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The site section: «Trader's tools»
The page name: «The FOREX market news for November 7th»
The document address: http://news.fxclub.com/forex/news?action=printday&day=07&month=11&year=2009&key=eb6520f075684e1e6c9b847a12f3004f131aa5aa
Date and page printing time: November 21th 2009 01:47 GMT
Trade's Tools | The FOREX market news
DJMN: McDonald's National Ad Fund 'Overwhelmingly Approves' Backing Menu
(MORE TO FOLLOW) Dow Jones Newswires
November 07, 2009 15:11 ET (20:11 GMT)
DJMN: US House Passes Procedural Rule To Open Debate Of Health Bill
By Patrick Yoest
Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
WASHINGTON (Dow Jones)--The U.S. House passed a procedural "rule" Saturday that opens debate of major health-care overhaul legislation.
The rule, approved by a 242-192 vote, saw no Republican support. It sets the parameters of House debate on the measure, which will include votes on an anti-abortion amendment offered by Rep. Bart Stupak (D, Mich.), a Republican alternative to the bill, and the bill itself.
The rule also allows Democrats to bring up a long-term "fix" to the Medicare physician payment formula, but House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D, Md.) has said a vote won't occur on the measure until the week of Nov. 16.
A spokesman for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D, Calif.) said House Democratic leaders plan to hold a final vote on the bill Saturday evening, as soon as 7:00 p.m. EST.
-By Patrick Yoest, Dow Jones Newswires; 202-862-3554; patrick.yoest@dowjones.com
Click here to go to Dow Jones NewsPlus, a web front page of today's most important business and market news, analysis and commentary: http://www.djnewsplus.com/access/al?rnd=JRpYnFx6gH%2FEWyKsVCS9MA%3D%3D. You can use this link on the day this article is published and the following day.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
November 07, 2009 13:58 ET (18:58 GMT)
DJMN: China Urges World To Guard Against Inflation Risks-Xinhua
(MORE TO FOLLOW) Dow Jones Newswires
November 07, 2009 13:54 ET (18:54 GMT)
DJMN: White House: Obama To Attend Fort Hood Memorial Tuesday
WASHINGTON (AFP)--President Barack Obama will attend a memorial service Tuesday at Fort Hood, Texas, to honor the victims of a shooting rampage on the military base which killed 13 people, the White House said.
Click here to go to Dow Jones NewsPlus, a web front page of today's most important business and market news, analysis and commentary: http://www.djnewsplus.com/access/al?rnd=JRpYnFx6gH%2FEWyKsVCS9MA%3D%3D. You can use this link on the day this article is published and the following day.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
November 07, 2009 13:48 ET (18:48 GMT)
DJMN: UPDATE: FSB Draghi: To Review Bank Compensation By March '10
(Adds Draghi's remarks on "too big to fail" and exit strategies for financial measures to deal with crisis.)
By Terence Poon
Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
ST. ANDREWS, Scotland (Dow Jones)--The Financial Stability Board will review how nations are implementing the principles on compensation of bank executives by the end of March 2010, and come up with a template to do so, Chairman Mario Draghi said Saturday.
"There is a great interest in the international scene that countries do implement these principles across the board," he said after the meeting of finance ministers and central bankers from the Group of 20 nations ended.
In September, the G20 leaders endorsed in Pittsburgh the FSB's recommendations calling for stricter controls on pay, including deferring more than half of the pay of top bank executives for a number of years.
Asked about French concerns the U.S. Federal Reserve is interpreting the standards loosely, Draghi said it would be only possible to tell after the review is completed.
He described caps on compensation as a political issue that needs to be discussed at the political level.
Draghi added the FSB will finalize by February 2010 a "toolbox" of measures to encourage nations that don't meet global standards to do so, as part of broader framework to encourage countries to adhere with international standards.
The FSB is also working on the issue of financial firms that are "too big to fail," said Draghi. The issue is "how do we reduce the moral hazard that this crisis has left us as a legacy," he added.
Stronger and consolidated financial supervision would lower the chance of institutions failing, while better laws to resolve failed institutions would help make the financial system more resilient, he said.
He added derivatives trading on centralized counterparty platforms or regulated exchanges would lower the risks that financial troubles will spread across institutions.
Asked if there is a consensus on "living wills" -- data on counterparties and contingency funding plans that banks give to regulators to quickly settle financial contracts by big institutions -- Draghi said: "It's too early to say that there is or to look for consensus."
"We're still in the early stages of the study," he said.
Noting some of the steps to help financial firms during the crisis, such as capital injections and guarantees, are still in place, Draghi cautioned that a risk is that "some jurisdictions may continue to support unsustainable business models," especially as some banks may not be able to wean themselves off aid.
He urged nations, when unwinding such measures, to do so in a transparent and internationally coordinated way, so as to coordinate to avoid hurting market confidence.
Draghi declined to comment on U.K. Prime Minister Gordon Brown's call earlier Saturday for a tax on global financial transactions to pay for the cost of future banking crises.
Draghi said the tax wasn't discussed at the G20 meeting and no details were provided.
-By Terence Poon, Dow Jones Newswires; 8610 8400-7799; terence.poon@dowjones.com
Click here to go to Dow Jones NewsPlus, a web front page of today's most important business and market news, analysis and commentary: http://www.djnewsplus.com/access/al?rnd=JRpYnFx6gH%2FEWyKsVCS9MA%3D%3D. You can use this link on the day this article is published and the following day.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
November 07, 2009 13:40 ET (18:40 GMT)
DJMN: G20:MOF Noda:Strict Surveillance Could Trouble Some Countries
ST. ANDREWS, Scotland (Dow Jones)--Japanese Senior Vice Finance Minister Yoshihiko Noda said Saturday that the Group of 20 leading economies shouldn't be too ambitious coordinating policies to achieve sustained and balanced growth.
The project would be "beneficial" if it helps member nations understand each other's policy through frank discussions, Noda said at a joint press conference with Bank of Japan Gov. Masaaki Shirakawa after the end of a two-day meeting of G20 finance officials.
"And I believe - this is an important point - that instead of taking an excessively ambitious approach, we should start out the project as a realistic process and move forward while having discussions (within the members)," he said. "That would be an appropriate approach."
Noda's comments may be an indication that Japan doesn't want any strict international policy coordination to limit its room for maneuver in steering economic policy.
Shirakawa, meanwhile, said he told the G-20 members that the BOJ will continue its low-interest-rate policy until Japan's economic recovery firmly takes hold.
-By Takashi Nakamichi, Dow Jones Newswires; 813-6895-7558; takashi.nakamichi@dowjones.com
Click here to go to Dow Jones NewsPlus, a web front page of today's most important business and market news, analysis and commentary: http://www.djnewsplus.com/access/al?rnd=JRpYnFx6gH%2FEWyKsVCS9MA%3D%3D. You can use this link on the day this article is published and the following day.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
November 07, 2009 13:01 ET (18:01 GMT)
DJMN: CORRECT: Argentina Econ Min: Thinks Peso Won't Jump Vs USD
("*Argentina Fin Min: Thinks Peso Won't Jump Vs USD," published at 1708 GMT, and subsequent headlines misstated Amado Boudou's job title in the headline.)
(MORE TO FOLLOW) Dow Jones Newswires
November 07, 2009 12:52 ET (17:52 GMT)
DJMN: 4th UPDATE:UK Brown:G20 Should Mull Global Fincl Levy
(Updates with Conservative comment)
By Laurence Norman and Joe Parkinson
Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
ST ANDREWS, Scotland (Dow Jones)--The Group of 20 leading economies should consider applying a global financial transactions tax to pay for the cost of future banking crises, Prime Minister Gordon Brown said Saturday.
Brown said G20 members should discuss whether they need some kind of "insurance fee to reflect systemic risk or a resolution fund or contingent capital arrangements or a global financial transactions levy."
However he conditioned his proposal with warnings that agreeing a levy would be difficult.
Indeed, U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said his government wouldn't support that approach.
"A day-by-day financial transaction tax is not something we're prepared to support," he said in an interview with Sky News.
The U.S. is not alone, finding an ally in the Russian government.
"I'm quite skeptical about such taxes," Russian Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin said. "Gordon Brown is well known as the person who has been raising taxes all the time."
And Canadian Finance Minister James Flaherty was slightly more diplomatic, saying a transactions tax was "not particularly attractive."
In the past, the U.K. has leaned against the idea of a Tobin tax, which would use the proceeds of a financial transactions tax to provide funds to developing nations.
However, Brown's proposal more closely resembles a deposit insurance scheme, in that the fees gathered from the levy would be placed in a ring-fenced fund that would be drawn on should banks once again need state support to survive. The G20 governments said at the leaders summit in Pittsburgh in September they would look at this area, tasking the International Monetary Fund with preparing a report for options on "how the financial sector could make a fair and substantial contribution toward paying for any burdens associated with government interventions to repair the banking system."
Brown said that report would come in April and any action on a possible tax is unlikely to come for some time after that, U.K. officials signaled. Brown himself faces a tough battle for reelection by June 2010.
Brown said there needs to be a "better social contract" between banks and the rest of society.
"It cannot be acceptable that the benefits of success are reaped by the few, while the costs of failure are borne by all of us," Brown told finance ministers and central bank heads from the G20. "We need to consider if we need to go further in terms of mitigating costs to the rest of society."
Brown said Britain would not adopt such a plan "unless others move with us together."
He also said the tax would have to be "non-distortionary to avoid damaging reductions in liquidity, inefficient allocation of capital and the temptation of avoidance."
And any tax must not undermine efforts to stabilize the financial system and that the contribution from the financial sector must be "fair" and "measured."
"I do not in any way underestimate the enormous and difficult practical and technical issues that will need to be overcome," Brown said.
The Bank of England estimates that in the U.S., the U.K. and the euro zone, state support for the banking systems has totaled $14 trillion, or a quarter of global economic output.
France has been among the most prominent supporters of a financial transactions tax, with French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner recently proposing a levy of 0.005% on transactions. He said such a tax could raise around EUR30 billion.
French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde Saturday repeated her government's support for a tax on transactions.
Over the last century, bank failures have become increasingly expensive for taxpayers, and short of war pose the greatest threat to the solvency of governments.
If it could be enforced, a levy on transactions would help build up resources to pay for future crises, the cost of which could threaten to bankrupt some governments.
"A global ... tax could make a useful contribution to reducing the risk of future financial crises, and sharing the costs more fairly," said Julian Jessop, an economist at Capital Economics.
But bankers said a transaction tax wouldn't be enforceable.
"You would have to get every country in the world to agree to it," said Angela Knight, chief executive of the British Bankers Association. "It assumes that financial transactions will stay the same, that there will be no innovations or changes. Practically, it wouldn't operate."
And the U.K.'s main opposition party accused Brown of "chasing headlines."
"Instead of empty headline grabbing announcements, Gordon Brown should focus on the crisis we are living through now which he helped to create, which means businesses are folding and insolvencies rising at record rates," said a spokesman for the Conservative Party.
-By Laurence Norman and Joe Parkinson, Dow Jones Newswires; 44-207-842-9270; laurence.norman@dowjones.com
Click here to go to Dow Jones NewsPlus, a web front page of today's most important business and market news, analysis and commentary: http://www.djnewsplus.com/access/al?rnd=JRpYnFx6gH%2FEWyKsVCS9MA%3D%3D. You can use this link on the day this article is published and the following day.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
November 07, 2009 12:23 ET (17:23 GMT)
DJMN: G20: French Fin Min: Got Reassurance From US On Bonuses
ST ANDREWS (Scotland)--French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde said she has obtained reassurances from her U.S. counterpart, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, that the U.S. will abide by rules recently set out by the Financial Stability Forum on bank bonuses as soon as early 2010.
"My U.S. colleague has assured me that the U.S. will be compliant with FSB rules for the next bonus season," Lagarde told reporters after a gathering of finance ministers from the Group of 20 leading economies in Scotland Saturday.
Compensation in the banking sector has been a contentious issue between France and the U.S. going into the G20 meeting in St. Andrews.
France has recently enacted strict regulations framing bankers' pay along FSB guidelines agreed at the last G20 meeting of heads of state in Pittsburgh, which will be applied to bonuses to be paid for the year 2009 at the start of next year.
