Former French President on Trial for Corruption Charges
Former French President Jacques Chirac went on trial Monday on corruption charges related to hirings that allegedly benefited his center-right party. Chirac becomes the first French head of state to go on trial.
The charges date back to when former President Jacques Chirac was mayor of Paris, between 1977 and 1995. The 78-year-old former head of state is accused of giving people city hall jobs when they really worked for his then center-right Rally for the Republic Party.
He denies the allegations, arguing all the posts were legitimate.
Corruption allegations against Chirac have persisted for years. But as president, he enjoyed immunity from prosecution – which ended when he left office. If convicted, he faces up to 10 years in jail and a fine of about $207,000 dollars.
In brief remarks Sunday to France's Europe 1 radio, Chirac said he was as well as could be expected – French media have reported he may have Alzheimer's disease although his wife has denied this. He refused to discuss the trial.
During his last years in office, Chirac battled high unpopularity ratings. But now, he is among the most popular figures in France – and the French are divided over whether he should stand trial.
Dominique Paille, spokesman for the ruling, center-right UMP party – which was founded under Chirac's presidency – said the French justice system could have avoided a trial.
Paille told France Info radio it was sad that Chirac should be on trial at the end of his life. He said Chirac's political legacy dwarfed the allegations against him – and that the trial would hurt France's image.
Last year, Paris city hall dropped separate civil charges against Chirac following a $3 million settlement. Chirac, however, did not acknowledge any wrongdoing.
Greek Government Says Credit Downgrade Is Wrong
The Greek government says the most recent downgrade of its credit rating is “completely unjustified” and ignores the substantial progress the nation has made toward cutting its deficit.
Moody's Investor Services downgraded Greece's credit rating by three notches further below junk status . Moody's said it is concerned about the country's ability to raise revenues after a European Union bailout package ends in 2013.
A lower credit rating means Greece is likely to pay higher interest rates to borrow money to finance new projects or re-finance old debts.
Greece was saved from bankruptcy last May by a $154 billion bailout from partners in the EU and the International Monetary Fund.
Karzai to Petraeus: Apologies are not enough
Apologies are not sufficient when it comes to civilian casualties, Afghan President Hamid Karzai told the NATO commander Sunday, days after a NATO airstrike killed nine Afghan boys.
Karzai told Gen. David Petraeus, the commander of U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan, that incidents of civilian casualties during coalition military operations are the main reason for tensions in the U.S.-Afghan relationship and he demanded there be no more, according to a statement from Karzai's office.
The comments came in a private conversation between the two men Sunday, according to an official with NATO's International Security Assistance Force who asked not to be named.
Petraeus made a public apology Wednesday for the deaths, which happened the day before in the province of Kunar, along Afghanistan's eastern border.
U.S. President Barack Obama also expressed regret for the deaths, calling it a "tragic accident." A White House statement said Obama and Karzai agreed that such incidents undermine shared U.S. and Afghan efforts in fighting terrorism.
The incident happened after insurgents in mountains above a coalition base launched a rocket attack that wounded a U.S. civilian, according to U.S. Lt. Gen. David Rodriguez. Troops returned fire and insurgents later shot another rocket at the troops.
Two attack helicopters flew to the location where they were told the rockets originated, identified who they thought were insurgents and killed nine people. Rodriguez said. Later, they found that the slain people were boys cutting wood.
Rodriguez called the incident "a terrible mistake" and promised disciplinary action if warranted.
The statement from Karzai's office said Petraeus repeated his apology Sunday and promised "it will not happen again."
Karzai said the Afghan people are suffering as a result of civilian casualties and that apologizing and condemning these actions cannot ease their pain, according to his office.
"The trust of Afghanistan's government and people definitively depend on this issue," Karzai told Petraeus. Recurrence of such incidents, he said, is "unacceptable."
The NATO force official said Sunday, "We take all civilian casualties very seriously. In light of the recent event that tragically killed nine children, commanders have been given the direction to review our tactical directive that is intended to reduce civilian casualties to the absolute minimum. We will continue to reinforce the need to protect the lives of innocent Afghans as we pursue a ruthless enemy."
Rodriguez said last week such incidents are "rare" when considering all the operations the coalition undertakes. He said a lot of time is spent training soldiers on how to engage the right targets and that directives are constantly reviewed.
"We have done much better preventing civilian casualties," he said. "But we acknowledge we have to do better."
