the weakened pound. Wan said Harvey Nichols was in a good financial position and the downturn could present opportunities for the group, adding that it would seek out acquisitions, such as troubled businesses. But he said the coming year would be a cautious one for the existing businesses. The firm remains committed to store openings - including one in Kuwait - and discussions about a Nottingham branch are ongoing. It is owned by Hong Kong-based businessman Dr Dickson Poon, whose retail empire also extends into North America and Europe. Retail industry Financial crisis Fashion guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds (2 d ago)

• Nationwide attacks government savings co... Nationwide attacks government savings compensation scheme after £250m bill
03/20/2009
• Scheme 'unfairly penalises low-risk institutions' The Nationwide Building Society has given the clearest signal yet that the government's scheme to compensate savers of failing banks will send its profits tumbling. Britain's biggest building society today added its voice to the growing anger over the levy imposed by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme. It believes the scheme - which spreads the cost of failed banks across the industry - is unfair and penalises its 14 million members. Nationwide said this morning that it expects to be charged £250m over the next three years, which includes the cost of paying interest on the UK government's loans to fund compensation for customers of banks that collapsed in the current crisis . That includes Bradford & Bingley, several Icelandic banks which operated in the UK, and doorstep lender London Scottish. "The basis of allocation of the levies has a disproportionate and inequitable impact on low risk, predominantly retail funded institutions generally, and building societies in particular, and we have lobbied the tripartite authorities to amend the scheme to reflect a more appropriate basis of allocation," said Nationwide. The building society is likely to take the £250m bill as a single one-off cost in this current financial year. That would mean Nationwide - which made a pre-tax profit of £686.1m last year - will post much lower profits for 2008-2009, but insiders say it is still likely to avoid a loss. The FSCS is the UK's compensation fund of last resort for customers of financial services. It is meant to protect customers with savings accounts or insurance policies. When a financial institution covered by the FSCS ceases trading, any compensation is covered by a levy on all the other members of the scheme, based on the size of their retail deposits. For years, the FSCS has not needed to levy its members at all. But the economic crisis, which has pushed several banks to the wall and forced the FSCS to borrow from the UK government, means that the total cost to the industry over the next few years could reach around £2bn. Nationwide's complaint, which is echoed by many other building societies, is that basing the FSCS's levy on retail deposits penalises risk-averse institutions. Conversely, a bank which borrowed heavily in the wholesale markets would end up paying much less - even though this led to the downfall of Northern Rock and HBOS. "We continue to make the case that it is inequitable to expect building societies and their customers to foot the bill for riskier institutions," a Nationwide spokesman said. A parliamentary early day motion which warns that the FSCS unfairly penalises building societies has now been signed by 164 MPs. Based on guidelines from the Financial Services Authority, Nationwide expects to pay a £237m levy into the FSCS to cover its network of savers, plus another £13m to cover customers at the Derbyshire and Cheshire Building Societies, which it recently took over. The Guardian first reported in January that Nationwide could be forced to pay £250m, and that some building societies face a charge of £30 per saver . Building societies have enjoyed a surge in customer interest following the credit crunch, as savers sought out a safe home for their money. But on Tuesday, Nationwide chief executive Graham Beale warned MPs that the cost of the FSCS would be the difference between making a profit or a loss for many small building societies. Earlier this week, the Tipton and Coseley Building Society blamed the FSCS levy for halving its profits for last year. Chief executive Chris Martin called its £600,000 levy "unfair and disproportionate". The Marsden Building Society has been charged £700,000, while the Manchester Building Society warned the FSCS levy had cost it £500,000. Banking Financial crisis Banks and building societies Economic policy guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds (2 d ago)

• Collapsing markets expose 'Ponzimonium' ... Collapsing markets expose 'Ponzimonium' of scam artists
03/19/2009
Financial authorities in the US are investigating "hundreds" of individuals and entities over suspected Ponzi schemes as turmoil on the global financial market exposes fraudsters, whose ill-gotten gains have remained undetected for years. The commissioner of the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission, Bart Chilton, warned today of "rampant Ponzimonium". He was speaking as the biggest Wall Street fraudster on record, Bernard Madoff, failed to gain release from prison. A federal appeals court ruled that the 70-year-old must remain incarcerated until his formal sentencing in June, when he is expected to be committed to prison for the rest of his life. Chilton said that regulators are uncovering more Ponzi schemes in the wake of high-profile cases such as the Madoff debacle and charges filed against Allen Stanford. "Regulators are certainly seeing more of these scams than ever before," said Chilton. "Although some of the crooks are so accomplished that they are hard to detect and remain below the radar for years." Chilton said that in the last month alone the CFTC had gone after fraudsters in seven states. "These guys are relentless - sending out bogus statements, slick monthly portfolios," he said. "One even used an imposter to pose as a successful investor who gave glowing testimonials." He added that many of those responsible led high-profile lives. "It is incredible what they think that can get away with. One crook bought an expensive teddy bear collection while another bought - can you believe it? - an entire drag-racing team." After three months under house arrest in his Manhattan penthouse, Madoff was jailed after pleading guilty last week to 11 criminal charges including fraud, theft, money-laundering and perjury. A three-judge appeals panel said today that he must stay in prison because there were grounds to consider him at risk of flight. "The defendant has a residence abroad, and has had ample opportunity over a long period of time to secrete substantial resources outside the country." US economy Scams Bernard Madoff United States guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds (2 d ago)

