Niger junta seeks domestic cleanup elections

NIAMEY Wed Feb 24, 2010 11:34am EST

NIAMEY (Reuters) - The priorities of Niger"s military junta are to clean up politics and restore democracy by holding transparent elections, a junta spokesman said on Wednesday.

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The junta, which calls itself the Supreme Council for the Restoration of Democracy (CSRD), overthrew President Mamadou Tandja last week he had ruled the West African uranium exporter for more than a decade.

"We are here to clean things up. That involves a lot of

things," spokesman Col. Abdulkarim Gukoye told reporters.

He said an election would be held but when asked about a date, he replied: "It will not be a unilateral decision from the CSRD."

The coup, the fourth since Niger"s independence from France in 1960, was welcomed by Nigeriens tired of months of political bickering in a nation that is one of the world"s poorest but attracts billions of dollars of investment in its oil and uranium.

Foreign governments have criticized the army takeover but diplomats recognize, in private, that it has offered a breakthrough in a stalemate where international mediation failed.

Tuesday, the junta named Mahamadou Danda as prime minister. Danda served as information minister in the transitional government that followed Niger"s last coup in 1999, when the army ousted the president and organized elections soon afterwards. Since then he has worked as an administrator.

(Reporting by David Lewis; Editing by Daniel Magnowski and Angus MacSwan)

World

Banks conflict FSA over plan to anathema liars loans

Rebecca OConnor, Property Correspondent & , : {}

The Financial Services Authority is facing fierce objections from some of Britains biggest lenders over proposals to ban self-certified mortgages.

The City watchdog said that large banks and building societies had opposed a ban on the so-called liars loans that allow borrowers to state their own income without documentary proof, because it would be unfair on the self-employed and could lead to an increase in mortgage fraud.

The loans, which accounted for half of all lending at the peak of the housing boom in 2007, were blamed for playing a large part in the resulting collapse, after borrowers who had overstated or lied about their income on applications subsequently defaulted on repayments.

In a feedback document published yesterday, the regulator said that most lenders had also objected to a proposal to cap the maximum loan-to-value limit for home loans. Banks, which typically earn higher-than-average margins from riskier mortgages, argued that a ban on high-risk borrowers would be a blunt and inflexible measure that would disadvantage some homeowners and penalise the whole market for the toxic lending of a minority. Instead, large banks said that tighter affordability assessments and more regulatory supervision of high-risk lenders would be less intrusive and better targeted than an outright ban.

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However, consumer groups, small lenders, brokers and trade associations supported the ban and argued that everyone should be able to verify income, even if the income sources are diverse or the income streams irregular.

David Hollingworth, of London Country Mortgages, a broker, said: The proposals run the risk of leaving borrowers out in the cold, while imposing a cap on loan-to-value limits could penalise first-time buyers. You would hope that the market should be able to self-regulate in this regard, as it already has been doing.

The critical response will come as a blow to the FSA, which announced its intention to review the mortgage market last October. The regulator first looked at the loans in 2003, when they accounted for 20 per cent of the market, but ruled out a crackdown.

The latest objections are likely to delay or derail the introduction of any new rules. We will not rush into making or implementing rule changes without first fully assessing the potential impact on the market, the regulator said, adding that it would look again at affordability and income verification in the autumn.

• Average house prices rose 0.3 per cent to 158,100 in March, according to figures from Hometrack. Growth was likely to remain muted as a result of more properties coming on to the market, the property data firm said.

Conservative understanding could separate Liberal Democrats Nick Clegg warned

Tom Baldwin, Chief Reporter & , : {}

Nick Clegg is being warned that an try to set upon a grave understanding with a minority Tory supervision after the subsequent choosing risks dividing the Liberal Democrats.

At his partys open conference, that starts in Birmingham today, Mr Clegg will once some-more outline policies that he pronounced would form the basement for negotiations if the Lib Dems hold the change of energy in a hung Parliament.

Senior celebration figures, together with a little close to the leadership, have told The Times, however, of regard over how far he could lift the celebration in to an fondness with David Cameron.

There is additionally difficulty about either a understanding would be theme to the ostensible 3 times close imposed in 1998 on Paddy Ashdown, as the personality then, when he was thought to be deliberation a bloc with Labour.

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The design diction of this rule, disclosed usually after steady inquiries to Liberal Democrats domicile this week, sets a high club for clearing any estimable offer that could affect the partys autonomy of domestic action.

If Mr Clegg unsuccessful to secure await from 3 buliding of his MPs and the partys sovereign executive, he would be forced to win the subsidy of a infancy of representatives at a special conference.