Rodriguez said the military understands families' grief over such deaths, and he said soldiers "feel worse than they can express" when they "do something terrible like mistakenly killing young boys."
"They have to live with that for the rest of their lives," he said.
Rodriguez also urged Afghans to help their security forces battle insurgents.
Karzai previously noted the Tuesday incident occurred less than 10 days after another one "that left many civilians dead in the same province."
On February 20, Kunar Governor Sayed Fazlullah Wahidi said 64 civilians had died in a joint operation by the NATO force and Afghan security forces over several days. The dead included 20 women and 15 children, he said.
Petraeus recently directed military commanders in Afghanistan to review changes meant to minimize civilian casualties. He has ordered commanders to brief helicopter attack crews again on the changes, he said.
Gas prices top $3.50
U.S. gasoline prices increased nearly 33 cents in a two-week period, the second-biggest price jump in the history of the gasoline market, according to a survey of filling stations.
The latest Lundberg Survey of cities in the continental United States was conducted Friday. It showed the national average for a price of self-serve unleaded gasoline at $3.51, an increase of 32.7 cents from the last survey two weeks earlier, survey publisher Trilby Lundberg said.
The jump was the biggest since a 38-cent hike between August and September of 2005. At the time, the price increase was driven by damage caused by Hurricane Katrina.
"This time around, the spike comes not from nature, but from people," Lundberg said. "The armed struggle in Libya has shocked international oil markets and here it is at the pump."
As the fighting between opposition forces and Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi's troops begins to look more like a civil war, expect prices to continue to rise, she said.
Prices have risen nearly 82 cents since September of last year, the survey found.
While Libya is not among the top suppliers of U.S. oil, and only 3% of Libyan oil exports head to the United States, global economics link the events there to the pumps at home.
Libya produces a light, high-gravity crude oil that is most in demand by less complex refineries around the world, Lundberg said. As this oil becomes unavailable, it forces buyers of crude to find substitutes from other oil producers, starting a chain reaction that raises prices of crude and gasoline in the United States.
The current average price of $3.51 is 61 cents below the all-time high price recorded in July 2008. Today's price is 78 cents higher than a year ago, Lundberg said.
The Lundberg Survey sampled prices at about 2,500 gas stations. Of the cities surveyed, the highest average price in the continental United States was in San Diego at $3.87 per gallon. The lowest price was in Billings, Montana, at $3.15.
California has garnered headlines lately for its high gas prices, though the average price in the state remained below $4, at $3.83 per gallon for regular gas. The average California price for premium does break that barrier, at $4.04 per gallon.
Average per-gallon prices in other cities:
-Charleston, South Carolina: $3.32
-Houston: $3.36
-Atlanta: $3.43
-Boston: $3.48
-Las Vegas: $3.51
-Seattle: $3.60
Happy 2nd birthday, bull market!
The bull market is celebrating its second birthday. Banks and retail stocks have led the way but investors may want to think about changing their bets if they think the party is going to continue.
The S&P 500 has doubled in value from the bear market low of 666.79 on March 6, 2009. All ten sectors in that index have rallied, according to Standard & Poor's Equity Research.
But if the economic recovery continues to pick up steam, different sectors of the market will begin to take the lead.
"It's important for investors to understand how different sectors perform during different periods of a stock market's cycle and as the economic recovery matures," said James Stack, a market historian and president of InvesTech Research.
According to Stack, the average period between the start of a bull market and the start of the subsequent bear market is less than four years.
"As we come upon the bull market's second birthday, we're moving into the latter half of this rally," he said.
By historical standards, that means financial firms and consumer discretionary companies, which have been among the current bull market's biggest winners, may lose some of their luster.
"Financial companies suffered the most severe pain during the recession and have bounced back to become the best performing sector because the government stepped into to offer support," said Christian Hviid, chief market strategist at Genworth Financial Asset Management.
That includes AIG (AIG, Fortune 500), which nearly collapsed in September 2008 before the government bailed it out with $182 billion. The insurer's stock has shot up a remarkable 430% since the market bottomed and is among the S&P 500's best performers during the past two years.
While they may not shine as brightly, Hviid said financial company shares will continue to deliver solid returns.
"The financial sector is still unloved, so it may be a good contrarian play," he said. "Banks are still trading at deep discounts, and it seems like we're turning a corner in terms of loan growth and charge-offs."
Bulls on parade. Is rally getting ridiculous?
Meanwhile, the retail sector, which has surged nearly 150% from two years ago, won't continue its stellar run, Hviid said. He thinks profit margins will come under pressure from higher commodity costs.
