Daily Happenings

Ekiti LGs Dissolved By Fayemi

2010-10-30T03:32:00.000-07:00

Governor of Ekiti State, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, has approved the dissolution of the state local governments. This followed the striking out of an interlocutory injunction filed by the local government chairmen by a state High Court sitting in Ado-Ekiti, the state capital.

Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Alhaji Ganiyu Owolabi, in a statement in Ado-Ekiti on Friday, said the dissolution took immediate effect.

But the Ekiti State chapter of the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON), while reacting to the dissolution, maintained that the government’s action was unknown to law, advising the state government to refrain from acting contrary to the constitution.

Reacting to the development in a statement signed by the state ALGON chairman and former chairman, Ido/Osi Local Government Area of the state, Mr. Sanmi Olubunmo, the association restated its commitment to respect and defend the provisions of the constitution and all enabling laws in the state.

According to him, “We want to describe the purported dissolution as unknown to law, hence, we regard it as rumour. We are democratically elected officials of councils and any dissolution cannot be done illegally, but through the due process of law and official notice.”

Also condemning the act is the former Ekiti State helmsman, Mr. Segun Oni, who, in a statement signed by his Chief Media Aide, Wale Ojo-Lanre, said that the dissolution of the councils was “the beginning of the regime of illegalities and attack on the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria by the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) government in the state.”

Oni, who described the council dissolution as a “way of governance that cannot stand,” added that; “with the dissolution, which is not only illegal but an affront on Nigeria’s constitution, the ACN government has shown that it is out to destroy the rule of law, which is the foundation on which democracy stands.

Also kicking against the move were the former Information commissioner, and former deputy speaker of the state, Dr. Sikiru Lawal and Mr. Taiwo Olatunbosun.

Lawal advised the sacked local government chairmen and councillors in the state to “use all legal means to reclaim their mandates,” pleading with them not to resort to self help in the interest of the corporate existence of the state.

Olatunbosun described the act by the state governor as “illegal, brutish and usurption of the powers of the state house of assembly.”

the SSG, throwing more light on the development, explaned that the dissolution was in line with the belief of the state government in the rule of law, adding that the action followed the ruling of the court that the plea of the erstwhile local government chairmen in the 16 councils could not stand.

All the chairmen and local government officials were therefore directed to hand over government properties in their possession to the Directors of Administration in their respective local governments.

The state government thanked all affected officials for their “contributions to the growth of Ekiti State” and wished them success in their future endeavours.

Following the nullification of the election of the Mr. Segun Oni under whom they served, the local government chairmen, under the aegis of the state chapter of the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (AGON),

approached the Justice Ayodeji Daramola court, praying it to grant an interlocutory injunction restraining the state government, under Dr. Kayode Fayemi, from dissolving the local governments.

They also sought an order restraining the state government from taking any action against them pending the determination of the substantive suit they filed.

When the case came up for hearing on Friday, the local government helmsmen, through their counsel, sought for the withdrawal of the application and pleaded for extension of time for them to amend the applications.

It was after the withdrawal that the court struck out the application and adjourned till November 9 for the continuation of the case.

When the state government got wind of the court’s pronouncement, it immediately issued the statement dissolving the local governments with immediate effect.

2011 Presidential Election:Delegates decide the primary elections

2010-10-29T08:37:00.000-07:00

Big brickbats were hurled across the political terrain yesterday with President Goodluck Jonathan threatening his former National Security Adviser, retired Lt-General Aliyu Mohamed Gusau, that he could also engage in political mudslinging.

The acrimonious presidential statement, signed by presidential spokesman Ima Niboro, was in reaction to a report, published by the rightwing American website WorldTribune, which alleged that “major payments are now being made to each of the delegates of the political parties, particularly the overwhelmingly large ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), who decide the primary elections which then select the party candidate for the presidential elections in 2011.”

The report said “the incumbent President, Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, is bribing PDP delegates out of Federal Government funds, making most of the party delegates wealthy enough to buy a new home with the bribery funds.” The report also claimed that United States military strategists had said Jonathan gave $13,000 (about N2million) to each PDP delegate ahead of the party’s primaries.

The presidency statement said, “Our attention has been drawn to a report published in an online news medium, alleging that President Goodluck Jonathan plans to bribe yet-to-be identified PDP delegates with cash from Federal Government funds to influence his widely anticipated victory at the PDP primaries.

