| Exclusive Afghanistan
The arguments about the politics go on, despite the military. The reasons for this, of course, are access and danger: journalists have to be embedded, and for them to go to the front line in Afghanistan or Iraq without the protection of the military would be bonkers and, more important to most newspapers and television channels, far too expensive. Get too close to soldiers and you lose your even-handedness; you identify with them. So, military news on television is limited to shaky phone video taken by amateurs or junior reporters in flak jackets, paraphrasing military press releases from the roof of an international hotel, out of harm’s way. Then there are the reality shows that look at a regiment with an invariably adoring, sentimental eye; in truth, it’s difficult not to like soldiers when they’re on your side.
Glencore – the power behind the Xstrata throne
As global mining firms circle London-listed Xstrata, behind the headlines is one of the most powerful commodities companies in the world and two men seen among the sharpest in the business. Holder of a strategic 34.6 percent stake in Xstrata is privately-owned trading firm Glencore International, which from the Swiss lakeside town of Zug controls a multibillion-dollar pipeline of oil, coal and crops as well as metals, and has almost $15 billion in shareholder funds in its coffers. Glencore began life in 1974 as a commodity trading firm set up by secretive billionaire commodities merchant Marc Rich, who sold out to management in 1994. The men who run Glencore now, Chairman Willy Strothotte and Chief Executive Ivan Glasenberg, may not be as famous but they have arguably been as successful.
Colossal bank swindle hits France
Its losses spiralled to US$7.1 billion as it tried to close out the rogue positions in Mondays sliding market.
The countrys top banker dubbed the trader a a genius of fraud. SocGen declined to give a name, but three sources at the bank named him as Jerome Kerviel, 31, a trader on the banks award-winning equity derivatives desk earning less than 100,000 euros a year. Kerviel could not be reached for comment.
If fraud is proved, the loss will be the biggest ever caused by a single trader, dwarfing the US$1.4 billion loss by trader Nick Leeson that broke the British Barings bank, and the US$2.6 billion that the Sumitomo Corp. lost in rogue copper trades in the 1990s.
It also eclipses a US$6 billion-plus loss racked up by the hedge fund Amaranth trader Brian Hunter and his team ahead of the funds collapse in 2006.
Behave Or Else
Whole departments bond through group salad days. All of them work for King County — and all of them are doing what they do as part of an ambitious "wellness" experiment that ties what they pay for health benefits to the effort they make to be healthy. The approach represents a novel and relatively benevolent ripple in what has become a sea change in how employers are addressing health benefits. The reason? You might say the health-care system is morbidly obese. Businesses are facing not only a more competitive global market and soaring shareholder expectations but also the inefficiencies and excesses of a voracious medical system. Workers are expensive. And unhealthy workers are the most expensive of all. In any given year, 10 percent of them account for 70 percent of the health-care costs.
Russia's Economy Looks Good From Davos
Before Thursday, the ruble-denominated MICEX index, where Russian stocks are most traded, had shed 20 percent since its Dec. 12 high -- the common definition of a bear market. On Thursday, the index jumped by 5.8 percent, its biggest gain in 19 months. The dollar-denominated RTS index added 5.2 percent Thursday. (Story, Page 5.) Optimism over Russia's outlook seems to be prompting some investors, including Pakistan's largest private bank, Habib Bank, to take a closer look at the country. "I think the emerging markets are going to be largely immune to the subprime crisis," said R. Zakir Mahmood, president and CEO of Habib Bank, which has more than 1,400 branches. Mahmood said he was looking to establish ties with Russian banks and companies and would attend the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum this June for the first time.
Thomson Financial Europe AM at a glance share guide: Shares mixed, oil ...
Oil futures ended an erratic session higher Tuesday as investors focused on expectations that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates and OPEC will hold production steady, and shrugged off estimates that domestic crude inventories rose last week. METALS: Gold prices fell as the dollar was mixed against major European currencies. EVENTS: FOMC meeting (interest rate decision due 1915 GMT) US weekly API, Department of Energy oil inventory data (0330 GMT) Jan ADP national employment report (1315 GMT) Q4 GDP (advance) (1330 GMT) Kraft Foods Inc Q4 results. EPS forecast 44 cents vs 51 (before market opens) Merck & Co Inc Q4 results. EPS forecast 73 cents vs 50 (before market opens) Allergan Inc Q4 results. EPS forecast 58 cents vs 51 (1700 GMT) Amazon Com Inc Q4 results. EPS forecast 48 cents vs 23 (1700 GMT) Boeing Co Q4 results.
The BIG Immigration Debate
Regarding the migration to the north from the south, its only natural that if you teach me that all that is good is in the north, why will i not like to experience it first hand. It becomes a problem in the north based on 2 main issues 1. When the immigrant becomes successful ( economically or literally= jealousy e.g. Al Fayed ) 2. Unsuccessful ( economically or literally= crime, destitute, social welfare benefits e.g. a Jamaican rude-boy) In other words, immigrants are just not wanted in the north. What then is the essence of Globalization? .
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