.

World stocks down as investors await US bill

2010-03-15T22:21:00.001-07:00

LONDON: World stock markets fell Monday as investors fretted about the status of banking reform in the U.S. and awaited confirmation of a rescue package for debt-laden Greece. The British pound slipped amid growing British political and economic concerns.

In Europe, the FTSE 100 index of leading British shares was down 11.19 points, or 0.2 percent, at 5,614.46 while Germany's DAX fell 9.01 points, or 0.2 percent, to 5,936.10. The CAC-40 in France was 13.02 points, or 0.3 percent, lower at 3,914.38.

Wall Street was also poised to start the new week modestly lower — Dow futures were down 30 points, or 0.3 percent, at 10,543 while the broader Standard & Poor's 500 futures fell 4.4 points, or 0.4 percent, at 1,142.20.

Given the dearth of economic data in the early part of the week, investors are focusing in on the unveiling of a new banking bill in the U.S. — scheduled for Tuesday.

Investors remain unsure whether the bill will gain support from the U.S. Senate — last week financial stocks were in demand on expectations that the bill would fail to get the necessary support from the Senate.

However, there are signs that many Republicans may back some sort of bill, including giving the U.S. Federal Reserve more regulatory powers.

"Banking regulation has been a sour point across the world since the credit crunch led to many high profile failures," said James Hughes, market analyst at CMC Markets.

"It seems it has been a long time in coming and many are skeptical whether giving more power to the Fed would make any difference," he added.

Whatever happens on the regulatory front, the Fed will take center stage on Wednesday, when its rate-setting body issues its latest policy statement.

Though no one thinks there will be any change in the benchmark Fed funds rate from the current 0-0.25 percent, investors will be on the lookout for any changes in the statement accompanying the rate decision.

Neil Mackinnon, global macro strategist at VTB Capital, thinks the Fed will continue to make a distinction between its interest rate policy and its liquidity policy, paving the way for continued low borrowing costs.

Though the Fed will at some stage likely amend the language in the statement to signal to markets that the monetary landscape is changing especially in the light of stronger economic data, Mackinnon said the likely inclusion of Janet Yellen on to the Fed board of governors plus other candidates who are seen as dovish "is a positive for risk assets, especially equities, given that interest rate policy will remain accommodative for some time."

The British pound slid Monday as investors continued to worry about a political deadlock following the upcoming general election — opinion polls over the weekend continued to point to a so-called "hung parliament" when no one party has a majority. By late morning it was 0.8 percent lower at $1.5045 on the day.

Many investors worry that such as a situation would augur a period of instability and make dealing with the British deficit more difficult.

A warning from credit ratings agency Moody's that Britain, along with the U.S., are more likely than their triple A peers Germany and France to lose their top rating did little to inject a dose of optimism in the pound's fortunes.

In Europe, the focus will also be on Greece following weekend reports that the eurozone countries will provide the country with some sort of financial guarantee as it tries to tap the bond markets for money to plug its deficit.

Greece has the unenviable task of financing around €55 billion of debt maturing this year, with €20 billion due in April and May — the rise in Greek bond yields makes it more expensive to service the debt and that is why Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou is looking for some sort of support from eurozone partners, particularly Germany.

Earlier in Asia, Japan's Nikkei 225 stock average finished little changed at 10,751.98.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng was down 0.6 percent at 21,079.10 and South Korea's benchmark shed 0.8 percent to 1,649.50.

Elsewhere, Shanghai's market fell 1.2 percent after China's yearly policy meeting ended without new measures investors were hoping for to boost domestic consumption, renewable power and other fields.

"The meeting was pretty much about talk rather than substance," said Zhang Kun, an analyst for Guotai Junan Securities in Shanghai.

Markets in Australia and Taiwan also fell.

Oil prices were lower, with benchmark crude for April delivery down 49 cents to $80.75 a barrel.

The euro was down 0.5 percent at $1.3712 while the dollar was steady at 90.66 yen.

Saudi to set up index fund for foreigners

2010-03-15T22:20:00.001-07:00

CAIRO: The head of Saudi Arabia's market regulatory agency says the country will launch a stock market index fund by the end of March into which foreigners can invest.

Capital Market Authority head Abdulrahman al-Tuwaijri, in comments published in Sunday's edition of al-Eqtisadiyah newspaper, that despite the move, Saudi Arabia is still reluctant to allow direct foreign investments in the exchange.

Foreigners are currently able to invest in the exchange — the Arab world's largest — through swap agreements, but are barred from direct ownership.

Analysts say the new fund marks a gradual, but clear, step toward opening the Saudi market to foreign investments.

Euro down to $1.3746 in European trade

2010-03-15T22:19:00.001-07:00

FRANKFURT: The euro is slightly lower against the dollar though worries about Greece's debt problems have subsided recently, helping the common currency.

The 16-nation euro is buying $1.3746 in European morning trade Monday, down from $1.3757 late Friday in New York.

The British pound is lower at $1.5130 compared with $1.5179, while the dollar is higher at 90.66 Japanese yen from 90.51.

Greece said Friday it had exceeded its deficit-cutting targets in January and February while it has proposed higher taxes and spending cuts and sold bonds to get out of a debt crisis that has undermined the euro in recent weeks.

The euro moving to "a close above $1.3800 could well precipitate a move toward $1.40," Michael Hewson, an analyst at CMC Markets said.

35 business concerns to visit Malaysia

2010-03-15T22:18:00.001-07:00

ISLAMABAD: A 35-member delegation of the leading businessmen of Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry will visit Malaysia on March 16 to explore joint industrial and marketing opportunities and identify potential areas to enhance Pak-Malaysia trade.

The delegation led by Engineer Sohail Lashari, former senior vice president, Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry will undergo a four-week visit, the Commercial Counselor for Pakistan in Malaysia Wajiullah Kundi said in Kuala Lumpur.

Kundi said the visit reflects the importance being given to Malaysia in South East Asia by Pakistan in terms of building strategic ties in bilateral trade, investment and business sectors.

He said these ongoing frequents bilateral visits by the private sectors of both the countries will certainly pave the way for greater cooperation leading to substantial increase in trade investment and business activities.

Wajiullah Kundi while giving detail of the visit said the delegation comprises members belonging to important sectors including agricultural machinery and implements, paper and board, iron and steel, electronics and automobiles, livestock and poultry, importer of used Heavy Agricultural Machinery, importer of Electronic Surveillance and Security Systems, power generation and solar energy, manufacturer of cables machinery, dairy and livestock related machines and textile made-ups (embroidery works).

He said during its stay in Malaysia the delegation is expected to hold meetings with the President and members of the Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers, President and members of the Associated Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry Malaysia (ACCCIM) followed by B-to-B meeting.

The delegation will also visit MATRADE Exhibition and Convention Centre (MECC) wherein meetings will also be arranged.

Bilateral trade between the two countries have received a boost after signing of Malaysia Pakistan Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (MPCEPA) in Nov, 2007 which has reduced duties taxes and levies on trade between the two countries, he added.

Some 4 million jobs vanished in 2009: EU

2010-03-15T22:17:00.001-07:00

BRUSSELS: Official data show that some 4 million jobs disappeared in the European Union last year, when countries were struggling to emerge from recession.

In a Monday release, the EU statistical agency Eurostat said EU employment numbers dropped 1.8 percent from 2008 and that 221.1 million people were working in the region in the last three months of the year.

In the 16 nations that use the euro, some 2.72 million jobs vanished as employment fell 1.8 percent from the previous year. Some 144 million were employed in the fourth quarter.

Eurostat says the highest number of job losses were in the manufacturng industry, construction and trade, transport and communication services. Agriculture and public administration, health and education added jobs.

Financial reform efforts pit US against Europe

2010-03-15T22:16:00.001-07:00

NEW YORK – U.S. policymakers are struggling to agree on new rules to avoid another financial crisis.

A global consensus? Even harder.

Efforts are raging on three continents, with at least as many ideas about the proper fixes. Unless the U.S., Europe and Asia adopt uniformly strict regulations, banks and high-risk traders will shift operations wherever rules are loosest. Experts warn another crisis could follow.

The global proposals are clashing on several levels. Among the differences:

• The Obama administration wants to restrict banks' size and ability to take risk. European officials have called that plan unworkable in a region with roughly 40 cross-border banks.

• European Union officials want to crack down on financial derivatives, which they blame for worsening Europe's debt crisis. Derivatives are instruments whose value depends on underlying assets, such as mortgages or currencies. U.S. regulators favor making derivatives trading more transparent. But they've resisted calls to restrict it.

• In Asia, Chinese regulators are forcing banks to set aside more reserves to prevent a U.S.-style credit binge. And India has maintained rules that were already stricter than many in the West.

A report last week on Lehman Brothers' 2008 collapse reminded the world of the matter's urgency. The report said regulators missed Lehman's accounting tricks, which made the firm appear stronger than it was. Lehman's bankruptcy, the biggest in U.S. corporate history, shocked global markets and triggered the $700 billion financial bailout.

But 18 months later, no deal on stricter rules is in sight — domestically or globally. Senate Banking Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd proposed his own bill Monday — without Republican support. And the U.S. and Europe seem far apart on such issues as how to oversee bank accounts and mortgages and whether banks can do proprietary trading. That's when they use their own money to make high-risk bets. If those bets go bad and a bank goes under, taxpayers could be on the hook.

The Lehman disaster underscores the "enormous imperative" to tighten international rules, said Kenneth Rogoff, a Harvard professor and former chief economist of the International Monetary Fund. Yet he doubts countries can agree.

"You're dealing with different accounting standards, different political systems and different banking systems," Rogoff said. "It will be very hard to create one-size-fits-all regulations."

A lobbying blitz by Wall Street banks has helped drive the sides apart. Banks argue that some U.S. proposals would give overseas rivals an unfair edge. Especially in their sights is a proposed Consumer Financial Protection Agency to oversee consumer products.

The House and Senate plans would create a council to monitor threats to the financial system. Both would also set a "resolution authority" to close large failing firms. But key differences remain. One involves the proposed consumer agency. The House favors a freestanding agency; the Dodd bill would place it inside the Federal Reserve.

Europe is weighing some similar reforms. The economic bloc would create three authorities: to govern banking, insurance and markets in all 27 member nations. A watchdog would monitor financial stability. It would also look for any financial-asset bubbles or banks embracing too much risk.

But trans-Atlantic discord is flaring. The Obama administration wants to bar the biggest banks from using their own money to make high-risk bets. It would also limit the size of banks.

The European Union has rejected that plan. In Europe, banks already have been getting smaller. Regulators insisted they shrink to compensate for government aid.

"Trying to apply sweeping rules about the structure, content and range of activities of banking entities is too difficult," British Business Secretary Peter Mandelson said this month.

In addition, European officials have threatened to restrict trading of certain derivatives linked to government debt, called "naked" credit default swaps. Naked swaps are a type of insurance in which investors don't actually hold the insured bonds. European officials argue the swaps have worsened Europe's crisis by magnifying bets that Greece and other indebted nations will default.

Many experts disagree. They say ballooning deficits — not derivatives — have weakened confidence in Greece and other EU nations.

Still, EU officials want the U.S. to help crack down on those swaps. The House and Senate bills would likely require most derivatives trades to go through clearinghouses to make them more transparent. But they wouldn't limit their use.

Another conflict is over hedge funds, which are lightly regulated private investment vehicles. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner has voiced concern that disclosure rules that Europe is weighing could block U.S. hedge funds and private equity firms from Europe's market.

EU proposals would likely require big funds operating in Europe to regularly disclose their trades and risk exposure. The idea is to prove they don't threaten the financial system.

By contrast, the Senate bill would require only that big hedge funds pay into a resolution fund to pay for dismantling failing firms.

Andrew Busch, a global strategist at BMO Capital Markets, warns that firms would exploit any differences in countries' rules. Risky activities banned in one country could shift to another with friendlier rules.

"You would invite regulatory shopping — really, country shopping," Busch said. "It's as easy as flipping a switch."

Even the banking industry acknowledges the risk.

"You could have a race to the bottom to those countries and jurisdictions that have weaker protections," said Scott Talbott, chief lobbyist for the Financial Services Roundtable, which includes the largest banks.

The banks argue that the U.S. effort risks stifling financial activity and are fighting elements of it.

"There has to be a balance in how you regulate, or you make banks less competitive," Talbott said.

For a model on how to tighten rules, U.S. and European officials may look East. Asia's banks were relatively unscathed by the West's crisis. In part, that was because China wasn't deeply integrated into the global system. In other cases such as India, regulation was already stricter than in the West.

Some Asian countries have further intensified efforts to reduce risk. Chinese regulators in 2008 required banks to hold more reserves to guard against loan failures.

In addition, China wants to increase oversight of banks that were ordered to boost lending last year to back Beijing's stimulus.

"We used to learn from Western developed countries, but later we found their systems had problems, so we'll have to amend our system and hope it will develop in a healthy and steady way," said Wei Tao, an analyst for China Securities Research.

Gary Gensler, head of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission, has struck an optimistic note about a global accord on derivatives. He said last week that U.S. authorities are "working well" with overseas regulators.

Others say some disagreement is helpful. Banking analyst Bert Ely said a diversity of regulations can point to flaws in a country's rules and to better solutions elsewhere.

"If everyone adopts the same rules and we're wrong, then we all go running off the cliff together when the next crisis hits," Ely said.

Fed weighs how and when to signal higher rates

2010-03-15T22:14:00.001-07:00

WASHINGTON – Debate is heating up within the Federal Reserve over how and when to signal that the days of record-low interest rates are numbered.

A rate hike isn't imminent. But at their meeting Tuesday, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and his colleagues will likely focus on how to telegraph that higher rates are coming once the economic recovery is more deeply rooted. Eventually, Fed policymakers will need to start bumping up rates to head off inflation.

It will be a challenging maneuver. Fed officials will want to signal a move to higher rates in advance so borrowers and investors aren't jarred. And they will need to send a signal that isn't confusing.

The Fed has held rates at a record low near zero since December 2008. Bernanke and other Fed officials have said low rates are still needed to underpin economic growth.

But they need to decide whether to keep or modify their yearlong pledge to hold rates at record lows for an "extended period." Economists generally think "extended period" means at least six more months.

The Fed could drop that commitment altogether. Or it could pledge to keep rates low only for "some time" or vow to keep "policy accommodative." Or it could change its language in some other way to stress that credit will be tightened when the time is right. Any such step would signal that the days of easy money are fading.

Inside the Fed, debate is intensifying.

Thomas Hoenig, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, has pushed to change the signal. At the Fed's last meeting in late January, Hoenig dissented from the "extended period" pledge. He favored saying rates would stay low for "some time." He thought that would give the Fed more flexibility to start raising rates.

Some economists aren't ruling out a change in language at Tuesday's meeting. Others don't think a change will come until the Fed's next meeting on April 27-28.

"During the Depression, the Fed tightened policy too soon and cut off the recovery before it was self-sufficient," said Joel Naroff, president of Naroff Economic Advisors. "The Fed doesn't want to make that mistake again. I think that they are willing to stay with very easy money longer than they might normally because of all the damage that has been done to the economy."

The recession wiped out 8.4 million jobs. And with companies still wary of ramping up hiring, the unemployment rate — now at 9.7 percent — is likely to stay high.

Even though the jobless rate hasn't budged for two months and companies aren't cutting as many jobs as they did a year ago, hiring is tepid. Consumer and business spending is sufficient to keep the economy growing only modestly. The housing and commercial real-estate markets are wobbly. Lending remains tight.

"Cautiously optimistic is where the Fed is right now," said William Cheney, chief economist at John Hancock. "But it is heavy on the caution and light on the optimism."

That helps explain why the Fed is expected to keep its key rate at a record low Tuesday. It has held its target range for its bank lending rate at zero to 0.25 percent since December 2008. In response, commercial banks' prime lending rate, used to peg rates on certain credit cards and consumer loans, has remained about 3.25 percent — its lowest in decades.

Super-low rates benefit borrowers who qualify for loans and are willing to take on more debt. But they hurt savers. Low rates are especially hard on people living on fixed incomes who are earning measly returns on savings accounts and certificates of deposit.

The Fed could start boosting rates as early as June — if economic growth accelerated. A more likely time is this fall, economists say.

Investors also will be looking to see if the Fed makes any changes to an economic-support program that's lowered mortgage rates and bolstered the housing market. Under that program, the Fed is scheduled to end its mortgage-securities purchases from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac at the end of this month.

Some analysts fear that once the program ends, mortgage rates could rise. That could weaken the recovery in housing and the overall economy. The Fed has left the door open to extending the program if the economy weakens.

Aide: Karzai 'very angry' at Taliban boss' arrest

2010-03-15T22:13:00.000-07:00

KABUL – The Afghan government was holding secret talks with the Taliban's No. 2 when he was captured in Pakistan, and the arrest infuriated President Hamid Karzai, according to one of Karzai's advisers.

The detention of Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar — second in the Taliban only to one-eyed Mullah Mohammed Omar — has raised new questions about whether the U.S. is willing to back peace discussions with leaders who harbored the terrorists behind the Sept. 11 attacks.

Karzai "was very angry" when he heard that the Pakistanis had picked up Baradar with an assist from U.S. intelligence, the adviser said. Besides the ongoing talks, he said Baradar had "given a green light" to participating in a three-day peace jirga that Karzai is hosting next month.

The adviser, who had knowledge of the peace talks, spoke on condition of anonymity because of their sensitivity. Other Afghan officials, including Abdul Ali Shamsi, security adviser to the governor of Helmand province, also confirmed talks between Baradar and the Afghan government. Several media reports have suggested that Baradar had been in touch with Karzai representatives, but these are the first details to emerge from the discussions.

Talking with the Taliban is gaining traction in Afghanistan as thousands of U.S. and NATO reinforcements are streaming in to reverse the Taliban's momentum. That has prompted Pakistan and others to stake out their positions on possible reconciliation negotiations that could mean an endgame to the eight-year war.

Officials have disclosed little about how Baradar was nabbed last month in the port city of Karachi. The Pakistanis were said to be upset that the Americans were the source of news reports about his arrest.

The capture was part of a U.S.-backed crackdown in which the Pakistanis also arrested several other Afghan Taliban figures along the porous border between the two countries, after years of being accused by Washington of doing little to stop them.

Far from expressing gratitude, members of Karzai's administration were quick to accuse Pakistan of picking up Baradar either to sabotage or gain control of talks with the Taliban leaders.

Whatever the reason, the delicate dance among Karzai, his neighbors and international partners put the debate over reconciliation on fast forward.

Top United Nations and British officials emphasized last week that the time to talk to the Taliban is now. The Afghan government, for its part, has plans to offer economic incentives to coax low- and midlevel fighters off the battlefield. Another driving force is President Barack Obama's goal of starting to withdraw U.S. troops in July 2011.

The United States, with nearly 950 lives lost and billions of dollars spent in the war, is moving with caution on reconciliation.

At a breakfast meeting in Islamabad last week, Karzai said he and his Western allies were at odds over who should be at the negotiating table. Karzai said the United States was expressing reservations about talks with the top echelon of the Taliban while the British were "pushing for an acceleration" in the negotiation process.

"Our allies are not always talking the same language," he said.

Karzai said overtures to the Taliban stood little chance of success without the support of the United States and its international partners. He says his previous attempts to negotiate with insurgents were not fruitful because "sections of the international community undermined — not backed — our efforts."

The U.S. has said generally that it supports efforts to welcome back any militants who renounce violence, cut ties with al-Qaida and recognize and respect the Afghan constitution, but it is keeping details of its position closely held.

Daniel Markey with the Council on Foreign Relations said that while Karzai is having discussions with senior people on the Taliban side, "it's not clear that Washington or other members of the international community have weighed in as to what they believe are the red lines or proper boundaries with respect to negotiations with the Taliban."

During his trip to Afghanistan last week, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said it was premature to expect senior members of the Taliban to reconcile with the government. He said until the insurgents believe they can't win the war, they won't come to the table. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton has said she's highly skeptical that Taliban leaders will be willing to renounce violence.

A U.S. military official in Kabul, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss reconciliation, said the top commander in Afghanistan, U.S. Gen. Stanley McChrystal, has not yet solidified his opinion on this issue.

He said the U.S. is still debating the timing of the Afghan government's outreach to senior leaders of three main Afghan insurgent groups — Omar; Jalaluddin Haqqani, who runs an al-Qaida-linked organization; and Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, the boss of the powerful Hezb-e-Islami.

The official added that the international military coalition had no problem with the Afghan government's reaching out to anyone, at any time, but is concerned that a deal to end the violence not come at too high a price.

