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2011年4月29日星期五

After the Tsunami: Nothing to do than start over

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Kenji Sano, 80, in his shop in Kamaishi, the Japan, on March 30, Giulio Di Sturco

By Charles Graeber

(Corrects the measurement of annual earthquake in Kamaishi at paragraph 15).

Kenji Sano was two years old the first time his house was destroyed. His family had a small house of wood and rice paper of Kamaishi, right on the main street of the city, parallel port and the ancient furnace which produced iron used in all, swords of samurai of rails for high-speed bullet trains. Sano hidden in the Middle tombstones, Buddhist Hill clutches her mother as the tsunami of March 3, 1933, swept his town. Later, on the place where his mother helped help burn the bodies recovered from the wreck, the survivors placed two steel Bodhisattvas, commemorates the high water line. Kenji-san just sitting in front of the Arch of the door of the temple, look at the smoke.

It was different from the next time. The difference of the tsunami, who unpacked wooden houses, leaving scattered - all - things, clean burned American bombing, leaving only ash. Three weeks after the home teen Sano had been cremated, August 8, 1945, bombing began again. An atomic bomb fell on the South of the city of Nagasaki the following day. No there is no bombs after that. Kenji has contributed to his father and his brother rebuild. Their was a small place, any more than a shack, but enough. There was nothing to do than start over.

After the war, Kamaishi flourished. Furniture factories and mills processing of seafood, a granary and farm fish, rows of restaurants and a maze of a tavern room, all giving an international port occupied and protected by a massive breakwater. Tsunami experts from around the world have estimated Kamaishi to have the best harbor protection anywhere; According to the Guinness Book of Records world, 207-foot-deep, breakwater inhabitants feet in length is also the largest in the world. Built at a cost of 165 billion yen ($2 billion), it took 30 years to build and was completed in March 2009.

For decades, Kenji Sano could see the breakwater takes form on his daily in the morning go hiking in the mountains of Rikuchi, which sandwich Kamaishi (of 40 000 inhabitants) against Pacific. Even at 80, Sano took to the foothills in the early hours, sometimes with his wife, often only the point of view of his native city below. If he travelled far enough, he could visit with a God.

The Kannon deity, more than 100 feet high and cradling a fish, was on the ridge overlooking the sea - s Kamaishi unofficial patron saint and a tourist attraction in 41 years. The Bodhisattva of compassion was built on the mountain which overlooks the Bay of Kamaishi, a prayer in reinforced concrete. "Be calm," Kannon implored the Pacific. "Don ' t rage".

March 11, Sano began early as usual, leaving a house occupied with three generations of its manufacture. He slipped past his teenage, Ayumu grandson, who was running a finger in a book for the next University entrance examination; past where the wife of his son, Hiromi, kneeling on the ring of cooking a meal School of rice for his boy, Hiroyuki; and in the stairwell of his shop, where his son aged 44 years, Shigeru, was sweeping the stoop.

For 60 years, Kenji had executed Sano liqueur, a wholesaler, a package store and a bar on the corner of streets Oodori and Aoba, main intersection of Kamaishi, on the ground floor of the House. Sano alcohol was the kind of place of daily meeting vital for any city. He was known to sailors from around the world, too. Kenji shot his surgical mask and exchanged a few quick nods with Shigera and led to Oodori Street and in the light of the morning.

Walking stick carved of Sano clicked on the sidewalk as he signalled his traders neighbours - the mother and the daughter of the bakery nearby; his friend the dentist, whose wife had Parkinson's disease; the old pharmacist, walk quickly in his denim floppy Hat; Yuko Kariya, the woman who owned the café Jazz tidy by Aoba Park. Kamaishi, everyone knew Sano.


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2011年4月25日星期一

Nintendo to introduce new Wii after forecast misses estimates

April 25, 2011, 4: 11 pm EDT by Pavel Alpeyev and Masatsugu Horie

April 25 (Bloomberg) - Nintendo Co., major manufacturer the most console video games, plans begin next year after the prediction of missed earnings estimates of analysts of sale the next version of the Wii motion detection.

The company forecast net income reach 42 percent to 110 billion yen ($1.3 billion), in the 12 months to March 2012 missing nine analysts compiled by Bloomberg estimates of average 143,8 billion yen. The projection does not include sales of the new Wii, which will be presented at the E3 Expo in Los Angeles in June, he said.President Satoru Iwata, competition of mounting of the PlayStation 3 from Sony Corp. and Xbox 360 from Microsoft Corp., account on the second generation Wii to rekindle the success of his best-selling machine, who put in place in 2006. Kyoto - Also founded Nintendo is designed to sell a "Legend of Zelda" game for his new device portable 3DS is on sale around the world in the last two months. "" The reaction of the market is likely to be negative, "said Yusuke Tsunoda, an analyst with Tokai Tokyo Securities Co." "it is expected that Wii software sales to plunge, while at the same time outlook of the company is probably also taking into account a price cut for the console." "Operating profit, or sales less cost of goods sold and administrative expenditure will be mounted 2.3% to 175 billion yen in the period, as income grows 8.4% to 1.1 billion yen, Nintendo said. Analysts expected 222.5 billion yen to operating income on 1.12 billion yen in sales.Nintendo Vs SonyNintendo increased by 0.9% to close the yen 20,330 on stock exchange in Osaka before the earnings announcement. The average Stock Nikkei 225 lost 0.1%. The shares fell by 15 percent this year.Nintendo, which has dominated the game equipment in Wii consoles and portable players since the Gameboy in 1989, seeks to defend its advance against the latest PSP of Sony.Le 3DS of $250, who went on sales to the United States, the Japan, in the past two months, Europe is also facing to the Apple Inc. iPhone and smartphones using Android from Google Inc., which attracted players with third-party applications.Sony, the second largest manufacturer of portable game in January said that it will offer the new model of the PSP by end of year holiday season. The device, NPM code name, will offer access to networks, third generation wireless and have front and rear touch pads, he said.PlayStationSony, whose player dominated by the previous generation of video game consoles, PlayStation has also introduced its controller for the detection of movement, called the Move, for the PlayStation 3 to appeal to casual users. The black controller, which resembles the baton of the Wii with a coloured ball in front, is on sale at the United States in September for $50 or $80 with a related product.In November, Microsoft Corp. introduced its Kinect motion - sensing controller with a free game for $150. The company based in Redmond, Washington last month said that sold 10 million Kinect sensors.Nintendo has sold nearly 440,000 units the player portable game 3DS in its first week of sales in the United States at the end of March. Combined with three former models, Nintendo has sold units of 860,000 DS in March, Nintendo of America President Reggie Fils-Aime said earlier this month, citing figures from the NPD Group Inc. industry tracker. A year ago, Nintendo sold 701,000 DS handhelds.The company missed its target of sales of players 3DS of 4 million for the year just ended due to the earthquake and tsunami North of the Japan last month, said Iwata.

-With the help of Masatsugu Horie in Osaka. Editors: Anand Krishnamoorthy, Cho Young-Sam.

To contact the reporter on this story: Pavel Alpeyev in Tokyo at the palpeyev@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Cho Young-Sam to ycho2@bloomberg.net


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Decline in Asian Stocks after Reliance, Acer Profits Miss estimates

April 25, 2011 3: 52 pm EDT by Anna Kitanaka and Kana Nishizawa

April 25 (Bloomberg)--Asian stocks fell, dragging benchmark down more than a week after gains Acer Inc. and of Reliance Industries Ltd. missed Analyst estimates.

