Shares recover as election fears prove short-lived
European shares finished higher as investor concerns about government austerity plans following weekend election results proved short-lived.
Pro-bailout parties in Greece performed poorly, while Francois Hollande won the French presidency, promising to focus more on growth rather than austerity.
In Paris, the Cac 40 recovered to trade up by 1.65%. In Germany, the Dax fell by more than 2%, but closed up 0.1%.
The euro also fell against both the dollar and the pound.
The euro fell as low as $1.295, its lowest since January, later recovering to $1.305, and dropped to three-year lows against the pound.
But shares in Athens fell by as much as 8.3%. In London, markets were closed for a bank holiday.
In New York, the Dow Jones opened down by 0.3%.
The interest rates on some government debt has also gone up, indicating a fall in investor confidence. The yield in the secondary markets for Greek 10-year bonds has gone up from 20% to 22.2%.
Asian markets also fell, with the Nikkei in Tokyo dropping 2.8%. South Korea's Kospi shed 1.8% and Hong Kong's Hang Seng dropped 2.4%
'Chaos in Greece'
In Greece, the socialist Pasok party saw an unexpectedly poor result, while Syriza, which has opposed austerity measures, had a strong performance.
The result has cast doubt on whether the country's policies that currently include large spending cuts, tax increases and state job losses, can continue.
"The knee-jerk reaction was a little strong, but there's chaos in Greece, and [politicians] being against the deal that was already agreed upon is almost like progress being set back a year and a half," said Scott Freeze, president of StreetOne Financial.
BBC Europe editor Gavin Hewitt says Greece faces political turmoil.
"Pro-austerity parties were punished at the polls. The country will struggle to form a coalition that has the support in parliament for new spending cuts that are a pre-condition for receiving funds from a bailout," he said.
"There will be fresh doubts as to whether Greece can remain in the euro. The new political reality in Europe is that voters appear no longer willing to accept spending cuts, low growth and unemployment."
While the French result was expected, there is still concern about whether Mr Hollande will be able to work as closely with German Chancellor Angela Merkel as his predecessor Nicolas Sarkozy did.
The two were the driving force behind the eurozone's fiscal compact.
Mr Hollande stood on a platform of promoting growth rather than concentrating on austerity.
"The global financial markets aren't thrilled by the idea that France and Greece have voted for governments less willing to work with the Germans on a consistent approach to addressing their fiscal deficits," said Dick Green at Briefing.com.
During the campaign, Mr Hollande pledged to renegotiate the fiscal pact in which European countries agreed to strict controls on their budgets.
But following his victory, and the defeat of the governing coalition parties in Greece, Mrs Merkel said that the deal was "not up for grabs".
"It is a matter of principle in Europe that following elections, be they in small or large countries, we do not renegotiate what's already been agreed," she said.
"Otherwise we could not work together in Europe."
The ratings agency Standard and Poor's, which downgraded France from its triple-A rating in January, said the election result would have no immediate impact on its credit status.
"We will analyse the policy choices of France's president elect and the new government, taking into account the outcome of the parliamentary elections in June," the agency said.
"The chances are that the next move is going to be down. The chances are it's going to be slightly earlier than it would have been otherwise, but the agencies themselves will have a measured response," said Georg Grodski, head of credit research at Legal and General.
"There is still hope that Mr Hollande will tone down some of his rhetoric and accept that you can't fix an economic problem by living on other people's money."
BBC
GE in tie up with XD Electric as it eyes China's market
General Electric (GE) has announced a tie-up with China's XD Electric to tap into China's fast growing market for electric transmission and distribution.
GE has agreed to buy a 15% stake in XD, one of China's largest makers of power transmission and distribution equipment.
Beijing is looking to expand its electricity infrastructure to cater to rising demand as China's economy grows.
China is the world's second-largest economy.
"This is the beginning of an important relationship between two companies with complementary product lines and commitments to technology," Bob Gilligan, president and chief executive of GE's Digital Energy business said in a statement.
"It will enhance GE's ability to provide end-to-end transmission and distribution solutions and expand our presence in the fastest growing regions of the world."
Though GE did not provide details of the amount it will pay for the stake in XD, the Financial Times and Reuters news agency reported that the figure was close to $535m (£330m).
Global demand
The demand for electricity transmission and distribution equipment is expected to grow in the coming years, driven both by developing as well as developed economies.
As emerging and developing economies such as China and India grow, more people are expected to move from rural to urban areas, increasing demand for power.
There is also a push to develop rural and interior areas, which is expected to result in more demand for electricity and the need for adequate equipment to transmit and distribute it.
