Sony Ericsson reports fourth quarter loss
Mobile phone company Sony Ericsson has reported a fourth quarter loss, citing tough competition and the global economic slowdown for the deficit.
The firm - which is soon to be fully taken over by Sony - posted a net loss of 207m euros ($267m; £173m), compared with an 8m euro profit a year ago.
Sony Ericsson also said it had been hit by component shortages following the floods in Thailand last year.
The firm reported a net loss of 247m euros for the whole of 2011.
Chief executive Bert Nordberg said: "Our fourth quarter results reflected intense competition, unfavourable macroeconomic conditions and the effects of a natural disaster in Thailand."
Sales for the final three months of 2011 were 1.3bn euros, down 16% from the same period a year earlier, and 13% less than the previous quarter.
The company shipped nine million handsets in the fourth quarter, down 20% from a year ago.
In October last year, Japan's Sony agreed to take full control of Sony Ericsson from Sweden's Ericsson.
Sony is buying Ericsson's 50% of the business for 1.1bn euros, a deal which is expected to be completed within the next few weeks.
After the release of Sony Ericsson's results, Ericsson said the mobile phone maker's loss would cut its fourth quarter earnings by 1.1bn crowns ($160.3m; £104m).
Goldman Sachs cuts pay and bonuses as profits halve
US banking giant Goldman Sachs has cut its pay and bonus payments during 2011 - to $12.2bn (£7.4bn).
It said its total compensation - including staff bonuses - was down 21% from 2010.
The bank also said that its quarterly profits had more than halved from the previous year, but still beat analysts' forecasts.
Net income for the last three months of the year fell 58% to $1.01bn from the same period a year earlier.
In the whole of 2011, Goldman said that it made 47% less in profits than in 2010.
Weak US growth and uncertainty about European sovereign debt has hit banks hard globally.
The bank said that it had cut total staff numbers by 7% in 2011 - to 33,300 people, meaning the average compensation per member of staff is about $366,360.
'Concerns'
"This past year was dominated by global macro-economic concerns which significantly affected our clients' risk tolerance and willingness to transact," said Goldman chief executive Lloyd Blankfein.
Goldman also said that the UK bank payroll tax - the 50% tax on bankers' bonuses levied by the previous Labour government for one fiscal year - cost it a total of $465m in 2010.
That helped push up its effective tax rate up to 35.2% in 2010, and it had dropped to 28% last year.
On Tuesday, US rival Citigroup reported a profit of $11.3bn for 2011, up 6% on the previous year.
Last week, JP Morgan started earnings season also reported a drop in fourth-quarter profits.
The bank made a profit of $3.7bn in the period, down by almost a quarter on a year earlier.
IMF seeking $500bn funding boost
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has said it will seek to increase its resources by $500bn (£325bn) to help stabilise the global economy.
The extra money could be used to help countries in the eurozone struggling to pay their debts.
But the IMF said it may need up to $1tn "in the coming years".
The $500bn includes the recent European commitment to commit 150bn euros (£125bn; $194bn) to the IMF, the 187-nation body said.
"Based on staff's estimate of global potential financing needs of about $1tn in the coming years, the Fund would aim to raise up to $500bn in additional lending resources," the IMF said.
"At this preliminary stage, we are exploring options on funding and will have no further comment until the necessary consultations with the Fund's membership have been completed."
The IMF currently has a a total borrowing capacity of about $590bn, and the Fund's lending commitments are at a record $250bn.
With Europe pledging the bulk of the extra funding, the IMF will have to discuss with its other members how to get the remaining resources.
European funding
At a summit in December, most of the European Union vowed to add about 200bn euros to the IMF's resources - which in turn could be lent to stricken nations such as Greece or to the eurozone bailout fund.
But the UK decided not to take part in the scheme to support the eurozone, so the EU failed to reach their target.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has said it will seek to increase its resources by $500bn (£325bn) to help stabilise the global economy.
The extra money could be used to help countries in the eurozone struggling to pay their debts.