Acer, the second largest world supplier of portable computers, lost 3.1 percent in Taipei. Reliance Industries, most large company of the India by the value of market, fell by 3% in Mumbai. Baoshan Iron & Steel Co. led lower Chinese steelmakers on the acceleration of inflation will affect the economic growth of speculation. Honda Motor Co., second largest constructor of the Japan, sank to 1.3% after domestic production collapsed last month.The MSCI Asia Pacific Index dragged 0.3 per cent to 138.46 at 4: 37 a.m. in Tokyo, with approximately four actions under all three have increased. The previously acquired gauge 0.1%. Australia, New Zealand and Hong Kong stock markets are closed for a holiday. After the closing in Tokyo today, Nintendo Co. forecast profit that missed estimates and KDDI Corp. said annual profit will fall 2 percent this fiscal year. "" People waiting for earnings announcements this week before investing, "said Naoki Fujiwara, which helps to oversees the $ 6 billion in Tokyo to Shinkin Asset Management Co." "with the Japan on the head to his Golden Week holidays and with many other markets fermésNous we will probably not see exciting developments in the market." "Shanghai China Composite Index sank to 1.5%, while that the Nikkei 225 Stock average Japanese lost 0.1%. Index of ABN of the Korea in the South increased by 0.8%. VN index of advanced Viet Nam 2%, the most among indexes reference Asia-Pacific, as the currency of the country climbed the most since 2008.U.S. FuturesFutures on the Standard & Poor 500 Index rose 0.2%, following a holiday on April 22. A report of the Government now can show sales of the country rose 12 percent in March, a survey of economists compiled by Bloomberg. Japanese retail reports, U.S. orders of durable goods and gross domestic product are also due this week.The MSCI Asia Pacific Index climbed 0.8 percent this year through April 21, from the earnings of 6.3 S & P 500% and 1.7% by the Stoxx 600 Index of Europe. Stocks in the Asian tonnage was estimated at 13.2 times considers average as of the end of the last earnings, compared with 13.7 for the S & P 500 and 11.3 times for 1600 Stoxx technology shares were the biggest drags on the MSCI index of Asia Pacific. Acer lost 3.1 percent to NT$ 49.5 after first-quarter net income fell 64 percent to NT $ 1.2 billion ($42 million). The estimate of the average analyst for the benefit of NT 1.74 billion, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.Reliance, PoscoReliance Industries has dropped from 3% to 1,009.2 rupees in Mumbai after reporting a 14% increase in the net result of 53.8 billion rupees ($1.2 billion) in the three months to March 31. Profit missed average estimates billions of 54, 3-rupee of 18 analysts in a survey of Bloomberg.POSCO, the third largest producer of steel in the world by the production fell 1.9% at 472,000 won in Seoul after Q1 profit collapsed 33 percent as raw materials costs have increased.In China, denied that the increase in the price of oil has fueled the inflation of the concern of the actions will accelerate and monetary tightening measures will increase. Crude rose high $113.07 per barrel in New York, intraday prices highest since 11 April Baoshan Steel lost 2.7 per cent to 7.12 yuan. "Anhui conch Cement Co., the largest cement manufacturer, fell 2.8 percent to 38.88 yuan in Shanghai, Sany heavy industry Co., the largest manufacturer of machines for the manipulation of concrete, 4.1 yuan 18.52% remote."Inflation is still the major concern and there is no sign that the Government will relax its tightening, said Wu Kan, a Fund Manager at the Dazhong insurance company, who oversees the $ 285 million. "The tightening retains the assessments of stocks."Central Bank PoliciesThe Shanghai Composite rose 5.6% this year on speculation that the Government to cool inflation without triggering a slowdown in economic growth. The Central Bank raised the ratio of the requirement to reserve 10 times since the beginning of 2010 and interest rates increased four times to cool inflation as consumer prices rose at the fastest pace since 2008 in constructors March.Japanese falls today after report domestic production for March, the month, an earthquake of magnitude 9 record and disturbed tsunami strings supply for manufacturers of the nation.Honda, who reported a slump of 63 per cent in production last month, fell by 1.3% to 3,105 yen, the third most large drag on the MSCI index of Asia Pacific. Toyota Motor Corp., the world largest manufacturer, fell by 0.6% to 3.275 yen after it said global production fell by 30%.Save sales "supply chains were torn from their roots," said Yoshifumi Kikuchi, head of the seizure in Nissan century Securities Co. in Tokyo. "It's always step clear if builders can get the parts that they need."South Korea, Kia Motors Corp., Builder of no. 2 in the nation, advanced 3.2% to 80,500 won after Yonhap News reported the company had sold a record number of vehicles in the first quarter. Hyundai Motor Co., more great constructor of South Korea, advanced 5.6% won 246, 000.Tokyo Electric Power Co., the operator of a nuclear power plant explosion by the earthquake and tsunami in the Japan last month, jumped 8.4 percent Yen 438. First step of the shares in eight days was also the largest in the Nikkei 225.A plan of Government to compensate the victims of the nuclear accident of Fukushima does not imply usefulness, publication the Nikkei newspaper reported on April 23, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc.., who is the owner of 13.2 million shares Tokyo Electric, gained 1.1% 379 yen. Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. increased 0.8% to 2,455 yen. The company holds shares Tepco 35.9 million, or 2.2 per cent of the utility.

-With the help of Akiko Ikeda and Toshiro Hasegawa in Tokyo, Zhang Shidong in Shanghai. Editors: Darren Boey, Shiyin Chen

To contact the reporters on this story: Anna Kitanaka in Tokyo, at akitanaka@bloomberg.net.

To contact the responsible editor of the story: Nick Gentle at ngentle2@bloomberg.net


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2011年4月24日星期日

To the Southwest, AirTran may return to St. Louis flights after the tornado

April 24, 2011, 1: 14 am EDT by Natalie Doss and Dan Hart

April 24 (Bloomberg) - Southwest Airlines Co. full operations plans today and AirTran Airways of AirTran Holdings Inc. may resume some service International of Lambert-St. Louis in Saint Louis Airport after a tornado forced the airport to close.

Plans of the southwest to exploit its full schedule today after bringing in some aircraft, the carrier said yesterday in an e-mail. AMR Corp. American Airlines, AirTran and Southwest flights were cancelled after the installation has been damaged. "While" disruption is important for St. Louis and passenger origin and destination of it, it is unlikely to have a major impact on the network of the nation, said Robert w. Mann, President of R.W. Mann & Co. "a Port WashingtonNew York-based consultant, in an e-mail.The storm that struck on the evening of April 22. He broke most of the doors and glass Windows and ripped off sections of the roof in Terminal 1 of the Hall C of Lambert, according to Jeff Lea, a spokesman for the airport. Fences, signs, trees and light poles were damaged and "certain vehicles have been delivered", Lea said in an interview.Terminal 2 and the airfield of the airport are "fully functional", said Rhonda Hamm-Niebruegge, Director of the airport. Most damage was done to Terminal 1, Hall C, where the American and AirTran run their operations, she said.The airport hopes to have as much as 70 per cent of the operations of service by today and can operate at full capacity in mid-week, Mayor of St. Louis Francis Slay said in a CNN television news conference.Minor InjuriesNo to St. Louis was killed in the storm, Charlie Dooley, a branch of the County of St. Louis said at the Conference. Five people have been taken to a local emergency with minor injuries.An American airliner experienced a wind Askew of 70 miles per hour (113 km / h) while landing during the storm, said Ed Martell, a spokesman for America. A plane in the Southwest on the ground was damaged when a belt loader hit the aircraft.Lambert is not a hub for all major U.S. carriers, which qualifies the blow to the country's air navigation system. Southwest represented 44% of the St. Louis passengers for the 12 months ended in January, according to the U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics. American follows with 20 percent and Delta Air Lines Inc. has nine per cent.Of 12.3 million passengers passed through last year, the Lambert said Lea. About 256 almost the same number of arrivals and departures a day move in the airport, served by 13 carriers fly to 61 destinations, according to the Web site of the airport.The first destination for flights from Lambert are Chicago, a hub for American and United Continental Holdings Inc. Atlanta, home to Delta base; and Dallas - Fort Worth, where the Americans has its headquarters, according to the BTS data.

-With the help of Mike Harrison in London. Editors: Sylvia Wier, Theo Mullen.

To contact the reporter on this story: Dan Hart in Washington at dahart@bloomberg.net. Natalie Doss in New York at the ndoss@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Sylvia Wier at swier@bloomberg.net


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2011年4月22日星期五

Home Depot prohibits pets after the bite of cross nose

A Shih Tzu bit Home Depot employee Anne Riel's nose while she was handing out flyers and greeting customers at an Ottawa store.A Shih TZU bit Home Depot nose Anne Riel employee while she was distributing flyers and wishes of customers in a store in Ottawa. CBC

Home Depot is less pets of its points of sale Canadian, following an incident last week in Ottawa when a greeter shop had the tip of his nose bitten off the coast by dog of a client.

Home Depot Canada issued a statement on Thursday explaining that the new company non-animaux policy was "the best decision for the enjoyment of shopping and the safety of all customers.

The United States Home Depot locations not be affected by the change.

Dogs assistance alone, certified as those required to guide the visually impaired, will always be allowed inside.

In the statement, Home Depot Canada said the new policy was communicated to all stores and will take effect beginning on 16 May.

"To help our valued customers to adapt to this change in the coming weeks, we will work with our customers to inform them of this new policy," said the statement.

Anna Riel, an employee of Home Depot for 39 years in Gloucester, East of Ottawa, was customers Welcome to the store last Friday when she bent down to pat Shih Tzu of an old woman maneuvered in a shopping cart.

The little dog leaped to Riel, biting off the coast of a small part of his nose. She is bleeding and was transported to the hospital.

Riel said 74-year of the dog owner tried to leave shortly after, but it was intercepted by a paramedic.

The owner of the dog was sentenced to a fine of $610 and the pet must now wear a muzzle.

Despite the facial reconstruction surgery, Riel declared that his face will be never the same. It is considering legal action against the owner of the animal.

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Having to re - air "restrepo" after the death of filmmaker in Libya - Washington Post

Run the film nominated for an Oscar in November. The replay will include a tribute to Hetherington, said having.

The film focuses on a remote 15 - man outpost in the Valley of Korengal, called Restrepo, who has been appointed to a nurse who was killed in combat.

