Global Articles on what is going on...posted daily

[sandi66]

ICAI seeks changes in accounting practices in commercial banks

2010-10-05 04:50:00

The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI), the national standard setting body of auditors, has proposed comprehensive changes to the current accounting practices in commercial banks to make bank audits foolproof and effective.

The auditing restructure will imbibe the spirit of banking regulator Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI’s) Know Your Customer (KYC) principles and help check financial frauds, identify money laundering and suspicious activities and scrutinise large cash transactions.

The proposed changes had been submitted to the Indian Banks’ Association, Amarjit Chopra, president of ICAI said.

"Currently, the auditors are bogged down by routine auditing requirements and are unable to be vigilant against possible frauds. Once the audit requirements are restructured and re-prioritised, auditors can ensure compliance level with credit dispersal and take care of overdue bills, payments etc," Chopra said.

The apex bank has been stressing on KYC guidelines to safeguard banks from being used for the transfer or deposit of money from suspicious origins.

The new system, if approved, will allow auditors to ensure even the authenticity of customer identification methods followed by banks.

Under KYC norms, banks are required to issue travelers cheques, demand drafts, mail transfers and telegraphic transfers of Rs 50,000 and above only by debit to customers’ accounts or against cheques. Similarly, banks are required to keep a close watch on cash withdrawals and deposits of Rs 10,00,000 and above and maintain proper records of such transactions.

RBI’s KYC guidelines talk about the establishment of internal control systems, checks against terrorism finance, need for periodic, independent evaluation of such controls and adherence to the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act.

According to Chopra, the new responsibilities will also see that auditors are eligible for much higher fee than what they charge on Monday.

"The fee levels in concurrent audit (in banks) are abnormally low keeping in view the stipulations in the agreement. The revised proposal will definitely lead to prioritising those work requirements and also set a minimum fee structure."

sify.com/finance/icai-seeks-changes-in-accounting-practices-in-commercial-banks-news-banking-kkfeObghaaj.html

[sandi66]

FBI officially confirms 6 more Russian names in U.S. banking fraud

04:04 05/10/2010


FBI officially notifies Russia of 4 arrested Russians in banking fraud

25 Russians charged in large-scale U.S. banking fraud
25 Russians accused of stealing $3 mln from U.S. bank accounts
Hackers from ex-Soviet states charged in U.S. card fraud case

The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation has officially informed the Russian Consulate General on the detainment of six more Russians involved a large-scale banking fraud, a Russian vice consul said.

The Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York said last Friday that a total of 25 Russians have been charged in a large-scale banking fraud case in the United States.

The FBI, however, officially notified the Russian diplomats last Friday on the detainment of five Russian nationals, which with Monday's notification brings the total number of the officially detained suspects to 11.

"The FBI sent a notification on Monday on the detainment of six more Russian citizens. They are Marina Misyura, Dmitry Saprunov, Kasum Adigyuzelov, Sabina Rafikova, Yulia Klepikova, Anton Yuferitsyn," Alexander Otchainov said.

The previous notifications from the FBI to the Russian Consulate General had the names of Adel Gataullin, Maxim Miroshnichenko, Kristina Svechinskaya, Yulia Sidorenko and Margarita Pakhomova.

The Russians are believed to have been involved in a global cyber crime scheme that resulted in over $3 million being stolen from U.S. bank accounts. Charges brought against them include conspiracy to commit bank fraud, money laundering and passport fraud.

Prosecutors said most of the detainees had been used by East European hackers as "money mules" to open bank accounts later used to receive and transfer the stolen funds. They may face up to 30 years in prison as well as fines of up to $1 million.

The fraudulent scheme used the Zeus Trojan virus. When computer users clicked on a link or opened an attached file, malware was activated, which noted usernames and passwords that the victims typed on infected computers, the FBI said.

en.rian.ru/world/20101005/160832647.html



en.rian.ru/world/20101005/160832647.html

[sandi66]

Mayor Wrapped Up In Money Laundering And Fraud


October 4, 2010

Mayor of Nogales, Octavio Garcia Von Borstel, and his father were arrested on charges of money laundering and fraud on September 30, according to Fox 11 Arizona.

The city is forced to carry on as business as usual even though Garcia remains locked up at the Santa Cruz County sheriff's office.

While the shock of the arrest is apparent throughout the city, City Manager Shane Dille said, "I came to work this morning at eight o'clock and we were running, rocking and rolling with just the normal day to day routine, what we need to do to provide services to the community," reported Fox 11.

Vice Mayor Olga Valdez will take over as interim mayor while Garcia's criminal case moves forward.

Fortunately for the city, the mayor is of a ceremonial figure while the city manager makes the decisions as a CEO.

The mayor and his father remain in jail under a $250,000 bail.

"[He was] somebody who had put himself in a position of doing a lot of good for a lot of people," said Dille. "If at the end of the day the law determines that he is guilty I would think that is a huge tragedy," according to Fox 11.

Life in local government can certainly get difficult at times. However, when you think times are rough in your area ... well, "It Could Be Worse."

"It Could Be Worse" focuses on a range of embarrassing stories out there, dedicated to some of the more interesting happenings with those involved in local government across the country.

www.publicceo.com/index.php/itcouldbeworse/2118-mayor-wrapped-up-in-money-laundering-and-fraud

[sandi66]

Six more agencies added to anti-money laundering act
Stock dealers, stock brokers included



Tuesday, October 5, 2010



Six more organisations including stock traders have been brought under the Anti-Money Laundering Act (AMLA) as reporting agencies, officials said Monday.

The agencies, which are newly included, are stock dealers and stock brokers, portfolios managers and merchant bankers, securities custodian, asset managers, non-profit organisations and non-government organisations.

The central bank of Bangladesh issued a circular in this connection Monday and asked chief executives and managing directors of the organisations including commercial banks and non-banking financial institutions (NBFIs) to maintain the instructions properly.

Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) president Shakil Rizvi said the BB's new circular will not have any impact on the share market because general investors are not included in the instruction.

"The central bank included stock traders as reporting agencies under the AMLA and it would not create any panic in the market," the DSE chief told the FE.

"We've brought the organisations under the AMLA as reporting agencies in line with the decisions of National Coordination Committee (NCC) on Anti-money Laundering, headed by Finance Minister AMA Muhith," a senior official of the Bangladesh Bank (BB) told the FE.

He also said the committee has taken the latest move to upgrade the country's Anti-money Laundering Act, 2009 to the international standard.

Currently, commercial banks, non-banking financial institutions (NBFIs), insurance companies and money changers have to report to the central bank on any suspicious transaction.

Under the existing AMLA, the reporting agencies will have to inform the Anti-money Laundering Department of the central bank instantly if they detect any suspicious transaction.

The central bank will now be able to penalise the agencies anywhere between Tk 10,000 and Tk 0.5 million for failure to submit reports related to money laundering, according to the Act.

Besides, financing terrorist activities, food adulteration, environment pollution, sexual exploitation, insider trading and market manipulation and organised crimes have been treated as offences under the AMLA.

Regarding inclusion of share traders, the BB official said the country's whole financial sector including capital market would be brought under the AMLA to check illegal fund transfer.

"The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) on Money Laundering has recommended including the share market as reporting agency to make the country's AMLA global standard," the central bank official said, adding that it's also a political commitment of the government to implement the FATF recommendations.

The FATF has already approved 49 recommendations to curb money laundering.

The FATF is an inter-governmental body whose purpose is the development and promotion of policies, both national and international, to combat money laundering and financing of terrorism.

The BB official also said a large amount of money is being transacted in the capital market. "But neither the central bank nor the National Board of Revenue is aware of the volume of such transactions and the sources of the money transacted in the share market due to the lack of legal system," he added.

Besides, donors and international watchdog organisations have expressed their concern over the possible suspicious transaction made in the capital market, he noted.


www.thefinancialexpress-bd.com/more.php?news_id=113787&date=2010-10-05

[sandi66]

Emanuel Gets Earful in Chicago Listening Tour for Mayoral Run

Oct 4, 2010 5:05 PM ET

Rahm Emanuel discovered today that coming home to Chicago isn’t always sweet.

Rivals to the throne of retiring Mayor Richard M. Daley sent supporters to challenge the former White House chief of staff. Protesters jeered his role in President Barack Obama’s support for Wall Street banks. Black voters criticized him for what they said was the administration’s inability to help Chicago communities suffering from unemployment.

Emanuel crisscrossed the nation’s third-largest city today to talk to voters ahead of a potential mayoral bid. They gave him a fresh reminder that any campaign will test his reputation for deal-making, stamina and political toughness.

“You are going to be asked some hard-ball questions, and get your bat out,” said Paul Johnson, 49, who complained to Emanuel that the Obama administration has failed to deliver enough economic stimulus dollars to his south-side neighborhood. “Welcome to Chicago.”

Emanuel, 50, standing near an entryway of a restaurant long frequented by black politicians, responded: “Great. Thank you.”

He also received hugs, words of support and requests for autographs as he traded Air Force One for a Dodge minivan. Emanuel shook hands on a train platform, visited a vehicle licensing office, greeted diners at restaurants and walked along storefronts during his first day on the campaign trail after resigning the second most powerful White House job on Oct. 1.

Rainbow Coalition

His tour took him to neighborhoods that are predominantly black and Latino, both groups critical to political success in a city where non-Hispanic whites constitute 32 percent of the population.

Daley said Sept. 7 that he wouldn’t seek re-election to a seventh term. The city, with a 10.8 percent unemployment rate in August and an estimated $654.7 million deficit for 2011, has been led by the current Daley or his father, Richard J. Daley, for almost 43 of the past 55 years.

Emanuel hasn’t formally announced that he’s running. He told reporters that he anticipates voters will consider him qualified for the job.

“Yes, I am,” he said. “But look, they’ll judge that.”

Emanuel declined to answer most questions from reporters. He told three men seated at the south side restaurant that his own upbringing prepared him for political fights.

“I’m a middle child,” he said. “You know what our motto is? War or peace, we can do either one.”

Among the commuters Emanuel happened to shake hands with at the day’s first stop was Jerry Roper, president of the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce.

Crowded Field

“I think his chances are the same as the other 18 to 20 candidates,” Roper later said. “We feel it’s critical that we have a candidate who totally understands the fiscal responsibilities of running a corporation that’s probably north of $25 billion, someone that can produce a jobs agenda.”

Emanuel represented parts of Chicago’s north side and northwest suburbs as a Democratic congressman from 2003 until his appointment by Obama.

If he enters the race, Emanuel could tap the $1.1 million he has in his congressional campaign fund and knows the Chicago donor community well. He earned at least $17 million a decade ago during three years of investment banking, after leaving President Bill Clinton’s White House, where he was a political director and senior adviser.

Emanuel can’t live in his own home in Chicago while exploring a mayoral bid because he hasn’t been able to persuade the tenant in his 2,719-square-foot home to move out before the lease expires in June. A reporter asked if this would raise residency-requirement issues for him.

‘Love Their City’

“I think the main issue, really, is not my residency, but the residents of the city of Chicago and their concerns,” he said. “People are enthusiastic, energized. They love their city. They know it’s got challenges. And I think that’s what they want to talk about.”

A growing list of candidates is exploring bids for the office following Daley’s announcement that he wouldn’t run again. Gery Chico, a former Daley chief of staff whom the mayor appointed as chairman of the City Colleges of Chicago Board, announced his campaign last week.