But the IMF said it may need up to $1tn "in the coming years".
The $500bn includes the recent European commitment to commit 150bn euros (£125bn; $194bn) to the IMF, the 187-nation body said.
"Based on staff's estimate of global potential financing needs of about $1tn in the coming years, the Fund would aim to raise up to $500bn in additional lending resources," the IMF said.
"At this preliminary stage, we are exploring options on funding and will have no further comment until the necessary consultations with the Fund's membership have been completed."
The IMF currently has a a total borrowing capacity of about $590bn, and the Fund's lending commitments are at a record $250bn.
With Europe pledging the bulk of the extra funding, the IMF will have to discuss with its other members how to get the remaining resources.
European funding
At a summit in December, most of the European Union vowed to add about 200bn euros to the IMF's resources - which in turn could be lent to stricken nations such as Greece or to the eurozone bailout fund.
But the UK decided not to take part in the scheme to support the eurozone, so the EU failed to reach their target.
Pakistan PM Gilani stands firm in contempt battle
Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani has appeared before the country's Supreme Court in contempt proceedings, to defend his record.
The court initiated the hearing over Mr Gilani's refusal to ask Swiss officials to reopen a corruption case against President Asif Ali Zardari.
If found guilty of contempt he could be banned from holding public office.
A stand-off between the government, the judiciary and the military threatens to topple Mr Gilani's government.
After a hearing lasting little more than an hour the case was adjourned until 1 February.
Mr Gilani smiled and waved as he arrived at the Supreme Court, accompanied by his legal team and senior cabinet ministers.
In a lengthy opening statement to the seven judges, he spoke of his respect for the court and the Pakistani constitution.
He said he had not intended to defy the court but that he believed Mr Zardari had presidential immunity from prosecution.
"I have discussed this with my friends and experts, and they all agree that he has got complete immunity," Mr Gilani said.
"It will not give a good message to proceed against a president who is elected by a two-thirds majority."
He said it would not be good idea to throw the president to the "wolves".
Regardless of the outcome, one of the judges said, ''it was a great day for Pakistan, that the chief executive had bowed before the majesty of the law.".
Mr Gilani's embattled government is currently embroiled in disputes with the judiciary and also with Pakistan's powerful armed forces.
The prime minister sounded conciliatory at the hearing but his appearance was intended to be a show of strength for the government, says the BBC's Aleem Maqbool in Islamabad.
'No harm'
Mr Gilani has long refused to request the Swiss authorities to reopen the corruption case against President Zardari, as the Supreme Court has demanded.
But his lawyer, Aitzaz Ahsan, indicated on Wednesday that the prime minister might reverse that stance.
"There is no harm in writing a letter to the Swiss authorities," he said.
"The president has complete immunity against criminal procedures in the courts."
He added: "I don't think the prime minister has committed contempt of court by not writing the letter. Through my arguments I will try to convince the court that the prime minister is not guilty of contempt."
If convicted, Mr Gilani would face a prison term and be disqualified from office, potentially forcing early elections.
Meanwhile, former President Pervez Musharraf has indicated he intends to stick to a promise to return in late January from self-imposed exile to run in elections, which are due by 2013.
He told the BBC he wanted to seek "the mandate of the people", despite facing arrest on his return to face accusations that he did not provide adequate security for former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto when she was assassinated in late 2007.
On Wednesday, Interior Minister Rehman Malik said Gen Musharraf would be arrested if he returned to the country.
Money laundering
Mr Zardari and his late wife, Benazir Bhutto, were found guilty in absentia by a Swiss court in 2003 of laundering millions of dollars in kickbacks from Swiss firms while they were in government.
They appealed and Swiss officials dropped the case in 2008 at the request of the Pakistani government.
The case was one of thousands dropped as a result of an amnesty that allowed Ms Bhutto to return from self-imposed exile and run for election in 2008. She was assassinated shortly after returning.
However, in 2009 Pakistan's Supreme Court declared the amnesty unconstitutional, leaving those covered by it open to prosecution.
