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Wednesday, August 26, 2009

United States President Barack Obama announced on Tuesday that he is nominating Ben Bernanke for a second term as Chairman of the Federal Reserve, the central bank of the United States.

Obama made the announcement during a brief break from his vacation at Martha’s Vineyard in Massachusetts.

“The man next to me, Ben Bernanke, has led the Fed through one of the worst financial crises that this nation and the world has ever faced. As an expert on the causes of the Great Depression, I’m sure Ben never imagined that he would be part of a team responsible for preventing another. But because of his background, his temperament, his courage, and his creativity, that’s exactly what he has helped to achieve. And that is why I am re-appointing him to another term as Chairman of the Federal Reserve,” the President said.

“Ben approached a financial system on the verge of collapse with calm and wisdom; with bold action and outside-the-box thinking that has helped put the brakes on our economic freefall,” Obama added.

“We have been bold or deliberate as circumstances demanded, but our objective remains constant: to restore a more stable economic and financial environment in which opportunity can again flourish, and in which Americans’ hard work and creativity can receive their proper rewards,” Ben Bernanke said while accepting the nomination.

Ben Bernanke, who succeeded Alan Greenspan on February 1, 2006, will now face a Senate confirmation hearing.

“There will be a thorough and comprehensive confirmation hearing,” said Senator Christopher Dodd, who is the chair of the Senate Banking Committee. “I expect many serious questions will be raised about the role of the Federal Reserve moving forward and what authorities it should and should not have.”

“I am extremely pleased to learn that Ben Bernanke has been nominated for a second term as chairman of the Federal Reserve,” read a statement by Jean-Claude Trichet, the President of the European Central Bank. “We have had an excellent and very close working relationship during the current episode of exceptional challenges for the world economy. The Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank have, together with other central banks, initiated an unprecedented level of close cooperation, which has been key in coping with the present situation.”

Monday, April 18, 2005

The Romanian Minster for Economy and Commerce, Codru? Sere?, announced on Friday that his ministry intends to sell 10% of its shares in the state-owned natural gas distributor, Romgaz, this year. The Ministry is still deciding whether to transfer the stock to financial investors or whether to list it on the Bucharest Stock Exchange.

Romgaz is one of the largest state-owned companies in Romania falling under the ownership of the Ministry of Economy and Commerce. In 2005, the company is expected to have an estimated turnover of 648 million euro.

Romgaz is the latest Romanian energy company where plans have been announced for privatisation. Last year, the privatisation of natural gas distributors Distrigaz Sud and Distrigaz Nord was proposed, and is expected to be fully completed by the end of this month. Last year, Romanian oil giant Petrom was privatised, in the country’s largest ever privatisation, and this year the Electrica Group of electricity distributors was sold off to various financial investors.

Thursday, November 25, 2010

A jawbone found in Aruba is not that of missing American Natalee Holloway, who was a recent high school-graduate at the time of her disappearance. Officials confirmed the news after Dutch scientists completed tests on the bone. The jawbone, which also had a wisdom tooth with it, was found by an American tourist close to the Phoenix Hotel. A second bone had also been found by another tourist earlier this month.

The bone was sent to the Netherlands Forensic Institute where scientists completed tests. They compared the bone to dental records given to them by Natalee’s father, from which they confirmed the the bone was not that of Natalee, although it was human. It was said to be unlikely that the bone was Holloway’s as there is no physical evidence that she was murdered.

Taco Stein, the Aruban Solicitor General, released a statement after the announcement was made. He commented on the speed of the identification; he said that they had quickly ruled out Holloway because her records had shown that she had her wisdom teeth previously removed.

Tim Miller, the Director of the Texas EquuSearch, released a statement after talking to Natalee’s father. He said “Dave [Natalee’s father] has been in contact with Aruban authorities and spoke with FBI this morning, the agent working the case. Dave believes it is Natalee.”

An attorney for Natalee’s mother, Beth Twitty, released a statement saying “Beth accepts the forensic conclusions, is emotionally exhausted from the inexplicably long wait, and deeply disappointed in the time and manner in which she learned of the results.” He commented on the Aruban authorities saying that “Apparently Aruban prosecutors were more sensitive to media concerns than the painful vigil of a mother.”