Technology stocks are also typically strong performers in the early part of a bull market, but since consumer and business spending has been only slowly recovering, the sector has barely outperformed the broader market.
But as consumers and corporations begin to loosen their purse strings, experts say tech stocks will continue to rise.
Take me to your new leaders
As the bull market continues its course, energy stocks, which have thus far underperformed the market, are likely to take the spotlight.
"Investors are already looking at the energy sector because of surging oil prices, but the sector will do well even beyond the unrest in the Middle East," Hviid said. "It's attractive based on global growth outlooks, especially as energy consumption increases in emerging markets."
Materials, industrials and telecom stocks are also poised for solid gains, InvesTech Research's Stack said.
While the health care sector is usually a defensive pick during a falling market, the sector may begin to surprise investors a bit earlier.
"Health care stocks didn't have a good 2010, but we're past the aftermath of health care reform," said Joe Milano, portfolio manager of T. Rowe Price's New America Growth Fund (PRWAX). Health care companies, including Covance (CVD) and WellPoint (WLP, Fortune 500), represent about 10% of the fund's holdings.
Plus, even though experts largely agree that the broader market has yet to peak, it's never too early to play it a little safe.
"We have all the ingredients for the bull market to continue," Stack said. "But we know it won't last forever, and it's better to add some defensive positions on a gradual basis than it is to make a dramatic move after all the warning flags pop up."
Turks and Caicos lawyers up in arms over special prosecutor's letter
The Turks and Caicos Islands (TCI) Bar Council has received a letter from the British-funded Special Investigations and Prosecution Team (SIPT) investigating allegations of widespread government corruption stating that the SIPT may refuse to deal with certain local attorneys if the team feels that it may prejudice their investigation.
The SIPT is reportedly concerned that, in a small jurisdiction such as the TCI, attorneys representing an individual under investigation may also themselves be implicated.
In her letter, Special Prosecutor Helen Garlick emphasised “close family” connections between attorney and accused. Garlick therefore concluded that the investigations may be “prejudiced” or otherwise put at risk.
The Bar Council convened an emergency meeting on Saturday morning and reportedly concluded that the TCI Bar will not agree to the suggestion by the SIPT that certain lawyers who have relationships with other co-defendants should not be allowed to defend individuals caught up in the investigations.
The Council reportedly views this as a high handed approach to have more imported lawyers from Britain to get paid out of the investigation funding.
Furthermore, coming on the heels of the suspension of jury trials when Britain partially suspended the TCI constitution in 2009, local lawyers feel that this is another unacceptable derogation of the rights of an accused person, this time to be represented by the attorney of his or her choice.
According to one source, if the investigations are thought to be in danger of being compromised, the investigators should figure out a better way to pursue such investigations.
CLEAN UP TCI
The Department of Planning will be embarking on a massive cleanup drive throughout ALL communities of the Turks and Caicos Islands.
In order to curtail and eliminate the problems of unsightly properties, which are destroying the visual environment, the Department under Section 58 of the Physical Planning Ordinance will be issuing Amenity Orders to persons to remove ALL waste, rubbish, derelict or abandoned machinery, vehicles, dilapidated or derelict structures or boundary walls or articles or materials of whatsoever kind.
The Department is urging all persons to be proactive by commencing the removal of ALL illegally erected structures, dilapidated structures (especially those severely damaged by Hurricane Ike) derelict or abandoned machinery/equipment or articles or materials of whatsoever kind from their property.
The Planning Department will begin the issuance of Amenity Orders in the month of April 2011 to ALL persons who do not comply with this Planning Notice.
Any person who fails to comply with the Amenity Order shall be guilty of an offense and liable on summary conviction to a maximum fine of US$10,000 or six (6) months imprisonment or both fine and imprisonment. To this end, The Department of Planning is urging the general Public to comply with this Planning Notice.
Royal holiday for TCI
The royal wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton on April 29th 2011 will now be a public holiday for residents of the Turks and Caicos Islands.
At its meeting last week, the governor's Advisory Council agreed to mark the special occasion April 29 with a public holiday.
The royal couple, both 28, got engaged while on holiday in Kenya in October and will tie the knot on Friday, April 29. Shortly after the long awaited announcement, U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron declared the day a public holiday. There is already the May Day holiday on the following Monday, making for a festive four-day weekend for the country.