On 7 August, Hetherington and Junger went to "restrepo" summer TV press tour to speak Hetherington was asked what made him "need to go and do all the hard work?" and if there is "all adrenalin or something like that it is also something that you are looking for."

"It is important cover stories that gave me meaning", responded to Hetherington.

"You know, adrenaline is a small part of it, but it is not really the reason why I go back," he said. "The same for the soldiers when they fight." Soldiers fighting in the war for, ultimately, of brotherhood. Adrenaline is a part of it, but not the driving factor. ?

Shift "Idol."

Fox moves "American Idol" back to Tuesday and Wednesday evenings - but only for the final of the season.

The episode final performance will be released May 24. The night of the final results, when the winner (cough - James Durbin - cough) is successful, will be released May 25.

Why the move?

The official 2010-11 season TV ends the night of May 25. If this final season "American Idol" results show broadcast Thursday evening of the week, as he has all this season, Fox would not include the sure-to-be-big ratings show an average season of the network.

Final last season was no barnburner, and he managed to clock 24 million viewers. Fox does not have many performances that attract the 24 million viewers. Zut, Fox has no other performances were 24 million viewers.

Fox had decided to move its traditional Wednesday Tuesday hit reality series plays profile and it air rather Wednesday and Thursday to establish a beachhead Thursday evening. CBS moved its Thursday reality hit "survivor" to Wednesday, and there was much room for "Idol" Thursday.

Thursday night is important in the world of the TV broadcast - it is when film studios has really first launch their masterful way weekend openings, for example, because we apparently decide Thursday what film we'll see this weekend.

It is apparently the night decide what new car, we will go to test this weekend, and what new washer and dryer we want to look at. Weird, I know - but research networks. Put "Idol" Thursday and film studios, car companies and appliance retailers come casting, eager to reach their customers potential - and willing to pay rates ad "Idol." Everyone wins.

Oprah books Frey

Author challenged the James Frey truth and Oprah Winfrey will continue their relationship use next month when he appears on one of his very last shows that she is the Queen of the syndication of the Daytime Talk TV.

Harpo Productions of Oprah will say what day he'll show - just that it will be sometimes "in May."

Naturally, Oprah seeks to attract the largest possible audiences for its last episodes just so she can go out with a bang.

Frey will appear for the entire hour to talk about his new novel, "The Final Testament of the Holy Bible".

The last we saw Frey and Oprah together on his show, in January 2006, he was the recipient of a certain rubbed verbal. Oprah was naturally upset. First of all, it has approved the memoirs of guy, "A Million little pieces", and he had on his show to plug the book, which quickly turned to 2 million copies sold.

Then, when rumours began that Frey had partially invented history, Oprah was by him in interviews, causing experts and navel gazers to watch his onduléesnt in the eyes and write unpleasant things about his credibility.

Then, it has become painfully obvious that he had, in fact, manufactured parts of its history.

If there were, Oprah Show, with its tail between the legs while being lit in by the Queen in syndication Daytime Talk TV - after she first told his viewers, "I made an error" defend Frey and his book. In this broadcast, Frey, for the first time acknowledged that by writing "A Million little pieces", he systematically lied.

"I think that you betrayed millions of readers....". That bothers me greatly.... I think that you scamming us all, "Oprah pounding and pounding some more."

It was brilliant television.

"She was relentless," William Bastone, founder of the Smoking Gun Web site - which had evisceration book Frey - said the Washington Post. "I thought it was incredible." I thought it was fabulous. ?

(In fall 2008, contacted Oprah allegedly Frey to apologize for this before the screen.)

Now Oprah has a closing performance and historical to try to achieve ratings. Frey has a new novel to connect on the second coming of Jesus in the modern era as a bisexual former alcoholic active with a prostitute friend who abandons her first child.

Oprah and Frey: the new. It is a match made in heaven.


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2011年4月20日星期三

America Movil debt a purchase to Nova Scotia after Fine: Mexico credit

April 20, 2011, 8: 49 am EDT by Crayton Harrison and Jonathan j. Levin

April 20 (Bloomberg) - record of the Mexico 1 1 billion antitrust fine against America Movil SAB may make the obligations of the carrier of the mobile phone a bargain, Scotia capital and SAB function. of Actinver Corp.

The company, controlled by billionaire Carlos Slim, is likely to win a reduction of the fine or eliminate the penalty of the Court of appeal, that in fact any decline in bond prices temporary, said Araceli Espinosa, an analyst with Scotia Capital Mexico City debt. Dollar of America Movil bonds due in 2019 performance 25 point basis, or 0.25 percentage point, the Government of Mexico more than similar maturity notes, up from 21 a month ago, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. "" When there is possibility to buy, I am sure, "said Alonso Madero, a portfolio manager focused on Actinver Mexico City, which oversees the $ 5.5 billion of debt, including obligations America Movil. "I begin to consider these instruments as an alternative to the Government paper which is to pay more." It is obvious. "America Movil stock sank more than five months, on 18 April, the company reveals that the Federal Competition Commission assessed the fine for monopolistic practices in the market, fresh complete calls to a wireless network. Yields 747 million of dollars on the business of 5 links per cent were little changed this week, with yields that fell two basis points, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.Yields are three basis points this year to 4.47% or 182 lower basis points in the average cost of borrowing for Mexican companies, as requested by JPMorgan Chase & Co. investors 48 basis points of performance additional own America Movil links instead of debt sold by telecommunications companies worldwide, an index of Bank of America Corp. of.Shares of the company cash PositionThe fell 51 centavos or 1.5%, to 32.82 pesos yesterday in Mexico City trading, leading to the largest decline in two days since cash and confidence August.America Movil $ 9.24 billion gives holders of bonds in the short term investments that fine Won't hurt the society's ability to pay his dettedit Nymia Almeida, an analyst at Moody's Investors Service. "I expect that this is worse for shareholders and creditors,"Almeida said in a telephone interview from Mexico City." "With money they have, they might pay lower dividends and does affect does not their credit quality."A spokesman of the America Movil has refused to comment on.Other fines anti-trust against big business were not held in court, said Espinosa the capital of Nova Scotia antitrust railway FinesThe .agence fines of Grupo Mexico SAB and Slim Grupo KRAs SAC 400 million pesos ($34 million) in 2009 for having violated the laws when they tried to merge units of Railway path. Effort of the Agency to block the merger later is rejected by the Mexican courts.Demand for extra yield investors holding bonds of dollar of the Mexican Government instead of US Treasury bonds narrowed five basis at 137 points, according to JPMorgan.The cost to protect the Mexican debt against non-payment for five years has dropped a 102 base point, according to the CMA. Credit-default swaps pay the buyer face value in exchange of underlying securities or the equivalent of cash if the issuer fails to comply with the agreements of the debt.The peso has increased by 0.5% to 11.6272 per US dollar at 8: 41 time of New York.Rendements on the futures of interbank rate of the contract because roses two 5.03% base points, indicating that traders expect a rate increase this month of September. Over the past five years, the gap between the TIIE of 28 days and the overnight rate has averaged 36 basis points.Reverse MexicoThe antitrust fine is the latest in a series of setbacks for America Movil to Mexico, its largest market, with 28% of its subscribers, 41% of its sales and about half of its profits. Offers company wireless service in 17 countries, including the Brazil, the Argentina and the U.S.In a decision in March, the Federal Council of the Mexico and slashed telecommunications fees that america Movil is authorized to charge smaller fixed line rival Alestra SAa decision that could set a precedent for other companies to reduce their payments.Grupo Televisa SA, the broadcaster control three Mexican cable companies and mobile phone company Grupo Iusacell SA filed anti-trust complaints this year against America Movil and Telefonos de Mexico, which began an advertising campaign linking the cost of connection to the network of enterprises with high prices for fixed-unit consumers.Control of PowerThe antitrust decision shows that the Mexican Government becomes more aggressive in trying to reduce the power of the America Movil on the market, said Christopher King, an analyst with Stifel Nicolaus & Co. in Baltimore. 64 Million Mexican-holders phones the company represent 71% of the market. "" Question No. 1, that regulatory agencies are focused on the fact that the level of a little more competitive market share "King said in a telephone interview. "The size of the fine indicates the degree of seriousness on the part of regulators was significantly high.".America Movil plans to appeal the antitrust decision that it engaged in monopolistic practices in the market for network connection charges, the company said the week last in a statement.Regulators moves cast doubt on the ability of the America Movil to pay the debt, said Madero of the obligations of the America Movil Actinver.Les are a good investment for investors seeking high in proportion to the debt, the capital of Nova Scotia Espinosa said. A rank of Standard & Poor company is the fourth lowest investment grade and two levels above the rating of the Mexican Government. "For investors, this could be the good news," Espinosa, said in an interview on the phone. " "A person who is not already in links can go if there is a reaction."