Natalee Holloway disappeared on the island in 2005 while on a school trip. She was last seen leaving a nightclub with three men, one of which was later identified as Joran van der Sloot. Van der Sloot was detained twice by police but has never been charged with Holloway’s disappearance. He is currently in Peru facing a different murder charge. Aruban authorities have said that they are checking neighboring islands to find a match for other missing persons.

Sunday, January 10, 2010

Chinese officials have said that their country’s exports surged last December to edge out Germany as the world’s biggest exporter.

The official Xinhua news agency reported today that figures from the General Administration for Customs showed that exports jumped 17.7% in December from a year earlier. Over the whole of 2009 total Chinese exports reached US$1.2 trillion, above Germany’s forecast $1.17 trillion.

Huang Guohua, a statistics official with the customs administration, said the December exports rebound was an important turning point for China’s export sector. He commented that the jump was an indication that exporters have emerged from their downslide.

“We can say that China’s export enterprises have completely emerged from their all-time low in exports,” he said.

However, although China overtook Germany in exports, China’s total foreign trade — both exports and imports — fell 13.9% last year.

Wednesday, February 23, 2005The leu, Romania’s national currency, continues to appreciate against the euro and the US dollar after it reached high levels a few days ago. Yesterday, one euro could be bought for just 35,844 lei, down from 36,133 lei two days ago. These rates are also significantly stronger from the period in mid-2004 when the euro was worth more than 40,000 lei. Last week, the leu reached such a high rate against the euro that the National Bank of Romania had to intervene and restore the exchange rate back to around 37,000 lei per euro. The leu’s growth also had an impact on global exchange rates, weakening the US dollar worldwide by 1%.

The National Bank, however, is hesitant to intervene in the marketplace once again due to the positive effects of the leu’s appreciation on importers, who can now get products for lower prices, and for consumers, who now have higher purchasing power for imported goods. Romanians are also pleased that their currency, which has faced long periods of fairly sharp depreciation in the 1990s due to high inflation, is finally picking up again and strengthening against other currencies.

The leu’s appreciation, however, isn’t all positive, because it is putting a great deal of pressure on exporters. Other countries are finding Romanian exports more expensive, and therefore less competitive, due to the leu’s appreciation, and this could widen the already large account deficit in the country.

Analysts predict, however, that the leu’s surge cannot be stopped and it will continue strengthening against the euro, reaching a rate of 34,000 lei for one euro in the next week.

The current leu will be replaced in July 2005 with the New Leu (RON), with 10,000 old lei = 1 New Leu. The revaluation is expected to prepare Romania for adoption of the euro in 2012. Starting from next month, all Romanian prices must be shown in both the old currency and the new currency. The National Bank of Romania has said that it expects the exchange rate between the New Leu and the euro to hover at around 3.5 RON = 1 euro when the RON is introduced.

Sunday, June 20, 2010

An explosive device was left inside a van parked outside a local police station in the small village of Aughnacloy, County Tyrone in Northern Ireland. Army experts carried out a controlled explosion and have been examining the vehicle since. The van was left at about 10:00pm local time on Thursday night.

Police from the area have confirmed that around 350 residents in the area were evacuated and spent the night in three community halls. Since the report Aughnacloy is partially open and the A5 road is accessible, although there is little access into Aughnacloy itself.

The alert was raised during a telephone call to a newspaper office in Belfast. The caller used a recognised codeword and informed the newspaper the bomb will be detonated in an hour, which triggered an automatic response from police officers. Democratic Unionist Party councillor Sammy Brush said the evacuation seemed “fairly well organised” and there was “no panic”, but it had to be completed within an hour to ensure the bomb could be safely disarmed and removed.

The bomb is thought to have been left by Dissident Republicans, which have been responsible for other similar attacks on official buildings this year. The bomb was left in an unmarked white Ford Transit van, which witnesses reported had the engine left running. The detonation device was believed to have been triggered, but the 300lb worth of explosives had failed to detonate. Brain Kee, the Aughnacloy PSNI Superintendent said, “If it had detonated it would have caused widespread devastation in the village and it’s very likely that lives would have been lost.”