The government is also engaged in a dispute with the military over an anonymous memo asking for US help to avert a possible army coup in Pakistan. The memo was sent in the wake of the killing of Osama Bin Laden in a US raid in May 2011.
US officials have acknowledged receiving the memo but say they took no action over it.
Both disputes have overshadowed Pakistan's deteriorating relationship with Washington following US air strikes that accidentally killed 24 Pakistani soldiers in November.
Decision looms on ending Concordia rescue operations
Rescuers resumed work aboard of the wreck of the cruise liner Costa Concordia on Thursday, the Italian navy said, as a decision loomed about when and if to call off the search for survivors.
Authorities are considering when to change the operation from rescue to recovery, Coast Guard spokesman Cosimo Nicastro said Thursday.
At least 11 people are known to have been killed since the disaster, and about two dozen are still missing.
Declaring the operation to be recovery rather than rescue would allow salvage experts to start pumping fuel out of the ship, potentially averting an environmental catastrophe.
The ship was carrying about 2,300 tons of fuel when it hit rocks off the coast of the Italian island of Giglio on Friday night.
Rescuers will try to blow more holes in the side of the ship with explosives to allow greater access to the ship if weather allows on Thursday, Nicastro said.
The brother-in-law of the captain who has been arrested over the shipwreck defended him in an Italian newspaper Thursday.
Capt. Francesco Schettino "managed to avoid a tragedy -- it could have been worse," Maurilio Russo said in Corrierre della Sera.
And he denied that he captain had abandoned ship.
"He was not running away, he came down [from the ship] to survey the damage," Russo said.
Russo also said the route the captain took was not out of the ordinary.
''It is a usual procedure, the owners are well aware of it, it is useless to pretend otherwise," he said. "Passengers pay to see something and skirting very close to the shore is part of the show."
Schettino's parish priest Don Gennaro Starita accused the media of "killing him" in an interview with with Italian newspaper.
"It's a shame," he said. "Already there are all these dead people, do we want to add another one to the list?"
The priest said he he plans to visit the captain in the next couple of days "to express solidarity."
Schettino may face charges including manslaughter, shipwreck and abandoning a ship when passengers were still on board, according to legal papers.
Prosecutor Francesco Verusio has accused the captain of piloting the ship too fast to allow him to react to dangers, causing the shipwreck, according to legal papers.
Judge Valeria Montesarchio's initial ruling found Schettino changed the ship's course, steering too close to shore and causing the ship to hit a rock.
The judge said the captain admitted to making a mistake and that, at the time of the collision, he was navigating by sight.
In her preliminary investigation, Montesarchio said there appears to be considerable evidence against the captain, whom she said showed "imprudence and inexperience."
The judge's findings included: Schettino made no serious attempt to return to the ship, he underestimated the damage to the Concordia and he failed to alert authorities in a timely manner.
"The captain could not but realize right away the gravity of the situation both because of the tilt and because he was alerted by the crew of the water influx," Montesarchio said.
The captain abandoned ship while at least 100 people were still on board, the judge said.
Montesarchio described the shipwreck as "a disaster of global proportion."
Officials named one of the victims Wednesday as Sandor Feher, a Hungarian member of the crew.
His body was one of five recovered Tuesday.
The mayor's office in Grosseto, the provincial capital, said 26 people remained missing, but that number may include some of the five victims found Tuesday.
The family of two missing Americans, Gerald and Barbara Heil of White Bear Lake, Minnesota, said it was thankful for perilous attempts to find those still unaccounted for.
"While it is certainly hard for us to see the recovery efforts stall due to the unstable conditions ... we are also very concerned for the safety of the Italian coast guard as they continue to put forth a heroic effort in trying to find those who remain missing," relatives wrote.
Experts say chances of finding survivors are slim.
China Says US Sanctions on Iran ‘Ineffective’
China expressed concern Thursday over rising tensions in the Persian Gulf, saying the situation could pose problems for resolving Iran's nuclear issues.