It will take place at Westminster Abbey, a venue that has hosted the weddings of the Queen and Queen Mother and was the venue for Princess Diana’s funeral in 1997.
The government also announced last week the public holiday for Commonwealth Day will be observed on March 14.
Advisory Council meets
At their meeting on Wednesday 2nd March the Advisory Council reviewed a number of papers and recommendations presented by Chief Economic Adviser, Brian Titley. These included
(1) Establishing a new ordinance to facilitate the fractional ownership of property in the TCI
(2) Increasing operational flexibility in the TCI fishing industry to enable fleet operators to organize longer voyages into richer fishing grounds
(3) Amending the casino gaming tax régime to reduce the entry barriers for new small and medium sized casinos and introducing new legislation to facilitate and regulate sports betting and online gaming
(4) Amending the Land Holding Companies (Transfer Duty) Ordinance so that duty rates are aligned with the new stamp duty rates and valuation thresholds introduced in April last year
(5) Clarifying and rationalizing rules governing taxes and service charges levied by hotels and restaurants
Councillors subjected each recommendation to thorough scrutiny, with the proposed adjustment to the casino gaming tax giving rise to vigorous discussion. Councillors sought and received assurances that the amendment should not result in a rapid influx of new casinos or a dilution of controls to safeguard socially responsible gaming; rather it would level the playing field for existing operators and for any new investors in future. In consideration of the proposed adjustment to the Fisheries Protection Ordinance, there was a strong focus on ensuring that Belonger job opportunities would not be jeopardised by the change. The Acting Governor accepted the recommendations that will soon be brought before the Consultative Forum as necessary.
Mr. Titley said the changes involved modest but nonetheless important adjustments aimed at modernizing the economic and regulatory framework in the country and encouraging new activity’.
‘The great advantage of small economies should be their ability to react quickly and flexibly to changing market conditions. However, there are many obsolete laws and regulations in the Turks and Caicos Islands that impede this. Improving the regulation of markets, including through removing or modifying old and unnecessary legislation and restrictions, will remove some burdens on business and should release their potential for growth in the longer term’.
(1) Fractional ownership is a popular model for second and vacation homes in the US and Canada, and has been gaining interest in the region following the financial crisis and collapse in property markets in 2008. Fractional ownership overcomes the stigma, risks and complexity of timeshares by allowing purchasers to own part of the title of a property through shared ownership and usage. This can help boost sales and repeat visitor numbers.
Realtors in the Turks and Caicos Islands have welcomed the introduction of new rules to governing fractional ownership. Kathryn Brown, President of TCREA, said:
‘This is a positive step in encouraging investors to purchase real estate in the Turks and Caicos. Having a new ordinance in place creates a classification of regulations for the real estate professionals and more importantly, the clientele. For sellers it opens up an option that was not available previously. For the buyer it creates greater confidence to purchase’.
(2) The change to the fisheries protection ordinance will remove the requirement to employ a Belonger on every fishing vessel at all times while leaving open the opportunity for Belongers to work on the vessels and to participate in the wider fishing industry. The requirement for a Belonger to be on a vessel dates back many years and goes beyond current immigration and labour requirements for other business sectors. The industry has argued convincingly that it no longer reflects the economic and commercial realities facing the industry.
A number of industry representatives were invited to the meeting but some were unable to attend.
Mr. Jim Baker, CEO of Caicos Pride Products Ltd., who did attend along with Mr. Norman Saunders and Mr. Edwin Dickenson, said:
‘We are a small island economy and therefore well placed to have a vibrant fishing industry. Yet we have been in decline for years. We need to organize longer voyages to rich fin fishing grounds if we are to grow our industry to the benefit of South Caicos and all Islanders. If we cannot expand we cannot export or meet the volumes required by local supermarkets, households and restaurants, and we cannot provide much needed jobs and incomes’.
Fishing fleet operators have long reported problems attracting Belongers to work on their vessels and this was impacting severely on the viability of the industry. The Council members listened to arguments for and against removal of the restriction but agreed the industry should have the same operational flexibility as others in TCI while underlining the need for immigration and labour laws to be adhered to at all times.
Brian Titley also highlighted that he was discussing securing some funding from the Ministry of Finance for a laboratory capable of testing fishery products against a stringent set of international food safety requirements. This could allow locally caught produce to be sold into premium European markets and should also give local restaurants and supermarkets greater confidence to stock local fin fish.
