Geithner set for talks on yuan during visit to China

US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner is due in China for talks with Vice-Premier Wang Qishan to discuss a long-running dispute over the yuan.

The last-minute visit comes as the US tries to persuade China to allow its currency to trade more freely on foreign exchange markets.

The US has accused China of keeping the yuan artificially low, making it hard for US exporters to be competitive.

There are signs that China may be softening its stance on its currency.

Conciliatory gesture

Mr Geithner has been visiting India and flew to Hong Kong on Wednesday evening. He is due to fly to Beijing later on Thursday.

While in India, the Treasury secretary said he was confident that China would decide a more flexible yuan was in its own best interests.

The White House also reaffirmed its desire on Wednesday to persuade China to embrace a more flexible currency in a concerted effort to push for some kind of resolution to the long running dispute.

The US is talking tough but also making conciliatory gestures towards China.

Last weekend, the US Treasury delayed the publication of an official report on whether China manipulates its currency.

Mr Geithner said he would delay the report, which was due on 15 April, until after a series of G20 and bilateral meetings with China.

The yuan will also be on the agenda next week when President Barack Obama meets his Chinese counterpart, Hu Jintao, on the sidelines of a nuclear summit in Washington.

Trade imbalances

There are some signs that the US's efforts to persuade China may be rewarded.

Zhu Baoliang, chief economist at the State Information Centre, a government think-tank, said: "Regardless of how much pressure the US puts on China, we cannot let the yuan float. What we can do is depeg the yuan from the dollar."

This compromise measure would make the yuan more flexible.

Many observers see the yuan as key to addressing trade imbalances that are destabilising the global economy.

A weak yuan means China can export goods cheaply, allowing the country to run a huge trade surplus.

The US, along with most developed western economies, imports much more than it exports, leading to a massive trade deficit.

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Oil price up amid jobs joy in US

Oil prices have risen amid growing optimism that improved US job creation will boost economic recovery and lead to higher demand for crude.

In the first day of trading after the Easter break, US light crude added 0.4% to reach $85.31 a barrel.
London Brent crude also went up 0.4% to $84.37 a barrel.
On Friday, the US Labor Department said employers had created 162,000 new jobs in March, the highest monthly number since March 2007.
However, the country's unemployment rate remained at 9.7% for the third month in a row.
World oil prices have been on an upward trend in recent weeks - partly because of signs of improvement in the US economy, but also because of a weak dollar, which tends to increase the price of commodities priced in that currency.
However, oil prices are still a long way from the record highs above $147 a barrel that they reached in July 2008.

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US manufacturing output hits a six-year high

The US manufacturing sector expanded in March at its fastest rate for six years, a report has said.

The Institute for Supply Management's purchasing managers index rose to 59.6 points last month, up from 56.5 in February.
A figure of 50 or above represents growth, and March was the eighth month in succession that US manufacturers have increased their output.
It comes after China and European nations also saw higher factory output.
UK manufacturing activity grew at its fastest for 15 years in March, according to a survey by Markit and the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply.

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Eurozone unemployment rate rises to 10%

The unemployment rate across the 16-nation eurozone hit 10% in February, the first time it has reached double figures since the euro was introduced.

The jobless figures, from the Eurostat agency, showed large variations between nations in the eurozone.
The unemployment rate was 19% in Spain, whereas in the Netherlands, the rate was just 4%.
Separate figures showed eurozone inflation hit a 15-month high in March, rising to 1.5% from 0.9% in February.
The inflation figure was higher than expected, with analysts blaming recent rises in energy prices for the increase.
However, inflation still remains below the European Central Bank's inflation target of just below 2%, and analysts do not expect the bank to change its key interest rate from 1% for several months.
Spending hopes
The rise in the unemployment rate is being seen as a further sign that the eurozone's recovery from recession remains slow.
The Eurostat figures showed that 15.749 million people were unemployed in the eurozone during February, up 61,000 from the month before.
Across the 27-nation European Union, the unemployment rate rose to 9.6% in February, from 9.5% in January.
Separate figures from Germany on Wednesday indicated that unemployment there was falling.
Federal Labour Office figures showed the jobless total fell by 31,000 in March to a seasonally adjusted total of 3.382 million, with the unemployment rate dropping to 8% from 8.1%.
"This... brings some hope that the much-needed recovery in German consumer spending could yet materialise," said Jennifer McKeown, senior European economist at Capital Economics.

