Pakistan cricketers guilty of betting scam
Pakistan cricketers Salman Butt and Mohammad Asif have been found guilty of their part in a "spot-fixing" scam after a trial at Southwark Crown Court.
Former captain Butt, 27, and fast bowler Asif, 28, were both found guilty of conspiracy to cheat and conspiracy to accept corrupt payments.
They plotted to deliberately bowl no-balls during a Lord's Test match against England last summer.
Another bowler, Mohammad Amir, admitted the charges prior to the trial.
The guilty pleas by the bowler, who was 18 when the scam took place, could not be reported before.
The jury was not told of these pleas.
BBC sport news correspondent James Pearce says all three are facing the prospect of jail terms.
Conspiracy to accept corrupt payments carries a maximum prison term of seven years.
Our correspondent also says the case "raises serious questions about the integrity of Test cricket".
A statement was read out by Amir's lawyer at the start of the trial, before any evidence had been heard.
He said: "Mohammad Amir accepts full responsibility for deliberately bowling two no-balls and, in due course, you will hear how this vulnerable 18-year-old boy was subjected to extreme pressure from those on whom he should have been able to rely.
"He recognises the damage his actions have caused Pakistan cricket."
Spot-betting involves gamblers staking money on the minutiae of sporting encounters such as the exact timing of the first throw-in during a football match or, as in this case, when a no-ball will be bowled.
After deliberating for nearly 17 hours, the jury unanimously convicted Butt and Asif of conspiracy to cheat.
Our correspondent said Butt's wife, Gul Hassan, had given birth to a baby boy one hour before he was found guilty.
The BBC's Aleem Maqbool, in Lahore, said the story was leading the national news in Pakistan and the four-week trial had been closely followed in the country.
The judge, Mr Justice Cooke, extended bail for Butt and Asif until sentencing later this week.
'Rampant corruption'
They were charged after a tabloid newspaper alleged they took bribes to bowl deliberate no-balls.
The court heard the players, along with fast bowler Amir, conspired with UK-based sports agent Mazhar Majeed, 36, to fix parts of the Lord's Test last August.
Three intentional no-balls were delivered during the match between Pakistan and England from 26 to 29 August last year.
Prosecutors said Butt and Asif had been motivated by greed to "contaminate" a match watched by millions of people and "betray" their team, the Pakistan Cricket Board and the sport itself.
Aftab Jafferjee QC, for the prosecution, said the case "revealed a depressing tale of rampant corruption at the heart of international cricket".
Following the verdicts, Haroon Lorgat - chief executive of the International Cricket Council, the sport's governing body - issued a statement.
In it, he said: "We hope that this verdict is seen as a further warning to any individual who might, for whatever reason, be tempted to engage in corrupt activity within our sport."
He added that the ICC had a zero-tolerance attitude towards corruption and would use everything within its power to ensure that any suggestion of corrupt activity within cricket was "comprehensively investigated and, where appropriate, robustly prosecuted".
Sally Walsh, of the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), said the players had "brought shame on the cricket world" through their actions and "jeopardised the faith and admiration of cricket fans the world over".
She said their actions "went against everything expected of someone in their position and they failed to take into account their fans of all ages and nationalities when deciding to abandon the values of sportsmanship so unconditionally".
The senior lawyer added: "The jury has decided, after hearing all of the evidence, that what happened at the crease that day was criminal in the true sense of the word."
DCS Matt Horne, of the Metropolitan Police, said what had happened was "cheating, pure and simple".
"I think we all look forward to sport being played in its truest spirit as we go forward with these types of issues," he added.
DCS Horne also acknowledged the investigative journalism that led to the trial.
Mazher Mahmood, the former News of the World journalist who uncovered the betting scam, said: "It is a sad day for cricket but a good day for investigative journalism."
He said he hoped cricketing authorities would take the opportunity to tackle illegal gambling in the sport and do everything in their power to regain the cricket fans.
Meanwhile, former Pakistan cricket captain Asif Iqbal told BBC 5Live it was a "sad day for cricket" and said the case would send out a "huge message".
Angus Fraser, a former England fast bowler, said it could be a "watershed" for the game.
"It shows young cricketers that there is a consequence to their behaviour. In the past players have been banned and then they have come back," he told BBC 5Live.
"The International Cricket Council has got to support the players, see these signs and help them out of predicaments, but also see (that) if players do commit these offences they are punished severely."