Speaking at a regular news briefing in Beijing, foreign ministry spokesperson Liu Weimin said disagreements over Tehran's controversial nuclear program should be solved through dialogue and negotiations.
“Using sanctions, imposing pressure and threatening one another with force not only do not help solve the problem, but they would lead to further deterioration of the situation.”
Liu echoed earlier comments by Premier Wen Jiabao, who said Beijing is opposed to any “extreme action” by Iran to shut off the Strait of Hormuz.
Wen told reporters in Doha, Qatar late Wednesday that it would be not be in the interest of the global community for Iran to follow through on its threat to block the waterway, which is a key shipping lane for global oil supplies.
Tehran has threatened to close the strait in response to U.S. sanctions. Officials in Washington have said there is room for diplomacy, but warn that the United States will not allow an Iranian blockade.
China has supported U.N. sanctions on Iran, but opposes the much tougher U.S. measures.
On Wednesday, Wen said China “firmly opposes” Iran producing a nuclear weapon. But he says the issue should be resolved through “peaceful” means, saying the so-called P-five-plus-one talks are one way to do so.
The negotiations between the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council – the United States, Britain, France, Russia and China – plus Germany last took place a year ago. Iran and the United States have both hinted that the talks could soon resume, although no date has been set.
The recently enacted U.S. sanctions impose financial penalties against foreign banks that do business with Iran's central bank, which is responsible for most of its oil deals.
Iran Says US Should Be Willing to Talk Without Conditions
Iran says the United States should make it clear that it is ready to hold talks without conditions, and urged other countries in the Middle East to not put themselves in a “dangerous position.”
Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi made the comments Thursday during a visit to Turkey.
They come a day after the United States said it is open to resuming negotiations with Iran about its controversial nuclear program if Tehran is “serious” about discussing it openly.
State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said Wednesday it is up to Iran to rejoin talks with the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council and Germany, a group known as the P5+1. The parties last met a year ago.
An Iranian politician said Wednesday that U.S. President Barack Obama had sent a letter to Iran calling for direct talks.
But the Obama administration did not confirm such contact.
White House spokesman Jay Carney said Wednesday that any communications that have or may have taken place are “the same in private as they have been in public,” and that the path forward is through multi-party talks.
He said increasing pressure on Iran from the United States and “many international allies” is a direct result of Tehran's refusal to engage in “serious discussions” about its nuclear program.
Iran's Salehi said Wednesday any new negotiations likely would be held in Istanbul.
The U.S. State Department responded later that there have been no discussions about holding a new round of talks.
Meanwhile, U.S. Joints Chiefs of Staff Chairman Martin Dempsey is visiting Israel Thursday for talks with Defense Minister Ehud Barak, including U.S. and Israeli concerns that Iran is trying to develop nuclear weapons. Iran says its nuclear ambitions are peaceful.
The meeting comes a day after Barak said any decision about a preemptive Israeli attack on Iran's nuclear program is “very far off.”
Israel and its key ally the United States have not ruled out using military force to stop Iran from building a nuclear bomb. But U.S. officials publicly have been urging Israel to avoid unilateral action and give more time for diplomatic pressure and sanctions on Iran to work.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Wednesday a military strike on Iran would be a “catastrophe” and would inflame tensions between Sunnis and Shi'ites in the region.
Lavrov also said sanctions imposed on Iran by the United States and European Union appear designed to hurt the Iranian economy rather than achieve the goal of nuclear non-proliferation. Russia has supported several rounds of U.N. Security Council sanctions on Iran in recent years but says it will not approve any more.
EU foreign ministers are set to finalize a proposed crude oil embargo on Iran to begin July 1 when they meet Monday in Brussels.
The EU also is likely to ban imports of Iranian petrochemical products and exports of key technology intended for Iran's petrochemical industry. An EU oil embargo would deprive Iran of vital foreign currency income.
Maritime Monitor Says Somali Pirates Remain Biggest Threat
International piracy monitors say the number of overall attacks dropped slightly last year, and that Somali pirates remain the greatest threat.