Other potential candidates include Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart; state Senator James Meeks, minister of one of Chicago’s largest churches; Democratic Representative Luis Gutierrez; and former U.S. Senator Carol Moseley Braun, who conducted her own listening tour today.

Danny Davis, a black congressman from Chicago who is considering his own mayoral bid, said he would not support Emanuel.

‘Not the Center’

“Rahm is not the center of our interests in the mayoral election,” Davis said. “If you’re going to be mayor of Chicago, there are segments of the community that are always interested in having the most progressive mayor we can find.”

Nov. 22 is the last day to file nomination papers for the Feb. 22 election. If no candidate gets more than 50 percent, there will be an April 5 runoff for the top two vote-getters.

Before leaving the train station, Emanuel was approached by a motivational speaker from Chicago named Nathaniel Henry, 40. He handed Emanuel an autographed copy of his book.

www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-10-04/emanuel-hears-jeers-criticism-on-listening-tour-for-chicago-mayoral-run.html

[sandi66]

Obama Advisers Challenge President on Tax Cuts

October 4, 2010, 9:20 PM ET

President Obama got into a protracted public debate on Monday with two of his outside advisers over whether to extend the Bush-era tax breaks for upper-income taxpayers.

The answer from Obama essentially remained “no.” Still, the depth and breadth of the discussion suggested that Obama and his White House advisers are taking the objections to their position seriously, at a time when Democrats on Capitol Hill recently have shown themselves to be badly divided over the issue.

“This is something that we’re going to have to wrestle with as a society,” Obama said at one point near the end of the discussion.

The debate came at a meeting of Obama and his outside advisers on ideas for boosting the economy.

When Harvard professor Martin Feldstein’s turn came to talk, he suggested continuing the current tax rates for two years for everybody, then ending them. He said that course would bolster demand at a time when the economy is weak, and also would reduce the long-term federal debt that Obama projects.

William Donaldson, a former chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, then offered similar suggestions, saying that confusion over future tax policy is adding to business uncertainty.

Obama should “step forward with a statement that you’re not going to, at this time, increase taxes for anybody, and relieve that uncertainty,” he said. Both Donaldson and Feldstein have ties to previous Republican administrations.

In response, Obama offered two arguments:

To Feldstein’s suggestion, the president said that if the government extends the breaks for higher earners for a year or two, it will be forced to keep extending them forever.

“The consequences of extending the upper-income tax cuts—based on what we’ve heard fairly explicitly in the political environment—is that you do that now, you’re going to do it forever,” Obama said.

In response to Donaldson’s argument, Obama suggested that much of the current business uncertainty is, basically, psychological.

He used a playground analogy to characterize the idea that a tax increase would prompt businesses to limit new hiring and investments. Even if wealthy people don’t need a tax cut, “we should give them a tax cut … because otherwise we’re going to take the ball and go home,” Obama said.

“I understand the argument, and it may be true,” he added. But at the same time, he said, middle- and lower-income people will conclude that they’ll bear the cost of tax cuts for the wealthy through diminished government services.

When Feldstein said that raising tax rates on higher earners could be seen as another signal of the administration’s hostility to the business community, Obama interrupted.

The signal is that “they have to pay slightly higher taxes,” the president said.

Obama said later that he had expected the discussion on taxes to come up at the meeting and that he enjoyed the discussion, according to a press pool report. He briefly huddled with Feldstein and a couple of administration officials afterward.

blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2010/10/04/obama-advisers-challenge-president-on-tax-cuts/

[sandi66]

South Korea to Audit Banks Handling Foreign Currency
October 05, 2010, 1:03 AM EDT



Oct. 5 (Bloomberg) -- South Korean regulators plan to examine holdings of foreign-exchange derivatives at banks after the won gained more than any other Asian currency in the past three months.

The Bank of Korea and the Financial Supervisory Service will conduct an audit between Oct. 19 and Nov. 5 on currency swaps and options to check if banks are complying with measures announced on June 13, according to an e-mailed statement from the Ministry of Strategy and Finance today.

Domestic lenders in June were ordered to reduce holdings of the derivatives over the next two years to 50 percent of equity capital and branches of foreign banks in South Korea to 250 percent starting Oct. 9. They were instructed not to raise holdings beyond a July 9 deadline.

“We think the gains in the won were a bit fast,” Doh Boe Un, an official at the financial regulator who is involved in the audit, said in an interview in Seoul today. “We want to see the market stabilize and the measures are expected to curb volatility,” Doh said.

The won fell as much as 1.3 percent to 1,137.25 per dollar after the announcement from the finance ministry, and was down 1.1 percent at 1,134.33 as of 1:18 p.m. local time, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. It reached a five-month high of 1,122.30 yesterday and has appreciated 8.1 percent over the past three months.

‘Direct Intervention’

“The focus will be on changes in banks’ forward positions after they were given a three-month grace period before the rules start on Oct. 9,” today’s statement from the ministry said. Banks under examination will be notified by early next week and the number to be scrutinized may increase, Doh said, without mentioning how many will be checked.

“It looks like the government was trying to give the market a signal and it does look like there was a bit of speculative movement in the currency,” said Sung Jae Man, a foreign-exchange analyst at Tong Yang Securities Inc. in Seoul. “Direct intervention may have been a bit too much for the government. This may be effective in slowing the won’s gains.”

The nation is ready to battle speculators by intervening in the currency market, the finance ministry said yesterday in a report.

South Korea is vulnerable to a surge in capital flows as it’s a small, open economy, Vice Finance Minister Yim Jong Yong said on June 9, noting that $65 billion was removed from the country in the four to five months after the September 2008 collapse of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc.

Forwards are agreements in which assets are bought and sold at current prices for future delivery. Banks often borrow foreign currencies to offset exposure to price swings on the contracts.



www.businessweek.com/news/2010-10-05/south-korea-to-audit-banks-handling-foreign-currency.html

[sandi66]

HSBC launches leveraged version of Global Macro
05 Oct 2010 | 10:40




HSBC Global Asset Management has launched a leveraged version of its flagship Global Macro absolute return fund.

The HSBC GIF Global Macro II fund is a Ucits III Luxembourg Sicav managed using the same investment process as the original $847.5m (£524m)Global Macro fund.

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HSBC GIF Global Macro was launched in 2007 for co-managers Guillaume Rabault and Jim Dunsford, who will also run the new portfolio.

The aim of the fund is to exploit pricing anomalies within a range of asset classes including equities, bonds and currencies, using a combined qualitative and quantitative strategy.

Rather than using conventional gearing, Global Macro II will double up all the positions of the existing fund, the group says. The managers will use derivatives including futures, options, credit default swaps and currency forwards to generate returns.

The fund is targeting a return of 1200bp above Euribor1M, with up to twice the volatility of the existing fund.

Charles Robinson, the head of alternative distribution, says the launch is in response to client demand.

"Many macro investors seek higher returns and can stomach greater volatility so our base strategy is too conservative for these particular individuals to meet their needs.

"As we have prior experience in adjusting our capabilities to meet different return objectives, we were happy to engineer the same solution in our flagship Ucits III strategy," he says.



www.investmentweek.co.uk/investment-week/news/1740507/hsbc-launches-leveraged-version-global-macro

[sandi66]

ANALYSIS-Indonesia inflows surge raising risk of controls



Tuesday October 05, 2010 04:40:09 AM GMT



INDONESIA-ECONOMY/RATES (ANALYSIS, PIX)
* Slowing inflation takes pressure off cbank to hike this yr

* Bank Indonesia credibility gets boost, so do bond bulls

* Worries on inflows spur cbank to look at policy alternative

* Expectations rise Jakarta to take steps to control inflows

By Neil Chatterjee and Aditya Suharmoko

JAKARTA, Oct 5 (Reuters) - It's taken a year, but Indonesia's central bank has finally won over markets into accepting its dovish policy outlook. Still, it doesn't feel like a success.

Instead, the policy that is designed to reduce the allure of Indonesian assets to yield-hungry investors is attracting capital into the country's debt markets and increasing the risk that authorities will take steps to control the tide.

Foreign buying of government bonds has revived in the past month as markets accepted the central bank will keep to its promise of holding its policy rate at a record low well into 2011, a view underlined by a policy meeting on Tuesday.

Foreigners now own a record 28.2 percent of the market, well above the levels seen in other Asian countries.

Like other emerging markets, Indonesia is concerned that a flood of capital into the country now could just as easily flood out later -- such as when developed markets stabilise and look poised to start a monetary tightening cycle -- and so knock the economy for six.

The Asian financial crisis in 1997/98, when capital flight brought several Asian economies including Indonesia's to its knees, remains a raw memory.

"Judging by the recent pace of inflows over the past weeks I wouldn't be surprised if at some point we see more administrative measures," said Helmi Arman, bond strategist at Bank Danamon in Jakarta.

In June, the central bank imposed a 28-day holding period on its popular bills and pushed investors towards longer-dated bills and government bonds to cope with the foreign money flooding into the short end of the debt market.

The move calmed volatility but has done little to reduce the allure of Indonesian debt, which yields several times more than equivalent debt in developed markets.

RATE RISE A LAST RESORT?

Foreign bond investment had eased up in anticipation of a central bank rate rises this year. Instead, Bank Indonesia raised bank reserve requirements in September, persuading markets that raising rates would be a last resort.

The latest Reuters poll at the end of September showed expectations for the first rate rise to be in the first quarter of 2011.

Indeed, Tuesday's rate meeting and data on Friday showing September inflation slowed more than forecast -- as the central bank had predicted earlier this year -- may push expectations back further.

"This will strengthen BI's resolve to keep the BI rate at 6.5 for much longer," said Danamon's Arman, who doesn't expect the central bank to raise rates until the second quarter of 2011.

With inflation potentially under control for now, and renewed worries over a double-dip recession leading central banks in the United States, Japan and the United Kingdom to weigh measures to loosen monetary policy further, BI is suddenly looking prescient.

Controlling its historic problem of inflation -- which hit 12 percent in 2008 and lead to a 26 percent slide in the rupiah -- will improve its credibility and odds of a ratings upgrade.

Foreign demand has lopped 260 basis points off the 10-year government bond yield this year. It now yields 7.46 percent, a record low but 5 percentage points over U.S. 10-year bond yields and well above corresponding debt in Thailand and Mexico.

The central bank is convinced it has chosen the lesser of the evils by keeping rates at a record low. If it raised rates, capital inflows would be even greater, it argues.

"If the BI rate increases, there will be additional capital inflows," said Deputy Governor Hartadi A. Sarwono at a briefing.

The inflows have pushed the rupiah up 5.4 percent this year. Last week, Finance Minister Agus Martowardojo expressed his concern, saying he did not want to see the currency overvalued.

"We have other initiatives to tackle hot money," he told Reuters.

Indonesia's views are echoed elsewhere. Asian central banks spent an estimated $16 billion last week on currency intervention to curb strength in their currencies against a weak U.S. dollar and policymakers have warned of measures to control the inflows. Brazil doubled a tax on foreign bond purchases.

CONTROL THE TIDE

Analysts say Indonesia is unlikely to impose outright capital controls for fear of scaring off investors and hurting its chances of securing an investment grade credit rating which the finance minister says could happen as soon as next year.

