The Protection of Personal Information Bill (the Bill), which deals with data privacy and information protection, is expected to become law later this

This weekend the 10th graduating class of Latin American global business leaders will graduate from Thunderbird School of Global Management’s Global Masters of Business Administration (Global MBA) for Latin American Managers. The Global MBA degree is offered jointly with Latin America’s leading management school, Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey in Monterrey, Mexico.

Since it began in 1998, more than 1,150 students have graduated from the 21-month Global MBA program. Those graduates hold leadership positions in business and government throughout the region. This year’s graduating class includes 146 citizens of 16 countries, including Argentina, Belgium, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, France, Italy, Mexico, Peru, South Korea, Trinidad & Tobago, United States and Venezuela.

The joint Global MBA degree combines the prestige of the world’s top-ranked global management school (Thunderbird) and Latin America’s No. 1 MBA program (Tecnológico de Monterrey). World-renowned faculty at Thunderbird and Tecnologico de Monterrey offer courses on basic and advanced global business topics, cross-cultural negotiation and communications, and a wide variety of case studies focused on Latin America. Students earn their Global MBA degree through a combination of local class facilitation, distance-learning technology and live state-of-the-art satellite broadcasting from Thunderbird’s Glendale and Tecnológico de Monterrey’s Mexico City and Monterrey campuses as well as other locations throughout Latin America.

“We are delighted to see the 10th graduating class of this joint degree program with the Tec de Monterrey,” said Bert Valencia, Thunderbird’s vice president for distance learning and executive director of the Global MBA program. “Our students participate in the program from six sites in Mexico, as well as sites in Bolivia, Colombia, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Peru and the U.S. The graduation ceremony will be broadcast via satellite back to those sites so the families and friends of students can share in the event. We congratulate our soon-to-be graduates for this major accomplishment."

The convocation will be held at 9 a.m. June 6 at the Carefree Resort & Villas in Carefree, Ariz. Prior to graduation, students will be on the Glendale campus from May 31 to June 5 for their final classroom instruction. Joining the celebration will be Thunderbird President Dr. Ángel Cabrera and Tecnológico de Monterrey Chancellor Dr. Rafael Rangel Sostmann. Dr. Salvador Trevino Martinez, director of the Institute for the Development of Business Education, vice-president of Relationships & Development.at Tecnológico de Monterrey in Mexico, will serve as the convocation speaker.

A live stream of the convocation will be available during the ceremony at Once you are on the Web site, click on “Universidad Virtual TV” and select either Canal one for Spanish or Canal two for English.

Thunderbird offers a wide range of degree and nondegree programs for companies, working professionals and full-time students, including executive education, traditional and accelerated MBAs in Global Management, Executive MBAs (in the U.S. and Europe), Evening MBA, Global MBA On-Demand, the Global MBA for Latin American Managers, the Master of Science in Global Management and the Master of Arts in Global Affairs and Management.

Recent Articles - Item [100624]: News Release Data protection - a glimpse of what lies ahead for employers

The Protection of Personal Information Bill (the Bill), which deals with data privacy and information protection, is expected to become law later this year. This Bill has significant implications for South African business.

The object of the Bill is to give effect to the constitutional right to privacy in a way that balances the other rights contained in the Bill of Rights by protecting a person's personal information when it is processed by public and private bodies, subject to reasonable limitations.

The Bill defines 'Personal Information' as including information about an identifiable, natural person, and where applicable, an identifiable, juristic person, relating to a person's race, gender, sex, financial status and the like.

The Bill incorporates eight principles relating to the protection of data:

• The first principle deals with processing limitations. Personal Information may only be processed in line with the law and in a way that does not intrude on the privacy of persons.

• The second principle focuses on the purpose for which Personal Information is collected.

• The third principle is aimed at limiting the use of Personal Information to the purpose for which it was collected.

• Principle four requires that Personal Information be kept complete, up to date and it must not be misleading.

• The Information Protection Commission (the Commission) is to be created and will, in terms of Principle five, require an employer to notify the Commission that it has collected Personal Information of its employees.

• Through principle six, the Bill requires employers to take the necessary measures to ensure that Personal Information is protected from loss, damage and destruction by identifying possible threats and implementing safeguards to protect against such threats.

• Employers now have an obligation in terms of principle seven to inform employees about other parties who have accessed their information and employees have the right to correct their Personal Information.

• Finally, principle eight places a measure of accountability on employer's shoulders by ensuring that the provisions of the Bill are complied with.

Employers will be obliged to treat Personal Information as confidential and they may not process such information without the consent of the employee concerned. Where an employer has compromised the security and safe keeping of an employee's Personal Information, the employer is now under an obligation to immediately alert the Commission and the employee in writing within a reasonable time.

Banking institutions who publish the names of employees dismissed for misconduct may run into some difficulty with this practice because the Bill requires employers to obtain the consent of an employee before publishing Personal Information. Employers are further placed under an obligation to notify employees of the purpose of processing Personal Information and that an employer would not use this information for further processing, unless such information is obtained from a public record.

Where an employee has been involved in criminal behaviour or unlawful or objectionable conduct connected with a ban imposed with regard to such conduct, the employer may process the information where it will be used for assessing the employee in order to make a decision about them.

Notwithstanding these limitations, employers may take some comfort in knowing that the general principles of the Bill will, in due course, be supplemented by codes of conduct which will provide more detailed and practical guidelines on how to use Personal Information. However, it is clear that in terms of this Bill employers should now take a closer look at their policies and procedures.

MSU International Business Center (CIBER)

Knowledge development centers on conducting research that produces leading-edge knowledge. IBC develops innovative international business knowledge via a programmatic research agenda. The focus is on how to improve the international competitiveness of corporations and non-profit organizations. Our broad skill-set allows us to tackle research by qualitative and quantitative solutions. We focus on originality and managerial relevance. Our expertise centers on the globalization potential of corporations, global supply chains, what makes small and medium enterprises thrive globally, opportunities in emerging markets, and global product development. Published since 1996, IBC maintains the annual index of Market Potential Indicators for Emerging Markets.

Some of these topics are investigated by IBC, while others are researched in collaboration with a worldwide network of researchers. MSU has a world-leading international business research faculty (Management International Review, 2004) and influence (Journal of International Business Studies, 2005). At MSU, IBC draws on more than 150 interdisciplinary colleagues throughout some 25 international units to conduct cutting-edge research and to mentor doctoral candidates. MSU has produced the 6^th most Ph.D.'s in business since 1960 (METF, 2003), and our doctoral students rank #5 in the world in total citations (Academic Assessment Services, 2004).

National Grid volunteers to double community action

National Grid sponsors 25th anniversary national Volunteers’ Week.

- Company highlights community, personal and business benefits of employee volunteering
- Pledges to double number of employees involved in community projects, charities and local good causes during work time
- Research among general public shows more than half of respondents admitted to having never done any voluntary work

Research commissioned by gas and electricity networks operator National Grid reveals fifty one per cent of respondents admitted to never having done any voluntary work.

But the company says volunteering brings new skills into the workplace, boosts employee motivation and enhances companies’ reputations.

On the eve of the 25th national Volunteers’ Week – sponsored by National Grid – the UK’s largest utility is so convinced by the benefits of volunteering that it has pledged to at least double the number of its employees who lend a helping hand to community projects, charities and local good causes over the next year.

Currently over ten per cent of its10,000-strong UK workforce are actively involved in volunteering in work time which amounted to 13,500 hours dedicated to volunteering in 2008/09.

Urging more of his staff to take up the challenge of volunteering, National Grid Chief Executive, Steve Holliday, said: “Not only is this the right thing for us to be doing, but we believe that everyone benefits from volunteering.

“The community benefits from being able to tap into the skills and enthusiasm of our workforce. Individuals learn so much from the experience and bring different skills back into the workplace. And National Grid benefits from having a motivated workforce who are proud to work for the company.