The International Maritime Bureau said Thursday it recorded 439 pirate attacks in 2011, down from 445 a year before, breaking a four-year trend of increasing attacks worldwide.
It said Somali pirates were responsible for more than half the attacks. The report said that while there was an increase in incidents involving Somali pirates last year, the number of successful hijackings dropped by 43 percent.
The IMB credits the efforts of international naval forces patrolling the waters off Somalia, saying they are “critical” to combating piracy.
The report also identified the waters off Nigeria and neighboring Benin as particularly active spots for pirates. It said there is continued concern about the number of attacks off Nigeria that go unreported.
Golden Globes: Ricky Gervais 'subdued', say critics
A "respectful and restrained" Ricky Gervais lacked the bite of last year as the host of a lacklustre Golden Globes ceremony, reviewers have concluded.
The Los Angeles Times said he was "surprisingly subdued". The Hollywood Reporter said it was "such a let down".
Variety said the show was "virtually lifeless" with acceptance speeches that "droned on without a hint of spontaneity or magic".
In 2011, Gervais shocked with quips about stars including Robert Downey Jr.
It led the Hollywood A-lister to comment on the jokes being "mean-spirited and mildly sinister".
Black and white silent movie The Artist won three gongs at the Los Angeles awards while The Descendants was named best film drama and its star George Clooney won a best actor prize.
Best actress prizes went to Michelle Williams for My Week with Marilyn, and Meryl Streep for The Iron Lady.
The announcement in November that Gervais would present the Globes for a third year running was greeted with surprise after a series of caustic put-downs at the expense of gathered stars and organisers, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA) in 2011.
In the run-up to this year's event, the HFPA ran an advertising campaign suggesting the British comedian may go further this year.
Variety said that, "he reserved his harshest barbs for NBC and the Hollywood Foreign Press Association".
He "danced up to the line with jokes about Justin Bieber and the Jodie Foster-directed The Beaver" but "there was little to make the room or censors blanch".
Gervais' most memorable moments included a reference to actor Colin Firth as "very racist", joking he had "seen him punch a little blind kitten".
He also said the Globes were to the more serious Oscars what US reality TV star Kim Kardashian was to Kate Middleton - "a bit louder, a bit trashier, a bit drunker and more easily bought, allegedly".
The Hollywood Reporter said that, because Gervais had "pulled no punches last year and ruffled a lot of egos", there was an expectation this year's ceremony would be "a bloodbath of scorching wit and meanness, with no sainted star deemed untouchable".
Because the predicted "apocalypse" did not appear, "it seemed like such a letdown," it added.
"And yet, if the ceremony itself had any kind of sparkle or snap to it - which it did not - a tame Gervais wouldn't be such a big story."
That was partly because the list of winners, "did not give us the drama we've seen in previous years," blogger Perez Hilton said.
In the UK press, The Guardian noted "it was left to the winners to provide some of the night's more risque moments", including Meryl Streep, who swore in her acceptance speech.
Empire Online, meanwhile, said "at least Ricky seems like he's trying once in a while".
"The rest of the show was largely a rote run-through of awkward banter, long thank you lists, expected wins and one or two ridiculous snubs/surprise victories - much like any other year."
As the Los Angeles Times noted, Britons fared best in the night's television awards.
The paper reported on success for Downton Abbey as best TV mini-series and Kate Winslet for lead actress in a TV mini-series or movie, for Mildred Pierce.
It then added: "When Idris Elba took to the stage to accept the award for lead actor in a miniseries for Luther, one did begin to wonder how many Brits it takes to screw in a Golden Globe."
The same was not true in film categories when compared with last year when Colin Firth won best actor in a drama for The King's Speech - a precursor to his Oscar success.
Fisher's late 3 pushes Lakers past Mavericks 73-70
Derek Fisher spent the last year wearing more suits than sweats while negotiating the union's labor deal, and he realizes his peak playing days are probably past.
But Kobe Bryant borrows a term from former coach Phil Jackson to describe anybody who doubts what the Lakers' veteran point guard can do in the clutch.