The French finance minister had voiced concern about the implementation of such rules in the U.S., fearing the Federal Reserve might take a more relaxed approach to FSB guidelines, distorting competition.
In an apparent victory for France, the G20 finance ministers' gathering Saturday called for an immediate implementation at a national level of the FSB guidelines on compensation in the banking sector, and it tasked the FSB to report back on implementation of these rules.
-By Nathalie Boschat, Dow Jones Newswires; nathalie.boschat@dowjones.com
Click here to go to Dow Jones NewsPlus, a web front page of today's most important business and market news, analysis and commentary: http://www.djnewsplus.com/access/al?rnd=JRpYnFx6gH%2FEWyKsVCS9MA%3D%3D. You can use this link on the day this article is published and the following day.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
November 07, 2009 12:18 ET (17:18 GMT)
DJMN: IMF Strauss-Kahn: Not Too Concerned About Romania IMF Loan
ST ANDREWS, Scotland (Dow Jones)--International Monetary Fund chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn said Saturday he sees little risk of Romania's emergency loan agreement collapsing, following the fall of the country's government last month.
Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a meeting of finance ministers from the Group of 20 leading economies, Strauss-Kahn said "Romania has not made much progress, and there may be some delay [to the program] but I am not particularly concerned."
The IMF chief added that the situation in Ukraine, which also tapped the fund for emergency financing, is "a bit more difficult," as politicians recently outlined bullish spending plans ahead of presidential elections in January despite a rapidly deteriorating fiscal position.
Romania, like a number of central and eastern European countries, is relying on IMF financing to plug its budget deficit and shore up its banks. The Balkan nation tapped the IMF for a EUR20 billion ($28.8 billion) loan to prop up its economy.
The Romanian government fell in early October after ministers from the Social Democratic Party, or PSD, resigned in protest over the dismissal of one of their members.
-By Joe Parkinson, Dow Jones Newswires; 44-207-842-9270; joe.parkinson@dowjones.com
Click here to go to Dow Jones NewsPlus, a web front page of today's most important business and market news, analysis and commentary: http://www.djnewsplus.com/access/al?rnd=JRpYnFx6gH%2FEWyKsVCS9MA%3D%3D. You can use this link on the day this article is published and the following day.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
November 07, 2009 12:09 ET (17:09 GMT)
DJMN: Argentina Fin Min: Thinks Peso Won't Jump Vs USD
(MORE TO FOLLOW) Dow Jones Newswires
November 07, 2009 12:08 ET (17:08 GMT)
DJMN: Argentina Min: Plan Debt Roadshow In Next 3 Weeks
(MORE TO FOLLOW) Dow Jones Newswires
November 07, 2009 11:55 ET (16:55 GMT)
DJMN: UK Darling:Fincl Sector Levy Idea "Will Take Time" To Develop
ST ANDREWS, Scotland (Dow Jones)--The possibility of a financial transactions tax or insurance levy on banks to pay for the cost of cleaning up future financial crises will take time to develop and need universal approval U.K. Chancellor of the Exchequer Alistair Darling said Saturday.
"It's an issue where there's a lot of interest," he said in a news conference. It's "also an issue where people realize there's a lot of ground to cover."
Darling said much will depend on the reaction of G20 leaders next summer after governments have had to reflect on the possible options for a transactions tax.
Darling said that in any case, for a tax to be agreed, support for it "would have to be universal."
Darling also said the G20 had not discussed the role of the yuan at this weekend's finance ministers' summit.
He played down disappointment over the lack of a breakthrough on climate change issues, saying there had been "good progress" this weekend on the governance of climate change financing.
He said it was "inevitable" that some countries would not want to reveal their negotiating positions for the Copenhagen climate change talks a month before the meeting.
-By Laurence Norman, Dow Jones Newswires; 44-207-842-9270; laurence.norman@dowjones.com
Click here to go to Dow Jones NewsPlus, a web front page of today's most important business and market news, analysis and commentary: http://www.djnewsplus.com/access/al?rnd=JRpYnFx6gH%2FEWyKsVCS9MA%3D%3D. You can use this link on the day this article is published and the following day.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
November 07, 2009 11:53 ET (16:53 GMT)
DJMN: Argentina Min: Plan Debt Holdouts Offer In 30 Days
(MORE TO FOLLOW) Dow Jones Newswires
November 07, 2009 11:52 ET (16:52 GMT)
DJMN: Argentina Min:Seeking Acceptable Solution For Paris Club Debt
(MORE TO FOLLOW) Dow Jones Newswires
November 07, 2009 11:47 ET (16:47 GMT)
DJMN: US Geithner Sees Movement Toward Global Rebalancing
(MORE TO FOLLOW) Dow Jones Newswires
November 07, 2009 11:47 ET (16:47 GMT)
DJMN: Russia Pres Blames Ukraine Pres For Spat Between Countries
MOSCOW (AFP)--Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said Saturday that his "Russophobe" Ukrainian counterpart, Viktor Yushchenko, was the sole reason for the decline in relations between the two countries.
Everything Yushchenko had done in recent years had worked to damage traditional links between Russia and Ukraine, Medvedev said.
"We have a very difficult relationship with Ukraine, but this is not a dispute between the two societies," Medvedev said in an interview with German magazine Der Spiegel.
"To be quite honest, all the controversy and all the problems are related to one person: the current president of Ukraine," he said. "He is under the influence of Russophobe ideas. Everything he has done in recent years has damaged the traditional links between Ukraine and Russia."
The comments are the latest rebuke Medvedev has delivered to the Ukrainian leader.
In August, Medvedev attacked what he called Ukraine's "anti-Russian" attitude and announced Moscow would not be sending a new ambassador to Kiev because of Yushchenko's policies.
Russia-Ukraine relations have deteriorated since Yushchenko's election in 2005 in the wake of the Orange Revolution that ousted the old pro-Moscow elite in Ukraine.
Yushchenko set his country on a course towards membership of NATO and the European Union that angered Russia.
Disputes over Ukrainian payments for Russian gas have also soured relations, and last week Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin warned that European gas supplies could be interrupted if Ukraine failed to pay.
Medvedev said he hoped "more pragmatic forces would take the reins of power" after Ukraine's presidential election, planned for January.
Yushchenko is standing in the election but has little chance of victory, according to opinion polls.
Click here to go to Dow Jones NewsPlus, a web front page of today's most important business and market news, analysis and commentary: http://www.djnewsplus.com/access/al?rnd=JRpYnFx6gH%2FEWyKsVCS9MA%3D%3D. You can use this link on the day this article is published and the following day.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
November 07, 2009 11:47 ET (16:47 GMT)
DJMN: US Geithner: Exchange Rate Tensions With China Not Escalating
(MORE TO FOLLOW) Dow Jones Newswires
November 07, 2009 11:47 ET (16:47 GMT)
DJMN: AFP Confirms Release Of Its Reporter In Iran
(MORE TO FOLLOW) Dow Jones Newswires
November 07, 2009 11:47 ET (16:47 GMT)
DJMN: Argentina Econ Min: No Plan To Issue Bond For Paris Club
(MORE TO FOLLOW) Dow Jones Newswires
November 07, 2009 11:46 ET (16:46 GMT)
DJMN: US Geithner: Discussed Global Transaction Tax With Brown
(MORE TO FOLLOW) Dow Jones Newswires
November 07, 2009 11:46 ET (16:46 GMT)
DJMN:
(MORE TO FOLLOW) Dow Jones Newswires
November 07, 2009 11:46 ET (16:46 GMT)
DJMN: 3rd UPDATE:UK Brown:G20 Should Mull Global Fincl Levy
(Updates with further detail)
By Laurence Norman and Joe Parkinson
Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
ST ANDREWS, Scotland (Dow Jones)--The Group of 20 leading economies should consider applying a global financial transactions tax to pay for the cost of future banking crises, Prime Minister Gordon Brown said Saturday.
Brown said G20 members should discuss whether they need some kind of "insurance fee to reflect systemic risk or a resolution fund or contingent capital arrangements or a global financial transactions levy."
However he conditioned his proposal with warnings that agreeing a levy would be difficult.
Indeed, U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said his government wouldn't support that approach.
"A day-by-day financial transaction tax is not something we're prepared to support," he said in an interview with Sky News.
The U.S. is not alone, finding an ally in the Russian government.
"I'm quite skeptical about such taxes," Russian Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin said. "Gordon Brown is well known as the person who has been raising taxes all the time."
And Canadian Finance Minister James Flaherty was slightly more diplomatic, saying a transactions tax was "not particularly attractive."
In the past, the U.K. has leaned against the idea of a Tobin tax, which would use the proceeds of a financial transactions tax to provide funds to developing nations.
However, Brown's proposal more closely resembles a deposit insurance scheme, in that the fees gathered from the levy would be placed in a ring-fenced fund that would be drawn on should banks once again need state support to survive. The G20 governments said at the leaders summit in Pittsburgh in September they would look at this area, tasking the International Monetary Fund with preparing a report for options on "how the financial sector could make a fair and substantial contribution toward paying for any burdens associated with government interventions to repair the banking system."
Brown said that report would come in April and any action on a possible tax is unlikely to come for some time after that, U.K. officials signaled. Brown himself faces a tough battle for reelection by June 2010.
Brown said there needs to be a "better social contract" between banks and the rest of society.
"It cannot be acceptable that the benefits of success are reaped by the few, while the costs of failure are borne by all of us," Brown told finance ministers and central bank heads from the G20. "We need to consider if we need to go further in terms of mitigating costs to the rest of society."
Brown said Britain would not adopt such a plan "unless others move with us together."
He also said the tax would have to be "non-distortionary to avoid damaging reductions in liquidity, inefficient allocation of capital and the temptation of avoidance."
And any tax must not undermine efforts to stabilize the financial system and that the contribution from the financial sector must be "fair" and "measured."
"I do not in any way underestimate the enormous and difficult practical and technical issues that will need to be overcome," Brown said.
The Bank of England estimates that in the U.S., the U.K. and the euro zone, state support for the banking systems has totaled $14 trillion, or a quarter of global economic output.
France has been among the most prominent supporters of a financial transactions tax, with French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner recently proposing a levy of 0.005% on transactions. He said such a tax could raise around EUR30 billion.
French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde Saturday repeated her government's support for a tax on transactions.
Over the last century, bank failures have become increasingly expensive for taxpayers, and short of war pose the greatest threat to the solvency of governments.
If it could be enforced, a levy on transactions would help build up resources to pay for future crises, the cost of which could threaten to bankrupt some governments.
"A global ... tax could make a useful contribution to reducing the risk of future financial crises, and sharing the costs more fairly," said Julian Jessop, an economist at Capital Economics.
But bankers said a transaction tax wouldn't be enforceable.
"You would have to get every country in the world to agree to it," said Angela Knight, chief executive of the British Bankers Association. "It assumes that financial transactions will stay the same, that there will be no innovations or changes. Practically, it wouldn't operate."