It also knows that investors can be quick to turn against a country that imposes capital controls. Draconian controls imposed by Thailand in 2006 sparked the biggest one-day plunge in its stock market, forcing authorities to back track.

"They know the long-term damage that can do," said Wellian Wiranto, an economist at HSBC in Singapore.

So any measures are likely to be ones that encourage investors further along the yield curve, similar to those put in place by the central bank in June, analysts say.

These could include the introduction of 12-month central bank debt to draw funds away from its shorter-term bills and steps to drain liquidity by pushing banks to lend more.

But the central bank risks sudden outflows in 2011 if it falls behind the curve in any bout of global risk aversion or when developed nations finally start normalising policy rates.

"Vulnerability to the volatility of international capital flows remains significant," said Enrique Blanco Armas, a senior World Bank economist. "The capital inflows are making policymaking and monetary policy more difficult." ($1=8932 Rupiah)



www.forexyard.com/en/news/ANALYSIS-Indonesia-inflows-surge-raising-risk-of-controls-2010-10-05T094004Z

[sandi66]

OCTOBER 5, 2010, 5:29 A.M. ET
Bank Lobby AFME Makes Key Forex Appointment


LONDON (Dow Jones)--Foreign-exchange dealing banks strengthened their hand in negotiations with politicians and regulators Tuesday as trade body The Association for Financial Markets in Europe named a senior appointment in its new currencies division.

The body already has heavyweight backing as Zar Amrolia, global head of currencies at Deutsche Bank AG (DB)--the biggest bank in the $4 trillion-a-day currencies business--holds the role as chairman of the AFME FX, which was established in June.

The AFME, whose currencies arm represents the views of 20 big dealing banks, named technology specialist James Kemp as managing director for the division.

The appointments comes at a crucial time for the industry as banks face pressure to shift many types of trading onto equities-style exchanges, and also face the risk that politicians may impose taxes on cross-border currencies flows.

"This is a very important time for the foreign exchange industry and we need to work closely with regulators and legislators to ensure that the role of foreign exchange in global trade and capital flows is well understood," said Amrolia.

"There are some significant issues that the new currencies division will need to take up, such as the implications of some [U.S.] legislation and the European Commission's proposals on [over-the-counter] derivatives, central counterparties, and trade repositories," said Kemp, who founded Stentra, an electronic currencies-trading platform, in 2002.

AFME FX represents the views of 20 large currencies-dealing banks, which between them handle around 85% of flows in the foreign-exchange market.



online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20101005-703051.html

[sandi66]

Europe calls on China to let currency appreciate

By GABRIELE STEINHAUSER (AP) – 22 minutes ago



October 5, 2010



BRUSSELS — The 16 nations that use the euro on Tuesday urged China to allow its currency to appreciate, stressing that the country's insistence on keeping the yuan weak is hampering global growth by creating trade deficits in the U.S. and Europe.

Luxembourg's Jean-Claude Juncker, head of the eurozone, EU Monetary Affairs Commissioner Olli Rehn and European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet told Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao that the yuan's "effective exchange rate remains undervalued."

China is under mounting pressure to loosen its tight grip on the yuan's value, which it keeps artificially low against the dollar and other key currencies, as Beijing's trade partners worry about their trade deficits with the world's biggest exporter and second-biggest economy.

"Given China's important role we do think that a significant and broad-based appreciation" of China's currency would "promote a more balanced growth to the benefit of both China and the global economy," said Juncker.

Echoing strong U.S. concerns, the three urged China to stoke more domestic demand — a stronger currency would provide Chinese households with more power to purchase and import goods.

Juncker said Europe had welcomed China's June 19 decision to make the yuan's exchange rate more flexible but added that has not worked well enough.

The euro-yuan rate is not "what we would have hoped," the European leaders said.

In response to recent market speculation about a possible currency war, Juncker said, "this would be most destructive as would be any form of trade protectionism."

American manufacturers argue that China's currency is undervalued by up to 40 percent against the dollar. That makes Chinese products cheaper and more competitive in the United States and American products more expensive in China.

Last week, the U.S. House of Representatives approved legislation enabling Washington to seek trade sanctions against China and other nations for manipulating their currencies to gain competitive advantages.

The yuan has weakened against the euro in recent months, which could affect exports from the 16 countries that use the euro at a time when the region is struggling to maintain growth amid government cuts and worries about sovereign debt in some countries.

Wen met with the EU officials during a 48-nation Europe-Asia summit meeting.

On Monday, Wen told the gathering that the surging economies of Asia should be granted more power in the traditionally Western-dominated global financial institutions. Wen said Asia wants Europe to give up some of its seats at the International Monetary Fund, the international lender charged with helping countries that get into currency and financial crises.



www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jOqBwIQPNDYqTuZ_UjM7hhsk1x2gD9ILF27G0?docId=D9ILF27G0

[sandi66]

World Bank seeks action to quell economic tensions
Published on Tue, Oct 05, 2010 at 12:43 | Updated at Tue, Oct 05, 2010 at 13:09

World Bank President Robert Zoellick on Monday called for policy actions to quell growing tensions over currencies and to shore up confidence in the sputtering global economic recovery.



Zoellick said slow growth in advanced economies and the threat of asset bubbles in booming emerging market countries present growing risks that global finance officials, who gather in Washington later this week, need to tackle.



The uneven pattern of world growth has raised concerns about tit-for-tat policy responses as nations seek to protect their trade competitiveness as the US dollar slumps on expectations of a further easing in US monetary policy.



Japan intervened in foreign exchange markets for the first time in six years on Sept. 15 to drive down the yen, as several emerging markets have done with their currencies, prompting Brazil last week to warn of a "currency war."



"I don't foresee that we're moving into an era of global currency wars but there are clearly going to be tensions," Zoellick told reporters ahead of meetings this week of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund.



"Money is chasing yield. It can't find those yields in developed economies and this is not only pushing up currency values in developing countries... (but) also pushing up prices in assets with the risk of bubbles in property and some commodities," he added.



Zoellick said the pace of the global recovery had eased since May and will not be rapid enough to lower unemployment rates, while the bounce-back in world trade had probably come to an end. For now, he said the World Bank did not see a return of the global recession.



"We need pro-growth policies," he said. "This challenging environment calls for further concrete policy responses."



The search for better returns has led investors to flock to fast-growing emerging markets.

The Institute of International Finance on Monday revised up its forecasts for private capital flows to emerging markets in 2010 by USD 116 billion to USD 825 billion, and said it expected them to rise further to USD 833 billion in 2011. Last year, these flows totalled just USD 581 billion.



The IIF, which represents over 420 member banks in more than 70 countries, said emerging market nations were concerned their currencies could become "unduly strong" given the low interest rate environment was expected to continue in developed economies for longer than initially thought.



"The near-term danger, however, is that this upward pressure escalates and market adjustment becomes disorderly, causing renewed strains in global financial markets and, possibly, igniting policy tensions and, possibly, protectionist measures between key economies, most obviously, the U.S. and China," the IIF added.



U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner has vowed to enlist other Group of 20 nations to pressure China to let its yuan currency rise more in value against the dollar. The U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday passed a bill to push China on the yuan; but the Senate has not acted.



The IIF said China should allow its currency to appreciate against the dollar, but it also said the U.S. central bank should evaluate the costs and benefits of a potential further easing in monetary policy from a global perspective, not just a domestic one.



With foreign exchange issues expected to dominate the talks in Washington this week, IIF Managing Director Charles Dallara called on a core group of leading economies to take urgent action to ensure a lasting economic recovery by addressing currency tensions and bolstering waning global coordination.



In particular, he called on the United States, China, Japan and the euro zone to broker agreements on fiscal issues, structural reforms and exchange rate policies to rebalance the global economy.



Dallara said more global coordination was also needed on regulatory issues, where some countries are pushing to go beyond the new standards on bank capital and liquidity as proposed by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision, which are set to be endorsed by G20 leaders at a summit in November.



"Since the Basel announcement, some national authorities have indicated they they intend to place additional regulatory requirements on firms or to accelerate implementation," he said. "If we go down the road of fragmentation, we will increasingly live in a world characterized by inefficient financial market structures, regulatory arbitrage and uncertainty."



www.moneycontrol.com/news/world-news/world-bank-seeks-action-to-quell-economic-tensions_488940.html

[sandi66]

You Heard It Here First: A Global Currency War is Being Fought – And There Will Be No Victors



October 5, 2010



Brazil's finance minister, Guido Mantega, recently acknowledged to the global investment community what most trade officials already believed: An "international currency war" has broken out.

And, in this war, there won't be a real victor.

"We're in the midst of an international currency war, a general weakening of currency," Mantega told The Financial Times. "This threatens us because it takes away our competitiveness."

Mantega's comments came just weeks after Japan joined Switzerland in intervening in the foreign-exchange market. But the reality is that the currency war has been under way since 2008.

At least, that's when Money Morning Chief Investment Strategist Keith Fitz-Gerald first warned that countries - most notably the United States - would debase their currencies in a race to boost their exports and keep economic growth afloat.

"The government has adopted a weak-dollar policy," Fitz-Gerald said in an interview in March 2008. "They're sending out a message loud and clear: 'We want you to sell the dollar.'"

By holding the central bank's benchmark lending rate down in a record low range of 0.00% to 0.25% for close to two years now and buying up Treasuries in a policy known as "quantitative easing," the U.S. Federal Reserve is effectively debasing the dollar.

But the U.S. central bank isn't alone.


The Swiss central bank has been intervening to prevent the appreciation of the Swiss franc against the euro for close to six months now. The last time it intervened was in 2002.

Japan just last month sold an estimated $20 billion yen, as the currency surged to a little short of 90 to the dollar, the strongest in 15 years. The last time it intervened to sell yen in the foreign-exchange market was in 2004, when the yen was around 109 per dollar.

Some analysts and Japanese policymakers had theorized that China was attempting to hamper Japan 's recovery by purchasing Japanese bonds to keep the yen excessively strong.

"I don't know the true intention" behind China's purchase of $6.9 billion (583.1 billion yen) of Japanese government bonds in July, Finance Minister Yoshihiko Noda said earlier this month.

China, of course, intervenes in the currency market simply and directly by pegging the yuan to the dollar, despite pressure from the United States to let the currency appreciate.

Additionally, central banks and governments in Colombia, Thailand, Poland, Taiwan, Russia, Peru, Mexico, and South Africa are now either intervening directly in foreign exchange markets to try to force their currencies down, or talking about it.

South Korea has shown as much alacrity in intervening to keep the won weak, but it intends to skirt the issue when it hosts the next Group of 20 meeting in Seoul next month. China is South Korea's neighbor and largest trading partner.

"By the nature of the G-20, which is an open forum, we may discuss for example the general approach toward foreign exchange rates... or the impact foreign exchange could have on the global economy," Yoon Jeung-hyun told Reuters. "But aside from that, I do not believe that it is appropriate to have a discussion regarding the foreign exchange rate or level of a specific country."

That's because competitive devaluation has replaced the traditional economic growth models.

"Since about 2001, whenever any currency rises too much, the local manufacturers or farmers - or anyone who lives by exporting - start to scream about it. Their local governments respond by doing all they can to lower the value of that currency, having it fall in value and thus making exports cheaper - all this in the hope that the domestic economy will become better," Money Morning Contributing Editor Chris Weber said in a post last year. "Pick any period so far in this young century and you'll see that this is true."