2011:Senate Set Up Committe On Electoral Constitution

2010-10-29T08:12:00.000-07:00

Following Wednesday's passage of the second amendment to the 1999 constitution by both chambers of the National Assembly, the Senate on Thursday set up a six man committee to harmonize the bill with the Rep's version.

The committee is headed by Victor Ndoma-Egba (PDP Cross River state) and will join a similar committee made up Rep members to harmonize the differences in the bill.

It is a crucial step in the law making process to ensure the enactment of a single copy of bill.

"What is passed in the House is different from what we passed," the Senate President, David Mark said. "This committee is to harmonize it." The Senate voted on ten clauses and passed the bill on Wednesday providing the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) new time-lines and allowing the Supreme Court to handle Governorship election petition cases.

The House of Representatives, however, only passed the new time-lines for INEC and did not discuss the court of finality in governorship election petition cases.

Waiting on the states

Other members of the Conference Committee set up by the Senate yesterday include Senators Dahiru Umar, Ikechukwu Obiorah, Sola Akinyede, Abubakar Sodangi and Idris Umar.

The names of the members of the committee were announced by the Senate President, after the bill was read the third time during plenary session yesterday.

Whenever the two chambers are through with harmonizing the bill, clean copies would be sent to the 36 State Houses of Assembly for endorsement. Two-Third of the votes of 36 State Houses of Assembly is required for the alteration to become law.

Nigeria’s GDP growth rate remained very favourable

2009-01-23T08:51:00.000-08:00

The Federal Government yesterday in Abuja reiterated its stance that the nation’s economic outlook remained very favourable, in spite of current global financial crisis.President Umaru Yar’Adua, gave the re-assurance while declaring open the 3rd Annual Micro-Finance Conference/Entrepreneurship Awards, organised by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
He stated that the Federal Government had taken many bold and pragmatic steps to shield the economy from the negative effects of the global meltdown.
“Our economic growth is on track, buoyed by the strong performance of the non-oil sector.
“The provisional estimate of Nigeria’s GDP growth rate for the end of 2008 is an impressive 6.8 percent, compared with a 6.2 percent in 2007,” he said.
Yar’Adua, represented by Vice-President Goodluck Jonathan, said that the Presidential Steering Committee on the global economic crisis, made up of experienced professionals, would recommend more ways to cushion the impact of the global economic recession on Nigeria.
He said that the administration had showed clear commitment to ensure economic empowerment of the people and improve their living standards.
He listed the launching of the Federal Government’s N50 billion Micro Credit Fund and Rural Development Strategy; the implementation of the Financial System Strategy 2020 and increased budgetary provisions for poverty alleviation as the administration’s programmes aimed at ensuring the empowerment.
“These initiatives are targeted at improving access to financial services by the majority of Nigerians, especially at the grassroots and will no doubt enable them to contribute to the growth and economic development of this nation,” he said.
The president noted with delight that some individuals, governments and institutions which had made notable contributions to the micro-finance sub-sector would be honoured at the event.
He expressed the hope that the micro-finance sector would continue to provide the funding required for the engagement of the active poor in profitable economic activities, saying that “this will surely lead to improvement in standards of living among our people”.
In his remarks, CBN governor, Chukwuma Soludo, lamented that more than 35 percent of Nigerians operating bank accounts, had no access to micro-finance services.
He urged wealthy individuals, organisations as well as states and local governments to mainstream micro finance services in their respective areas so as to uplift the quality of life of the people.

The Delta State government received the Best Agriculture Credit Scheme Award, while Lagos State Government was awarded the Best Micro Finance Supporting State at the occasion.