“At the moment, one in ten of National’s Grid’s employees take part in volunteering projects organised by the company in work time and I would like to see this doubled over the next twelve months.”

Justin Davis Smith, Chief Executive of Volunteering England said: “We very much welcome National Grid’s sponsorship of Volunteers’ Week and the company’s dedication to promoting volunteering among its employees.

“National Grid recognises the enormous benefits of volunteering, not just for the communities in which it works, but for the employees themselves and the wider business benefit.”

The research commissioned by National Grid for Volunteers’ Week also revealed that only one in ten respondents (11 per cent) is currently actively involved in volunteering.

More than a quarter of those surveyed (27 per cent) said they would consider volunteering if they lost their job in the recession and one in four (24 per cent) thought they would be more favourably regarded by a potential future employer if they did voluntary work.

The research also found that employers could boost the number of volunteers if they were prepared to offer time off to employees during work, but only one in eight (12.5 per cent) companies actively encourage staff to undertake, within reason, voluntary work during their paid working time.

Volunteers' Week is an initiative of the volunteer development agencies working across the UK: Volunteering England, Wales Council for Voluntary Action, Volunteer Development Agency Northern Ireland and Volunteer Development Scotland.

Innovation in India and China How to Create Value from Emerging Markets

he Centre for India & Global Business is proud to partner with the Marketing Science Institute (MSI) and Blood Orange Media to host a seminar that explores the rise of India and China as both fast-growing global markets and world-class sources of innovation.

Even as the world sinks into a global recession, the Indian and Chinese economies are expected to continue to grow, on the strength of their vast domestic markets. But many Western companies struggle to devise the right business model(s) and marketing strategies that can help them penetrate and succeed in both giant Asian markets. This conference will explore the best practices for innovating and winning in the Indian and Chinese markets, as well as discuss how the globalization of Indian and Chinese firms are reshaping entire industries - from manufacturing to retail to film and art.

Why Oulu, Finland?

Oulu thrives on a balance of technology, business services and education and is often recognized as a young, creative and entrepreneurial city in a dynamic, growing region. The reasons are solid and varied, but the theme that most often tops the list is this—the workforce. Whether inventing new wireless and computing platforms, enabling global connections using new devices, coding software, or breaking ground in the research lab, this region's greatest resource is its educated, skilled and adaptable people. Diverse, highly trained and readily available—Oulu is recognized worldwide for the knowledge and quality of its workforce. These factors have become known for more and more investors and companies when searching for new business opportunities in Finland.

Oulu also boasts a cosmopolitan atmosphere without the big-city hassle, reasonable cost of living, gorgeous scenery and friendly people. Oulu gets high marks for its lifestyle and the opportunities to pursue challenging career opportunities. It´s an ideal destination both for relocating families and relocating singles. It´s also a mecca for creative, talented people pursuing challenging careers. Oulu´s diverse business community prizes entrepreneurial, innovative people.

Let us help you to find new business opportunities in Finland!

Martti Ahtisaari Institute of Global Business and Economics at Oulu University -

The University of Oulu has founded an international economic research and training institute at its Faculty of Economics and Business Administration. The new institute is the Martti Ahtisaari Institute of Global Business and Economics. President Martti Ahtisaari inaugurated his namesake institute at the University of Oulu today.

Based on broad international cooperation, the Martti Ahtisaari Institute of Global Business And Economics will focus on development of teaching and research carried out at the Faculty. The objective is to train business leaders and specialists for emerging economies and developing nations with support from international organizations.

The Institute will also promote international business know-how and opportunities. The goal is to improve the availability of internationally competitive specialists especially in northern Finland.

Beginning next fall, the Faculty of Economics and Business Administration will include all key areas of business expertise. The Martti Ahtisaari Institute of Global Business And Economics will offer the following current and forthcoming English-language programs:

- Master's Program in Financial and Management Accounting (FMA), 2003
- Master's Program in International Business (IB), 2008-
- Master's Program in Finance and Economics (FE), 2008-
- Full time Master of Business Administration program (MBA), 2008-

A maximum of 50 students will be accepted for the programs in the first round of applications taking place next fall. The goal is to eventually double the enrolment.

President Martti Ahtisaari graduated as a teacher from the University of Oulu in 1959, which was the University's first year of operations. He has been awarded an Honorary Doctorate by the University. The Institute deals with the key issues of President Ahtisaari's life work. Thanks to research, our understanding of the interdependency between global trade and international conflicts has improved greatly in recent years although there is still much to be learned and understood.

For further information, please contact:
Rector Lauri Lajunen, University of Oulu, tel. +358 (0) 8 553 4071; Dean, Professor Kimmo Alajoutsijärvi, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, University of Oulu, tel. +358 (0)8 553 2929.

Founded in 1958, the University of Oulu is an international university that engages in frontline research and trains specialists for demanding regional, national and international tasks. With 17,000 students and 3,000 staff, the University of Oulu is one of Finland's biggest and most multidisciplinary universities. The Faculty of Economics and Business Administration is responsible for research in its field in northern Finland and also becoming increasingly international. Its student enrolment is 1,200 and it has a staff of 100.

North Korea jails US journalists

Euna Lee and Laura Ling were found guilty of "hostile acts" and illegal entry into the communist state.

They were arrested in March after allegedly crossing into North Korea from China.

The US said it was "deeply concerned" by the sentence and called for the release of the two women on humanitarian grounds.

The trial comes amid growing tensions over North Korea's nuclear programme.

"The trial confirmed the grave crime they (the reporters) committed against the Korean nation and their illegal border crossing as they had already been indicted and sentenced each of them to 12 years of reform through labour," state-run KCNA news agency said in a brief report.

The news agency gave no further details.

Outside observers were not allowed to witness the hearing at Pyongyang's court.

The verdict means that the journalists face the prospect of spending years in one of the North's prison camps, where conditions are reported to be extremely harsh, the BBC's Chris Hogg in Seoul says.

'Bargaining chips'

In a statement, the US State Department said: "We are deeply concerned by the reported sentencing of the two American citizen journalists by North Korean authorities, and we are engaged through all possible channels to secure their release."

Euna Lee and Laura Ling were arrested by North Korean guards on 17 March while working on the China-North Korea border on a story about refugees for California-based internet broadcaster Current TV.

Some reports have suggested that the women were held while on Chinese soil, but Pyongyang's state media say they had illegally entered North Korea.

The pair have been held in detention since their arrest.

There are fears they will now be used as "bargaining chips" by North Korean leader Kim Jong-il in his efforts to win concessions from Washington, our correspondent says.

The women's families have appealed for clemency and asked Pyongyang and Washington not to link the case to the current diplomatic stand-off between them.

European voters punish the left

Centre-right parties have done well in elections to the European Parliament at the expense of the left.

Far-right and anti-immigrant parties also made gains, as turnout figures plunged to between 43 and 44%.

The UK Labour Party, Germany's Social Democrats and France's Socialist Party were heading for historic defeats.

Correspondents say the centre-right European People's Party (EPP) looks set to continue to hold power in the parliament.

Jose Manuel Barroso, who seems set for a second term as European Commission president following the centre-right success, thanked voters and assured them their voices would be heard.

"Overall, the results are an undeniable victory for those parties and candidates that support the European project and want to see the European Union delivering policy responses to their everyday concerns," he said.

Socialist leader Martin Schulz said his group's defeat would be analysed.

"It's a sad evening for social democracy in Europe. We are particularly disappointed, [it is] a bitter evening for us," he said.

Vice-president of the European Commission Margot Wallstrom said the low turnout was a "bad result".

Government defeats

Fringe groups appear to have benefited, with far-right and anti-immigrant parties picking up seats in the Netherlands, Austria, Denmark, Slovakia and Hungary. The British National Party won two seats - its first ever in a nationwide election.