Deep differences remain within the Obama administration on reconciliation, said Lisa Curtis, a research fellow on South Asia for the Heritage Institute, a right-leaning think tank in Washington. "This disagreement is contributing to a lack of clarity in U.S. official statements on the issue and leading to confusion among our allies," she said.

"The military surge should be given time to bear fruit," Curtis argued. "Insurgents are more likely to negotiate if they fear defeat on the battlefield."

Karzai won't discuss his administration's talks with Taliban members or their representatives, but several Afghan officials confirmed that his government was in discussions with Baradar, who hails from Karzai's Popalzai tribe of the Durrani Pashtuns in Kandahar.

"The government has been negotiating with Mullah Baradar, who took an offer to the Taliban shura," Shamsi said, using the word for the group's governing board.

Shamsi said he'd seen intelligence reports indicating that Omar resisted the offer and that Baradar's rivals within the Taliban leadership were fiercely opposed to any negotiations with the Afghan government.

An intelligence official in southern Afghanistan, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk with journalists, said there were reports that Omar was angry about Baradar's negotiations with the government and asked Pakistani intelligence officials to arrest him.

Nevertheless, Hakim Mujahed, a former Taliban ambassador to the United Nations, said many Taliban leaders are willing to talk.

"The problem is not from the Taliban side," he said. "There is no interest of negotiations from the side of the foreign forces."

Hamid Gul, a former director of the Pakistani intelligence service who has criticized the U.S. role in Afghanistan, said the insurgents want three things from the U.S. before talks could begin — a clearer timetable on the withdrawal of troops, to stop labeling them terrorists, and the release of all Taliban militants imprisoned in Pakistan and Afghanistan.

What actually precipitated Baradar's arrest remains a mystery.

Some analysts claim Pakistan wanted to interrupt Karzai's reconciliation efforts or force Karzai to give Islamabad a seat at a future negotiating table.

"I see no evidence to support that theory," Richard Holbrooke, U.S. envoy to Pakistan and Afghanistan, told reporters this month. "I know somewhat more than I'm at liberty to disclose about the circumstances under which these events took place and every detail tends to work against that thesis."

Another theory is that Baradar, deemed more pragmatic than other top Taliban leaders, was detained to split him from fellow insurgents. McChrystal said recently that it was plausible that Baradar's arrest followed an internal feud and purge among Taliban leaders.

There's also speculation that Baradar's arrest was just lucky — even unintentional.

If Karzai was still angry about Baradar's arrest, he didn't show it publicly last week on a two-day visit to Islamabad. His message was twofold — that Pakistan had a significant role to play in reconciliation and that its cooperation would be welcomed. He called Pakistan a "twin" and said Afghans know that without cooperation, neither would find peace.

Dems start countdown toward health care vote

2010-03-15T22:11:00.000-07:00

WASHINGTON – Democratic congressional leaders showed signs of progress Monday in winning anti-abortion Democrats whose votes are pivotal to President Barack Obama's fiercely contested remake of the health care system.

Obama expressed optimism Congress would approve his call for affordable and nearly universal coverage as he pitched his plan on a trip to Ohio, while Republican Sen. Jim DeMint of South Carolina, among the bill's sharpest opponents, said he was "less confident" than before that it could be stopped.

"They'd have to be remarkable people not to fall under the kind of pressure they'll be under," DeMint said of rank-and-file Democrats.

The pressure was turned up Monday as the House Budget Committee, on a 21-16 vote, took an essential first step toward the House vote, which could come next weekend. Obama and his supporters labored in the capital and on Air Force One.

Rep. Dennis Kucinich, D-Ohio, who flew with President Barack Obama, then walked into an Ohio senior citizen center with the chief executive in time to hear a voice from the audience yell out, "Vote yes."

A smiling Obama turned to the liberal lawmaker and said, "Did you hear that, Dennis?" Then, turning back to the audience, he added, "Go ahead, say that again."

"Vote yes!" came back the reply.

Kucinich, who said later he remains uncommitted, is one of 37 Democrats currently in the House who voted against Obama's legislation when it cleared the House last fall.

In addition, the White House is laboring to hold the support of several other Democrats who voted for the earlier bill, but only after first supporting strict anti-abortion limits. Those would be altered the second time around.

At least two have signaled they are open to supporting the president. One of them, Rep. James Oberstar of Minnesota, is "in the leaning yes column," said a spokesman, John Schadl.

"When we bring the bill to the floor, then we will have the votes," said Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

Obama sounded similarly confident in an interview with ABC News. "I believe we're going to get the votes, we're going to make this happen," said the president, who has traveled to three states and lobbied numerous lawmakers in recent days.

Outside interests on both sides pressured wavering lawmakers.

The National Right to Life Committee, which opposes abortions, wrote to lawmakers that support for the Senate bill would be a "career-defining pro-abortion vote."

Union groups and other supporters announced a $1.3 million advertising campaign urging 17 House Democrats to vote for the measure, and officials at the Service Employees International Union threatened to withdraw support from Democrats who vote against the bill if it loses.

It was more than a year ago that Obama asked Congress to approve legislation extending health coverage to tens of millions who lack it, curbing industry practices such as denying coverage on the basis of pre-existing medical conditions, and beginning to slow the growth of health care nationally. His plan would require most Americans to buy health insurance, fine most who fail to do so and provide government subsidies to help middle-income earners and the working poor afford it.

Sweeping legislation seemed to be on the brink of passage in January, after both houses approved bills and lawmakers began working out a final compromise in talks at the White House. But those efforts were sidetracked when Republicans won a special election in Massachusetts — and with it, the ability to block a vote on a final bill in the Senate.

Now, nearly two months later, lawmakers have embarked on a two-step approach that requires the House to approve the measure passed by the Senate, despite misgivings on key provisions. That would be followed by both houses quickly passing a second bill that makes numerous changes to the first. In the Senate, that second bill would come to a vote under rules that deny Republicans the ability to filibuster.

The details of the second, fix-it measure were closely guarded — and subject to last-minute changes. In general, officials have said they would provide more money for lower-income families unable to afford health care and states that already provide above average coverage for the poor under Medicaid, as well as improved prescription drug coverage under Medicare.

The legislation is expected to delete a provision in the Senate bill that singled out Nebraska for favorable treatment under a requirement to expand Medicaid coverage.

Instead, Democrats may provide as much as $15 billion to a dozen states and the District of Columbia, all of which already provide at least some of the coverage.

Officials said one sticking point remained a Senate-passed provision establishing an independent commission with authority to force greater reductions in future Medicare payments to providers. House Democrats want to curtail the board's powers, but rules may forbid any changes under the complex rules covering the Senate's debate of the measure.

The cost of the overhaul is expected to total $950 billion or more over a decade. It would be covered by higher taxes on the wealthy as well as on some health care providers and high-cost insurance plans.

Several hundred billion dollars would also be cut from planned Medicare increases, much of the burden falling on companies that provide private coverage to seniors under Medicare Advantage.

Vice President Joseph Biden also traveled to Ohio, where he attended a fundraiser for first-term Rep. Steve Driehaus, D-Ohio. Driehaus voted for the House version of a health care overhaul in November, and has not yet stated his position on the new legislation.

Lahore suicide attacks: six security men among 20 dead

2010-03-12T02:12:00.001-08:00

LAHORE: Two suicide attackers blew themselves up near security forces vehicles in RA Bazar area of South Cantt as crowds gathered for Friday prayers killing at least 20 people including six security personnel and injuring 40, Geo News reported.

Both the bombers were on foot, SSP Operations Chaudhry Shafiq told Geo News.

Six security men were among the dead, he added.

Director General Rescue 1122 told Geo News that 20 people have been killed and forty injured.

Rescue workers and paramedics rushed to the R A Bazaar, a densely populated area of the city. The area was crowded as the blasts occurred shortly before the main Friday prayers were to start.

Emergency has been declared in city hospitals and injured were shifted to CMH and other hospitals.

Security forces have cordoned off the area and traffic was blocked. Media was not allowed to go near the scene.

The blasts came four days after a suicide car bomber destroyed offices used to interrogate suspected militants in an upmarket district of Lahore.

20 banks shut down in US this year

2010-02-21T02:59:00.000-08:00

WASHINGTON: Regulators shut four banks from California to Florida on Friday, boosting to 20 the number of U.S. bank failures this year following the 140 closures last year in the worst financial climate in decades.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. took over La Jolla Bank, FSB, in La Jolla, California. The bank had 10 branches and about $3.6 billion in assets and $2.8 billion in deposits.

Also seized was George Washington Savings Bank in Orland Park, Illinois. It had four branches and about $412.8 million in assets and $397 million in deposits.

The FDIC said OneWest Bank in Pasadena, California, agreed to assume all deposits and essentially all assets of La Jolla Bank. The takeover is expected to cost the deposit insurance fund an estimated $882.3 million.

The FDIC and OneWest will share losses on about $3.3 billion of the failed bank's loans and other assets.

Meanwhile, FirstMerit Bank, National Association of Akron, Ohio, agreed to take over deposits at George Washington Savings Bank. FirstMerit is also taking over essentially all the assets. For George Washington, the FDIC predicts the takeover will cost the insurance fund $141.4 million.

The loss-sharing agreement for George Washington covers $324.2 million in assets.

The other seized banks were smaller and located in Florida and Texas. They were Marco Community Bank, with a single office on Marco Island, a wealthy barrier island near Naples on Florida's Gulf Coast, and La Coste National Bank of La Coste, Texas.

Marco Community Bank had about $119.6 million in assets and $117.1 million in deposits. Mutual of Omaha Bank, a division of the big insurance company Mutual of Omaha, agreed to assume the assets and deposits of Marco Community Bank.

The failure of Marco Community Bank will cost the deposit insurance fund an estimated $38.1 million.

In addition, the FDIC and Mutual of Omaha Bank, which is based in Omaha, Neb., agreed to share losses on $104.8 million of the failed bank's loans and other assets.

Florida is among the states with the highest concentration of bank failures and where the meltdown in the real estate market brought an avalanche of soured mortgage loans. Last year saw the failure of 14 banks in the state. Also high on the list are California, Georgia and Illinois.

La Coste National Bank had a single branch and $53.9 million in assets. Deposits totaled $49.3 million.

Community National Bank of Hondo, Texas, agreed to buy the deposits and assets of La Coste National Bank — whose failure is expected to cost the insurance fund $3.7 million.

As the economy has weakened, with unemployment rising, home prices tumbling and loan defaults soaring, bank failures have accelerated and sapped billions of dollars out of the federal deposit insurance fund. It fell into the red last year.

The 140 bank failures last year were the highest annual tally since 1992, at the height of the savings and loan crisis. They cost the insurance fund more than $30 billion. There were 25 bank failures in 2008 and just three in 2007.

The FDIC expects the cost of resolving failed banks to grow to about $100 billion over the next four years.

IMF to start sales of 191.3 tonnes of gold soon

2010-02-21T02:58:00.000-08:00

WASHINGTON: The International Monetary Fund on Wednesday said it will shortly begin selling 191.3 tonnes of gold in the open market under a program approved last year to boost its resources for lending.

To avoid disruptions of the gold market, the IMF said the sales "will be conducted in a phased manner over time." The fund left the door open for central banks to keep buying the gold directly from the IMF.

The IMF announced last year it would sell a total of 403.3 tonnes of gold, about one-eighth of its total stock, to diversify its sources of income and increase low-cost lending to poor countries.

Until now, the gold has only been made available to central banks on a first-come-first-serve basis. So far, India -- the world's biggest consumer of gold -- Mauritius and Sri Lanka have purchased a total of 212 tonnes of gold from the IMF.

The Reserve Bank of India was the biggest purchaser, snapping up 200 tonnes of the IMF gold over two weeks in October, boosting its gold holdings to the 10th largest among central banks.

IMF Finance Director Andrew Tweedie told IMF Survey publication that the average price for the three sales was a little over $1,050 an ounce, generating about $7.2 billion in proceeds and a profit of about $4.5 billion over the book value of the gold in the IMF's accounts.

The price of gold has increased by 20 percent over the past two years. Spot gold traded at about $1,104 an ounce on Wednesday after peaking at $1,126.85, its highest since Jan. 20.

The IMF said central banks could continue to buy the gold, which would reduce the amount of gold available for sale on the open market.

"We are still open to off-market sales, so that window has not closed," Tweedie said, adding: "All that has happened now is that we are moving to also start on-market sales."

He said the sales would be based on market prices.

Pak delegation to attend Halal conference in Iran

2010-02-21T02:57:00.000-08:00

KARACHI: A Pakistani delegation led by Asad Sajjad, CEO HDP (Halal Development Project) will attend the International Halal Conference in Tehran from 2-5 March 2010.

The delegation has been invited by Islamic Chamber Research and Information Center (ICRIC) of OIC and Iran Chamber of Commerce at the event. Asad will also give a presentation on "The Power of Halal Branding," in the conference, said a statement issued here.

Halal Development Project recently singed an MOU with PNAC (Pakistan National Accreditation Council) Ministry of Science and Technology, Government of Pakistan, to promote the Halal Trade and Industry in Pakistan and to facilitate Pakistani companies to get their products and services as Halal certified.

Asad Sajjad will also be representing PNAC in the Iran Halal Conference, to invite international certification agencies, testing laboratories and accreditation bodies to get accreditation from PNAC, as being MRA signatory, PNAC accreditation is recognized and accepted world over.

Cotton hits Rs5300 per maund mark

2010-02-21T02:56:00.000-08:00

KARACHI (Azhar Ali Khan): Skyrocketing cotton prices breached another fence of Rs5,300 per maund level in late Saturday trade, ARY News reported.

Senior traders said that domestic cotton prices surged further by Rs100 per maund and set another all-time high of Rs5300 per maund on the back of hefty buying by textile mills and the exporters.

The cotton has become costlier by Rs2000 per maund in last eight months.

“Some 400 cotton bales of Deharki (Sindh) have been finalized at the rate of Rs5300 per maund,” said a senior cotton trader Naseem Usman.

“Textile mills and the exporters are buying cotton in bulk in anticipation of its shortage during March-July this year,” he added.

“I am sure, this uncontrolled price rally will hit Rs5,500 per maund mark in near future,” he added.

China tightens bank lending rules

2010-02-21T02:45:00.000-08:00

BEIJING: Banking regulators in China have ordered institutions to tighten controls on risk and carefully scrutinize borrowers' ability to pay their debts in a new step to rein in lending.

The government's order comes as Beijing tries to prevent excessive lending that it says could lead to financial problems while ensuring adequate credit to keep the economic recovery on track.

Chinese leaders worry that a stimulus-driven torrent of lending is fueling a dangerous bubble in stock and real estate prices. Beijing has ordered banks to set aside additional reserves and to keep lending stable, but the central bank has avoided raising interest rates, which might slow down growth.

The China Banking Regulatory Commission, or CBRC, said in a statement on its Web site Saturday that it issued two regulations to increase risk management on personal and working capital loans. The rules took effect Feb. 12.

The regulation on working capital loans stated that banks must calculate borrowers' actual needs and also consider their cash flow, liabilities, repayment abilities and other factors when assessing loan applications.

On personal lending, the regulation says that borrowers may not obtain loans if they do not specify what the money is to be used for.

Chinese leaders have warned banks repeatedly to keep lending stable in 2010 and avoid financing unneeded real estate and industrial projects due to fears they might fuel inflation or leave banks burdened with bad debts if poorly planned projects fail.

Banks were ordered Feb. 12 to increase reserves by half a percentage point — to 16.5 percent for large lenders and to 14.5 percent for smaller institutions.

The government reported earlier this month that January bank lending rocketed to 1.4 trillion yuan ($200 billion) — nearly one-fifth of the planned 2010 total. That was despite a Jan. 12 order to banks to raise reserves, also by 0.5 percent, and repeated commands to keep lending at sensible levels.

Banks are expected to scale back lending to roughly 7.5 trillion yuan ($1.1 trillion) this year, after handing out some 9.5 trillion yuan ($1.4 trillion) last year, the industry's top regulator, Liu Mingkang, said last month.

Gold price on decline for fourth week

2010-02-07T20:55:00.002-08:00

LONDON: The gold price in the world market continuously plunging for the fourth week, as the precious metal lost 2.9 percent to settle at $1,052.80.

The rally of the US dollar has curbed the sentiments for gold reining in demand for the metal, analysts said. The price of gold can further goes down by 20 to 40 dollars, they added.

Worst is over for global economy: G7

2010-02-07T20:55:00.001-08:00

TORONTO: Finance ministers from the world's top seven industrialised (G7) nations who wound up their two-day informal chats in the Canadian Arctic city of Iqaluit admitted that the recovery from the global recession is still weak.

Though there was no formal communiqué at the end of the 24-hour gathering, the finance ministers and central bank heads from the US, Canada, Italy, France, Britain, Germany and Japan said the worst was over for the global economy.

Expressing cautious optimism over the recovery, they said their governments would continue with stimulus spending to speed up the recovery process.

Canadian Finance Minister Jim Flaherty, who hosted the meeting, said there are signs that the worst is over for the global economy, but the recovery process is still not firmly established yet.

Reading a statement on behalf of the G7 finance ministers, Flaherty said, "The global economic situation has of course improved and is improving. We do not have firmly established recovery yet but there are good signs.

"We need to continue to deliver the stimulus to which we are mutually committed and begin to look ahead to exit strategies and move to a more sustainable fiscal track consistent with continued recovery."

They said their strategies to get out of the economic crisis were paying off and committed themselves to avoiding such crises in the future.

The meeting started Friday with a working dinner on the global economic crisis, followed by a fireside chat on the recovery process.

The finance ministers discussed financial sector reforms and efforts by G7 nations to address the underlying causes of the financial crisis. Later, they held a session on 'Framework for Strong, Sustainable and Balanced Growth,' endorsed by the G20 summit in Pittsburgh last year.

Revenue generation likely to improve

2010-02-07T20:54:00.001-08:00

ISLAMABAD: Revenue generation in the second half of current fiscal is likely to improve due to increase in utility prices and collection of additional income tax as a result of increase in salary of armed forces personnel.

The improvement in revenue generation could offset the low collection in the first six months of the fiscal, an official of the finance ministry said.

The ministry of finance is finalising a working paper detailing the low revenue generation for presentation to the International Monetary Fund.

The paper will also highlight the methods adopted by the authorities to achieve the revenue generation target of Rs1.38 trillion by June.

The next meeting between Pakistani and IMF officials is scheduled to be held in Dubai on Feb 12. The meeting is expected to focus on resource mobilisation in the July-January period of the ongoing fiscal year.

Tax officials have informed the finance ministry that a decline of Rs7 billion is expected because of the following reasons:

--- General sales tax exemption on sugar;

--- Collection from cigarette industry remaining Rs3 billion less than the expected amount, and;

--- Low revenue collection from the Capital Value Tax on transfer of immoveable properties.

“This was mainly due to the lacklustre economic activity in the real estate sector,” the official said.

However, he added that the authorities were hopeful of achieving the target in view of the expected increase in revenue collection from the salary of armed forces personnel which had been enhanced in January.

“An additional income tax of Rs4 billion is expected from this head in the remaining six months of the fiscal,” Chairman of the Federal Board of Revenue Sohail Ahmed said. Expected hike in gas and electricity tariff would also boost revenue collection.

He said that in January, the FBR’s provisional tax collection was Rs111 billion and the final figures were expected to reach Rs115 billion against the target of Rs124 billion.

However, he said the two instalments of advance tax that were due by June would help bridge the existing shortfall and revenue collection would be in line with the target.

Mr Ahmed said the government had decided not to impose new taxes in the ongoing quarter fiscal in order to improve collections.

However, if found necessary additional revenue measures would be taken in the last quarter (April-June) of the fiscal.

Business community hails talks with India

2010-02-07T20:53:00.002-08:00

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan's business community on Sunday welcomed the upcoming foreign secretary-level talks with India, terming it a highly positive step that could result in many benefits for the people of both countries.

At a meeting here of the Islamabad Chamber of Commerce & Industry, its members said both countries are endowed with plenty of human and natural resources and they should establish an atmosphere of mutual trust and confidence to harness these for strengthening their economies and uplifting the living standard of their people.

Chairing the meeting, chamber president Zahid Maqbool said that peaceful and friendly relations between India and Pakistan are essential to promote bilateral trade and economic relations and to exploit the full potential of each other's comparative advantage in different fields.

He said there were vast untapped trade and investment possibilities between the two countries that can be gainfully exploited with significant welfare gains and opportunities to alleviate poverty and strengthen human security. Towards this, the two neighbours should take proactive measures to exploit untapped areas of economic cooperation.