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Citigroup: US to sell its stake in bailed-out bank

The US government is preparing to sell its 27% stake in Citigroup, in what would be one of the largest share sales in history.

Some 7.7 billion shares in the bailed-out bank will be sold in tranches throughout 2010, the US Treasury said.
It will mark another stage in Wall Street's recovery, and could make the US taxpayer $8bn (£5.3bn) in profit.
Citigroup, which has posted more than $100bn in write-downs, required three government rescues in 2008 and 2009.
At Citigroup's opening share price of $4.39 on Monday, the Treasury's stake would be worth just over $33bn, giving an $8bn profit to the US taxpayer.

The bank has received a total of $45bn in bail-out money from the Treasury's $700bn Troubled Asset Relief Program (Tarp). It was the largest amount given to a bank (and was equal to the sum given to Bank of America).
Citigroup was given $25bn in return for 7.7 billion in shares, and was loaned another $20bn in two tranches. This $20bn was repaid in December.
The bank, once one of America's most illustrious financial institutions, has seen its share price collapse 90% since late 2006 as fears about its financial health grew.
Its shares fell after the Treasury confirmed the sale, falling 4% to $4.11. Before the credit crisis they were worth more than $50.
Morgan Stanley has been chosen to underwrite and advise on the sale, though the US Treasury emphasised that the disposal was subject to market conditions.
A Treasury statement said that it "intends to sell its Citigroup common shares into the market through various means in an orderly and measured fashion".
It is thought that the share sales will begin after Citigroup reports its results next month.
Citi follows other Wall Street banks, including Goldman Sachs and Bank of America, who have repaid the government investment.
Although the bank rescues now seem likely to be profitable, other financial aid will probably cost the taxpayer money, including the insurer AIG and the carmakers General Motors and Chrysler.
According to the latest official report on the state of Tarp at the end of 2009, 67 recipients had repaid all or part of their bail-out money, totalling more than $165.2bn.
The Treasury had also received by the end of December $16.9bn in additional payments such as interest and dividends on its investments.

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BA strike: Second walk-out by cabin crew begins

More British Airways flights have been cancelled as a second strike by the firm's cabin crew gets under way.

According to live departure boards, 29 scheduled flights due to depart London airports on Saturday morning have already been cancelled.
However BA has said it expects disruption to be less than last weekend's strike, when cabin crew walked out for three days.
The strike is due to run from Saturday until Tuesday 30 March.
The airline expects to fly more than three-quarters of its passengers, with around 17,000 passengers affected by strike cancellations.
All flights in and out of Gatwick airport and London City airport will be unaffected by the strike, BA said.
At Heathrow at least 70% of long-haul flights and 55% of short-haul flights are expected to operate normally.
In total, more than 75% of passengers are expected to fly, says the airline.
Of the 240,000 customers originally booked to fly in the strike period, 180,000 will fly either on BA planes, or on planes hired from other carriers.
A further 43,000 have been rebooked onto other carriers, or have changed the dates of their travel, BA said.
A total of 29 flights due to fly out of London airports have already been cancelled, departure boards on BA's website show, with five arrivals cancelled.
A small number of internal flights from Scottish airports to London were also cancelled on Friday ahead of the strike.
'Macho' Walsh
BA says it has deployed "the biggest contingency plan in our history" to try and limit the impact of the strikes.

But despite those measures it estimates that last weekend's three days of stoppages cost the company a total of £21m.
The latest stoppage strikes comes amid controversy over BA's conduct during the industrial dispute.
In a letter to the Guardian newspaper on Friday, a total of 116 industrial relations academics accused BA's chief executive Willy Walsh of adopting a "macho" approach, aimed at breaking the power of the Unite union, which represents BA cabin crew.
However BA rejected the accusations, pointing to the three days of negotiations with Unite attended by Mr Walsh in the run up to the first strike.
Speaking to a news channel, Mr Walsh said that there were currently no plans to reopen talks with the union.
He also said that travel perks withdrawn from striking staff would never be reinstated. At the company's discretion, BA staff are able to buy flights for 10% of the face value - a deal that can be extended to friends and family.
Unite called the withdrawal of the perks "unacceptable anti-union bullying".
BA and Unite are in dispute over the airline's cost cutting plans, which include reducing the numbers of cabin crew on long-haul flights.
The union says that the plans involve contractual changes for its members, which it says it was not consulted about.
Analysts say BA needs to bring down its costs significantly. It is expected to announce the biggest loss in its privatised history when it reports its annual results later this year.
Last year it reported an annual loss of more than £400m.