Tom Elliott, Ulster Unionist Party MLA for Fermanagh and South Tyrone, described the event as “deeply distressing.” He went on to say that “this was an apparently large and viable device, which was planted with just an hour’s warning, is deeply saddening for those who are committed to a peaceful future” and that such incidents were “becoming a familiar feature of life in Northern Ireland once again”. Michelle Gildernew, Sinn Fein MP for Fermanagh and South Tyrone, said those responsible for this act should “seriously reflect on what they are doing” and “[t]heir actions are no part of a campaign to bring about Irish unity and they have little or no popular support”.

A car, thought to have been used for the get-away, has been found burnt out just over the border in the Republic of Ireland. Mr Kee and the Irish Minister for Foreign Affairs Micheál Martin have asked for any witnesses to contact the Gardai or the PSNI immediately.

Wednesday, July 27, 2005

President Bush is lobbying the U.S. House of Representatives to pass the Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA), which is scheduled for a vote Wednesday night. The U.S. Senate passed the treaty in June.

Similar to the existing North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) among the U.S., Canada, and Mexico, CAFTA would create a free trade zone putting an end to most trade barriers between the United States and six additional countries, including Costa Rica, El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala, Nicaragua, and the Dominican Republic.

The free trade agreement faces stiff opposition among Democrats. Many Republicans who represent agricultural Corn Belt or industrial Rust Belt and southern textile states in Congress also have stated opposition to the bill. But with a Republican majority in the House large enough to ensure passage of CAFTA, party leaders are trying to shore up enough votes to ensure CAFTA’s passage.

This has prompted last minute action by the President to lobby individual members of the House, reminding them that Central American countries have committed troops and other resources to fight the U.S. War on Terror. Other Republican leaders have been using the party’s traditional pro-business message and linking it to homeland security issues.

“Trade creates jobs and lifts people out of poverty and there’s nothing like a stable society to fight terrorism and strengthen democracy, freedom and rule of law,” Dennis Hastert, Speaker of the House, reportedly said at a news conference Tuesday.

But the opposition disagrees. CAFTA is “a bad deal for Central Americans and also for Latinos in this community… (with CAFTA) the exploitation of workers will continue in Central America,” Democrat Representative Hilda Solis of Los Angeles said. Her views are common among Democrats, who are overwhelmingly against the treaty.

According to opponents of CAFTA, the current trend of American jobs being sent to foreign countries, particularly in the information technology sector, would greatly expand under the treaty.

“This will be a vote in the middle of the night. They’ll keep the vote open for several hours, in violation of the rules. If it passes, it will be by fewer than five votes,” predicted Rep. Sherrod Brown, a Democrat from Ohio, according to a Washington Post report.

Sunday, June 18, 2006

The legality of speeding and parking fines in New South Wales, Australia is set to be tested in court this week. A lawyer from Sydney will challenge the authority of the state’s infringement processing bureau to issue fines for speeding and parking offences.

The lawyer claims that when the NSW government moved control of the bureau from the NSW Police to the Office of State Revenue in October 2001, the government failed to make correct legislative changes. He claims that all fines issued since the move are invalid.

The basis of the case revolve around whether or not the infringement processing bureau has powers to issue penalty notices (fines) under NSW law.

The bureau said that the case would only be relevant to fines which are disputed by a person in court. The bureau said that only five per cent of fines are challenged.

“People who did not elect to go to court and have paid their infringement notice will not be affected by any decision, so the issue of refunds does not arise,” a statement by the Office of State Revenue said.

For the 2004/2005 financial year, the infringement processing bureau recorded revenues of AUD$158.7 million from fines.

NSW Opposition leader Peter Debnam said the government has once again failed to write legislation correctly. “The bottom line with this thing is that the Government simply hasn’t done its homework. We see this time and time again, legislation going through parliament, and it ends up costing tax payers a fortune,” he said.