He said the people of both countries share a common culture and traditions and could considerably enhance the current level of bilateral trade. However, peace between the two countries is the basic condition to realize their common objectives.

India and Pakistan Friday discussed the dates for talks between their foreign secretaries and the scope of their dialogue that could include other issues besides terrorism.

Pakistan's High Commissioner Shahid Malik met Indian Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao in New Delhi Friday evening to discuss dates for the talks that are likely later this month.

This follows India's formal proposal for conducting the talks, which could lead to meetings between their foreign ministers and prime ministers on the sideline of the SAARC summit in Thimpu April 28-29.

Indian Home Minister P. Chidambaram was to have visited Islamabad for the Feb 26-28 meeting of the SAARC home/interior ministers that has now been postponed.

CDNS records Rs.115 billion investment

2010-02-07T20:53:00.001-08:00

ISLAMABAD : The National Savings’ investments were recorded at Rs.115 billion net during the first half of current financial year, showing a very positive trend as compared to the investments made during the corresponding period of last year.The investment during July-December (2008-09) stood at Rs.47 billion as against the investments of Rs.115 billion during July-December (2009-10), an official in the Central Directorate of National Savings told APP here on Tuesday.

“The performance of National Savings has improved, particularly during past couple of years as its investments have recorded tremendous growth,” Abdul Ghafoor Baloch, an official of CDNS said.

Baloch said that the National Savings total investments during the last financial year were recorded at Rs.267 billion against the set target of Rs.150 billion.

For the current financial year, the investments target of the National Savings is Rs. 241 billion out of which it has already collected Rs.115 billion till the end of December.

Giving estimated figures of the investments made till January, he said that about 132 billion have been invested till January.

Baloch said that the National Savings aims to launch new schemes including the Sharia Complaint Paper to facilitate those who are interested in Islamic way of savings.

The savings on this assets’-based paper would be on profit-loss sharing basis and it would not include interests. “This scheme would be launched during the current year,” Ghafoor Baloch added.

The National Savings would also launch bonds/papers for overseas Pakistanis in foreign currency to facilitate Pakistanis living abroad to save their incomes adding that the project was in pipeline and under consideration and would be finalized as soon as possible.

To a question, he said that the project of linking all the 371 centers of National Savings through online computerization would be completed during next three to four years adding that the PC-I of the project has already been approved by the government and work was also going on.

He said that the online system would connect all the 371 centers of the National Savings across the country to make the system user-friendly and facilitate the customers.

Baloch said that interest on Defence Saving Certificates (DSC)s from July 1,2009 is 8.00 percent while after 10 years (Compound rate ) is 12.15 percent.

Similarly the profit in Special Saving Certificate Registered (SSCR) in the first five period is 11.60 percent while in the last period the profit rate is 12.00 percent per annum (pa) from July 1,2009.

He said that average compound profit on the scheme is 11.67 percent (pa) from July,1,2009.

Baloch said that on Regular Income Certificates (RIC) is 12.00 percent per annum from July 1,2009.

He added that on saving accounts, the profit with cheque facility is 8.00 percent (pa) while without the check facility is 8.50 percent per annum from July,1,2009.

Similarly, he said that on Pensioners Benefit Accounts and Behbood Saving Certificates the profit per annum is 14.16 percent from July, 1,2009.

Asian, European markets up after US gains

2010-02-07T20:44:00.000-08:00

HONG KONG: World stock markets jumped Wednesday, following Wall Street higher after encouraging reports about the beleaguered US housing sector helped restore confidence in an economic recovery.

Several Asian bourses shot up more than 2 percent after the US market, reversing last month's slide, posted its biggest back-to-back gains in almost three months. Oil prices neared $78 a barrel after surging the day before, while the dollar slipped against the yen and euro.

Investors in Asia found reason for optimism after a major US real estate trade group said its index of pending home sales rose in December. It was the ninth improvement in 10 months and further evidence of healing in an industry at the root of America's downturn.

Having sent markets tumbling over last couple weeks, investors have upped their buying recently amid new signs of a US economic revival and stronger global manufacturing that eased worries, at least for now, about the recovery going off track.

"The overall improvement in the US economy is a clear indicator the world is recovering," said Lucinda Chan of Macquarie Private Wealth in Sydney. "It's not going to be a smooth ride the whole way through, but we're still expecting a solid performance long-term in the market given the improvements in the economy."

Early going in Europe, benchmarks in Britain, France and Germany all added 0.3 percent. Futures augured gains Wednesday on Wall Street. S&P futures rose 1.5 point, or 0.2 percent, to 1,099.

Japan's Nikkei 225 stock average added 33.24 points, or 0.3 percent, to 10,404.33 and Hong Kong's Hang Seng jumped 449.90, or 2.2 percent, to 20,722.08. South Korea's Kospi was up 19.21, or 1.2 percent, to 1,615.02.

Elsewhere, Shanghai's market marched 2.4 percent higher, Australian stocks rose 0.9 percent and Indian shares bounced 2.1 percent.

Among stocks, shares in Toyota tanked nearly 6 percent as fallout from its global recall over faulty gas pedals continued with a top US official accusing the world's largest car maker of dragging its feet on safety concerns. Toyota will be in focus Thursday when it releases quarterly earnings.

Despite the upward swing, analyst said many investors were on edge ahead of US private-sector employment data being released later in the day and the more important nationwide monthly jobs report due Friday. Wednesday's report is expected to show employers slashed about 30,000 private sector jobs last month compared to the 84,000 cut in December, according to analyst estimates.

Adding to anxiety were deteriorating finances in Greece and other Western countries. Investors will be watching Wednesday for the European Commission's assessment of Greece's plan to put its fiscal house in order and cut its massive budget deficit, already more than four times the European Union's 3 percent of GDP limit.

In Asia, a hesitancy to put more money into the market before the extended Chinese New Year holiday also sidelines investors.

"Investors are being cautious. We're still not past all the negative sentiment," said Jackson Wong, investment manager at Tanrich Securities. "Last year was a great year so many people would like to take some profits off the table."

In New York Tuesday, the Dow rose 111.32, or 1.1 percent, to 10,296.85.

The S&P 500 index rose 14.13, or 1.3 percent, to 1,103.32, while Nasdaq composite index advanced 18.86, or 0.9 percent, to 2,190.06.

Oil prices rose in Asia, with benchmark crude for March delivery up 70 cents at $77.92. The contract jumped more than $2 overnight on reports crude demand could improve.

In currencies, the dollar fell to 90.14 yen from 90.36 yen. The euro was higher at $1.4015 from $1.3961.

World markets up again on US economic hopes

2009-12-23T09:28:00.002-08:00

LONDON: World stock markets rose Wednesday amid mounting optimism about the speed of the U.S. economic recovery ahead of further data later.

In Europe, the FTSE 100 index of leading British shares was up 43.12 points, or 0.8 percent, at 5,371.78 while Germany's DAX rose 34.36 points, or 0.6 percent, to 5,980.05. The CAC-40 in France was 28.43 points, or 0.7 percent, higher at 3,926.81.

Earlier, all major Asian markets rose strongly in the wake of Tuesday's advance on Wall Street after existing home sales figures for November came in much stronger than anticipated.

Wall Street was poised to open higher again later — though much could hinge on the last batch of data before Christmas. Dow futures were up 31 points, or 0.3 percent, at 10,439 while the broader Standard & Poor's 500 futures rose 4.9 points, or 0.4 percent, to 1,118.50.

The focus later will be on government personal spending and new homes sales figures, as well as the University of Michigan's latest insight into the state of consumer confidence.

"Personal spending data should echo the already strong numbers on retail sales, while personal incomes are also set to rise," said Daragh Maher, an analyst at Calyon Credit Agricole.

"New home sales may not match the scale of the leap in existing home sales, but they should still be higher, and the market is also flirting with the idea of an upward revision to consumer confidence," he added.

Contrary to many expectations, stocks around the world have rallied this week — many analysts were anticipating a modest pullback as investors shut up shop for the year by booking profits accumulated during the nine-month bull market.

Earlier, China's benchmark Shanghai Composite Index rose 23.26 points, or 0.8 percent, to 3,073.78, while Sydney's S&P/ASX added 0.8 percent to 4,739.30 amid strength in coal stocks.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng reversed losses to climb 236.70, or 1.1 percent, to 21,328.74. Seoul's Kospi gained 0.4 percent to 1,661.35, while Singapore was up 0.6 percent and Taiwan's Taiex rose 0.6 percent.

Tokyo was closed for a holiday.

Oil prices rose modestly with the benchmark January contract up 36 cents to $74.76 in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

There was little activity in the currency markets — the dollar was flat at 91.82 yen, while the euro was unchanged at $1.4244.

Over the last couple of weeks, the dollar has bounced back from 15-month lows against the euro and 14-year yen lows amid mounting expectations that the U.S. Federal Reserve will start withdrawing its extraordinary liquidity measures and raising interest rates sooner than expected. The euro has been dogged by concerns over the economic situation in a number of European countries.

The pound was also steady just below $1.60 after the minutes to the last rate-setting meeting of the Bank of England indicated that monetary policy in Britain will be left as is at least for a couple of months.

All nine members of the Monetary Policy Committee voted to keep the Bank's financial asset purchases at 200 billion pounds ($320 billion) and the benchmark interest rate unchanged at the record low of 0.5 percent.

"While it seems likely that the MPC is nearing the end of its measures to support the economy, further action is certainly possible if the recovery disappoints," said Jonathan Loynes, chief European economist at Capital Economics. "Either way, any tightening of policy remains a long way off."

Industry laments power tariff hike

2009-12-23T09:28:00.001-08:00

KARACHI: Industrialists have sharply reacted over 16.1 per cent hike in power tariff terming it a cruel act against the national interest.

Patron of Korangi Association of Trade and Industry (KATI), S M Muneer, Chairman, Hashim Razzak Paracha and other office bearers in a statement said that government has taken the decision of increasing power tariff under the IMF dictation totally ignoring the plight of the industry and the general masses.

The KATI officials said that the government in addition to 15 per cent raise in power tariff, has announced to adjust another 1.1 per cent increase in the tariff, which is self explanatory that how the present government is democratic and people’s friendly.

Meanwhile, President, Pakistan Businessmen and Intellectuals Forum, Mian Zahid Husain while condemning the power tariff increase from January 1, 2010 and said that present government has totally lost the credibility due to frequent power increase and raise in other utilities’ prices since it has taken over.

Indian small car market overtakes Japan

2009-12-23T09:27:00.000-08:00

MUMBAI: India is emerging a leader in small cars as declining sales in Western markets coupled with robust growth in Asia redraws the global map of the auto industry faster than many expected.

It's well known that China will overtake the U.S. as the world's largest car market this year. Less noticed is the fact that India will top Japan for the first time in sales of super-compact cars. It overtook Japan as the world's number one producer of basic cars in 2007.

Automakers like Ford, Nissan, Volkswagen, General Motors, and China's Shanghai Automotive Industries Corp. are pouring hundreds of millions of dollars into the country, hoping to capture a piece of the growing market for tiny, inexpensive passenger vehicles. As they do so, they are quietly transforming India into an export hub for small car manufacturing.

"From a small car production hub perspective, India is right in the center of the radar," said Michael Boneham, head of Ford India, which plans to roll out its first India-made compact, the Figo, in the first quarter of next year.

More than 892,000 basic cars — the smallest category of passenger vehicle — will be sold in India this year, up 14 percent from last year and surpassing the 708,034 forecast for Japan, according to J.D. Power and Associates.

Unlike China, Russia and Brazil, where consumers buy a range of cars, from basic to luxury, Indians overwhelmingly prefer small, affordable cars.

Nearly half of all cars sold in India — like Maruti Suzuki's Swift, GM's Spark and Hyundai's Santro — fall into the basic category. These are cars so small they're almost nonexistent in the U.S. market. Think of them as sub-sub-compacts.

And price matters. Executives say most Indians won't spend more than $8,000 on a car.

To manufacture these low-margin vehicles profitably, carmakers must localize production to cut costs and ramp up volumes.

For now, they can't sell enough cars in India alone to make the numbers work. The market is too consolidated — Maruti Suzuki sells half of all cars in India — and too small. India ranks 10th globally for total car and truck sales. J.D. Power expects Indian car and truck sales to hit 1.9 million this year, a far cry from China's 12.3 million.

Ford Motor Co. has invested $500 million in India and its factory in the south Indian city of Chennai can make up to 200,000 cars a year. Even if sales more than double, to 60,000 vehicles next year as executives hope, they've got capacity to spare.

Nissan Motor Co. plans to shift production of its Micra cars for the European market from the U.K. to Chennai, which it also aims to use as an export hub for Africa and the Middle East. The company plans to roll out its first made-in-India compact in May, part of a seven-year, $920 million India investment it made with partner Renault.

Volkswagen AG has invested Euro 580 million ($847 million) in India, and this month started production of its first India compact at a factory that can make up to 110,000 cars a year.

General Motors Co. opened a second, $300 million factory in India in September 2008, boosting annual capacity to 225,000 vehicles. This month, it teamed up with China's SAIC to launch an India joint venture, with fresh investment of up to $350 million.

Upsurge in Pak cotton exports price

2009-12-23T09:26:00.001-08:00

KARACHI (Azhar Ali Khan): Pakistani cotton exporters have raised their commodity prices for the international buyers following an upward price trend in the world markets, ARY News reported.

Exporters said that the high-quality Pakistani cotton is now tagged at 72 cents per pound, which was earlier exported at the rate of 57 cents per pound, depicting an upsurge of 15 cents per pound.

“During last few days the fresh cotton export deals have finalized at the rate of 72 cents per pound,” said a leading Karachi-based exporter.

Citing basic reason of price increase, he said, “Prices of export-quality cotton have increased as the international markets are witnessing an upward price trend, following a shortage-like situation.

“High-quality cotton is very expensive in the international markets because of its scarcity,” said an exporter.

“In fact, the cotton crop shortage has resulted in continued price hike and that is why we (the Pakistani exporters) have brought local cotton price at par with the international level,” said another exporter.

During the current season, some 0.8 million cotton bales have so far been exported, while some 0.2 million bales’ deals are finalized and the shipments would be sent, shortly.

South Punjab: Sugar price hikes by Rs 200 per 100 KG

2009-12-19T11:06:00.001-08:00

MULTAN: Sugar price has increased by Rs 200 per 100 kilogramme bag in the wholesale market of southern Punjab as the price of the commodity has soared to Rs 5500 per 100-kilogramme in the region.

The retail traders are selling sugar at Rs 57 per kilogramme. The people blame hoarding and absence of the government check and balance as major cause of the hike in sugar price.

2000-2009 Nelson signals progress on health care in talks

2009-12-19T11:05:00.001-08:00

WASHINGTON – Democratic leaders appeared to make progress Friday night in winning over Sen. Ben Nelson to be their 60th vote to pass a sweeping health care bill by Christmas. Nelson, a moderate Nebraska Democrat, is seeking stricter abortion curbs and said he's been offered ideas that may answer his concerns.

He declined to disclose details but said the proposed approach "would exclude any kind of federal funds directly or indirectly being used to fund elective abortions, and the question is always how you get them as tight as you can and still be able to get a common understanding and something that you could all agree to."

"We're looking at that to see if it does it sufficiently. That's the key — sufficiently," Nelson said during a break in closed-door talks in the Capitol with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, senior White House officials and others. The discussions were expected to continue into the night as Reid rushes to finalize the legislation in time for a first vote likely within days. Nelson is the lone holdout in the 60-member Democratic caucus — exactly the number Reid needs to overcome Republican opposition and pass the legislation.

Several officials said Nelson was seeking to ease the impact of a proposed insurance industry tax on nonprofit companies, as well as win more federal funds to cover Nebraska's cost of treating patients in Medicaid, the state-federal health care program for the poor. These officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the talks, said the administration and Democratic leaders had offered concessions on those points.

In another sign of progress, Nelson said legislative language on Medicaid might be drafted in anticipation of agreement.

Nelson has spoken openly of seeking stricter abortion curbs, except in cases of rape, incest or when the life of a mother is in danger. An earlier proposed compromise on that issue — which attempted to separate public from private funds for abortion coverage — won the tentative support of Catholic hospitals. But the National Right to Life Committee objected, dismissing it as an accounting gimmick.

Later Friday, Cardinal Daniel DiNardo of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops also rejected to the proposal. He said it "does not comply with long-standing ... restrictions on federal funding of elective abortions" that govern other government programs. The bishops played a significant role in drafting an abortion-related provision in the House bill.

If Republicans cared much about the outcome of negotiations, it wasn't apparent.

"This massive piece of legislation that seeks to restructure one-sixth of our economy is being written behind closed doors without input from anyone in an effort to jam it past not only the Senate but the American people before Christmas," said Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the Republican leader.

"They are virtually thumbing their nose at the American people who are virtually screaming at us, don't pass this bill," he added.

Public opinion polls show lagging support for the measure, although Democrats argue that will change once legislation passes and consumers see benefits.

Not all liberals saw it that way.

MoveOn.org, which helped fuel Obama's election last year, announced its opposition to the measure, citing its lack of a government-run insurance option. It urged its members to sign a petition saying, "America needs real health care reform — not a massive giveaway to the insurance companies."

The bill is designed to extend coverage to millions who lack it, prohibit the industry from denying insurance on the basis of pre-existing medical conditions and generally slow the rate of growth of medical spending nationwide.

At a cost of nearly $1 trillion over a decade, it includes hundreds of billions of dollars to defray the cost of coverage to individuals and families at lower and middle incomes.

Reid, D-Nev., has been preparing a final series of revisions to the 2,074-page bill, with Senate debate expected to begin on them shortly after they are made public sometime early Saturday.

In addition to the negotiations with Nelson, there were talks with Sen. Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, who voted for an earlier version of the legislation when it cleared the Senate Finance Committee.

Republicans, who have been accused by Rush Limbaugh and others for failing to oppose the legislation vigorously enough, have threatened to force Senate clerks to read the entire text of the proposed changes aloud, a process that could consume eight hours or so.

Oil prices advance above $73

2009-12-19T11:04:00.004-08:00

SINGAPORE: Global oil prices advanced above $73 a barrel in Asian trade Friday, after an overnight dip, on hopes of increase in fuel demand.

Light sweet crude for January delivery was seen trading at $73.09 a barrel at 11.45 a.m Singapore time while Brent crude was at $73.54 a barrel at the same time.

Oil has gained 4.6 percent this week, the most since the week ended Oct. 16, after the Federal Reserve said factories produced more goods in November than anticipated, signaling fuel demand may rise.

Crude prices dropped Thursday as the dollar strengthened against the euro, damping the appeal of commodities as an alternative investment. Dollar fell to $1.4390 per euro in Asian trade from $1.4338 yesterday in New York.

However, natural gas prices jumped Thursday after the government reported that supplies fell by the largest amount ever for this time of year as frigid weather chilled parts of the U.S. Midwest and Northeast.

The natural gas contract for January delivery climbed 30.6 cents, nearly 6 percent, to settle at $5.768 per 1,000 cubic feet on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, which pumps about 40 percent of the world’s oil, will meet next week in Luanda, Angola. The 12-member group announced 4.2 million barrels a day of output cuts in 2008.

Oil creeps toward $70 in Asia

2009-12-19T11:04:00.003-08:00

SINGAPORE: Oil prices crept toward $70 a barrel Tuesday in Asia after dropping the last nine days on investor doubts about a recovery in U.S. crude demand.

Benchmark crude for January delivery was up 36 cents to $68.87 at midday Singapore time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. On Monday, the contract fell 36 cents to settle at $69.51.

Crude is down about 13 percent since reaching its 2009 high of $82 a barrel in October amid signs that demand for oil and its products remains weak.

Investors are also watching closely the U.S. dollar, which has reversed a year-long slide this month. Traders had been buying crude and other commodities as a hedge against inflation and a weaker currency.

The dollar rose 0.3 percent to 88.84 yen in Asian trading Tuesday and the euro was little changed at $1.4654.

In other Nymex trading in January contracts, heating oil held at $1.91 while gasoline gained 0.81 cent to $1.83. Natural gas rose 3.0 cents to $5.36 per 1,000 cubic feet.

In London, Brent crude for January delivery rose 22 cents to $72.11 on the ICE Futures exchange.

Asian stock markets mixed

2009-12-19T11:04:00.001-08:00

HONG KONG: Asian stock markets were mixed Tuesday as investors looked to take profits before year's end and awaited the Federal Reserve's latest assessment of the U.S. economy.