A orator for the Liberal Democrats reliable yesterday that checks have already been done on the accessibility of a accumulation of venues for such an puncture assembly of the celebration in May.

Although a little of Mr Cleggs frontbench group contend that this order relates usually to coalitions, others demand that it would additionally cover a looser agreement in that the Liberal Democrats upheld a Budget and key planks in a legislative programme for a minority government.

Steve Webb, the partys work and pensions spokesman, who is on the left of the party, said: The personality cannot simply confirm this himself, that is what the 3 times close is all about. We have to discuss these things as a approved party.

Lord Ashdown of Norton-sub-Hamdon, as the former Lib Dem personality is right away known, indicated that Mr Clegg should not feel as well firm by the restrictions that were imposed on him twelve years earlier.

It was a prolonged time ago, he said, adding that a little of those who were ostensible to know what it meant were right away dead. One of them might have been me, but I cant remember.

With perspective polls consistently indicating to a hung Parliament in new weeks, Mr Clegg has sought to defuse conjecture over what he would do by observant that the celebration with the greatest charge would have the dignified right to form a government.

Sources close to the Lib Dem leader, however, have additionally done solid that he would find it formidable to work with Gordon Brown and was not tender by the Prime Ministers new acclimatisation to electoral reform. Last year Mr Clegg said: I think Labour has to go in to antithesis prior to it reinvents itself.

Hints of a Lib Dem-Tory agreement bluster to put him at contingency with a little of the MPs who face extreme hurdles from Conservatives at the election, as well as left-leaning activists. A ComRes/BBC check of Lib Dem councillors last year referred to that 31 per cent lucky a understanding with Labour in the eventuality of a hung Parliament, twice the suit who would fan with the Conservatives.

Thought is already being since inside of both the Conservative and Lib Dem leaderships to either Mr Cameron could oversee by creation ad hoc agreements with MPs from not as big parties.

But Lord Razzall, the Liberal Democrats commercial operation orator and the arch strategist at the prior election, said: The elephant in the room will be the mercantile situation. If there is no probability of fast supervision you could have a run on sterling, a fall in the batch marketplace and doubts about the AAA rating. The vigour would be on.

No choice can be ruled out, but it is improved for the nation if we dont have a short-term agreement that will lead to instability. Nick Clegg has done that clear.

In an talk with The Independent yesterday, the celebration personality indicted the Tories of formulating fears in the City about a hung Parliament and pronounced that his priority would be to action as a guarantor of mercantile stability.

Vince Cable, the Liberal Democrat Treasury spokesman, is already formulation to introduce fifteen billion of cuts prior to the Budget. He pronounced on Sunday: The open are unequivocally fed up with slight short-term politics. They wish to see parties climb on top of that. We could work with alternative parties. Why not?

A expected condition of any understanding would be a guarantee from Mr Cameron that he would not try to win an altogether infancy by job a second cut and run choosing inside of eighteen months or dual years.

I think fortitude is so critical that people are entitled to design that they are not going to be all the time asked to go behind on a dull Thursday afternoon to opinion again and again and again, Mr Clegg pronounced this month.

Lord Greaves, a maestro of Liberal grassroots activism, however, likely that an agreement with the Conservatives would fundamentally means a lot of agitation.

He said: The routine of democracy inside of the celebration would come in to play. Whatever we confirm will see a little people in observant they dont most similar to it there will be a little who contend they unequivocally dont similar to it.

hair wig

Costain sees chief future

Robert Lea & , : {}

The bang in propagandize and sanatorium building a whole is over and the destiny of polite engineering is nuclear, according to Costain, the engineering and building a whole group.

Andrew Wyllie, arch executive, pronounced that Costain had done a preference to dedicate to blue-chip clients, either they be in the public, in isolation or regulated sectors, as they generated 80 per cent of the business.

There would be a poignant rebate in the groups village division, he said. It is not to contend there will be 0 spending in health and preparation but there are improved opportunities elsewhere.

In Mr Wyllies view, the chief energy industry was one of those opportunities: We have a vital chief decommissioning stipulate at Sella-field, that is contracting 300 specialists. But the nation needs to set up 50 gigawatts of physical phenomenon plant over the subsequent couple of years and a lot of that will come from nuclear.

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Costain reported annual revenues for 2009 in additional of 1 billion, 66 million some-more than the 996 million completed a year earlier.

Operating distinction for the year was thirteen per cent improved at 20.8 million, but a fall-off in financial income meant that pre-tax gain were 5 million reduce at 18.1 million.