More bodies found from lost jet

Dozens of pieces of debris from the Air France plane were also picked up by Brazilian and French ships.

They were found some 1,000km (600 miles) north-east of Brazil's Fernando de Noronha islands where the Airbus disappeared with 228 people.

Meanwhile, the investigation is looking into faulty speed sensors on the plane.

Brazilian and French ships recovered 15 bodies on Sunday - six days after the crash. Two bodies had been retrieved on Saturday.

Brazilian officials say four of the bodies are of men and four are of women. There is no word on the others.

See a map of the plane's route

The remains will be taken by ship to the nearby archipelago of Fernando de Noronha, before being moved to the Brazilian city of Recife, where a temporary mortuary has been established.

Relatives of those on board the AF 447 flight have already provided DNA to help in the identification process.

A Brazilian navy spokesman said search crews were working despite poor weather.

He said about 100 objects had been spotted in the crash zone, including seats with the Air France logo and oxygen masks.

Some have spoken of "a sea of debris", the BBC's Gary Duffy in Sao Paulo reports.

A total of six ships and 14 planes from France and Brazil are involved in the operation.

Speed sensors

The investigation is increasingly focusing on the aircraft's speed sensors, which had been providing inconsistent data in the minutes before it disappeared in turbulent weather.

Global Airline Losses to Hit $9 Billion in 2009: IATA

Global airlines are likely to lose $9 billion this year, the International Air Transport Association said on Monday, nearly double its estimate of just three months ago, as rising fuel prices and weak demand create an unprecedented crisis for the industry.
"This is the most difficult situation the industry has faced," Giovanni Bisignani, IATA's director general and CEO, told the aviation body's annual meeting in the Malaysian capital.

IATA had predicted in March that 2009 losses for the airline industry would total $4.7 billion. It has also revised its estimate of 2008 losses to $10.4 billion from $8.5 billion.

In an effort to ride out the crisis, made worse by the recent outbreak of the H1N1 flu virus, airlines have been looking to cut costs everywhere they can.

Japan Airlines, Asia's biggest carrier by revenues, said it planned to cut capacity on international routes by 10 percent in the 2010 fiscal year.

Cathay Pacific, Hong Kong's largest carrier, said it was looking to further delay deliveries of new planes as it had seen no signs of recovery in its business.

State-owned Air India was also considering delaying planes on order from Boeing. "We are looking at options including rescheduling," Air India Chairman Arvind Jadhav told reporters. "I don't have cash, what do you expect me to do?" Air India has over $8 billion worth of planes on order from Boeing, including 27 B787 Dreamliners.

Globally, about 4,000 aircraft are scheduled for delivery in the next three years, which is 17 percent of the current fleet, IATA's Bisignani said.

"Once again, aircraft ordered in good times are being delivered in recession. Finding customers to fill them will be a challenge," he said.

Fuel Costs

Another major problem was rising fuel costs, a problem it would be "irresponsible" of governments not to act on, Bisignani said.

"The risk that we have seen in recent weeks is that even the slightest glimmer of economic hope sends oil prices higher," he said. "Greedy speculation must not hold the global economy hostage."

U.S. to Propose Wider Oversight of Compensation

The Obama administration plans to require banks and corporations that have received two rounds of federal bailouts to submit any major executive pay changes for approval by a new federal official who will monitor compensation, according to two government officials.

The proposal is part of a broad set of regulations on executive compensation expected to be announced by the administration as early as this week. Some of the rules are required by legislation enacted in the wake of the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression, and they would apply only to companies that received taxpayer money.

Others, which are being described as broad principles, would set standards that the government would like the entire financial industry to observe as banks and other companies compensate their highest-paid executives, though it is not clear how stringent regulators will make them.

Citigroup, Bank of America, the American International Group, General Motors and its finance arm, GMAC, which all received two taxpayer infusions, will face the strictest scrutiny from the new federal official charged with vetting compensation, Kenneth R. Feinberg. He is known for overseeing payouts to the families of the victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

In the past, banks had free rein to determine the base salary and bonuses they awarded their employees. When the economy was riding high, bonuses for top Wall Street executives and traders soared to tens of millions of dollars. Critics say the bonuses often encouraged excessive risk-taking since star bankers could walk away with more money even if the bets they took failed to pay off.

But executive pay has been a delicate issue for the Obama administration and Congress, particularly since it was revealed that A.I.G., the recipient of at least $180 billion in taxpayer money, was handing out $165 million in bonuses. The episode left officials struggling with just how to balance public anger with compensation rules that would not put the industry at a competitive disadvantage or derail other economic recovery initiatives.

With the government handing out billions in bailouts, Congress passed legislation banning all companies that received support from the Troubled Asset Relief Program, or TARP, from paying their top 25 executives bonuses greater than a third of their salary, though they were not subject to specific salary cap.

The banking industry had been lobbying the Obama administration to exclude traders and other highflying salespeople from the top 25, fearing it would lose top talent to competitors not constrained by the rules of a taxpayer bailout. A number of bankers at Citigroup and Merrill Lynch have already fled to higher-paying jobs with rivals. But officials say that the guidelines will apply to the top 25 earners, including the traders.

Banks that received money from the relief program must also curb outsize severance packages, and pull back bonuses that were based on fraudulent or misstated results.

But without clear rules, many banks have been altering their compensation policies, with some ratcheting up salaries to get around the restrictions until the legislation was codified. The industry has eagerly awaited the fine print.

“Some of the provisions on the pay restrictions on relief TARP recipients are punitive, intended to emphasize that this is government money and we don’t you want you giving it to executives,” said Michael S. Melbinger, a lawyer at Winston & Strawn who specializes in executive compensation.

In a sign of how eager corporations are to escape government diktats on pay, at least nine of the nation’s biggest banks have asked to repay bailout money. The administration is expected to start granting approvals as early as Tuesday, allowing banks to leave the bailout program far earlier than many had envisioned. The early approvals are a sign that regulators and the banking industry believe that the worst of the crisis may have passed, even though the economy remains fragile.

Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase and a handful of others have worked to rid themselves of their ties to the government in order to shed restrictions on pay that they say put them at a competitive disadvantage.

But under the administration’s new plans, even companies that repay the taxpayer money will not escape some form of oversight on their compensation structure.

“The industry has already adapted to the political and economic realities,” said Scott E. Talbott, the chief lobbyist for the Financial Services Roundtable, an industry group made up of the nation’s biggest banks and insurance companies. “If they are draconian, they could put the financial services industry at a distinct disadvantage in attracting and retaining top personnel. If they are just principles, they will be redundant because the industry has already moved to connect employee compensation with the long-term health of the company.”

The set of broad pay principles being drafted by the Treasury Department would authorize regulators to tell a bank to alter its compensation arrangements if it is found to encourage too much risk-taking. It is not clear how the government will define too much risk.

According to the two government officials, the new principles will not include bonus restrictions, although they will encourage banks to set compensation in a way that avoids rewarding risk-taking through short-term bonus awards. They will apply to a broad swath of financial companies, even the United States operations of foreign banks, as well as private companies like hedge funds and private equity firms.

“This is the government trying to tell the TARP banks not to worry, because everyone else’s compensation will be monitored, too,” Gustavo Dolfino, president of the WhiteRock Group, a financial recruiter, said of the industrywide principles. “We’re in a world of TARP and non-TARP.”

The strictest oversight of all will come from Mr. Feinberg, the administration’s compensation czar, who will actively vet all executive compensation changes at the companies that have received more than one taxpayer lifeline.

On Thursday, the House Financial Services Committee will hold a hearing to examine how compensation practices contributed to the financial collapse and encouraged excessive risk-taking.

Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner plans to testify on compensation on June 18, and that may be when he outlines the principles for the entire industry. Those principles will be permanent: when bailed-out companies return the government money, they will still have to follow those principles.

Turkey dismayed at tone of European electioneering

An outbreak of Turkey-bashing in the run-up to European elections has dismayed politicians and diplomats in Ankara already worried that progress towards European Union accession is grinding to a halt.

From Nicolas Sarkozy’s loud insistence that Turkey merits only a “privileged partnership” with the EU, to the nationalist rhetoric of hard-right parties in the Netherlands, Austria and Bulgaria, every hint of criticism is chewed over by the Turkish media as another rebuff to the 50 year campaign for EU membership.

Ahmet Davutoglu, who spent much of his first month as foreign minister shuttling around European capitals, has urged member states not to make Turkey’s integration “a domestic issue of discussion”.

But the bigger problem is that the doubts cast on Turkey’s long-term prospects of membership give its ruling Justice & Development party (AKP) no incentive to take political risks in order to drive through the reforms needed to advance negotiations.

Since late 2005, Turkey has regularly opened two areas of technical talks in each 6-month period. Now it will be lucky to open one – on taxation – before the end of the Czech presidency. Failure to pass legislation on trade unions means it cannot begin discussions on social policy and employment as officials had intended.

Because French and Cypriot objections stop Ankara opening many other chapters, all semblance of progress could halt next year – unless a breakthrough in Cypriot peace talks leads Turkey to heed a deadline to open ports to Greek Cypriot traffic.

“We need new blood, if we want this process not to die a natural death at the end of this year or early next,” said Cengiz Aktar, an academic at Istanbul’s Bahcesehir university, adding it would take “not just words but deeds” from government.

Egemen Bagis, appointed chief EU negotiator in January, glibly lists measures from the introduction of Kurdish language television to the state’s rehabilitation of a dead communist poet as evidence of Turkey’s commitment to reforms.

But another pro-European AKP deputy admits little has been done in the last year and not much time remains to push reforms through parliament before the EU makes its next assessment of progress.

The year-end review, which will also examine Turkey’s commitment to admit Greek Cypriot traffic, is unlikely to prompt member states to suspend negotiations entirely. But European diplomats who support Turkey’s accession bid say they are concerned at the prospect of further deferrals and postponements.

“Stagnation could further fuel the mutual estrangement - and this could send Ankara’s candidacy into a slow death spiral,” concurs Wolfango Piccoli at Eurasia group.

German elections in September are another worry: although Angela Merkel has recently softened her tone about Turkey’s bid, if she is able to govern without SPD coalition partners after the vote Ankara will lose its strongest German supporters.

Given the obstacles, Marc Pierini, Commission ambassador in Ankara, is admirably optimistic. Citing the examples of the UK, Spain and Bulgaria, he says: “Frustration goes together with the accession negotiations, but eventually it happens.”

US India Business Council to felicitate Premji and Anil Ambani

WASHINGTON: India's leading businessmen Azim Premji and Anil Ambani will be felicitated by the US India Business Council (USIBC) at its 34th anniversary Synergies summit here on June 17.

Wipro Chairman Azim Premji will be honoured with the 'Global Vision' award, while Anil Ambani of the Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group will receive the 'Global Leadership' award for their outstanding contribution in corporate sector.

Sy Sternberg, former chairman and CEO of the New York Life Company, will be presented with the 'Business Excellence' award on the occasion.

USIBC represents some 310 American companies, who have presence in India. Of them 220 firms figure in the list of Fortune-500.

Dutch poll puts Wilders’ party in second spot

The right-wing anti-immigration party of Geert Wilders was poised to become the second-biggest Dutch party in the European parliament, exit polls showed on Thursday night, a result that will send shockwaves through domestic politics and may point to wider European trends.

The forecast – the first indication of results in pan-European polls that run across the 27-member bloc until Sunday – bore out predictions that large centrist parties stood to lose with closely targeted messages.

Mr Wilders, who faces prosecution at home for inciting hatred and who has been banned from travelling to the UK, has been riding high for several months in domestic opinion polls.

His Party for Freedom’s (PVV) decision to field its first European candidates and run a campaign focused on a strongly Eurosceptical message of “getting money back” from the EU and a categorical no to Turkish entry appeared to pay off.

A Synovate exit poll commissioned by Dutch broadcaster NOS and national news agency ANP gave the PVV 15.3 per cent of the vote or four European seats, second only to the Christian Democrats, who were forecast to win just under 20 per cent of the vote, or five seats, a loss of two.

If the actual results match the exit poll, the PVV will have beaten the Dutch Labour party (PvdA), which governs nationally in coalition with the Christian Democrats and is the biggest loser in the poll.

“This is just the beginning,” Mr Wilders said as he went into a bar of cheering supporters. “We’re going to get a lot bigger.”

The results are likely to trigger soul-searching among the governing parties. Euroscepticism has bloomed since a 2005 vote against a European constitution but significant wins by the only clearly pro-European parties meant the PVV victory was not simply based on antipathy to Europe.

The centrist D66, whose campaign slogan was “Europe Yes”, was set to increase its showing in the European parliament to three seats from one. Green Left, the other pro-European party, was set to increase its share of the vote and maintain its two seats.

While the turnout of 40 per cent was an improvement over the last European vote in 2004, it was, however, low enough for the big mainstream parties to caution against reading too much national significance into the outcome ahead of the next general election in 2011.

From biggest carmaker to biggest bankruptcy

At its height, General Motors (GM) was bigger than any other car company in world.

Founded when the US still had fewer than 10,000 cars in total, the carmaker was once the symbol of American prestige and its brands respected all over the world.

Yet GM has now suffered the world's biggest industrial bankruptcy.

GM as we know it began in 1908, though its founder William "Billy" Durant had already made his name selling horse-drawn carriages in Flint, Michigan and had acquired a controlling stake in the fledgling Buick Motor Company.

Humble origins

Though the carmaker started with Buick, within the year Mr Durant had put Cadillac, Pontiac precursor Oakland Motor Company and the Oldsmobile all under its umbrella.

The Oldsmobile, one of the most evocative brands, was actually quite new. The first one was made in 1897.

Cadillac was bought for $5.5m in 1909, a huge sum at that time that would equate to over $130m in today's money.

The company set about a rapid expansion, setting up foreign operations to sell its cars abroad and, critically, acquiring stakes in Germany's Opel and the UK's Vauxhall during the 1920s.

The company joined the Dow Jones Industrial Average in 1925, where it has been ever since.

Mr Durant also set up what was to become another iconic US brand, Chevrolet.

And it was GM's decision to recognise the fledging United Auto Workers (UAW) union, which could end up taking a major stake in the carmaker during any bankruptcy proceedings, which set the pattern for industrial relations in the industry.

The move came after GM workers in Flint went on a sit-down strike in December 1936, at the height of industrial militancy during the Great Depression.

But the company really started to take off after World War II.

In the 1950s, when GM's chief executive Charles Wilson became Secretary of Defense, he famously said at his confirmation hearing when asked about any conflicts of interest that "what was good for the country was good for General Motors and vice versa".

GM was not only the biggest carmaker in the world, but the biggest company in the world. It had over 50% share of the US car market.

It was so large in this period, with more than 50% of the US domestic car market, that its only worry was that it might be broken up by the government on anti-trust grounds.

Centre right tightens grip on Europe

Ruling centre-right parties in France, Germany, Italy and Poland on Sunday night rode to a decisive victory in European parliament elections, but a clutch of other governments including Labour in the UK suffered a mauling at the hands of recession-hit voters.

Germany’s Christian Democrats and France’s UMP party were the chief winners as official predictions showed that Europe’s centre-right parties would remain the legislature’s largest group, taking 263 to 273 seats in the 736-seat assembly.

Socialist parties were projected to win 155 to 165 seats, centrist liberals 78 to 84 seats, and Greens 52 to 56 seats.