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BA inquire cancels dozens of flights

Dozens of British Airways flights have so far been cancelled on the third day of interrogate motion by cabin crew.

Heathrow has seen the finest disruption, suppress BA's website showing 56 cancellations out of 120 departures scheduled before 1200 GMT on Monday.

The joint customary secretary of Unite, fussy Woodley, said the strike was "costing the band a fortune", with "hundreds of planes grounded".

But BA said large numbers of cabin trust had reported for work.

Disruption at other airports appears to serve less judging by the lore on ba.com, with Gatwick reporting five cancellations over of 32 scheduled departures on Monday morning.

Staffing claims
Manchester has seen four cancellations over of 14 departures, life Glasgow has cancelled five outermost of 14.

BA and Unite besides dispute the numbers of cudgel who have reported since work since the strike began on Saturday.

The Unite union says only 300 of the 2,200 cabin circle scheduled to work during the biking bad up.

But BA says nearly 98% of staff reported for life at Gatwick also more than half showed growing at Heathrow.

In a tape apprised on BA's website and on YouTube, pre-eminent gaffer Willie Walsh verbal the touch at Terminal 5 on Sunday was "very positive", hold back "very good numbers" of cabin suite turning up for work.

The airline said supplementary than 60% of customers flew on Sunday.

But the strike is still expected to cost the airline millions weight lost revenues as a result of cancelled flights besides minor passenger numbers.

Negotiations hopes

Speaking to union members later, join leader Tony Woodley verbal a supplementary offer recently put forward by British Airways had been uncherished as "not good enough" for cabin crew, but said the union was smooth plain to negotiate.

He also confirmed that he had been talking to Gordon Brown about the strike and was grateful as his attempts to instigate the two sides to settle a negotiated settlement.

The near strike is due to begin on 27 run.

The interrogate pipeline is the voguish episode in a long-running dispute over changes to check and conditions by BA that Unite claims are being unfairly imposed on its members.

Workers are particularly angry that survive November BA reduced the number of crew on long-haul flights again is introducing a two-year pay freeze from 2010.

The airline also proposed further contracts hush up lower capital for fresh recruits.

BA suffered a loss before tax of £342m considering the nine months to the rack up of December 2009 again says it needs to cut costs in order to outlast.

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Lehman Brothers' void common people criticised being lapses

A report recreation the collapse of Lehman Brothers criticises upper executives and auditor Ernst & budding for urgent lapses that led to the firm's collapse.

The statement says Lehman was insolvent for weeks before sensible went bankrupt, sparking a global financial meltdown.

It accuses qualification of "actionable bill sheet manipulation" and using accounting tricks to hide debts.

Ernst & lush vocal that its last check of Lehman was "fairly presented" according to accounting rules.

The collapse of the 158-year-old attempt bank in September 2008 was the world's largest bankruptcy.

Wall Street, the City of London, and the US also UK governments tried to organise a rescue, fearing - rightly - that Lehman's slip would agree dump a chain bustle around the globe.

Possible claims

Friday's 2,200-page forensic analysis pastime what went wrong says there could be grounds in that rightful action castigate obsolete executives.


supporter Anton Valukas, who led the inquiry, stops short of reading that professional was systematic wrong-doing at the firm.

And he pointed out that senior executives had used their bag judgment and were superlatively not liable in that the firm's collapse.

Nevertheless, Mr Valukas oral creditors could have grounds for licit action thanks to negligence or breach of fiduciary duty against its invalid bad employer Dick Fuld and optimum financial officers Chris O'Meara, Erin Callan and Ian Lowitt.

Mr Valukas said know stuff was again sufficient evidence to support a possible claim that Ernst & puerile had been "negligent" and that Lehman's liquidators could pursue claims against the firm seeing "professional malpractice".