At the same time many developed economies are also looking at ways to upgrade their distribution systems.
The two firms said the tie-up will help ensure that they are able to get a substantial share of this increasing global demand.
Airbus and Boeing hit by plane cancellations
Airlines have cancelled a total of 32 orders for planes so far this year, according to data from the world's two major plane makers.
US giant Boeing said it had 25 orders of its flagship plane, the 787 Dreamliner, cancelled by airlines without naming who they were.
European rival Airbus has had seven A350 orders cancelled by Etihad Airways, the Abu Dhabi-based airline.
The cancellations reflect the difficult travel market and weak global economy.
The numbers emerged in both firms' end-of-month order figures.
For Boeing, the 25 Dreamliner cancellations compare with 19 orders so far this year, meaning the plane maker is in negative territory for its flagship plane.
Based on list prices, it would cost the airline about $193.5m (£119m).
But in terms of total orders for all planes this year, Boeing retained a large lead over Airbus.
Boeing's order book stood at 415 on 1 May, against 95 for Airbus on 30 April.
It is Etihad's second cancellation in four months and takes its order of 25 A350-1000 planes, made in November last year, down to 12.
The seven aircraft are worth $2.3bn at listed prices.
Francois Hollande to set France on new course after win
French President-elect Francois Hollande is to start work on forming a new government, after telling supporters his victory gave hope of an end to austerity.
Mr Hollande has vowed to rework a deal on government debt in eurozone member-countries to focus on promoting growth.
The Socialist leader won just under 52% of votes in Sunday's run-off election.
Centre-right incumbent Nicolas Sarkozy is the first French president since 1981 not to win a second term.
He will hand power to Mr Hollande on 15 May, following talks between the two camps, the presidency has said.
Mr Hollande must act quickly to reassure other eurozone countries he is up to the considerable challenge he faces, the BBC's Christian Fraser reports from Paris.
Invitation to Berlin
Mr Hollande has called for a renegotiation of a hard-won European treaty on budget discipline championed by German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Mr Sarkozy.
Mrs Merkel congratulated the president-elect by phone and invited him to Berlin to hold talks soon, but she warned the fiscal compact was "not up for grabs".
"The core of the discussion is really all about... whether we are going to have again programmes for growth which are on the back of debt or indeed whether we are going to have programmes for growth that are sustainable and indeed rely on the competitiveness of the countries," she told a news conference in Berlin.
In Washington, a White House spokesman said the alliance between France and the US was "as strong today as it was last week".
Spokesman Jay Carney said President Barack Obama had called Mr Hollande to congratulate him on the victory, adding that the US leader was looking forward to welcoming the president-elect to a Nato and G8 summit in the US later this month.
Mr Carney also said that President Obama had telephoned Mr Sarkozy to thank him for his "strong leadership and for his friendship and partnership in challenging times".
UK Prime Minister David Cameron also called Mr Hollande to congratulate him.
Mr Hollande feeds a renewed sense of hope in the country - particularly among the young - that amid the austerity, there can be jobs and salaries, our correspondent says. However, the debt problems for France are still the same.
Jubilant Hollande supporters gathered at the Place de la Bastille in Paris - a traditional rallying point of the Left - to celebrate.
Mr Hollande - the first Socialist to win the French presidency since Francois Mitterrand in the 1980s - earlier gave his victory speech in his stronghold of Tulle in central France.
He said he would push ahead with his pledge to refocus EU fiscal efforts from austerity to "growth".
"Europe is watching us, austerity can no longer be the only option," he said.
After his speech in Tulle, Mr Hollande headed to Brive airport to fly to Paris to address supporters at the Place de la Bastille.
"I am the president of the youth of France," he told the assembled crowd of tens of thousands of supporters.
"You are a movement that is rising up throughout Europe," he said.
'Clique' warning
Mr Hollande capitalised on France's economic woes and President Sarkozy's unpopularity.
The Socialist candidate has promised to raise taxes on big corporations and people earning more than 1m euros a year.
He wants to raise the minimum wage, hire 60,000 more teachers and lower the retirement age from 62 to 60 for some workers.
In his concession speech, Mr Sarkozy told supporters: "Francois Hollande is the president of France and he must be respected."
The outgoing centre-right president said he was "taking responsibility for defeat".
"My place will no longer be the same. My involvement in the life of my country will now be different."
Mr Sarkozy also held a meeting with senior members of his UMP party, warning against infighting after the electoral defeat.
"For the future, avoid banding into cliques," he was quoted as saying by a participant of the meeting.
Mr Sarkozy also reportedly said he would give more details in September about what he intended to do in the future.
