France’s Hollande in Beirut to Discuss Syria
The French president is in Lebanon for a short visit to show support for the country amid ongoing violence in neighboring Syria. That violence has spilled across the border into Lebanon, and has been growing worse in recent months.
Francois Hollande arrived in Beirut Sunday where he held talks with his Lebanese counterpart Michel Suleiman.
The visit comes two weeks after a car bombing in Beirut that the opposition has blamed on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, and demanded Lebanon's prime minister resign, accusing the government of complicity with Damascus.
President Hollande goes to Saudi Arabia later in the day for talks with King Abdullah to discuss Syria.
Meanwhile, in Syria Sunday, state television says an explosion near a hotel in the capital, Damascus, has wounded several people.
The Syrian conflict is entering its 20th month and has caused the deaths of an estimated 36,000 people.
Hundreds of people were killed recently as the government has stepped up airstrikes against rebel-controlled areas.
Beijing Hit by Early Snows
Beijing has issued its second-highest blizzard alert, after the Chinese capital was hit by an unusually early snowstorm.
China's National Meteorological Center issued an orange alert Sunday, predicting that heavy snow will also hit central and eastern parts of Inner Mongolia and in the northern provinces surrounding Beijing through Tuesday.
The official Xinhua news agency said that by Sunday morning, Beijing had received an average daily precipitation of over 58 millimeters, the highest daily total for any cold season since 1951.
Xinhua said the west of Beijing has received mainly blizzards, while the city's eastern urban areas have been lashed with freezing rain and snow.
To fight the strong cold spell, Beijing has turned on the city's public heating ahead of the official November 15 start date.
The ruling Communist Party begins its 18th congress in Beijing on Thursday. The major political event will appoint new leadership for the next decade.
Apple paid only 2% corporation tax outside US
Apple paid less that 2% corporation tax on its profits outside the US, its filing with US regulators has shown.
Apple paid $713m (£445m) in the year to 29 September on foreign pre-tax profits of $36.8bn (£23.0bn), a rate of 1.9%.
It is the latest company to be identified as paying low rates of overseas tax, following Starbucks, Facebook and Google in recent weeks.
It has not been suggested that any of their tax avoidance schemes are illegal.
All of the companies do pay considerable amounts of other taxes in the UK such as VAT and National Insurance.
Apple's figures for foreign tax appear on page 61 of its form 10k filingwith the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
It had paid a rate of 2.5% the previous year.
Apple channels much of its business in Europe through a subsidiary in the Republic of Ireland, which has lower corporation tax than Britain.
But even Ireland charges 12.5%, compared with Britain's 24%.
Many multinational companies manage to pay substantially below the official corporation tax rates by using tax havens such as Caribbean islands.
US economy adds 171,000 new jobs
The US economy added 171,000 new jobs in October, which was much more than had been expected.
But the official figures from the Labor Department showed that the unemployment rate still rose to 7.9%, having fallen to 7.8% in September, as more workers resumed the search for jobs.
Only people who are currently looking for a job count as unemployed.
Unemployment is one of the key issues ahead of Tuesday's presidential election.
The figures were the last major set of economic data scheduled before the election and the Republican candidate, Mitt Romney, has made the state of the jobs market one of the central planks of his campaign.
"Today's increase in the unemployment rate is a sad reminder that the economy is at a virtual standstill," he said.
"The jobless rate is higher than it was when President Obama took office, and there are still 23 million Americans struggling for work."
The number of jobs created in the previous two months was revised upwards, with an extra 34,000 jobs added in September and 50,000 added in August.
We've made real progress," Barack Obama told a crowd in Ohio.
"But we've got more work to do."
Analysts said both candidates could take something from the figures.
"President Obama can point to faster job creation, while Governor Romney can say that the unemployment rate is higher now than in January 2009 when the president took office," said Nigel Gault, chief US economist at IHS Global Insight.
"On balance, the report is better than expected, which should help the incumbent, but not sufficiently so to be a game-changer."
Despite the new jobs, Barack Obama will still go to the polls with the highest rate of unemployment of any president seeking re-election since Franklin D Roosevelt.
The unemployment rate edged up slightly because the number of people looking for jobs increased. These were people who had previously given up hope of finding work, but who now think they may have a better chance. As a result, this increase may be seen as a sign of confidence in the economy, analysts say.