-Editors: Lester Pimentel, David Papadopoulos, Brenda Batten

To contact the reporters on this story: Crayton Harrison in Mexico to tharrison5@bloomberg.net; Jonathan j. Levin in Mexico at jlevin20@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: David Papadopoulos to papadopoulos@bloomberg.net


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2011年4月19日星期二

Clean the United States after tornadoes kill 44

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Several states began the arduous cleanup process Monday after 240 tornadoes touched down across the United States over the weekend, killing at least 44 people.

The death toll across Oklahoma, Arkansas, Mississippi, Alabama and the Carolinas stands at 44 after the region experienced some of the worst storms in decades. More than 60 tornadoes touched down in North Carolina alone, although officials say some storms may have been reported more than once.

One apparent twister passed near a Virginia nuclear power plant, knocking down power lines. Dominion Virginia Power said backup sources including diesel generators kept electricity going to maintain both units at its Surry Power Station. The tornado didn't hit the two nuclear units, which are designed to withstand calamities such as earthquakes and hurricanes, the company said.

More than 100 employees and customers screamed in unison when the steel roof was peeled off near a Lowe's store in Sanford, N.C., on Saturday. The store became part of the wreckage left by a pace storm system bristling with killer twisters that ripped through the South.

A man cuts down a tree in Raleigh, N.C., after tornadoes tore through the Carolinas over the weekend.A man cuts down a tree in Raleigh, N.C., after tornadoes tore through the Carolinas over the weekend. (Chris Keane/Reuters)

"You could hear all the steel can, people screaming in fear for their lives," manager Michael Hollowell told The Associated Press on Sunday.

No one at the store was killed.

A state of emergency remains in effect for all of Virginia and South Carolina, and parts of four other states.

In all of Lee County, where Sanford is located, about 60 kilometres south of Raleigh, there was just one confirmed death from the storm, which claimed at least 21 lives statewide, damaged hundreds of homes and left a swath of destruction unmatched by any spring storm since the mid-1980s.

In Raleigh early Monday, authorities were blocking access to a mobile home park of about 200 homes where three children were killed. Officials planned to assess conditions after sunrise before deciding whether to allow residents to return home.

Power lines and trees still covered nearby roads. Where roads were clear, there were massive batteries of debris that had been pushed to the side of the street.

Although it will take weeks to tally the damage, the violent weather system is likely to rank among the largest in history. It is already the deadliest since the storms that hit numerous states on Super Tuesday in 2008.

Survivors were left to recall miraculous escapes.

In the Bladen County community of Ammon, about 110 kilometres south of Raleigh, Audrey McKoy and her husband Milton saw a tornado bearing down on them over the tops of the pine trees that surround the seven or eight mobile homes that make up their neighbourhood. He glanced at a nearby farm and saw the winds lifting pigs and other animals in the sky.

"it looked just like the wizard of Oz," Audrey said.

They took shelter in their laundry room and, after emerging once the storm had passed, were disoriented for a time. The twister had turned their mobile home and they were standing around in their backyard.

Milton found three bodies in their neighbourhood, including 92-year-old Marchester Avery and his 50-year-old son, Tony, who died in adjacent mobile homes. He stopped his wife from coming over to see.

"You don't want to look at this," he told her.

The storms crushed trailer parks and brought life in the centre of the state's second-largest city to a virtual standstill. It was the worst outbreak in the state since 22 twisters in 1984 killed 42 people.

North Carolina Gov. Beverly Perdue planned to tour hard-hit areas in three counties Monday. The devastation she saw Sunday left her near tears, she said. The storm pummelled bustling cities and remote rural communities. One of lost's stops was downtown Raleigh, where fallen trees blocked major thoroughfares and damage to the Shaw University campus forced it to cancel the remainder of its spring semester.

Lost said that she'd been in contact with President Barack Obama, who pledged his support, and that federal emergency management workers were already on the ground.

"We have in North Carolina a tremendous relationship with our federal partners and have been through this so many times," she said. "That's not a good thing." "That's a bad thing."

Residents look at a tree that fell into a home in Raleigh, N.C., over the weekend. Residents look at a tree that fell into a home in Raleigh, N.C., over the weekend. (Chris Keane/Reuters)

The conditions that allowed for the storm occur on the Great Plains a few times a year on average goal almost never happen in North Carolina.

This time of the year the contrast between air masses across North America is tremendous, CBC nathorst Johanna Wagstaffe said. Cool, dry air to the north collides with warm, humid air to the south, with the collision occurring right over the Mississippi Valley path in this box.

The atmosphere was unstable Saturday, which allowed air to rise and fall quickly, creating winds of hurricane strength or greater. There was also plenty of moisture in the air, which fuelled violent storms. Shear winds at different heights, moving in different directions, created the spin needed to create tornadoes, Sharp said.

Many of the deaths across the state occurred in mobile homes like the ones in Ammon. The three deaths in Raleigh were in a mobile home park about eight kilometres north of downtown, which was still closed off to residents early Monday.

Census data from 2007, the latest available estimates 14.5 per cent of residences in North Carolina are mobile homes, the seventh highest percentage in the U.S. and well over the national average of 6.7 per cent.

North Carolina officials tallied more than 130 serious injuries, 65 homes destroyed and another 600 significantly damaged by Sunday evening, according to state public safety spokeswoman Julia Jarema. Officials expect those totals to climb as damage assessments continue.

Back at the Lowe's store, Joseph Rosser and his 13-year-old daughter, Hannah, had their Chevrolet Colorado pickup pulled off the road Saturday, seeking shelter. Instead, the store's exterior concrete toppled, crushing the truck's cab with Rosser and Hannah inside.

"I really didn't see much because I had a pillow over my face to protect my head and I heard my dad tell me it was going to be OK," said Hannah, her midsection wrapped in a back brace. "and then all of a sudden, I just heard a loud boom."

"My dad was lying there, telling me he was going to die." He sounded very hoarse like he couldn't breathe. "He was crying and was hurt really bad."

She crawled out the truck's shattered back window and ran around the parking lot calling for help, because her cellphone wouldn't can't work. Both Rossers are recovering from their injuries.

Residents and officials alike are looking to make repairs and start building what was lost.

Aleta Tootle and four other people took shelter in a closet in her Bertie County home, emerging with only a few scratches after the rest of the building was ripped to shreds. Surveying the wreckage Sunday, she said there was only one thing left to do.

"all we can do is start over," she said. "We don't have a choice."

With files from The Associated Press Back to accessibility links

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Republicans, Democrats digging on the debt after S & P Outlook Cut

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April 18, 2011, 6: 07 PM EDT By Julie Hirschfeld Davis

(Updates with comments from Warner in 14th paragraph, Corker in 17, 18th paragraphs.)