• New whistleblower claims over £1bn Barcl... New whistleblower claims over £1bn Barclays tax deals
03/19/2009
• Judge upholds ban on publishing bank's documents • Insider says tax avoidance central to firm's business Further detailed allegations about tax avoidance schemes set up by Barclays Bank emerged tonight from whistleblowers who said the bank made close to £1bn profit a year from a series of elaborate deals. The schemes are similar to those detailed in documents published by the Guardian this week which have been the centre of a three-day hearing at the high court, and are the subject of a gagging order. The internal Barclays memos were leaked by a mole to the Liberal Democrats. The new allegations reiterate claims that the bank's main purpose in entering into these schemes was to make profit from tax avoidance through an intricate circuit of offshore Cayman Islands and Luxembourg companies. The profits are said to be enormous and the deals so complex that HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) struggles to unravel them. Barclays has vigorously denied the claims and earlier this week won an emergency injunction forcing the Guardian to remove internal bank documents from its website. Earlier today a judge confirmed the ban, saying the documents contained confidential commercial information and legal advice. The Guardian is also banned from giving information about other publicly accessible sources of copies of the documents. Vince Cable, the Liberal Democrat Treasury spokesman, said of the ruling: "This is a sad day for democracy. British taxpayers are being asked to underwrite Barclays' loans. I believe full disclosure of these documents, showing how Barclays use tax havens for tax avoidance, would be in the public interest. Banks use the finest legal brains money can buy to avoid tax, but HM Revenue & Customs is underpaid and overstretched, so it is far from a level playing field." Barclays declined to comment directly on any of the detailed allegations. It said it complied with taxation laws and disclosed deals with tax implications to HMRC "in a prompt, transparent and timely manner". It added: "This has enabled HMRC to carry out detailed and robust assessments of our tax affairs with an emphasis on our structured capital markets transactions. We provide them with further explanations and documentation as required." Barclays is currently in negotiation with the Treasury to secure insurance from the government – taxpayers' money – to protect it against losses. Pressure has been mounting on banks to unwind tax avoidance schemes at a time when they are taking money from the public purse. Royal Bank of Scotland, in which UK taxpayers own 70% of the shares, has disbanded its department responsible for creating tax avoidance schemes. "The idea that we could take support from the Treasury with one hand and somehow pick their pocket with the other would be wrong on every level," said an RBS source. Sources with detailed knowledge of the Structured Capital Markets division of Barclays told the Guardian yesterday that its main purpose was to make profits from tax trades. "Every single thing SCM does is a tax trade," said one. "The deals start with tax and then commercial purpose is added to them. We were told that in one year SCM made between £900m and £1bn profit from tax avoidance." The sources painted a picture of a brutally competitive environment at SCM, source of a major part of Barclay's past profits. One describes high-rolling poker games, abrupt sackings, and a "motivation" game in which an executive was strapped into a mock electric chair. Barclays numerous tax trades have been voluntarily listed to the Revenue following a £300m-plus deal between the bank and the authorities in about 2005 to settle an outstanding tax dispute, several sources say. One whistleblower said, however, that the Revenue would typically get a one- or two-page summary of a deal, with all legal advice on tax and information said to be commercially sensitive removed. "It was impossible for them to work out the true picture. There's an understanding that we tell them about each deal so long as they don't stop them. I have never been able to see what's in it for the Revenue." The Barclays team expected the Revenue to obtain some tax payments on their deals but felt confident they would not be fully challenged, sources said. They knew they had a big budget and could afford top tax lawyers. Up to 40% of the Barclays SCM tax profits came from past transactions with the US, sources say. Once the tax authorities there clamped down, newer trades focused on the low-tax jurisdiction of Luxembourg to exploit a ruling from the European court of justice that the UK's tax rules on profits from foreign companies were discriminatory and not applicable unless trades were wholly artificial. One Luxembourg-based scheme, Project Knight, had two parallel arms. One involving "fixed income" loan deals was intended for trades worth up to a total of $16bn (£11.4bn), which were expected to generate $240m a year in tax benefits. A separate arm was set up to trade similarly in market equities. The trades were initiated for tax avoidance, the source said, but genuine commercial activities were also added as necessary. Half a dozen or more variations of this particular project were developed. Five or six further projects called STARS were bringing in profits from tax avoidance of around £300m a year. • You can contact the team working on the tax gap in confidence by sending an email to tax@guardian.co.uk . Barclays Tax avoidance Banking The Guardian Newspapers guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds (2 d ago)

• BAA ordered to sell Gatwick and Stansted BAA ordered to sell Gatwick and Stansted
03/19/2009
Competition Commission breaks up airport operator after two-year inquiry and switches priority to passengers The Competition Commission further disrupted the government's airport expansion programme today by ordering the break-up of BAA in a move that could push back the opening of a second runway at Stansted. The watchdog told Britain's dominant airport owner to sell Gatwick, Stansted and either Glasgow or Edinburgh. Christopher Clarke, chairman of the inquiry, said the disposal of Stansted could further delay a planning inquiry that has already been put on hold by ministers pending the outcome of the commission's own report. A new owner may want to build a cheaper second terminal and runway, said Clarke, which would render BAA's planning application redundant. "The idea of BAA continuing with a planning application when it will not own the asset is a clearly ambiguous position," he said, adding that the 2017 opening date for a second runway could be pushed back if passenger numbers continue to deteriorate. The Department for Transport said it remained "committed" to its airports policy, including an expanded Stansted. The high-risk £10.3bn acquisition of BAA by Spanish group Ferrovial was unravelling today following the publication of the report. The deal has become one of the cautionary tales of the credit crunch after the Heathrow owner was told to dispose of key assets that it bought near the height of the financial boom in 2006. The commission gave BAA two years to sell three of its seven airports after ruling that its dominance of the market exacerbated poor service for passengers and airlines. BAA has already put Gatwick up for sale but sources close to the process have warned of difficulties in putting together the finance for any such transaction. Colin Matthews, BAA chief executive, refused to rule out appealing against the "flawed" final decision today after indicating that the group might struggle to sell three airports in two years. "Two years suggests a long time but it is not necessarily a long time to complete three transactions in a difficult market environment," he said. Matthews confirmed that BAA will use the proceeds to pay down a £12bn debt burden that was imposed on the group by its Spanish owner to finance the 2006 takeover. However, even a successful disposal of all three prized airports would still leave BAA counting the cost of its takeover by Ferrovial three years ago, City analysts are warning. "They've got a lot of debt – the sale will help them reduce it, but once you've sold everything, there will still be a pile of debt left over," said Andrew Fitchie at Collins Stewart. "The market has changed. Airport values are falling; people are paying less for assets than they were when BAA was acquired. There's a lot of uncertainty out there and they might struggle to achieve the valuation that they're hoping for." The valuations of Gatwick and Stansted are underpinned by a regulatory formula known as the regulated asset base – or RAB – which gives Gatwick a minimum value of £1.6bn and Stansted an initial price tag of £1.3bn. Expectations of a big premium to those benchmarks are expected to come under pressure as the recession bites. According to the latest traffic figures, passenger numbers at Gatwick fell 9% last month, with Stansted slipping 10.3% as Glasgow posted a decline of 12% and Edinburgh fell 2.8%. Ferrovial paid about 22% above RAB when it bought BAA, according to a research note by Credit Suisse. Fitchie believes that Gatwick's sale may raise only £1.5bn, as opposed to BAA's initial estimate of £2bn. Lower proceeds and plunging passenger numbers may also put the company near its debt covenant limits, Credit Suisse warned. If the number of passengers falls more than 15%, some of BAA's covenants with its bankers could be breached, but that scenario is far worse than this year's forecast passenger fall of 8%. Covenant breaches leave businesses in the hands of creditors, who can push them into administration or negotiate a new debt restructuring. BAA's lenders, which include Spanish bank Santander and nationalised British bank RBS, have been cooperative, helping with a refinancing last summer and with high levels of capital expenditure. "They were lucky to secure the refinancing given credit market conditions," Fitchie said. One solution to any remaining debt problem would be for banks to swap some of their debt for equity in the company. Debt-for-equity swaps are common among highly indebted companies as a way of avoiding insolvency. Industry observers warned that BAA's concerns over the disposals timeframe will be underpinned by the scarcity of financing. Chris Bosworth, an aviation industry consultant, said the sale process will favour sovereign wealth funds because trade buyers and private equity firms are operating in a depleted credit market. "Financing is becoming difficult for trade buyers and private equity groups. For instance, airlines are struggling to raise funds to turn aircraft options into firm orders." Analysts also warned that the commission's determination to vet every step of the sale process, including whether to allow certain parties to bid, could result in a lower price. "The disposal process will be very tightly policed and dictated by the commission," said Douglas McNeill at Blue Oar Securities. "It clearly intends to make sure that these disposals happen in the near future. The prices may not be prices that would be considered attractive in normal market circumstances." The commission said today's ruling would bring "substantial benefits" to passengers. Derision has been heaped on BAA by passengers, airlines and politicians since the terrorism scare of 2006, when its security facilities were overwhelmed by the need to enforce stringent new anti-terror measures. A major plank of the commission's case is that, under new owners, Gatwick and Stansted's attempts to build new runways will have more urgency injected into them – a process that will take years. "In the short term it will not make much difference because of the time it will take for the sales to go through. And once that happens, the new owners will need time to get settled in. So it will be further down the line before we see new investment and changes," said John Strickland, an airline consultant. BAA, meanwhile, will be reduced to ownership of four airports: Heathrow, Southampton, Aberdeen and either Glasgow or Edinburgh. BAA Airline industry Heathrow guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds (2 d ago)

