Tuesday July 01, 2008
EUROPE 
Celtic Tiger's boom has 'turned to bust'
Ireland's Celtic Tiger economy is roaring no more and faces a potential recession after official data yesterday revealed shrinking growth during the first three months of the year.The country has been hammered by the international credit crisis, a housing and construction market collapse, falling consumer spending, record-high oil prices and a strong euro, according to analysts.
Prince Charles' shrinking royal shoe print
Prince Charles' income grew last year, while his carbon footprint shrank.The eco-friendly Prince even has an Aston Martin that runs on wine.An annual review of Charles' accounts released yesterday said the Prince made more than & 16-million ($32.6-million) from property and investments between April 1, 2007, and March 31 this year, 7-per-cent more than in 2006-07. Charles paid & 3.4-million in tax, & 5,000 less than the year before.
Polish gas monopoly holds LNG talks with Iran
Polskie Gornictwo Naftowe i Gazownictwo SA, Poland's natural gas monopoly, confirmed it's in talks with Iranian Offshore Oil Co. on buying liquefied natural gas from the Persian Gulf state. ''We have signed a letter of intent with the Iranian company, which assumes a broad aspect of co-operation,'' Polskie Gornictwo spokeswoman Barbara Kluza said yesterday by telephone. ''The working groups are analyzing the details.'' The confirmation follows a report in the Tehran Times that the Iranian state-owned company and Polskie Gornictwo were close to signing a $2-billion (U.S.) contract for LNG supplies. PGN (Warsaw) fell 1 euro cent to €3.33 ($5.34).
AMERICAS
Guantanamo detainee wins case against military
It is difficult to tell from his surroundings, a two-by-three-metre isolation cell where he spends 22 hours a day, that Huzaifa Parhat is the most successful litigant in the history of the Guantanamo Bay detention camps.
U.S. corn harvest expected to fall in wake of flooding
U.S. farmers will harvest nearly 9-per-cent fewer acres of corn this year than last, in part because of Midwest flooding that has damaged a portion of the crop, the U.S. government reported yesterday.
Obama fires back at attacks on patriotism
Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama rejected questions yesterday about his patriotism even as he drew fire for a supporter's attack on Republican rival John McCain's military record.Mr. Obama kicked off the week leading up to the July 4 Independence Day with a broad-ranging speech extolling American virtues. He said questions about patriotism were a poisonous remnant of the 1960s culture wars.
U.S. court ruling outrages Arar lawyer
A U.S. appeals court decision upholding the dismissal of a lawsuit from Canadian Maher Arar essentially enables the U.S. government to send foreigners to be tortured, a lawyer with a human-rights group representing Mr. Arar said yesterday.
Tel Aviv, New York reach deal to boost trading
The Tel Aviv Stock Exchange and NYSE Euronext Inc. entered into an agreement to increase the number of companies listed in both the U.S. and Israel and to boost trading. The memorandum of understanding will ''strengthen'' the relationship between the exchanges and enable them to lift trading in dual-listed shares, the exchanges said in a joint e-mailed statement yesterday, without providing further details. The Israeli exchange signed similar agreements with Nasdaq OMX Group Inc. and the London Stock Exchange Group PLC over the past year and a half. NYSE Euronext is aiming to rival Nasdaq, the most lucrative exchange for Israeli companies looking to raise funds abroad. NYX (NYSE) fell $1.45 (U.S.) to $50.66.
U.S. seeks information from UBS over accounts
The U.S. Justice Department is seeking information from Swiss bank UBS AG about U.S. taxpayers who may have used offshore accounts to avoid paying federal income taxes. The department has asked a federal court in Miami to authorize the Internal Revenue Service to serve UBS with a summons. If approved, the summons will direct the bank to identify U.S. taxpayers who have chosen to hide their accounts from the IRS. A former UBS employee named Bradley Birkenfeld pleaded guilty June 19 to conspiring to defraud the IRS by helping the bank's clients avoid U.S. tax-reporting requirements. UBSN (Zurich) fell 96 centimes to 21.44 Swiss francs ($21.41). AP
U.S. seeks death penalty for suspect in Cole attack
The Pentagon announced charges yesterday against a man alleged to be the al-Qaeda mastermind behind the October, 2000, attack on the USS Cole and said it would seek the death penalty.