April 18 (Bloomberg) — Republicans and Democrats in Congress, divided over dealing with the nation's debt, used today's decision by Standard & Poor's to lower the U.S. credit outlook to "negative" to bolster their competing arguments about addressing the government's finances.Democrats argued the S & P's revision helps make the case for a broad agreement based on the debt-cutting plan President Barack Obama outlined last week. Republicans said the ratings firm's report reinforces their call for deeper spending cuts than the president and other Democrats have been willing to consider."Charles Schumer of New York, the Senate's third-ranking Democrat, said bipartisan agreement exists on the need to reduce the debt by $4 trillion over roughly the next decade.""now we just need to resolve how to do it," Schumer, who is traveling in Asia during a two-week congressional break, said in a statement. Obama's "balanced plan - which related on shared sacrifice, as opposed to simply ending Medicare - makes a long-term deal highly possible," the senator said.Republicans have proposed scaling back entitlement programs such as Medicare and reject Obama's push for tax increases to help reduce debt.'Wake-up Call'House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, a Virginia Republican, called the S & P warning "a wake-up call for those in Washington asking Congress to increase the debt limit blindly" without significant spending cuts.The negative outlook on long-term U.S. debt issued by S & P "makes clear that the debt-limit increase proposed by the Obama administration must be accompanied by meaningful tax reforms that immediately reduce federal spending and stop our nation from digging itself further into debt""," Cantor said.Congress is facing a vote as early as next month on the government's raising $14.29 trillion legal debt limit. The Treasury Department projects that it will hit the cap on May 16, though it could use emergency measures to avoid default until about July 8.Obama and members of his economic team have said that failure to approve an increase could have catastrophic consequences for the U.S. economy and financial markets.S & P's ConcernS & P revised the U.S. government's long-term outlook to negative on concern the White House and Congress will fail to reach agreement on cutting medium-and long-term debt.As part of the debate on the government's spending, which also includes hammering out a 2012 budget, Obama last week offered the outlines of a plan to slash the debt by $4 trillion over 12 years through a combination of spending cuts and tax increases.A group of six Republican and Democratic senators are trying to strike a compromise along the lines suggested by the two co-chairmen of a debt commission Obama set up last year. That plan called for trimming the budget by $3.8 trillion over a decade through a mix of spending cuts and tax increases."Members of the so-called Gang of Six said the S & P review shows the markets are watching for signs that policy makers are serious about confronting the issue debt.""I still believe we must act sooner rather than later, and we should work in a bipartisan way to cut spending, including defense spending, begin to strengthen and reform entitlement programs and implement tax reform," senator Mark warner of virginia, the democratic leader of the groupsaid in a statement. ' If we fail to take this seriously, and if our deficit and debt discussions turn into just another game of political brinksmanship, this could result in the most predictable economic crisis in our history. "'"Debt Crisis 'Senator Tom Coburn of Oklahoma, a Republican member of the group, said the S & P's change should create a sense of urgency for tackling"our debt crisis."""If we refuse to negotiate within our own government, we will soon find ourselves negotiating with foreign governments and the international financial community on terms far less favourable than we enjoy today," Coburn said in an e-mailed statement.Republican Senator Bob Corker of Tennessee said a proposal he is pushing to cap federal spending at 20.6 percent of gross domestic product within a decade should be a condition of any debt-limit increase, and that the S & P action increases the momentum for the move.Good Timing "I don't think any American likes seeing the outlook for our country's financial situation downgrade, but it couldn't come at a better time, if it had to happen, than now, when we're negotiating about how to get spending under control""," Corker said in an interview.Senator Lamar Alexander of Tennessee, the Senate's third-ranking Republican, said the S & P's revision reminds the president and Congress that "we must deal with Washington spending money that we don't have."Speaking in his home state, he said, "We can fix it, but we have to start now and have the political will to do it."Republican Representative Kevin Brady of Texas, vice chairman of Congress's Joint Economic Committee, said the move builds the case for a plan by Republican House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan of Wisconsin. His proposal would slash spending by $6 trillion over a decade, in part by privatizing Medicare and capping Medicaid.Obama "needs to stop ridiculing Representative Ryan's plan, which begins to seriously address our country's long-term spending issues, and start supporting it as the best way forward""," Brady said.Dwindling ConfidenceRepresentative Jeb Hensarling of Texas, head of the House Republican Conference, said confidence in the U.S. economy is "sure to dwindle" when Obama "chooses to treat our national debt as campaign fodder and insists on more spending and more taxes."House Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer of Maryland said the S & P's decision "shows the urgent, bipartisan action needed to put our nation on a serious path to reduce deficits." It "demonstrates that Republicans cannot hold the debt limit hostage over partisan, divisive issues," he said.The revision is a "market-based signal that independent ratings agencies believe the U.S. is on an imprudent and unsustainable fiscal path and that action is needed in order to maintain investor confidence," said David Walker, a former U.S. comptroller general who heads the Comeback America Initiative, an independent, non-profit tax policy organization.Walker said in a statement that Obama and Congress must "work together to raise the debt ceiling limit and imposes tough statutory budget controls, including debt/GDP targets with automatic enforcement mechanisms that would take effect no later than fiscal 2014."

-With assistance from James Rowley and Brian Faler. Editors: Don Frederick, Laurie Asseo.

To contact the reporter on this story: Julie Hirschfeld Davis in Washington at Jdavis159@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Mark Silva at msilva@bloomberg.net


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Afghan forces met interviewed after the terrorist attack - ABC Online

TONY EASTLEY: A Taliban shooter was wearing a suicide vest has killed two people and wounded seven others in an attack on the Ministry of defence Afghan fortified in the capital, Kabul.

The attack is the third in four days targeting police and military compounds.

This high-security breach has raised serious questions on the effectiveness of the Afghan forces.

Sally Sara reports corresponding Afghanistan in Kabul.

SALLY SARA: This attack showed that the Taliban are still able to cut through the Afghan Government security forces.

An armed man wearing a suicide vest was able to obtain within the Ministry of defence.

He was talking about how well that several control points, because he was wearing an army uniform and carrying a military identification card.

He has had as the second floor, near the offices of the Minister and the army's Deputy Chief of staff. The attacker opened fire, but he was shot in the head before he could detonate his explosives.

It was a fatal shooting in the corridors of power of the Afghan Defence Ministry.

Although Kabul is one of the seven areas in Afghanistan should be handed over the Coalition Afghan control in July. This attack has created great concern. The Ministry of defence is supposed to be one of the most fortified parts of the capital.

The attack is one of the most serious violations of the security of the Afghan Government in several years. Fortunately, Defence Minister Abdul Rahim Wardak was not in his Office at the time.

The incident has alarmed some analysts.

(Halal Uddin Halal speaking)

Former Deputy Prime Minister of the Interior, Halal Uddin Halal, explains, with certainty, that it's a shock that it happened within the Ministry of defence. But he said when he thinks that logically and professionally he knows that this can happen once more.

It is the third attack on the police and military compounds in four days, including the assassination of the head of the Kandahar police in a raid of suicide and an attack on an army base in the East of the country.

The Taliban have achieving high-level targets, with few civilian victims.

But Halal Halal Uddin, said that the transfer of responsibility for the security of the coalition of Afghan forces must move forward.

(Halal Uddin Halal speaking)

Finally, he stated that the Afghan force will take the responsibilities. He said it's better for the Afghans get this experience for themselves and by difficulties they will solve problems.

These lessons could come at a heavy price if the attacks continue.

Sally Sara is in Kabul for AM.


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2011年4月14日星期四

Goldman Sachs has misled Congress after deceiving customers, Levin, said

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April 14, 2011, 12:03 AM EDT By Robert Schmidt, Clea Benson and Phil Mattingly

(For more on the Levin Report, see EXT2 )

April 14 (Bloomberg) -- Goldman Sachs Group Inc. misled clients and Congress about the firm’s bets on securities tied to the housing market, the chairman of the U.S. Senate panel that investigated the causes of the financial crisis said.

Senator Carl Levin, releasing the findings of a two-year inquiry yesterday, said he wants the Justice Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission to examine whether Goldman Sachs violated the law by misleading clients who bought the complex securities known as collateralized debt obligations without knowing the firm would benefit if they fell in value.

The Michigan Democrat also said federal prosecutors should review whether to bring perjury charges against Goldman Sachs Chief Executive Officer Lloyd Blankfein and other current and former employees who testified in Congress last year. Levin said they denied under oath that Goldman Sachs took a financial position against the mortgage market solely for its own profit, statements the senator said were untrue.

“In my judgment, Goldman clearly misled their clients and they misled the Congress,” Levin said at a press briefing yesterday where he and Senator Tom Coburn, an Oklahoma Republican, discussed the 640-page report from the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations.

Goldman and Deutsche

Much of the blame for the 2008 market collapse belongs to banks that earned billions of dollars in profits creating and selling financial products that imploded along with the housing market, according to the report. The Levin-Coburn panel levied its harshest criticism at investment banks, in particular accusing Goldman Sachs and Deutsche Bank AG of peddling collateralized debt obligations backed by risky loans that the banks’ own traders believed were likely to lose value.

In a statement, New York-based Goldman Sachs denied that it had misled anyone about its activities. “The testimony we gave was truthful and accurate and this is confirmed by the subcommittee’s own report,” Goldman Sachs spokesman Lucas van Praag said.

“The report references testimony from Goldman Sachs witnesses who repeatedly and consistently acknowledged that we were intermittently net short during 2007. We did not have a massive net short position because our short positions were largely offset by our long positions, and our financial results clearly demonstrate this point,” van Praag said.

‘Divergent Views’

In a statement, Deutsche Bank spokeswoman Michele Allison said, “As the PSI report correctly states, there were divergent views within the bank about the U.S. housing market. Moreover, the bank’s views were fully communicated to the market through research reports, industry events, trading desk commentary and press coverage. Despite the bearish views held by some, Deutsche Bank was long the housing market and endured significant losses.”

The panel’s report also examined the role of credit-rating firms in the meltdown, lax oversight by Washington regulators and the drop in lending standards that fueled the mortgage bubble and ultimately caused hundreds of bank failures.

The subcommittee’s findings show “without a doubt the lack of ethics in some of our financial institutions who embraced known conflicts of interest to accomplish wealth for themselves, not caring about the outcome for their customers,” said Coburn. “When that happens, no country can survive and neither can their financial institutions.”

Final Assessment

The report is likely Washington’s final official assessment of the turmoil beginning in 2007 that froze credit markets, took down investment banks Bear Stearns Cos. and Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc., sent housing finance giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac into government conservatorship and caused the worst economic collapse in the U.S. since the Great Depression.

The $700 billion taxpayer bailout that followed in October 2008 upended the relationship between Wall Street and the federal government, turning CEOs like Blankfein and Lehman’s Richard Fuld into political punching bags. Populist anger at high-paid bank leaders helped fuel the passage of last year’s Dodd-Frank law, which set out the biggest changes to financial oversight since the 1930s.

The Senate report comes less than a year after Goldman Sachs paid $550 million to resolve SEC claims that it failed to disclose that hedge fund Paulson & Co was betting against, and influenced the selection of, CDOs the company was packaging and selling.

Goldman Sachs, in its settlement with the SEC, acknowledged that marketing materials for the 2007 CDO deal contained “incomplete information.”