Increasing Demand for Insurance Among Nigerians

2009-01-23T08:45:00.000-08:00

More than ever before, there appears to be increasing demand for insurance among the Nigerian public, indicating improved consciousness and better days for the industry. While the public, which hitherto never believed in insurance and those behind it, have come to see that after all, players can meet obligations in times of crises, the operators themselves have also seen the need to fulfill their own part of the contract without delay.
Just as premium generation in the market is growing in geometric terms with companies smiling to the banks, the insured also are up making their claims.Some industry operators who spoke with BusinessDay agreed that quite a reasonable amount of premium was generated in the outgone year, for example from group life insurance which fully became operational during the previous year.
They also agreed that the year witnessed huge claims-take from the public, indicating increasing consciousness.
Before the industry recapitalisation and consolidation, premium generation was low as the public had little or no confidence in the market following bad image created by the inability of operating firms to pay claims at that time.
But with the reform, which increased the industry capital from less than N30 billion in 2005 to over N400 billion currently, the players have got the capacity to underwrite bigger risks and meet claims obligation.
Most of the results released beginning from the first quarter through third quarter by companies show more than 100 percent growth in premium income, indicating that the new capital injection have started impacting on the operation and performance of the companies.
Meanwhile, the current year looks prosperous, despite the global economic meltdown, as a number of opportunities spurred by the industry reform will begin to unveil. Players are optimistic that more than ever before, the insuring public would access insurance to hedge against the anticipated effect of the ongoing global financial meltdown, which has already affected the naira against other currencies.
This is as individuals and corporate organisations are presently seeking insurance covers for their assets to hedge the negative impact of the falling naira.
These assets that ran into billions of naira were acquired when naira was stronger against other foreign currencies.
For instance, banking and manufacturing companies’ assets worth billions acquired with foreign currencies, is feared may be difficult to replace with the dwindling state of the naira against other currencies.
Businessday investigations reveal that there appears to be increasing consciousness among the insuring public on how to protect their assets, as cost of replacement with the current state of the naira may be tripled.
Industry regulators have also allayed the fears of the public that the global financial crisis anticipated to affect other sectors negatively will instead have positive implication for the insurance industry.
They observed that most of the companies and individual assets were partly funded with foreign currencies and would be in high risk exposure if not adequately insured against the unexpected, as cost of replacing it might be unbearable.
According to Fola Daniel, commissioner for insurance, in an interview with BusinessDay, the current year looks prosperous for the industry as more premium income will be generated.
More funding will be expected from government through the insurance of their assets and that will impact heavily on the industry’s premium, noting that government, having released N4 billion for group life insurance in 2008, which is unprecedented, means that more money will be released for the current year.
Daniel noted further that other efforts by the commission, including implementation of compulsory insurances for public buildings and buildings under construction, would begin to manifest in the current year, producing huge income for the industry.
“We have succeeded in instilling discipline in the market and that is to the benefit of the insuring public as operators have joy now in meeting their obligations to sustain customer confidence.”
Though there was perception of high claims ratio for 2008, the commissioner stated that he was not aware of any escalation in claims, but if there was, “it is only an indication of more businesses done.”
To him, he was not aware if companies had concluded their accounts to indicate high claims ratio, pointing out that they have up to June to submit their accounts to the commission and “that is only when the commission can access the level of premium against claim.”