ASIA-PACIFIC
Musharraf accused of shielding Taliban
President Pervez Musharraf and the Pakistani army are allowing Taliban militants a safe haven in the country's tribal belt in an effort to undermine the government of Afghan President Hamid Karzai, a key Pakistani provincial official said yesterday.
Tyson plans joint venture with India-based Godrej
Tyson Foods Inc. says it has acquired majority ownership in a major poultry producer in India. Springdale, Ark.-based Tyson announced yesterday that it has bought 51-per-cent ownership of Godrej Foods Ltd., based in Mumbai. The joint venture will be called Godrej Tyson Foods and is expected to have annual sales starting at about $50-million (U.S.). The venture includes chicken-processing plants in Mumbai and Bangalore. The plants have a combined production capacity of 60,000 birds a day and have about 1,000 workers. The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. ''Poultry production and consumption is growing in India and we believe the timing is right for us to bring our expertise and resources to this emerging market,'' said Rick Greubel, group vice-president and international president for Tyson Foods. TSN (NYSE) rose 30 cents to $14.94.
Del Monte sells StarKist to South Korea's Dongwon
Del Monte Foods Co., will sell its seafood business, which includes the StarKist brand, to a South Korean company for $363-million (U.S.) as it focuses on higher-margin produce and pet foods. Del Monte, which operates brands such as Contadina, Kibbles 'n Bits and 9Lives, said the divestiture will improve margins, eliminate a source of earnings volatility and reduce debt. The seafood business generates about $560-million in annual sales. The sale to South Korea's Dongwon Enterprise Co., announced late Sunday, includes Del Monte's manufacturing operations in American Samoa; Manta, Ecuador; and certain StarKist manufacturing assets in Terminal Island, Calif., and Guayaquil, Ecuador. All of the division's production employees are expected to join Dongwon. DLM (NYSE) fell 50 cents to $7.10.
Kellogg deal strengthens foothold in China
Kellogg Co. says one of its majority-owned units has acquired substantially all of the assets of Chinese cookie and cracker maker Zhenghang Food Co. Ltd. The Battle Creek, Mich.-based cereal and snack maker said yesterday that terms of the deal with Zhenghang, also known as Navigable Foods, weren't disclosed. Kellogg chief executive officer David Mackay said in a statement the company's products will build Kellogg's presence in China. Kellogg says Navigable Foods' 1,800 employees, including the company's management team, will join a majority-owned subsidiary of Kellogg. The acquisition includes two manufacturing facilities. K (NYSE) rose 6 cents (U.S.) to $48.02.
China melds steel makers as demand surges
Two Chinese steel companies combined yesterday to form the world's fifth-largest producer, the latest in a series of government-orchestrated deals aimed at creating globally competitive suppliers amid booming demand. The new state-owned company was formed through a combination of Tangshan Iron and Steel Group and Handan Iron and Steel Group. It is called Hebei Iron and Steel Group Co. and replaces Baosteel Group Co. as China's biggest steel company. Tangsteel's steel output last year was 22.75 million tons; Hansteel's was nine million tons, according to the Chinese financial press.
AFRICA-MIDEAST
Canadian languishes in embassy in Sudan
Abousfian Abdelrazik takes the picture frame into his hands. His eyes open wide.''Kouteyba,'' he says, gently, longingly, as he looks at the picture of the son he hasn't seen in five years. ''He's a big boy now.''
Mugabe gets quiet nod from African leaders
A defiant Robert Mugabe has sailed through the first test of his controversial presidency unchallenged by his peers.Freshly sworn in after his win in a single-candidate election run-off, the Zimbabwean President received a leader's welcome when he strode into the African Union summit here yesterday, emerging with his authority intact.
Iraq opens bidding on oil, gas fields
Iraq has opened international bidding for eight enormous oil and gas fields, paving the way for major investments in a country with one of the world's largest petroleum reserves.
Iraqi judges escape minor bomb attacks
Five Iraqi judges escaped assassination yesterday in a series of small bomb attacks that police believe may be part of a Shia extremist campaign to force them to free jailed militants or reduce their sentences.
Hamas maintains hard line on releasing Israeli soldier
Emboldened by Israel's decision to trade a Lebanese prisoner for the bodies of two Israeli servicemen, Gaza's Hamas rulers said yesterday that they would stick to their tough line in talks over captured Israeli soldier Sergeant Gilad Schalit.