During the campaign, the outgoing president had said he would leave politics if he lost the election.
Mr Sarkozy, who has been in office since 2007, had promised to reduce France's large budget deficit through spending cuts.
He becomes the latest European leader to be voted out of office amid widespread voter anger at austerity measures triggered by the eurozone debt crisis.
France is due to hold a parliamentary election in June.
Source-BBC
Putin Sworn In Amid Controversy Over Protest Violence
Vladimir Putin was sworn in Monday as Russia’s president. But the highly choreographed ceremony in the Kremlin’s St. Andrew Hall was clouded by events in the Russian capital a day earlier, when police and protesters, during a large opposition demonstration, left dozens injured on both sides.
With his right hand on the Russian constitution, Vladimir Putin swore that, in carrying out his duties as Russia’s president, he would “respect and safeguard” rights and freedoms, observe and protect the country’s constitution, protect its sovereignty, independence, security and integrity, and “faithfully serve the people.”
Earlier Monday, Russia’s outgoing president, Dmitry Medvedev, addressed the nearly 3,000 Russian and foreign dignitaries who attended the Kremlin swearing-in ceremony. Back in 2008, near the end of his second presidential term, Mr. Putin picked Mr. Medvedev to be his successor. Mr. Medvedev then picked Mr. Putin to be his prime minister.
Medvedev said Monday that the “large-scale” political, economic and social reforms which he said he and Putin had carried out need to be continued.
Only through such reforms, Medvedev said, will Russia be a 'powerful democratic state' where law and social justice reign. He said that as president, he had worked “openly and honestly” to achieve such goals, and while not all of them were reached, such efforts must continue.
In a brief address after being sworn in Monday, Putin said Russia would achieve its goals only if it strengthened democracy and constitutional rights and freedoms.
Yet some observers see a disconnect between those stated goals and past practice. It was Putin’s announcement last September that he would again run for president and make Medvedev his prime minister, which both outraged and energized Russia’s political opposition.
Widespread reports of fraud in last December’s parliamentary elections and presidential elections in March only served to heighten tensions.
Those tensions turned violent Sunday, when opposition demonstrators clashed with police during a mass protest in Moscow. More than 400 people were arrested and scores of demonstrators and policemen were injured.
Some analysts said Monday that the growing gulf between an uncompromising Kremlin and an increasingly radicalized opposition will lead to further violence.
Lilia Shevtsova, a political analyst with the Carnegie Moscow Center, predicts that Putin will increasingly resort to “repressive mechanisms.”
“He will never give any concessions, neither to the opposition nor to the protesters’ movement, because the only concession the society, civil society, is expecting from him, is competition -- fair competition -- and rule of law. That means new elections, and one can guess that if the election is really fair, Putin has no guarantees to win the elections,” Shevtsova said.
Following Monday’s inauguration, Vladimir Putin submitted Dmitry Medvedev’s candidacy for the post of prime minister to the State Duma, the lower house of Russia’s parliament, for consideration.
China Expels Al-Jazeera English Reporter, Forces Closure of Beijing Bureau
Al-Jazeera says it has been forced to shut down its English language news operation in China after authorities refused to renew the media credentials and visa of its only correspondent in Beijing.
The Qatar-based network said Monday that it “had no other choice” than to close its Beijing bureau after China failed to renew the accreditation of Melissa Chan and would not allow another correspondent to replace her.
The network did not say if authorities gave any reason for expelling Chan, who had been its China reporter since 2007.
The Foreign Correspondent's Club of China on Tuesday said it was “appalled” by the decision, calling it an attempt to “censor and intimidate” foreign correspondents in China.
It is the first time since 1998 that China has expelled an accredited foreign journalist.
Chinese officials had recently expressed displeasure with al-Jazeera's China coverage. In particularly, authorities were reportedly angered by a November documentary highlighting oppressive Chinese prison labor camps.
Al-Jazeera News Director Salah Negm defended the network's China coverage, saying it strives for objectivity. But he also said its reporting “covers the voice of the voiceless” and that sometimes calls for “tough news coverage.”
The network says it will continue to employ several Arabic-language reporters in China. It is working with Beijing authorities to reopen its English bureau.
Chan, a U.S. citizen, is believed to be the first foreign reporter kicked out of China since a Japanese journalist was expelled in 1998 after being accused of obtaining state secrets.
Observers say Chinese authorities have increasingly restricted foreign journalists in recent months, as the date for a once-in-a-decade leadership transition in China draws closer.
Israel’s Early Elections Postponed: Media Reports
Israeli media reports say Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has struck a surprise deal with the opposition Kadima party to form a unity government, effectively canceling an early election.
