| Arming India: America Gets a Piece of the Action
To replace and update India's still largely Soviet-era military equipment, New Delhi says it will need to spend $45 billion over the next five years. As China ramps up its military spending, India's arms budget is likely to keep growing as well, not least because the two Asian goliaths share a disputed border and their relations remain tense. "As we look at India's commitment to modernizing its forces we see a wide range of opportunities," says Lee Whitney, Lockheed Martin's Vice President of Strategy and Marketing Communications. "[The C-130J] gets us off to a good beginning." But the competition is fierce. The fifth Defense Expo held this week in New Delhi attracted hundreds of exhibitors from 39 countries including Israel and France, both gaining fast on Russia in arms sales to India.
Court Gives Business 2 Wins, 1 Loss
James LaRue of Southlake, Texas, said the value of his stock market holdings plunged $150,000 when administrators at his retirement plan failed to follow his instructions to switch to safer investments. The issue in the LaRue case was whether the Employee Retirement Income Security Act permits an individual account holder to sue plan administrators for breaching their fiduciary duties. The language of the law refers to recovering money for the "plan" rather than for an individual, raising the question of whether a participant can sue solely for himself. Business groups argued that ERISA is aimed at encouraging employers to set up pension plans, while guarding against administrative abuses involving the plan as a whole. But Justice John Paul Stevens, in his opinion for the court, said such suits are allowed.
Fear of unemployment stalks high-flyers in high-rise offices
If New York is often likened to a movie set, the scenes playing out on Wall Street involve a cast of hard-drinking, despondent, young men. "Picture a movie from the 1940s, Bogey is sitting at the bar with a bottle of scotch, three quarters done - that pretty much sums up Wall Street at the moment," says Howard Silverblatt, a senior index analyst for Standard & Poor's in New York. "Everybody is waiting to see the bottom. When you know where that is going to be, you can deal with it, but at the moment we can't see the bottom. Two shoes have already dropped, but how many more will there be?" Andy Brooks, the head of listed stock trading for T Rowe Price, the fund manager, adds: "These are extraordinary times and it is very emotional out there. I haven't seen so much uncertainty in the market since the start of the Iraq war.
Idaho votes against Sudan divestment bill
Representatives of several state employee groups opposed the bill, saying they want their retirement investments protected. Numerous others spoke out in favor of the divestment bill. Theres a lot of talk whether the country has lost its moral high ground, Ben Sherrill, a Boise retiree and PERSI member, told the panel. The board has never denied that these companies facilitate genocide in Sudan. They worry about an imagined slippery slope. Several senators on the committee said they shared that concern. If you start making retirement funds vehicles of political issues, its no end in sight, said Sen. Mike Jorgenson, R-Hayden Lake. Jorgenson declared, If a person wants to opt out of PERSI, theyre free to do that. Jody Olson, chairman of the PERSI board, told the panel, Divestment will cost money and it will lower our returns.
Mega-trends changing in ag commodities
Mike Krueger, founder of The Money Farm, outlined mega-trends facing grain producers and agriculture in general during the PNW Grains Convention held in Spokane, Wash., November 28-30. He is optimistic that more than biofuels are driving commodity prices higher. Photo by Cindy Snyder. .
What's Roiling India's Stock Market? Bonds
India's markets have long enjoyed a reputation for being well run. But after shares in Mumbai fell 10% in the first 57 seconds on Jan. 22 and regulators halted trading, investors started grousing that India's bourses still have a long way to go before they're on par with the world's leaders. "India has made major strides with market reform, but in finance...it's antediluvian," says Percy S. Mistry, chairman of London consultancy Oxford International Group. The bond market—or lack thereof—is the core of the problem. Although India has long had the regulatory framework for companies to offer debt, the disclosure requirements are so stringent that few bother. Last year, Indian companies issued bonds equivalent to just 1% of the country's gross domestic product, compared with 112% of GDP in the U.S.
Russia's Economy Looks Good From Davos
Before Thursday, the ruble-denominated MICEX index, where Russian stocks are most traded, had shed 20 percent since its Dec. 12 high -- the common definition of a bear market. On Thursday, the index jumped by 5.8 percent, its biggest gain in 19 months. The dollar-denominated RTS index added 5.2 percent Thursday. (Story, Page 5.) Optimism over Russia's outlook seems to be prompting some investors, including Pakistan's largest private bank, Habib Bank, to take a closer look at the country. "I think the emerging markets are going to be largely immune to the subprime crisis," said R. Zakir Mahmood, president and CEO of Habib Bank, which has more than 1,400 branches. Mahmood said he was looking to establish ties with Russian banks and companies and would attend the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum this June for the first time.
Gatland factor could signal new Wales love affair with Twickenham
I HATE Twickenham. It's not a loathing based around hackneyed images of Barbour-clad "hooray Henries" glugging champagne in the West car park. Nor is it a simplistic aversion to English rugby and it's spiritual home. No, it's much simpler than that. I hate the place because we keep on losing there. I've been to every England-Wales game at Twickers since 1990 and it's been the same story each time. The day has always followed the same depressing pattern. It takes forever to get up there, it takes forever to get back and in the middle you watch Wales lose. Everyone has been talking about the 1988 game this week and the memories of Jiffy jinking and Hadley's double. But, unfortunately, I wasn't there. So for me, Twickenham is inextricably linked with Welsh failure.
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