New Showdown In Niger Delta

2008-10-27T10:31:00.000-07:00

Indications emerged weekend that the Senate and multinational oil companies operating in the country are on a collision course over the actual date for gas flare-out in the country.
While the Senate is insisting on December 2008 as deadline for gas flaring, the oil companies, arguing that the National Assembly should not make a law that cannot be obeyed, want it to end in 2013 – a date they claim is more feasible.
Nigeria is currently the world’s second worst culprit in gas flaring after Russia with 2.5 billion cubic feet – the equivalent of 2.2 million barrels of oil flared – per day. The country loses $2 billion annually to gas flaring.
Under the subsisting gas flaring policy, which took effect from January 1, 2008, companies are required to pay a fine of $3.5 for every 1000 standard cubic feet of gas flared. This is in addition to the shutting down of any oil field where associated gas is flared after December 31, 2008. The penalty for this waste is N10 for 1,000 standard cubic feet of gas flared.
Speaking in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Gas, Senator Osita Izunaso, warned that they would no longer tolerate the constant shifting of the flare-out date and disclosed that the new bill to outlaw the practice was at “advanced stage”.
Izunaso said the Senate would not be persuaded “to buy the idea of constantly shifting the date for the stoppage of gas flaring by oil companies” and warned that after the law is passed and assented to, any violator would be made to close operations on any flare site.
The Committee, which is on a tour of some power-related projects, visited the Afam VI power generation plant expected to increase the power generation in the country by 650 megawatts, said the time was “now” to put their feet down and ensure the practice of gas flaring was totally stopped as in advanced countries.
The Committee Chairman assured Nigerians that the era of mouthing the flare-out period without adhering to it was over as all hands have to be on deck to stop it and give the people good environment to live in
“Gas flaring is a major problem that all hands must be on deck to tackle. I don’t believe that we will keep shifting the goal post. We are sticking by December 31 deadline; if anything happens thereafter we will know but certainly to the extent that the international oil companies are projecting for 2013, 2012 and all the rest of them, gas flaring is something that has to stop and we must stop it.
“We are saying that this is a definite time to stop and if you cannot comply, you can shut in the wells. If you shut in the wells we don’t lose, the revenue is deferred,” Izunaso insisted.
According to him, the bill on the flare-out and other objectionable practices in the sector was near passage. He said there would be a forum in form of public hearing where stakeholders would be allowed to make their input into the law before it is passed.
In an apparent reaction to the hard stance of the Committee, Managing Director of Shell Petroleum Development Company, Mr. Mutiu Sumonu, asked that the Senate should ensure they pass laws that would be obeyed without negatively affecting the revenue of the country.
To this view, Izunaso replied: “We are going to make available a copy of the draft bill to Shell and we will their input into what we are doing but we are not going to extend gas flaring to a period of time that will be unnecessary.”
He lamented that in a country where cooking gas is out of the reach of the people and most times not available, the resource was being flared, a situation he said should make them to stop flaring.
Sumonu had told the Committee during the dinner it organised for them that Shell had already committed $3 billion to building gas gathering facilities which underlies its commitment to ensuring stoppage of gas flaring in the country
He however drew the attention of the Committee to certain things that have to be done to be able to gather gas from the wells for positive utilisation and pleaded with the Committee to take a critical look at the working environment in the sector and have a change of mind on the flare-out period.
Last July, Senate had debated the general principles of the bill geared towards stopping gas flaring. It was read for the second time and referred to committees for further legislative processing.
The Senate subsequently referred the Bill for an Act to Prohibit Flaring of Natural Gas in Nigeria to the Committee on Gas.
It provides that “No company engaged in the production of oil and gas shall after December, 2008 flare natural gas produced whether in association with oil or not.”
“Any person who flares gas after the 31st day of December, 2008 commits an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine which shall be equal to the cost of gas at the international market,” according to the Bill.
The Bill further provides: “The operator of the field from which gas is flared in contravention of the Act shall be liable to pay a fine equivalent to fifty per cent of the penalty prescribed against the person who flared the gas.”
The Bill also provides that the concessions granted in the particular field or group of fields from which gas is being flared in contravention of the provisions of this Act shall be forfeited.

Change Of Mantle-US presidential election, 2008

2008-10-27T09:38:00.000-07:00

The United States presidential election of 2008, scheduled for Tuesday November 4, 2008, will be the 56th consecutive quadrennial United States presidential election and will select the President and the Vice President of the United States.

The Republican Party has chosen John McCain, the senior United States Senator from Arizona as its nominee; the Democratic Party has chosen Barack Obama, the junior United States Senator from Illinois, as its nominee. The 2008 election is particularly notable because it is the first time in U.S. history that two sitting senators will run against each other for president, and because it is the first time an African American is a presidential nominee for a major party, as well as the first time both major candidates were born outside the continental United States—Hawaii for Obama and the Panama Canal Zone for McCain. As the Democratic presidential candidate, Barack Obama, is African American and the Republican nominee for vice-president is a woman, the eventual winning ticket is very likely to be historic, as neither an African American nor a female has achieved either office. Also, the Republican presidential candidate, John McCain, would be the oldest first-term president and the Democratic nominee for vice-president, Joe Biden, would be the first Roman Catholic vice president.

The Libertarian Party has nominated former Congressman Bob Barr, the Constitution Party has nominated pastor and radio talk show host Chuck Baldwin, and the Green Party has nominated former Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney. Ralph Nader declined to seek the Green Party nomination and is running as an independent candidate.

The election will coincide with the 2008 Senate elections in thirty-three states, House of Representatives elections in all states, and gubernatorial elections in eleven states, as well as various state referenda and local elections. As in the 2004 presidential election, the allocation of electoral votes to each state will be based partly on the 2000 Census. The president-elect and vice president-elect are scheduled to be inaugurated on January 20, 2009.