The reports said that Israel's parliament announced it would not hold a final vote on whether to break up. The decision came after hours of debate that began late Monday.
On Sunday, Mr. Netanyahu called for the dissolution of his coalition government and early parliamentary elections in September. The proposed elections were to come more than a year ahead of the next national vote scheduled for October 2013.
Mr. Netanyahu told his Likud party members Sunday he did not want a year-and-a-half of instability that harms security, the economy and society. He said a short four-month campaign would ensure political stability.
Latest opinion polls show that the popularity of Prime Minister Netanyahu remains high.
Mr. Netanyahu's right-wing ruling coalition, one of the most stable in recent times, has split over a controversial law that exempts ultra-Orthodox Jews and Arab Israelis from military or civilian service.
In addition, the country's military says it needs more funds to cope with what it says is rising antagonism in the region, following the Arab Spring. There are also fears of a conflict if Israel attacks Iran's suspected nuclear weapons facilities.
The economy remains the top priority for many Israelis. Demonstrations over the high cost of living and lack of social services rocked the Netanyahu government last year.
Serbian Presidential Election Heads to Runoff
Serbia's incumbent president, Boris Tadic, finished first in his bid for re-election, but fell far short of a majority, so a runoff vote will be held in two weeks.
Mr. Tadic and his main challenger, Tomislav Nikolic of the nationalist Serbian Progressive Party, finished first and second Sunday in a field of 12 candidates. Together they won more than half of nearly four million ballots that were cast, and Serbia's Election Commission said Mr. Tadic has a 13,100-vote lead over Mr. Nikolic.
In voting for parliament, Mr. Nikolic's nationalists won 73 seats, ahead of Mr. Tadic's Democratic Party bloc, which won 67 seats. Since Serbia's opposition socialists won 44 seats, the party once led by Slobodan Milosevic appears to hold the balance of power in talks on forming a new government.
In Washington, the White House congratulated Serbia on holding a successful election. A spokesman says the United States looks forward to working with Serbia's political leadership as it moves toward EU membership, no matter which party leads the next government.
US Foils Al-Qaida Airliner Bomb Plot
U.S. officials say they have stopped an al-Qaida bomb plot intended to destroy an airliner heading for the United States.
Authorities in Washington say the al-Qaida branch in Yemen intended to put a suicide bomber aboard a U.S.-bound jet with explosives concealed in the attacker's underwear.
They say the plot was detected and the bomb was seized before any plane was at risk.
The White House National Security Council said in a statement Monday that U.S. President Barack Obama was first informed about the plot in April and has received regular updates about the situation. It said the president was assured that the device did not pose a threat to the public.
Addressing reporters Monday, U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta declined to comment on specific classified operations. However, he said the incident makes clear the United States must remain vigilant against possible attacks.
The Associated Press says the would-be attacker is based in Yemen and the plot was to be carried out around the one-year anniversary of the U.S. raid that killed Osama bin Laden. It also says the would-be attacker had not picked a target or bought a plane ticket.
Officials say the bomb was a redesign of an explosive that was used to try to blow up an airplane bound for Detroit from Amsterdam in 2009. A Nigerian man tried to detonate the bomb hidden in his underwear on the Christmas Day flight.
Mystic Revealers rock live concert
A near-capacity audience streamed into Hope Botanical Gardens on Saturday evening for a live concert produced by the environmental group, Plant a Tree Foundation.
They saw three bands representing different genres and generations of Jamaican music — No-Maddz, Mystic Revealers and Rootz Underground
No-Maddz from Bull Bay, who opened the show, delivered a well-received fusion set of reggae, jazz and world beat.
Reggae-rock unit Rootz Underground, arguably the best known of the bands that have emerged in Jamaica during the past decade, were typically high-energy.
But it was another Bull Bay band, the veteran Mystic Revealers, who stood out.
Making their first local appearance in 15 years, the quintet with three original members, dished out a solid serving of traditional roots-reggae.
"Wi rehearsing for the last two weeks an' wi still trying to find a soun'," lead singer/guitarist Anthony 'Billy Mystic' Wilmot told the audience shortly taking the stage.
There were glimpses of that stage rust, but the crowd warmed to a performance built around songs from their heyday of the 1990s.
The quintet's strongest moments came in the last 25 minutes when they did Saw You Smiling, their first hit, which Wilmot dedicated to his wife of 32 years.
That was followed by the rocking Dem Problem and Religion featuring deejay Sojah.
The late flourish earned them an encore, which they performed Judgement Day.
The event was staged to build awareness about the importance of tree-planting to the environment.