More importantly, 900 million of revenues for 2010 have already been cumulative and about dual thirds of Costains 2.6 billion sequence book goes by to 2011. The sum division payout is 10 per cent higher for the year at 0.825p per share.

hair wig

Insider dealers to face fines of at slightest 100000 underneath FSA code

Patrick Hosking, Financial Editor & , : {}

Those who mangle City manners face a threefold enlarge in fines for intrigue and dubious their business and for alternative critical failings, the Financial Services Authority pronounced yesterday.

Individuals could be fined up to 40 per cent of their sum compensate and reward package, the regulator pronounced in a inform that spells out the chastisement price tag in most larger item than before.

Except in cases of monetary hardship, the smallest chastisement for an particular in critical marketplace abuse cases, together with insider dealing, will be set at �100,000.

Banks and alternative groups additionally face a some-more hawkish regime, with the FSA melancholy to allocate up to twenty per cent of the income from the offending product category.

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The regulator pronounced it was a unchanging and some-more pure horizon that could see coercion penalties three-way in size. The greatest FSA excellent so far was imposed in 2004 on Shell, that had to compensate �17 million for regularly dubious the shareholders over the distance of the oil and gas reserves.

The greatest particular chastisement was the �967,005 excellent meted out last month to Mehmet Sepil, arch senior manager of Genel Enerji, a Turkish oil explorer, for insider traffic in the shares of Heritage Oil, the FTSE 250 explorer.

As well as environment penalties according to income, the FSA believes that those found to have damaged the manners should be fined at slightest sufficient to safeguard they do not distinction from their misdeeds.

Simon Orton, a partner at Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, the authorised group, pronounced that the new system of administration could lead to a little really big fines at large corporates and referred to that it competence convince some-more indicted firms and people to take cases to interest rather than solve early.

Margaret Cole, head of coercion at the FSA, said, however, that the new price tag would be a improved deterrent.

Portsmouth turn initial Premier League bar to come in administration department Portsmouth

Nick Szczepanik and Ben Smith & , : {}

On a sad, but potentially useful day for British football, Portsmouth have turn the initial Premier League bar to come in administration department department department given the arrangement of the joining in 1992. Whether the rest of the supposed richest joining in the universe or maybe the deepest in debt - and those who make an effort to come in it take mind stays to be seen.

The preference will prompt the Premier League to issue a nine-point chastisement subsequent week, withdrawal Portsmouth confronting roughly sure relegation to the Coca-Cola Championship as they trip sixteen points adrift at the feet of the joining table. A statement, expelled this afternoon reliable that the Premier League would encounter "at the beginning opportunity" to endorse the penalty.

The Premier League can endorse it has perceived notice from Portsmouth FC that it has suffered an eventuality of Insolvency and entered administratio," the make a difference read. "The house will right away assemble to plead the manners and routine in propinquity to this matter. The house will additionally encounter the director at the beginning event to embrace their views on the monetary standing of Portsmouth FC and set out the conditions for the bar to do the commitments for the residue of the season.

"We assimilate the need to action as quickly and transparently as possible; however there is a routine that equates to we can usually yield critique at the suitable junctures.

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There might be offer points penalties subsequent deteriorate depending on the work of the administrator, Andrew Andronikou, of the accountancy organisation UHY Hacker Young, in reaching agreements with creditors. Balram Chainrai, the owner, had indicated that administration department department department was unavoidable if no new customer was found this week, with a winding-up apply to by HM Revenue Customs over a check of �12.1 million to be listened in the Companies Court on Monday.

The human cost will embody redundancies as well as monetary waste for creditors who embody people and small internal businesses. Peter Storrie, the arch executive, who negotiated a little of the extreme player contracts that have brought Portsmouth to this point, will stay on but usually until the bar is sold, that will be welcomed by most who censure him at slightest partly for the benefaction situation. "Whilst usurpation as arch senior manager of Portsmouth Football Club that it was unavoidable that critique would come my way, the altogether appropriation of the commercial operation was the shortcoming of the owner, he said. "What I am not rebuilt to accept is the really personal turn of abuse on websites, emails and internal air wave that I have perceived over the last integrate of days.

"It is my goal to work with the director to benefit sell the commercial operation and I goal that will be discerning as there is already seductiveness in appropriation the club. Once the sale is complete, I will proposal my notice to the new owners.

The reason for the clubs predicament is simple: extreme spending on players in send fees but generally salary that could not presumably be postulated by the income generated by a medium-sized club, even with the monetary benefit of the radio income generated by the Premier League.