Another problem is that the global recovery is occurring at two speeds, with emerging markets powering ahead, while developed nations stagnate. This has created a yawning interest rate gap as the central banks in developed countries leave their benchmark rates at emergency settings to stimulate demand, and policymakers in emerging markets raise rates to combat inflation. The temptation to exploit this gap is often too much for traders to ignore.

Unfortunately, this "race to the bottom," as it's been called by Money Morning Contributing Writer Peter Schiff, will have no winners. It will only have losers, the biggest of which will be the United States.

"Given the U.S. dollar's status as the world's reserve currency, America's oversized status as the world's biggest consumer, and the influence of overseas export-oriented businesses on their home governments, the falling dollar is a difficult issue for many countries to ignore," said Schiff. "And with the imminent arrival of a second round of 'quantitative easing' from the Fed, the big guns of dollar destruction are being locked and loaded. The move looks poised to set off a frantic race to the bottom among global currencies, which will have important ramifications for every investor. Unfortunately, this is one race the United States is poised to win."

That's a big reason why the price of gold last week sky-rocked to a new record high above $1,300 an ounce.
"Against this backdrop, one of the smartest things for investors to do is buy those things that not only appreciate amidst failing fundamentals, but which preserve their wealth at the same time - case in point gold and other precious metals," says Money Morning's Fitz-Gerald. "I continue to believe that we're in a long-term commodities bull market no question about it. Commodities may drop in the short term, but any such moves will likely be reviewed in history's rearview mirrors as buying opportunities, for at least the next ten years."


moneymorning.com/2010/10/05/currency-war/

[sandi66]

Alleged arms dealer a step closer to extradition
Posted 24 minutes ago - October 5, 2010



A Thai court has dismissed money-laundering and fraud charges against alleged Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout, removing a major obstacle to his extradition to the United States.

An appeals court in August ordered Bout be handed over to Washington on terrorism charges, angering Russia, but the process has been held up by technicalities over the new accusations.

Thailand's criminal court has now dismissed proceedings surrounding the new charges, citing insufficient evidence.

Prosecutors say they will not appeal.

But the long-running extradition battle may not be over yet because Bout's defence lawyer says he is planning a last-ditch legal challenge against the extradition order issued in August.

Bout, a 43-year-old former Soviet air force pilot, was arrested in 2008 after a sting operation in Bangkok involving undercover US agents posing as rebels from Colombia's Marxist FARC group.

Wearing a bullet-proof vest and shackles, he was escorted to court from a high-security Bangkok prison by a team of police commandos for a second straight day of hearings.

His wife, Alla Bout, told reporters the US was trying to use her husband "as a scapegoat to undermine Russian influence".

"The US wants to stage a big show trial and hang on him everything that they don't know who committed anywhere in the world," she said.

He faces a maximum sentence of life in prison if convicted in the US on charges including conspiracy to kill US nationals and providing materiel support or resources to a foreign terrorist organisation.

Bout has argued he could not expect to receive a fair trial in the US.

Russia has previously said the extradition attempt was politically motivated, vowing "to do everything necessary" to bring Bout home.

- AFP



www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/10/05/3030334.htm?section=justin

[sandi66]

EDITORIAL: Other shoe finally drops in gambling probe


Published: Tuesday, October 5, 2010 at 3:30 a.m.
Last Modified: Monday, October 4, 2010 at 9:00 p.m.


The other shoe has finally dropped.



During the waning days of this year’s legislative session, the U.S. Department of Justice and the FBI swooped in to investigate alleged corruption tied to a bill before the Alabama Legislature that could have paved the way for legal gambling in all 67 counties.



The bill would have called for a statewide referendum on a constitutional amendment legalizing bingo statewide. The bill passed in the Senate but died in the House even as lawmakers let it be known that a wide-ranging probe involved FBI agents stalking the halls of the State House and interrogating many lawmakers, lobbyists and staff members.



On Monday, the justice department in Washington announced the fruits of that probe, which resulted in the indictment of 11 people, including four state senators, several top lobbyists and Milton McGregor, the owner of Alabama’s largest casino and a major proponent of the bingo bill.



The sweeping nature of the indictments and arrests as FBI agents fanned out across the state is stunning. This has the potential to be the biggest corruption scandal since the crackdown on racketeering in Phenix City in 1954, in which then-Attorney General Albert Patterson was assassinated, the National Guard was called in and martial law was declared before the town was finally cleaned up.



To be sure, there had been no violence associated with the current gambling probe, and there was no need for the National Guard to be employed as those named in the indictment unsealed in Washington were peacefully arrested Monday.



But the number of people charged and the roles they played makes this scandal a very big one indeed — all the way from an employee of the Legislative Reference Service, who is alleged to have been in McGregor’s employ to surreptitiously change the wording of bills the service prepares, to some of the most prominent lobbyists in Montgomery, to a quartet of senior senators.



The blanket charge is a conspiracy to offer bribes of as much as $2 million to legislators in return for their votes and influence on gambling legislation pushed by McGregor, who owns the VictoryLand dog track and casino in Macon County. However, nearly 175 separate charges were filed against the 11 defendants.



Those arrested, in addition to McGregor, were state Sens. Harri Anne H. Smith of Slocomb, Larry P. Means of Attalla, James E. Preuitt of Talladega and Quinton R. Ross Jr. of Montgomery. High-powered lobbyists Bob Geddie, Tom Coker and Jarrod D. Massey were also indicted, as were McGregor business associates Ronnie Gilley and Jarrell W. Walker Jr. and Joseph R. Crosby, the LRF employee.



The charges against the 11 arrested, each of whom is charged with at least 13 counts, are too numerous to list here. Suffice it to say, we are looking at some very sensational trials in the near future.



To be sure, there had been no violence associated with the current gambling probe, and there was no need for the National Guard to be employed as those named in the indictment unsealed in Washington were peacefully arrested Monday.



But the number of people charged and the roles they played makes this scandal a very big one indeed — all the way from an employee of the Legislative Reference Service, who is alleged to have been in McGregor’s employ to surreptitiously change the wording of bills the service prepares, to some of the most prominent lobbyists in Montgomery, to a quartet of senior senators.



The blanket charge is a conspiracy to offer bribes of as much as $2 million to legislators in return for their votes and influence on gambling legislation pushed by McGregor, who owns the VictoryLand dog track and casino in Macon County. However, nearly 175 separate charges were filed against the 11 defendants.



Those arrested, in addition to McGregor, were state Sens. Harri Anne H. Smith of Slocomb, Larry P. Means of Attalla, James E. Preuitt of Talladega and Quinton R. Ross Jr. of Montgomery. High-powered lobbyists Bob Geddie, Tom Coker and Jarrod D. Massey were also indicted, as were McGregor business associates Ronnie Gilley and Jarrell W. Walker Jr. and Joseph R. Crosby, the LRF employee.



The charges against the 11 arrested, each of whom is charged with at least 13 counts, are too numerous to list here. Suffice it to say, we are looking at some very sensational trials in the near future.



www.tuscaloosanews.com/article/20101005/NEWS/101009841/1012

[sandi66]

Kerviel Gets 3 Years, Must Repay Societe Generale Trading Loss


Oct 5, 2010 6:32 AM ET

Jerome Kerviel was sentenced to three years in prison and ordered to repay Societe Generale SA’s 4.9 billion-euro ($6.8 billion) trading loss by a judge who said the former trader’s actions threatened the bank’s existence.

“By his deliberate actions, he put in peril the existence of the bank that employed 140,000 people, of which he was a part, and whose future was threatened,” Judge Dominique Pauthe said today in finding Kerviel guilty of breach of trust and computer hacking.

The trading loss, announced Jan. 24, 2008, was the biggest ever and prompted then-chief executive officer Daniel Bouton to describe Kerviel as a “terrorist.” During a three-week trial in June, Kerviel admitted he lied to colleagues and exceeded trading limits, but argued his superiors knew of his actions.

Olivier Metzner, Kerviel’s lawyer, said he would appeal the ruling. Dressed in a dark suit, Kerviel, 33, sat in court following the decision reading on his iPhone. He will remain free during the appeal.

The former trader is “revolted that those that created him put all responsibility on him,” Metzner said, noting Kerviel wouldn’t comment directly. “Prison is unacceptable for a man who didn’t make a penny.”

Pauthe said problems with Societe Generale’s computer controls and management’s encouragement of traders to speculate wasn’t enough to absolve Kerviel.

“The lack of vigilance by the bank in monitoring the only existing limits, acting as alert signs, hardly exempted Jerome Kerviel from his duty to inform his hierarchy of the reality of his excesses or to come back to the limits imposed,” Pauthe said in reading excerpts of the decision today.

‘Serious Shortcomings’

France’s Banking Commission fined Societe Generale 4 million euros in 2008 for “serious shortcomings” in its risk controls. A report commissioned by the bank’s board faulted its internal monitors, saying in May 2008 Kerviel’s supervisors failed to “react in an appropriate manner to several alert signals” and missed at least 1,071 bogus trades.

Prosecutors had sought a four-year prison sentence and Kerviel received a five-year sentence, with two suspended.

Jean Veil, the lawyer representing Societe Generale, said he was satisfied by the guilty verdict. The Paris-based bank had requested repayment in full from Kerviel.

Emmanuel Moyne, a lawyer at Linklaters LLP, told On the Move with Francine Lacqua in an interview in Paris today before the verdict that he expected the court would demand Kerviel pay Societe Generale “an amount equal to the loss.”

‘Fraudulent Schemes’

“He admitted he used fraudulent schemes, false e-mails, false statements, to conceal what he was doing,” Moyne said.

Kerviel was charged after he amassed 50 billion euros in unauthorized bets on futures, using faked hedges to make it appear the risk was minimized.

After joining Societe Generale in 2000, Kerviel rose to trader in 2005. He worked on the Delta One trading desk, where, according to the bank, his job was to arbitrage small price differences between contracts, not take bets on market directions. Societe Generale said a routine check exposed one of these bets on Jan. 18, 2008. That set in motion a three-day sell-off of his stakes as markets fell worldwide.

Kerviel, who was held in provisional detention at Paris’s La Sante prison for five weeks in 2008, admitted throughout the investigation and trial he had hidden his bets. Kerviel conceded at trial that accumulating positions worth 50 billion euros was “probably not” in his mandate. He also told police he wouldn’t be a scapegoat for the “blind eye” the bank turned.

Bonus Boost

Prosecutors argued Kerviel was driven to boost his bonus, while Kerviel said his sole motivation was to make money for France’s second largest bank. He was never accused of taking money for himself.

The two goals are linked, said Robert Falkner, a litigator with Reed Smith in London.

“It is the raison d’être for a trader to make money for the bank and for himself through the bonuses, which depend on the profits,” Falkner said.

“It is the nature of the job to have limits,” he said. The only reason to exceed them is “to increase profits both for the bank and for themselves in bonuses.”

At trial, Kerviel said taking unauthorized positions and covering them up was a common practice by Societe Generale traders. That assertion was contradicted by almost all the witnesses who testified.

www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-10-05/kerviel-is-jailed-for-three-years-ordered-to-repay-6-5-billion-to-socgen.html

[sandi66]

PRECIOUS METALS: Gold, Seen As Currency, Extends Record Above $1,340


October 5, 2010, 11:25 AM ET



NEW YORK (Dow Jones)--Gold futures topped $1,340 an ounce Tuesday, posting their highest-ever price as investors fled paper currencies in favor of the metal as a perceived store of value.