-By Laurence Norman and Joe Parkinson, Dow Jones Newswires; 44-207-842-9270; laurence.norman@dowjones.com
Click here to go to Dow Jones NewsPlus, a web front page of today's most important business and market news, analysis and commentary: http://www.djnewsplus.com/access/al?rnd=JRpYnFx6gH%2FEWyKsVCS9MA%3D%3D. You can use this link on the day this article is published and the following day.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
November 07, 2009 11:44 ET (16:44 GMT)
DJMN: Russia Fin Min: Skeptical On Fincl Transaction Tax
(MORE TO FOLLOW) Dow Jones Newswires
November 07, 2009 11:30 ET (16:30 GMT)
DJMN: G20: French Fin Min: US Said To Apply FSB Bonus Rules By 10
(MORE TO FOLLOW) Dow Jones Newswires
November 07, 2009 11:20 ET (16:20 GMT)
DJMN: UK Darling: G20 Must Maintain Momentum On Reform Agenda
(MORE TO FOLLOW) Dow Jones Newswires
November 07, 2009 11:20 ET (16:20 GMT)
DJMN: UK Darling: G20 Meeting In Canada In February 2010
(MORE TO FOLLOW) Dow Jones Newswires
November 07, 2009 11:19 ET (16:19 GMT)
DJMN: UK Darling: No Discussion On Role Of Yuan
(MORE TO FOLLOW) Dow Jones Newswires
November 07, 2009 11:18 ET (16:18 GMT)
DJMN: UK Darling: Discussed Transactions Tax With Geithner
(MORE TO FOLLOW) Dow Jones Newswires
November 07, 2009 11:17 ET (16:17 GMT)
DJMN: Geithner:Committed To Protect Taxpayer From Future Bank Losses
(MORE TO FOLLOW) Dow Jones Newswires
November 07, 2009 11:15 ET (16:15 GMT)
DJMN: US Geithner Doesn't Support Day-By-Day Fincl Transaction Tax
(MORE TO FOLLOW) Dow Jones Newswires
November 07, 2009 11:15 ET (16:15 GMT)
DJMN: FSB Draghi Transaction Tax Topic Wasn't Discussed In Meeting
(MORE TO FOLLOW) Dow Jones Newswires
November 07, 2009 11:15 ET (16:15 GMT)
DJMN: FSB Draghi Declines Comment On Call For Fincl Transaction Tax
(MORE TO FOLLOW) Dow Jones Newswires
November 07, 2009 11:14 ET (16:14 GMT)
DJMN: 2ND UPDATE:G20 Agrees Detailed Timetable For Mutual Assessment
(Adds detail)
By Laurence Norman
Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
ST. ANDREWS, Scotland (Dow Jones)--Finance officials from the Group of 20 leading economies Saturday agreed a detailed timetable for assessing each others policies with the aim of rebalancing the global economy.
G20 finance ministers and central bank heads will begin to discuss options for ensuring that the global economy grows in a more sustained and balanced way in January of next year, setting out their national and regional programs and their economic forecasts.
By April, they expect to have completed their mutual assessment of those national and regional policies, with the aim of providing options to G20 leaders when they meet in June. By November, they intend to refine those policy options "and develop more specific policy recommendations."
At their last meeting in Pittsburgh in September, G20 leaders agreed a framework for peer review that is designed to ensure that national economic policies are consistent with balance in the global economy.
"The first challenge in using the framework will be the transition from crisis response to stronger, more sustainable and balanced growth," G20 finance officials said in a statement following their meetings Friday and Saturday.
As expected, the officials agreed to keep their stimulus measures in place, despite signs that the global economy is in recovery.
"Economic and financial conditions have improved following our coordinated response to the crisis," the statement said. "However, the recovery is uneven and remains dependent on policy support, and high unemployment is a major concern. To restore the global economic and financial system to health, we agree to maintain support for the recovery until it is assured."
The G20 officials agreed to "develop further" their exit strategies for withdrawing stimulus.
"We agreed to cooperate and coordinate, taking into account any spillovers caused by our strategies, and consulting and sharing information where possible," the statement said.
However, the G20 officials couldn't reach an agreement on financing efforts to combat climate change, and said they will "commit to take forward further work on climate change finance, to define financing options and institutional arrangements."
On the still controversial issue of bank bonuses, the G20 officials said they will "incorporate urgently within our national frameworks" standards set by the Financial Stability Board.
"The FSB will start assessing implementation without delay and report back with further proposals, as required, by March 2010," the G20 said.
The officials also said they "look forward to discussing at our next meeting the IMF's review of options on how the financial sector could contribute to paying for burdens associated with government interventions to repair the banking system."
http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/d/2009_communique_standrews.pdf
-By Laurence Norman and Paul Hannon, Dow Jones Newswires; 44-207-842-9270; laurence.norman@dowjones.com
Click here to go to Dow Jones NewsPlus, a web front page of today's most important business and market news, analysis and commentary: http://www.djnewsplus.com/access/al?rnd=JRpYnFx6gH%2FEWyKsVCS9MA%3D%3D. You can use this link on the day this article is published and the following day.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
November 07, 2009 11:10 ET (16:10 GMT)
DJMN: FSB Draghi: To Find Way Of Implementing Basel II Reforms
(MORE TO FOLLOW) Dow Jones Newswires
November 07, 2009 11:10 ET (16:10 GMT)
DJMN: Iran Frees Detained AFP Reporter - IRNA
TEHRAN (AFP)--Iranian authorities freed detained AFP reporter Farhad Pouladi on Saturday, the official IRNA news agency reported, but AFP has had no confirmation of his release nor been in contact with him.
"The AFP journalist has been freed with the authorisation of the Tehran prosecutor general," IRNA said, adding that it said he had been "arrested on the sidelines of certain illegal gatherings in Tehran" on Wednesday.
Click here to go to Dow Jones NewsPlus, a web front page of today's most important business and market news, analysis and commentary: http://www.djnewsplus.com/access/al?rnd=JRpYnFx6gH%2FEWyKsVCS9MA%3D%3D. You can use this link on the day this article is published and the following day.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
November 07, 2009 11:08 ET (16:08 GMT)
DJMN: FSB Draghi:Risk Incl Supporting Unsustainable Business Models
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November 07, 2009 11:02 ET (16:02 GMT)
DJMN: UK Darling:Good Progress On Climate Change Funding Governance
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November 07, 2009 11:00 ET (16:00 GMT)
DJMN: IMF Outlines Principles For Stimulus Exit Strategies
By Meena Thiruvengadam
Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
ST. ANDREWS, Scotland (Dow Jones)--As countries grapple with the issue of when and how to withdraw economic stimulus, the International Monetary Fund is laying out principles it believes should underpin those decisions.
In a document released in conjunction with Group of 20 meetings in Scotland, the fund Saturday warned countries not to enact exit strategies too early, adding that an "overarching risk" of a stalling economic recovery remains.
The IMF said economic recovery remains sluggish and isn't yet self-sustaining, while financial conditions are still far from normal.
"Premature exit from accommodative monetary and fiscal policies could undermine the nascent rebound, as the policy-induced rebound could be mistaken for a strong and durable recovery," the fund said.
The fund is encouraging G20 countries to keep in place policy stimulus until private demand and other "clear signs of a durable recovery" return. Its principles recommend that countries concerned about the timing of their exit strategies err on the side of supporting demand and repairing the financial sector.
"Current conditions do not justify a significant and abrupt withdrawal of either stimulus or efforts to mend the financial system," it said.
The IMF also recommended that countries prioritize fiscal consolidation, ensure stimulus measures don't become permanent and communicate exit strategies in a clear and transparent manner. Further, it suggested that countries coordinate with one another but consider their own unique economic conditions when deciding when and how to withdraw stimulus.
"The overall pace of policy adjustment and removal of financial support will depend on the strength of recovery in private demand in each country and enduring financial stability," the fund said.
On central bank monetary policy, the fund said interest rates may need to rise before unconventional actions - such as certain credit programs - are fully withdrawn.
"Maintaining unconventional monetary policy measures does not necessarily constrain increases in policy rates," it said.
The IMF said advanced economies with high debts need to avoid keeping fiscal policy stimulus measures in the system too long but suggested they can afford for monetary policy to "remain accommodative for an extended period" because of subdued price pressures. Emerging economies, meanwhile, may have to hike rates more quickly because of inflation increases.
-By Meena Thiruvengadam, Dow Jones Newswires; 202-862-9255; meena.thiruvengadam@dowjones.com
Click here to go to Dow Jones NewsPlus, a web front page of today's most important business and market news, analysis and commentary: http://www.djnewsplus.com/access/al?rnd=JRpYnFx6gH%2FEWyKsVCS9MA%3D%3D. You can use this link on the day this article is published and the following day.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
November 07, 2009 11:00 ET (16:00 GMT)
DJMN: IMF: Financial Conditions Still Far From Normal
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November 07, 2009 11:00 ET (16:00 GMT)
DJMN: IMF: Economic Recovery Not Yet Self-Sustaining
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November 07, 2009 11:00 ET (16:00 GMT)
DJMN: IMF:Rate Hikes Before Withdrawal Of Unconventional Stimulus
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November 07, 2009 11:00 ET (16:00 GMT)
DJMN: IMF Outlines Principles For Stimulus Exit Strategies
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November 07, 2009 11:00 ET (16:00 GMT)
DJMN: IMF: Chinese Yuan Remains "Significantly Undervalued"
ST. ANDREWS, Scotland (Dow Jones)--China's yuan is "significantly undervalued," while the U.S. dollar and the euro are "on the strong side" of their desirable exchange rates, the International Monetary Fund said Saturday.
The fund's comments will place increased pressure on the Chinese government to allow the yuan to appreciate against other major currencies. The comments were made in a paper presented to finance ministers and central bank heads from the Group of 20 leading economies that laid out the prospects for the global economy and the principles for removing stimulus measures.
China has held the yuan steady against the U.S. dollar since July 2008 in an effort to support growth by maintaining the competitiveness of its exports. But with the Chinese economy set to grow more rapidly this year than those of the other G20 members, calls for an appreciation of the yuan are mounting.
"In contrast to the experience of many other emerging economy currencies, the Chinese renminbi [yuan] has depreciated in real effective terms in tandem with the U.S. dollar and remains significantly undervalued from a medium-term perspective," the IMF said.
Since the U.S. dollar has depreciated against the euro, the yuan has also weakened against the European currency, prompting euro-zone officials to call for action to reverse its fall.
"We consider that an orderly and progressive appreciation of the currencies...of Asia, and of course the currency of China...is something which would be welcome for the overall prosperity and appropriate rebalancing of the global economy," European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet said Thursday.
Other Asian nations are also expressing disquiet over the yuan's exchange rate.
Japanese Senior Vice Finance Minister Yoshihiko Noda said Friday that governments should never engage in a race to weaken currencies to bolster exports and that China's yuan needs to be flexible.
"Basically, it's desirable if [the yuan] is flexible," Noda said.
However, People's Bank of China Governor Zhou Xiaochuan played down those calls as he arrived for the G20 meeting Friday, saying international pressure for the yuan to appreciate "isn't that big."
According to a source at a delegation from a leading developed economy, the statement issued by the G20 finance officials at the conclusion of their two-day meeting Saturday won't mention a specific currency.
However, officials say that in future discussions on how to rebalance the global economy, currency issues may be a topic. The twin aims of coordinated efforts to correct structural problems in the global economy would be to boost domestic demand in countries that have recently run large trade surpluses, and boost savings in those countries that have recently been consuming more than they produce.
Economists argue a stronger yuan is an essential part of that rebalancing.
The IMF said there are indications the U.S. dollar is being used as a funding currency for carry trades, a strategy in which investors borrow in currencies that are expected to have low interest rates over the medium-term to buy currencies that are expected to have higher interest rates.
"These trades may be contributing to upward pressure on the euro and some emerging economy currencies," the IMF said. "The euro has experienced most appreciation among major advanced economy currencies and remains on the strong side of its equilibrium."
But the IMF said that, while the U.S. dollar has "moved closer to medium-run equilibrium," it too "remains on the strong side."
-By Paul Hannon, Dow Jones Newswires; 44 20 7842 9491; paul.hannon@dowjones.com
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(END) Dow Jones Newswires
November 07, 2009 11:00 ET (16:00 GMT)
DJMN: IMF: US Dollar, Euro Remain "On Strong Side"
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November 07, 2009 11:00 ET (16:00 GMT)
DJMN: IMF: Chinese Yuan Remains "Significantly Undervalued"
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November 07, 2009 11:00 ET (16:00 GMT)
DJMN: UK Darling:Fincl Sector Levy Idea "Will Take Time" To Devleop
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November 07, 2009 10:58 ET (15:58 GMT)
DJMN: German Fin Min: Not Completely Wrong To Have Bks Contribute
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November 07, 2009 10:56 ET (15:56 GMT)
DJMN: UK Darling: New Approach Is "Major Step Forward"
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November 07, 2009 10:56 ET (15:56 GMT)
DJMN: FSB Draghi: Model For Peer Review On Compensation By Mar 2010
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November 07, 2009 10:56 ET (15:56 GMT)
DJMN: German Fin Min: Joint Fincl Mkt Transaction Levy View Needed
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November 07, 2009 10:55 ET (15:55 GMT)
DJMN: UK Darling: Seeing New Approach On Global Econ Cooperation
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November 07, 2009 10:55 ET (15:55 GMT)
DJMN: ECB's Weber:Monetary, Fiscal Policy, Bailouts Help Boost Econ
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November 07, 2009 10:53 ET (15:53 GMT)
DJMN: IMF Strauss-Kahn: Progress Made On Tax On Financial Sector
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November 07, 2009 10:48 ET (15:48 GMT)
DJMN: Top US Lawmaker Predicts Health Bill Will Pass
WASHINGTON (AFP)--A top Democrat in the House of Representatives predicted Saturday that President Barack Obama's allies would have the 218 votes needed to pass a sweeping overhaul of US health care.