“It is bitterly disappointing. We had hoped for a better result. In most countries it went pretty badly for us,” said Martin Schulz, head of the European socialist group.

Governments in Bulgaria, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Latvia, Malta, Slovenia and Spain either crashed to defeat or lost much ground to their rivals.

Turnout across Europe averaged 43 per cent, the lowest since direct elections to the parliament started in 1979. It was something of an embarrassment for the European Union, which has steadily transferred powers to the legislature without generating more public interest in its work.

Angela Merkel, Germany’s chancellor, had cause for celebration as her CDU-CSU alliance took 38 per cent of the vote, far above 20.8 per cent for the Social Democrats, her coalition partners, according to partial returns.

The liberal Free Democrats – Ms Merkel’s preferred government partners – took 10.9 per cent, high enough to boost the chances of a CDU-FDP coalition after next September’s German federal election.

The UMP party of Nicolas Sarkozy, France’s president, was on course to win 28 per cent, against 16.8 per cent for the opposition socialists.

In what was the largest multi-national ballot in history, voters in the EU’s 27 countries took part in a four-day election to choose a parliament which enjoys equal influence with national governments in setting 75 per cent of EU legislation.

Far right, nationalist and anti-EU parties looked set to win up to 50 seats. But the election’s basic message was that voters in the EU’s biggest countries preferred the centre-right to the centre-left at a time of severe recession.

Almost everywhere national economic issues rather than pan-European themes were uppermost on voters’ minds, notably unemployment, which has jumped to 9.2 per cent in the 16-nation eurozone.

The Labour government in the UK, where Gordon Brown, prime minister, is struggling for his political life, anticipated a crushing defeat. Pollsters predicted gains for the eurosceptic Conservative opposition and for the anti-EU UK Independence party.

Elsewhere in Europe, ruling parties of both right and left were dealt blows. Greece’s opposition socialists defeated the conservative New Democracy government, but in neighbouring Bulgaria the ruling socialists trailed the centre-right opposition, exit polls indicated.

Hungary’s socialist government suffered a crushing defeat, voters deserted Ireland’s ruling Fianna Fáil party in droves, and an opposition party representing Russian-speakers made strong gains in Latvia.

In Austria, a group that campaigns against corruption in the European parliament was set to take 18 per cent of the vote. Sweden’s Pirate party, which opposes legal clampdowns on computer file-sharing by ordinary internet users, appeared likely to win a seat.

Geert Wilders’ populist, anti-Islamic Party for Freedom finished second in the Netherlands and seized four of the 25 Dutch seats in the parliament.

Court asked to stop Chrysler sale

Pension funds opposed to Chrysler's sale to Fiat have asked the US Supreme Court to block the deal immediately.

Three Indiana state pension and construction funds filed papers at the court on Sunday calling for the sale to be halted so they can pursue an appeal.

It comes after a US appeals court approved Chrysler's sale to a group led by Fiat, a union-aligned trust and the US and Canadian governments.

Chrysler entered bankruptcy protection in April after falling vehicle sales.

US carmakers have suffered from a massive slump in sales during the recession.

Fund assets

The US government has backed its sale to the Fiat-led consortium, which would see it emerge from bankruptcy.

Fiat would control 20% of Chrysler, while 68% would be owned by a union trust, and the two governments would share 12%.

However, the pension funds, which hold about $42m (£26.3m) of Chrysler's $6.9bn in secured loans, are opposed to the sale.

They say it inverts usual bankruptcy practice and unlawfully rewards unsecured creditors, such as the union, ahead of secured lenders.

'Critical issues'

The emergency legal request from the Indiana State Police Pension Fund, the Indiana Teacher's Retirement Fund and the state's Major Moves Construction Fund goes before Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

It calls for a block on the sale until 1600 local time in New York (2100 BST) on Monday.

The judge can act on her own or refer the matter to the full court, when a vote from five of the nine Supreme Court members would be needed to put the Chrysler sale on hold.

The legal filings call on the court to "decide critical, nationally significant legal issues relating to management of the economy by the United States government".

"The public is watching and needs to see that, particularly, when the system is under stress, the rule of law will be honoured and an independent judiciary will properly scrutinise the actions of the massively powerful executive branch," lawyers for the funds and the Indiana attorney general wrote in their filing.

"The issues presented by this case are of immediate, and enduring, national significance."

If the sale is put on hold by the court, the Indiana funds would then pursue a full appeal.

If the deal is not completed by 15 June then Fiat, which is not paying anything for its 20% stake, has the option of pulling out.

Rare Earth Element Cos Could See Next Bull Market Run

VANCOUVER -(Dow Jones)- Two TSX Venture-listed rare earth companies are enjoying strong gains Monday - an otherwise quiet day on the Toronto Stock Exchange as U.S. markets are closed for Memorial Day.

Commerce Resources Corp. (CCE.V) and Rare Element Resources Ltd. (RES.V) are up 32% and 37% respectively, in part because two well-regarded market watchers are talking up a niche resource sector that's largely unknown to the everyday investor.

Investment-letter writers James Dines, who writes the Dines Letter, and John Kaiser, who writes the Bottom-Fish Online report, say rare earth elements are increasingly important to global markets.

Dines, who has declared himself a big-time "investor bug" of various nascent markets in the past, said last Friday that rare earth elements could be the next major surprise bull market.

Why Rare earth elements, which go by names such as thulium and lanthanum, are used in numerous electronic applications as well as superconductors, super-magnets, refining catalysts and hybrid-car components.

The two other rare metals one needs to know about are tantalum and niobium. Tantalum is widely used in the electronics industry. Niobium is used in steels and superalloys.

The actual amount of these elements that go into producing, say, hybrid cars is small but necessary. Supply is therefore vital to producers that need these rare elements in their products.

Kaiser agrees, saying the value of rare earth element miners will be increasingly strategic as demand for product outstrips global supply.

Enter Commerce Resources, a late-stage tantalum and niobium explorer, and Rare Element Resources, which has a key rare earth project in Wyoming.

As Kaiser says, the strategic worth of what they're sitting on in the ground is becoming as valuable as the elements themselves.

He used a recent example: state-owned China Nonferrous Metal Mining Group (CNMC) took a majority stake in Lynas Corp. (LYC.AU) this month, giving the Australian rare earth miner US$366 million in funding. While Lynas has offtake agreements to Japanese, European and U.S. clients lasting for the next five years, its rare earth supply could last some 30 years. CNMC has now secured and therefore controls the future supply from one of the richest rare earth deposits in the world, Kaiser said.

That includes tantalum and niobium.

This is all the more important because the U.S. Defence Logistics Agency stopped selling into the tantalum market in 2008. Australia's Talisman, the world's leading supplier of tantalum, has ceased production indefinitely, citing the adverse effect of the black market supply as well as intense pricing pressure.

Black-market production in war-torn Democratic Republic of Congo is, by some estimates, supplying the world with some 30% of its required supply.

As both Commerce Resources and Rare Element Resources move toward production, their leverage on global producers increases, observers say.

"Commerce Resources is in a fascinating global position; the window for tantalum has opened wide," said David Hodge, president of Commerce Resources. "We are becoming part of the supply solution on a global basis; no matter what the studies say in terms of the price of extraction, the industry will say yes."

Commerce Resources is hoping to start open-pit production in 2010.

In Toronto, Commerce Resources is up 10 Canadian cents to 40 Canadian cents on 621,000 shares. Rare Element Resources is up 35 Canadian cents to C$1.30 on 633,000 shares.

Web Sites: http://www.commerceresources.com; http://www.rareelementresources.com

-Brian Truscott, Dow Jones Newswires; 604-669-1595; brian.truscott dowjones.com

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China, Hong Kong Expand Economic Agreement

Hong Kong firms will have greater and easier access to the mainland Chinese market for tourism, securities and banking services. The Chinese government and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region signed the sixth supplement to a trade agreement Saturday to give effect to the new measures. The supplemental agreement is effective October 1, 2009.