The moves come amid growing expectations the Federal Reserve will embark on another round of monetary easing as other central banks soften their policies in what some see as leading to currency devaluation and longer term increases in consumer prices, which gold is considered a hedge against.

"The markets are attempting to fully price ...





online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20101005-708369.html

[sandi66]

U.S. Bonds May Turn `Worthless,' Marc Faber Says In Handelsblatt Interview
By Tony Czuczka - Marc Faber said U.S. Treasuries may become “worthless” as central banks, led by the Federal Reserve, “print money” in an effort to boost economies, the Handelsblatt newspaper cited the investor as saying in an interview.

“Over the next 10 years, we won’t see any restrictive monetary policy anymore and no real interest rates above zero,” the Hong Kong-based investor told the newspaper in comments published today. Bond yields will “rise massively,” he said.

Faber, 64, publishes the Gloom, Boom & Doom report and is credited with predicting the 1987 Black Monday stock market crash.

To contact the reporter on this story: Tony Czuczka in Berlin at [e-mail].

To contact the editors responsible for this story: James Hertling at [e-mail]


www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-10-05/u-s-bonds-may-turn-worthless-marc-faber-says-in-handelsblatt-interview.html


ty nalmann

[sandi66]

Fundtech Introduces FIRST ServiceBureau for Global Financial Transaction Processing
Aligning Six Regional Service Bureaus Offering a Deep Product Line and the Highest Quality Standards
Oct. 6, 2010, 4:00 a.m. EDT



JERSEY CITY, N.J., Oct 6, 2010 (GlobeNewswire via COMTEX) -- Fundtech Ltd. /quotes/comstock/15*!fndt/quotes/nls/fndt (FNDT 13.91, +0.01, +0.07%) , a market leader in global transaction banking solutions, announced today the introduction of FIRST ServiceBureau, coordinating the firm's six owned and operated service bureaus to deliver global transaction banking services. FIRST ServiceBureau upholds a standard of service excellence for outsourced financial transaction processing across the globe.

Fundtech is one of the world's largest service bureau providers with operations in Switzerland, the United Kingdom and United States, and over 700 customers in 30 countries. Across these facilities, the company offers a wide range of advanced services that are available to customers (both financial institutions and corporations): financial messaging (SWIFTNet connectivity), transaction monitoring (anti-money-laundering), reconciliation (cash, securities, confirmation, investigations), data transformation and archiving, payment processing (US wire and ACH, UK Bacs), cash management, and electronic invoice presentment.

Operating as a consolidated business unit throughout Fundtech, FIRST ServiceBureau offers the market an unmatched level of service and reliability as well as customer support on a global and local level. A global client can establish a global service level agreement (SLA) and have the ability to reach a local customer service representative 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

FIRST ServiceBureau addresses the fast-growing trend of globalized business process, and the need for more connected and integrated operations, especially when they are outsourced to a service bureau.

FIRST ServiceBureau maintains the highest standards in quality, reliability, and security certification around the world. The Swiss operation has received SAS-70 Type II certification, Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) certification, and SWIFT's highest designation for service bureaus - the SWIFTReady Connectivity label - which has been achieved by only four service bureaus in the world. The US-based service bureau receives annual SAS-70 Type II audits and is regularly audited by the Federal Financial Institution Examination Council (FFIEC).

Commenting on the announcement, Reuven BenMenachem, Fundtech CEO said: "Aligning all of our service bureau operations makes Fundtech one of the world's largest service bureau providers. FIRST ServiceBureau offers the market a wide range of transaction banking services across the globe with reliable and consistently high quality service levels."

About Fundtech

Fundtech /quotes/comstock/15*!fndt/quotes/nls/fndt (FNDT 13.91, +0.01, +0.07%) , was founded in 1993, and is a leading provider of software and services to banks of all sizes around the world. Payments systems include wire transfers, ACH origination, cross-border payments and remittance. Cash management systems are designed for large corporate through small business clients. Fundtech operates the world's largest SWIFT service bureau. We offer an extensive line of financial supply chain applications including electronic invoice presentment and supply chain financing. And we are the leading provider of CLS systems to the world's largest banks. More than 1,000 clients throughout the world rely on Fundtech solutions to improve operational efficiency and provide greater competitiveness through innovative business-to-business services. For more information, visit www.fundtech.com.

Forward Looking Statements:

This news release contains forward-looking statements made pursuant to the safe-harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such statements may include, but are not limited to, projections of revenues, income or loss, capital expenditures, plans for growth and future operations, competition and regulation. Forward-looking statements are inherently subject to risks and uncertainties, many of which cannot be predicted or quantified. When used in this Release, the words, "estimates," "expects," "anticipates," "believes," "plans," "intends," and variations of such words and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. Future events and actual results could differ materially from those set forth in, contemplated by or underlying the forward-looking statements. The factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those discussed or identified from time to time in Fundtech's public filings, including its Annual Report on Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2009, including general economic and market conditions, changes in regulations and taxes and changes in competition in pricing environment. Undo reliance should not be placed on these forward-looking statements, which are applicable only as of the date hereof. Fundtech undertakes no obligation to revise or update these forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances that arise after the date of this Release or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.

This news release was distributed by GlobeNewswire, www.globenewswire.com

SOURCE: Fundtech Ltd.

CONTACT: Metia Ltd.
(UK & APAC)
Chanda Gathani
[phone]
[e-mail]
Cognito
(USA)
Binna Kim
[phone]
[e-mail]
Fundtech Ltd.
George Ravich
[phone]
[e-mail]

www.marketwatch.com/story/fundtech-introduces-first-servicebureau-for-global-financial-transaction-processing-2010-10-06?reflink=MW_news_stmp

[sandi66]

06/10/2010

Swisscom gets regulator's approval for Fastweb offer

Swiss telecoms operator Swisscom said on Wednesday that the Italian stock market regulator had given the green light for an offer for outstanding shares in Italy's Fastweb.

"Consob approved the offer prospectus" on Tuesday, Swisscom said in a statement.

"The offer period will commence on October 11, 2010 and will end on November 12, 2010."

Swisscoms said it currently held 82.082 percent of the Italian telecoms firm's shares through its Italian subsidiary.

It will offer 18 euros a share for the remaining 17.918 percent at a total cost of 256 million euros (325 million dollars).

Fastweb is the target of a major probe for money-laundering and tax fraud in Italy along with Telecom Italia Sparkle, a subsidiary of rival operator Telecom Italia.

The two Italian companies, which deny any wrongdoing, are accused of evading 365 million euros in taxes and laundering illicit money by billing about 2.0 billion euros in telephone services from fake companies between 2003 and 2007.

Fastweb's board recommended acceptance of Swisscom's offer on Monday.

www.expatica.com/ch/news/swiss-news/swisscom-gets-regulator-s-approval-for-fastweb-offer_101256.html

*******************

Gold eyes $1,350 record on currency concerns

6/10/2010 6:33:53 PM

LONDON, Oct 6 (Reuters) - Spot gold rallied to new records on Wednesday, eyeing the $1,350 level, as anticipation of further easing by the U.S. Federal Reserve eroded investor confidence in currencies, and renewed its safe-haven appeal.

"The trust in the FX markets and currencies in general is disappearing. Now with the dollar weakness, it's strong support for gold, as is safe-haven buying which is mainly investment driven," a Europe-based trader said.

Economic uncertainties and weak dollar have helped gold rally 8 percent from a month earlier and 23 percent so far this year. Traders and analysts expected the momentum to stay after a surprise interest rate cut from the Bank of Japan fuelled anticipation of more monetary easing from the Fed. [ID:nTOE69305D]

The dollar remained close to multi-month lows against the euro, also lending support as a weaker dollar makes gold cheaper for holders of other currencies. [EUR=] [.DXY]


PRICES * Spot gold was bid at $1,348.80 at 721 GMT from $1,338.70 late in New York on Tuesday. It earlier reached a new record at $1,349.80.

* Silver was at $22.97 from $22.78. It touched a new 30-year peak at $23.06.

* Platinum at $1,705 from $1,693.75, having tipped $1,705.50, a new five-month high.

* Palladium at $587.50, its highest since March, 2008, from $574.60


DATA/EVENTS

* Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc. releases its report on job cuts for September at 1130 GMT [ECI/US]

* Automatic Data Processing (ADP) releases its September employment report at 1215 GMT.[ECI/US]

* Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner speaks at the Brookings Institution at 1300 GMT. [ECI/US]

* Euro zone revised gross domestic product data is due at 0900 GMT. [ECI/EURO]

* German industrial orders for August are due at 1000 GMT. [ECI/EURO]


MARKET NEWS

* Stocks and metals rose on Wednesday while the dollar and Japanese bond yields fell after monetary easing moves by the Bank of Japan spurred expectations of a new round of central bank action to boost feeble economies. [MKTS/GLOB]

* The dollar stayed near eight-month lows on the euro and edged towards a 15-year trough on the yen on Wednesday, hurt by expectations of Federal Reserve easing after Japan lined up its own reflation tools. [USD/]

* Oil was steady near a five-month high on Wednesday as optimism that central banks will shore up economies boosted Asian equity markets, countering an industry report showing U.S. crude stockpiles jumped more than forecast last week. [O/R]

* U.S. stocks rallied to nearly a five-month high on Tuesday on growing conviction that central banks will do even more to bolster struggling economies worldwide. [.N]

* European stock index futures pointed to a higher open on Wednesday, as stocks were poised to add to the previous day's rally and track gains on Wall Street and in Asia, sparked by hopes of further monetary stimulus. [.EU]


FUNDAMENTALS

* India December gold futures on the Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX) extended gains on Wednesday morning to a new record high of 19,538 rupees per 10 grams, surpassing the previous peak of 19,537 rupees struck in the previous session. [ID:nBMB011568]

* Bolstered by a surprising September stock-market rally, billionaire hedge fund manager John Paulson's flagship Advantage Plus fund jumped more than 12 percent last month, recovering this year's losses. Paulson's other portfolios, including the Recovery, Gold and Credit Opportunities funds, all posted positive returns in September. [ID:nN05222260]

* The world's largest silver-backed exchange-traded fund, the iShares Silver Trust , said its holdings rose to a record high of 9,877.20 tonnes by Oct. 5 from 9,782.88 tonnes on Oct 4. [IDnSGE6940M9]

* The handful of labour contracts due to expire later this year at sizeable copper operations in Chile will hold that market's attention in coming weeks as tight supplies remain a concern and prices eye record highs. [ID:nLDE60A1JH]


TECHNICALS

* Gold support at $1,325 an ounce, resistance at $1,350 and 14-day RSI at 85.9.

* Platinum support at $1,665 an ounce, resistance at $1,720 and 14-day RSI at 78.9.

* Silver support at $22.34 an ounce, resistance at $23.50 and 14-day RSI at 83.4.


money.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=8100377

[sandi66]

Companies in U.S. Unexpectedly Cut Jobs in September, ADP Says

October 06, 2010, 10:10 AM EDT

Oct. 6 (Bloomberg) -- Companies in the U.S. unexpectedly cut jobs in September, data from a private report based on payrolls showed today.

Employment decreased by 39,000, the biggest drop since January, after a revised 10,000 rise in August, according to figures from ADP Employer Services. The median estimate of 37 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News called for a 20,000 gain. Forecasts ranged from a decline of 44,000 to a 75,000 increase.