"We think we'll have 218 by the time we vote on this bill later on this afternoon or early this evening," Democratic House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer told MSNBC television, describing himself as "confident" in the outcome.
All 177 House Republicans are expected to oppose the measure, meaning Democrats can afford 40 defections from their 258-seat majority and still reach the 218 votes needed to approve the bill.
Hoyer spoke shortly before Obama was to make a rare visit to Congress to help win over wavering Democratic lawmakers and avert what would be a crippling defeat for his top domestic priority.
"If we lose on health care, it will be the American public that will lose, it'll be people who don't have access to affordable quality health care who will lose," said Hoyer.
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(END) Dow Jones Newswires
November 07, 2009 10:42 ET (15:42 GMT)
DJMN: G20: FSB To Start Assessing Bonus Implementation Now
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November 07, 2009 10:41 ET (15:41 GMT)
DJMN: G20: To Incorporate Urgently Bonus Guidelines
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November 07, 2009 10:41 ET (15:41 GMT)
DJMN: Iran Frees Detained AFP Reporter - IRNA
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November 07, 2009 10:39 ET (15:39 GMT)
DJMN: Obama Says Fort Hood Response Showed Best Of America
WASHINGTON (AFP)--President Barack Obama on Saturday sought to reassure the U.S. public in the wake of a deadly shooting rampage at Fort Hood, Texas, saying the response to the tragedy displayed "the best of America."
"Thursday's shooting was one of the most devastating ever committed on an American military base," Obama said in his weekly radio address. "And yet, even as we saw the worst of human nature on full display, we also saw the best of America."
The president noted that Americans had seen soldiers and civilians alike rushing to help fallen comrades, tearing off bullet-riddled clothes to treat the injured, using blouses as tourniquets and taking down the shooter even when injured themselves.
Alleged shooter Major Nidal Malik Hasan, 39, a psychiatrist and specialist in combat stress who was about to deployed to Afghanistan against his wishes, went on a shooting rampage at Fort Hood on Thursday, killing 13 people and wounding 30.
Speculation swirled around the base Friday as to whether Hasan had snapped under the pressure of his job counseling thousands of war-weary troops, or was motivated by deeper convictions.
Obama said he had met Friday with Federal Bureau of Investigation Director Robert Mueller, Defense Secretary Robert Gates and representatives of other federal agencies to discuss their investigation into what had led to this crime.
He promised to stay in close contact with them as new information came in, but stressed that it might not be possible to understand what had motivated such an attack.
"But what we do know is that our thoughts are with every single one of the men and women who were injured at Fort Hood," he said.
"Our thoughts are with all the families who've lost a loved one in this national tragedy.
"And our thoughts are with all the Americans who wear - or who've worn - the proud uniform of the United States of America; our soldiers, sailors, airmen, marines, and coast guardsmen, and the military families who love and support them."
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(END) Dow Jones Newswires
November 07, 2009 10:35 ET (15:35 GMT)
DJMN: EU Borg: Strong Argument For Stability Tax On Bank Assets
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November 07, 2009 10:30 ET (15:30 GMT)
DJMN: Geithner: Progress On Framework For Global Rebalancing
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November 07, 2009 10:30 ET (15:30 GMT)
DJMN: G20: US Geithner: Growth Remains Top Policy Priority
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November 07, 2009 10:30 ET (15:30 GMT)
DJMN: Chinese PM Reaches Out To Muslims In Arab League Speech
CAIRO (AFP)--Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiaobao sought to reassure the world's Muslims about his country's goodwill towards them in Cairo on Saturday, at a time when Beijing is criticised for the treatment of its own Muslim minority.
"The relationship between Chinese civilisation and Islamic civilisation goes back years," Wen said in a speech delivered at the Cairo-based headquarters of the 22-member Arab League.
"China is a multi-ethnic and multi-religious country. The basic policy of the Chinese government is to ensure equality among all ethnic groups and speed up the economic development of all regions," he said.
In July, violence erupted in China's Xinjiang region pitting mainly Muslim minority Uighurs against members of China's dominant Han group, leaving 197 dead and more than 1,600 injured, according to official figures.
Han vigilantes then went on a rampage against Uighurs two days later, but the exact number of casualties from that day has never been divulged.
Hundreds of people were detained as China vowed to come down hard on those found guilty, with President Hu Jintao and other top leaders saying those responsible must be "severely punished."
China's treatment of the Uighurs received worldwide condemnation and the United States accused China of "repression of peaceful expressions of religious beliefs and political views."
But Wen insisted in remarks at the Arab League that Chinese Muslims were not discriminated against.
"In China, more than 20 million people from 10 ethnic groups believe in Islam. They are all members of the big family of the Chinese nation," Wen said. "Their beliefs, culture and way of life are fully respected."
The Chinese premier gave his speech on the eve of a summit with African leaders in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh as Beijing bids to expand its diplomatic and economic influence on the resource-rich continent.
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November 07, 2009 10:03 ET (15:03 GMT)
DJMN: G20: Fin Mins Meet Again In Bid To Clinch Climate Change Deal
ST ANDREWS, Scotland (Dow Jones)--Finance ministers from several of the Group of 20 leading economies are meeting again Saturday in an effort to hammer out an agreement on financing in the battle against climate change, a Brazilian government source said.
The person said officials from Brazil, China, India, the European Union and the U.S. were meeting, with the U.K. mediating, in an effort to cut a deal after talks on the issue hit an impasse earlier, with big developing countries reluctant to make new financial commitments.
A U.K. source at the meeting of finance officials from the G20 said: "We're pulling out all the stops, but discussions are very much in the balance."
Earlier Saturday, U.K. Chancellor of the Exchequer Alistair Darling said that, if there wasn't an agreement on finance, negotiations at a United Nations summit on climate change in Copenhagen in December would be much more difficult.
-By Nicholas Winning and Laurence Norman, Dow Jones Newswires, +44 207 842 9498; nick.winning@dowjones.com
Click here to go to Dow Jones NewsPlus, a web front page of today's most important business and market news, analysis and commentary: http://www.djnewsplus.com/access/al?rnd=JRpYnFx6gH%2FEWyKsVCS9MA%3D%3D. You can use this link on the day this article is published and the following day.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
November 07, 2009 09:36 ET (14:36 GMT)
DJMN: G20: To Provide Policy Options To Leaders By June 2010
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November 07, 2009 09:11 ET (14:11 GMT)
DJMN: G20 Draft: High Unemployment A Major Concern
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November 07, 2009 09:05 ET (14:05 GMT)
DJMN: G20 Draft: Recovery Uneven, Dependent On Stimulus
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November 07, 2009 09:04 ET (14:04 GMT)
DJMN: G20: Fin Mins Struggling To Make Progress On Climate Issues
ST. ANDREWS, Scotland (Dow Jones)--Finance ministers from the Group of 20 leading economies were struggling to agree on climate change issues at their meeting Saturday, with big developing economies reluctant to make commitments before broader talks in Copenhagen next month.
The apparent lack of progress on climate issues doesn't bode well for the United Nations summit in Denmark in December, where nations hope to agree a new global deal to tackle global warming.
A Brazilian government source said Brazil, India and China didn't want to agree new financial commitments at a finance minister level at the G20 summit while climate negotiations were going on elsewhere, adding that talks went on until 0600 GMT before ending at an impasse.
"This isn't the forum for these [climate] talks," the person said.
The weekend's G20 meeting in Scotland was tasked with making progress on the issue of financing efforts by developing countries to combat climate change. This included ensuring that any financial support given to developing nations would be used wisely.
Speaking at the G20 talks, U.K. Prime Minister Gordon Brown said he had no illusion about the scale of the challenges policymakers still faced ahead of the Copenhagen meeting.
"It is a historic moment: a test of global cooperation every bit as significant as the economic tests we have faced together this year," Brown said. "It is essential that we urgently move toward resolving the issues that still divide our nations."
Earlier Saturday, U.K. Chancellor of the Exchequer Alistair Darling said it is "imperative that when we reach the end of the day we show real progress...If there isn't an agreement on finance, negotiations in Copenhagen will be much more difficult."
A source in one of the delegations from the Group of Seven leading developed economies also said Saturday that progress on climate change looks very difficult because developing countries are throwing up roadblocks.
On Friday an official from the French Finance Ministry separately told reporters there was no guarantee the final communique of the G20 meeting would even mention the issue of climate change.
-By Nicholas Winning, Dow Jones Newswires, +44 207 842 9498; nick.winning@dowjones.com
(With reporting by Laurence Norman and Nathalie Boschat.)
Click here to go to Dow Jones NewsPlus, a web front page of today's most important business and market news, analysis and commentary: http://www.djnewsplus.com/access/al?rnd=JRpYnFx6gH%2FEWyKsVCS9MA%3D%3D. You can use this link on the day this article is published and the following day.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
November 07, 2009 08:40 ET (13:40 GMT)
DJMN: Blue Dogs Wrestle With Competing Priorities On Health Bill
By Patrick Yoest
Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
WASHINGTON (Dow Jones)--A group of fiscally-conservative House Democrats will vote this weekend on a health-care bill that virtually all of its members think does too little to rein in health costs and ensure that the federal budget deficit doesn't increase.
But by all indications, the 52-member group--known as the Blue Dog Coalition--will split their votes on the measures, with some voting "yea" and others "nea." The lawmakers, some of whom played an instrumental role in passing a version of the bill approved by the House Energy and Commerce Committee, have met continually to discuss health-care issues but not taken a shared position on the bill now before the House.
Recent Democratic electoral losses in governors' races in Virginia and New Jersey have emboldened the Blue Dogs' Republican critics, who say that their competing demands of combating federal spending and obeying Democratic leaders on major legislative initiatives requires an untenable balancing act.
If health care passes, "a lot of Blue Dogs in this country are going to have a lot of 'splaining to do back at home in their districts, where people do not want the health care that's being peddled by this administration," Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele argued this week on the Fox News Channel's "On The Record With Greta."
A number of Blue Dogs have already announced how they will vote on the bill. Rep. Frank Kratovil (D., Md.) a freshman Democrat who narrowly won a previously-Republican seat last year, cited concerns about the bill's cost in announcing Friday that he will vote against the bill.
"Obviously the underlying commonality for all of the Blue Dogs is the concern of the cost and the deficit," Kratovil said. "If you ask all of us, the answer would be that there's still some concern. But individually, the answer becomes, 'Does the good outweigh the bad'?"
The Blue Dogs met with Congressional Budget Office director Doug Elmendorf Tuesday night to discuss the bill's long-term costs. Several members said they thought that the House bill compared unfavorably with Senate Finance Committee legislation on controlling costs, but wouldn't say whether they would vote against the bill.
While the group, which a group of mostly conservative Democrats formed in 1994 after Democrats lost control of the House, embraces a platform of fiscal discipline, its members represent a cross-section of views on social issues such as abortion. Still, a disproportionate share of its ranks also hold moderate-to-conservative views on social issues, and some have cited a lingering dispute over the bill's treatment of abortion in withholding support for the bill.
For other Blue Dog members, issues important to their district trump Rep. Baron Hill (D., Ind.) said Friday that he would support the bill--but only after Democratic leaders told him they would try to resolve his concerns about the bill's proposed 2.5% levy on medical device makers.
"I've been given assurances that they'll work with me, and that's good enough for me," Hill said.
Rep. Jason Altmire (D., Pa.) who as of Friday said he had not decided on how to vote, said he had spoken with several other like-minded members about whether to support the bill. But that doesn't include only Blue Dogs, Altmire said.
"I think you talk to people with districts similar to your own. Not all the Blue Dogs have similar districts," Altmire said. "At the end of the day, you have to go back to your district and justify why you voted the way you did."