Malcolm Clarke, authority of the Football Supporters Federation, pronounced he hoped Portsmouth"s predicament would offer as a notice to clubs who reach beyond their ambitions. Portsmouths box nonetheless again shows the dearth of the Fit and Proper Person exam and is a disaster by the Premier League and FA to safeguard owners have genuine and tolerable funds," he said.

"We acquire the Premier Leagues new, tighter regulations around monetary and tenure but they simply dont go far sufficient and, in Pompeys case, the locking the fast doorway after the equine has bolted." He added: The monetary mismanagement of a little the clubs is astounding.

Avram Grant and the players are reported to be deliberation intentional salary cuts directed at preserving the jobs of a little staff, but that, with respect, is a classical e.g. of shutting the fast doorway well after the equine has left over the setting and shows precisely how divorced from being it is probable for players to become.

Andronikou, the administrator, has a difficult pursuit forward in classification out the affairs of a bar that has turn a monetary basket box whose debts have reached over �60 million depending on how they are calculated, and even right away the destiny is not guaranteed. Andronikou, though, has dealt with football clubs prior to and drew enlightened comments for his doing of Swindon Towns administration. He has already had multiform days in that to hope for his subsequent move, and will make known his plans at a press discussion at Fratton Park whose freehold is owned by Chainrai at 3pm this afternoon..

He has denied sketch up a list of staff who will lose their jobs, but Gary Double, the head of media operations, is pronounced to have found that his name was on such a list and consummated his consultancy agreement with the bar yesterday. He will not be the last, but either the right people follow him will be detected in the days to come.

All eyes on Bloom Box fuel cell launch Environment

"I have seen the record and it works" ... former US cabinet member of state Colin Powell, who is on the house of Bloom Energy. Photograph: Stefan Zaklin/AFP/Getty

A new record that the author claims can be an off-grid source of cheap, purify physical phenomenon in a device the distance of a fritter of bread is about to get the close-up.

The grave entrance of Bloom Energy"s much-hyped fuel cell, well known as the Bloom Box, will take place at eBay"s domicile in California on Wednesday, and will reportedly capture total from the former cabinet member of state, Colin Powell, who is on the company"s board, to the state"s governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger.

The expectation can be gauged by a shred on the CBS network"s flagship radio programme, 60 Minutes, on Sunday that talked about the "holy grail" of purify appetite technology. A time on Bloom Energy"s website – that contains small report club an inspirational video of astronauts and of winning runners cresting the fasten at the finish line – counts down the mins until the launch.

Venture capitalists have reportedly poured $400m in to Bloom Energy"s plan given owner KR Sridhar began his work eight years ago. Twenty companies, together with Wal-Mart and Google, are perplexing out the device. Sridhar has additionally captivated the high-profile await of Powell, who admitted last year: "I have seen the record and it works."

But industry watchers contend they sojourn uncertain just how it works. They additionally contend Sridhar has worried guess with his sly approach, that includes operative in an HQ with no pointer outside.

Scientists and entrepeneurs have been perplexing for years to emanate a low-cost choice for generating and storing fuel. Sridhar has told reporters his work draws on his investigate on generating oxygen for Nasa"s missions to Mars. The Bloom Box allegedly reverses this process, utilizing healthy gas or plant rubbish as fuel whilst producing comparatively small CO dioxide.

Sridhar gave CBS the initial glance of the technology, explaining that the boxes are constructed from stacks of ceramic plates. The plates, that are done of sand, are embellished with special immature and black inks. He declares that one such stack, or cell, can appetite a light bulb; 64 can appetite a coffee shop.

Nasa has been utilizing identical inclination aboard the vehicles for years but Sridhar"s feat was to have the record affordable, he told the Atlantic repository last December.

He has been using a commander plan of the record at the University of Tennessee for the last dual years, where the Bloom Box reportedly valid twice as fit as normal appetite sources and constructed 60% fewer emissions.

But the genuine intensity lies in the claimed capability to make use of any fuel source – gas, plants, wind, solar, etc – to beget power, that would theoretically capacitate the Bloom Box to work wholly off the physical phenomenon grid. That would suggest building countries, such as Sridhar"s local India, the possibility to yield cheap, purify physical phenomenon to remote villages.

"I wish to open up entrance to appetite the approach that PCs and the web non-stop up entrance to information," Sridhar told the Atlantic. "So people can live where they want, and still be connected, but someone revelation them when they can do their laundry."