(3) The Council membership agreed that modifying the casino gaming tax and removing restrictions on sports and online gaming would create a level playing field for inward investment in these sectors, providing an enhanced set of attractions to grow the tourist base with the potential for generating additional employment opportunities and a flow of public revenues. Council noted the need for strong oversight of the casino and gaming sector.
The new casino gaming income tax will be progressive with rates rising from 5% on the first $500,000 of monthly gaming table income to 20% on gaming income over $1.5 million per month. This reverses a system first introduced in TCI in 1999 for the American Casino based at the Allegro resort and which closed its doors for the last time in 2004. This tax structure is highly regressive with marginal tax rates starting at 15% and then falling to 2.5% on higher slices of income. This it was argued will inhibit the creation of new small and medium sized casinos, and therefore limit competition in the sector. It is uncompetitive in the region and will therefore reduce the attractiveness of the destination to some tourist market segments. The new rising rate structure will be revenue neutral at present but will allow TCI Government to share more in any upside in future casino revenue streams.
The Council also heard how the remote gaming global market is expanding rapidly and that many countries, including in the region, are competing to attract and regulate remote gaming operations to boost public revenues flows. These can include income from license fees and annual routing fees as a percentage of turnovers of offshore businesses in the sector. Council agreed it was prudent for Government to consider how to best to regulate, tax and encourage socially responsible sports and online gaming, rather than to seek ineffective ways to outlaw it and that TCIG should therefore investigate and import international best practice, including from Antigua and Barbuda, Gibraltar, Curacao, Australia, France and the UK.
(4) Land transfer duty is currently payable at 8% on the value of transfers of stock in land holding companies but is thought to be routinely avoided. In November 2009 the Government agreed an additional rate of just 0.2% should be introduced on the value of transfers of new equity issued to raise finance to help retire land holding companies retire expensive debt or fund business expansion.
The further changes announced at the Council meeting will now introduced progressive transfer duty rates that mirror those introduced for stamp duties in April 2010 and more significant penalties for transfer tax evasion. This move recognizes that the taxable base under both ordinances is essentially same, notably the underlying property being transferred either through direct purchase or sale of company stock. At present rates it means it will be cheaper to sell the title to a property worth say $1million than to sell $1 million of shares in the company holding the property since the former is taxed at just 6% on Providenciales or 3% on Grand Turk, as opposed to a land transfer duty rate of 8% on the latter. The reverse is true for sales of property over $3 million in value on Providenciales. The change will therefore remove this anomaly in the tax laws.
(5) Finally, the council noted that rules governing hotels and restaurants concerning the addition of restaurant taxes and service charges to final customer bills needed to be clarified to ensure, firstly, that all large restaurants were compliant and that service charges should be discretionary and added only as an optional payment to customer bills, at all establishments except those, like Beaches, that sell accommodation, meals and other services together as an all inclusive package. The council agreed that wherever service charges were collected they should be paid over in full to all employees. This removes the discretion of an employer at a non-inclusive resort to retain up to 40% of any service charge income and also removes the role for a Minister of Finance to determine allocation systems at individual establishments.
TCJE calls for Governor to respond or else
There is a new group of young leaders in the TCI and they are stepping up the pace to making a difference.
The group is called Turks & Caicos for Justice and Equality; they are calling on the Governor to answer the call and if he does not respond favaoribly, demonstrations will commence.
Attached is a letter sent to RTC News from the group.
March 3, 2011
His Excellency the Governor
Waterloo
Grand Turk
Dear Governor:
Our group, Turks and Caicos United for Justice and Equality, has been opposed to the suspension of our country’s Constitution and your Interim Administration from its inception, and over the last eighteen months, we feel that, given the lack of performance, the state of the social and economic order and the general feeling of malaise, uncertainty and fear that currently exist in the country, we feel that we have been vindicated and our initial misgivings about the current constitutional arrangements justified.
We are of the view therefore, that the time has come for us to formally seek, require and demand an immediate return to democratically elected government of, for and by the people, to chart the way forward for all of our people, and we now do so.
By this letter we give you notice that unless a date is announced for general elections and a return to democracy by 4 o’clock in the afternoon of March 7, 2011, we shall commence a sustained campaign to achieve such a return to democracy, until such time as that has been accomplished.
We thank you for your attention to this matter and look forward to your response before the date listed above.
Yours sincerely
TURKS AND CAICOS UNITED FOR JUSTICE AND EQUALITY
Euwonka Selver
What do you think about the groups demands? sound of below.