The region's lackluster trade followed modest gains on Wall Street, where investors sent major indexes to new highs for 2009 after Dubai's $10 billion bailout. Oil prices inched up, while the dollar strengthened against the yen.

This week, investors will be watching closely what the U.S. central bank has to say about the world's largest economy after its policy meeting Wednesday. It's widely expected to keep interest rates at historic lows.

Japan's Nikkei 225 stock average fell 5.33 points, less than 0.1 percent, to 10,100.35 and Hong Kong's Hang Seng was off 162.31, or 0.7 percent, at 21,923.44.

China's main index fell 0.7 percent while South Korea's Kospi was marginally in the green after flitting in and out of negative territory.

Other markets gained. Australia's benchmark added 0.5 percent and India's Sensex was up 0.2 percent. Singapore's index advanced 0.3 percent.

Tuesday in the U.S., the Dow rose 29.55, or 0.3 percent, to 10,501.05, its highest close since Oct. 1, 2008.

The S&P 500 index rose 7.70, or 0.7 percent, to 1,114.11, its highest finish since Oct. 2, 2008. The Nasdaq composite index rose 21.79, or 1 percent, to 2,212.10.

World stocks mixed ahead of Fed meeting

2009-12-19T11:03:00.003-08:00

HONG KONG: World stock markets were mixed Tuesday as investors took profits before year's end and awaited the Federal Reserve's latest assessment of the U.S. economy.

A mostly down day in Asia and a mixed performance early in Europe followed modest gains on Wall Street, where investors sent major indexes to new highs for 2009 after Dubai's $10 billion bailout. Oil prices wallowed below $70 a barrel, while the dollar strengthened against the yen.

After a big run since March, the markets have drifted this month. Many investors are unwilling to increase their bets toward the end of the year, with lingering uncertainty surrounding debt problems in Dubai and other governments only adding to their caution.

This week, investors will be watching closely what the U.S. central bank has to say about the world's largest economy after its policy meeting Wednesday. It's widely expected to keep interest rates at historic lows.

"The Fed's statement will definitely influence the markets," said Peter Lai, investment manager at DBS Vickers in Hong KOng. "The big questions are when the Fed thinks the unemployment rate will start to go down and when it will have to start raising interest rates."

As trading got started in Europe, France's CAC-40 and Germany's DAX were both up 0.2 percent while Britain's FTSE 100 was off 0.3 percent. Futures pointed to modest gains Tuesday in the U.S. with Dow futures up 4 points at 10,502. S&P futures gained 5.4, or 0.5 percent, to 1,113.40.

In Asia, Japan's Nikkei 225 stock average fell 22.20 points, or 0.2 percent, to 10,083.48 and Hong Kong's Hang Seng retreated 271.83, or 1.2 percent, to 21,813.92.

China's main index fell 0.9 percent amid news the government was vowing to clamp down on surging property prices. South Korea's Kospi was marginally in the green — rising 0.1 percent to 1,665.85 — after flitting in and out of negative territory.

Elswhere, Australia's benchmark added 0.4 percent and India's Sensex lost 0.8 percent.

Tuesday in the U.S., the Dow rose 29.55, or 0.3 percent, to 10,501.05, its highest close since Oct. 1, 2008.

The S&P 500 index rose 7.70, or 0.7 percent, to 1,114.11, its highest finish since Oct. 2, 2008. The Nasdaq composite index rose 21.79, or 1 percent, to 2,212.10.

Oil prices fell in Asia, with benchmark crude for January delivery down 2 cents to $69.49 a barrel. The contract rose 36 cents overnight to settle at $69.51.

The dollar rose to 89.03 yen from 88.55 yen. The euro fell to $1.4561 from $1.4656.

Euro lowers to $1.4556 in European trade

2009-12-19T11:03:00.001-08:00

FRANKFURT: The euro was lower against the dollar Tuesday while investors remained cautious about debt and credit problems in Greece and Spain.

The 16-nation euro bought $1.4556 in European morning trade, down from the $1.4647 in late New York trading Monday.

The British pound fell to $1.6261 from $1.6304 while the dollar gained on the Japanese yen to 88.98 from 88.63 late Monday in New York.

Greece's prime minister announced a barrage of spending cuts Monday and warned that the country risked drowning in debt. The government has promised to step up efforts to reduce the deficit after a ratings agency downgraded the country's debt rating. Also last week, a rating agency lowered the credit rating outlook for Spain to negative.

Markets also await more details from the U.S. Federal Reserve, which wraps up its last policy meeting of the year on Wednesday. Investors expect the central bank to keep its benchmark interest rate near zero, but there is some concern that rates could rise sooner than previously thought as the economy improves.

Higher interest rates can support a currency as investors transfer funds to where they earn higher returns.

The euro's "near term resistance at $1.4680 to $1.4690 remains intact for now, as the euro trades sideways in an attempt to stem its losses of the past few days," Michael Hewson at CMC Markets said.

"Even though Friday's decline has shifted sentiment on the euro to slightly negative, it could be susceptible to a move back to $1.4800," he said. "While below this level the $1.4480 target remains."

Gulf Arab states move closer to single currency

2009-12-19T11:02:00.003-08:00

KUWAIT CITY: Kuwait's finance minister says a monetary pact between Gulf Arab nations has gone into effect — a move that brings the nations closer to the so-far elusive goal of a unified currency.

The official KUNA news agency quoted Mustafa al-Shimali as saying Tuesday that central bank governors from the six Gulf Cooperation Council countries would set a timetable to set up a regional central bank with an ultimate aim of setting up a unified Gulf currency.

The development came as leaders of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, Oman and the United Arab Emirates were poised to wrap up a two-day summit in Kuwait.

GCC nations have been working toward greater integration, but the plan for a unified currency suffered a blow when the UAE and Oman said they would not join.

ECC approves Rs0.5bn subsidy on Potash

2009-12-19T11:02:00.001-08:00

ISLAMABAD: The Economic Coordination Committee of the Cabinet (ECC) on Tuesday approved subsidization of Potash to promote balanced use of fertilizer to enhance crop productivity in the country.

The ECC, which met under the chair of Federal Minister for Finance Shaukat Tarin, considered the subject of subsidization of potash.

To provide subsidy of Rs500 per 50kg on the import of MOP/SOP to keep the price of potash at the level of Rs1,900 total financial implication involved would be around Rs0.5 billion.

The subsidy will be on first come first served basis, subject to the achievement of the set target of 50,000 tons and will be admissible to only those importers who import it between July 1, 2009 to March 31, 2010.

The ECC was also briefed by the Ministry of Food and Agriculture about the availability and pricing position of pulses in the country.

The ECC was also informed that the stock of wheat as on December 6, 2009 amounted to 7.805 million tons as against 2.484 million tons in the same period last year, thereby showing a higher stock of about 5.321 million tons compared with last year.

OPEC revises up 2010 world oil demand

2009-12-19T10:58:00.000-08:00

CAIRO: OPEC has revised up slightly its forecast oil demand for next year, as the group heads into a meeting in Angola next week where it is likely to leave members' quotas unchanged.

The 12-nation Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries said in a monthly report Tuesday that world oil demand was expected to increase 800,000 barrels per day. That's a 70,000 barrel per day upward revision from its November forecast.

However, the group which supplies about 35 percent of the world's oil cautioned that the pace of the global economic recovery could still impact oil demand in 2010.

OPEC is meeting in the Angolan capital on December 22. Ministers from a number of its top producers have voiced satisfaction with current oil prices even as global oil supplies remain high.

US Marines launch offensive in Afghanistan

2009-12-04T13:35:00.001-08:00

KABUL – U.S. Marines swooped down behind Taliban lines in helicopters and Osprey aircraft Friday in the first offensive since President Barack Obama announced an American troop surge.

About 1,000 Marines and 150 Afghan troops were taking part in "Operation Cobra's Anger" in a bid to disrupt Taliban supply and communications lines in the Now Zad Valley of Helmand province in southern Afghanistan, the scene of heavy fighting last summer, according to Marine spokesman Maj. William Pelletier.

Hundreds of troops from the 3rd Battalion, 4th Marines and the Marine reconnaissance unit Task Force Raider dropped by helicopters and MV-22 Osprey aircraft in the northern end of the valley while a second, larger Marine force pushed northward from the main Marine base in the town of Now Zad, Pelletier said.

A U.S. military official in Washington said it was the first use of Ospreys, aircraft that combine features of helicopters and fixed wing aircraft, in an offensive involving units larger than platoons.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to detail the operation, said that Ospreys have previously been used for intelligence and patrol operations.

Combat engineers used armored steamrollers and explosives to force a corridor through Taliban minefields — known as "IED Alley" because of the huge number of roadside bombs, known as improvised explosive devices, and land mines, Pelletier said.

Roadside bombs and mines have become the biggest killer of American troops in Afghanistan.

There were no reports of U.S. or Afghan government casualties. The spokesman for the Afghan governor of Helmand province, Daood Ahmadi, said at least four Taliban fighters had been killed and their bodies recovered.

He said more than 300 mines and roadside bombs had been located in the first day of the operation.

Pelletier said insurgents were caught off guard by the early morning air assault.

"Right now, the enemy is confused and disorganized," Pelletier said by telephone from Camp Leatherneck, the main Marine base in Helmand. "They're fighting, but not too effectively."

The offensive began three days after Obama announced that he was sending 30,000 reinforcements to Afghanistan to help turn the tide against the Taliban and train Afghan security forces to take responsibility for defending against the militants.

America's European allies will send an estimated 7,000 more troops to Afghanistan next year "with more to come," NATO chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen announced Friday.

Most of the new troops are expected to be sent to southern Afghanistan, including Helmand, where Taliban influence is strongest.

Friday's fighting was taking place in one of the most challenging areas of the country for the U.S.-led NATO force, which has been trying for years to break the Taliban grip there.

Now Zad used to be one of the largest towns in Helmand, the center of Afghanistan's lucrative opium poppy growing industry.

However, three years of fighting have chased away Now Zad's 30,000 inhabitants, leaving the once-thriving market and commercial area a ghost town. Instead the area has become a major supply and transportation hub for Taliban forces that use the valley to move drugs, weapons and fighters south toward major populations and to provinces in western Afghanistan.

British troops who were once stationed there left graffiti dubbing the town "Apocalypse Now-Zad," a play on the title of the 1979 Vietnam War movie "Apocalypse Now." The British base was nearly overrun on several occasions, with insurgents coming within yards (meters) of the protection wall. The area was handed over in 2008 to the Marines, who have struggled to reclaim much of the valley.

In August, the Marines launched their first large-scale offensive in the barren, wind-swept valley, which is surrounded by steep cliffs with dozens of caves providing cover to Taliban units.

Although only about 100 hardline insurgents are believed to operate in the area, their positions are so strong that a fixed front line runs just a few hundred yards (meters) north of the Marines' base, according to Associated Press reporters who were with the Marines there last summer.

Elsewhere in Helmand, the leader of Britain's opposition Conservative Party warned that NATO had one "last chance" to succeed in Afghanistan and that patience was running out in countries that have provided troops to the NATO-led mission.

"We can't be here for another eight years," David Cameron told the British Broadcasting Corp. after touring a public market in Nad Ali, well south of Friday's fighting. "I think following President Obama's speech and the increase in American and British forces we have a chance, probably our last chance, to get it right, but we do have a chance."

In London, the Sun newspaper said the son of the Helmand governor is seeking asylum in Britain because of fears for his safety.

The newspaper said Barai Mangal, 25, applied for sanctuary in Britain at an immigration office in Liverpool in July. Britain's Home Office declined to discuss the asylum application.

His father, Gov. Gulab Mangal, would not confirm the report but told The Associated Press on Friday that his son was the target of an attempted kidnapping last summer.

Suicide attackers kill 36 at Pakistan mosque

2009-12-04T13:34:00.001-08:00

RAWALPINDI, Pakistan – Militants stormed a mosque near Pakistan's army headquarters, killing at least 36 worshippers, including six military officers, during Friday prayers as they sprayed gunfire and threw grenades before blowing themselves up, officials said.

It was the latest in a wave of strikes by suspected Islamist insurgents that has killed more than 400 people in Pakistan since October.

The rampage in a heavily fortified area in the garrison city of Rawalpindi also brought the war home to the military brass as insurgents persist with brazen attacks despite several army offensives against them in northwestern regions bordering Afghanistan.

A military statement said four attackers hurled grenades, then opened fire as they rushed toward the mosque, which was located on Parade Lane in a military residential colony, just a few miles from the capital. Two suicide bombers then blew themselves up inside, while the other two militants were killed in an exchange of gunfire, it said.

The dead included a major general, a brigadier, two lieutenant colonels, one major and a retired major as well as three regular soldiers, military spokesman Maj. Gen. Athar Abbas said. Seventeen children and 10 civilians also were killed.

Local station Geo TV reported that the Pakistani Taliban had claimed responsibility.

City residents said access to the mosque was mostly restricted to soldiers and their families.

Witnesses said two of the militants entered the mosque, which had up to 200 worshippers inside, while others ran into buildings nearby. The army prevented reporters from the scene, where security forces exchanged fire with the assailants for an hour before the militants blew themselves up or were killed.

Nasir Ali Sheikh saw the attackers at the mosque as he walked there to pray. He said they were dressed in traditional Pakistani clothing of loose pants and a long tunic and carried hand grenades, automatic weapons and ammunition belts slung around their shoulders.

"They were killing people like animals," he said. "I couldn't understand what was happening."

The mosque's walls and prayer mats were covered in blood and shattered glass lined the floor, TV footage showed.

The attack was the third in Rawalpindi in the last two months. In the most high-profile incident, a team of militants attacked the army headquarters on Oct. 10 and held dozens hostage in a 22-hour standoff that left nine militants and 14 other people dead.

Three helicopters hovered overhead Friday while trucks carrying commando teams and ambulances raced through the cordoned-off area as soldiers with rifles ready kept onlookers and traffic away.

The attack began when several gunmen staged an explosion to break through a checkpoint close to the mosque, said Yasir Nawaz, a police official at the scene.

He said the installation included an army parade ground as well as the mosque, which was often used by military officers.

Abbas said authorities were investigating how the attackers penetrated the stringent security ring surrounding the area.

It was the second attack against a military installation this week. A suicide bomber also struck the entrance of the navy headquarters in Islamabad, killing two security guards on Wednesday.

Violence in nuclear-armed Pakistan has escalated since the army launched an offensive in mid-October against Taliban militants in the northwestern tribal area of South Waziristan near the Afghan border. Soldiers have pushed deep into what was a militant stronghold, but many insurgents appear to have fled.

Ammo crates found at Philippine massacre suspect's home

2009-12-04T13:33:00.000-08:00

MANILA (Reuters) – Philippine soldiers using metal detectors, sniffer dogs and an excavator dug up more than a dozen crates of bullets on Friday in the mansion of a local mayor linked to last week's massacre of 57 people, a spokesman said.

Hundreds of army and combat-trained police units searched houses belonging to local mayor Andal Ampatuan Jr., main suspect in the country's worst election-related violence, and his father.

They seized a shotgun, several mortar shells, military uniforms and combat boots from two more houses belonging to another Ampatuan son. Outside the walled compound, half a dozen armored vehicles mounted with machineguns stood guard.

"Our troops were armed with a search warrant," military spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Romeo Brawner told reporters.

Security forces disarmed the Ampatuan family and their bodyguards after entering the houses. Television showed footage of some of Ampatuan househelp pinned to the ground while being frisked. Ampatuan Jr is already in custody.

The Ampatuans have ruled for nearly a decade in Muslim-dominated southern province of Maguindanao.

Local radio reports said soldiers with metal detectors and dogs searched through Ampatuan Jr.'s house, tearing down a concrete wall where the boxes of ammunitions were found. An excavator was also brought in to dig inside the housing complex.

On November 23, gunmen attacked a convoy of the wife, sisters and relatives of a local politician planning to run for elections next year, and their escort composed of lawyers and journalists. Fifty-seven bodies were later found off the highway, some on a grassy hillside and some buried in a hastily dug pit, all bearing gunshot wounds.

More than half the victims were journalists.

Eight of the journalists were buried in a mass grave in the southern General Santos City on Friday at a funeral attended by 5,000 people. Some wore black shirts printed with "Stop Killing Journalists."

"The government should punish those responsible for these heinous crimes," Juliet Subang, sister of one of the murdered journalists, told reporters. The victims' kin, most of whom were wailing during the funeral service, released white balloons after the caskets were lowered to the ground.

Two United Nations human rights experts said earlier this week authorities must prevent similar murders in the run-up to elections next May.

Ampatuan Jr and several as yet unidentified suspects face 25 counts of murder before a regional trial court in Cotabato City on the southern island of Mindanao. They were accused of conspiracy in the massacre of a rival politician's family, journalists and other civilians.

On Thursday, soldiers unearthed a large cache of weapons, including five mortars, four machineguns, three anti-tank bazookas, assault rifles, a 50-caliber sniper gun and hundreds of boxes of bullets from a vacant lot about 500 meters from the Ampatuans' residential complex.

Some of the boxes bore markings of "DND" -- initials of the Department of National Defense -- and "government arsenal."

"We've started an internal inquiry to determine if these weapons and ammunition were issued by the government and if these were sold by some soldiers," Brawner said.

The illegal sales of military weapons and corruption in the army bureaucracy are issues raised in the past by rogue soldiers who mounted three failed coup attempts against the government of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo from 2003 until 2007.

Dubai's leader tries to calm panicky investors

2009-12-01T07:34:00.000-08:00

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates – Dubai's leader tried to calm panicky investors Tuesday as regional markets tumbled for a second day on news that the city-state's chief conglomerate needs to delay payments on its $60 billion debt for six months.

Government-owned investment company Dubai World — the United Arab Emirates' main engine of growth — gave anxious investors the first bit of clarity they were hoping for on how it might meet its debt obligations. It said it had begun discussions with creditors on $26 billion of its debt that would include restructuring about $6 billion.

The conglomerate is involved in international projects from Gulf banks and ports in 50 countries to luxury retailer Barney's New York and a grandiose six-tower hotel-entertainment complex in Las Vegas. Its potential for a debt default sent jitters through world markets on concerns of new setbacks for Dubai World's large international bank creditors just as they are recovering from the global financial crisis.

Dubai is one of seven highly autonomous statelets that make up the United Arab Emirates and the crisis has sent the UAE's two biggest markets into a tailspin. The Dubai Financial Market sank another 5.61 percent on Tuesday after plunging 7.3 percent on Monday and Abu Dhabi's bourse closed down 3.57 percent following an 8 percent slide a day earlier.

Dubai's ruler, Sheik Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, tried to reassure investors in his first public statement about Dubai World's debt crisis.

"Our economy is strong and solid and consistent," he told Al-Arabiya satellite television, adding markets were overreacting because of "a lack of understanding about what is happening in Dubai." He did not elaborate.

UAE President Sheik Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan also maintained his country's economy was healthy.

However, analysts say Dubai World's debt crisis is a symptom of a broader malaise in the city-state. Dubai has no oil resources. But for the past decade, it has been the freewheeling boomtown, racking up debt as it built extravagant artificial residential islands, malls complete with indoor ski slopes and the world's tallest tower.

The troubles raised concerns in international markets that the large international banks that extended credit to the conglomerate could now face a new setback if it defaults just as those big banks are starting to emerge from the global financial crisis. The big fear is that Dubai's problems could be indicative that the global recovery is not on as solid a footing as many had hoped and there could be other toxic debt problems still to come in developing countries.

World stock markets rose sharply Tuesday on the announcement that Dubai World was in talks to restructure a large chunk of its business. Investors were eagerly awaiting clarity on how it would deal with its debts, specifically reassurances that the company was sitting down with creditors to refinance its debt.

Saurabh Dhall, an independent broker in Dubai, said there is a lot of uncertainty about how the debt crisis will play out. He said it was raising credibility concerns both about Dubai's ability to stand behind its debt obligations and the possibility, however, remote, that the crisis could impact broader government debt in the UAE.

"The major concern is not so much the dollar amount ... of the payments, it's the concern about how this will affect credibility," he said.

Investors were not reassured on Monday when Dubai officials indicated they had washed their hands of Dubai World's debts, arguing that it was an independent company that happened to be owned by the emirate.

The news rattled investors and raised more questions about whether neighboring Abu Dhabi, the oil-rich seat of the UAE's federal government, would step in with a bailout of sort and what such a step would mean for Dubai.