100% PRATICALS SEMINAR ON POWER INVERTER AND SOLAR ENERGY

2008-08-31T11:26:00.000-07:00

PAST SEMINAR EXPERIENCE
Many people have attended different seminars in the past ranging from 1 day seminar to 3 days seminar with high expectation of realizing the benefits of what the conveners of such seminars had earlier pronounced to the public. The participants ended up asking questions on what and what they have really achieved from the seminar.
Failure of achieving positive result from the seminar after paying a reasonable amount of money can be traced to limited time booked for these seminars which normally did not give room for hand to hand practicals on how those things taught can be put into reality. There is a saying that “Seeing is Believing.”
I n most cases, organiser of these seminars know little or nothing about the topic chosen for the seminar.They squeezed and hurriedly delivered the contents of the seminar.Thereafter, materials are sold and Certificates are issued to the participants as emblem of attendance.
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Need For Solar Energy And Power Inverter

2008-08-31T11:18:00.000-07:00

Here in Nigeria,we keep on talking on how to improve our level of power generation at the time when people in other part of the world are busy thinking on how best power can be generated and transmitted to the end users without any medium of transmission.
This current National Power Supply problem in the country has adversely affects Economic growth and it has hindered the capacity utilization of most industries.
Industries and small scale businesses produces at high running power cost since they depend mainly on generators as their source of energy.
And exhaust from their machines and the noise emanating from these generators causes air pollution and high level of noise which constitute nuisance to our environment.
Solar Energy and Power Inverter are alternative way of generating self electricity. They are advantages of Power inverter and Solar Panel
 Their source are found everywhere
 Uses to power domestic and industrial loads such as:TV,Fan,Fridge,industrial manchines,Security systems,etc
 Safe and Clean
 No running cost
 Produce no smoke
 Reliable to use at all time
 Little or no maintenance cost

GRAB THE OPPORTUNITY

2008-08-31T11:10:00.000-07:00

GRAB THE OPPORTUNITY
JEC Electronics is prepared to give 2 weeks seminar on Power inverter and Solar Energy , an intensive hand to hand 100% practical training on Power Inverter and Solar Energy. JEC brings the opportunity to doorstep of every household to generate their own power supply and to stop wasting a lot of money in buying petrol and diesel in running their generating set.
Every participant will become expert in designing and Constructing of Power Inverter and Solar Energy immediately after the training. This is an opportunity to say bye-bye to poverty and joblessness. Participants will be own boss and able to earn at least Three hundred thousand Naira (N300,000) in a month!
WHO CAN ATTEND THE SERMINAR?
All level of Educational Certificates
VENUE:APOSTOLIC CHURCH GRAMMAR SCHOOL,IYANA SCHOOL,KETU.LAGOS
DATE:15TH-30TH SEPTEMBER,2008.
TIME:10.00AM DAILY
Training Fee:N10,000
Account Name:OLONINYI JOHNSON
Account Number:239/220550/1590
Bank:GTB BANK PLC
Phone Numbers 08032111481 & 07037965936
Email:jecelectronics@yahoo.com
Send your full name and teller number immediately after payment to 08032111481 or 07037965936 for record purpose.The first ten participant to pay will get already made JEC ELECTRONICS INVERTER PANEL and also qualify for the RAFFLE DRAW which the winner will go away with 2KVA JEC POWER INVERTER.
Electronics component will be given to all participant at the venue to study and construct
Comprehensive manual and Certificate will be given to all participants
Limited number of seats will be provided
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COURSE/ TRAINING CONTENTS

2008-08-31T09:46:00.000-07:00

COURSE/ TRAINING CONTENTS
 TROUBLESHOOTING AND REPAIR OF INVERTER
 OSCILLATOR DESIGN AND TROUBLESHOOTING
 OVERLOAD PROTECTION
 LOW BATTERY CUT-OFF CIRCUIT
 TROUBLESHOOTING TECHNIQUES
 GENERATION OF POWER FROM SOLAR ENERGY (SOLAR PANEL)
 TRANSFORMER WINDING TECHNIQUES
 DESIGN CALCULATION
 RELAY SWITCHING SYSTEM AND ELECTRONICS
 CHANGE OVER DESIGN USING ANDGATE ICS
 MOSFET PROTECTION CIRCUIT
 INVERTER CHARGING SYSTEM
 INSTALLATION TECHNIQUES
 TROUBLESHOOTING OF VARIUOS ELECTRONICS COMPONENT
 AVR CIRCUIT & OSCILLATOR CIRCUIT