The total workforce, which is the number of people either working or looking for jobs, rose 578,000 in October.
Improved direction
The Labor Department said in its release that Hurricane Sandy, which hit the East Coast of the US on 29 October, had had "no discernible effect" on the employment data.
The number of involuntary part-time workers, who would prefer to be working full-time, fell 269,000 to 8.3 million, having risen by 582,000 in September.
Kathy Jones from Charles Schwab said they were good numbers, but warned that: "We're way short of where we need to be to bring down the unemployment rate to where the Federal Reserve would like to see, closer to 6% than 8%."
"We would need to see twice as many jobs as we're seeing, but the direction has improved."
The average number of jobs added per month so far in 2012 has been 157,000, which is slightly ahead of the average of 153,000 in 2011.
TNT’s John Jeremie criticises PNM’s Clico bailout plan
SINCE at least November 2009, former PNM Attorney General John Jeremie was aware of flaws in two agreements signed by his own PNM administration with CL Financial governing the State’s 2009 bailout.
In particular, Jeremie, who assumed the post of Attorney General in May 2009, criticised the three-year expiry date contained in the June 2009 shareholders’ agreement, which the State signed with CLF after signing a January 2009 Memorandum of Understanding.
Last week, CLF majority shareholders told Newsday they would be willing to entertain extending, for a second time, the deadline for the expiry of the June 2009 agreement. The shareholders are due to hold talks with the Government this week.
But, Jeremie, in a letter dated November 4, 2009, which was addressed to former Finance Minister Karen Nunez-Tesheira, queried why the three-year deadline (which expired in June 2012 and was extended to December 12, 2012) was in the agreement in the first place.
“I have only now had an opportunity to study in detail all of the materials that have been presented to me in connection with this matter,” Jeremie said.
“I am significantly concerned about the fact that the shareholders’ agreement terminates in three years, whether or not the situation is fully stabilised or government has been repaid.”
He continued, “Upon the determination of that agreement, under the current facts, shareholders will regain control and will therefore be in a position to control the appointment to the board.
“I note that there is no reference in any other materials as to the reason for the three-year limitation. I would be grateful for further information on this point. It is important to recognise that this limitation emphasises the need to develop and implement plans to secure GORTT’s position and to obtain repayment as quickly as possible.”
The June 12, 2009 agreement was signed some two weeks into Jeremie’s tenure, after he was sworn in on May 29, 2009.
The January 2009 MoU would have been signed when his predecessor, former Attorney General Bridgid Annisette-George, was in office.
In his letter, which has been obtained by Sunday Newsday, Jeremie further recorded, “In the circumstances, it is possible that GORTT will be at risk if its advances are repaid prior to the repayment of creditors. It is unlikely that GORTT will seek repayment in advance of secured creditors, or in circumstances in which to do so would result in instability. “This quandary highlights the prejudicial effect of the three-year limitation on the duration of the SH Agreement. It would therefore be useful to ensure that the recitals in security instruments which are drafted in favour of GORTT are carefully worded to clarify this point.”
Jeremie also complained that the agreements were not specific enough.
“It is not possible to ascertain from the documents provided whether or not full control over the entire CLF group has been obtained by the Government,” he said.
“For instance, it is not possible to ascertain the status of the boards or directors of the shareholders which are not totally controlled by CLF.
“It is unusual that the shareholders’ agreement does not speak specifically to the authority to sell assets in any member of the CLF group. In my view, this creates a potential opportunity for the majority shareholders to argue that the Government, through its nominated board members, has breached the agreement.”
Jeremie also expressed concerns over the structuring of security interests in the CLF group. Despite all these flaws, Jeremie did not recommend a new agreement.
“Government would perhaps be prudent to avoid opening up any re-negotiation at a time when the hand of the majority shareholders is stronger,” he said.
Of the three-year expiry clause, Peter Permell, spokesperson of the Clico Policyholders’ Group, yesterday said, “We are certain many will agree that at first blush this clause does not seem to make sense, and upon further reflection could be seen by a reasonable person to be a case of gross incompetence, negligence or even worse. In fact, it does not seem remotely reasonable for anyone who has the best interest of the taxpayers at heart to have signed off on such a clause, given the billions of dollars involved.”
Chevron concludes sale of fuels marketing and aviation businesses in Caribbean
Chevron has concluded the sale of its fuels marketing and aviation businesses in Jamaica, Dominican Republic and St Maarten to Gulfstream Petroleum, a wholly owned affiliate of GB Group.