Dubai World said Tuesday in a statement the restructuring would include about $6 billion in Islamic bonds issued by its real estate arm, Nakheel PJSC, the company behind Dubai's iconic, palm-shaped artificial islands. About $3.5 billion of the bonds come due on Dec. 14, and Nakheel was viewed as the litmus test for how Dubai World will deal with its debt woes.

It did not deal with the broader issue of how it would meet its entire crushing debt burden.

Dubai World's statement Tuesday said the restructuring would include Dubai World and certain subsidiaries, including Nakheel World and Limitless World. Excluded from the talks are debts from Infinity World Holding, Istithmar World and Ports & Free Zone World, which includes ports and terminal operator DP World, Economic Zones World, P&O Ferries and Jebel Ali Free Zone.

The conglomerate said all those subsidiaries are on "stable financial footing," and in a statement posted on the Nasdaq Dubai Web site, Jebel Ali Free Zone said it paid a roughly $2 billion Islamic bond, or sukuk, on time Tuesday.

Other UAE markets also felt the weight of Dubai's problems. Qatar's bourse fell 8.27 percent while Kuwait's was off 2.71 percent on Tuesday.

Markets in the Emirates will be closed Wednesday and Thursday for a national holiday and will reopen Sunday after the weekend.

Seattle police kill suspect in officer slayings

2009-12-01T07:33:00.000-08:00

SEATTLE – The man suspected of gunning down four police officers in a suburban coffee shop was shot and killed by a lone patrolman investigating a stolen car early Tuesday. Four people were arrested for allegedly helping the suspect elude authorities during a massive two-day manhunt.

Maurice Clemmons was carrying a handgun he took from one of the dead officers when a Seattle policeman recognized him near a stolen car in a working-class south Seattle neighborhood about 2:45 a.m., Assistant Police Chief Jim Pugel said.

The vehicle was running but unoccupied when the officer pulled up, radioed in the license plate number and realized the car was stolen, Pugel said.

The officer saw something moving, got out of his car, saw Clemmons and ordered him to show his hands and stop.

"He wouldn't stop," Pugel said. "The officer fired several rounds."

Clemmons also had sustained a serious gunshot wound from one of the four officers killed in the coffee-shop shooting.

Police planned to arrest more people who helped Clemmons.

"We expect to have maybe six or seven people in custody by the day's end," said Ed Troyer, a spokesman for the Pierce County sheriff. "Some are friends, some are acquaintances, some are partners in crime, some are relatives. Now they're all partners in crime."

Troyer didn't immediately identify the four people already arrested. On Monday, officers detained a sister of Clemmons who they think treated the suspect's gunshot wound.

"We believe she drove him up to Seattle and bandaged him up," Troyer said.

Authorities say Clemmons, 37, singled out the Lakewood officers and spared employees and other customers at the coffee shop Sunday morning in Parkland, a Tacoma suburb about 35 miles south of Seattle. He then fled, but not before one of the dying officers apparently shot him in the torso.

"I'm surprised that he managed to get away," Troyer said. "The officer did a good job in Lakewood."

Killed were Sgt. Mark Renninger, 39, and Officers Ronald Owens, 37, Tina Griswold, 40, and Greg Richards, 42.

A couple dozen police officers milled around at the scene where Clemmons apparently was shot, shaking hands and patting each other on the back later Tuesday morning. The officer who shot Clemmons was not injured, Pugel said.

Police said they aren't sure what prompted Clemmons to shoot the four officers, who were in uniform and working on paperwork at the coffee shop just two blocks outside their jurisdiction.

"The only motive that we have is he decided he was going to go kill police officers," Troyer said. He said Clemmons talked the night before the shooting about killing a group of cops and watching the news.

Police believe Clemmons chose the coffee shop because it was frequented by police officers from various agencies.

"We do not believe that the Lakewood officers were actually targeted other than that they were police officers in that location at the time where he knew he could find police officers."

Clemmons was described as increasingly erratic in the past few months and had been arrested earlier this year on charges that he punched a sheriff's deputy in the face.

Police surrounded a house in a Seattle neighborhood late Sunday following a tip Clemmons had been dropped off there. After an all-night siege, a SWAT team entered the home and found it empty. But police said Clemmons had been there.

Police frantically chased leads on Monday, searching multiple spots in the Seattle and Tacoma area and at one point cordoning off a park where people thought they saw Clemmons.

Authorities found a handgun carried by the killer, along with a pickup truck belonging to the suspect with blood stains inside. They posted a $125,000 reward for information leading to Clemmons' arrest and alerted hospitals to be on the lookout for a man seeking treatment for gunshot wounds.

Authorities in two states were criticized amid revelations that Clemmons was allowed to walk the streets despite a teenage crime spree in Arkansas that landed him an 108-year prison sentence. He was released early after then-Gov. Mike Huckabee commuted his sentence.

Huckabee cited Clemmons' youth in granting the request. But Clemmons quickly reverted to his criminal past, violated his parole and was returned to prison. He was released again in 2004.

"This guy should have never been on the street," said Brian D. Wurts, president of the police union in Lakewood. "Our elected officials need to find out why these people are out."

Huckabee said on Fox News Channel's "The O'Reilly Factor" Monday night that Clemmons was allowed back on the street because prosecutors failed to file paperwork in time.

Pulaski County Prosecutor Larry Jegley, whose office opposed Clemmons' parole in 2000 and 2004, said Huckabee's comments were "red herrings."

"My word to Mr. Huckabee is man up and own what you did," Jegley said.

Clemmons was charged in Washington state earlier this year with assaulting a police officer and raping a child, and investigators in the sex case said he was motivated by visions that he was Jesus Christ and that the world was on the verge of the apocalypse.

But he was released from jail after posting bail with the assistance of Jail Sucks Bail Bonds.

Documents related to those charges indicate a volatile personality. In one instance, he is accused of gathering his wife and young relatives and forcing them to undress.

"The whole time Clemmons kept saying things like trust him, the world is going to end soon, and that he was Jesus," a Pierce County sheriff's report said.

Official: Afghan buildup involves 30,000 troops

2009-12-01T07:32:00.001-08:00

WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama plans to send 30,000 more troops to be deployed over six months, a senior administration official told The Associated Press Tuesday, escalating the 8-year-old war.

In his prime-time speech to the nation Tuesday night, Obama also will lay out a rough timeframe, including some dates, for when the main U.S. military mission will end.

The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the details had not yet been announced.

The 30,000 new troops will bring the total in Afghanistan to more than 100,000 U.S. forces. The main mission of the new troops will be to reverse Taliban gains and secure population centers in the volatile south and east parts of the country.

And the primary path for the disengagement that Obama will outline in the speech at West Point will be the stepped-up training of Afghan police and security forces.

The new infusion of troops had been envisioned to take place over a year, or even more, because force deployments in Iraq and elsewhere make it logistically difficult, if not impossible, to go faster. But Obama directed his military planners to make the changes necessary to speed up the Afghanistan additions, the official said.

Obama also insisted that a specific withdrawal scenario be built into the process of adding new forces.

The official would not disclose either the specific withdrawal date that Obama has in mind nor the changes the military will be required to make to get the troop deployments on the president's timeline.

All of the new troops are expected to be deployed by next summer.

Obama to detail big troop increase in Afghanistan

2009-12-01T07:29:00.000-08:00

WASHINGTON – After months of debate, President Barack Obama will spell out a costly Afghanistan war expansion to a skeptical public Tuesday night, coupling an infusion of as many as 35,000 more troops with a vow that there will be no endless U.S. commitment. His first orders have already been made: at least one group of Marines who will be in place by Christmas.

Obama has said that he prefers "not to hand off anything to the next president" and that his strategy will "put us on a path toward ending the war." But he doesn't plan to give any more exact timetable than that Tuesday night.

The president will end his 92-day review of the war with a nationally broadcast address in which he will lay out his revamped strategy from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y. He spent part of Monday briefing foreign allies in a series of private meetings and phone calls.

Before Obama's call to Britain's Gordon Brown, the prime minister announced that 500 more U.K. troops would arrive in southern Afghanistan next month — making a British total of about 10,000 in the country. And French President Nicolas Sarkozy, whose nation has more than 3,000 in Afghanistan, said French troops would stay "as long as necessary" to stabilize the country.

Obama's war escalation includes sending 30,000 to 35,000 more American forces into Afghanistan in a graduated deployment over the next year, on top of the 71,000 already there. There also will be a fresh focus on training Afghan forces to take over the fight and allow the Americans to leave.

He also will deliver a deeper explanation of why he believes the U.S. must continue to fight more than eight years after the war was started following the Sept. 11 attacks by al-Qaida terrorists based in Afghanistan. He will emphasize that Afghan security forces need more time, more schooling and more U.S. combat backup to be up to the job on their own, and he will make tougher demands on the governments of Pakistan as well as Afghanistan.

"This is not an open-ended commitment," White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said. "We are there to partner with the Afghans, to train the Afghan national security forces, the army and the police so that they can provide security for their country and wage a battle against an unpopular insurgency."

On a few of the bigger questions most on the minds of increasingly restive members of Congress and the public, such as how much the additional $30 billion to $35 billion cost will balloon the already skyrocketed federal deficit, how long the U.S. commitment will continue and how it will wind down, Obama was expected to make references without offering specifics.

Gibbs said detailed discussions on costs would be held later with lawmakers.

Even before explaining his decision, Obama told the military to begin executing the force increases. The commander in chief gave the deployment orders Sunday night, during an Oval Office meeting in which he told key military and White House advisers of his final decision.

At least one group of Marines is expected to deploy within two or three weeks of Obama's announcement and will be in Afghanistan by Christmas, military officials said. Larger deployments will begin early next year.

The initial infusion is a recognition by the administration that something tangible needs to happen quickly, officials said. The immediate addition of Marines will provide badly needed reinforcements for those fighting against Taliban gains in the southern Helmand province, and also could lend reassurance to both Afghans and a war-weary U.S. public.

Obama's overall review was launched Aug. 31, when Army Gen. Stanley McChrystal, then the newly minted top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, delivered to Pentagon brass his assessment of the situation on the ground and what was needed to turn it around. McChrystal produced a separate resource request, first seen by Obama on Oct. 1. The president's review was anchored by 10 extensive war council meetings, starting on Sept. 13, that featured a debate between a counterinsurgency strategy focused on protecting the local population and building up the Afghanistan government or a more limited counterterrorism strategy.

The final product is neither, though it leans more toward counterinsurgency.

The length of the process drew sharp barbs. Less than two months in, Vice President Dick Cheney accused Obama of "dithering," beginning a drumbeat of criticism from Republicans. The White House shot back that the administration Cheney helped lead had given inordinate attention to Iraq while turning its back on Afghanistan.

But with U.S. casualties in Afghanistan sharply increasing and little sign of progress, the war Obama once liked to call one "of necessity," not choice, has grown less popular with the public and within his own Democratic Party. In recent days, leading Democrats have talked of setting tough conditions on deeper U.S. involvement, or even staging outright opposition.

The displeasure on both sides of the aisle is likely to be on display when congressional hearings on Obama's strategy get under way later in the week on Capitol Hill.

Obama spent much of Monday and Tuesday on the phone, outlining his plan — minus many specifics — for the leaders of France, Britain, Germany, Russia, China, India, Denmark, Poland and others. He also met in person at the White House with Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd.

A briefing for dozens of lawmakers was planned for Tuesday afternoon, just before Obama left for New York to give his speech against a military backdrop.

He also was to call Afghan President Hamid Karzai and Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari — two leaders on whom the success of the plan will depend heavily.

In Afghanistan, rampant government corruption and inefficiency have made U.S. success much harder. Obama was expected to place tough conditions on Karzai's government, along with endorsing a stepped-up training program for the Afghan armed forces in line with recommendations this fall by U.S. trainers.

That schedule would expand the Afghan army to 134,000 troops by next fall, three years earlier than once envisioned.

The president faces a tricker task in talking tough on Pakistan.

Though extremist fighters and al-Qaida leaders are believed to be based in its western region near the border with Afghanistan, public scoldings from Washington can hurt as well as help Pakistani efforts because of pervasive anti-American sentiment. The U.S. cannot send troops into Pakistan, and rarely discusses the anti-terrorist missile strikes conducted inside Pakistan from U.S. drones.

Military officials said the speech is expected to include several references to Iraq, where the United States still has more than 100,000 troops. The strain of maintaining that overseas war machine has stretched the Army and Marine Corps and limited Obama's options.

He is expected to at least implicitly pledge not to return to the worst days of the Iraq war, when the Army was resorted to 15-month tours with little time at home between deployments and when National Guard and reserve troops were subjected to lengthy tours.

Philippines declares emergency after 46 killed

2009-11-24T04:57:00.000-08:00

AMPATUAN, Philippines – The Philippine president placed two southern provinces under emergency rule Tuesday as security forces unearthed more bodies, pushing the death toll to 46 in some of the deadliest election violence in the nation's history.

Police and soldiers found 22 bodies in a hillside mass grave Tuesday, adding to the 24 bullet-riddled bodies recovered near the scene of Monday's massacre in Maguindanao province, said Chief Superintendent Josefino Cataluna of the Central Mindanao region.

This southern region of the Philippines is wracked by violent political rivalries, in addition to a long-running Islamic insurgency, but the killings have shocked this Southeast Asian nation. One adviser to President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo has described the massacre as the worst in the country's recent history. A media rights watchdog also says that it appears to be the world's worst mass killing of journalists, with as many as 20 reportedly among the dead.

Dozens of gunmen abducted the group of journalists, supporters and relatives of a gubernatorial candidate as they traveled through Amputuan township Monday to file candidacy documents in the provincial capital for May 2010 elections.

The gubernatorial candidate, Ismael Mangudadatu, who was not a part of the convoy, accused a powerful political rival from the Amputuan clan of being behind the slayings. There is a longstanding bitterness between the two families.

Mangudadatu's wife, Genalyn, and his two sisters, were among the dead.

The bodies found in the grave, about six feet (two meters) deep, were dumped on top of one another. They included a pregnant woman. Grieving relatives helped identify their loved ones before they were given the bodies, covered by banana leaves, for burial.

Officials were still trying to determine the exact number of people intercepted by the gunmen and whether any had survived. Authorities have said the convoy comprised about 40 people, but Cataluna said at least five other people were still missing.

Arroyo declared an emergency in the provinces of Maguindanao and nearby Sultan Kudarat, allowing security forces to conduct random searches and set up checkpoints to pursue the gunmen.

Arroyo said she ordered police and the military "to conduct immediate, relentless pursuit against the perpetrators to secure the affected areas."

"No effort will be spared to bring justice to the victims and hold the perpetrators accountable to the full limit of the law," she said.

The emergency will remain in place until the president is confident that law and order have been restored in the region, her spokesman Cerge Remonde said.

Police and Joy Sonza, head of a small private TV station, UNTV, identified at least three journalists among the dead.

Noynoy Espina, vice chairman of the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines, said in all, at least 20 journalists were among those killed, based on reports from union chapters in the area.

If confirmed, it would be the "largest single massacre of journalists ever," according to Paris-based Reporters Without Borders.

More than 100 journalists, many wearing black shirts and black arm bands with the words, "Stop Killing Journalists," staged a protest against the killings in Manila. Another 200 of their colleagues also denounced the massacre in southern Davao city.

The government stressed that it would go after the culprits, regardless of where the investigation leads.

"No one will be untouchable," Remonde told reporters.

National police chief Jesus Verzosa relieved Maguindanao's provincial police chief and three other officers of their duties and confined them to camp while they are investigated. One of the police officers was reported to have been seen in the company of the gunmen and pro-government militiamen who stopped the convoy, police said.

Such militiamen are meant to act as an auxiliary force mobilized by the police or military to fight rebels and criminals, but often they act as private enforcers of local warlords.

Mangudadatu said Tuesday that four witnesses had told him the convoy was stopped by gunmen loyal to Andal Ampatuan Jr., a town mayor belonging to a powerful clan and his family's fierce political rival.

He refused to name the witnesses or offer other details.

"It was really planned because they had already dug a huge hole (for the bodies)," Mangudadatu said.

The Ampatuans could not be reached for comment.

The region, among the nation's poorest and awash with weapons, has been intermittently ruled by the Ampatuan family since 2001. It is allied with Arroyo.

Arroyo's political adviser Gabriel Claudio said he was meeting with Zaldy Ampatuan, governor of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, where Maguindanao province is located, to try to mediate in the long-running rivalry between the Ampatuans and the Mangudadatus.

He said the most important thing was to ensure there was no more violence.

"There has to be swift and decisive justice," Claudio said.

Philippine elections are particularly violent in the south because of the presence of armed groups, including Muslim rebels fighting for self-rule in the predominantly Roman Catholic nation, and political warlords who maintain private armies.

The last elections in 2007 were considered peaceful, even though about 130 people were killed.

The decades-long Muslim insurgency has killed about 120,000 people since the 1970s.

Julkipli Wadi, a professor of Islamic studies at the University of the Philippines, said he doubted the national government's resolve in trimming the powers of political dynasties like the Ampatuans because they deliver votes during elections.

"Because of the absence of viable political institutions, powerful men are taking over," he said. "Big political forces and personalities in the national government are sustaining the warlords, especially during election time, because they rely on big families for their votes."

___

Associated Press writers Jim Gomez, Oliver Teves and Teresa Cerojano contributed to this report.

(This version CORRECTS Corrects number of journalists feared killed to 20; RECASTS lede; ADDS journalists protesting the killings in Manila and southern Davao city, quote from Arroyo)

Netanyahu: Prisoner swap not a done deal

2009-11-24T04:56:00.001-08:00

JERUSALEM – Israel's prime minister tried on Tuesday to temper expectations that a deal to free an Israeli soldier held by Hamas militants was imminent.

After three years of troubled negotiations, officials in Israel and the Gaza Strip have recently reported progress toward clinching a deal to swap Sgt. Gilad Schalit for some 1,000 Palestinians held in Israeli prisons. A Hamas delegation was in Egypt on Tuesday meeting with the German official trying to finalize an agreement.

With expectations soaring, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu tried on Tuesday to cool things down. "There is no deal yet and there might not be one," he said.

The sides have repeatedly bickered over the names and numbers of Palestinian prisoners to be freed. While Israel has a history of agreeing to lopsided prisoner swaps with its enemies, Hamas is seeking dozens of people serving lengthy sentences for deadly attacks on Israelis.

Palestinians close to the negotiations say that Israel has accepted all of Hamas' demands. But Israeli officials have not confirmed this, and Netanyahu himself has warned of "distorted" reports in the media.

Continued violence between the two sides also threatened to undercut progress. Israeli aircraft attacked a suspected weapons factory and smuggling tunnels in Gaza early Tuesday in response to rocket fire the previous day by Palestinian militants. The rocket attack came despite Hamas' announcement over the weekend that militants had agreed to halt their fire.

The visiting German foreign minister, Guido Westerwelle, refused to comment on the status of the negotiations. "I can simply express the hope that the talks will lead to a good and humane solution," he said during a stop in the West Bank.

A breakthrough would give much-needed boosts to both sides.

Netanyahu would score an important diplomatic victory at a time when much of the international community is skeptical of his commitment to peacemaking. An informal canvassing of Cabinet members suggests he has the support to push such a deal through his government.

Winning the freedom of hundreds of prisoners, meanwhile, would significantly buttress Hamas in its rivalry against West Bank-based Palestinian moderates, led by President Mahmoud Abbas. A deal could also include an easing of the bruising blockade of Gaza Israel launched after Schalit's capture.

Schalit, captured in a cross-border raid in June 2006, is being held in Gaza by militants affiliated with the territory's Iranian-backed Hamas rulers. The long ordeal of the shy, gangly soldier and his family have touched a raw nerve in Israel, where military service is compulsory and many people say they would be willing to pay the heavy price for Schalit's freedom.

But support is not monolithic. Because many of the prisoners took part in deadly attacks, Israelis fear that at least some of them would return to violence, as happened after a similar release nearly 25 years ago.

Ron Kehrmann's 17-year-old daughter, Tal, was killed in a 2003 bus bombing. On Tuesday, he and several other bereaved parents petitioned the Israeli Supreme Court to lift the censorship the military has imposed on the emerging deal.

"We want everyone to know what the price is," Kehrmann said. "The minute the names are published, I assume people will be shocked and then they can thoughtfully say whether they're for or against" a deal."

The sight of hundreds of jubilant Palestinian militants, freed in exchange for a lone captured Israeli soldier, would also be hard for Rami Elhanan to see. His 14-year-old daughter, Smadar, was killed in a suicide bombing attack in Jerusalem in 1997.