NBA-No future labor meetings on tap; Hunter pledges unity among players
Four days after the latest impasse in talks between NBA owners and players and one day into what would have been the league's regular-season schedule, two sources involved in the negotiations said there are no new meetings scheduled.
The two sides, according to one of the sources, spoke separately with federal mediator George Cohen about a possible reunion meeting this week, but the session will not take place. Cohen, to review, was the point man for three straight days of marathon negotiating sessions in mid-October that did not lead to resolution.
Yet while the overarching questions continue to surround the split of basketball-related income -- the players want 52.5 percent while the owners last offered a 50-50 split -- and system issues (discussed in detail here), the absence of two-way communication this week led to an increase in dramatics.
Miami Heat owner Micky Arison was fined $500,000 on Monday for his comments on Twitter that revealed a break in the ownership ranks. Then, union president Derek Fisher wrote a letter to players refuting a recent FoxSports.com column that claimed he was secretly negotiating with David Stern and pushing players to accept the 50-50 deal, in part, to curry favor with the commissioner for the future benefit of his post-playing career.
And on Tuesday, a Yahoo! report claiming union executive director Billy Hunter was behind the anti-Fisher column and detailing a divide in the union ranks surfaced. One union source, however, insisted that the perceived chaos within wasn't as bad as it might seem.
"There's been disagreement about how to negotiate or what moves to make, but there's no fatal disagreement here," the source said of the Hunter-Fisher dynamic.
SI
Three Dodgers, three Red Sox top list of 2011 Gold Glove winners
Clayton Kershaw, Matt Kemp and Andre Ethier became the first trio of Los Angeles Dodgers to win NL Gold Gloves in the same year, and Adrian Gonzalez, Dustin Pedroia and Jacoby Ellsbury became the first three Red Sox in 32 seasons to win the AL honor together.
Kershaw became a first-time winner at pitcher when the awards were announced Tuesday. Ethier earned his first Gold Glove in the outfield and Kemp regained the NL award he also earned in 2009.
Gonzalez earned his first AL Gold Glove to go along with two he won in the NL while with San Diego, Pedroia won at second base for the first time since 2008 and Ellsbury picked up his first Gold Glove.
The previous three Red Sox to win in the same year were shortstop Rick Burleson along with outfielders Dwight Evans and Fred Lynn in 1979.
Chicago White Sox pitcher Mark Buehrle was the lone AL holdover, winning for the third straight year. Baltimore's Matt Wieters won at catcher, the Angels' Erick Aybar at shortstop, Texas' Adrian Beltre at third, and Kansas City's Alex Gordon and Baltimore's Nick Markakis in the outfield.
Beltre won for the third time, after gaining the award in 2007 and 2008.
The St. Louis Cardinals' Yadier Molina became the first NL catcher to win in four straight years since Charles Johnson from 1995-98.
Cincinnati first baseman Joey Votto and second baseman Brandon Phillips also won along with Colorado shortstop Troy Tulowitzki, Philadelphia third baseman Placido Polanco and Arizona outfielder Gerardo Parra. Phillips and Tulowitzki joined Molina as the NL holdovers, with Phillips winning for the third time in four years. Polanco won AL Gold Gloves in 2007 and 2009.
This year's AL group displaced Minnesota catcher Joe Mauer; Yankees first baseman Mark Teixeira, second baseman Robinson Cano and shortstop Derek Jeter; Tampa Bay third baseman Evan Longoria; former Rays outfielder Carl Crawford; and Seattle outfielders Ichiro Suzuki and Franklin Gutierrez.
Suzuki's streak of Gold Gloves ended at 10. The right fielder, who had won in every one of his big league seasons, had tied the AL record for Gold Gloves by an outfielder shared by Ken Griffey Jr. and Al Kaline.
Last year's NL winners included Cardinals first baseman Albert Pujols, Reds third baseman Scott Rolen and Colorado's Carlos Gonzalez and Philadelphia's Shane Victorino joined in the outfield by Michael Bourn, then of Houston.
AP
Novak Djokovic overcomes Xavier Malisse at Swiss Indoors
Djokovic, 24, beat the Belgian 6-2 4-6 7-5 in two hours and 12 minutes.
It was the world number one's first ATP match since winning the US Open in September, soon after which he suffered a back injury in a Davis Cup tie.