The supplement agreement provides 29 measures with a view to liberalize 20 services sectors and open two more sectors of research and development and rail transport to Hong Kong businesses. The closer economic partnership agreement and the supplements would be expanded from 40 to 42.

The agreement provides tariff exemption to all products of Hong Kong origin, and gives preferential treatment to Hong Kong service suppliers in the service sectors.

Among the new measures adopted include further relaxation in the banking sector for Hong Kong commercial banks with provisions to establish sub-branches or service points. The agreement also contains provisions for qualified securities firms in Hong Kong and the mainland China to start joint businesses in Guangdong Province.

Pakistan becomes the 20th most attractive outsourcing destination

CHICAGO: Deteriorating cost advantages and improved labor quality are driving a dramatic shift in the geography of off shoring according to the latest edition of global management consulting firm AT Kearney's Global Services Location Index (GSLI), a ranking of the most attractive off shoring destinations. AT Kearney is a global management consulting firm that uses strategic insight, tailored solutions and a collaborative working style to help clients achieve sustainable results.

While India, China and Malaysia retain the top three spots they've occupied since the inaugural GSLI in 2004, a fundamental shift in the index has taken place as once strong Central European countries have yielded ground to countries in Asia, the Middle East and North Africa.

Pakistan has become the 20th most attractive outsourcing destination, according to consulting management firm AT Kearney. Even as concerns increase about Pakistan's stability and the growing displaced population due to ongoing military operations with the Taliban, the country made a significant jump on AT Kearney's 2009 Global Services Location Index released May 18. Pakistan went from number 30 in 2007 to number 20 in 2009.

The GSLI analyses and ranks the top 50 countries worldwide for locating outsourcing activities, including IT services and support, contact centres and back-office support. Each country's score is composed of a weighted combination of relative scores on 43 measurements, which are grouped into three categories: financial attractiveness, people and skills availability and business environment.

Established Central European countries including Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Slovakia, once among the premier off shoring destinations for Western Europe companies, have fallen significantly due to a rapid increase in costs driven by both wage inflation and currency appreciation against the dollar. Meanwhile, low-cost countries in Southeast Asia and the Middle East made significant gains this year as the quality and availability of their labor forces improved. Egypt, Jordan and Vietnam ranked in the GSLI's top 10 for the first time ever.

"While cost remains a major driver in decisions about where to outsource, the quality of the labour pool is gaining importance as companies view the labour market through a global lens driven by talent shortages at home, particularly in higher, value-added functions," said Norbert Jorek, a partner with AT Kearney and managing director of the firm's Global Business Policy Council. "In response, governments all over the world are investing in the human capital demanded by the off shoring industry."

The Middle East and North Africa is emerging as a key off shoring region because of its large, well educated population and its proximity to Europe. In addition to Egypt and Jordan, ranked at sixth and ninth, respectively, Tunisia (17th), United Arab Emirates (29th) and Morocco (30th) all rank among in the GSLI's top 30 countries. "The Middle East and Africa area has the potential to redraw the off shoring map and in the process bring much needed opportunities for its large, underemployed educated class," said Johan Gott, project manager for the Global Services Location Index.

Saharan Africa also showed strength. Ghana ranked 15th, Mauritius 25th, Senegal 26th and South Africa 39th.

Countries in Latin America and the Caribbean continue to capitalize on their proximity to the United States as nearshore destinations. Chile placed highest among countries from the region, ranking 8th on the strength of its political stability and favorable business environment. Other strong performers in the region include Mexico (11th), Brazil (12th) and Jamaica, which rose 11 places to rank 23rd.

India, China and Malaysia continue to lead the index by a wide margin through a unique combination of high people skills, favorable business environment and low cost. In particular, India has remained at the forefront of the outsourcing industry and actually has become an enabler for industry growth through expansion of Indian off shoring firms into other countries.

Three more bodies from Air France crash found: Brazil

Recife (Brazil), June 07: Brazilian search teams today recovered three more bodies from an Air France flight that crashed in the Atlantic last week and were working in bad weather to grab others spotted, military officials said. The finds follow the recovery yesterday of the first two bodies from the disaster, which occurred early June 1 as Air France flight AF 447 was travelling from Rio de Janeiro to Paris. "Three other bodies were localised this morning and are being transferred to the frigate Constitution," a spokesman for Brazil's air force, Lieutenant Colonel Henry Munhoz, told reporters in Recife, Brazil. The sex of the three bodies recovered could not be determined, he said, suggesting how bad a condition they were in after a week in the water. "Other bodies are being spotted by the ships" scouring the area, 1,000 kilometers off Brazil's northeast coast, Munhoz said, adding they should be recovered in the next few hours. He did not say how many bodies had been sighted. The operations at sea were being carried out in "unfavorable" weather, the spokesman said. Munhoz said the discovery of the bodies, along with the recovery of several Air France seats and, yesterday, a briefcase with an Air France ticket and a backpack, confirmed the search teams were at or near the spot the plane came down.

The Intersection of Islam, America and Identity

AFTER a long courtship over the telephone, Asma Ahmed, a painter in Karachi, Pakistan, married her fiancé, Rafi-uddin Shikoh, a business consultant in New York, in a bicontinental wedding by Webcam. When the new bride then moved to Queens in 2002, she tried to make herself at home by staking her claim through art.

In Pakistan Ms. Ahmed Shikoh’s work had been sociopolitical, addressing what she saw as the country’s colonization by American fast-food chains, for instance, with paintings like “The Invasion,” in which swarms of Ronald McDonalds, wearing screaming-red clown wigs, surround a central monument in Karachi.

Here, however, her art turned deeply personal as she grappled with her new identity as an immigrant and, having rarely set foot in a mosque back home, as a gradually more observant Muslim. In her first American paintings Ms. Ahmed Shikoh reimagined the Statue of Liberty in her own image: in a Pakistani wedding dress, as a pregnant immigrant and as a regal mother, baby on hip. Next she transformed the subway map with paint and calligraphic script into an Urdu manuscript that made the city feel more like hers.

Finally, in 2006, after she made the difficult decision to cover her hair, inspired by Muslim-American women who managed to combine faith and a career, Ms. Ahmed Shikoh began using the head scarf as a recurring image.

On the surface Ms. Ahmed Shikoh, now 31, has little in common with Negar Ahkami, 38, a sleek, raven-haired Iranian-American artist, beyond the wall space that they share in a new exhibition, “The Seen and the Hidden: [Dis]Covering the Veil,” at the Austrian Cultural Forum in Manhattan. Ms. Ahkami grew up in suburban New Jersey, considers herself only “technically Muslim” and toys with stereotypical images of exotic Middle Eastern women in her art.

Yet the two are both in their 30s, mothers of small children and emerging artists in the New York area. They are both exploring their identities as refracted through their backgrounds in the wake of 9/11. And they are both working to create a new kind of Islamic art that is modern, Westernized and female-centric. “As women artists of Muslim descent, Asma and Negar are both trying to discover who they are, to look at themselves and their heritage and to get beyond stereotypes,” said David Harper, a curator of the Austrian exhibition. “What’s so interesting is that they present two such very different ways to examine the subject from American soil.”

The Global Recession, Graded on a Curve

In the fourth quarter of last year, the American economy shrank at a 3.8 percent annual rate, the worst such performance in a quarter-century. They are envious in Japan, where this week the comparable figure came in at negative 12.7 percent — three times as bad.

Industrial production in the United States is falling at the fastest rate in three decades. But the 10 percent year-over-year plunge reported this week for January looks good in comparison to the declines in countries like Germany, off almost 13 percent in its most recently reported month, and South Korea, down about 21 percent.