But Elhanan fully supports a release.

"I can understand the pain of those who don't want to release them," said Elhanan, who belongs to a group of 500 Palestinian and Israeli families who lost loved ones in fighting but champion reconciliation.

Because so many Palestinians have had relatives held in Israeli prisons, the significance of a prisoner release is great in Palestinian society, Elhanan said.

"If we know how to use it as a leverage for dialogue, then maybe something good will come out of something evil," he said.

Israel is currently holding some 7,500 Palestinian prisoners.

Pakistani troops kill 18 Islamist militants

2009-11-24T04:55:00.001-08:00

PESHAWAR, Pakistan – Pakistani troops killed 18 militants in a fresh offensive Tuesday against insurgents blamed for a wave of recent bombings in the main northwestern city of Peshawar.

The operation in Bara region was the latest salvo in a broadening campaign against al-Qaida and the Taliban in the lawless lands close to the Afghan border since last year.

Authorities claim hundreds of militants have been killed, yet the assaults do not appear to have dented the insurgents' ability to strike.

Maj. Fazlur Rehman, a spokesman for the paramilitary Frontier Corps, said ground troops, helicopters and artillery were being used in the operation in Bara close to Peshawar.

The aim of the assault was to capture mountain heights and strategic locations from the militants who had been attacking Peshawar, he said, adding 18 militants had been killed.

Peshawar and surrounding areas have seen a relentless wave of bombings in recent weeks that have killed more than 150 people. The attacks are apparently aimed at avenging an ongoing, major army operation in South Waziristan, a main militant hub 167 miles (270 kilometers) from Peshawar.

Pakistan is under pressure to crack down on militants and has won praise from its Western allies for the South Waziristan offensive. But critics say the army should do more against insurgent groups who use the northwest as a safe haven to attack Western troops in Afghanistan.

Journalists are banned from visiting the border region, making it impossible to verify casualty figures.

SPIN METER: Legislation inflation grips GOP

2009-11-24T04:52:00.000-08:00

WASHINGTON – Republicans love to get their hands on the Democrats' health care legislation. They show it to the cameras at every opportunity, even piling one version on top of another to make a big pile look even bigger.

Although they complain they don't have time to read all of it, they found the time to tape it together, page by page, so they could roll it up the steps of the Capitol like super-sized toilet paper and show how very long it is.

It surely is long. But, no, not longer than "War and Peace," as they claim.

No one really expects brevity when reinventing something as complex and huge as the nation's health insurance system, which accounts for one-sixth of the economy. Indeed, legislation of comparable size was used to redefine an area of much more limited federal responsibility, education. That was the No Child Left Behind Act from the agenda of Republican President George W. Bush.

Size only matters in the health care debate because Republicans have turned the length of the legislation into a symbol: Big, unwieldy bill means big, overreaching government. Even bigger when you display double-spaced copies with double-wide margins and large print.

As if he risked a hernia carrying it any other way, Republican Rep. Steve King of Iowa was seen hoisting such a copy of the House Democratic bill on his shoulder, the package trussed in a sturdy rope. GOP Rep. John Culberson of Texas brought a copy to a Capitol Hill rally and threw its loose pages to the crowd, like meat to lions.

During the weekend vote to bring the Senate health bill to full debate, five Republican senators displayed the massive legislation on their desks and one of them, Republican leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, piled the House and Senate bills together to represent a nightmarishly bureaucratic double-whammy.

The actual bill, which Senate Majority Leader Harry introduced last week, came in at 2,074 double-spaced pages, 84 more pages than the House version, which was already being ridiculed for its size.

"That's larger than the novel 'War and Peace,'" Republican Sen. Orrin Hatch of Utah said of the Senate bill.

"Exceeding even 'War and Peace' in length," Rep. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., said of the House bill.

Said Rep. Joe Barton, R-Texas: "'War and Peace' — some people consider it the greatest book ever written, but most people recognize the novel because at 1,284 pages its length is often the butt of jokes. Now imagine trying to read something that long overnight."

Actually, Leo Tolstoy's tome is longer than either bill. Full translated versions are nearly twice as long.

The bill passed by the House is 319,145 words. The Senate bill is 318,512 words, shorter than the House version despite consuming more paper. Various versions of Tolstoy's novel are 560,000 to 670,000 words. Bush's education act tallied more than 280,000 words.

By now, the full draft of Reid's bill that had circulated in the corridors and landed so prominently on Republican desks has been published in the Congressional Record in the official and conventional manner.

The type is small and tight. No hernias will be caused by moving this rendering of the bill around. Unfurling it on the Capitol steps would not be much of a spectacle.

Oil slips to near $77 amid mixed demand signals

2009-11-24T03:34:00.000-08:00

SINGAPORE – Oil slipped to near $77 a barrel Tuesday in Asia amid mixed signs about the global economy and crude demand.

Benchmark crude for January delivery was down 11 cents to $77.45 a barrel at late afternoon Singapore time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose 9 cents to settle at $77.56 on Monday.

Investor optimism was buoyed by a report Monday from the National Association of Realtors that October home sales rose more than 10 percent, suggesting strength in the U.S. economy. But crude refiner Valero Energy said it shut down a plant last week because demand for oil products such as gasoline has been weak.

Crude has bounced between $76 a barrel and $82 for more than a month as a weakening dollar offsets concerns about tepid consumer demand. Oil often trades inversely to the strength of the dollar as investors buy commodities as a hedge against inflation.

Societe Generale said weakness in the dollar and expectations of higher inflation have provided for a floor for the oil price, limiting losses. "The ceiling has been set by weak refining margins, lackluster demand and a global economic recovery that is expected to be sluggish," it said in a report.

In other Nymex trading, heating oil fell 0.1 cent to $1.9789 a gallon. Gasoline for December delivery dropped 0.19 cent to $1.9813 a gallon. Natural gas for December delivery slid 3.3 cents to $4.44 per 1,000 cubic feet.

In London, Brent crude for January delivery rose 6 cents to $77.49 on the ICE Futures exchange.

Textile industry wants corporation to international rates

2009-11-22T04:00:00.000-08:00

The domestic textile industry has demanded that the state-owned Cotton Corporation of India (CCI) should sell cotton at international rates. The demand has come at a time when the minimum support price (MSP) announced by the government in September this year is higher than the current market priceIn this regard, industry leaders are meeting in New Delhi on Wednesday to discuss the issue and put forth the demand to the government. The government raised the MSP for the current cotton year (2008-09) of medium long staple cotton to Rs 2,500 a quintal from Rs 1,900 a quintal, up 31.6 per cent where as prices of long staple cotton was scaled up to Rs 3,000 a quintal from Rs 2,030, up 47.78 per cent.
R K Dalmia, chairman, Confederation of Indian Textile Industry (CITI), said, “We will request the government that CCI should sell cotton to the industry at international rates (which currently are ruling below the MSP as well as the current spot price of cotton).” The industry anticipates that due to the rise in MSP, cotton prices would be firm.
J N Singh, joint secretary, Ministry of Textiles, had recently told Business Standard that cotton prices would be higher than the declared MSP.
During the last cotton year (October-September), the cotton prices in the country touched historical high of Rs 28,000 a candy (1 candy = 356 kg) and international prices ruled at as high as 81 cents per pound.
However, currently the domestic cotton prices (Shankar-6) have dipped to around Rs 22,500 a candy and international cotton is trading at around 55 cents per pound (approximately Rs 21,000 a candy). As per the latest estimates of Cotton Advisory Board, the country is expected to produce 32.2 million bales (1 bale = 170 kg) in the cotton year 2008-09 against last year’s produce of 31.5 million bales.

Dollar down vs Rupee in open market

2009-11-15T02:18:00.001-08:00

KARACHI: Dollar slipped under Rs84 level, as the greenback depreciated versus Pakistani rupee in open market, Geo News reported Friday.

According to Forex Association of Pakistan, the dollar is being purchased at Rs83.90 and sold at Rs83.94 in the open market.

According to President Forex Association of Pakistan Malik Bostan, the demand for dollar and Saudi Riyal after witnessing peak season owing to the Hajj, now is on the decrease. This has given rise to rupee appreciation.

In interbank market, dollar went down by nine paisa vs rupee, as dollar is being purchased at Rs83.56 and sold at Rs83.60.

Sugar crisis continues in Peshawar

2009-11-15T02:16:00.001-08:00

PESHAWAR: Sugar crisis continued in Peshawar as common man forced to purchase sugar at Rs.60 to 80 in contrast of some individuals who are getting sugar at control rate.

Director Food NWFP Abdul Ghafoor told Geo News that 30 percent quota of sugar on sale at control rate in Peshawar in accordance with Supreme Court’s decision.

He claimed that uninterrupted sugar supply is on for 30 percent control rate sale and 1200 to 1600 tons of sugar has been supplied on daily basis from Dera Ismail Khan sugar mills.

On the other hand, ordinary people still buying sugar at the rate of Rs. 60 to 80 whereas black marketing of control rate sugar is continued. Sugar dealers said government has failed to provide sugar at control rates.

Oil settles lower after US unemployment report

2009-11-15T02:14:00.001-08:00

NEW YORK: Oil prices tumbled Friday after the government said the U.S. unemployment rate topped 10 percent for the first time since 1983.
Benchmark crude for December delivery gave up $2.19 to settle at $77.43 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. In London, Brent crude for December delivery shed $2.12 to settle at $75.87 on the ICE Futures exchange.

America's thirst for petroleum has slumped all year. With nearly 16 million people now out of work, traders found few reasons to expect it will return anytime soon. Crude prices shed most of their gains from earlier in the week, when financial reports showed consumers were spending more, and companies were squeezing more productivity out of their workers.
Prices slumped even after weather forecasters said tropical storms would sweep through the Gulf of Mexico over the weekend, likely disrupting oil production.

"There's some shock value that comes with double-digit unemployment," said Phil Flynn, an analyst with PFGBest. "It's worse than expected. If the job market isn't strong, then the economy isn't strong."
For most of the year, oil prices shrugged off growing unemployment and steadily climbed above $80 a barrel as investors bet that American energy demand would return with an economic recovery. The weak U.S. dollar also pushed oil higher since crude contracts are priced in dollars, and a drop in U.S. currency gives investors with foreign money more buying power.

But oil hasn't been able to push past $82 a barrel as U.S. oil consumption dropped well below average for this time of year. With millions of people giving up the morning commute, gasoline demand has plunged.

"I'm glad that it's finally being talked about," trader Stephen Schork said. "We have way too much oil."
Still, Francisco Blanch, head of global commodities research with Bank of America-Merill Lynch, believes that crude prices will continue to march to $100 a barrel by 2011. The weak dollar will continue to boost oil prices next year, he said, though it's hard to tell how much more the market will bear.
"What we know is at $150 (a barrel last year), the world economy blew up. So it will be somewhere in that range," Blanch said.
At the pump, retail gasoline prices slid throughout the week, giving up less than a penny overnight to a new national average of $2.679 a gallon, according to auto club AAA, Wright Express and Oil Price Information Service. A gallon of gas is 21.4 cents more expensive than last month and 33.9 cents more expensive than the same time last year.

In other Nymex trading, heating oil fell 5.41 cents to settle at $2.0035 a gallon. Gasoline for December delivery lost 6.34 cents to settle at $1.9243 a gallon. Natural gas for December delivery plunged 18.7 cents to settle at $4.595 per 1,000 cubic feet.

Cotton rates up by Rs 150 per maund

2009-11-15T02:10:00.000-08:00

KARACHI: Cotton spot rates of Karachi Cotton Association (KCA) jumped by Rs 150 to Rs 3,875 per maund on rising buying activity from mills and exporters, brokers said.

Chairman, Cotton Broker Forum Naseem Usman said here that cotton had touched the peak at Rs 4000 per maund on Thursday on hectic buying from exporters, but declined on the rumours of a possible ban on cotton export.

Cotton was traded at Rs 3750 to Rs 3875 per maund in Punjab and Sindh during the week on rising demand.

Good quality phutti price touched the peak at Rs 2000 per 40 kg while binola price closed at Rs 900 per maund in Sindh.

Effects of Population Density Narrow Row Cotton

2009-11-15T02:05:00.000-08:00

1 Southern Weed Science Research Unit, USDA-ARS, Stoneville, MS 38776, USA
2 Syngenta Crop Protection, 410 Swing Rd, Greensboro, NC 27409, USA

* Received 2009-07-30

* Accepted 2009-09-02

References

1. S. D. Atwell, R. Perkins, B. Guice, W. Stewart, J. Harden, and T. Odeneal, “Essential steps to successful ultra narrow row on cotton production,” in Proceedings of the Beltwide Cotton Conference, pp. 1210–1211, National Cotton Council of America, Nashville, Tenn, USA, January 1996.
2. M. L. McFarland, R. G. Lemon, F. M. Hons, and T. Gerik, “Nitrogen management in ultra narrow row cotton,” in Proceedings of the Beltwide Cotton Conference, pp. 1279–1280, National Cotton Council of America, Orlando, Fla, USA, January 1999.
3. D. W. Reeves, P. J. Bauer, C. D. Monks, D. P. Delaney, C. H. Burmester, and R. W. Goodman, “Ultra narrow row cotton: tillage, cover crops and nitrogen. Farming systems in ultra narrow rows,” in Proceedings of the Beltwide Cotton Conference, p. 623, National Cotton Council of America, San Diego, Calif, USA, January 1998.
4. M. J. Bader, S. W. Smith, R. Reed, R. McDaniel, L. L. Lanier, and C. Ellis, “UNR farm trials in Georgia 1998,” in Proceedings of the Beltwide Cotton Conference, pp. 1482–1484, National Cotton Council of America, Orlando, Fla, USA, January 1999.
5. N. Cawley, K. Edmisten, R. Wells, and A. Stewart, “Evaluation of ultra narrow row cotton in North Carolina,” in Proceedings of the Beltwide Cotton Conference, pp. 558–559, National Cotton Council of America, Orlando, Fla, USA, January 1999.
6. O. W. Gwathmey and R. M. Hayes, “Ultra narrow row systems of no-till cotton production: research progress in Tennessee,” in Proceedings of the Southern Conservation Tillage Conference for Sustainable Agriculture, pp. 61–67, Tennessee Agricultural Experiment Station, Jackson, Tenn, USA, July 1996.
7. P. H. Jost and J. T. Cothren, “Growth and yield comparisons of cotton planted in conventional and ultra-narrow row spacings,” Crop Science, vol. 40, no. 2, pp. 430–435, 2000.
8. P. H. Jost and J. T. Cothren, “Phenotypic alterations and crop maturity differences in ultra-narrow row and conventionally spaced cotton,” Crop Science, vol. 41, no. 4, pp. 1150–1159, 2001.
9. P. J. Wiatrak, D. L. Wright, J. A. Pudelko, B. Kidd, and W. Koziara, “Conventional vs ultra narrow row (UNR) cotton in different tillage systems,” in Proceedings of the 21st Annual Southern Conservation Tillage Conference for Sustainable Agriculture, pp. 92–94, Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station, North Little Rock, Ark, USA, July 1998.
10. C. W. Bednarz, S. M. Brown, and M. J. Bader, “Ultra narrow row cotton research in Georgia,” in Proceedings of the Beltwide Cotton Conference, p. 580, National Cotton Council of America, Orlando, Fla, USA, January 1999.
11. D. J. Boquet, W. J. Thomas, and R. E. A. Brown, “Nitrogen fertilizer rates and plant density for cotton planted in a 10-inch row spacing,” in Proceedings of the Beltwide Cotton Conference, pp. 674–676, National Cotton Council of America, Orlando, Fla, USA, January 1999.
12. D. J. Boquet, “Cotton in ultra-narrow row spacing: plant density and nitrogen fertilizer rates,” Agronomy Journal, vol. 97, no. 1, pp. 279–287, 2005.
13. E. L. Clawson, J. T. Cothren, and D. C. Blouin, “Nitrogen fertilization and yield of cotton in ultra-narrow and conventional row spacings,” Agronomy Journal, vol. 98, no. 1, pp. 72–79, 2006.
14. M. A. Jones, C. E. Snipes, and G. R. Tupper, “Management systems for transgenic cotton in ultra narrow rows,” in Proceedings of the Beltwide Cotton Conference, pp. 714–717, National Cotton Council of America, San Antonio, Tex, USA, January 2000.
15. J. M. Rinehardt, K. L. Edmisten, R. Wells, and J. C. Faircloth, “Response of ultra-narrow and conventional spaced cotton to variable nitrogen rates,” Journal of Plant Nutrition, vol. 27, no. 4, pp. 743–755, 2004.
16. J. J. Marois, D. L. Wright, P. J. Wiatrak, and M. A. Vargas, “Effect of row width and nitrogen on cotton morphology and canopy microclimate,” Crop Science, vol. 44, no. 3, pp. 870–877, 2004.
17. D. L. Wright, J. Marois, and P. Wiatrak, “Effect of N rate and timing, row spacing and Messenger on hard lock and yield of cotton,” in Proceedings of the Beltwide Cotton Conference, pp. 596–598, National Cotton Council of America, Anaheim, Calif, USA, January 2001.
18. J. S. McConnell, R. C. Kirst, Jr., R. E. Glover, R. Benson, and W. H. Baker, “Responses to ultra narrow row cotton to nitrogen fertilization,” in Proceedings of the Beltwide Cotton Conference, p. 582, National Cotton Council of America, Anaheim, Calif, USA, January 2001.
19. D. D. Howard, C. O. Gwathmey, and W. M. Percell, “Nitrogen fertilization of ultra narrow row cotton in Tennessee,” in Proceedings of the Beltwide Cotton Conference, p. 582, National Cotton Council of America, Anaheim, Calif, USA, January 2001.
20. C. T. Allen, C. Kennedy, B. Robertson, et al., “Potential of ultra narrow row cotton in southeast Arkansas,” in Proceedings of the Beltwide Cotton Conference, pp. 1403–1406, National Cotton Council of America, San Diego, Calif, USA, January 1998.
21. K. N. Reddy, “Broadleaf weed control in ultra narrow row bromoxynil-resistant cotton (Gossypium hirsutum),” Weed Technology, vol. 15, pp. 497–504, 2001.
22. W. T. Molin, D. Boykin, J. A. Hugie, H. H. Ratnayaka, and T. M. Sterling, “Spurred anoda (Anoda cristata) interference in wide row and ultra narrow row cotton,” Weed Science, vol. 54, no. 4, pp. 651–657, 2006.
23. J. A. Larson, C. O. Gwathmey, R. K. Roberts, and R. M. Hayes, “Effects of plant population density on net revenues from ultra-narrow-row cotton,” Journal of Cotton Science, vol. 8, no. 2, pp. 69–82, 2004.
24. T. J. Gerik, R. G. Lemon, K. L. Faver, T. A. Hoelewyn, and M. Jungman, “Performance of ultra-narrow row cotton in central Texas,” in Proceedings of the Beltwide Cotton Conference, P. Dugger and D. Richter, Eds., pp. 1406–1409, National Cotton Council of America, San Diego, Calif, USA, January 1998.

Clinton: Would look forward to coffee with Palin

2009-11-15T01:21:00.001-08:00

WASHINGTON – Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton says she would be happy to talk to Sarah Palin over coffee.

In an interview for broadcast Sunday on NBC's "Meet the Press," Clinton says she's never met the one-time GOP vice presidential hopeful and former Alaska governor and thinks it would be very interesting to sit down and talk with her.

Clinton was responding to a question about a passage in Palin's new book. Palin writes that if she and Clinton ever meet for coffee, "I know that we would fundamentally disagree on many issues." But Palin says, "my hat is off to her hard work on the 2008 campaign trail."

Clinton, in Singapore for a meeting of world leaders, says she's ready to have a cup of coffee and maybe she could make a case on some of the issues on which the two women disagree.

A risky setting for NYC trial of 9/11 suspects

2009-11-15T01:20:00.001-08:00

WASHINGTON – In a move both politically and legally risky, the Obama administration plans to put on trial the professed mastermind of the Sept. 11 terror attacks and four alleged accomplices in a lower Manhattan courthouse.

The venue for the biggest trial in the age of terrorism means prosecutors must balance difficult issues such as rough treatment of detainees and sensitive intelligence-gathering with the Justice Department's desire to prove that the federal courts are able to handle terrorism cases.

Attorney General Eric Holder announced the decision Friday to bring Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and four others detained at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to trial in a courtroom barely a thousand yards from the site of the World Trade Center's twin towers they are accused of destroying.