At least some of the Blue Dogs will be needed to obtain passage of the bill. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D., Calif.) has a total of 258 Democrats in her ranks, and she needs 218 votes for passage, which means that only 40 Democrats can defect on the bill. That means that at least a dozen and likely more Blue Dogs would have to vote for it.
When the House passed controversial climate change legislation in June, 29 of 52 Blue Dogs voted against it.
Rep. Earl Pomeroy (D., N.D.) a Blue Dog, said this week that he expects there will be another "split decision" on how to vote for the bill
"Why haven't we had a clear, bright line in terms of Blue Dog demands [for the bill]? We couldn't get agreement," Pomeroy said after the meeting with Elmendorf. who has said he supports the current version of the legislation. "Who knows how they're going to sort out."
-By Patrick Yoest, Dow Jones Newswires; 202-862-3554; patrick.yoest@dowjones.com
Click here to go to Dow Jones NewsPlus, a web front page of today's most important business and market news, analysis and commentary: http://www.djnewsplus.com/access/al?rnd=JRpYnFx6gH%2FEWyKsVCS9MA%3D%3D. You can use this link on the day this article is published and the following day.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
November 07, 2009 08:00 ET (13:00 GMT)
DJMN: Blue Dogs Wrestle With Competing Priorities On Health Bill
By Patrick Yoest
Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
WASHINGTON (Dow Jones)--A group of fiscally-conservative House Democrats will vote this weekend on a health-care bill that virtually all of its members think does too little to rein in health costs and ensure that the federal budget deficit doesn't increase.
But by all indications, the 52-member group--known as the Blue Dog Coalition--will split their votes on the measures, with some voting "yea" and others "nea." The lawmakers, some of whom played an instrumental role in passing a version of the bill approved by the House Energy and Commerce Committee, have met continually to discuss health-care issues but not taken a shared position on the bill now before the House.
Recent Democratic electoral losses in governors' races in Virginia and New Jersey have emboldened the Blue Dogs' Republican critics, who say that their competing demands of combating federal spending and obeying Democratic leaders on major legislative initiatives requires an untenable balancing act.
If health care passes, "a lot of Blue Dogs in this country are going to have a lot of 'splaining to do back at home in their districts, where people do not want the health care that's being peddled by this administration," Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele argued this week on the Fox News Channel's "On The Record With Greta."
A number of Blue Dogs have already announced how they will vote on the bill. Rep. Frank Kratovil (D., Md.) a freshman Democrat who narrowly won a previously-Republican seat last year, cited concerns about the bill's cost in announcing Friday that he will vote against the bill.
"Obviously the underlying commonality for all of the Blue Dogs is the concern of the cost and the deficit," Kratovil said. "If you ask all of us, the answer would be that there's still some concern. But individually, the answer becomes, 'Does the good outweigh the bad'?"
The Blue Dogs met with Congressional Budget Office director Doug Elmendorf Tuesday night to discuss the bill's long-term costs. Several members said they thought that the House bill compared unfavorably with Senate Finance Committee legislation on controlling costs, but wouldn't say whether they would vote against the bill.
While the group, which a group of mostly conservative Democrats formed in 1994 after Democrats lost control of the House, embraces a platform of fiscal discipline, its members represent a cross-section of views on social issues such as abortion. Still, a disproportionate share of its ranks also hold moderate-to-conservative views on social issues, and some have cited a lingering dispute over the bill's treatment of abortion in withholding support for the bill.
For other Blue Dog members, issues important to their district trump Rep. Baron Hill (D., Ind.) said Friday that he would support the bill--but only after Democratic leaders told him they would try to resolve his concerns about the bill's proposed 2.5% levy on medical device makers.
"I've been given assurances that they'll work with me, and that's good enough for me," Hill said.
Rep. Jason Altmire (D., Pa.) who as of Friday said he had not decided on how to vote, said he had spoken with several other like-minded members about whether to support the bill. But that doesn't include only Blue Dogs, Altmire said.
"I think you talk to people with districts similar to your own. Not all the Blue Dogs have similar districts," Altmire said. "At the end of the day, you have to go back to your district and justify why you voted the way you did."
At least some of the Blue Dogs will be needed to obtain passage of the bill. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D., Calif.) has a total of 258 Democrats in her ranks, and she needs 218 votes for passage, which means that only 40 Democrats can defect on the bill. That means that at least a dozen and likely more Blue Dogs would have to vote for it.
When the House passed controversial climate change legislation in June, 29 of 52 Blue Dogs voted against it.
Rep. Earl Pomeroy (D., N.D.) a Blue Dog, said this week that he expects there will be another "split decision" on how to vote for the bill
"Why haven't we had a clear, bright line in terms of Blue Dog demands [for the bill]? We couldn't get agreement," Pomeroy said after the meeting with Elmendorf. who has said he supports the current version of the legislation. "Who knows how they're going to sort out."
-By Patrick Yoest, Dow Jones Newswires; 202-862-3554; patrick.yoest@dowjones.com
Click here to go to Dow Jones NewsPlus, a web front page of today's most important business and market news, analysis and commentary: http://www.djnewsplus.com/access/al?rnd=JRpYnFx6gH%2FEWyKsVCS9MA%3D%3D. You can use this link on the day this article is published and the following day.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
November 07, 2009 08:00 ET (13:00 GMT)
DJMN: Austrian Chancellor To Visit In Moscow For Talks On Pipeline
VIENNA (AFP)--Austrian Chancellor Werner Faymann will travel to Moscow this week for talks with Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin over a proposed gas pipeline.
The South Stream project, promoted by Russian gas monopoly Gazprom (OGZPY GAZP.RS) and Italian group ENI (E ENI.MI), would carry Russian gas under the Black Sea to Bulgaria.
Two routes - a northerly one towards Austria and a southerly one towards Greece - are being considered for the rest of the pipeline.
South Stream is seen as a rival to the Nabucco project, advocated by the European Union, which would run a pipeline to the EU from the Caspian Sea and reduce Europe's dependency on Russian gas.
Before meeting Putin on Wednesday, Faymann will hold talks with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on Tuesday.
Click here to go to Dow Jones NewsPlus, a web front page of today's most important business and market news, analysis and commentary: http://www.djnewsplus.com/access/al?rnd=JRpYnFx6gH%2FEWyKsVCS9MA%3D%3D. You can use this link on the day this article is published and the following day.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
November 07, 2009 07:48 ET (12:48 GMT)
DJMN: Japan PM: 'Concerned' About Thai-Cambodia Spat
TOKYO (AFP)--Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama on Saturday said Japan was "concerned" about the recent spat between Cambodia and Thailand over Phnom Penh's job offer to a fugitive former Thai premier, an official said.
"I'm concerned about the recent situation," Hatoyama told his visiting counterpart, Hun Sen, at a bilateral meeting, as quoted by a Japanese foreign ministry official.
"I hope the problem between the two countries will improve" as they are important neighbours in the Mekong River region, Hatoyama said.
Hun Sen said "the situation in border areas is stable although there have been verbal exchanges between the two countries over the past two-to-three months," according to the Japanese official.
The bilateral meeting came after Japan's summit talks with five Mekong River countries, which also include Thailand, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam.
There was no bilateral talk between Hun Sen and Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva the Japanese foreign ministry knows of, the official said.
Hatoyama had a separate meeting later Saturday with Abhisit, who said he wanted to "keep the problem from worsening," the official said.
Thailand said Friday it would tear up an oil and gas exploration deal with Cambodia, stoking a row over Phnom Penh's naming of fugitive former Thai premier Thaksin Shinawatra as an economics adviser.
The government in Bangkok also warned that it could seal the border between the two countries, one day after the neighbours both recalled their respective ambassadors in the escalating spat.
Thailand and Cambodia have fought a series of deadly skirmishes since July 2008 over disputed land around the ancient Preah Vihear temple on the border.
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(END) Dow Jones Newswires
November 07, 2009 07:44 ET (12:44 GMT)
DJMN: Japan PM: 'Concerned' About Thai-Cambodia Spat
TOKYO (AFP)--Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama on Saturday said Japan was "concerned" about the recent spat between Cambodia and Thailand over Phnom Penh's job offer to a fugitive former Thai premier, an official said.
"I'm concerned about the recent situation," Hatoyama told his visiting counterpart, Hun Sen, at a bilateral meeting, as quoted by a Japanese foreign ministry official.
"I hope the problem between the two countries will improve" as they are important neighbours in the Mekong River region, Hatoyama said.
Hun Sen said "the situation in border areas is stable although there have been verbal exchanges between the two countries over the past two-to-three months," according to the Japanese official.
The bilateral meeting came after Japan's summit talks with five Mekong River countries, which also include Thailand, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam.
There was no bilateral talk between Hun Sen and Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva the Japanese foreign ministry knows of, the official said.
Hatoyama had a separate meeting later Saturday with Abhisit, who said he wanted to "keep the problem from worsening," the official said.
Thailand said Friday it would tear up an oil and gas exploration deal with Cambodia, stoking a row over Phnom Penh's naming of fugitive former Thai premier Thaksin Shinawatra as an economics adviser.
The government in Bangkok also warned that it could seal the border between the two countries, one day after the neighbours both recalled their respective ambassadors in the escalating spat.
Thailand and Cambodia have fought a series of deadly skirmishes since July 2008 over disputed land around the ancient Preah Vihear temple on the border.
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(END) Dow Jones Newswires
November 07, 2009 07:44 ET (12:44 GMT)
DJMN: Pirates Take Greek Ship Toward Somali Coast - Company
ATHENS (AFP)--A Greek cargo ship hijacked this week was being taken toward the Somali coast, but its crew members were unharmed, the ship's operating company said Saturday.
"The master of the vessel has reported that the crew are unharmed and the vessel is sailing towards the Somali coast," Athens-based Meadway Shipping and Trading Inc. said in a statement.
"The company is currently doing everything in its power to ensure the situation is resolved quickly," it said.
Meadway Inc. said the cargo ship, Delvina, was hijacked early Thursday northeast of the Comoros Islands in the Indian Ocean. It had been sailing from Ukraine to Mombasa in Kenya.
Greek port police on Friday said the Delvina was captured 280 nautical miles east of the Tanzanian coast.
The company gave no details on the crew, but the European Union's naval mission to the region said it numbers 14 Filipinos and seven Ukrainians.
Another Panamanian-flagged Greek ship, Theophoros I, was attacked early Thursday in the Gulf of Aden but the pirates were driven off.
The Theophoros I continued its route to Hong Kong escorted by two warships of the anti-piracy international force in the area.
Greek authorities said the crew used high-pressure hoses against the pirates, but a Turkish military official said later the Turkish warship Gediz averted the attack.
A military statement said five pirates were trying to attack the Theophoros, which belongs to Greek company Good Faith. The Turks seized weapons including a rocket launcher, it added.
The incident happened 125 kilometers off the coast.
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(END) Dow Jones Newswires
November 07, 2009 07:34 ET (12:34 GMT)
DJMN: 2nd UPDATE:UK Brown:G20 Should Mull Global Fincl Levy
(Updates with further detail)
By Laurence Norman and Joe Parkinson
Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
ST ANDREWS, Scotland (Dow Jones)--The Group of 20 leading economies should consider applying a global financial transactions tax to pay for the cost of future banking crises, Prime Minister Gordon Brown said Saturday.
Brown said G20 members should discuss whether they need some kind of "insurance fee to reflect systemic risk or a resolution fund or contingent capital arrangements or a global financial transactions levy."
However he conditioned his proposal with warnings that agreeing a levy would be difficult.
In the past, the U.K. has leaned against the idea of a Tobin tax, which would use the proceeds of a financial transactions tax to provide funds to developing nations.
However, Brown's proposal more closely resembles a deposit insurance scheme, in that the fees gathered from the levy would be placed in a ring-fenced fund that would be drawn on should banks once again need state support to survive. The G20 governments said at the leaders summit in Pittsburgh in September they would look at this area, tasking the International Monetary Fund with preparing a report for options on "how the financial sector could make a fair and substantial contribution toward paying for any burdens associated with government interventions to repair the banking system."
Brown said that report would come in April and any action on a possible tax is unlikely to come for some time after that, U.K. officials signaled. Brown himself faces a tough battle for reelection by June 2010.
Brown said there needs to be a "better social contract" between banks and the rest of society.