Documents and Footnotes

The Senate subcommittee’s bipartisan report, buttressed by 2,800 footnotes and thousands of internal documents from Goldman Sachs and other firms, may have more impact than previous investigations into the crisis.

It’s an open question whether the Justice Department and the SEC will review its findings. Levin does not have the power to refer the allegations to federal authorities on his own. The subcommittee has a formal process for making referrals, which requires Levin to get the support of Coburn before making an official referral. Levin is going to recommend that the subcommittee make referrals, though he has not done it yet, staff members said.

The Levin report will be examined by policy makers including the SEC and Commodity Futures Trading Commission, which are writing hundreds of Dodd-Frank rules governing derivatives, mortgage securities and proprietary trading.

Coburn, the senior Republican on the subcommittee, said the review carries more heft than the three separate reports issued earlier this year by a politically divided Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission.

Goldman Practices

“We don’t need commissions to do our job and this proves it,” Coburn said. The FCIC “spent $8 million and 15 months” on its inquiry and “didn’t report anything of significance.”

The panel said Goldman Sachs relied on “abusive” sales practices and was rife with conflicts of interest that encouraged putting profits ahead of clients.

“While we disagree with many of the conclusions of the report, we take seriously the issues explored by the subcommittee,” van Praag said.

Van Praag pointed to the firm’s recent examination of its business practices that prompted it to make “significant changes that will strengthen relationships with clients, improve transparency and disclosure and enhance standards for the review, approval and suitability of complex instruments.”

In the case of one CDO, Hudson Mezzanine Funding 2006-1, Goldman Sachs told investors its interests were “aligned” with theirs while the firm held 100 percent of the short side, according to the report.

Gemstone CDO

The report detailed a $1.1 billion Deutsche Bank CDO known as Gemstone VII, which was backed with subprime loans that its then-top trader, Greg Lippmann, referred to as “crap.” The head of the bank’s CDO group, Michael Lamont, said in an e-mail cited in the report that he would try to sell the CDO “before the market falls off a cliff.”

On lending, the panel alleges that executives at failed thrift Washington Mutual Inc. dumped its bad loans on clients while misleading them about their value.

“WaMu selected delinquency-prone loans for sale in order to move risk from the banks’ books to the investors in WaMu securities,” Levin said.

Compounding that problem, the subcommittee found, was an apparently cozy relationship between WaMu and its regulator, the Office of Thrift Supervision.

WaMu E-Mail

The report cited a July 2008 e-mail from then-OTS director John Reich to WaMu CEO Kerry Killinger, in which Reich said the regulator would issue a memorandum of understanding regarding the bank’s problems.

“If someone were looking over our shoulders, they would probably be surprised we don’t already have one in place,” Reich wrote, apologizing twice for communicating the decision in an e-mail.

Under the Dodd-Frank regulatory overhaul, the OTS will be folded into other regulators in July.

“The head of OTS knew his agency had been providing preferential treatment to the bank,” Levin said. “The OTS was abolished by Dodd-Frank, and for good reasons.”

At yesterday’s press briefing Levin called credit rating firms Moody’s Investors Service and Standard & Poor’s “a key cause to the crisis.”

Triple-A Ratings

The raters, which the report says stamped the highest Triple-A grades on securities they knew were souring, were hamstrung by a system that has a built-in conflict of interest, Levin said. The Wall Street banks pay the firms for their ratings, leading to competitive pressure between the firms that may have pushed them to more readily place a high rating on a product.

The panel released nine “findings of fact” on the failures of the credit raters, including inadequate resources, inaccurate rating models and a failure to reevaluate old ratings when they recognized they might be inaccurate.

The raters also “shocked the financial markets” with mass downgrades of thousands of residential mortgage-backed securities and CDO ratings, according to the report.

“Perhaps more than any other single event, the sudden mass downgrades of RMBS and CDO ratings were the immediate trigger for the financial crisis,” the report said.

--With assistance from Christine Harper in New York. Editors: Lawrence Roberts, Dan Kraut

To contact the reporters on this story: Robert Schmidt in Washington at rschmidt5@bloomberg.net; Clea Benson in Washington at cbenson20@bloomberg.net; Phil Mattingly in Washington at pmattingly@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Lawrence Roberts at lroberts13@bloomberg.net


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2011年4月12日星期二

Taiwan stops Atomic reactor construction projects after the crisis of the Japan

April 12, 2011, 10: 23 pm EDT by Yu-huay Sun

April 13 (Bloomberg) - Taiwan Power Co., which operates three plants of atomic power of the island and built a fourth, interrupted plans for additional reactors and will examine the options after nuclear accident of the Japan by the earthquake on March 11.

Since the utility known as Taipower cancelled a tender to hire consultants on the addition of two more reactors at its nuclear plant No. 4 under construction, Chief Engineer Roger Lee said yesterday. The Government has also frozen a review of the application of the public service of the State to extend the licence of its no. 1 plant, which operates for 33 years, said Lee. "Taipower would rather take longer and spend more money to the public do not worry,"Lee said in an interview in the capital Taipei. The company is studying how to strengthen the capacity of the stations to resist earthquakes and tsunami, he said.Taiwan and the Japan are on the Pacific Ring of Fire, an earthquake-prone area. Three factories of Taipower, as the station of Fukushima Dai-Ichi disaster age of 40 years North of Tokyo, are near the ocean. They provide about 20 percent of the power of the island and are also close five kilometres (3 miles) of a fault active quake, Lee.The No. 2 factory is 22 km from Taipei and no. 3 is a national park and six kilometres from the coastal city of southern Hengchunsite of several resorts.ImportsThe of energy had considered as adding ten reactors at existing sites to reduce the dependence on coal and gas, Vice-President Taipower Hsu Hwai-chiung said.Taiwan imports about 99% of its energy needs. The island has begun commercial operations at its first reactor in 1978, after the world of energy crisis. In 1985, the island built six reactors at three sites. "Nuclear power as a source of reliable and sustainable energy, we have to take risks"with the potential for earthquakes and tsunamis to assign to Taiwan, said Lee."Provided generators 24 per cent of electricity from Taiwan in February, to 3 percent of the combustion of petroleum, 23% of gas and 41% of coal, depending on the site compared.The utility runs reactors 93% of the time, compared to a seventh for solar panels and a third for wind turbines, Lee said. "It is not easy to replace nuclear power with renewable energy,"he says. Taipower may increase natural gas generators to compensate the impasse plans of expansion of reactors, he said.Emissions CutsPresident Ma Ying-jeou, who took office in May 2008, is committed to reduce emissions to the levels of 2000 by 2025. Officials, including the former first Minister Liu Chao-shiuan, called nuclear option to help reduce carbon.Taipower applied to the authorities there are almost two years to extend the life of its central nuclear No. 1, which is allowed to operate for 40 years, according to Lee. "Now the expansion plan is suspended,"he says. Taipower may take measures, including the grout, of anchoraging and putting water doors more high to strengthen safety in nuclear power plants, after March 11 temblor in the Japan he said.The earthquake of magnitude 9 off the coast of the northeastern coast of the Japan and the subsequent tsunami led to what Kan Naoto Japanese Prime Minister called the worst crisis since the second world war.The total amount of radiation released from the crisis at the Tokyo Electric Power Co. Fukushima plant may eventually exceed that of the Chernobyl disaster, an official Tepco said yesterday.The disaster of Chernobyl RadiationThe combined 1986 at the nuclear plant of Chernobyl Ukraine widespread as high as 9 kilometers of debris in the air and radiation released 200 times the volume of the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945, according to a 2006 report commissioned by the expansion of the Party.Taipower Green nuclear Europe is at a standstill since the 1980s. The beginning of its nuclear station No. 4, first proposed in 1980, has been delayed five times at the end of next year for reasons of security and the rising costs of.The company can grow this additional return under the orders of Government to stricter inspections before allowing the fuel load, Lee, said last month, after the accidents of Fukushima. Construction 93% completed at the end of February.After March 11, temblor, issued Taiwan a tsunami warning its northern coast, where are located the nuclear stations 1, 2 and 4 of the Taipower. Plants have not been damaged by the waves.Advanced boiling reactor water station of General ElectricThe No. 4, designed by General Electric Co., have been installed, Lee said. Taipower is cable and inspect the instruments on the site, he said. Change the design of the reactor is not necessary that they are "already the most advanced", said Lee. The company does not have a new date of departure from the station.Taiwan sits on the faults or fractures geological, between the sea of the Philippines and Eurasian Continental tectonic plates. Earthquakes are more likely that the plates push together, stimulate concern perhaps dangerous zone for nuclear power plants. In September 1999, a temblor centered 150 kilometers southwest of Taipei killed about 2,500 people.In December 2006, Taipower stopped its central station nuclear No. 3 for the inspection, after a magnitude 7.1 earthquake struck near southern Taiwan, killing at least two people. The station is facing potential tsunamis of the pit of Manila in the South China Sea, said Lee.Taipower averted fatal incidents in its nuclear plants and takes measures, such as the design of the standard response to several disaster proceduresto prevent crises similar to that of Fukushima, he said. Each of the stations Taipower has three alternative generators more than Dai-Ichi complex, he said. "If there is something that we have not quite done, we will improve, Lee said.