• Government borrowing soars to a record £... Government borrowing soars to a record £75bn
03/19/2009
Experts are warning that taxes may have to rise by £25bn a year after new figures today showed that the budget deficit had swung to a new record as recession took its toll on tax receipts. The Office for National Statistics reported a £9bn deficit last month, eight times the shortfall in February 2008, bringing total public-sector net borrowing for the first 11 months of the fiscal year to a record £75bn – more than £50bn higher than for the same period last year. The International Monetary Fund warned that the downturn would plunge the UK into the deepest deficit among the G20 countries next year, at 11% of GDP. George Osborne, the shadow chancellor, seized on the news: "The national debt is over £100bn higher than they predicted even last year – that's over £4,500 for every family. Labour's debt crisis means people in Britain will be paying for Gordon Brown's mistakes long after he has gone." John Hawksworth, of PricewaterhouseCoopers, said the deficit for the year to March could rise to almost £100bn – £20bn more than Alistair Darling predicted in the pre-budget report in November. For next year, the chancellor expects a deficit of £150bn, or 10% of national income. That would break the record 7.7% deficit set in 1993 by the government of John Major. He said: "The government will need to put in place a credible plan to bring the public finances back to a sustainable position in the medium term." That would require another £43bn of spending cuts and tax rises above that planned by Darling from 2011. This could be achieved if spending were frozen in real terms for three years to 2014 and taxes raised by £25bn a year, said Hawksworth. In a paper presented to G20 governments ahead of the summit on 2 April, the IMF calculated that the hole in the UK's public finances, at 11% of GDP, would be larger even than the 8.9% deficit it expects the US to run up next year, as it undertakes an unprecedented fiscal stimulus. Osborne said the IMF's assessment supported the Tories' opposition to a new fiscal stimulus plan in next month's budget. "Britain simply can not afford a further discretionary fiscal stimulus," he said. Vince Cable, Liberal Democrat Treasury spokesman, said: "We will inevitably see the public finances deteriorate further as the recession continues to bite. The government's temporary VAT cut has done nothing to stimulate the economy, while pushing the public finances further into the red … real discipline in public spending will be needed in future." The figures showed the national debt rose to £717bn from £610bn a year ago, and accounts for 49% of national income, up from 30% a decade ago. However, it is still low by international standards. Howard Archer, of IHS Global Insight, said the public finances would make sober reading for Darling, who will have to tear up his forecasts in next month's budget. "Tax revenues are being decimated by sharply contracting economic activity, declining corporate profitability, surging unemployment, markedly reduced bonus payments, the VAT cut and substantially weakened housing market activity and prices. Sharply rising unemployment is also resulting in higher benefit claims, pushing up government expenditure." Statisticians agreed, saying the deterioration in the public finances was almost exclusively due to weakening tax revenues, as government spending was rising in line with its previous forecasts. Further evidence of recession came from the CBI, which reported that factory orders plunged at their fastest rate in 17 years this month, with both domestic and export orders weak. The survey also showed firms' stocks at their highest for 28 years and expectations of production in the short-term at their lowest since 1980. "The past six months have proved especially tough," said Ian McCafferty, CBI chief economic adviser. "Although firms have cut output aggressively in response to the recession, stock levels are still too high … Manufacturers will take further action to reduce their stocks leading to further sharp falls in output." Government Borrowing Financial crisis Economics Alistair Darling Budget Borrowing & debt Tax Public finance guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds (2 d ago)