Even in the area of exploding mortgages, the United States has done better than some countries, particularly in Eastern Europe. There it is possible now to owe twice what a house is worth — even if the house has not lost much of its value.

Grading on the curve, as any college student knows, requires that a certain proportion of high grades be given out no matter how badly the class as a whole performs. If the best student in the class gets just over half the answers right on a difficult test, that student deserves an A.

The real world, alas, does not score success in that way.

Consider how much money you would have left if you had put $100 into the stocks in the leading market indexes of major countries at the end of 2007, less than 14 months ago.

In the United States, you would now have about $53. That fact — coupled with the reality that more Americans than ever are depending on the stock market to pay for their retirement — has severely depressed sentiment and spending.

But it merits one of the top grades in this world. Among major markets, only Japan, at $59, has done better. In Britain, France, Spain and Germany, the figure would be around $45. In Italy, it would be $37. About a quarter of the money would still be there in countries like Ireland, Greece and Poland.

Remember the BRIC countries, where growth possibilities seemed limitless not long ago? The stars there are Brazil and China, where about $46 or $47 remains. In India, the figure is $35, and in Russia it is $23. At least they have all done a lot better than Iceland, where you would have just $3 left of your hypothetical $100.

All this failure, whether in markets or economies, is feeding upon itself. Imports and exports are falling nearly everywhere. “Our exports have been hurt more by the global recession than their exports have been hurt by our recession,” said Roger Kubarych, an economist at the Unicredit Group in New York.

Nowhere does the situation appear more dire now than in Eastern Europe.

Many of those countries had been running large current-account deficits, just as the United States has been doing. But the United States still has the ability to borrow all the dollars it wants — in part because lenders know the United States can print more of them if it needs to.

Eastern European countries have no such printing presses, and those countries that can borrow show little interest in sharing the bounty.

“Emerging Europe appears to be suffering a ‘sudden stop’ in financing, which could cause the region’s economy to contract by 5 percent to 10 percent this year,” said Neil Shearing, an economist at Capital Economics in London. “Markets in Eastern Europe appear to be in meltdown.” He says the Baltic economies could shrink 20 percent this year.

The latest collapses are both a cause of and a result of worries about the health of banks in the region, many of which are owned by Western European banks. Some of those banks did a fine job of pushing “affordable” mortgages that are turning out to be just the opposite, endangering both borrower and lender.

The details differed from the subprime lending that was a major cause of the destruction of capital in the American banking system. There were no “Ninja” loans (no income, no job or assets) that would produce exploding monthly payments within a couple of years. Instead, the banks pushed mortgages denominated in foreign currencies — largely the euro and the Swiss franc — where interest rates were much lower than in the local currency markets.

The risk was obvious. What if the local currency lost value rapidly? That is just what is happening. The Hungarian forint is down by about a quarter this year against the Swiss franc, and by more than half since last summer.

That means someone who bought a house in Hungary last summer, financing it with a Swiss franc loan, now owes more than twice as many forints as he or she borrowed, and has a monthly payment that has increased by a similar amount. Even if the home’s value has not fallen and the homeowner’s job is safe, he or she may be in desperate straits. In fact, unemployment is rising and house prices are falling.

It has been noted in what Donald H. Rumsfeld called the “old Europe” that the European countries in the direst straits tend to be the ones that accepted American financial advice with the most enthusiasm. Now, however, few Americans seem to be interested.

Part of the Obama plan to revive the American financial system is an expansion of the TALF program, announced but not carried out by the Bush administration. That program — short for Term Asset Backed Securities Loan Facility — is supposed to stimulate financing for things like credit cards and student loans.

But the loans are not for just anybody. At least 95 percent of the money must go to American borrowers. “It is a ‘Lend America’ program,” said Mr. Kubarych.

When world leaders gather, there is a lot of talk about coordinated policies. When the leaders go home, it is every country for itself. Unfortunately, as the United States ought to have learned, doing better than anyone else may not be nearly enough.

Foreclosure: Now an Upscale Blight

With the U.S. economy and financial markets showing signs of life, optimistic analysts are looking for a recovery in the all-important housing sector. They got some ammunition on June 2 from the National Association of Realtors, which said that its Pending Home Sales Index jumped in April by the most in more than seven years.

But housing can't revive as long as the market is being flooded with homes that are falling into foreclosure. And far from going away, the problem is broadening. It's not just about subprime anymore. Now, people with excellent credit who never dreamed of getting in financial trouble are being dragged down by a dangerous cycle of rising unemployment and falling home prices. That is going to prolong the foreclosure crisis and, inevitably, inhibit the recovery of the rest of the economy.

Any illusion that prime loans would emerge unscathed was shattered by a May 28 report from the Mortgage Bankers Assn. "For the first time since the rapid growth of subprime lending, prime fixed-rate loans now represent the largest share of new foreclosures," the bankers said. The grime in prime was responsible for the worst performance on record for the U.S. mortgage sector in the first quarter: Nearly 13% of loans were delinquent or in foreclosure, the most since the bankers started keeping tabs in 1972. The problems were worst in the bubble states of California, Florida, Arizona, and Nevada.

The biggest factor in this second wave of foreclosures is the inability of distressed homeowners to sell in order to pay off their debts. Prices in bubble cities such as Los Angeles, Phoenix, and Miami are down less at the high end of the market than at the bottom, according to data from Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller home price indexes. But that's cold comfort to people who haven't managed to sell at all. According to research by the National Association of Realtors, there are enough $750,000-plus homes on the market to cover more than 40 months' worth of demand at the current rate of sales. That's four times the rate of oversupply in the housing market as a whole.

Unemployment is exacerbating the problems at the top of the market. The jobless rate for adults with a bachelor's degree or more may not sound too high at 4.4% in April given the overall April jobless rate of 8.9%. But it's more than double the rate of 2% a year earlier. And many families in that segment of the population built their finances on the assumption of continuous full employment, so they can't cover the mortgage when even one spouse is out of work.

Consider the plight of Stephanie and Bob Walker, who bought a $799,000, three-bedroom home in Los Angeles with a view of the Hollywood sign in 2006 but are losing it because last year Bob stopped getting computer consulting work that used to pull in about $240,000 a year. Bob eventually landed a job paying $60,000, and Stephanie found work as a $13-an-hour temp, but it wasn't enough to cover their mortgage and credit-card debt, which was swelled by about $130,000 worth of home renovations. They listed the house last year for an "optimistic" $875,000 but didn't get any takers. After months of price cuts and threats of foreclosure from the bank, they're days from closing on a sale at $700,000 that will assuage their primary mortgage lender—but leave them under pressure from other creditors. "We had no expectation things would come crashing down as fast as they did," says Stephanie. "We had no one to blame but ourselves. We didn't have a backup plan if he lost his job."

International Monetary Fund

The failure to raise badly needed capital on international markets will increase pressure on the Baltic state to secure its second tranche of money from the International Monetary Fund.

In December the international institutional agreed to provide Latvia with a €7.5 billion loan but failure to implement budget cuts resulted in a €200 million payment being held up in March.

Prime Minister Valdis Dombrovskis told local media the parliament now plans to accept budget amendments on 17 June so it can receive about 1.2 billion lats (€1.69 billion) of international loans in July.

A recent forecast by the European commission predicted the country's budget deficit could reach as high as 11.1 percent this year.

Following the news of the debt issuance failure, currencies in the region including Poland's zloty and Hungary's forint fell against the euro. The Swedish krona did likewise due to the country's heavy investment in Latvia.

Latvian Bond Sale Flop Spooks Markets

Economic concerns spread across Central and Eastern Europe on Wednesday (3 June) after it emerged that an attempt by the Latvian government to raise money through the sale of treasury bills on Tuesday had received no bids.