-With the help of Janet NGO in Taipei. Writers: Todd White, John Viljoen

To contact the reporter on this story: Huay Yu Sun in Taipei to ysun7@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Amit Prakash to aprakash1@bloomberg.net


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Man dies after falling through the pasta machine

A man in his 20s died after falling into a pasta machine at this location in Toronto. (CBC)A man in his 20s died after falling in a pasta machine at this location in Toronto. (CBC)

A man died after he fell into a machine while working in a Toronto pulp factory on Monday.

The man, 26, was the future son-in-law of the owner of pasta Quistini, CBC News has learned.

A parent of a worker to pasta Quistini said CBC News became the shirt of the man, taking him in head first captured in a pulping machine. People who knew that the victim had stated that his first name was Justin. He was the daughter of the owner of the factory, they told CBC.

Police had little to say except that the ambulance were laid to deal with one of the members of staff who was still in shock after the accident.

The owner's brother said that his sister was admitted to the hospital in shock.

Because it is a work accident, the Department of labour studies.

The plant is located at 1700 Ormont Dr., near Weston Road and Steeles Avenue West.

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2011年4月11日星期一

Gbagbo guarded by United Nations after the arrest in Côte d'Ivoire

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Former Ivory Coast leader Laurent Gbagbo, who had been trying to cling to power from a bunker in his presidential compound, has been arrested by forces loyal to the country's recognized leader, Alassane Ouattara.

Gbagbo, holed up since last week in his compound in the administrative capital, Abidjan, was apprehended by Ouattara's soldiers Monday after French troops bombarded the compound overnight from helicopters and then choked off the area with nearly 30 armoured vehicles.

French Defence Minister Gerard Longuet denied his country's military was involved in the actual arrest, and the United Nations also issued a statement saying none of its peacekeepers took part Commander Issiaka Ouattara Watao of the pro-Ouattara Republican Force of Ivory Coast said French troops "didn't participate" in the capture.

Gbagbo, his wife Simone and his Michel were taken to the Golf Hotel in Abidjan, Outtara's headquarters for the last several months, where television footage showed them being held captive in a fourth-floor room. Gbagbo asked for, and was granted, protection from A police.

"I hope that the fighting will stop and that we have entered the civil part of the crisis, and that it can be rapidly resolved so that the country can move on," the ex-president said in brief remarks.

In an address to the nation on TV and radio, Ouattara cut short speculation that Gbagbo would be delivered to the International Criminal Court at The Hague, calling for an Ivorian investigation into the former president, his wife and their entourage.

"every measure has been taken to ensure the physical integrity of Mr. Laurent Gbagbo, his wife and all those arrested," he said. "they will receive dignified treatment and their rights will be respected."

Ouattara also said he intended to establish a truth and reconciliation commission and called on all fighters to put down their arms.

Gbagbo's capture raised hopes that the West African country's deadly, drawn-out civil strife would end, but sporadic gunfire still echoed across Abidjan on Monday night and residents refrained from celebrating in public, still fearful of the hundreds of armed loyalists who continue to prowl the streets and refuses to believe their leader has been arrested.

Earlier in the day, French tanks advanced toward Gbagbo's bunker, the first time that forces from the former colonial ruler have become involved in the ground operation to oust him. About 30 military vehicles, including tanks and armoured personal carriers, left a French army base.

Only several hundred meters from Gbagbo's mansion, at least 10 armoured vehicles flying the French flag drove through the neighbourhood, sending pro-Gbagbo gunmen fleeing. Two tanks took up a position at a key intersection, while the others advanced toward Gbagbo's home.

Former Ivory Coast president Laurent Gbagbo, left, and his wife, Simone, sit in a room at the Golf Hotel in Abidjan after they were arrested Monday. The pair are being guarded by UN police.Former Ivory Coast president Laurent Gbagbo, left, and his wife, Simone, sit in a room at the Golf Hotel in Abidjan after they were arrested Monday. The pair are being guarded by A police. (Reuters)

Issard Soumahro, a pro-Ouattara fighter at the scene, said the ground offensive to sixteen Gbagbo kicked in following a French aerial bombardment that lasted until at least 3 a.m. local time on Monday.

"We attacked and in forced part of the bunker." He was there with his wife and his son. "He wasn't hurt, but he was tired and his cheek was swollen from where a soldier had slapped him," Soumahro said.

Gbagbo emerged from his bunker in a white sleeveless undershirt. He then was interrogated and brought to the Golf Hotel. Officials were said to be waiting for him to sign a piece of paper formally handing power to Ouattara, Soumahro said.

"The nightmare is over for the people of Ivory Coast," said Youssoufou Bamba, Ivory Coast's an ambassador.

A Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said the capture ends months of unnecessary conflict.

"this is an end of a chapter that should never have been," Ban said. "we have to help them to restore stability, rule of law, and address all humanitarian and security issues."

He said Gbagbo's "physical safety should be ensured and I'm going to urge that."

Bamba, who was appointed an ambassador by Ouattara, said Gbagbo will face justice. He predicted that fighting that has wracked the former French colony will stop as soon as all of the pro-Gbagbo forces learn of his capture.

A soldier allied with Alassane Ouattara is given a handful of bullets for his new AK-47 after a shipment of weapons arrived at an operating base on the outskirts of Abidjan.A soldier allied with Alassane Ouattara is given a handful of bullets for his new AK - 47 after a shipment of weapons arrived at an operating base on the outskirts of Abidjan. (Rebecca Blackwell/Associated Press)

Some critics had accused Gbagbo of clinging to power in part to avoid prosecution by the International Criminal Court. ICC prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo has begun preliminary examination of possible war crimes and crimes against humanity in Ivory Coast, including accusations levelled against forces seeking to install Ouattara.

"We need to think about what his future should be," Ban said, adding that's up to Ouattara and his government.

Ivory Coast was divided into a rebel-controlled north and a loyalist south by a 2002-2003 civil war. The country was officially reunited in a 2007 peace deal. The long-delayed presidential election in November was intended to help reunify the nation but instead unleashed months of violence.

Gbagbo, who won 46 per cent of the vote, had held power for a decade and had already overstayed his mandate by five years when the Nov. 28 election took place. When the country's election commission and international observers declared he lost the vote, he refused to step down.

The 65-year-old former history professor near-universal defied pressure to cede power to Ouattara. The two set up parallel administrations that vied for control of the West African economic powerhouse, the world's largest cocoa producer. Ouattara drew his support from the UN and world powers. Gbagbo maintained his hold over the country's military and security forces, calling efforts to oust him a foreign coup d'etat.

Gbagbo has lost control of virtually the entire West African country over the last two weeks as forces loyal to internationally recognized winner Ouattara have swept down from the north and west into Abidjan.

Pro-Ouattara forces began an offensive late last month to install him in power, sweeping across the country in just days before meeting resistance in Abidjan.

"everyone here is traumatized," said Philomene hoe, a 39-year-old soap maker in Duekoue, a town in the country's southwest, where hundreds have been killed in post-election violence. "We've all lost something - a member of the family, our homes, our belongings."

Human Rights Watch has accused the pro-Ouattara forces of killing hundreds of civilians, raping political opponents and burning villages during the offensive to try to put Ouattara in office.

"While the international community has been focused on the political stalemate over the presidency, forces on both sides have committed numerous atrocities against civilians, their leaders showing little interest in reining in them," said Daniel Bekele, Human Rights Watch Africa director.

With files from The Associated Press Back to accessibility links

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2011年4月9日星期六

Ouattara maintains Gbagbo besieged after the rocket in Abidjan

April 09, 2011, 10: 11 am EDT by Jason McLure, Olivier Monnier and Pauline Bax

April 9 (Bloomberg) - the forces of the elected President of C?te d'Ivoire, Alassane Ouattara guarded residence of Laurent Gbagbo in Abidjan under siege after troops loyal to former leader fired at the Embassy of France.