Niger-Delta Crisis Need Dialogue

2008-08-28T07:15:00.000-07:00

Former Secretary-General of the Commonwealth, Chief Emeka Anyaoku, has said crisis in the Niger-Delta region cannot be solved by the use of armed force, but through dialogue and negotiations.
Anyaoku also implored the Federal Government to consider problem in the Niger-Delta region as a national crisis, which can not be resolved by the use of armed forces.
He made this observation yesterday in Asaba, at the first information summit on Media, Peace and Development, organised by Delta State Ministry of Information, to mark the state's 17th year anniversary.
The occasion featured personalities like former minister of information, Professor Sam Oyovbaire, Managing Director, Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Mr Timi Alaibe, one time military Administrator of Delta State, Ibrahim Kefas, and Chairman, Punch Newspaper, Chief Ajibola Ogunsola, among others.
"My first observation is that the country must recognise that we now have in the Niger Delta region, a major crisis with potentially perilous implication that will go beyond our national economy, if not properly resolved. The cisis is the culmination of long years of neglect of the interests of the people of the region , and indifference of the ecological consequences of the exploitation of the region's oil and gas resources,” he said.
"The primary responsibility for this neglect and indiiference lies with our national adninsitrations, which have, over the years, not only controlled proceeds from the main resources of the region, but also have allowed multinational oil compaies to operate in the area in a manner that would not be tolerated in more environmental conscious countries.
"The response to this national crisis must begin from a clear understanding that the situation which now exist in the Niger-Delta region cannot be resolved through force of arms. There should be no confusing of activists who are seeking to give vent to their people's legitimate grievance, with those elements who are criminally exploiting the situation.
"The Niger Delta region crisis should be treated as a national emergency by the Federal Government. It is to be welcomed that Yar'Adua acknowledged the seriousness of the situation right from the beginning of his administration and accordingly decided to convene a major dialogue of stakeholders on the Niger-Delta," Anyaoku said.
Delta State Governor, Emmanuel Uduaghan, in his remarks said he has been called all sort of names because of his consistent believe that armed force was not a lasting solution to the Niger-Delta crisis, adding that "you will not win the war if you invite the military into the matter."
He also suggested that oil companies must listen to the peoples cries by allowing them equity share in their company to give them a sense of belonging.

Hajj Commission to engage foreign airlines

2008-08-27T12:23:00.000-07:00

National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) is to engage foreign airlines for the 2008 hajj operations.
NAHCON Chairman, Alhaji Muhammad Musa, disclosed this yesterday at a two-day stakeholders workshop in Abuja.
Musa, represented by a NAHCON Commissioner, Dr Badmus Yusuf, said the action was necessitated by the poor performance of domestic airlines in previous hajj operations.
"We have now resolved to include foreign airlines to work with some domestic airlines for the Hajj operations this year," he said, adding that Nigerians had experienced several hardship inthe operations due to incompetence and incoherent guidelines.
"Ideally, pilgrims should not exceed four hours at the Airport before departure," he said.
According to him, the Commission has concluded arrangements with the Saudi Arabian government on the problems of accommodation and pilgrims' luggage.
"The 10 kilogramme and 40kilogramme for hand and bag luggage remains the highest weight for pilgrims," he said.
Speaking earlier, FCT Minister, Dr Aliyu Moddibo, expressed regrets at the recurrent poor performance of hajj operations in the country. "We learnt that some states come here to register, we don't want trouble makers to bring their 'wahala' here," he said and charged participants to find lasting solution to Hajj problems.