"That's inherently idiotic," he said.
Fisher hit a tiebreaking 3-pointer with 3.1 seconds to play and Los Angeles emerged from a dismal offensive game by both teams with a 73-70 victory over the Mavericks on Monday night, snapping Dallas' five-game winning streak.
Vince Carter missed a 3-pointer at the buzzer for the defending champion Mavericks, who swept Los Angeles out of the second round of the postseason last spring, ending the Lakers' bid for a three-peat.
Neither team looked much like a championship contender in their first meeting since, with 3 1/2 miserable offensive quarters before the exciting finish keyed by Fisher, who added another line to an overflowing list of late-game heroics.
"This is what I do," Fisher said. "When opportunities like that present themselves, I'm confident in my ability to step up and make the right play. I've been fortunate in my career to come up with some of those big plays."
Fisher scored nine of his 13 points in the fourth quarter, leading a 10-0 run midway through the period before the Mavericks rallied to tie it on Jason Terry's running jumper at the top of the key with 9.9 seconds left.
Bryant, whose streak of four straight 40-point games ended with just 14 against the Mavs, drew the Dallas defense before passing to Fisher. The veteran point guard calmly drilled a long 3-pointer from the wing.
"We made the decision to get the ball out of Bryant's hands, and we just didn't get to (Fisher) in time," Dallas coach Rick Carlisle said. "Our full intention was to rotate to him, but he got the shot off quick and he shot it high, so we couldn't get to it. But he made a great shot. In that situation, you've got to live with that decision. And it's tough."
Carter's desperation try was far off, and the Lakers celebrated their ninth consecutive home victory since Christmas.
Dirk Nowitzki scored 21 points for the Mavericks, but committed a crucial traveling violation with 38 seconds left in their first loss since Jan. 5. Lamar Odom scored 10 points in his return to Staples Center, where he won two championships before the Lakers abruptly traded him to Dallas last month.
Andrew Bynum had 17 points and 15 rebounds for the Lakers, who have won six of seven overall despite barely scoring 70 points - the franchise low in the shot-clock era, set in November 2002.
Bryant had scored at least 40 points in each of his past four games, but the NBA's leading scorer didn't even score until midway through the second quarter.
"I like the fact that if we don't score, we can still win games," said Mike Brown, the Lakers' defense-minded new coach. "Hopefully our guys understand that we can win ugly games, we can win pretty games, we can win high-tempo games. However you want to bring it, we can get down that way."
Two elite NBA franchises might have showed the strain of the NBA's compacted schedule, or the excitement of the playoff rematch - or maybe they both just stunk.
Airballs, turnovers and missed assignments dominated play, which included a seven-point third quarter by the Lakers and 35 percent shooting by the Mavericks, who extended their string of exceptional defensive performances.
Pau Gasol, whose struggles in last year's playoff series played a huge role in the Lakers' losses, had just eight points on 3-of-11 shooting, while Dallas' Jason Kidd went 0 for 8 on 3-pointers and Terry was 2 for 9 from the field until his tying basket.
"Man, we're setting records - both ways, probably," Kidd said. "I thought we were competing at both ends, but sometimes you've got to make shots in this league, and we just couldn't do it tonight. It was one of those NFC kind of games - just hand off the ball and run. It was just an ugly game."
At least the Lakers have their first chance to recover from the lockout-compacted NBA schedule: After matching the league high with 15 games in 23 days, Los Angeles has consecutive days off for the first time this season before Thursday's game at Miami.
Odom said it was "surreal" to be in the visitors' locker room at Staples Center, his home for the past seven seasons. He got a lengthy standing ovation when he entered the game midway through the first quarter, and the Lakers played a video tribute on the scoreboard.
"Actually, it gave me energy," Odom said. "I'm still trying to get my rhythm back. I'm still getting in shape, and once I get there, then I'll be able to help this team. In order for me to succeed, you have to move on, no matter what, and I plan on succeeding in this next chapter of my life."
SI