A loss of jobs raises the risk that consumer spending, the largest part of the economy, will retrench and halt the recovery. A Labor Department report in two days will show companies added 75,000 workers last month, economists project.

“It’s more evidence of a lousy labor market,” said Joshua Shapiro, chief U.S. economist at Maria Fiorini Ramirez Inc. in New York. “Here we are, 18 months into a recovery and we’re not doing much on the job front. Until we digest the excesses built up over decades, you’re not going to see sustained gains in jobs or the overall economy.”

Stocks fluctuated between gains and losses and Treasury securities rose as the report raised concern over the outlook for employment. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index rose 0.1 percent to 1,161.85 at 10:04 a.m. in New York. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note, which moves inversely to prices, dropped to 2.40 percent from 2.47 percent late yesterday.

Prior Misses

Over the previous six reports, ADP’s initial figures were closest to the Labor Department’s first estimate of private payrolls in May, when it overestimated the gain in jobs by 14,000. The estimate was least accurate in April, when it underestimated the employment gain by 199,000.

ADP’s initial August estimate showed a 10,000 drop in private employment compared with the government’s estimate of a 67,000 increase.

“This is a disappointing result,” Joel Prakken, chairman of St. Louis-based Macroeconomic Advisers LLC, which produces the figures with ADP, said of today’s figures on a conference call with reporters. “It’s going to be a while before employment really perks up.”

High unemployment, public debt and fragile banking systems pose risks to global prosperity, according to a report today from the International Monetary Fund, which urged policy makers to take bolder steps to assure a sustained recovery.

The Washington-based fund lowered its forecast for U.S. growth this year and 2011, predicting a “slow” rebound restrained by a lack of consumer spending.

Geithner’s Outlook

Countries that rely on exports to help lift their economies must change policies or “global growth will slow and all of us will be worse off,” U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner said today in advance of this week’s meeting in Washington of the IMF, World Bank and Group of 20 nations.

Global exchange-rates are a source of contention heading into the meetings.

“It is very important to see more progress by the major emerging economies to more flexible, more market-oriented exchange-rate systems,” Geithner said at the Brookings Institution in Washington. “This is particularly important for those countries whose currencies are significantly undervalued.”

Geithner said the “greatest risk to the world economy today is that the largest economies underachieve on growth.”

Voter Discontent

The economy is a top issue for voters in the November congressional elections and polls show the public is increasingly skeptical of President Barack Obama’s performance. His job approval over a three-day period that ended Oct. 4 was 45 percent, compared with 53 percent at the same time last year, according to a poll from Princeton, New Jersey-based Gallup Inc.

Economists at Goldman Sachs Group Inc. said the U.S. economy will be “fairly bad” or “very bad” over the next six to nine months.

“We see two main scenarios,” analysts led by Jan Hatzius, the New York-based chief U.S. economist at the company, wrote in an e-mail to clients dated yesterday. “A fairly bad one in which the economy grows at a 1 1/2 percent to 2 percent rate through the middle of next year and the unemployment rate rises moderately to 10 percent, and a very bad one in which the economy returns to an outright recession.”

Hatzius placed the odds of a renewed recession at 25 percent to 30 percent, up from 15 percent to 20 percent at the start of the year.

The Labor Department’s report on Oct. 8 will also show the jobless rate increased to 9.7 percent from 9.6 percent, according to the survey median.

Payroll Forecast

Overall payrolls were probably unchanged in September, reflecting the winding down of cutting federal census workers who participated in the decennial population count, according to the Bloomberg survey median.

Today’s ADP report showed payrolls decreased among all companies, small, median and large, which are those employing more 499 workers.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Co., the New York-based drugmaker, said last month that it will cut 3 percent of its global workforce, about 840 jobs, during the next six months. The company previously announced plans to slash more than $2.5 billion in expenses by 2012, and eliminated 7,000 jobs last year.

The ADP report is based on data from about 340,000 businesses with more than 21 million workers on payrolls.

www.businessweek.com/news/2010-10-06/companies-in-u-s-unexpectedly-cut-jobs-in-september-adp-says.html

[sandi66]

Lawsuit to Protect Rights of Military and Overseas Voters in Guam

To: [e-mail] of Justice
Office of Public Affairs

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Wednesday, October 6, 2010

Justice Department Announces Lawsuit to Protect Rights of Military and Overseas Voters in Guam

WASHINGTON – The Justice Department announced today that it has filed a lawsuit against Guam and its election officials seeking emergency relief to help ensure that military service members and other U.S. citizens living overseas have the opportunity to participate fully in the Nov. 2, 2010, federal general election.



The lawsuit, brought under the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA), was filed in federal district court in Hagatna, Guam. The department also filed a motion for emergency relief seeking additional time – until Nov. 15, 2010, – for receipt of absentee ballots to ensure eligible military and overseas voters have sufficient time to receive, cast and return their ballots and to have their votes counted. The suit also requests an order requiring Guam officials to take steps to ensure that military and overseas voters have the option of receiving their blank absentee ballots by email.



“Our uniformed service members and other overseas citizens deserve a meaningful opportunity to participate in the elections of our nation’s leaders,” said Thomas E. Perez, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division. “This suit seeks both immediate and permanent relief to ensure that Guam’s military and overseas voters, many of whom are members of our armed forces and their families serving our country around the world, will have their votes counted in the upcoming, and future, federal elections.”



UOCAVA requires states to allow uniformed service voters (serving both overseas and within the United States) and their families and overseas citizens to register to vote and to vote absentee for all elections for federal office. In 2009, Congress enacted the MOVE Act, which made broad amendments to UOCAVA. Among those changes was a requirement that states transmit absentee ballots to voters covered under UOCAVA, by mail or electronically at the voter’s option, no later than 45 days before federal elections.



The action was necessary because Guam failed to mail ballots to its military and overseas citizens until between Sept. 27, 2010, and Oct. 1, 2010, well beyond UOCAVA’s deadline of Sept. 18, 2010, the 45th day before this year’s general election. Guam also did not timely establish procedures to offer voters the option of receiving their ballots electronically. The requested extension of the deadline for counting UOCAVA ballots will ensure military and overseas voters have a 45-day period to receive, mark and return their ballots.



More information about UOCAVA and other federal voting laws is available on the Department of Justice website at www.usdoj.gov/crt/voting/misc/activ_uoc.htm . Complaints may be reported to the Voting Section of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division at 1-800-253-3931.

www.justice.gov/opa/pr/2010/October/10-crt-1122.html

[sandi66]

Secretary Of Treasury Timothy F. Geithner Remarks At The Brookings Institution

06/10/10

This weekend, finance officials from around the world will gather in Washington, along with the senior management of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank. The G-20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors meet in Korea later this month, followed by the G-20 Heads of State in November.

I want to outline our objectives for these meetings.

A period of unprecedented international cooperation

Two years ago, the world economy was in the grip of an economic crisis on a scale not seen since the Great Depression.

The United States and its partners in other leading economies, in an unprecedented feat of peacetime economic cooperation, joined forces to launch a powerful, dramatic response.

Together, we put in place a powerful program of financial support – classic fiscal measures of tax cuts and investment, combined with monetary policy actions by central banks, and a variety of creative actions to stabilize our financial systems – to bring the global economy out of freefall and on a path to growth.

We mobilized hundreds of billions of dollars in financial support for and through the international financial institutions for investments in emerging and developing economies.

We committed to keep markets open to trade and investment, and together we honored that commitment in the face of strong political pressure.

We came together to embrace a common framework for reform of the global financial system.

We passed sweeping reforms of the U.S. financial system, and the world's central banks and supervisors reached agreement just two weeks ago on a very tough set of global standards for capital to limit leverage in the major global financial institutions.

These decisions required considerable trust and political resolve. And they have been effective in restarting economic growth and stabilizing financial markets. Global trade is now almost back to pre-crisis levels.

Each of our economies is stronger today than would otherwise have been possible, because of the effectiveness of this joint strategy. And the financial reforms now underway will substantially reduce the risk of damage from future financial crises.

The Growth Challenge

What are the main challenges ahead?

The most important policy question we confront together is how to strengthen the pace of growth and repair, and how to do so in a way that provides the basis for a more balanced and therefore more sustainable global economic recovery.

This is not a challenge that is best resolved by nations acting independently. In the heat of the crisis, we all recognized that our actions would be more powerful if we acted together. Even though the most dangerous part of the crisis is behind us, we are still in a place where we can achieve better overall growth outcomes if we make policy in a cooperative framework.

I want to offer a few suggestions on the policy challenges ahead in three areas: growth, exchange rate cooperation, and reform of the architecture of economic cooperation.

First, on economic growth. The IMF forecasts the world economy will grow at a respectable annual rate of around four percent in 2011. Growth is very strong in many of the major emerging economies. In the major advanced economies, however, output and employment are still substantially below the pre-crisis levels, and the pace of recovery has been slower, with economic growth now running at a pace that is close to potential growth rates and not rapid enough to repair quickly the substantial economic damage remaining from the crisis.

Economic recoveries that follow financial crises are typically slower than those that follow other types of recessions. This is because of the headwinds to growth that are generated by the necessary adjustments in asset prices and in reducing financial leverage. As financial institutions rebuild their balance sheets and households reduce debt and raise savings, spending is slower to recover. Firms, cautious after being burned by the financial panic, are less willing to invest and to hire because of uncertainty about future strength in demand for their products.

Different economies face different challenges and different constraints on the scope for economic policy to strengthen growth. However, concern about the near-term limits to more growth-oriented economic policies are greatly exaggerated. Most of us still have the capacity to take additional actions that would improve both short-run and long-run growth prospects.

The greatest risk to the world economy today is that the largest economies underachieve on growth. We need to continue providing well-targeted support for the recovery in the near term even as we put in place plans to help ensure fiscal sustainability over the longer term.

And for the recovery to be sustainable, there must also be a change in the pattern of global growth. For too long, many countries oriented their economies toward producing for export rather than consuming at home, counting on the United States to import many more of their goods and services than they bought of ours.

The United States will do its part to achieve this adjustment. Private savings have increased significantly, and, as the recovery strengthens, we will bring down our fiscal deficits to a sustainable level.

But as America saves more, countries overly reliant on exports to us for their own growth will need to change their policies, or else global growth will slow and all of us will be worse off. Countries that chronically run large surpluses need to undertake policies that will boost their domestic demand.

The flexibility each major economy has to provide a greater catalyst to growth in the near term or to slow the pace of near-term fiscal restraint depends on the size of its long-term fiscal problems and the credibility of its plans to address those problems over the medium term. Even if the risks to a sustained global recovery look relatively low, it makes sense for policy makers in the major economies to continue to focus on strengthening growth, rather than risking a premature shift to restraint.

That brings me to the second policy challenge: we believe it is very important to see more progress by the major emerging economies to more flexible, more market-oriented exchange rate systems. This is particularly important for those countries whose currencies are significantly undervalued.

This is a problem because when large economies with undervalued exchange rates act to keep the currency from appreciating, that encourages other countries to do the same.

This sets off a damaging dynamic, described first by my former colleague Ted Truman, as "competitive non appreciation." Over time, more and more countries face stronger pressure to lean against the market forces pushing up the value of their currencies. The collective impact of this behavior risks either causing inflation and asset bubbles in emerging economies, or else depressing consumption growth and intensifying short-term distortions in favor of exports.