"It cannot be acceptable that the benefits of success are reaped by the few, while the costs of failure are borne by all of us," Brown told finance ministers and central bank heads from the G20. "We need to consider if we need to go further in terms of mitigating costs to the rest of society."
Brown said Britain would not adopt such a plan "unless others move with us together."
He also said the tax would have to be "non-distortionary to avoid damaging reductions in liquidity, inefficient allocation of capital and the temptation of avoidance."
He also said any tax must not undermine efforts to stabilize the financial system and that the contribution from the financial sector must be "fair" and "measured."
Underlining his caution about any tax, Brown said "I do not in any way underestimate the enormous and difficult practical and technical issues that will need to be overcome."
The Bank of England estimates that in the U.S., the U.K. and the euro zone, state support for the banking systems has totaled $14 trillion, or a quarter of global economic output.
France has been among the most prominent supporters of a financial transactions tax, with French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner recently proposing a levy of 0.005% on transactions. He said such a tax could raise around EUR30 billion.
A U.K. official said it was far too early to be discussing numbers.
Over the last century, bank failures have become increasingly expensive for taxpayers, and short of war pose the greatest threat to the solvency of governments.
Brown said that imposing a levy would involve overcoming "enormous practical issues," but called on bank chiefs to "engage in constructive dialogue."
The Prime Minister stressed that the G20 process had helped stabilize the global banking system and reiterated his warning against removing economic stimulus measures too early.
"While recent indications of economic expansion give cause for cautious optimism they are not a reason to end economic stimulus prematurely," he said.
-By Laurence Norman and Joe Parkinson, Dow Jones Newswires; 44-207-842-9270; laurence.norman@dowjones.com
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(END) Dow Jones Newswires
November 07, 2009 07:12 ET (12:12 GMT)
DJMN: Fry Joins Potential Candidates For ITV Chairmanship -Times
LONDON (Dow Jones)--Anthony Fry, deputy chairman of Dairy Crest Group PLC (DCG.LN), emerged last night as a potential candidate for the vacant chairmanship of ITV PLC (ITV.LN).
Fry, who is understood to have had some preliminary conversations with Russell Reynolds, ITV's head hunters, joins a race headed by Bob Wigley, the former Merrill Lynch banker, and which is not expected to be resolved until the end of the month at the earliest, the newspaper said.
Fry now works at Evercore Partners, the advisory firm, where he is working with Tony Elliott, the magazine publisher, on a decision whether to sell Time Out.
Other names for the vacant position have circulated this week, including John Nelson, the chairman of Hammerson, and John Gildersleeve, chairman of Carphone Warehouse. David Arculus, the former chairman of O2 and former managing director of Emap, the magazine publisher, was also cited, the Times said.
Last month, Fry indicated that he had not been contacted by ITV, and with a string of chairmanships and nonexecutive roles was unsure that he had the time to take on the commercial broadcaster.
Newspaper Web site: http://www.timesonline.co.uk
-London Bureau, Dow Jones Newswires; +44 (0)20 7842 9275
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(END) Dow Jones Newswires
November 07, 2009 06:52 ET (11:52 GMT)
DJMN: UK Brown Calls On G20 To Mull Global Fincl Transaction Levy
ST ANDREWS, Scotland (Dow Jones)--The Group of 20 leading economies should consider applying a global financial transactions tax to pay for the cost of future banking crises, Prime Minister Gordon Brown said Saturday.
Brown said G20 members should discuss whether they need some kind of "insurance fee to reflect systemic risk or a resolution fund or contingent capital arrangements or a global financial transactions levy."
In the past, the U.K. has leaned against the idea of a Tobin tax, which would use the proceeds of a financial transactions tax to provide funds to developing nations.
However, Brown's proposal more closely resembles a deposit insurance scheme, in that the fees gathered from the levy would be placed in a ring-fenced fund that would be drawn on should banks once again need state support to survive.
Brown said there needs to be a "better social contract" between banks and the rest of society.
"It cannot be acceptable that the benefits of success are reaped by the few, while the costs of failure are borne by all of us," Brown told finance ministers and central bank heads from the G20. "We need to consider if we need to go further in terms of mitigating costs to the rest of society."
Brown said Britain would not adopt such a plan "unless others move with us together."
He also said the tax would have to be "non-distortinary to avoid damaging reductions in liquidity, inefficient allocation of capital and the temptation of avoidance."
He also said any tax must not undermine efforts to stabilize the financial system and that the contribution from the financial sector must be "fair" and "measured."
-By Laurence Norman and Joe Parkinson, Dow Jones Newswires; 44-207-842-9270; laurence.norman@dowjones.com
Click here to go to Dow Jones NewsPlus, a web front page of today's most important business and market news, analysis and commentary: http://www.djnewsplus.com/access/al?rnd=JRpYnFx6gH%2FEWyKsVCS9MA%3D%3D. You can use this link on the day this article is published and the following day.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
November 07, 2009 06:30 ET (11:30 GMT)
DJMN: UK's Brown: Should Consider Global Financial Transaction Levy
ST. ANDREWS, Scotland (Dow Jones)--The Group of 20 advanced economies should consider applying a global financial transaction tax to provide insurance against future banking crises, Prime Minister Gordon Brown said Saturday.
Embracing an idea that has long been called for by some developing nations and others, Brown said the G-20 should discuss whether it needs some kind of "insurance fee to reflect systemic risk or a resolution fund or contingent capital arrangements or a global financial transactions levy."
Brown strongly conditioned his proposals.
He said Britain would not adopt such a plan "unless others move with us together."
He also said the tax would have to be "nondistortionary to avoid damaging reductions in liquidity, inefficient allocation of capital and the temptation of avoidance."
He also said any tax must not undermine efforts to stabilize the financial system and that the contribution from the financial sector must be "fair" and "measured."
In the past, the U.K. has leaned against the idea of a Tobin tax, which would have seen a financial transaction tax used to increase support for developing nations.
-By Laurence Norman and Joe Parkinson, Dow Jones Newswires; 44-207-842-9270; laurence.norman@dowjones.com
(MORE TO FOLLOW) Dow Jones Newswires
November 07, 2009 06:28 ET (11:28 GMT)
DJMN: UK Brown: No Illusion About Scale Of Climate Change Challenge
(MORE TO FOLLOW) Dow Jones Newswires
November 07, 2009 06:03 ET (11:03 GMT)
DJMN: Seven Afghan Security Forces Killed In NATO Air Strike -Gvt
KABUL (AFP)--Seven members of the Afghan security forces were killed in a NATO air strike in remote western Afghanistan, the defense ministry said on Saturday.
"Due to a NATO forces air strike on November 6 in Badghis province seven Afghan security personnel (both Afghan army and national police) were martyred and also some were wounded," the ministry said in a statement.
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(END) Dow Jones Newswires
November 07, 2009 06:00 ET (11:00 GMT)
DJMN: UK Brown: Must Tackle Volatile Commodity Prices
(MORE TO FOLLOW) Dow Jones Newswires
November 07, 2009 06:00 ET (11:00 GMT)
DJMN: UK Brown: G20 Has Stabilized Banking System
(MORE TO FOLLOW) Dow Jones Newswires
November 07, 2009 06:00 ET (11:00 GMT)
DJMN: Obama Extends Condolences In Fort Hood Shooting
By Kristina Peterson
Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
WASHINGTON (Dow Jones)--President Barack Obama dedicated his weekly radio address Saturday to the shooting that occurred at the Fort Hood military base this week.
Obama said he will be tracking the investigation into how suspect Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, 39, allegedly shot and killed 13 people and wounded dozens of others on Thursday. The president met Friday with the director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation to discuss the incident.
While Obama deplored the violence at the military medical center, he also extolled the bravery of the soldiers who quickly came to the victims' aid.
"Thursday's shooting was one of the most devastating ever committed on an American military base," Obama said in prepared remarks. "And yet, even as we saw the worst of human nature on full display, we also saw the best of America."
Obama was also quick to note the diversity of U.S. military personnel.
"They are Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus and nonbelievers," he said. Hasan, a Muslim, was scheduled to be deployed to Afghanistan.
In his address, Obama bypassed the week's major political and economic turbulence. On Friday, the national unemployment rate rose 0.4 percentage point to 10.2%, according to the Labor Department, and on Tuesday, the Republicans won major gubernatorial races in New Jersey and Virginia.
Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour (R., Miss.) said the elections demonstrated a changing political tide.
"Hopefully, Tuesday's fire alarm will get Washington's eye back on the ball: back on job creation and economic growth," Barbour said.
-By Kristina Peterson, Dow Jones Newswires; 202-862-6619; kristina.peterson@dowjones.com
Click here to go to Dow Jones NewsPlus, a web front page of today's most important business and market news, analysis and commentary: http://www.djnewsplus.com/access/al?rnd=JRpYnFx6gH%2FEWyKsVCS9MA%3D%3D. You can use this link on the day this article is published and the following day.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
November 07, 2009 06:00 ET (11:00 GMT)
DJMN: UK Brown: Need Insurance Fee To Reflect Fincl Risks
(MORE TO FOLLOW) Dow Jones Newswires
November 07, 2009 05:59 ET (10:59 GMT)
DJMN: New Sanctions On Iran Possible 'If No Movement' -Russian Pres
MOSCOW (AFP)--New sanctions against Iran cannot be excluded if there is no movement forward in the standoff over its nuclear drive, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said in comments released by the Kremlin on Saturday.
In an interview with German weekly Spiegel, Medvedev confirmed Russia was prepared to help with work in enriching Iranian uranium if Tehran agreed to a U.N.-brokered plan to break the deadlock.
"If the Iranian leadership takes a less constructive position, then in theory anything is possible," Medvedev said in the interview, a full transcript of which was released by the Kremlin.
"I do not want that all this ends up with the adopting of international sanctions because sanctions, as a rule, lead in a complex and dangerous direction.
"But if there is no movement forward then no-one is going to exclude such a scenario."
Russia--a permanent veto-wielding member of the U.N. Security Council--is seen as a key player in the Iranian nuclear crisis due to its close political and economic ties with Tehran.
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(END) Dow Jones Newswires
November 07, 2009 05:57 ET (10:57 GMT)
DJMN: Russian Rocket To Launch From French Guiana In 2010
ST. PETERSBURG (AFP)--A Russian rocket will next year for the first time blast off from a European launch pad in South America, officials said Saturday, as the first rockets headed for the site onboard a ship.
Two Russian Soyuz rockets, the mainstay of its space program, were later Saturday to depart the northern city of St. Petersburg by ship bound for the French overseas department of French Guiana.
Packed in containers, they will arrive 15 days later ahead of the first planned launches next year of Soyuz rockets from France's Kourou launch site in French Guiana.
"We are in line for the first launch in the second quarter of next year," the chief executive of French aerospace firm Arianespace, Jean-Yves Le Gall, told AFP.
Finally confirming the project is ready after a string of delays, he said that the first satellite to be launched by a Soyuz from French Guiana will be the Hylas telecommunications satellite of British firm Avanti Communications. The satellite will deliver broadband and corporate data network services across Europe, according to the company.
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(END) Dow Jones Newswires
November 07, 2009 05:40 ET (10:40 GMT)
DJMN: G7 Source: G20 Progress On Climate Change Looks Difficult
ST. ANDREWS, SCOTLAND (Dow Jones)--Significant progress on climate change issues at this weekend's meeting of finance officials from the Group of 20 leading economies looks very difficult, a source at a delegation from a member of the Group of Seven leading developed economies said Saturday.
The source said that developing countries in particular were throwing up roadblocks to progress ahead of next month's Copenhagen summit, which will seek to agree a new global deal on climate change.
The weekend's G20 meeting was tasked with making progress on the vexed issue of financing efforts by developing countries to combat climate change. That includes ensuring that any financial support given to developing nations would be used wisely.
The source also said that the communique to be issued at the conclusion of the meetings will reiterate the call for stimulus measures to stay in place until the global economic recovery is entrenched.
However the official said he expected the statement to give more specifics on planning for exit strategies, including a pledge to cooperate on the timing of withdrawing antirecession measures.
Another official said that, as usual, the G20 communique would not include any specific reference to currencies.