• Miles to replace Blanchflower on MPC Miles to replace Blanchflower on MPC
03/19/2009
Morgan Stanley economist David Miles will replace the maverick employment expert whose calls for interest rate cuts were belatedly heeded Chancellor Alistair Darling has appointed Morgan Stanley economist David Miles, author of a government-backed report on the mortgage market, to the Bank of England's monetary policy committee to replace maverick labour-market expert David Blanchflower. Miles, who is visiting professor of finance at Imperial College London, alongside his day job at Morgan Stanley, recently gave a relatively upbeat assessment of the prospects for the UK economy, in a report co-produced with the Institute for Fiscal Studies. "Our central forecast is that the UK will avoid a deep and prolonged recession, thanks to enormous monetary and substantial fiscal stimuli already announced. However, we expect a decidedly slow recovery," Miles said in the influential IFS report known as the "Green Budget". That prediction was made even before Bank governor Mervyn King and his colleagues adopted the drastic policy of quantitative easing, promising to buy £75bn worth of bonds over the next three months. Speaking to MPs on the cross-party Treasury select committee, Darling said: "I am delighted that David Miles has agreed to join the monetary policy committee. His considerable experience analysing the interaction between financial markets and the economy will be extremely valuable to the committee." He added that another of the MPC's four independent members, the "inflation hawk" Tim Besley, whose views on the risk of rising inflation differed markedly from Blanchflower's, has decided not to serve a second three-year term and will leave in August. His post will be advertised under new more transparent procedures for staffing the MPC. In a letter to Darling published by the Treasury, Besley said: "While I have greatly valued the experience thus far, I have decided not to pursue an additional three-year term on the MPC so that I can concentrate on my academic career." When Miles reported on the mortgage market for the government in 2003 and 2004, he recommended the adoption of more long-term fixed-rate mortgages to make Britain's boom-bust housing market more stable. He has also recently played down scare-stories about Britain "going bust," pointing out that there is likely to be a considerable appetite for government bonds from both ordinary savers and battered banks keen to hold liquid assets. Bank of England Interest rates Economic policy Alistair Darling Quantitative easing guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds (2 d ago)

• Latest victim of crunch: Sir Fred's jet Latest victim of crunch: Sir Fred's jet
03/19/2009
The bank said it was originally meant as a replacement for its existing plane - which current chief executive Stephen Hester has now put up for sale Sir Fred Goodwin had been looking forward to enjoying a new luxury jet until just weeks before he was ousted from Royal Bank of Scotland as the bank lurched into nationalisation, it has emerged. RBS confirmed today that it had ordered a new corporate jet from French executive jetmaker Dassault Aviation several years ago, but canned the order last autumn as the financial crisis escalated. The plane, a Falcon 7X business jet, is a state-of-the-art luxury model which costs up to $50m (£35m). Designed to carry up to 19 passengers, it can fly almost 6,000 nautical miles without having to refuel. RBS said it had cancelled the order with Dassault as the planemaker blamed the new regime of cost-cutting among financial giants for a drop in profits in 2008. The bank said it was originally meant as a replacement for its existing plane – which current chief executive Stephen Hester has now put up for sale . "As we have said before, our new CEO decided to dispose of the corporate jet immediately on taking on the role and we are looking for a buyer. We had considered replacing the jet previously but had already decided not to proceed with that," said a company spokesman. He declined to reveal who had taken the decision to cancel the Falcon 7X, saying only that it was a company decision. Dassault usually takes a deposit of around 10% when it accepts an order, but the RBS spokesman said the cancellation had not cost the bank any money as it had managed to sell the order to another company. RBS's decision to own its original corporate jet, a Falcon 900 EX, had caused some controversy. Critics had suggested the purchase in 2002 of a triple-engine Falcon 900 EX did not sit well with Goodwin's reputation for shredding costs. He is now under widespread criticism, and possible legal action, over his RBS pension . Dassault said that the number of new orders for Falcon planes plunged to 115 jets in 2008, from 212 in 2007. Its order book was also hit by Citigroup's decision to cancel an order for a Falcon 7X. That decision followed outrage in America that a bank that was being bailed out by the US taxpayer was still spending money in this way. But despite dropping the order and insisting he understood "the new reality", Citi chief executive Vikram Pandit was criticised today for planning to spend $10m on new offices for himself and his senior executives. Charles Elson, director of the Weinberg Center for Corporate Governance at the University of Delaware, said the office renovations sent the wrong message at a time when the banking industry is receiving unprecedented levels of state help. "Timing in life is everything," he said. Citi defended the move, saying the new executive suite would help to cut costs and save space overall. According to Bloomberg , the specification for the offices includes at least one refrigerator and icemaker, along with blast-proof windows. Royal Bank of Scotland Sir Fred Goodwin Banking Credit crunch Citigroup guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds (3 d ago)

• U.S. may buy up banks’ toxic assets U.S. may buy up banks’ toxic assets
03/21/2009
Struggling to contain the financial crisis, the Obama administration wants to buy billions of dollars of toxic assets from banks to ease borrowing for consumers and businesses. (12 h ago)

• WaMu holding company sues FDIC WaMu holding company sues FDIC
03/21/2009
Washington Mutual's holding company is suing federal regulators for billions of dollars, saying the fire sale of the bank's assets to JPMorgan Chase violated its rights. (15 h ago)

• NYT: White House takes on executive pay NYT: White House takes on executive pay
03/21/2009
The Obama administration will call for increased oversight of executive pay at all banks, Wall Street firms and possibly other companies, government officials said. (15 h ago)

• Official: AIG bonus estimates grow Official: AIG bonus estimates grow
03/21/2009
The attorney general of Connecticut said Saturday that he is asking AIG why documents appear to show the company paid $53 million more in bonuses to its financial products division than previously reported. (16 h ago)

• Protesters visit lavish homes of AIG exe... Protesters visit lavish homes of AIG execs
03/21/2009
A busload of activists representing working- and middle-class families paid visits Saturday to the lavish homes of AIG executives to protest the tens of millions of dollars in bonuses. (16 h ago)

• Feds seize 2 corporate credit unions Feds seize 2 corporate credit unions
03/21/2009
Federal regulators on Friday seized control of two large institutions that provide wholesale financing for U.S. credit unions, a move they say was needed to stabilize the credit union system. (19 h ago)

• Obama says budget helps 'solve' problems Obama says budget helps 'solve' problems
03/21/2009
President Barack Obama says that while the details may change, any budget passed by Congress must cut the deficit, reform health care, invest in education and reduce U.S. dependence on foreign oil. (22 h ago)

• Auction marks downfall of ‘RV capital of... Auction marks downfall of ‘RV capital of world’
03/21/2009
Elkhart County, Ind., bills itself the 'RV capitol of the world,' but the economic downturn is crippling the industry. Ameri-Camp RV is the latest to go on the auction block. (22 h ago)