The victory takes his season record to 65-3 as he seeks a winning end to a year that has seen him claim three grand slam titles.
Djokovic had warned that he did not expect to play at his full potential, but broke Malisse at the first opportunity.
Malisse fought back in the second and required a medical break after colliding with the umpire's chair, but in the third set the Serb quickly closed out the final two games after some initial uncharacteristic errors.
Mardy Fish's hopes of qualifying for the ATP World Tour Finals were dealt a blow after he retired from his first-round match with fellow American James Blake.
A hamstring injury meant 29-year-old Fish, who is currently in the eighth and final qualifying spot for the end-of-season event in London, could manage just one game of the match.
Fish, who has never qualified for the ATP Tour Finals, overtook Andy Roddick as the number one American after winning 20 of the 26 matches he has played since July.
He retains a 500-point lead over Spaniard Nicolas Almagro who is ninth in the world rankings.
Serb Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and David Ferrer of Spain, Britain's Andy Murray, and Swiss Roger Federer have already qualified with three places still open.
Following his walkover, Blake will next play Russian Mikhail Kukushkin, who got into the field after Austrian Jurgen Melzer pulled out with a back injury.
National favourite Stanislas Wawrinka beat Ivan Dodig of Croatia 6-4 6-4 while countryman Michael Lammer beat Mikhail Youzhny of Russia 6-4 6-3.
The Swiss duo's victory comes a day after Roger Federer won his first round match in his hometown.
Murray opens his account on Wednesday when he plays Robin Haase of Netherlands not before 1500 GMT.
The world number three is also scheduled to play doubles with brother Jamie against Max Mirnyi and Daniel Nestor later in the day.
FBI investigating missing money at MF Global
The FBI and federal prosecutors are investigating how some $600 million of MF Global customers' money has gone missing, CNN learned Tuesday from sources close to the probe.
The investigation of MF Global (MF) is being conducted by the FBI and other federal regulators, including the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodities Futures Trading Commission.
This past weekend, executives at MF Global had been scrambling to sell the firm to Interactive Brokers, but the missing money cost the firm the deal and forced it into bankruptcy, regulators said.
Earlier on Tuesday, Craig Donohue, CEO of CME Group (CME), the operator of the nation's largest commodity exchanges, told analysts that his firm has determined MF Global had broken government and CME rules requiring it to keep its customers' funds separate from the firm's assets.
Donohue said the CME is still investigating the extent of the violation. He also announced that floor brokers and traders guaranteed by MF Global or its division have been barred from CME's trading floors.
FBI spokesman Tim Flannelly said he couldn't confirm or deny an FBI investigation.
MF Global, (MF) a Wall Street brokerage firm led by former New Jersey governor and Goldman Sachs CEO Jon Corzine, filed for Chapter 11 protection on Monday.
MF Global did not return requests for comment.
MF Global's downfall has been attributed to, among other things, making bad bets on some $6.3 billion of European government debt.
When those bets went sour and its financial troubles worsened, MF Global may have tapped its clients money, according to the Wall Street Journal. It's unclear how the money may have been used.
Using clients money to help its own bottom line through risky bets would violate Commodities Futures Trading Commission rules on such trades, according to regulators and financial experts.
Financial experts say that they expect the investigation to turn up more questions in coming days. Expect congressional inquiries to follow, said Brian Gardner with investment firm Keefe, Bruyette & Woods.
"The question with MF Global is going to be: Was this fraudulent or was it sloppy paperwork and sloppy oversight?" Gardner said. "I think there are going to be lots of questions for CME and CFTC and a lot of good congressional hearings."
- CNNMoney Senior Writer Chris Isidore and CNN's Susan Candiotti and Lisa Sylvester contributed to this report.
Toyota and Honda report weaker than expected US sales
Japanese carmakers Toyota and Honda continue to struggle in the US as they report weaker-than-expected sales for October.
Toyota's sales dropped 8% due to a shortage in supply of its Corolla cars, while Honda's numbers fell 0.5% from a year earlier.
Sales of the two firms have dipped in the US after the quake and tsunami hurt their production earlier this year.
However, Nissan reported an 18% jump in sales during the period.
"I know I predicted at the start of this month that October sales would exceed year-ago levels. That was an aggressive goal," said Bob Carter, head of Toyota brand sales for the US.