Obama will partner Nigeria if voted into office

2008-08-27T12:03:00.000-07:00

Senator Barack Obama will partner Nigeria as a major ally of the United States on the African continent if he wins the presidential election for the White House, says his campaign.
Also, the Democratic Party convention opened Monday in Denver, Colorado, with an appeal by ailing Senator Edward Kennedy and Obama’s wife, Michelle, giving a warm description of her husband, as party leaders struggled to unify the party ahead of the general election.
Obama's Foreign Policy Adviser, Ambassador Wendy R. Sherman, told THISDAY that Nigeria was an important country in Africa, not only in terms of its sheer size but because of its growing economy and its influence on the continent.
"Nigeria is obviously a very important country in Africa. It has a growing economy, a large population and a democracy with some bumps on the way. Senator Obama has spoken of the importance of Africa in terms of the growing world economy... the importance of trade, African labour and failed states of which Nigeria is not."
Sherman added that the Obama presidency would support Nigeria in order "to ensure the entire continent the kind of progress that Nigeria is making at this time."
Asked why Obama did not visit any African country during his recent world tour to Europe and Asia, another Senior Adviser to the campaign, Mr. Gregory Craig, simply stated that Africa was important to him.
Craig mentioned the presidential candidate's previous trips to the continent as proof that he would not neglect that part of the world.
Edwards's grand entrance lit up the Pepsi Center, venue of the convention.
He delivered an emotional speech that was interrupted by friendly banters at regular intervals. Edwards urged Democrats to unite behind the man that would be the first African-American to become president.
"Barack Obama will close the book on the old politics of race and gender and group against group. This November, the torch will be passed again to a new generation of Americans," he stated.
He echoed his speech at the Democratic Convention in 1980 during his unsuccessful run for president:
"The work begins anew. The hope rises again and the dream lives on," he said.
He reminded voters that Americans did not doubt former President John F. Kennedy when he suggested that they could go to the moon.
He urged Democrats to believe in Obama's message of hope just as they believed and made it to the moon.
A short documentary on Michelle titled "the South Side Girl", followed Edward’s exit from the podium.
The piece meant to re-define Obama's wife, show her soft side, counter misconceptions about her and featured testimonies from people that know her.
It traced her roots, upbringing, career and relationship with her brother, Craig Robinson, her community service, which led to the birth of a community service centre at the University of Chicago, her compassion for people, love for family and meeting Obama who was an intern at the law firm where she worked.
She received a standing ovation as she stepped onto the stage.
Michelle talked about her role as a daughter, mother and wife.
She spoke about her husband and their struggles. She tried to connect with voters by showing how much they have in common with working class American families, a block Obama has struggled to win over, particularly Whites.
She said: "I come here as a wife who loves her husband and believes he will be an extraordinary president. I come here as a mom whose girls are the heart of my heart and the centre of my world... I come here as a daughter raised on the South side of Chicago by a father who was a blue collar city worker and a mother who stayed at home with my brother and me.
"And you know, what struck me when I first met Barack was that even though he has this funny name, even though he'd grown up all the way across the continent in Hawaii, his family was so much like mine. He was raised by grandparents who were working class folks just like my parents and by a single mother who struggled to pay bills just like we did. Like my family, they scrimped and saved so that they could have opportunities they never had themselves.
"And Barack and I were raised with so many values: that you work hard for what you want in life; that your word is your bond and you do what you say you're going to do; that you treat people with dignity and respect, even if you don't know them and even if you don't agree with them."
She paid tribute to Hillary Clinton and her remarkable run for the White House, suggesting that her daughters would benefit from that historic act.
But Clinton's supporters are still stoking fire as Republicans take advantage of the division to cause mischief.
The latest Republican advertisement aired a former Clinton supporter endorsing GOP's presumptive presidential nominee, John McCain, part of a ploy by the party to win disaffected Democrat voters.
Clinton was forced to make a public statement denouncing the ad. "I, Hillary Clinton, do not approve that message," she stated.
She went on to say that "I want those of you who supported me to work just as hard for Barack Obama as you worked for me."
But it is not certain whether Clinton's statements would make much difference.
The convention was meant to push through Obama's message, unify the party and paint Republicans as a losing party.
The opposite appears to be happening with a debate about what the Clintons want.
Some of her supporters wore a badge with an inscription: "Team Hillary" yesterday.
Obama has also tried to douse tension by stating that he would not "edit" Bill Clinton's speech. The former president told aides that he was not happy with the topic chosen for him.
He was meant to speak on National Security, portraying Obama as a capable Commander-in-Chief.
But he indicated he would rather speak on the economy.
Hillary's role in the convention is problematic for Democrats. It is expected that her speech yesterday night will help Democrats put behind their bruising primary election early this year. Obama is counting on her support in key battle ground states such as Ohio, Pennsylvania and Florida which she won during the primaries.
The Obama team has bent over backwards to accommodate some of her campaign staff, put her name on the ballot at the convention and give her a speaking slot.
Team Hillary does not seem satisfied. She hits the right note and says the right things in public to get Obama elected.
However, analysts read her words, actions and body language for any clue if she actually means what she says. For instance, she stated yesterday that "I've probably done more for Senator Obama than anybody in my position has ever done by this time."
Some of her supporters say the Obama team had not given her enough credit for her efforts to unite the party since the primaries ended.
They also think that an Obama loss would open an opportunity for her to run again.
Meanwhile, three men initially suspected of plotting to assassinate Obama at the convention do not pose a threat and will be charged for carrying guns, officials have said.
"We're absolutely confident there is no credible threat to the candidate, the Democratic National Convention, or the people of Colorado," US Attorney Troy Eid said.
Officials said three men were arrested and charged with security-related crimes, conspiracy and threatening statements.
The issue has now been downplayed by law enforcement officers in Colorado and Washington.
Reports said one of the men arrested told newsmen that others arrested on the issue made racist statements about Obama and voiced their opinion to kill him on Thursday when he is expected to deliver his speech in a 70,000 capacity stadium.
Reports quoted Nathan Johnson as saying: "Looking back at it, I don't want to say yes, but I don't want to say no."
He was interviewed while being held in jail on drug charges and denies any involvement in the said plot.
Policemen had on Sunday arrested 28-year-old Tharin Gartrell for carrying walkie-talkies, bulletproof vest and boxes of ammunition and two rifles in his truck.
Another fellow by name Johnson was arrested at a hotel in Denver and held on drug charges.
Thirty minutes later, 33-year-old Shawn Robert Adolf jumped from a six story house when police tried to arrest him at a hotel in suburban Glendale.
He is being held on a $1 million bond for other outstanding charges involving drugs.