• Toxic asset plan nears completion Toxic asset plan nears completion
03/20/2009
Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner could announce as soon as Monday his much-anticipated plan to get toxic assets off the books of the country's struggling banks, administration and industry officials said. (1 d ago)

• Post office offers early out, cuts manag... Post office offers early out, cuts managers
03/20/2009
Battered by the economy, the post office is offering early retirement to 150,000 workers, cutting management and closing offices, the agency said Friday. (1 d ago)

• AIG outrage has employees living in fear AIG outrage has employees living in fear
03/20/2009
Pillars of the community are now pariahs fearing for their safety in a ritzy area of Connecticut home to many executives at American International Group Inc. (1 d ago)

• Stocks fall but log second week of gains Stocks fall but log second week of gains
03/20/2009
Wall Street closed out its first two-week gain in almost a year Friday — barely. After a mixed start, stocks veered lower as financial stocks fell and investors collected profits. (1 d ago)

• Banks lost billions more than first repo... Banks lost billions more than first reported
03/20/2009
The nation's banks lost $32.1 billion in the final quarter of last year, even worse than the $26.2 billion originally reported last month, federal regulators said Friday. (1 d ago)

• Bernanke: Executive pay must be monitore... Bernanke: Executive pay must be monitored
03/20/2009
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke says banking supervisors must pay "close attention" to compensation practices as they examine the soundness of financial institutions. (1 d ago)

• AIG flap heartens critics of high pay AIG flap heartens critics of high pay
03/20/2009
The uproar over bonuses paid to AIG executives is giving longtime critics of corporate pay practices hope that executive compensation will be reined in. (1 d ago)

• Ex-AIG head denies he started exec bonus... Ex-AIG head denies he started exec bonuses
03/20/2009
The former head of insurance giant AIG is asserting that the company under his leadership did not have the type of executive bonus system that has come under harsh criticism. (1 d ago)

• The Big Money: Revenge of the patriarch The Big Money: Revenge of the patriarch
03/20/2009
Of all the people who are angry at AIG right now, there is one in particular whose anger is at least as great as anybody else but whose voice is one that you haven't heard: Hank Greenberg. (1 d ago)

• Madoff will await sentencing in jail Madoff will await sentencing in jail
03/20/2009
A federal appeals court ruled Friday that disgraced financier Bernard Madoff will remain in prison until he is sentenced in one of the largest financial frauds in history. (1 d ago)

• Banks cite two paths to disaster Banks cite two paths to disaster
03/20/2009
Some bank executives warn that the government is forcing them toward a disastrous choice between accepting restrictions on compensation or returning billions in federal aid. (2 d ago)

• Pile in! Station wagons making a comebac... Pile in! Station wagons making a comeback
03/19/2009
GM’s and Chrysler’s plans to drop several models and brands didn't seem to hinder Cadillac's resolution to press forward with the launch of its first-ever station wagon. (2 d ago)

• Citigroup shuffles some executives Citigroup shuffles some executives
03/20/2009
Citigroup's chief financial officer, Gary Crittenden, is leaving his post and becoming chairman of Citi Holdings, the unit created to sell off the bank's riskier assets. (1 d ago)

• Obama 'stunned' by millions in AIG bonus... Obama 'stunned' by millions in AIG bonuses
03/20/2009
President Barack Obama said Thursday that he was “stunned” to hear about bonuses that were paid to employees of troubled insurer AIG, promising on NBC’s “Tonight Show” that he would do everything he could to “get these bonuses back.” (1 d ago)

• Pole positions: Strip club holds job fai... Pole positions: Strip club holds job fair
03/20/2009
Hoping to take advantage of Rhode Island’s floundering economy, owners of the Foxy Lady strip club in Providence plan to hold a job fair on Saturday. (1 d ago)

• GE: Finance unit will be profitable in ’... GE: Finance unit will be profitable in ’09
03/19/2009
General Electric Co. said Thursday it expects its struggling finance unit to be profitable in the first quarter of 2009 and for the full year. (2 d ago)

• Mortgages: Appraising the Appraiser Mortgages: Appraising the Appraiser
03/21/2009
Pay has sparked a debate between affiliated appraisers, who work through appraisal management companies, and independent appraisers. (8 h ago)

• The Count: Savings May Fall, but Tuition... The Count: Savings May Fall, but Tuition Just Keeps Rising
03/21/2009
Saving money to send children to college can seem downright impossible — especially if you look at the nation’s ever-climbing tuition rates. (9 h ago)

• Fundamentally: Lowered Expectations for ... Fundamentally: Lowered Expectations for the Bulls’ Return
03/21/2009
Investors should not count on the market recouping all its losses for at least several years. (9 h ago)

• City Room: Trends in a List of the Rich City Room: Trends in a List of the Rich
03/21/2009
The annual Forbes 400 list of the super-wealthy is a lens for viewing the cycles of wealth in U.S. history. Wall Street's dominance of the list may be ending, an expert says. (14 h ago)

• Going Abroad to Find Affordable Health C... Going Abroad to Find Affordable Health Care
03/21/2009
Americans are traveling to other countries in search of affordable health care. Here’s some advice on how to avoid the pitfalls. (1 d ago)

• Wealth Matters: Smaller Though It May Be... Wealth Matters: Smaller Though It May Be, It’s Time to Look at the Estate
03/20/2009
Because of a sharp depreciation of assets in recent months, your will merits a review to make sure it accomplishes what you want. (1 d ago)

• With Eyes Bigger Than Their Wallets, Hom... With Eyes Bigger Than Their Wallets, Homebuyers Are Forced to Revisit Old Rules
03/20/2009
Many borrowers have opted to spend far more than a third of their income on mortgage payments, a move that has led to an increase in foreclosures. (1 d ago)

• Your Money: Not Laid Off? How to Aid the... Your Money: Not Laid Off? How to Aid the Less Fortunate
03/20/2009
There are many ways to give support to friends and former colleagues who’ve lost their jobs. (1 d ago)

• Bits: Money Talks, Cellphone Contracts W... Bits: Money Talks, Cellphone Contracts Walk
03/20/2009
As the recession bears down, millions of Americans are cutting back on expensive cellphone plans, according to a new survey. (1 d ago)