Growth concerns
Overall car sales in the US increased by 7.5% during the month, with Volkswagen and Chrysler reporting the biggest gains with 40% and 27% respectively.
But despite those numbers there are concerns about the long term prospects of the sector, not least due to fears of a slowdown in the US economy and the debt crisis in Europe.
"We don't have a strong recovery to begin with and the last thing it needs is a couple of body blows," said Paul Ballew of Insurer Nationwide.
"Every time this industry starts to feel better about itself, you kind of look at the world around and gulp," he added.
However, Al Castignetti, Nissan's US sales chief, said that despite concerns of a global economic slowdown, car sales in the US may hit their highest level in the last three months of the year.
"We've been dealing with this all year," he said. "People have been conditioned to deal with the headlines."
Bank of America cancels debit card fee
Bank of America has cancelled plans to charge consumers a $5 (£3) monthly fee for making debit card purchases, citing customer feedback.
The bank announced it was abandoning its fee plan amid growing anger around the move and consumer calls to take banking business elsewhere.
A company spokeswoman declined to comment on account closure figures.
JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo cancelled tests of similar debit card fees over the past week.
Bank of America originally announced the fee in anticipation of a new rule limiting how much they and other banks can bill retailers for customer debit card transactions.
The amendment to a 2010 financial regulatory reform bill limits the amount banks can charge retailers for each transaction to 21 cents (13p), down from 44 cents.
The rule went into effect 1 October.
'Last straw'
Public anger over the Bank of America plans coalesced around an online petition that eventually garnered more than 300,000 signatures.
"When I heard about the fee, it was the last straw for me," Molly Katchpole, a 22-year-old who started the petition, told the Associated Press news agency.
"I'm living paycheck to paycheck and one more fee was just too much."
Ms Katchpole said it was exciting that the bank had rethought its decision, but insisted she would not be returning as a customer. She closed her account weeks ago and says the dropped fee is not enough to bring her back.
Bank of America spokeswoman Anne Pace said the initial roll-out of the fee was based on internal customer surveys, but that "customer sentiment changed" since the announcement.
"Our customers' voices are most important to us. As a result, we are not currently charging the fee and will not be moving forward with any additional plans to do so," Bank of America's executive David Darnell said in a statement.
Argentina tightens dollar exchange controls
The Argentine government has imposed new restrictions on the purchase of US dollars, in an attempt to reduce capital flight and tax evasion.
People wanting to exchange Argentine pesos for dollars must now explain where they got the money, and show they have paid their taxes.
Currency trading in Buenos Aires on Monday was much reduced as a result.
Many Argentines buy dollars to protect their wealth from inflation - thought to be higher than officially stated.
People buying dollars now have to give their national identity and tax number, which must then be approved by the national tax agency (AFIP) before the transaction can go ahead.
Reports from Buenos Aires said the process was taking as much as an hour, with many people having their requests turned down.
Some exchange houses remained closed.
'Hysteria'
The new rules came into force on Monday after being announced by finance minister Amado Boudou last Friday.
"This is an important measure to combat tax evasion and money laundering," he said.
"Those who have their accounts in order should remain calm, while those who engage in shady manoeuvres should be very nervous".
Mr Boudou also warned against "intentional efforts" to stir up "collective hysteria" around the move.
The new currency controls were introduced a week after President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner was reelected by a huge margin.
Under her leadership Argentina has enjoyed sustained economic growth.
But inflation has also risen - the government says the annual rate is around 10% but some independent experts put it as high as 25%.
Billions of dollars worth of capital have been flowing out of the country as wealthy Argentines seek to protect their money from inflation and a possible devaluation of the peso.
The government has been selling its dollar reserves on the currency market to stem the peso's losses, while also seeking to limit capital flight.
Argentina's recent history of severe economic crisis has caused many people to view the US dollar as a safe haven, and to keep part of their wealth outside the country.
In the 1980s the country suffered periods of hyperinflation.
A financial crisis in 2001-02 caused a collapse in the value of its currency and led the government to freeze people's bank accounts. It also defaulted on its foreign debts.
UK economic growth picks up to 0.5%
The UK economy grew by 0.5% in the third quarter of 2011, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
The growth in the July-to-September period compared with a 0.1% expansion in gross domestic product (GDP) in the previous quarter.
But analysts said growth in the second quarter of the year had been dampened by one-off factors.