This is a multilateral problem. It is unfair to countries that were already running more flexible regimes and let their currencies appreciate. And it requires a cooperative approach to solve, because emerging economies individually will be less likely to move, unless they are confident other countries would move with them.

This problem exposes once again the need for an effective multilateral mechanism to encourage economies running current account surpluses to abandon export-oriented policies, let their currencies appreciate, and strengthen domestic demand. This is a necessary complement to the adjustments being undertaken by countries running current account deficits. A cooperative rebalancing of policy in this direction would be better for overall growth.

This issue was well-known to the group of economists who gathered in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire, to refashion the war-ravaged global financial system in 1944. The Articles of Agreement of the IMF, drafted at that conference, contain a now-obscure paragraph calling on the Fund to issue reports on countries with "scarce currencies"--what today we would call countries running persistent surpluses--"setting forth the causes of the scarcity and containing recommendations designed to bring it to an end." That clause now reads like a relic of a bygone monetary era. But the problem it was drafted to address--the threat to global financial stability posed by persistent, large surpluses--is as salient today as it was then.

This brings me to a third issue on the international agenda, the reform of the architecture of economic cooperation.

When the world's leaders met in London in April of 2009 and then in Pittsburgh in September that year to set a strategy for confronting the crisis, they agreed to begin work on a new "Framework" for global growth and to reform the architecture for cooperation.

The Framework, called the "Framework for Strong, Sustainable and Balanced Growth," was designed to create stronger incentives for rebalancing growth, as the world recovered from the crisis, with higher savings in countries like the United States, complemented by reforms to strengthen domestic demand in surplus countries like China, other emerging economies, Germany, and Japan.

Alongside this "Framework" we agreed to give emerging economies a greater stake in the most important institutions for economic and financial cooperation, to increase the resources available to the international financial institutions, and to make the G-20 the centerpiece of cooperation, replacing the role traditionally played by the G-7.

We agreed to pursue these two paths in parallel. Each involved a change in the rights and responsibilities of the major economies, both emerging and advanced.

We have made some progress on the "Framework," but that achievement is at risk of being undermined by the limited extent of progress toward more domestic demand-led growth in the surplus countries and by the extent of foreign exchange intervention as countries with undervalued currencies lean against the pressures for appreciation.

On the governance front, we are now making progress toward agreement on a very important set of reforms to create a stronger IMF. These changes would strengthen the financial position of the Fund, allow it to respond more quickly and forcefully to future crises, and give the fastest growing emerging economies greater weight in the institution and a greater share of seats on the Board.

We want to make sure these changes go far enough in rebalancing rights and responsibilities of the members of the institutions. And for this reason, an agreement to modernize the governance of the IMF needs to be accompanied by more progress in encouraging countries, particularly the surplus countries, to pursue more market-oriented exchange rate policies and policies that will reduce reliance on exports and strengthen domestic demand.

We will be exploring with the other major economies some suggestions on how best to advance these objectives.

I want to conclude by emphasizing that we recognize the special responsibility of the United States for contributing to a more stable global financial system and a more balanced and sustainable pattern of growth.

We have moved aggressively to do our part to help bring the world out of crisis. We are working very hard to repair our financial system, to fix what was broken, and to reduce the future risk of financial crises here at home. We have seen a very significant increase in private savings by households. Our external deficit has fallen sharply, and we are financing at home a much larger share of the fiscal deficits we inherited.

We still have a lot of challenges ahead of us to strengthen growth and to restore fiscal sustainability. And we expect to work closely with Congress in the months ahead on how best to move forward.

www.mondovisione.com/index.cfm?section=news&action=detail&id=93330

[sandi66]

IMF advises caution as Japan, Brazil cap currency values news




06 October 2010



Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has warned that the growing urge among nations to cap the strength of their currencies risked derailing global economic recovery.

His statement comes after Japan and Brazil intervened to cap the strength of their respective currencies - the yen and the real - to make their currencies more competitive in the overseas markets.

Brazil on Monday doubled a tax on foreign investors buying its high-interest bonds to 4 per cent to curb a strong real. Brazil's finance minister had earlier warned of an international "currency war."

Japan last month intervened to weaken the yen. This was followed by a couple of emerging economies.

Slow economic growth and high unemployment in most rich countries have left export-dependent economies to seek cover of weaker currencies.

This has been further fueled by fears that the US Federal Reserve may announce a fresh round of policy easing to weaken the dollar against China's rebuttal of its demand for a a faster rise of the yuan.



www.domain-b.com/organisation/imf/20101006_currency_values.html

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Obama administration declares Iraq open for U.S. business
October 6, 2010

BAGHDAD -- The United States is hoping that a share of Iraqi reconstruction projects will help revive the U.S. economy and assist in reaching an ambitious goal of doubling American exports globally in the next five years.

First, however, American companies must overcome their reticence and realize that despite ongoing security problems, corruption and political paralysis, they can't afford to wait to start doing business in Iraq, a senior U.S. official leading a trade delegation here said Wednesday.

"The opportunity to create partnerships and engage is not a year-and-a-half from now or two years from now, where perhaps you'll see a continued reduction in attacks or violence. If you want to play a role here, you really have to be here now," Undersecretary of Commerce for International Trade Francisco Sanchez told reporters.

Sanchez said that Iraq could figure prominently in meeting his mandate of doubling American exports and creating new jobs.

"When I look at the infrastructure projects, the amount of money the Iraqi government is willing to invest - over $80 billion in the next several years - I see Iraq as a market where I can make a significant contribution for that in that goal," Sanchez said.

Iraq's biggest trading partners are neighboring Turkey and Iran, with the United States far behind. Under U.S.-led trade sanctions against Iraq in the 1990s, American companies were barred from doing business in Iraq, and along with other Western countries have had to try to acquire a foothold.

"The Chinese are here; European companies are here; the Turks are here; the French are very much here . ... You need to come out," said Sanchez, describing his message to American firms.

Iraq's ongoing violence has posed significant obstacles to doing business, however. The lack of a new government more than seven months after Iraqis went to the polls has added another layer of uncertainty.

"I'm not trying to sugarcoat this," Sanchez said, "but what I am trying to say is, the Iraqi government is sorting through some of these challenges as the physical security increasingly improves. You can't wait for everything to be perfect."

In a sign of its increased confidence in the ability to do business in Iraq, the official U.S. export credit agency, the Export-Import Bank, has begun backing short and medium-term loans for Iraqi imports of American products.

The U.S. has spent tens of billions of dollars on Iraq reconstruction, including billions that can't be accounted for, according to U.S. auditors. The U.S. now, though, will be looking to Iraq as a trading partner rather than as an aid recipient.

The delegation Sanchez is leading includes 14 American firms, most of them in engineering, industrial equipment, and security. They met with Iraqi businesspeople in the heavily guarded Green Zone where the U.S. Embassy is based.


On Monday, Honeywell International announced that it's expanding its business in Iraq and would open a Baghdad office to provide equipment to the oil and gas industry. Iraq last week announced that it had dramatically increased its estimate of its proven oil reserves, giving it the second-largest reserves in the world after Saudi Arabia.

Oil Minister Hussein al-Shahristani said surveys by international oil companies and the discovery of new fields have raised the country's proven reserves by 25 percent, to 143.1 billion barrels.

While oil experts say Iraq's reserves likely have been underestimated due to more than a decade-long halt in exploration, they cast doubt on the certainty of the government's figures.

"Everyone agrees that Iraq's declared reserves have been underestimated because the country was closed to international oil companies for a very long time and very little exploration was done," says Ruba Hasari, an oil analyst and the founder of the Iraq Oil Forum website.

"But at the same time, it does not give the full picture - seismic surveys and more appraisal work is needed for a more accurate figure," she said, calling the announcement "premature."

Sanchez said the announcement of higher reserves was "worth looking at" but would need more study.


www.miamiherald.com/2010/10/06/1860960/obama-administration-declares.html

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Allied Irish Banks begins to sell M&T Bank stake

Allied Irish Banks begins to sell minority stake in M&T Bank through public offering

October 5, 2010, 6:36 pm EDT
Allied Irish Bank said Tuesday it has begun the process of selling its 22.4 percent shareholder stake in U.S.-based M&T Bank Corp., one of the steps the troubled Irish bank is taking as Ireland's government moves to bail out its banking industry.

Allied Irish said its disposal of the shares of M&T is subject to approval of Allied Irish shareholders. It is taking the form of a public offering in the U.S. of 26.7 million exchangeable notes that will be swapped for shares of M&T common stock that Allied Irish owns. The notes are a form of debt, and investors will be issued one note for each underlying M&T share.

The notes will be governed by New York law, and listed on the New York Stock Exchange. A further announcement is planned on the pricing of the notes.

Morgan Stanley & Co. and Citigroup Global Markets are acting as underwriters and joint bookrunning managers for the offering.

Allied Irish Bank has said for months it planned to sell off foreign assets, including its stake in M&T Bank, based in Buffalo, N.Y.

The plans took on new urgency last week, when Ireland said it would have to pump more money into the country's crippled banking system, including Allied Irish. The company once was the country's largest financial institution, but is now so weakened by loan write-offs that it cannot borrow on international markets.

Allied Irish announced it was beginning to sell its minority stake in M&T Bank after its U.S.-traded shares fell a penny to close at $1.34. The stock came off its 52-week low of $1.33. It had traded as high as $9.20 in October 2009.

Shares of M&T Bank rose 94 cents to close at $83.09. In after-hours trading, the stock slumped $2.59, or 3.1 percent, to $80.50.


finance.yahoo.com/news/Allied-Irish-Banks-begins-to-apf-1516619723.html?x=0&.v=1


ty clark

[sandi66]

Dollar Weakens to 15-Year Low Against Yen on Fed Speculation; Aussie Soars
By Keith Jenkins and Yasuhiko Seki - Oct 7, 2010 4:54 AM ET

The dollar dropped to a 15-year low against the yen and the weakest in eight months against the euro amid growing expectations the Federal Reserve will expand credit easing to sustain the U.S. recovery.

The Australian dollar surged to a record after a government report showed the nation added more jobs than economists expected. The pound strengthened against the dollar as data showed British manufacturing expanded more than forecast. The Dollar Index, used by IntercontinentalExchange Inc. to track the greenback against currencies of six major U.S. trading partners, fell as low as 77.063, the least since Jan. 19.

“Expectations of lower U.S. rates are weighing on the dollar,” said Simon Derrick, chief currency strategist at Bank of New York Mellon Corp. in London. “The Fed is moving down the line of quantitative easing, and money is clearly moving away from the dollar into credible alternatives.”

The dollar depreciated 0.5 percent to 82.51 yen at 9:45 a.m. in London and weakened as far as 82.25 yen, a day after the Japanese currency gave up all of its decline since the Asian nation’s intervention in foreign-exchange markets last month.

The U.S. currency fell 0.3 percent to $1.3973 per euro after reaching $1.3995, the weakest since Feb. 3. The yen stood at 115.21 per euro from 115.53. The pound fell to 87.65 pence per euro, the lowest since May 7, before trading at 87.81 pence.

The European Central Bank will hold a policy-setting meeting today. The ECB will keep its main refinancing rate at a record low 1 percent, according to all 52 economists in a Bloomberg survey.