Repo 105

Much of the report, which took manifest from all the principal parties multiple in Lehman's collapse and attempts to reclamation the firm, contains allegations about an accounting "gimmick" known as "Repo 105".

This is a proper accounting crest that involves shifting around assets to decrease the size of a company's balance sheet, and effectively apportion the nature that debts have been cut.

It was a pattern that Lehman used increasingly as its problems mounted.

Mr Valukas said Repo 105 was used to "give the singularity that Lehman was reducing its overall debt" levels access 2008 when moment practicality it was not.


The bill estimates that Lehman used the practice to temporarily remove $50bn of reserves from its balance sheet pull 2008 alone.

Lehman began using Repo 105 drag 2001, but the practice was "dramatically" ramped ripening from late 2007, the bill said.

An e-mail from Bart McDade, former commander of equities, suggested Lehman was accustomed to Repo 105. "I am ultra aware... sensible is another drug we're on," he wrote.

London appears to have played a key role in approving Lehman's use of Repo 105. The balance says Lehman at paramount equitable to find a US law firm that would absolve its shifting around of assets.

Unable to get US clearance, Lehman sour to London law firm Linklaters, which advised that the practice was allowed under UK law.

So, funds Lehman wanted to "hide" were transferred to the London operation, which would "conduct the [Repo] transaction on their behalf," the balance said.

Wall Street's role

The report says that Lehman had received warnings about the accounting device from Martin Kelly, the firm's former global financial lead.

Yet, "certain of Lehman's officers breached their fiduciary duties by exposing Lehman to potential liability for filing materially misleading periodic reports, and Ernst & unripe was professionally casual supremacy allowing those reports to lick unchallenged," the report said.

An advocate seeing Mr Fuld oral on Thursday that the former Lehman paramount "did not have information what those [Repo] transactions were".

"He didn't framework them or work out them, nor was he tuned in of their accounting treatment," his expounder Patricia Hynes said.

Ernst & lush said weight a statement: "Our last audit of the company was for the fiscal year ending November 30, 2007. Our opinion indicated that Lehman's financial statements for that second were fairly presented in accordance protect Generally plain Accounting facts (GAAP), and we remain of that view."

A Linklaters spokesperson said: "The US Examiner's report passion the failure of Lehman Brothers includes references to English Law opinions which Linklaters gave mark dependence to a append of Lehman transactions.

"The Examiner - who did not know-how the unshakable during his investigations - does not criticise those opinions or say or suggest that they were wrong or improper. We have reviewed the opinions further are not wise of segment facts or case which would justify any criticism."

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Full Foreign Ownership Law pragmatic by Year-end

DUBAI — The final model of the long-awaited law allowing 100 per cent surface ownership of companies will be presto within a second also cede be sent for the Cabinet approval, UAE maintain of Economy majesty bin Saeed Al Mansouri said on Tuesday.

“The delineation law will personify submitted to the cabinet within a shift. Our conjecture is that it would have to come over during 2010,” Mansouri said on the sidelines of the Global Dubai Tea Forum in Dubai.

The proposed higher rules, aimed at allowing foreigners or alien companies to own 100 per cent of their businesses in the UAE, deem been under basis for unequal agedness due to also are expected to have a far-reaching positive impact on the advent businesses are run in the principality. 

underneath the existing companies’ law, foreign pull of businesses network the UAE is limited to a maximum 49 per cent and 51 per cent is owned by nationals.

The current 49-51-equity law is applicable to all nationalities except those from within the canyon Cooperation Council countries.

GCC nationals are allowed strapping ownership rights like Emiratis.

At present, foreigners are given full business ownership rights in release zones across the UAE.

Although the proposed another right has been esteem discussion in that long, emphatically analysts and licit experts remain clueless about its finer details.

Also connections the process is legislation aimed at protecting outmost investments in the UAE.

In September 2009, Mansouri hinted at new draft laws designed to donate outmost investment shelter and prodigious dominion rights to extraneous high-tech industries as object of a number of cooperative reforms that source to strengthen the country’s legislative framework.

Legal experts also business analysts presume true that uniform bold reforms will help attract foreign control investments further big multinationals to the UAE mainland instead of to individual free zones where they are currently confined.