Gbagbo forces launched two mortars and a rocket at the residence of the Ambassador of France in Abidjan yesterday, according to a statement by email of the Embassy. The BBC World Service French combat helicopters responded by attacking the Gbagbo forces, reported today.Gbagbo, who challenges the Ouattara internationally recognized victory in the presidential election on 28 November, remains in a bunker with his family and his senior aides. Many of his troops withdrew or defected as rebels now known as the Republican Forces swept first down in the North of Ivory Coast, producer of cocoa in the world, in Abidjan, the commercial capital.Separately, Human Rights Watch said forces loyal to killed Ouattara of hundreds of civilians, burned at least 10 villages and summarily raped women of an ethnic group seems to be loyal to Gbagbo. "Fighters often target people by ethnic origin, and the attacks affected disproportionately too old or weak to flee, said a report by e-mail late yesterday by the New York-based group. "Dozens of women were also held for a day or more and repeatedly raped."The killings occurred during a March by the Republican Forces offensive, in the West of the country the said group.SoldiersAbidjan appeal was quiet this morning at the electricity supply in some parts of the city of port. Administration of the Ouattara attempted to mobilize the army soldiers formerly loyal to Gbagbo, who was President from 2000 until last year. "In the"framework for the mobilization for the resumption of the service, the Prime Minister and Minister of defence"require officers, junior officers and the commanders of the army, marine, air force and Gendarmerie Nationale to register on the open lists, "said a statement by the administration of the Ouattara received e-mail today."Broadcasting television Ivoirienne of Gbagbo, whose offices are captured by the Republican Forces earlier this month, returned to the air yesterday, telling viewers to "the regime of Laurent Gbagbo is still in place" and calling for a "strong mobilisation" against Ouattara. It was not clear if emissions in the offices of former television State or in another location.AbandonedMore Homes that 1 million people have fled their homes during the four-month crisis, according to the United Nations. French exports and the United Nations peacekeeping forces in strikes of helicopter Abidjan against the forces of Gbagbo April 4. The European Union yesterday lifted restrictions on cocoa in Abidjan and San Pedro port, which is also under the control of the Ouattara. Cocoa in London fell by 25 pounds, or 1.3%, to 1,889 pounds ($3,095) per tonne at the end of yesterday.Human Rights Watch report said that before February, abuse against civilians were committed mainly by forces loyal to Gbagbo. This changed after the forces nominally under the control of Prime Minister Guillaume Soro of the Ouattara launched an offensive in late February. The atrocities led to a massacre on March 29, hundreds of civilians in the town of Duékoué West near the Liberian border, is home to a large number of people from the Guéré ethnic group, most which supported Gbagbo, said the report.Based in the Hague of the International Criminal Court began a review of allegations of crimes in C?te d'Ivoire and administration of the Ouattara has agreed to submit to its jurisdiction.

With the help of Drew Hinshaw in Dakar. Editors: Mike Harrison, Paul Sillitoe

To contact the reporters on this story: Jason McLure in Accra to the jmclure@bloomberg.net or Olivier Monnier and Pauline Bax in Abidjan via the ebowers@bloomberg.net Accra

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Antony Sguazzin to the asguazzin@bloomberg.net


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Ouattara maintains Gbagbo under siege in Abidjan, after the rocket attack on French - Bloomberg

The forces of the elected President of C?te d'Ivoire, Alassane Ouattara guarded residence of Laurent Gbagbo in Abidjan under siege after troops loyal to former leader fired at the Embassy of France.

Gbagbo forces launched two mortars and a rocket at the residence of the Ambassador of France in Abidjan yesterday, according to a statement by email of the Embassy. The BBC World Service French combat helicopters responded by attacking the Gbagbo forces, reported today.

Gbagbo, who challenges the Ouattara internationally recognized victory in the presidential election on 28 November, remains in a bunker with his family and his senior aides. Many of his troops withdrew or defected as rebels now known as the Republican Forces swept first down in the North of Ivory Coast, producer of cocoa in the world, in Abidjan, the commercial capital.

Separately, Human Rights Watch said forces loyal to the hundreds of civilians killed Ouattara, burned at least 10 villages and summarily raped women of an ethnic group seems to be loyal to Gbagbo.

"Fighters often target people by ethnic origin, and the attacks affected disproportionately too old or weak to flee, said a report by e-mail late yesterday by the New York-based group." "" Dozens of women were also held for a day or more and raped repeatedly. ?

The killings occurred during a March by the Republican Forces offensive, in the West of the country the said group.

Abidjan was calm this morning, with recovery in some parts of the port city of electricity supply. Administration of the Ouattara has tried to mobilize the army soldiers formerly loyal to Gbagbo, who was President from 2000 until last year.

"In the"framework for the mobilization for the resumption of the service, the Prime Minister and Minister of defence"require officers, junior officers and the commanders of the army, marine, air force and Gendarmerie Nationale to register on the open lists"."," said a statement by the administration of the Ouattara received e-mail today.

Broadcasting television Ivoirienne of Gbagbo, whose offices are captured by the Republican Forces earlier this month, returned to the air yesterday, telling viewers to "the regime of Laurent Gbagbo is still in place" and calling for a "strong mobilisation" against Ouattara. It was not clear if emissions in the offices of former television State or in another location.

More than 1 million people have fled their homes during the four-month crisis, according to the United Nations. Peacekeeping forces of the French peace and the United Nations in Abidjan has launched April 4 helicopter strikes against the forces of Gbagbo.

Yesterday, the European Union lifted the restrictions on exports of cocoa in Abidjan and San Pedro port, which is also under the control of Ouattara. Cocoa in London fell by 25 pounds, or 1.3%, to 1,889 pounds ($3,095) per tonne at the end of yesterday.

Human Rights Watch report said that before February, abuse against civilians were committed mainly by forces loyal to Gbagbo. This changed after the forces nominally under the control of Prime Minister Guillaume Soro of the Ouattara launched an offensive in late February. The atrocities led to a massacre on March 29, hundreds of civilians in the town of Duékoué West near the Liberian border, is home to a large number of people from the Guéré ethnic group, most which supported Gbagbo, said the report.

Based in the Hague of the International Criminal Court began a review of allegations of crimes in C?te d'Ivoire and administration of the Ouattara has agreed to submit to its jurisdiction.

With the help of Drew Hinshaw in Dakar. Editors: Mike Harrison, Paul Sillitoe

To contact the reporters on this story: Jason McLure in Accra to the jmclure@bloomberg.net or Olivier Monnier and Pauline Bax in Abidjan via the ebowers@bloomberg.net Accra

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Antony Sguazzin to the asguazzin@bloomberg.net


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2011年4月6日星期三

After Macondo: Why BP is still pumping Strong

By Joe Carroll, Jim Snyder, Stanley Reed, Brian Swint and Mike Lee

There are nearly a year of investors became so nervous in the weeks following the eruption of Macondo in the Gulf of the Mexico which they briefly do lend to BP (BP). They feared that British oil giant could be crushed under the weight of tens of billions of dollars in fines, cleanup costs and payments to the families of the rig 11 workers killed and businesses affected by the worst oil spill in the history of the United States. They proved to be wrong. BP is not only still in activity, it has more cash now than before the spill. Earlier this year the company has negotiated deals for massive energy in India and Russia. And, despite opposition from some in Congress, he even resumed exploration in the deep waters of the Gulf.

BP is "showing he can get off the canvas and was still some fight left," said William k. Reilly, co-Chair of the Commission for drilling Offshore appointed by President Obama to investigate the disaster and BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill. She "made many things right," he said.

Robert Dudley, the American who became the first non-British CEO of BP, in October deserves much of the credit for the resilience of the company. He has used enormous power gain of the company to help make peace with Washington. Last June, before even the support of Tony Hayward, Dudley helped set up the Gulf Coast claims Facility Trust Fund $ 20 billion which, to date, handed out only $ 3.6 billion in scholarships to individuals and businesses hurt by the spill. At the end of 2010, BP had spent of $ 10.7 billion on the cleanup, including the costs of deployment of boats skimming floating oil booms, aircraft and crews combed the beaches and marshes of oily residues. He also promised 500 million dollars to the University on the environment of the Gulf research and support for the industries of fishing and tourism in the region. "There are few companies with the resources to do what BP," says j. Robinson West, President of the PFC Energy Advisor.

That BP was not able to do is erase the memory of the spill. The U.S. Department of Justice is considering charges of manslaughter against some managers of BP from death caused by the eruption, according to three people familiar with the case. This would be a setback to the efforts of Dudley to Polish the reputation of BP and boost its stock, offshore from 29 per cent since the disaster April 20. And the company still has enemies fail on Capitol Hill. U.S. Representative Steve Scalise (R-LA., accuses BP for the loss of 12,000 jobs by the drilling moratorium until recently interrupted new exploration in deep water. BP "hurts the rest of the industry so as to are not fair," said Scalise.

BP has the financial flexibility to weather most of the storms. Despite its heavy spill related pile of BP cash spending has more than doubled in 2010 to $ 18.6 billion. Cash free flow will probably another $ 8 billion to $ 10 billion this year to the current level of prices for oil, estimates Fadel Gheit, an analyst at Oppenheimer & Co. (OPY) in New York. Figures Gheit BP has a value of $ 300 billion debacle, making it able to finance the losses on 41 billion in costs related to the spill, he has already written. Gheit doubt BP losses will exceed this level.

As his energy company returns to something close to normal, BP 28 March resumed its quarterly dividend, which was suspended after the spill to pay. Perhaps most surprising, the company has everything to lose substantial business in the BP to the United States must a 47% interest in a site called the prospect of Santiago, which, on 28 February, received the first license, U.S. to resume drilling in the Gulf in deep waterAfter a period of 10 months stop. BP call the boat to Santiago, which is operated by energy (NBL) Noble, but it will likely influence the design issues well.


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