• U.S. Site Offers Guidance on Mortgage Tr... U.S. Site Offers Guidance on Mortgage Troubles
03/20/2009
The Obama administration launched a Web site to help troubled homeowners find out if they’re eligible for any relief under its loan modification or refinancing programs. (1 d ago)

• Taxes Not Seen as Making the Rich Flee N... Taxes Not Seen as Making the Rich Flee New York
03/19/2009
Experts say there is little evidence that higher tax rates would prompt wealthy New Yorkers to move out of state. (2 d ago)

• News analysis: EU takes different approa... News analysis: EU takes different approach to financial crisis
03/21/2009
European Union (EU) leaders concluded their two-day spring summit on Friday with the adoption of a common position for the upcoming Group of 20 (G20) financial summit in London. The leaders made it clear that the EU will take a different approach to the financial and economic crises instead of following the steps of the United States. U.S. officials had repeatedly called on the EU countries to step up fiscal stimulus to boost demand as a way out for the current financial crisis. ... (7 h ago)

• AIG gives out more bonuses than previous... AIG gives out more bonuses than previously reported: reports
03/21/2009
&$ &$A man is seen behind the window at the office of the American International Group (AIG) in lower Manhattan area in New York's financial district, in this file photo taken on March 9, 2009. Documents turned over to the state of Connecticut attorney general show that American International Group Inc. paid out over $218 million in bonuses, more than the previously disclosed $165 million, published re ... (7 h ago)

• At-risk homeowners in U.S. urge banks to... At-risk homeowners in U.S. urge banks to stop evicting
03/21/2009
Homeowners who may lose their homes held a rally here Friday, asking banks to stop evicting and start negotiations to make sure people eligible for the Making Homes Affordable Program keep their homes. The rally, held in a low-income community in South Los Angeles where many homes are at risk, demonstrated the desire for federal assistance after President Barack Obama on Wednesday announced details of his 75 billion-U.S.-dollar Homeowner Affordability and Stability Plan in Los Angeles. ... (7 h ago)

• Mainland's trade with Taiwan, HK see rec... Mainland's trade with Taiwan, HK see recoveries, but still down year-on-year
03/21/2009
The Chinese mainland's trade with Taiwan and Hong Kong saw recoveries last month after year-on-year plunges in January, but continued to decline over last year, the latest statistics of the Ministry of Commerce showed. Data from the Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macao Department of China's Ministry of Commerce showed that the mainland had a total trade of 5.65 billion U.S. dollars with Taiwan and 10.3 billion U.S. dollars with Hong Kong in February, up by 12.3 percent and 3.1 percent respectivel ... (8 h ago)

• China Investment Corp. cautious about fi... China Investment Corp. cautious about financial derivatives
03/21/2009
China Investment Corp. (CIC), the country's sovereign wealth fund, was taking a cautious stance toward investments and would not invest in financial derivatives that had no obvious relationship with the real economy, CIC chairman Lou Jiwei said Saturday at the China Development Forum 2009. These derivative financial products should be phased out of the financial market, Lou said. The CIC suffered big loss from its two major investments in the U.S. private equity firm Blackstone a ... (8 h ago)

• Less Chinese companies established in 20... Less Chinese companies established in 2008
03/21/2009
China's industry and commerce authorities said Friday that the number of businesses established in China rose only 0.78 percent year-on-year in 2008, much slower than an average of 5 percent growth in recent 5 years. As of the end of 2008, the number of businesses totaled 9.71 million, up 0.78 percent, or 74,900, over the same period in 2007,the State Administration For Industry and Commerce (SAIC) said. Private sectors and foreign-funded companies remained stable growth despite ... (8 h ago)

• China has conditions to achieve 8% growt... China has conditions to achieve 8% growth target in 2009, official
03/21/2009
China has conditions to achieve the 8 percent economic growth target this year, Zhang Yutai, president of the Development Research Center of the State Council said here Sunday at the China Development Forum 2009. &$ &$China Development Forum 2009 opens in Beijing, capital of China, March 22, 2009. China has conditions to achieve the 8 percent economic growth target this year, Zhang Yutai, president of the Development Rese ... (8 h ago)

• Rudd admits Australia to slide towards r... Rudd admits Australia to slide towards recession
03/21/2009
Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd admitted on Sunday it is virtually impossible for Australia to avoid slipping into recession. "It's clear that the impact of a worsening economic global recession will make it virtually impossible for Australia to sustain a positive economic growth for the period ahead, with impacts, of course, for budget and employment, which underlines the importance of global action in response to the global recession," Rudd told the Nine Network on Sunday. ... (8 h ago)

• Myanmar's foreign trade hits over $11 bl... Myanmar's foreign trade hits over $11 bln in 2008
03/21/2009
Myanmar's foreign trade volume hit11.492 billion U.S. dollars in 2008, up 17.8 percent from 2007, according to the latest government monthly economic indicators. Of the 11.492 billion dollars' foreign trade, the exports amounted to 7.106 billion dollars, up 10.8 percent, while the imports took 4.385 billion dollars, also up 31.2 percent, enjoying a trade surplus of 2.721 billion dollars. The government sector accounted for 4.656 billion dollars or 65.5 percent in the country's ex ... (8 h ago)

• Pakistan's exports grow by 31.47% Pakistan's exports grow by 31.47%
03/21/2009
Pakistan's exports during the first eight months of the current financial year witnessed an increase of 31.47 percent, in terms of rupees, as against the exports of the corresponding period of the last financial year, the official Associated Press of Pakistan reported on Saturday. Exports from July in 2008 to February in 2009 totaled Rs.937,994 million (around 11.72 billion U.S. dollars) as against Rs.713,443 million (around 8.92 billion U.S. dollars) during the same period in last fisca ... (8 h ago)

• Official: Stimulus package to contribute... Official: Stimulus package to contribute 1.5-1.9% to China's economic growth
03/21/2009
China's 4 trillion yuan (585 billion U.S. dollars) stimulus package is expected to contribute 1.5 percent to 1.9 percent to the economic growth this year, Zhang Yutai, president of Development Research Center of the State Council, said in Beijing on Sunday. The figure was a preliminary assessment, Zhang said at the China Development Forum 2009 &$ &$Source: Xinhua&$ &$ ... (8 h ago)

• In Economic Downturn, Corporate Ties Put... In Economic Downturn, Corporate Ties Put Bind on Sports
03/21/2009
Pro sports were once thought to be more resistant than other industries to recessions, but this is no ordinary downturn. (8 h ago)