GB Group is one of the leading private industrial groups in the Caribbean, with operations concentrated in Haiti and offices in Port-au-Prince, Santo Domingo, and Aventura.
The sale of the businesses in these three markets to GB Group includes a network of 213 service stations currently under the Texaco brand, five aviation facilities and two import terminals.
Chevron is one of the world’s leading integrated energy companies, with subsidiaries that conduct business worldwide.
Some 1.8 million Haitians affected by Hurricane Sandy
Some 1.8 million Haitians have been affected by Hurricane Sandy, the United Nations relief agency said on Friday after its first assessment of the situation in the region, adding that food security remains an urgent concern in the Caribbean nation.
Initial data collected by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) showed Hurricane Sandy, which ploughed through the Caribbean country before hitting the eastern coast of the United States, killed 60 people and significantly damaged critical infrastructure such as roads, schools and hospitals in addition to destroying thousands of homes.
“Floodwater had been receding since Sunday but more than 18,000 homes have been flooded, damaged or destroyed,” an OCHA spokesperson, Jens Laerke, told reporters in Geneva, adding that food security remains a main concern as the country is now struggling with the combined impact of hurricanes Sandy and Isaac, which hit in August, as well as drought.
Preliminary data estimated that food security had been severely affected, Laerke said, with up to two million people at risk of malnutrition.
In addition to food insecurity, OCHA said it is concerned about the nearly 350,000 people that are still living in camps for internally displaced persons (IDPs) as a result of a devastating earthquake which hit the country in January 2010. Laerke noted that, while most vulnerable IDPs in camps that had been evacuated before the storm have returned home, some 1,500 people remain in 15 hurricane shelters.
Because of the impact of the hurricane, OCHA said it is now considering an emergency revision of the Consolidated Appeal (CAP) to accommodate increased needs.
During the same briefing, a spokesperson for the UN World Health Organization (WHO) reported that access to health services and restocking supplies was limited as rivers had become impassable and roads had been obstructed. It also warned that poor sanitary conditions could increase the risk of water-borne diseases such as cholera, which is still endemic in the country.
The WHO spokesperson said there has already been an increase in cholera alerts, especially in the south, and added that field teams are monitoring the situation closely. WHO is also working with the government in the area to ensure that health supplies could be delivered to treatment centres that had been damaged by strong winds and flooding, he added.
Cuba was also severely affected by the hurricane, OCHA’s Laemke said, with power cuts affecting more than 890,000 people and nearly 200,000 homes damaged by the storm.
In addition, 375 health centres and several hospitals were damaged, as were 2,100 schools. Crops have been damaged and remote communities are cut off because of road and bridge damage.
UN humanitarian agencies are working closely with national and local authorities, donors and emergency organizations to support national efforts. An emergency cash grant of $100,000 has been approved and a request for the UN Central Emergency Response Fund is under preparation.
Launched in 2006 and managed by OCHA, CERF enables the fast delivery of life-saving assistance to people affected by natural disasters and other crises worldwide. It is funded by voluntary contributions from member states, non-governmental organizations, regional governments, the private sector and individual donors.
Bahamas to hold gambling referendum next month
A controversial gambling referendum will be held in The Bahamas on December 3, Prime Minister Perry Christie announced in the House of Assembly on Thursday.
The ballot will have only one question: Do you support the legalization and regulation of web shops?
Christie said his government no longer intends to include the question of a national lottery based on advice from London-based consultants who do not consider the scheme to be “commercially viable at this time”.
The prime minister reiterated that the question of removing the prohibition on casino gambling for Bahamians will not be a part of the referendum.
Christie pledged to shut down web shops across the country if a majority of voters vote ‘no’ in the referendum.
“In that event, the government will act in furtherance of the expressed will of the electorate and take all necessary steps to ensure that our gaming laws are enforced and that the transgressors of those laws are dealt with in full accordance with those laws,” he said.
Christie also warned that not all web shop operators would be licensed if the referendum is successful and that only a small number will be legalized.
He said this would make it easier for the regulator to oversee the industry.
“In order to qualify for a web shop license, applicants would have to meet stringent criteria including possessing the necessary experience, integrity and expertise, as well as possessing the necessary financial resources and having organization capacity and internal controls needed to operate in an efficient, responsible and transparent manner.”