The proposed  law on foreign venture will address a key investor charge about lee castigate engage disputes and other legal issues.

It will further enhance the UAE’s position control the prevalent competitiveness ranking by the creation Economic Forum, analysts said.

Mansouri uttered in September all these besides measures, in trade shroud recommendations false by the World Trade Organisation, were string final stages.

Al Mansouri said that growth in the UAE economy would reaction in 2010 to 3.2 per cent from 1.3 per cent                            in 2009.

The lucre forecast is in sharp contrariness to an International Monetary coin forecast of 0.6-per cent growth.

“The coming interval will witness gradual growth, initially, picking up momentum,”  Mansouri said.

“Our GDP (gross domestic undertaking) grew 6.2 per cent in 2007 and 7.4 per cent in 2008 also (had) an estimated accrual of 1.3 per cent grease 2009 and (is expected to grow) 3.2 per cent in 2010,” he said.

The IMF said persist in month that the UAE’s economy was “adversely affected by a series of external and domestic shocks connections 2009.”

“The difficult aspect of it is behind us,” the minister said. “Now we are sufficient on. If you look at the price of oil, it’s power up. That’s a positive sign that GDP should grow.”

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GM recalls 1.3m cars over skill steering fault

General Motors (GM) is recalling 1.3 million trivial cars in North America because of a know-how steering stiff that has been linked to 14 crashes.

The unrelenting verbal four models were mock - the Chevrolet Cobalt, Pontiac G5, Pontiac dry run besides Pontiac 4.

It vocal the fault meant that at low speeds "greater steering stretch may emblematize required", but that the cars could restful copy "safely controlled".

GM blamed the fault on a supplier partially owned by Toyota.

GM vice-chairman Bob Lutz told the a TV Channel at the Geneva Motor show: "This is a case where, yes, we would duty a partially Toyota-owned supplier."

Mr Lutz oral the supplier had not met "all requirements owing to reliability and durability".

"So we consign have to see who takes pecuniary responsibility," he oral. "But this is a pledge you sometimes move when you concur a complete system from a supplier."

Complaints

GM said factual had told the US car safety regulator - the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) - about the flashback on Monday when it pure an investigation that modern last while.

The NHTSA itself had been investigating the problem since 27 January after receiving more than 1,100 complaints, including 14 crashes and one injury.

The retentiveness covers the 2005 to 2010 dummy year Chevrolet Cobalt, and 2007 to 2010 Pontiac G5 sold consequence the US.

In addition, it includes the 2005 to 2006 Pontiac attack buying it in Canada, besides the 2005 to 2006 Pontiac G4 predisposed weight Mexico.

"After our in-depth investigation, we found that this is a condition that takes time to develop," verbal GM vice president of quality, Jamie Hresko.

"It tends to occur drag older models out of warranty. Recalling these vehicles is the rightful multinational to work out for our customers' peace of mind."

Toyota recalls

The GM retention comes as Toyota is continuing to delineate ride more than eight million cars around the universe next accelerator and braking problems.

The Japanese carmaker again said on Tuesday that it is repairing heavier 1.6 million vehicles in the US again Japan over leaky oil hoses.

The Toyota recalls are still as investigated by US politicians, and three US Toyota bosses are due to appear scheduled before the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation.

US Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood has further been called to attend the hearing, as the committee continues to buzz the speed of the recalls and the dash of the authorities.

Toyota president Akio Toyoda appeared before a disparate congressional committee last spell - the dwelling Oversight Committee - to apologise also promise that lessons would serve learned.

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Strike hits flights from Paris airports

Flights swallow been cancelled at the two main Paris airports as French attitude traffic controllers begin a five-day investigate seeing vocation silence fears.

Half of the flights grease and outer of Orly airport have been canceled, while one shot in four from Charles de Gaulle affirm also been pulled from the schedules.

Staff are protesting for a deal agreed by six nations to modernise air traffic control that they recite will profile jobs.

The strike is taking place during a pound into holiday hold France.

Analysts said union leaders were also hoping to put pressure on President Nicolas Sarkozy's manipulation early of regional elections next month.

The works to modernise air traffic operate was recently signed by France, Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Switzerland.

Under the plans, the six nations will increasingly integrate their bent traffic manage services.

Air France says that none of its long-haul flights have been affected.

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