The failure draws a big question mark over the ability of some countries in the region to raise their own capital and prompted large share price falls in Swedish banks that have invested heavily in the country.

Several factors appear to have prompted the poor uptake of the country's sovereign debt including uncertainty over the pending local and European elections and a lack of liquidity in the market with banks wishing to hold onto their cash reserves.

Fears over a possible currency devaluation were also behind the decision of investors to shun the 50 million lats (€70m) worth of treasury bills on offer, said analysts.

"The country is in a mess with the economy expected to contract very sharply this year, while the budget deficit is horribly high. Devaluation looks very likely as a way of boosting exports and growth," said RBC Capital Markets strategist Nigel Rendell, reports the Financial Times.

The lat is currently pegged to the euro as part of the country's bid to join the common currency and Latvian officials have repeatedly denied the need for a devaluation.

A decision to do so however would help remove market uncertainty but would also effectively increase the cost of debt repayments for citizens and businesses to foreign lenders.

Bing surpasses Yahoo in global search wars

Though preliminary results from Friday, place the search engine back in third place.

Bing captured 15.64 percent of searches in the U.S., ahead of Yahoo's 10.32 percent, according to data from StatCounter. Globally, Bing had 5.56 percent of searches, still slightly ahead of Yahoo, which was at 5.17 percent. Google still dominates the U.S. search engine market with a 71.47 percent share and 87.66 percent worldwide.

"It remains to be seen if Bing falls away after the initial novelty and promotion but at first sight it looks like Microsoft is on to a winner," said Aodhan Cullen, CEO of StatCounter, in a statement.

"Steve Ballmer is quoted as saying that he wanted Microsoft to become the second biggest search engine within five years. Following the breakdown in talks to acquire Yahoo at a cost of $40 billion, it looks as if he may have just achieved that with Bing much sooner and a lot cheaper than anticipated."

As of Friday morning, however, Bing and Yahoo were battling it out for search dominance in the U.S. Yahoo bested Bing with 10.75 percent of searches compared to Bing's 10.08 percent. Globally, Yahoo had a bigger lead, with 5.55 percent of searches compared to Bing's 3.73 percent.

Bing is an update to Microsoft's Live Search which includes services like Bing Travel, Cashback and Maps for Enterprise. Microsoft is estimated to be spending $80 million to $100 million on ads to help establish Bing as a viable alternative to its larger rival, Google.

Pushing for a Promotion?

By pressing hard for more extensive changes in Citi's executive suite, Bair may also be improving her chances to secure an even more powerful position in the new regulatory construct under discussion within the Obama Administration. "This appears to be part of her bid for a bigger role in the regulatory restructuring that's under way," says Daniel Clifton, a Washington policy analyst for institutional broker Strategas Research Partners. "It's a mess right now; everyone is for more regulation, but no one agrees on what should be done." Clifton argues that Bair, who many believe did a better job than other regulators at foreseeing the extent of the crisis and pushing for aggressive policies to contain the damage, wants to ensure that her views are heard. But Clifton considers her push not just politics or the usual infighting. "She firmly believes that what she's doing is the best [for the banking system]; she's not just trying to do it to move up," he says.

Citigroup's Pandit: On the Way Out?

A $1 Salary with No Bonus

Pandit continues to weather criticism that he does not have the right skills and isn't moving fast enough to turn around the troubled and intensely complex global bank. He was initially reluctant to sell off assets and trim Citigroup's sprawling financial supermarket. And his career has been marked primarily by investment banking experience, rather than commercial and retail banking, which lie at the core of the bank's operations. In February, Pandit cut his salary to $1 with no bonus, vowing that he would not earn more until the bank—which has accepted $45 billion in government bailout money—returns to profitability.

The FDIC has good reason to want Citigroup well-managed and in good health: The agency insures $29.9 billion of Citigroup's deposits and other accounts, plus it has guaranteed $34.6 billion in Citigroup bonds. Moreover the FDIC backs a slice of a $306 billion pool of risky assets held at the bank. Following the government stress tests, Citi was ordered to fill a $5 billion shortfall, less than rivals Wells Fargo (WFC), and Bank of America (BAC).

A holdover from the Bush Administration, Bair was one of the first to urge more aggressive mortgage modification strategies to arrest losses in the housing market. Many other regulators from the prior Administration—including, some argue, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, who was then head of the New York Federal Reserve Bank—have egg on their face for not having provided enough oversight of the banks' mortgage, securities, and derivatives business or for not having moved quickly enough last fall to stem the problems. "She's taken seriously because she's not sitting pat and saying this is going to clean itself out," says senior analyst John Jay of the Aite Group. "She's taking a much more aggressive stance and because she is the gatekeeper, the custodian for all the taxpayers' money that is being put out for the benefit of Citi. She has to be bold enough to stand up and raise her hand."

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It’s the right time for a beginner to enter in the stock market

Stock market is the final destination for many businesspeople and some take it as a main source of earning money. But, it needs several precautions for trading in the stock market. The present stock market is not stable and it needs some patients for the long term traders for better results in the investments on their stocks. Not only the stock market of any single country, but the whole world’s stock market is having vitality problem. The investors are facing huge loss of their money invested into the stocks.

Money making is dwindling

For many people the stock market is the ultimate place to make money. The present scenario of the stock market is not in good shape. The situation is precarious the world over. For those who are dependant on the stock market for bread and butter would vouch for this fact. The recent recession has taken a heavy toll on the stock market; the aftermath of the recession has been delirious.

The financial news world wide is not good; however things are expected to better in the near future. Though, many are skeptical about the whole issue. People who have invested a lot in the stock market are anticipating for the better. At the moment though, the world economy seems to be in shambles.

If things continue to be this way for long many people would be hand to mouth. Due to the recent recession the stock market world wide is in doldrums. However, people who are fervent players of the stock market know exactly what is transpiring. The situation seems to be taking time in abating; however, it s expected to get better soon. The sooner it is the better it is for people who are zealous players of the stock market.

Success is possible with this period of economic crisis

People assume that the success is a goal or achievement but in fact it is a well way to improve our bad way of living into a good way. People should share their success with others in order to bring improvement in their life also. In concern of success, it depends on the ability of performance, if you perform well according to the circumstances or desirable conditions then surely success will fall in your hand but if you fail to give performance according to the competition then there will be no chance to achieve any success.

While participate on a completion, the daring person should ensure that he/she has the capability to participate in competition. Many people before attempting any competition, do well practice but result don’t fall in favor of their hard work but why it so, as they do hard work but don’t believe on themselves. The all aspect to get any success, do hard work with smarter then only a success falls in the road of any competitor.

Several people have their unusual definitions in term of success but without hard work not any success is possible but while doing hard work for getting the success to any, a participating person of any sphere should be smarter. With the coming a year of 2009, a great problem of economic crisis is being observed and for all those people who desire success in this economic crisis be a hard worker but with smarter way.

Business success achieved by well discipline

With the coming of this year i.e. 2009, there are lot of people are desire to have a well start in their business. In the specific year of 2009, a great problem for the all the people who have less finance but n concern of investment, they desire well start. Really, the year of 2009 will bring or create better resolutions by those persons who aim at improving themselves and their current situations. Like all other past year, the New Year is also usual but your remarkable efforts make the new year of 2009 into a remarkable or successful year.

With the bad luck the Year of 2009 has come with the starting of economic crisis. For accepting the trouble, the people who desire to have a new start invest their investment be mindful along with secure your finance for the best investment. For having success in the time of economic crisis, have a decent tip which will surely bring changes of economic crisis into fulfillment. The only way for avoiding the problem of failure, be more disciplined along with work towards the positive change.

If you assume that this a well way of getting success in this economic crisis then you can assume, really you are ready to have the progress on a regular basis. By this way, you will be able to celebrate your success as well as get a history of looking back on and learn from.