-By Laurence Norman, Dow Jones Newswires; 44-207-842-9270; laurence.norman@dowjones.com
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(END) Dow Jones Newswires
November 07, 2009 05:24 ET (10:24 GMT)
DJMN: Brazil Govt Source: "Impasse" On Climate Issues At G20 Talks
(MORE TO FOLLOW) Dow Jones Newswires
November 07, 2009 05:20 ET (10:20 GMT)
DJMN: UAE Oil Min:Until Now Raising Pdtn Not On Agenda For OPEC
(MORE TO FOLLOW) Dow Jones Newswires
November 07, 2009 05:01 ET (10:01 GMT)
DJMN: 109 Arrested At Iran Protests: Tehran Police Chief
TEHRAN (AFP)--Police arrested 109 people during opposition protests on the sidelines of an official demonstration marking three decades since the seizure of the U.S. Embassy, Tehran's police chief said Saturday.
"A hundred and nine people were arrested. Forty-seven were released on bail and 62 are in prison and their files are with the judicial authorities," General Azizollah Rajabzadeh was quoted as saying by the Mehr news agency.
Among those jailed are "43 men and 19 women," he said.
Police on Wednesday fired tear gas in central Tehran to disperse groups of protesting opposition supporters as thousands of Iranians staged the annual anti-U.S. rally outside the former U.S. Embassy building to mark the 30th anniversary of its storming by Islamist students.
The opposition since June has been staging protests in the capital against the re-election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in a presidential vote they claim was massively rigged.
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(END) Dow Jones Newswires
November 07, 2009 04:58 ET (09:58 GMT)
DJMN: UK Darling: G20 Must Raise Its Sights, Ambitions On Econ
ST. ANDREWS, Scotland (Dow Jones)--Finance officials from the Group of 20 leading economies must agree a framework to boost global economic growth and make progress in agreeing a funding package to combat climate change, U.K. Chancellor of the Exchequer Alistair Darling said Saturday.
Darling is hosting a meeting of finance ministers and central bank heads from the G20, their third and final gathering of the year.
"We must raise our sights, raise our ambitions," Darling said told the G20 officials as Saturday's meetings began. "It's important that we don't resign ourselves to a decade of low growth."
Among the items on their agenda is how to finance efforts to combat climate change ahead of next month's summit in Copenhagen on global warming. The G20 nations don't appear to be close to an agreement on how much each would contribute to helping developing nations reduce their carbon emissions, but Darling said the meeting must make some headway.
"It's imperative that when we reach the end of the day we show real progress," he said. "If there isn't an agreement on finance, negotiations in Copenhagen will be much more difficult."
-By Paul Hannon, Dow Jones Newswires; 44 20 7842 9491; paul.hannon@dowjones.com
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(END) Dow Jones Newswires
November 07, 2009 04:23 ET (09:23 GMT)
DJMN: UK Darling: Must Make Progress On Climate Change
(MORE TO FOLLOW) Dow Jones Newswires
November 07, 2009 04:12 ET (09:12 GMT)
DJMN: UK Darling: Must Make Progress On Climate Change
(MORE TO FOLLOW) Dow Jones Newswires
November 07, 2009 04:12 ET (09:12 GMT)
DJMN: UK Darling: G20 Musn't Resign Itself To Decade Of Low Growth
(MORE TO FOLLOW) Dow Jones Newswires
November 07, 2009 04:11 ET (09:11 GMT)
DJMN: Taliban Attack Kills Three Pakistani Soldiers -Officials
PESHAWAR (AFP)--Taliban militants killed three Pakistani soldiers in an assault on a check post in the northwest as the military pressed its ground and air offensive, officials said Saturday.
The militants launched a rocket and gun attack on a paramilitary post in Torawari area of Hangu district late Friday, a security official said.
Three soldiers were killed in the raid, he said.
A senior police official said the attackers were Taliban militants who came from the neighboring tribal region of Kurram.
Security forces based in a nearby fort responded by killing at least six attackers, police and military officials said.
The attack came as Pakistan's military continued a major ground and air offensive against Taliban strongholds in the lawless South Waziristan region near the Afghan border.
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(END) Dow Jones Newswires
November 07, 2009 03:54 ET (08:54 GMT)
DJMN: GM In Talks To Bring Chinese Cars To India -Report
NEW DELHI (AFP)--U.S. auto giant General Motors Co. is in advanced talks with its Chinese partners on a proposal to bring their vehicles to India, the Press Trust of India reported Saturday.
GM began talks with its partners, SAIC Motor Corp. (600104.SH) and Wuling, eight months ago to explore possibilities of bringing their light commercial vehicles to India.
"Now we know what can work in India and what cannot," Karl Slym, the president of General Motors India, was quoted as saying by the news agency.
"We are at a position [where] very, very soon we should be able to make a decision" on how to proceed, Slym said.
GM and the two other companies have a three-way joint venture in China known as SAIC-GM-Wuling Automobile Co.
They are also looking beyond bringing only commercial vehicles to India through their partnership, the news agency said.
SAIC-GM-Wuling sells both commercial and passenger vehicles, including Wuling brand minivans, Wuling brand mini-trucks and the GM Chevrolet Spark mini-car.
"The company has vehicles beyond the commercial vehicles. They also would be very successful if we adapted them through our engineering center into India," Slym was reported as saying.
There was no immediate comment available from GM, which is the biggest foreign auto maker in China, with expected sales of at least 1.4 million vehicles in the country this year.
Lately, GM has been making major efforts to capture a larger slice of the fast-growing Indian vehicle market.
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(END) Dow Jones Newswires
November 07, 2009 03:33 ET (08:33 GMT)
DJMN: PRESS RELEASE: Important New Power Plant, Supplied By Wärtsilä, To Be Inaugurated Today In Pakistan
Wärtsilä Corporation, Press release, 7 November 2009
Today, the inauguration of the 200 MW Nishat Power Ltd power plant,
located at Jambar Kalan, near Bhai Pheru in the District of Kasur,
takes place with a ceremony at the plant site. The principal guest
and main speaker will be Mr Syed Yousuf Raza Gillani, Prime Minister
of Pakistan. Also in attendance will be Pakistan's Federal Minister
for Water and Power, Raja Pervaiz Ashraf, the Chairman of the Nishat
Group, Mian Mohammad Mansha, the Governor of the Punjab, Mr Salman
Taseer, the Chief Minister of the Punjab, Mr Mian Shahbaz Sharif as
well as senior representatives of Wärtsilä, the supplier of the power
plant.
Wärtsilä has been responsible for the engineering, procurement and
project management. Its scope of supply has included 11 Wärtsilä
18V46 generating sets, each with a rated capacity in excess of 17 MW.
An additional 14 MW of electricity is generated by a combined cycle
steam turbine, which utilizes the waste heat from the engines. The
plant will be operated and maintained by Wärtsilä Pakistan under an
initial 5-year agreement.
The electricity produced by the plant will be supplied to the
national grid, and will thus ease to some extent the country's
existing power shortage. Furthermore, since the local fuel supply
situation is often unreliable, the fuel flexibility of the Wärtsilä
engines offers an ideal solution for this location. Wärtsilä's
technology enables the utilization of locally available fuel with the
highest possible efficiency to ensure a reliable supply of power to
the grid. The plant's life cycle efficiency is rated at an
outstanding 45 per cent, and the average availability of its power
supply is estimated to average 88 per cent.
Wärtsilä and the Nishat Group have a long established relationship,
Nishat having purchased its first Wärtsilä engines in 2003. Today,
the company owns some 600 MW of Wärtsilä power plants.
In his message to the inauguration, Ole Johansson, CEO of Wärtsilä
Corporation said: "This inauguration marks a significant milestone in
the strong and lasting relationship between our companies. Wärtsilä
has a global track record of showing strong commitment to its
customers, and this commitment is evidenced by the fact that we
established Wärtsilä Pakistan already 15 years ago, in 1994. This
local presence enables us to support our operations in Pakistan, and
train local personnel in the efficient operation and service of our
power plant installations. Nishat Power Ltd is a prestigious project
for Pakistan in general, and for the Nishat Group in particular. We
congratulate everyone involved and are proud to play our part in
providing Pakistan with reliable and sustainable power."
For further information, please contact:
Mr Ghazanfar Mirza
Managing Director,
Wärtsilä Pakistan (Pvt) Ltd.
Tel: + 92 300 8455636
E-mail: ghazanfar.mirza@wartsila.com
Wärtsilä in brief
Wärtsilä is a global leader in complete lifecycle power solutions for
the marine and energy markets. By emphasising technological
innovation and total efficiency, Wärtsilä maximises the environmental
and economic performance of the vessels and power plants of its
customers.
In 2008, Wärtsilä's net sales totalled EUR 4.6 billion with 19,000
employees. The company has operations in 160 locations in 70
countries around the world. Wärtsilä is listed on the NASDAQ OMX
Helsinki, Finland.
www.wartsila.com
This announcement was originally distributed by Hugin. The issuer is
solely responsible for the content of this announcement.
http://www.wartsila.com
Copyright © Hugin AS 2009. All rights reserved.
Click here to go to Dow Jones NewsPlus, a web front page of today's most important business and market news, analysis and commentary: http://www.djnewsplus.com/access/al?rnd=JRpYnFx6gH%2FEWyKsVCS9MA%3D%3D. You can use this link on the day this article is published and the following day.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
November 07, 2009 03:00 ET (08:00 GMT)
DJMN: Important New Power Plant, Supplied By Wärtsilä, To Be Inaugurated Today In Pakistan
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November 07, 2009 03:00 ET (08:00 GMT)
DJMN: Eleven Presumed Dead In Russian Military Plane Crash -Official
MOSCOW (AFP)--A Russian military plane crashed into the sea during a training exercise in Russia's Far East region, leaving all 11 crew members missing and presumed dead, officials said on Saturday.
The Tupolev Tu-142 plane disappeared from radar as it was coming to the end of a training mission Friday over the Tatarski Strait that divides Russia's Far East island of Sakhalin from the mainland, the defense ministry said.
"Given the conditions under which the catastrophe took place, we can presume that all the crew aboard the Tu-142 were killed," a source in the emergencies ministry told the RIA Novosti news agency.
"But search operations will continue as long as there is the slightest hope of finding someone alive," the official added.
Military sources told Russian news agencies that there were 11 crew aboard the plane. Previously, officials had said there were 10 crew members.
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(END) Dow Jones Newswires
November 07, 2009 02:53 ET (07:53 GMT)
DJMN: HSBC Slashes Prize Money Of Women's Champions Golf Tournament
SHANGHAI (AFP)--Global banking giant HSBC Holdings PLC (HBC, HSBA.LN, 0005.HK) said Saturday it was renewing its sponsorship of the Women's Champions tournament for the next three years, but prize money would be slashed.
The tournament regularly attracts the world's top 10 players, but as the global downturn bites, the prize purse will be reduced in 2010 by $700,000 to $1.3 million.
It will remain in Singapore until at least 2012.
The USLPGA Tour event, won last year by South Korea's Shin Ji-Yai, has been held twice previously to complement the HSBC Champions, a $7 million tournament for men under way in Shanghai.
"We are firm in our commitment to women's golf. The tournament will not change," HSBC Singapore Chief Executive Guy Harvey-Samuel said in Shanghai.
The next Women's Champions will be held Feb. 25-28.
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(END) Dow Jones Newswires
November 07, 2009 02:42 ET (07:42 GMT)
DJMN: Army Spokesman Says Injured Likely Not From 'Friendly Fire'
(MORE TO FOLLOW) Dow Jones Newswires
November 07, 2009 00:24 ET (05:24 GMT)
DJMN: News Corp’s Rupert Murdoch Hopes For Family Successor
MELBOURNE (Dow Jones)-News Corp. (NWSA, NWS.AU) Chairman Rupert Murdoch said he hopes one of his children will take over the running of the company when he stands down, but he's not ready to go just yet.
"I am sure one of them will emerge," Murdoch said in a television in interview aired in Australia Saturday. "It would be nice" he told Sky News, adding "every parent would like to see that. We're a close family."
Murdoch has four adult children--Prudence, Elisabeth, Lachlan and James--from his first two marriages. He has also two young daughters, Grace and Chloe, with his wife, Wendi Deng.