Trying the men in civilian court will bar evidence obtained under duress and complicate a case where anything short of slam-dunk convictions will empower President Barack Obama's critics. U.S. civilian courts prohibit evidence obtained through coercion, and a number of detainees were questioned using harsh methods some call torture.

Holder insisted both the court system and the untainted evidence against the five men are strong enough to deliver a guilty verdict and the penalty he expects to seek: a death sentence for the deaths of nearly 3,000 people who were killed when four hijacked jetliners slammed into the towers, the Pentagon and a field in western Pennsylvania.

"After eight years of delay, those allegedly responsible for the attacks of September the 11th will finally face justice. They will be brought to New York — to New York," Holder repeated for emphasis, "to answer for their alleged crimes in a courthouse just blocks away from where the twin towers once stood."

Holder said he decided to bring Mohammed and the other four before a civilian court rather than a military commission because of the nature of the undisclosed evidence against them, because the 9/11 victims were mostly civilians and because the attacks took place on U.S. soil.

Lawyers for the accused will almost certainly try to have charges thrown out based on the rough treatment of the detainees at the hands of U.S. interrogators, including the repeated waterboarding, or simulated drowning, of Mohammed.

The question has been raised as to whether the government can make its case without using coerced confessions, but prosecutors have other evidence including a written confession from Mohammed and other statements and documents to bolster their case.

Held at Guantanamo since September 2006, Mohammed said in military proceedings there that he wanted to plead guilty and be executed to achieve what he views as martyrdom. In a letter from him released by the war crimes court, he referred to the attacks as a "noble victory" and urged U.S. authorities to "pass your sentence on me and give me no respite."

Holder insisted the case is on firm legal footing, but he acknowledged the political ground may be more shaky when it comes to bringing feared al-Qaida terrorists to U.S. soil.

"To the extent that there are political consequences, I'll just have to take my lumps," he said. But any political consequences will reach beyond Holder to his boss, Obama.

Bringing such notorious suspects to U.S. soil to face trial is a key step in Obama's plan to close the military-run detention center in Cuba. Obama initially planned to close the prison by next Jan. 22, but the administration is not expected to meet that deadline.

Obama said he is "absolutely convinced that Khalid Sheikh Mohammed will be subject to the most exacting demands of justice. The American people will insist on it and my administration will insist on it."

The five suspects headed to New York are likely to face thousands of counts of murder and conspiracy. Mohammed and the four others — Waleed bin Attash, Ramzi Binalshibh, Mustafa Ahmad al-Hawsawi and Ali Abd al-Aziz Ali — are all accused of orchestrating the 2001 attacks.

The government also announced five other Guantanamo detainees, including the alleged mastermind of the 2000 bombing of the USS Cole, Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri, would be sent to military commissions to face charges.

Source: Illinois prison eyed for Gitmo inmates

2009-11-15T01:19:00.001-08:00

CHICAGO – The Obama administration may buy a near-empty prison in rural northwestern Illinois to house detainees from Guantanamo Bay along with federal inmates, a White House official said Saturday.

The maximum-security Thomson Correctional Facility, about 150 miles west of Chicago, was one of several evaluated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons, and emerged as a leading option to house the detainees, the official told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because a decision has not been made.

President Barack Obama wants alleged terrorism suspects from the controversial military-run detention center in Cuba to be transferred to U.S. soil so they can be prosecuted for their suspected crimes.

Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn has been hinting at a possible new use for Thomson, and he issued a statement saying he would hold a news conference Sunday to outline those plans.

Quinn's spokeswoman Marlena Jentz did not return a phone message from the AP Saturday.

Thomson was built by the state in 2001 with 1,600 cells, but budget problems prevented it from fully opening, and it now houses about 200 minimum-security inmates.

It is unclear how many Guantanamo detainees — many held without charges since the beginning of the war in Afghanistan — would be transferred to Illinois or when. Obama initially planned to close the Guantanamo Bay prison by Jan. 22, but the administration is no longer expected to meet that deadline.

If the Federal Bureau of Prisons buys the facility, it would be run primarily as a federal prison, but a portion would be leased to the Defense Department to house a limited number of Guantanamo detainees, the White House official said. Perimeter security at the site would be increased to surpass that at the nation's only Supermax prison, in Florence, Colo., the official said.

Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin, the Senate's second-highest-ranking Democrat, said in a statement Saturday he would support the plan. He said the prison would house fewer than 100 Guantanamo detainees and would have a "significant positive impact on the local economy" by generating more than 3,000 jobs.

Thomson Village President Jerry Hebeler said the move would generate desperately needed revenue for the town of about 500 residents near the Mississippi River.

"It's been sitting there for eight to nine years and our town is like a ghost town," Hebeler said of the prison, adding that a tavern recently closed and a planned housing development fell through. "Everybody moved or got different jobs."

Some lawmakers opposed the idea of terrorism suspects being brought to Illinois.

U.S. Rep. Mark Kirk, a Northbrook Republican running for Obama's old Senate seat, circulated a letter among elected officials asking them to write to Obama opposing the plan, saying bringing Guantanamo prisoners to the state would make it a target for terrorist attacks.

U.S. Rep. Don Manzullo, whose district includes Thomson, said he adamantly opposed the proposal and that he has consistently joined with a majority of his colleagues "in fighting efforts to bring these terrorists onto our shores ... where they could one day be released into our communities."

Guantanamo Bay "is set up to house these dangerous terrorists, and they should stay there," said Manzullo, an Egan Republican who serves on the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Terrorism, Nonproliferation and Trade.

Illinois Rep. Jan Schakowsky, a Democrat, said Kirk and other Republicans were "pandering to irrational fears" and that closing the Guantanamo Bay facility would strengthen national security because al-Qaida used it as a recruiting tool.

Phone and e-mail messages left with Jim O'Connor, a spokesman for Illinois Sen. Roland Burris, were not immediately returned.

Thomson is not the only U.S. town that had hoped to lure Guantanamo detainees. Officials in Marion, Ill., Hardin, Mont., and Florence, Colo., also have said they would welcome the jobs that would be generated.

In Asia, Obama, Medvedev see nuclear pact progress

2009-11-15T01:18:00.001-08:00

SINGAPORE – Seeking to claim progress during an economic summit with Pacific nations, President Barack Obama on Sunday declared the United States and Russia would have a replacement treaty on nuclear arms cuts in place by the end of the year.

A climate change treaty, however, proved more illusive.

Meeting on the sidelines of an Asia-Pacific summit, Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev announced the former Cold War enemies were making good progress in negotiations on an updated pact to replace the START agreement that expires on Dec. 5.

In a similar meeting on the fringes of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum, Obama and other leaders confirmed what had been obvious for some time: Next month's much-anticipated climate change summit would not produce a treaty to curb global warming.

It was a reality check for the first-term U.S. president on his first tour of Asia since taking office 10 months ago.

Sitting, gesturing and leaning toward his Russian counterpart, Obama said the pair discussed a successor to the 1991 Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty and described "excellent progress over the last several months."

"I'm confident that if we work hard and with a sense of urgency, we'll be able to get that done," Obama said, adding technical issues remain.

Medvedev said he hoped the two countries negotiators would "finalize the text of the document by December." He also referenced technical issues that need to be hammered out.

Obama and Medvedev agreed in April to reach a new nuclear arms reduction treaty to replace and expand upon the expiring 1991 pact signed by former President George H.W. Bush and Soviet leader Michael Gorbachev.

During a July summit in Moscow, they further agreed to cut the number of nuclear warheads each nation possesses to between 1,500 and 1,675 within seven years.

U.S. officials say the two nations now have agreed on the broad outlines of a new treaty, which could be signed during Obama's travels to Europe in early December to accept the Nobel Peace Prize.

Yet it wasn't clear Obama would use that trip to Europe to visit Copenhagen and push for a climate change proposal that now appears more of an interim gathering to reach a political commitment among the 192-nations slated to join the meeting.

The Copenhagen session begins three weeks hence and was originally intended to produce a new treaty on limiting heat-trapping gasses. Hopes had dimmed lately, however, and Sunday's events here snuffed out any remaining expectations for the December summit.

"There was an assessment by the leaders that it is unrealistic to expect a full internationally, legally binding agreement could be negotiated between now and Copenhagen which starts in 22 days," said Michael Froman, Obama's deputy national security adviser for international economic matters.

The prime minister of Denmark, Lars Loekke Rasmussen, the U.N.-sponsored climate conference's chairman, flew overnight to Singapore to present a proposal to the leaders to instead make the Copenhagen goal a matter of crafting a "politically binding" agreement, in hopes of breathing life into the struggling process.

A fully binding legal agreement would be left to a second meeting next year in Mexico City, Froman said.

Obama backed the approach, cautioning the group not to let the "perfect be the enemy of the good," Froman said. Addressing the APEC forum later, Obama talked of the need to limit greenhouse-gas emissions "in Copenhagen and beyond."

A major bill dealing with energy and climate in the U.S. Senate, a domestic priority of Obama's, is bogged down in the U.S. Senate with scant hope of completion by next month. That would leave Obama little t show in Copenhagen, and it's now unclear whether he will make the trip.

Mourners across US grieve for Fort Hood slain

2009-11-15T01:15:00.001-08:00

KIEL, Wis. – The hundreds of people who lined the main street of a small Indiana city Saturday fell solemnly silent as a white hearse passed by on its way to the church. Mourners streamed into a Wisconsin gymnasium to remember a soldier who once promised to take down Osama bin Laden.

Across the country, many stood before several flag-draped coffins during funeral services for several of the 13 victims of the Nov. 5 shootings in Fort Hood, Texas.

In Plymouth, Ind. Sheila Ellabarger had placed two foot-high American flags in the grass where she watched the procession for Army Staff Sgt. Justin DeCrow. She said her children went to school with DeCrow and his wife — his high school sweetheart — and she knew other members of his family.

"He was killed by a terrorist in my mind but he was still killed in the line of duty. We owe him a debt of gratitude, him and his family and the other soldiers. We owe them our lives, our freedom," Ellabarger said.

During services in Norman, Okla., snapshots from U.S. Army Spc. Jason Dean Hunt's recent wedding were projected near his casket. The 22-year-old was described as a loving husband and family man as well as a soldier who left a legacy of selflessness and service.

"We may never find out the reason for what occurred on that fateful day at Fort Hood, Texas," said Ross Ridge, the deputy commanding general at Fort Sill, Okla. "The military community are all grieving here today over the loss of this dedicated soldier."

The high school gymnasium in Kiel, Wis. was filled Saturday for Staff Sgt. Amy Krueger's funeral. A visitation had been held there Friday where the 29-year-old was remembered as a determined, energetic young woman.

She joined the U.S. Army Reserves after the 2001 terrorist attacks and vowed to hunt down bin Laden. When her mother said she couldn't do it alone, the soldier defiantly told her, "Watch me."

Krueger was to deploy to Afghanistan for a second time in December and had recently been sent for training at Fort Hood, where authorities allege Army psychiatrist Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan opened fire at a processing center.

Krueger had been studying psychology at University of Wisconsin-Whitewater and was a mental health specialist who wanted to help soldiers cope with combat stress.

"Her smile would light up any room, her energy would envelope all of those around her," her parents, Jeri Krueger and David Diem, said in a statement. "It is that smile and that energy that keeps us going throughout this difficult time."

She was what they call "Army Proud." Krueger always wore a U.S. Army hat or shirt around town and sported a tattoo that had a tattered American flag and read: "All gave some. Some gave all. Sacrifice."

In Utah, among those crowded into a Mormon chapel were Utah Gov. Gary Herbert, U.S. Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah and U.S. Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, said Lt. Col. Lisa Olsen, Utah National Guard spokesman.

They joined the family and friends of Pfc. Aaron Thomas Nemelka for the funeral honoring the 19-year-old.

Nemelka, of West Jordan, Utah, joined the Army a little more than a year ago and was preparing to deploy to Iraq. He was trained to defuse bombs and relatives say he was planning to ask his girlfriend to marry him in December during a visit home.

Other funerals on Saturday were for Capt. John Gaffaney, 56, a psychiatric nurse who worked for San Diego County, Calif. and Pfc. Michael Pearson, 22, of Bolingbrook, Ill.

Pearson was remembered as a quiet observer and naturally talented musician who liked to share his love of the guitar.

Saudis lose out to Russia in oil cuts

2009-11-01T03:15:00.002-08:00

LONDON: Saudi Arabia sacrificed billions of dollars in revenues this year by cutting oil output to prop up the price of crude, only to see Russia snatch a bigger chunk of the market, analysts say.

Now the Gulf kingdom, previously a vigilant enforcer of the cuts by the OPEC cartel that checked the sharp fall in oil prices last year, appears to be expanding its own oil flow again in exasperation."The cartel has lost a significant portion of market share in global crude production in the last year mostly to Russia," wrote Francisco Blanch, a commodities analyst at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, in a note.With its production capacity rising but output held down by lower quotas, he estimated, "Saudi Arabia's 'missed oil revenues' are probably running at close to 100 billion dollars per annum, or almost 25 percent of GDP."Saudi Arabia may be "taking too much weight on its shoulders," he suggested."Saudi Arabia citizens have taken up the largest share of the reduction in revenues" from the recent output cuts.Now observers say the country's patience is running out, especially since other OPEC members, notably Iran, Venezuela and Angola, are accused of failing to comply with the agreed cuts."I think Saudi may at some point say, 'We've had enough either you comply, or you get out, or we will increase output," John Hall, an independent London-based analyst, told AFP at the OPEC talks."Saudi may want to impose some sort of retribution on the other members and also on Russia for taking its market share."nder drastic cuts agreed by the 12 members of the cartel in late 2008, when prices had tumbled from historic summer highs to a mere 32 dollars a barrel, Saudi Arabia was obliged to slash 1.31 million barrels a day from its output.The kingdom, OPEC's biggest and most influential producer, brought its flow to just above eight million barrels a day, while Russian production crept up from 10 to 10.2 million this year, the International Energy Agency says.But Saudi's restraint has slipped since.

"The main contributor to the growing output since April has been Saudi Arabia," said Torbjorn Kjus, an analyst at the Norwegian financial group DNB Nor.

The IEA's latest monthly report showed Saudi production exceeding the quota in August for the third month in a row, reaching 8.2 million barrels a day.Ahead of their meeting in Vienna, ministers of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) stressed the importance of enforcing the agreed quota cuts.Saudi Arabia's powerful oil minister Ali al-Naimi told reporters ahead of the meeting that "the market is in very good shape: very well-supplied," with demand recovering in key markets such as China."The price is good for everybody, consumer (and) producer," hovering recently between 68 and 73 dollars per barrel, he insisted, saying OPEC's priority was to enforce compliance with existing cuts "as best we can."Yet that issue was conspicuous by its absence from the meeting's final declaration, which said OPEC held output steady as expected and expressed grave caution on the uncertainty of economic recovery in the months ahead.A vicious global economic downturn has sapped demand for energy, dragging crude prices from record highs of above 147 dollars in July 2008 to 32.40 dollars in December.hey have since recovered to hover around 70 dollars after OPEC, whose 12 members pump 40 percent of the world's oil, agreed in late 2008 to remove a massive 4.2 million barrels of daily output from the market."While OPEC members seem pleased with the attained result, the path ahead will not be easy," said Blanch, however. "There are just too many free-riders around."

JAL mulls raising $2.8 bln

2009-11-01T03:15:00.001-08:00

TOKYO: Japan Airlines Corp. (JAL) is considering plans to raise around 250 billion yen (2.8 billion dollars) by March next year to help finance its restructuring, a newspaper reported on Sunday.
Under the plan, Japan's cash-strapped carrier will request 100 billion yen in loans from financial institutions, the Nikkei business daily reported.
It will separately raise more than 100 billion yen by issuing new shares, while raising a further 50-60 billion yen by selling stocks in subsidiaries and other assets, the newspaper said.
JAL plans to ask aircraft makers, trading houses, investment funds and the government-run Development Bank of Japan to take stakes, it said.
US carrier Delta Air Lines has already told JAL of its interest in investing up to 50 billion yen, local media earlier reported.
Such an investment would give the world's largest airline operator a stake of up to 11 percent in JAL, which is undergoing a government-supervised reorganisation, media reported.
Jiji Press, meanwhile, reported AMR Corp., the parent of American Airlines, had also shown interest in buying shares in JAL or setting up a joint venture with the Japanese carrier.
JAL is likely to go ahead with talks with AMR if it fails to reach an accord with Delta, Jiji said. Both American Airlines and JAL belong to the oneworld global airline alliance.
JAL lost more than one billion dollars in the April-June quarter and has announced more than 11,000 job cuts since 2005.

EU forecasts end to recession

2009-11-01T03:14:00.001-08:00

BRUSSELS: The European Union said Monday that the recession in the euro-zone and EU will likely have ended in the third quarter with the resumption of modest economic growth.
In an update to its May forecast, the EU cast doubt on strength of the upswing, saying it won't change its prediction for the euro-zone and EU economies to shrink by 4 percent this year.
The EU executive sees both the euro-zone and the EU growing 0.2 percent in the third quarter compared to the three months before, and improving just 0.1 percent in the final quarter of the year.
Official statistics for the third quarter have not yet been published and the EU's figure is an estimate based on growth in the seven largest EU nations.
The European Commission said it was not changing its forecast for the year because the economy fared worse at the end of 2008 and the beginning of 2009.
It warned that "uncertainty remains rife" on how strong the recovery will be.
"While the recovery may surprise on the upside in the very short term, how sustainable it will be remains to be seen," it said. "The situation has improved ... but the weak economy will continue to take its toll on jobs and public finances."
The 16 nations that use the euro fell into recession in the second quarter of 2008, the first since the currency was launched in 1999 and the worst for euro nations Germany and France since World War II.
The EU executive called for economic stimulus packages and help for the financial sector to stay in place throughout 2010 and for a clear exit strategy for EU nations to start repaying public debt.
It also said governments needed to step up measures to kickstart bank lending to make sure that they are "ready to lend at reasonable terms when companies and households resume their investment plans."
Separately, the EU statistics agency Eurostat said industrial production in the euro area fell 0.3 percent in July compared to June, or 15.9 percent from a year ago. Energy output shrank 1.2 percent from a month earlier as factories slowed for the summer and demand remained low.
Production of non-durable consumer goods grew 0.7 percent from June but output of higher-priced durable goods — such as refrigerators or furniture — fell 0.8 percent. Output of factory machinery fell 1.8 percent from the month before.
Eurostat also reported that some 702,000 fewer workers were on euro-zone payrolls in the second quarter compared to the first three months of this year. It said the number of employed people shrank by 0.5 percent from the previous quarter and 1.8 percent from a year ago.
Manufacturing, construction, financial services, agriculture and trade, transport and communication services shed the most jobs, it said. The public sector, health and education added workers.

China calls for WTO talks on US tire tariffs

2009-11-01T03:13:00.000-08:00

BEIJING: China accused Washington on Monday of violating World Trade Organization rules by raising tariffs on Chinese tires and demanded talks in the WTO on the latest and most acrimonious in a string of trade disputes.
"The American side's imposition of protective measures on Chinese tires violates WTO regulations," Commerce Ministry spokesman Yao Jian said in a statement. Yao said Beijing was exercising its rights as a WTO member to demand talks to settle the dispute.
President Barack Obama approved the tariffs Friday to slow the rapid growth of U.S. imports of Chinese-made tires that have been blamed for the loss of thousands of American jobs. That drew an accusation of trade protectionism from Beijing.
Yao's statement called on other governments to oppose protectionism.
The White House said Obama acted under a provision in the U.S.-Chinese agreement on Beijing's WTO membership that allows Washington to slow the rise of Chinese imports to allow American industry to adjust.
Obama's order Friday raised tariffs for three years on Chinese tires — by 35 percent in the first year, 30 percent in the second and 25 percent in the third.
The United Steelworkers brought the case in April and said more than 5,000 tire workers have lost jobs since 2004 as Chinese tires flooded the U.S. market.
China's government said Sunday it is launching antidumping investigations into imported U.S. auto and chicken products.
The Commerce Ministry said it would look into complaints that American auto and chicken products are being dumped into the Chinese market or are benefiting from subsidies.