• N. Korea Says It Is Holding Reporters N. Korea Says It Is Holding Reporters
03/21/2009
North Korea confirmed that it had detained two American journalists on charges of “illegally intruding” into the Communist state through its border with China. (9 h ago)

• Scene Stealer: Who Threw the DVD From th... Scene Stealer: Who Threw the DVD From the Train?
03/21/2009
Instead of banking on suddenly shaky DVD sales, Hollywood is beginning to concentrate again on making the kind of films that do well at the box office. (10 h ago)

• Arts, Briefly: MSNBC in Discussions With... Arts, Briefly: MSNBC in Discussions With Radio Host
03/20/2009
MSNBC is in talks with Ed Schultz, the progressive radio talk-show host, about a permanent position. (1 d ago)

• Talk to the Newsroom: Assistant Managin... Talk to the Newsroom: Assistant Managing Editor for News
03/20/2009
Richard L. Berke is answering questions from readers March 16-20, 2009. (1 d ago)

• The Many Stories of Carlos Fernando Cham... The Many Stories of Carlos Fernando Chamorro
03/20/2009
Once the editor of the official Sandinista newspaper, the son of Nicaragua’s most prominent independent journalist is under threat as the country’s leading advocate for press freedom. (1 d ago)

• Bits: An Icon That Says They’re Watching... Bits: An Icon That Says They’re Watching You
03/20/2009
A marketing professor says online ads should be marked with a special icon that, when clicked, displays what they know about you. (2 d ago)

• Ex-Reality Show Workers Sue Production C... Ex-Reality Show Workers Sue Production Company
03/19/2009
Three former employees claim Fremantle North America forced them to work under “sweatshop” conditions and failed to pay for overtime hours they worked. (2 d ago)

• Advertising: A Campaign That Erases a La... Advertising: A Campaign That Erases a Layer of Euphemisms
03/19/2009
Ads for tampon brands have grown less oblique in recent years, and a new campaign for Tampax uses candor and even humor. (2 d ago)

• In Seattle, the World Still Turns, a Bea... In Seattle, the World Still Turns, a Beacon in Memory of a Lost Newspaper
03/19/2009
A 30-foot neon globe sits atop the waterfront building that houses the Post-Intelligencer, a daily Seattle tradition that began in 1863 and will end Tuesday. (2 d ago)

• Seattle Paper Shifts Entirely to the Web Seattle Paper Shifts Entirely to the Web
03/19/2009
The Post- Intelligencer is the largest American paper to drop its print edition and become an Internet-only entity. (2 d ago)

• INFLATION WORRIES INFLATION WORRIES
03/22/2009
Dear John: With all the money being printed by the US government and nobody buying the debt, do you think the US dollar will be devalued? Or will it become like the currency of Zimbabwe, which nobody wants to own? J.C. Dear J.C.: There's a chance... (5 h ago)

• THE WEEK'S WINNERS AND LOSERS THE WEEK'S WINNERS AND LOSERS
03/22/2009
THE WEEK'S WINNERS DOV CHARNEY American Apparel CEO sees 4Q income grow by 30%, same-store sales rise 11% and stock pop 15% on the news. BEN BERNANKE Fed chairman's plan to pump another $1 trillion into economy could help housing market as... (6 h ago)

• REAL SUITE DEAL REAL SUITE DEAL
03/21/2009
Laid-off workers are taking solace from their spouses and jump-starting entrepreneurial enterprises by renting space in so-called temporary, or "swing," office suites. Leases can be as short as one to three months or can stretch on for years... (7 h ago)

• AIG SAVES U.S. $1.6T AIG SAVES U.S. $1.6T
03/21/2009
AIG's toxic $165 million bonus package, which has sparked a nationwide fury over Wall Street pay practices and moved Congress to pass a law that will tax the cash payments at a staggering 90 percent clip, could have actually saved US taxpayers as... (7 h ago)

• MORTGAGE INVESTORS SLAM OBAMA MOD PLAN MORTGAGE INVESTORS SLAM OBAMA MOD PLAN
03/21/2009
As the Obama administration gets barraged with criticism over the effectiveness of its multi-front fight to jumpstart the economy, another battle line has been drawn: investors in mortgage securities are threatening legal action that would derail... (7 h ago)

• AIG BONUS: STOCK IS UP 200% AIG BONUS: STOCK IS UP 200%
03/21/2009
Since March 2, embattled insurer AIG has seen its stock rise 200 percent. While Main Street and Washington lawmakers lambasted CEO Ed Liddy for signing off on $165 million in bonuses to its troubled Financial Products unit, the shares rose 152... (7 h ago)

• THE ART OF THE DEAL THE ART OF THE DEAL
03/21/2009
After amassing the world's most expensive private art collection, hedge fund billionaire Steven Cohen now has his sights on the world's biggest art auction house Sotheby's. Cohen caused a stir in the art world last week with two surprising firsts... (7 h ago)

• PERKS NOT IN VOGUE PERKS NOT IN VOGUE
03/21/2009
The days of wine and roses may soon be coming to an end. As Condé Nast continues to take a pounding, with ad pages off 30 percent to 40 percent in many titles, some industry observers are expecting that the perks doled out to the... (7 h ago)

• NEWSPAPERS HIT, ALSO NEWSPAPERS HIT, ALSO
03/21/2009
Voluntary buyouts of 165 employees at the Newark Star-Ledger and S.I. Advance have not been enough to stem the bleeding, The Post has learned. Management of the two area newspapers are close to pulling the trigger on mandatory two-week furloughs... (7 h ago)

• 'NET MOGUL CLARK TYING HIS 4TH KNOT 'NET MOGUL CLARK TYING HIS 4TH KNOT
03/21/2009
IT'S good to be Jim Clark. The techno-billionaire, who is set to marry a golden-haired swimsuit model less than half his age today in the British Virgin Islands, leads a charmed life after a meteoric rise from poverty. The Netscape co-founder... (7 h ago)

Business

Technology

Sports

Entertainment

I remember when Joseph Ettedgui had a small boutiq...
Andrea Joy Russell :: 06/23/2010

Hello Anthony Evans your music is so enourage t...
Tracey :: 06/10/2010

Chevron the oil polluter wins; here’s why 1-2-3. ...
Joseph Macgregor :: 04/10/2010