Metals, Australia

Precious metals rallied as investors sought an alternative to paper currencies. Palladium in London led the gains, rising as much as 2.8 percent to $602.75 an ounce, the most since June 2001. Gold climbed to a record for a third day, silver extended its advance to a 30-year high and platinum increased 0.5 percent to $1,723 an ounce.

The so-called Aussie climbed 8 percent in the past month against the greenback as employment data fueled bets by traders that the South Pacific nation’s central bank will raise interest rates before the year ends.

Australia’s employers added 49,500 workers and the unemployment rate held at 5.1 percent in September, the government reported today. Economists in a Bloomberg News survey had forecast jobs would rise by 20,000.

“These numbers confirm that there’s still a lot of momentum in this economy,” said Tony Morriss, a senior markets strategist in Sydney at Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd. “It’s very positive for the Aussie because interest-rate differentials already remain very supportive.”

U.S. Jobs

Australia’s currency climbed 1.3 percent to 99 U.S. cents from 97.75 cents yesterday. It touched a record high of 99.14 U.S. cents earlier today, above the previous record of 98.50 U.S. cents in July 2008. It fell to 60.09 cents three months later as the collapse of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. froze credit markets and prompted investors to dump riskier assets.

U.S. initial jobless claims increased by 2,000 to 455,000 in the week ended Oct. 2, according to a Bloomberg News survey of economists ahead of today’s data. The unemployment rate climbed to 9.7 percent in September from 9.6 percent in August, according to a separate survey before tomorrow’s report.

As the stimulus-led recovery failed to create jobs, companies in the U.S. unexpectedly cut 39,000 payrolls in September, according to figures from ADP Employment yesterday. The median of a Bloomberg News survey of 37 economists projected an increase of 20,000 jobs.

Yields Shrink

The yield on 10-year Treasuries reached 2.36 percent yesterday, the lowest level since January 2009.

The yen was poised for a third-straight weekly advance versus the dollar on prospects that Japan will avoid intervention before this week’s meeting of finance ministers and central bankers from the Group of Seven industrialized nations.

“Given the risk that Japan may bear the brunt of international criticism for market manipulation, it is difficult for Japanese authorities to take action ahead of the key event,” said Kazumasa Yamaoka, a chief strategist at investment advisory company GCI Research Institute Ltd. in Tokyo.

Countries from Japan to Brazil have taken measures in recent weeks to devalue currencies and loosen monetary policy to safeguard export-led growth. Brazilian Finance Minister Guido Mantega warned Sept. 27 of a “currency war.”

Canadian Finance Minister Jim Flaherty told reporters in Ottawa countries are concerned that measures being taken around the globe to weaken currencies are distorting markets and trade.

“We don’t want these kind of distortions in currency values or distortions in trading relationships,” said Flaherty, who will chair a meeting of Group of Seven finance ministers in Washington on Friday.

Japan Won’t Join

Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner said yesterday a “damaging dynamic” of large economies keeping their currencies undervalued can cause inflation and asset bubbles, and he called on countries to coordinate policies.

Japan won’t weaken the yen to become more competitive with other countries in trade, and any currency intervention would be aimed at restraining excessive moves, Vice Finance Minister Fumihiko Igarashi said.

“It’s not our intention to engage in a currency- devaluation race for the sake of the national interest,” Igarashi said in an interview in Tokyo today. “We could conduct smoothing operations when movements are extremely volatile, that would be permissible.”

Bank of England

The pound climbed versus the dollar and rebounded from a five-month low against the euro after U.K. statistics showed August manufacturing output rose 0.3 percent from July, above the 0.2 percent median forecast of 28 economists in a Bloomberg survey. On the year, production rose 6 percent, the most since December 1994, as the pound’s drop since 2007 made British exports more competitive.

Today’s Bank of England Monetary Policy committee meeting may produce a three-way split if Andrew Sentance keeps up his bid for higher interest rates to fight inflation and Adam Posen follows through with his call for more stimulus. The central bank will keep the stimulus plan at 200 billion pounds ($317 billion) and its key rate at 0.5 percent, Bloomberg surveys of economists show.

“There’s speculation that the Bank of England may join the Fed in restarting quantitative easing this year,” possibly driving the pound lower, said Mike Jones, a currency strategist at Bank of New Zealand Ltd. in Wellington.



www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-10-06/dollar-trades-near-15-year-low-against-yen-on-u-s-yields-fed-speculation.html

[sandi66]

Thursday, Oct. 7, 2010
O'Malley letter calls for halt on foreclosure proceedings
Message to mortgage companies comes after Cummings request


In response to a request this weekend by U.S. Rep. Elijah E. Cummings (D-Dist. 7) of Baltimore, Gov. Martin O'Malley (D) has a signed joint letter with Cummings and Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler calling on "Maryland mortgage servicers to halt current and future foreclosure proceedings until Maryland homeowners can be assured they're being treated fairly."

The joint letter, a copy of which was contained in a press release from the governor's office, was dated Oct. 4 and addressed to several companies, including Wells Fargo/Wachovia, PNC Financial Services Group, JP Morgan Chase & Co., Bank of America and CitiMortgage. A spokesman for the governor said the letters were going to be mailed Tuesday.

O'Malley said in the press release, "In recent days, several servicers, including JP Morgan Chase, Bank of America and GMAC/Ally Finance, have acknowledged that they have failed to follow proper procedures by filing affidavits in foreclosure cases without adequate personal knowledge of the underlying cases, trampling laws that were designed specifically to protect homeowners in default. They have recently announced suspension of foreclosures in 23 states."

Cummings, a senior member of the House Joint Economic Committee, sent a letter Saturday to O'Malley and Gansler, according to information on Cummings' website, calling for a 60-day moratorium on foreclosures.

Cummings said in his letter, "Numerous new reports from multiple states suggest major lending institutions may have committed deceptive and fraudulent actions to initiate foreclosure proceedings against potentially hundreds of thousands of homeowners, including signing affidavits and other legal documents in bulk without confirming the accuracy of the information alleged in those documents ..."

Cummings said on his website, "As a result of practices such as these, families may have been wrongly evicted from properties based on inaccurate or incomplete information. Foreclosed properties may have even been sold to new owners following such proceedings."

Calls to mortgage servicers addressed in the joint letter calling signed by O'Malley, Cummings and Gansler were not immediately returned Monday evening.






www.gazette.net/stories/10072010/largnew132417_32540.php

[sandi66]

HOUSING MARKET: Deal will bring mortgage relief

Multistate accord with Wells Fargo Bank will aid about 700 Nevada homeowners



October 7, 2010



About 700 Nevada homeowners with nontraditional mortgage loans are eligible for $78 million in mortgage relief under a multistate agreement with Wells Fargo Bank, Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto said Wednesday.

That sum includes $45 million in principal forgiveness for some borrowers who are having difficulties making mortgage payments, according to Masto. Wells Fargo Home Mortgage Chief Financial Officer Franklin Codel said the borrowers also may qualify for reduced interest rates, lower monthly payments and term extensions so that they can afford mortgage payments.



"The bar has been raised, and I call upon other financial institutions to adopt these servicing commitments in their dealings with Nevada residents," Masto said in a statement.

Wells Fargo also will contribute $24 million to end the investigation by eight states, including Nevada, which were looking into whether risky mortgages were made to consumers without disclosing their perils.

Nevada's share of that contribution totals $1.2 million, which will be used to prevent foreclosures and loan modification fraud.

The agreement stems from payment-option adjustment rate mortgage loans that were made by Wachovia Corp. and World Savings Bank before Wells Fargo acquired the institutions and their loan portfolios.

Wachovia called the product the Pick-a-Payment mortgage. Homeowners with those loan products each month were allowed to make a minimum payment, middle level sum or full payment.

The states' investigation centered on allegations that consumers were misled about the possibility that their mortgage amounts would increase. The lenders allowed borrowers to defer some of their interest payments and add them to the principal balance.

Wells Fargo will offer modifications to borrowers who are 60 days delinquent or facing imminent default. Borrowers first will be considered under the federal Home Affordable Modification Program. Borrowers who don't qualify or reject the HAMP modification then may ask for consideration under the Wells Fargo program.

As part of the agreement, Wells has agreed to offer loan assistance worth more than $770 million to more than 8,700 borrowers through June 2013, though that amount will depend on how the economy fares during that time.

Wells Fargo didn't admit to any wrongdoing under the agreement. Many large lenders made pick-a-payment loans during the housing boom, but borrowers defaulted in massive numbers after the market went bust.

Wells Fargo said the program will have no effect on its third-quarter financial results. It said "pick-a-payment" customers already have received about $3.4 billion in principal forgiveness.

Borrowers who already have received a loan modification from Wells will not be eligible for the new program. Call Wells at 1-888-565-1422 for information.

The Associated Press contributed to this report. Contact reporter John G. Edwards at [e-mail] or 702-383-0420.



www.lvrj.com/business/deal-will-bring-mortgage-relief-104474524.html?ref=524

[sandi66]

OCTOBER 7, 2010, 5:14 A.M. ET

2nd UPDATE: Allied Irish To Raise $2B From M&T Stake Sale

LONDON (Dow Jones)--Allied Irish Banks PLC (AIB) said Thursday that it will raise about $2 billion from the sale of its 22.4% stake in M&T Bank Corp. (MTB) through a public offering, as it seeks to increase its capital by a deadline set by the Irish government.

The Irish bank said an offering of 26.7 million notes that will be converted into M&T shares were priced at $77.50 each, a 6.7% discount from when the deal was announced Tuesday. Shares of M&T closed Wednesday at $78.91.

At 0851 GMT, Allied Irish shares were down 1 pence, or 1.1%, at 44 pence.

The offer is being underwritten by Morgan Stanley & Co. and Citigroup Global Markets Inc.

M&T's stock has fallen recently following the collapse of talks with Banco Santander SA (STD), which offered to buy the 22.4% stake and merge M&T with its U.S. bank Sovereign Bancorp.

Santander and M&T, however, couldn't agree on who would run the combined bank longer term.

Since Santander walked away, analysts widely expected the stake would have to be sold at a discount.

"While the price achieved for AIB's stake in its U.S. regional bank is slightly disappointing when compared to previous estimates, the finality over its disposal is to be welcomed," NCB Stockbrokers analyst Ciaran Callaghan said.

The share conversion is subject to shareholder approval in a meeting Nov. 1, Allied Irish said.

The sale will result in a EUR900 million capital boost for the bank, which has been hard hit by the financial crisis and collapse of Ireland's property market.

Allied Irish has been required by the government to raise a total of EUR10.4 billion by March next year. It has already raised about EUR2.5 billion from the sale of a stake in Poland's Bank Zachodni WBK (BZW.WA) to Santander, and it said it will launch a EUR5.4 billion share offering in November.

The government, which owns around 19% of the bank, will likely become a majority shareholder following the offering.

The bank is also likely to sell smaller assets to raise money, including its U.K. division and its AIBIM investment management arm.

Allied Irish got the stake in the Buffalo bank when M&T acquired Allied's U.S. retail bank, Allfirst Financial Inc. of Baltimore.

M&T made it through the financial crisis with far less damage than most. Warren Buffet's Berkshire Hathaway Corp. (BRKA, BRKB) is a long-term shareholder of M&T, and as of June 30 held a 4.5% stake.

online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20101007-703768.html