Chinese stimulus may have lifted intra-Asia trade

2009-11-01T03:12:00.000-08:00

GENEVA: China's massive fiscal stimulus may have been the engine that has lifted Asian intra-regional trade in recent months, a joint report by the World Trade Organisation, OECD and UNCTAD said Monday."The fact that China's imports grew twice as fast as its exports in July also suggests that intra-Asian trade could be benefiting from the country's fiscal stimulus," said the report.Trade flows have rebounded more strongly for several Asian economies compared to Western developed economies, said the report, pointing out that the trend suggests that growth "could be due to intra-regional trade."It cited South Korean export figures as an example, where in July, exports to the world grew at a slower pace of just 22 percent compared to those to Asia, which grew at 26 percent. Exports to China grew at the fastest rate of 27 percent.Taiwan's government had said in July that the island has benefited from China's four-trillion-yuan (580-billion-dollar) stimulus package which the giant economy unveiled late last year.The widely-praised fiscal stimulus however came under fire at the "Summer Davos" meet in northeastern China's Dalian city where economists say that it is aggravating imbalances in the economy.Beijing had said Friday that it was on track to meet its target of eight percent economic growth in 2009 -- the rate it says it needs to ward off social unrest -- thanks largely to the massive programme of government cash handouts.

Oil prices fall further

2009-11-01T03:11:00.000-08:00

LONDON: World oil prices sank on Monday, extending heavy pre-weekend losses as weak global stock markets and the US-China trade row dented investor sentiment.
New York's main contract, light sweet crude for October delivery slid 48 cents to 68.81 dollars per barrel.
Brent North Sea crude for October delivery dipped 19 cents to 67.50 dollars in early afternoon London trade.
"The fall is really related to some weakness in equities markets," said Victor Shum, senior principal at energy consultancy Purvin and Gertz in Singapore.
Japanese share prices tumbled 2.32 percent on Monday as investors fretted about pre-weekend losses on Wall Street and a stronger yen, leading to a fall in Asian equities.
Europe's main stock markets also fell on Monday, at one stage losing more than one percent in Frankfurt, London and Paris.
"We continue to have this tug-of-war between weak supply fundamentals and optimistic hopes of economic recovery, so we are likely to stay in this 65 dollar to 75 dollar range," Shum added.
Oil had slumped Friday as traders banked profits from a four-day rally spurred by growing optimism that the global economy was emerging from recession.
Before the weekend, New York crude dived 2.62 dollars on Friday and London Brent oil wiped out 2.17 dollars after fresh falls on Wall Street.
"Crude futures fell nearly four percent on Friday as US equities slid, causing a moderation of expectations for the strength of global economic growth and recovery in oil demand," said Sucden analyst Nimit Khamar.
He added that the worsening China-US trade dispute was also dampening the market. The United States is the world's biggest energy consuming nation followed by number two China.
"The trade row between China and the US is also weighing on market sentiment, as increased protectionism could hinder a global economic recovery," Khamar said.
"US President Obama on Friday announced additional duties on Chinese manufactured tires.
"In response Beijing accused Washington of 'rampant protectionism' and threatened action against US auto and US poultry imports."
China on Monday hauled the United States to the World Trade Organisation over what it alleged were unfair tariffs imposed by Washington on Chinese tyre imports.
The White House on Friday imposed punitive duties of an extra 35 percent on Chinese-made tyres amid warnings that a surge in the Chinese-made goods had cost more than 5,000 jobs in the United States.
Last week, meanwhile, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries decided to maintain its production levels as the cartel deemed the market to be "oversupplied". OPEC pumps about 40 percent of world oil supplies.

Dollar boosted by weak equities, China-US trade row

2009-11-01T03:07:00.000-08:00

LONDON: The dollar won support on Monday from falling equity markets and concerns about an escalating trade dispute between China and the United States, dealers said.

In late morning trade here, the European single currency fell to 1.4536 dollars from 1.4573 dollars in New York late on Friday.
Against the Japanese currency, the dollar rose to 90.73 yen from 90.64 yen on Friday.
In earlier Asian trade, however, the greenback had hit a seven-month low of 90.19 yen, as a pre-weekend pullback on Wall Street and lower US bond yields prompted investors to put their money elsewhere.
But falling global stock markets and the China-US trade row have since lifted the safe-haven US currency somewhat.
"Euro/dollar is starting the week slightly weaker," said Commerzbank analyst Antje Praefcke.
"Notably, weaker stock markets in Asia have allowed the dollar to appreciate this morning. This development is supported by tensions between China and the United States."
Europe's main stock markets retreated on Monday, mirroring pre-weekend losses on Wall Street and earlier in Asia, as investors took profits from recent gains.
China on Sunday hit out at US tariffs on its tyre exports and said it would investigate possible unfair practices in US exports of car parts and chicken meat, in a growing row between the two giants.

China has already warned that it was likely to retaliate against the US tyre tariffs, adding that the US move amounted to a "grave" form of protectionism.
"Following the imposition of import duties on tires from China to the US, Beijing last night announced an investigation into poultry imports from the US in connection with a suspicion of price dumping," added Praefcke.
"Should these tensions escalate, they threaten to disturb world trade, which would affect the economic recovery."
The euro was meanwhile dampened on Monday by a raft of downbeat economic news.
Industrial production in the eurozone fell by 0.3 percent in July and by 15.9 percent over 12 months, the EU's Eurostat data agency said.
The figures, which were adjusted for seasonal variations marked a slight slowdown from June when industrial production decreased by 0.2 percent, showing that in some areas of Europe's economy the green shoots of recovery have yet to take root.
The European Commission forecast that the European Union economy will shrink by 4.0 percent in 2009 -- but would climb out of recession in the third quarter.
But the recovery from recession will be weighed down by rising unemployment and strained government finances, it cautioned.
In London on Monday, the euro was changing hands at 1.4536 dollars against 1.4573 dollars late on Friday, at 131.95 yen (132.12), 0.8788 pounds (0.8740) and 1.5128 Swiss francs (1.5123).
The dollar stood at 90.73 yen (90.64) and 1.0402 Swiss francs (1.0376).
The pound was at 1.6548 dollars (1.6671).
On the London Bullion Market, the price of gold fell to 995.17 dollars an ounce from 1,008.25 dollars an ounce late on Friday

Japan Airlines to cut 6,800 jobs

2009-11-01T03:05:00.000-08:00

TOKYO: Japan Airlines is to cut 6,800 jobs and pursue a tie-up with a foreign carrier in an effort to return to profit, its president Haruka Nishimatsu said on Tuesday.
"We are talking about a personnel cut of 6,800," he told reporters. "It's a significant figure. The personnel reduction cannot wait."
JAL, which lost more than one billion dollars in the April-June quarter, has already slashed thousands of jobs in recent years.
Nishimatsu said JAL aimed to seal a tie-up with an overseas carrier by mid-October. According to local media, Delta Air Lines and American Airlines' parent company are both interested in taking stakes in the Japanese group.

Australia announces shock Telstra break-up

2009-11-01T03:04:00.000-08:00

SYDNEY: Australia on Tuesday announced shock plans to split up telecoms giant Telstra in a bid to break its market stranglehold before spending 37 billion US dollars on a national broadband network.
Communications Minister Stephen Conroy said Telstra, part-owned by the government and subject to strict regulation, would be barred from acquiring new wireless spectrum unless it voluntarily split its retail and network arms.
"The government will require the functional separation of Telstra, unless it decides to voluntarily structurally separate," he said.
Conroy said successive governments had let the former state-owned monopoly keep too much power, even after competitors were allowed into the market in the 1990s.
"After 10-15 years of competition, we've still got 90 percent of profits in the sector made by one company," he told Sky News, describing the situation as "market failure."
Under draft regulatory reforms introduced to parliament Tuesday, Telstra will not have access to further wireless spectrum unless it restructures and sells off its cable infrastructure network and stake in Foxtel pay TV.
But it may be allowed to keep the assets if it comes up with an alternative structural change acceptable to the government and competition regulators.
Conroy said Telstra could not be allowed to retain its market dominance when Australia moves into a new communications era with a 43 billion Australian dollar (37 billion US) high-speed Internet network spanning the vast country.
"At the moment they have copper (fixed line), they have mobile and they have Foxtel -- they're in every platform and they want to move into the new one," he said.
"We're saying we need to find a way to create more competition so Australians as a whole are better off," he added, saying customers were "screaming out" for fast, affordable broadband.
Telstra said it was disappointed at the move but still wanted to work with the government on the broadband network.
"While we are disappointed the government has felt it necessary to introduce this legislation, Telstra remains committed to working with the government to find a solution that is in the best interests of the industry, the nation, Telstra and our shareholders," chief executive David Thodey said.
Investors reacted by dumping Telstra's shares, whose price slumped 4.31 percent to 3.11 dollars at the stock exchange close.
Conroy said the reform, which will help end the historic advantage Telstra has enjoyed over rivals such as Singapore-owned Optus, was long overdue.
"For years industry has been calling for fundamental and historic micro-economic reform in telecommunications," Conroy said. "Today we are delivering this outcome in Australia's long-term national interest."
Conroy said he was expecting "hard-nosed negotiations" with Telstra, which has had a tumultuous relationship with the government since going mostly private in 2006.
Chief executive Thodey has been working to improve relations with Canberra since taking over in May from his controversial predecessor Sol Trujillo, who cut 10,000 jobs and oversaw a fall in the share price.
Analysts said the government, which retains a 12-percent shareholding in Telstra, had left the company with little choice but to restructure.
"It's so-called voluntary separation, but it's volunteering with a gun to the head," BBY analyst Mark McDonnell told Dow Jones Newswires.

Taiwan share prices close up 1.23 percent

2009-11-01T03:02:00.000-08:00

TAIPEI: Taiwan share prices closed 1.23 percent higher Tuesday led by big caps in the electronics sector, dealers said.

The weighted index rose 89.31 points to 7,346.26 on turnover of 97.45 billion Taiwan dollars (2.99 billion US dollars).

Gainers outnumbered losers 1,458 to 801, while 253 stocks were unchanged.

A total of 52 shares surged to their daily 7.0 percent limit, against 10 that were limit-down.

"Trading was very quiet in the first two hours. The market was boosted after buying in the big caps like Hon Hai Precision Industry and MediaTek," said Allen Lin of Concord Securities.

Financials rebounded on reports that Taiwan plans to sign an agreement with China in October that will allow some of the mainland's huge pool of liquidity to start flowing into the island's stockmarket, local newspapers said.

Once it is signed, Chinese institutional investors will be allowed to buy shares on the Taiwan Stock Exchange, which has so far been closed to mainland money, the papers said.

Fubon Financial closed up 1.75 percent at 34.9 and Cathay Financial was 0.95 percent firmer at 52.9 as the sector rose 1.01 percent.

Hon Hai rose 2.45 percent to 125.5 and MediaTek edged up 0.8 percent to 506.

Electronics rose 1.41 percent, plastics 0.98 percent and cement 0.55 percent. The food sector fell 0.12 percent.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co finished 1.63 percent higher at 62.5 while United Microelectronics Corp was up 0.32 percent at 15.5.

Protesters hope to highlight issues at G-20 summit

2009-11-01T02:59:00.000-08:00

PITTSBURGH: An anti-war group plans to set up a tent city during the Group of Twenty economic summit this week to focus attention on the plight of women and children made refugees by war.The group, Code Pink, will be among many groups and thousands of activists aiming to use the G-20 summit to spotlight causes including the environment and social injustice.History shows protesters can successfully use media-saturated events to push their causes, such as when demonstrators at the 1988 Olympics in Seoul were credited with forcing South Korea's shift to democracy, said Mauro Guillen, a globalization expert at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School of Business."They just want to attract the attention away from the official agenda and put other things on the agenda," Guillen said.Protests can also turn violent. In 1999, 50,000 protesters shut down World Trade Organization sessions in Seattle as police fired tear gas and rubber bullets. There were some 600 arrests and $3 million in property damage. At the most recent G-20 meeting, held in London in April, thousands of people protested, and one man died after a confrontation with police.Domenico Lombardi, who sits on the advisory board of the G-20 research group that provides materials to the G-20 participants — 19 world leaders and representatives of the European Union who control more than 85 percent of the world's money — said the summit is a good target for protesters.One of the most prominent issues raised by protesters involves globalization, a term that encompasses everything from technologies to economic policies that have made the world "borderless and interdependent," Guillen explains.Protesters say the ill effects of globalization can be seen in developing countries disproportionately affected by fluctuating commodity prices or communities left dangling when industries move to other places, Guillen said."It's useful to think about winners and losers, and as a society, it's important to remember the losers," he said. "What do you do about the people who are being left behind?"Fathali Moghaddam, a Georgetown University psychology professor whose book "The New Global Insecurity" comes out in January, said all issues are linked to globalization. For example, Moghaddam calls the environmental protesters "green fundamentalists" who believe "that globalization is ruining the environment, ruining local economies, ruining local cultures and that corporate values are being put above everything else and corporate values are global.""The enemy they see out there are these political leaders who they believe represent either corporate interest or imperial interest or some interest that is helping globalization," Moghaddam said.None of the summit members represents a poor country, "and the issues that really affect large areas of the world are not being tackled," added Lombardi, also a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution's Global Economy and Development Program."Now that they are faced with the pleasant prospect of rebound of the global economy ... they can focus on broader issues, such as climate change, sustainable growth, food security, issues of interest to the world at-large," Lombardi said.The more organized and established protest groups have scheduled events for the week. One of the larger events, The People's March, is being organized for Friday by the Thomas Merton Center, a Pittsburgh activist group that cites peace and social justice as its objectives."I think part of this is public education and public involvement, getting the word out on the many issues that exist," spokeswoman Melissa Minnich said. "The G-20 isn't simple enough that you can sum it up in one issue."Pete Shell, of the group's anti-war committee, said instead of funding wars, the U.S. ought to be investing in jobs, housing issues and alternative energy.On Wednesday, several thousand people are expected downtown for a festival and rally for clean energy jobs at the city's Point State Park. The event is organized by state Sen. Jim Ferlo, D-Allegheny, and involves the United Steelworkers union and the Alliance for Climate Protection, founded by former Vice President Al Gore.Code Pink's Pittsburgh director, Francine Porter, said she hopes her group's tent city in Point State Park from Sunday night to Tuesday night will be a reflection of the suffering of refugees.Porter, a critical care nurse and mother of two who lives in the suburbs, said she became an activist after the terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. She had begun to question the world around her and wondered why others would cause America harm and why the U.S. declared war on Iraq.Her husband is a staunch Republican who she said doesn't agree with her activism, which she says has taken time away from her daughters, ages 12 and 16. The other night, she spent 2 1/2 hours on the phone with an attorney preparing for a federal court case on whether Code Pink could use the park. The group won."For a really long time, I wasn't conscious and I wasn't active," she said. "But there's no going back. I can't imagine my life any other way."

Indian market welcomes German auto groups

2009-11-01T02:58:00.000-08:00

FRANKFURT: India, home of the world's cheapest car, urged German auto and parts makers Tuesday to pitch their world-renowned wares to one of the toughest markets on earth.Managers of brands such as Audi, BMW and Bosch were warned however that the fast-growing class of young Indian consumers and partners were tough customers that wanted the best for a good price.With an average age of around 25, Indian consumers are more and more educated, wealthier, demanding and "not loyal," said Wilfried Aulbur, vice-president of the Indo-German chamber of commerce."It's a pretty difficult animal to handle," he concluded during a seminar on ways out of the automotive crisis at the Frankfurt motor show.Aulbur, also managing director and chief executive of Mercedes-Benz India, said Indians had the "confidence to compete on a global scale" and told German business leaders to expect "very interesting discussions" on price and value.India produces the world's cheapest car, the 2,055-dollar (1,400-euro) Tata Nano, and the country is now the 11th largest auto producer worldwide, said India's ambassador to Germany, Sudhir Vyas.All major auto manufacturers have a presence in the country of nearly 1.2 billion people and car sales jumped by nearly a third in July, the sixth monthly rise running, owing in part to a cut in excise duties on automobiles.Suzuki of Japan plans to build a new Indian plant in 2011 and Volkswagen opened one in late March while estimating the market at more than two million vehicles by 2014.German and Indian cooperation has grown steadily since Mercedes and Tata first teamed up around 40 years ago, and the Nano is laden with parts from 12 German suppliers, seminar moderator Bernhard Steinruecke noted.The Nano "is a car of Indian vision and German technology," he said, adding that without the German companies' research and development, "this car would not be possible."Meanwhile, the Indian manufacturer Reva showed an electric car at the Frankfurt show that it plans to launch in 12 European countries next year.The four-seater NXR has a range of 160 kilometers (100 miles), solar panels in the roof and can be recharged from an electric grid in eight hours.It is expected to cost between 12,200-14,000 euros (18,000-20,700 dollars).Ambuj Sharma, a secretary from India's Department of Heavy Industry, urged the German automotive sector "to join hands with India," which he said was now the auto components centre of Asia. The region is home to two of the world's fastest growing markets.He invited small- and medium-sized enterprises "who are the strength of the German automotive industry to be a part of this growth story."German suppliers were hammered by a global plunge in auto sales that followed the collapse of US investment bank Lehman Brothers one year ago.Sharma said India was now "among the world's most attractive sources for not just the low-cost components but for high-value engineered parts and design."And Ambassador Vyas attached "particular importance" to "capacity building and vocational training for the auto industry" from foreign investors.He said Delhi had set a 2016 goal "to emerge as the destination of choice in the world for design and manufacture of automobiles and auto components," but acknowledged that was before the global collapse.A recovery was underway, the Indian speakers emphasised, though Aulbur warned that "you have to be in it (the Indian market) for the long haul."He also told German managers: "No 'one size fits all' for your customers and your business partners" on a sub-continent equal in size to the 27-member European Union.

WTO head pushes G20 for trade deal

2009-11-01T02:54:00.000-08:00

GENEVA:The World Trade Organization will urge the G20 key economies meeting this week to make good on pledges to conclude a pact on global commerce by 2010, its director general said Tuesday."I will tell them that we in Geneva have done what they asked of us. They now have the road mapped out, but they still have to walk it," WTO chief Pascal Lamy told representatives of the trade body's 153-member states.Lamy will attend a summit of the Group of 20 (G20) developed and developing countries to be held in Pittsburgh on Thursday.In July, the Group of Eight rich nations and emerging economic powers had said that they wanted the long-stalled Doha Round of talks for a world trade liberalisation pact to wrap up next year.Trade ministers from key trading nations have also called on chief negotiators to map out a work calender for the next three months in order to meet the 2010 deadline.Lamy pointed out although this calender had been drawn up, "a work programme by itself... will not deliver a substantive result.""At this stage, I remain cautious in my forecast. It would be premature for me to predict today that the necessary political engagement will in fact take place over the next three months," he said.The WTO-led Doha Round was launched in the Qatari capital in 2001 with the aim of boosting global commerce to help developing countries, but deadlock between the major trading blocs has dashed repeated attempts to forge a pact.

Aviva CEO Andrew Moss

2009-10-29T03:43:00.000-07:00

Aviva CEO Andrew Moss, second left, talks with specialist Patrick Murphy, left, at Aviva's post on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, after the stock opened Tuesday, Oct. 20, 2009.

Manpower co-founder Elmer Winter

2009-10-29T03:42:00.000-07:00

Manpower co-founder Elmer Winter (pictured at right) rang the Closing Bell of the New York Stock Exchange with Mitchell Fromstein (CEO: 1976-1999) and Jeff Joerres (CEO: 1999 to present) on November 14, 2008. Winter passed away October 22 at the age of 97.

Richard Markee, center, chairman and CEO

2009-10-29T03:41:00.001-07:00

Richard Markee, center, chairman and CEO of Vitamin Shoppe, Inc., is applauded as he rings the opening bell of the New York Stock Exchange Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2009, during his company's initial public offering. It's the first IPO of a traditional retailer since the December 2007 offering of Titan Machinery Inc., a seller of agricultural and construction equipment.

Specialist Jason Hardzewicz,

2009-10-29T03:40:00.000-07:00

Specialist Jason Hardzewicz, left, works with trader Bridgette Lombardi on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2009.

Oil traders work in options pit

2009-10-29T03:39:00.000-07:00

Oil traders work in options pit, foreground, on the floor of the New York Mercantile Exchange Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2009. Energy prices slumped Wednesday after the Energy Department reported a higher than expected jump in U.S. gasoline supplies.

Oil traders work in the options

2009-10-29T03:38:00.000-07:00

Oil traders work in the options pit on the floor of the New York Mercantile Exchange Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2009

James Bowers, dressed as Uncle Sam

2009-10-29T03:35:00.000-07:00

James Bowers, dressed as Uncle Sam, asks people if they can "spare a trillion", as they walk past him in the rain outside the front of Federal Hall, near the New York Stock Exchange, October 28, 2009. A group of activists from DefeatTheDebt.com dressed up as Uncle Sam to raise awareness of the U.S. government's deficit of close to $12 trillion