This is abundant, look forward to looking into ea...
John gogs :: 12/28/2009

Who knows where to download XRumer 5.0 Palladium?...
CocoChanels :: 07/03/2009

Hi, my friends!! I want to get program XRumer 5.0 ...
MagicOPromotion :: 05/03/2009

Where is this money coming from except from the mo...
carl allen :: 04/11/2009

out of control
staystrong :: 02/23/2009

The poor thing! Once so high and mighty and far ab...
leaf :: 02/22/2009

It always amazed me how eagerly people flocked to ...
David :: 12/23/2008

• Worries Voiced Over Global Economy Worries Voiced Over Global Economy
03/22/2009
The president of the World Bank said the global economy is on pace to shrink by 1 percent to 2 percent this year. (6 h ago)

• Stronger Euro Threatens Weak Economy in ... Stronger Euro Threatens Weak Economy in Europe
03/20/2009
The rising currency has slowed demand for exports, further dragging down the euro-zone economy. (1 d ago)

• New Honda Takes on the Prius New Honda Takes on the Prius
03/20/2009
The Honda Insight, to be introduced on Tuesday, is being positioned as a more affordable hybrid car. (1 d ago)

• Workers Protest Across France Workers Protest Across France
03/19/2009
Workers walked off the job across France to protest President Nicolas Sarkozy’s handling of the economic crisis. (2 d ago)

• Regulators Worldwide Scrutinize Bankers’... Regulators Worldwide Scrutinize Bankers’ Pay
03/19/2009
Britain and other countries, including the United States, may seek to ensure that excessive risks are not taken to produce big bonuses. (2 d ago)

• Rapid Declines in Manufacturing Spread G... Rapid Declines in Manufacturing Spread Global Anxiety
03/19/2009
The depth and speed of the manufacturing plunge are striking, and recall conditions that led to the Great Depression. (2 d ago)

• In Downturn, China Sees Path to Growth In Downturn, China Sees Path to Growth
03/19/2009
A $600 billion package for infrastructure, training and research is aimed at making China more competitive. (2 d ago)

• Chinese City Bolsters Scant Consumer Spe... Chinese City Bolsters Scant Consumer Spending With Free Vouchers
03/19/2009
In an economy where consumers tend to be less eager shoppers, officials hope the coupons will stimulate buying and avert the worst of an economic downturn. (2 d ago)

• A pivotal push to Go Green at expo A pivotal push to Go Green at expo
03/20/2009
Cash Peters reports from a Go Green Expo in Los Angeles, where environmentalists say it's a critical time for the green movement. (1 d ago)

• Unemployment expansion a tough sell Unemployment expansion a tough sell
03/20/2009
With unemployment benefits soon to run out for 500,000 laid-off workers, the federal government is encouraging states to sign up for more funding. But some governors don't want the money. Mitchell Hartman reports. (1 d ago)

• Weekly Wrap: Debating AIG's bonuses Weekly Wrap: Debating AIG's bonuses
03/20/2009
AIG's $165 million in bonuses with bailout money dominated headlines this week. Kai Ryssdal talks with The Wall Street Journal's Heidi Moore and John Carney of Clusterstock.com about how the story stirred emotions. (1 d ago)

• Airfare war not so bad for airlines Airfare war not so bad for airlines
03/20/2009
To get consumers traveling again, airlines are slashing fares to compete with low-budget carriers like Southwest. As Tamara Keith reports, the low fares aren't hurting airlines as much as you may think. (1 d ago)

• Bad economy stalls Baltimore makeover Bad economy stalls Baltimore makeover
03/20/2009
An effort to turn one of Baltimore's most-neglected neighborhoods into a biotech hub has stalled due to the recession, leaving developers and a community in limbo. Cathy Duchamp reports. (1 d ago)

• Taxing bonuses: Is this good business? Taxing bonuses: Is this good business?
03/20/2009
Congress is moving toward legislation to tax bonuses that companies receiving federal bailouts paid to employees. Is this a good way for government to do business? Steve Henn reports. (1 d ago)

• TALF's unintended consequences TALF's unintended consequences
03/20/2009
With the TALF program, the Fed is lending money to investors so they can buy asset-backed securities to get the credit markets moving again. But the companies likely to profit are the very ones that got us into this mess. Jeremy Hobson reports. (1 d ago)

• Fed's Move to Buy Bonds Lifts Markets Fed's Move to Buy Bonds Lifts Markets
03/21/2009
U.S. stocks posted the first back-to-back weekly rally of the year after the Federal Reserve said it would buy $1 trillion in bonds and after a report showed home construction snapped the longest streak of declines in 18 years. (10 h ago)

• Stocks Eke Out Second Week of Gains Stocks Eke Out Second Week of Gains
03/20/2009
Stocks tumbled yesterday as investor confidence in bank stocks waned, but Wall Street still closed the week in positive territory. (1 d ago)

• Small Businesses Face Challenges Amid Re... Small Businesses Face Challenges Amid Recession
03/21/2009
The persistent recession keeps a group of small-business owners worried, but with a glimmer of optimism. (8 h ago)

• A Town Reborn Faces a New Threat A Town Reborn Faces a New Threat
03/20/2009
The recession has taken a heavy toll on the small businesses of Beacon, N.Y., a decade after a renewal attracted antique stores, restaurants and other shopkeepers. (1 d ago)

• Hungary PM to quit as popularity tumbles Hungary PM to quit as popularity tumbles
03/21/2009
Hungary's Prime Minister said Saturday he is resigning because of his government's low popularity amid a worsening financial crisis. (1 d ago)

• EU leaders push for doubling of IMF lend... EU leaders push for doubling of IMF lending
03/20/2009
EU leaders pushed Friday for a doubling of the IMF’s lending resources to $500 billion to help avert future crises, and pledged to pitch in about a third of the increase. (1 d ago)

• ConsumerMan: Prepaid cell phone plans ConsumerMan: Prepaid cell phone plans
03/19/2009
Is your cell phone bill a budget buster? Maybe you should switch to a prepaid plan. The savings can be dramatic with pay-as-you-go wireless service. (2 d ago)

<	March 2009					>
S	M	T	W	T	F	S
1	2	3	4	5	6	7
8	9	10	11	12	13	14
15	16	17	18	19	20	21
22	23	24	25	26	27	28
29	30	31