The government expects to get annual tax revenue of $15 million to $20 million from web shops if the referendum passes.
The money would fund scholarships, athletic and sporting development, music, art and Junkanoo programs, infrastructure, along with social and recreational outreach programs, according to the prime minister.
If web shops are legalized, they would be subject to a licensing fee of at least $1 million and a performance bond once the license is issued, he said.
Christie said the businesses would also have to pay annual taxes, based on their revenue, similar to the taxation structure casinos currently adhere to.
The businesses would also have to contribute to the cost of implementing the new laws and regulations for their industry.
Web shops would also have to -- as a condition of their licenses -- create and maintain programs to protect gamblers from addiction.
They would also have to help shoulder the cost of setting up a system to rehabilitate gambling addicts and bar them from entry to their shops.
The Gaming Board will serve as the licenser, arbitrator of disputes against licensed web shops and regulator of the industry.
Particular focus will be placed on anti-money laundering efforts to ensure that web shops are not concealing funds derived from criminal means, the prime minister said.
He stressed that his government will remain neutral on the issue and distanced himself from a website urging people to vote yes on the referendum.
“Information has been given to me that someone somewhere initiated a web program ‘Say Yes’ registered in the name Perry Gladstone Christie,” he said. “For what reason I do not know. That [isn’t] right and I hope it’s not politics.”
Persons who voted in the last general election will be able to vote in the referendum. Those who have not registered to vote will have up to 10 days before the December 3 poll to register.
Republished courtesy of the Nassau Guardian
Alleged Scammers Still In Custody ... As Police Continue To Investigate
Police investigators are continuing to question 14 persons, including six females, who were arrested in simultaneous operations across four St James communities last Friday.
According to reports from the Anti-Lottery Scam Task Force, the operations began at about 5 a.m. in the communities of Lilliput, Rose Heights, Bogue Hill and Granville, all in St James.
Members of the task force were assisted by personnel from the Mobile Reserve, the Jamaica Defence Force and the Area One Fraud Squad.
other items seized as well
One 9-mm Browning pistol, with its serial number erased and loaded with a magazine containing 13 9-mm rounds, was seized at premises in Rose Heights.
The five occupants were arrested and are to be interviewed this week with the aim of laying charges against them.
The other nine persons were arrested at various locations and they, too, are to be interviewed in the coming days.
Also seized during the operations were US$8,000, J$180,000, £10, several documents, laptops, cellular phones, television sets, a magic jack, SIM cards, three motor cars, a wrecker and a quantity of ganja.
Accused in $80 million housing scam case set for trial
The trial of the two persons implicated in the $80 million housing scam will commence on November 19, 2012. The case was called up before Chief Magistrate Priya Sewnarine-Beharry on Friday, but was transferred to another court where it is scheduled for trial.
Danica Griffith, of Seaforth Street, Campbellville, Georgetown and Balkaran Lillie, of 26 North East Grove, East Bank Demerara, are accused of conducting a multi-million-dollar housing scam. The plot saw several persons being tricked into paying hundreds of thousands of dollars to acquire house lots.
The police have alleged that the two accused had set up a system where they collected money from house applicants under the pretext that they were in a position to acquire lands for those applicants.
They are accused of tricking persons into believing that they had connections with staffers of the Ministry of Housing who would facilitate them in acquiring the house lots.
Although the duo is likely to face 18 more fraud charges in relation to the matter, thus far Griffith and Lillie have only been accused of three counts of obtaining money by false pretense. Police have not yet arrested the mastermind of the crime for whom a warrant had been issued.
At their initial hearing, the 19 year-old clothes vendor and the 25-year-old laboratory technician were not required to plead to the charges. However when given the opportunity to plead on Friday, both denied the allegations.
The allegation is that the two accused obtained from Latchmie Manbodh the sum of $380,000; from Benna Stanislaus the sum of $660,000; and from Ramkumar Rajban the sum of $250,000 for house lots. Griffith who is represented by Attorney at Law Rexford Jackson is out on bail but Lillie remains incarcerated since he could not afford the bail which was set at over $1.7 million.
The latter is being represented by Attorney At law Paul Fung-a-Fat who indicated that his client needs a reduction in bail because he has been imprisoned for more than ten weeks. The Magistrate did not grant the reduction thus Lillie remains behind bars.