As a result, the third-quarter figures should not be interpreted as a big economic rebound, they added.
Output of the production sector rose 0.5% in the third quarter, compared with a 1.2% fall previously.
Service sector growth was up 0.7%, against a rise of 0.2% in the previous quarter.
The ONS emphasised that growth in the April-to-June period had been hindered by factors such as the extra bank holiday for the royal wedding.
James Knightley, at ING Financial Markets, said: "While the Q3 growth rate looks respectable, it is important to remember that this follows a Q2 figure depressed by having fewer working days because of the royal wedding and supply disruptions caused by the Japan earthquake/tsunami.
So for the economy to have only grown 0.5% in Q3 suggests the underlying picture remains weak," Mr Knightley said.
Howard Archer, economist at IHS Global Insight, added: "This performance overstates the underlying strength of the economy and this is likely to be as good as it gets for some time to come."
However, Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne described the figures as "a positive step" and better than many people had forecast.
"Of course the British economy has got this difficult journey. It is a journey made more difficult by the kinds of things you see for example today in the markets because of the situation in the eurozone.
"But we are determined to finish this journey," Mr Osborne said.
Asked whether the government would stick to its austerity plans, Mr Osborne said: "We have to understand that this journey is the only route that will take us to prosperity and recovery."
BBC
Greek cabinet backs George Papandreou's referendum plan
Greece's cabinet has given unanimous backing to a controversial plan by PM George Papandreou to hold a referendum on a EU debt rescue package.
He told an emergency cabinet meeting that a referendum would offer "a clear mandate" for austerity measures demanded by other eurozone members.
Stock markets recorded big drops amid shocked reactions in eurozone capitals to the referendum announcement.
Mr Papandreou is due to meet European leaders in France on Wednesday.
In a cabinet meeting lasting late into Tuesday night, Mr Papandreou told ministers the government needed the consent of the Greek people.
In a statement released by his office, he said: "The referendum will be a clear mandate and a clear message in and outside Greece on our European course and participation in the euro."
Mr Papandreou also said a possible alternative of snap elections would risk Greece defaulting on its debt.
The Greek government faces a crucial confidence vote in parliament on Friday.
Following the seven-hour meeting, government spokesman Elias Mossialos said: "The cabinet expressed its support."
"The referendum will take place as soon as possible, right after the basics of the bailout deal are formulated," he added.
Monday's referendum announcement led to sharp falls on world markets on Tuesday. Asian markets also continued their slide on Wednesday.
The planned referendum threatened to unravel a deal reached at a EU summit last week aimed at resolving the euro debt crisis.
Leaders agreed on a 100bn-euro loan (£86bn; $140bn) to Athens and a 50% debt write-off.
But in return, Greece must make deep cuts in public spending, slashing pensions and wages and making thousands of civil servants redundant.
There have widespread protests in Greece against the measures.
Bailout stands
On Tuesday President Nicolas Sarkozy of France said Mr Papandreou's decision "surprised all of Europe".
The French and German governments said they wanted "full implementation" of the agreement "in the quickest time frame".
Mr Papandreou is to hold hastily arranged talks on Wednesday with Mr Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, on the sidelines of a G20 summit in France.
In a joint statement, President Sarkozy and Chancellor Merkel said the decisions taken by last week's EU summit were "mo
re necessary than ever".
"France and Germany are convinced that this agreement will allow Greece to return to sustainable growth," they said.
Last week's marathon EU summit was intended to rescue Greece and bringing the 17-nation eurozone back from the brink of disaster.
Eurozone chief Jean-Claude Juncker said if a referendum rejected the bailout, it could mean bankruptcy for Greece.
"It will depend on the manner in which the question will be exactly formulated and on what the Greeks exactly vote on," he said.
Confidence vote
Some Greek government ministers had been unaware of the referendum plan until it was announced.
The announcement even took Greece's Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos by surprise, Greek media reported.
One MP from the governing Pasok party has resigned, cutting Mr Papandreou's parliament majority to two ahead of Friday's confidence vote.
Six other leading party members have called on him to resign.
The Greek opposition has called for early elections, saying the referendum jeopardises Greece's EU membership.
Antonis Samaras, leader of the main opposition New Democrats, said: "In order to save himself, Mr Papandreou has posed a dilemma of blackmail that puts our future and our position in Europe in danger."