Succession planning is discussed by a committee every three or four months, Murdoch said, adding that the decision will be a matter for the board. But he noted added his family, which holds around 40% of the voting shares in News Corp., would likely have a say. News Corp. owns Dow Jones, publisher of this newswire.
While he "won't keep going and going," Murdoch isn't ready to retire from the global media company he set up. "When I start to lose it, I assure you that my kids will be telling me about it," he said.
Murdoch also said that the company may consider rolling out the online subscription model used by the Wall Street Journal across its other newspaper Web sites, where users can read the first paragraph of stories for free but must be subscribers to access full content. But the group will "take that slowly."
"It costs us a lot of money to put together good newspapers and good content," Murdoch said, but added access fees won't be "huge sums."
"We'd rather have fewer people on our Web sites, but paying," he said.
"There are no news Web sites...anywhere in the world making any serious money," Murdoch said. "There's not enough advertising in the world...to make all the Web sites profitable," he said.
He also defended the company's Fox News channel, which has been criticized by the White of biased programming. "They admit publicly, and we admit publicly, that our...reporters in the White House are absolutely fair," Murdoch said. He said the network has commentary shows, but its reporting of news is not biased.
Asked how U.S. President Barack Obama is doing, Murdoch said "badly."
"There is great worry," he said. "There is a lot of unemployment, business is very bad, and the Congress and it would seem the administration, is somewhat antibusiness. So you are not going to get people starting new businesses or expanding while you have got this atmosphere...it is a general perception."
In a separate interview published Saturday by the Herald Sun newspaper, Murdoch said while he is interested in increasing his stake in Australian pay television group Foxtel, he would only consider doing so if he could buy Telstra Corp.'s (TLS) 50% interest in the group.
Buying Consolidated Media Holdings Ltd.'s (CMJ.AU) 25% stake would not be worthwhile, Murdoch told the newspaper. "There'd be no point unless you were going to get the whole thing," Murdoch said.
News Corp. owns 25% of Foxtel, Australia's largest pay television platform.
He also said the group was not interested in General Electric's (GE) NBC television network, even if he were able to buy a second television network in the U.S. "In its present condition it's unsaleable," Murdoch said of NBC, adding he was also not interested in NBC's Universal movie studios.
Murdoch also told the newspaper that he expects that the recovery in the U.S. economy will be slow.
"I think the danger of a double-dip [back into recession] is unlikely and there's a case that can be made that it has turned the corner and will recover strongly," he said.
-By Lyndal McFarland, Dow Jones Newswires; lyndal.mcfarland@dowjones.com
Click here to go to Dow Jones NewsPlus, a web front page of today's most important business and market news, analysis and commentary: http://www.djnewsplus.com/access/al?rnd=JRpYnFx6gH%2FEWyKsVCS9MA%3D%3D. You can use this link on the day this article is published and the following day.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
November 07, 2009 00:05 ET (05:05 GMT)
DJMN: CEO SREDNI Registers 120,000 Of TRADESTATION GROUP INC >TRAD
SOURCE: Form 144
ISSUER: TRADESTATION GROUP INC
SYMBOL: TRAD
FILER: SREDNI SALOMON
TITLE: Chief Executive Officer
BROKER: TRADESTATION SECURITIES INC
RESTRICTED SHARES TO SELL: 120,000 DATE REGISTERED: 11/6/2009
APPROXIMATE DATE OF SALE: 11/6/2009
The Form 144 is filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission to
reflect the intention of any holder of restricted stock to sell those
shares. After the 144 is mailed to the S.E.C., the filer is permitted
to sell the shares, or any fraction of them, within 90 days.
Form 144 Data Source: The Washington Service
(info@washingtonservice.com or 301-913-5100)
Click here to go to Dow Jones NewsPlus, a web front page of today's most important business and market news, analysis and commentary: http://www.djnewsplus.com/access/al?rnd=eK%2FoC0VnMKIcpQjLj5%2BcGg%3D%3D. You can use this link on the day this article is published and the following day.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
November 06, 2009 22:42 ET (03:42 GMT)
DJMN: Suspect In Ft. Hood Shooting Moved To Military Hospital
FORT HOOD (AFP)--The military officer suspected in the shooting deaths of 13 people here was transferred Friday from a civilian to a military hospital in part for security reasons, a military official said.
Major Nidal Hasan, who was shot by police to stop a rampage Thursday at Fort Hood, was moved to the Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio Texas, said Colonel John Rossi, the base's deputy commander.
"The suspect Major Hasan was transported today approximately [at] 3:00 p.m. to Brook Army Medical Center," he told reporters.
Rossi said investigators believe Hasan fired more than 100 rounds during the incident, and that that accounted for the high number of casualties.
Based on cartridges recovered at the scene, Rossi said "all indications are this is not a friendly fire incident."
He said the victims were shot in an enclosed troops processing center, but Hasan was gunned down in an open area by two civilian police officers, one of whom was also wounded but was in stable condition.
Of 30 people wounded in the attack, 23 remained hospitalized, about half of them in intensive care, he said.
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(END) Dow Jones Newswires
November 06, 2009 22:16 ET (03:16 GMT)
DJMN: Holiday Advisory: Pakistan Celebrates Iqbal Day Monday
Monday, November 9
Iqbal Day
Pakistan Markets, banks, businesses and government offices close.
Wednesday, November 11
Rememberance Day
Canada Markets, banks, businesses and government offices close.
Veterans' Day
U.S. Government offices close.
Monday, November 16
Revolution Day
Mexico Markets, banks, businesses and government offices close.
Monday, November 23
Labor Thanksgiving Day
Japan Markets, banks, businesses and government offices close.
Thursday, November 26
Thanksgiving Day
U.S. Markets, banks, businesses and government offices close.
Friday, November 27
Ied Adha
Indonesia Markets, banks, businesses and government offices close.
Hari Raya Haji
Malaysia Markets, banks, businesses and government offices close.
Singapore Markets, banks, businesses and government offices close.
Monday, November 30
Andres Bonifacio Day
Philippines Markets, banks, businesses and government offices close.
Monday, December 7
King's Birthday (substitute for Dec 5)
Thailand Markets, banks, businesses and government offices close.
Thursday, December 10
Constitution Day
Thailand Markets, banks, businesses and government offices close.
Friday, December 18
Islamic New Year
Indonesia Markets, banks, businesses and government offices close.
Awal Muharram
Malaysia Markets, banks, businesses and government offices close.
Wednesday, December 23
Emperor's Birthday
Japan Markets, banks, businesses and government offices close.
Thursday, December 24
Christmas Eve
Hong Kong Markets on half-day session.
Indonesia Markets and government offices close.
Philippines Markets, banks, businesses and government offices close
Singapore Markets on half-day session.
Friday, December 25
Christmas Day
Australia Markets, banks, businesses and government offices close.
Hong Kong Markets, banks, businesses and government offices close.
India Markets, banks, businesses and government offices close.
Indonesia Markets, and government offices close.
Malaysia Markets, banks, businesses and government offices close.
Philippines Markets, banks, businesses and government offices close.
New Zealand Markets, banks, businesses and government offices close.
Singapore Markets, banks, businesses and government offices close.
South Korea Markets, banks, businesses and government offices close.
Mexico Markets, banks, businesses and government offices close
Canada Markets, banks, businesses and government offices close.
U.S. Markets, banks, businesses and government offices close.
Father of Nation Birth Anniversary
Pakistan Markets, banks, businesses and government offices close.
Click here to go to Dow Jones NewsPlus, a web front page of today's most important business and market news, analysis and commentary: http://www.djnewsplus.com/access/al?rnd=eK%2FoC0VnMKIcpQjLj5%2BcGg%3D%3D. You can use this link on the day this article is published and the following day.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
November 06, 2009 20:00 ET (01:00 GMT)
DJMN: UPDATE: Ecuador 2010 Budget Draft Totals $21.28 Bln
(Updates with details)
By Mercedes Alvaro
Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
QUITO (Dow Jones)--Ecuador's government has proposed a $21.28 billion budget for next year, an 11% increase from the $19.17 billion budget proposed for 2009, according the proposals submitted on Friday to the National Assembly.
Ecuador's government submitted the 2009 and the 2010 budget proposals to the National Assembly, along with the required four yearly budget proposals covering the years 2009 to 2013.
The 2010 budget proposal has a deficit of around $3 billion. It forecasts a 6.81% increase in gross domestic product, including 7.67% growth in the non-oil sector and 1.3% growth in the oil industry.
The GDP is forecast at a level of $56.96 billion for 2010.
Ecuador expects external financing of about $2.18 billion and internal financing of $1.9 billion in 2010.
Inflation for 2010 is forecast at 3.4%.
The government expects revenues of $13.84 billion, $8.16 billion of which should come from taxes and $3.21 billion from oil-related activities.
The government has established an average price assumption for crude oil of $65.9 per barrel, with production forecast at 178.4 million barrels.
Ecuador's central government is forecast to end 2010 with a primary surplus of 4.2% of gross domestic product and with a global deficit of 5.3% of GDP.
According to the new constitution, approved last year, the executive branch must submit a budget forecast for each four-year period, in addition to the annual budget.
So far this year, the government has been working with a referential budget of $15 billion.
The 2010 budget includes around $3 billion for oil product imports that in previous years were not included in the fiscal budgets.
The amount earmarked for salaries for 2001 is $5.84 billion.
Local analysts said the 2010 budget maintains the government's heavy public spending which is unsustainable in the long term.
As of Friday, the National Assembly has 30 days to vote on the budget proposals.
On Friday, the Assembly also received the national development plan for the 2010-2013 period.
Depending on oil prices, Ecuador plans to invest between $18.9 billion and $22.30 billion from 2010 through 2013.
-By Mercedes Alvaro, Dow Jones Newswires; 5939-9728-653; mercedes.alvaro@dowjones.com
Click here to go to Dow Jones NewsPlus, a web front page of today's most important business and market news, analysis and commentary: http://www.djnewsplus.com/access/al?rnd=eK%2FoC0VnMKIcpQjLj5%2BcGg%3D%3D. You can use this link on the day this article is published and the following day.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
November 06, 2009 19:44 ET (00:44 GMT)
DJMN: US Regulators Close Prosperan Bank, Gateway Bank
By Michael R. Crittenden
Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
WASHINGTON (Dow Jones)--U.S. regulators took over banks in Minnesota and St. Louis Friday evening, bringing to 119 the number of U.S. institutions that have failed in 2009.
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. said in a release that Oakdale, Minn.-based Prosperan Bank and Gateway bank of St. Louis were both shut down by regulators. They were the third and fourth banks to fail on Friday, as failures reached levels not seen since the savings and loan crisis of the early 1990s.
The agency said Prosperan Bank's $175.6 million in total deposts would be acquired by Alerus Financial of Grand Forks, N.D. Alerus, which paid the FDIC a premium for the deposits, also agreed to acquire approximately $173.9 million of Prosperan's assets. The assets are subject to a loss-sharing agreement between Alerus and the FDIC, the agency said.
The failure is expected to cost the FDIC's deposit insurance fund $60.1 million.
The FDIC reached a similar agreement with Kansas City, Mo.-based Central Bank, which agreed to acquire essentially all of Gateway Bank's $27.9 million in deposits and $27.7 million in assets. The cost of Gateway Bank's failure is expected to cost the FDIC $9.2 million.
Earlier Friday, regulators closed Georgia-based United Security Bank and Home Federal Savings Bank of Detroit. Those two failures were estimated to cost the FDIC a combined $63.4 million.
-By Michael R. Crittenden, Dow Jones Newswires; 202-862-9273; michael.crittenden@dowjones.com
Click here to go to Dow Jones NewsPlus, a web front page of today's most important business and market news, analysis and commentary: http://www.djnewsplus.com/access/al?rnd=eK%2FoC0VnMKIcpQjLj5%2BcGg%3D%3D. You can use this link on the day this article is published and the following day.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
November 06, 2009 19:34 ET (00:34 GMT)
DJMN: US Regulators Close Prosperan Bank, Gateway Bank
(MORE TO FOLLOW) Dow Jones Newswires
November 06, 2009 19:12 ET (00:12 GMT)
DJMN: SCOLR Pharma 3Q Loss/Shr 4c >DDD
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November 06, 2009 19:10 ET (00:10 GMT)
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