Obama On European Tour

2008-07-24T03:26:00.000-07:00

BERLIN: Senator Barack Obama has arrived in Berlin, kicking off the European leg of his overseas trip amid high expectations.

Thursday's visit is the first of three stops that will also take him to Britain and France.

He will meet with German leaders and cap his day with an open-air speech before an expected crowd of at least 100,000 that his campaign has described as a "substantive address on U.S.-European relations."

Beijing permit public protests in three designated city

2008-07-23T09:53:00.000-07:00

BEIJING: Beijing will permit public protests inside three designated city parks during next month's Olympic Games, but demonstrators must first obtain permits from the local police and also abide by Chinese laws that usually make it nearly impossible to legally picket over politically charged issues.

The arrangement announced Wednesday marks a break from normal practice in China's authoritarian political system and seems loosely modeled after protest zones created at previous Games and at many recent international political gatherings that have attracted large numbers of protesters.

But it remained unclear whether international advocacy groups on issues like Tibet, Darfur and human rights would be able to secure the bureaucratic approvals needed to use the protest zones or whether they would be arrested if they held demonstrations elsewhere in Beijing. With only 16 days until the Olympics opening ceremony, the ruling Communist Party is tightening security across the country and has shown little appetite for domestic political dissent as several dissidents have been jailed, monitored or placed under house arrest in recent months.

Liu Shaowu, director of security for Beijing's Olympics organizing committee, said Ritan Park, Beijing World Park and Purple Bamboo Park would be designated for protesters during the Games and that the approval process would be regulated by Beijing's public security bureau.

"The police will safeguard the right to demonstrate as long as protesters have obtained prior approval and are in accordance with the law," Liu said during a news conference.The issue of how much space, if any, China would allow for legal demonstrations became especially charged after the international Olympic torch relay was marred earlier this year by violent protests in London and Paris and angry confrontations between pro-China supporters and advocates for Tibet. Chinese leaders want the Games to showcase the country's achievements and are wary of protests being broadcast to a worldwide audience.

Under Chinese law, citizens must apply to the local public security bureau five days in advance of a scheduled protest. Applicants must appear in person and offer detailed information about their topic, any possible slogans and the expected number of demonstrators. The law prohibits protests that are deemed harmful to national unity and social stability or that agitate for ethnic separatism. These prohibitions can be interpreted so broadly that most legal protests are not approved.

"We never get it no matter how many times we try," said Jiang Tianyong, a lawyer and legal rights advocate who has been rejected numerous times. "This is only a show for foreigners. Otherwise, I'd love to see these three places be kept after the Olympics, so we can let our voices be heard, too."

Xu Zhiyong, another legal rights advocate, agreed that obtaining approval for legal protests is usually very difficult. But Xu applauded the Olympic protest zones as an improvement that should be acknowledged.

"As a first step toward opening up space for dissent, it is appropriate," Xu said. "There should be many people who are willing to use this space, petitioners and people who have experienced injustice."

Illegal protests are common in China, especially in rural areas or smaller cities where peasants and laid-off workers hold demonstrations about issues like local corruption or illegal land seizures. In recent weeks, Chinese media have reported on different demonstrations around the country, including one in Guizhou Province that involved about 30,000 people.

Usually, these demonstrations are localized and almost never represent attempts to directly challenge the leadership in Beijing. The police usually disperse the crowds and local officials sometimes relent on some demands, even as protest leaders are often detained or sentenced to prison.

Somewhat similar protest zones were used at the 2004 Athens Olympics, while cities hosting other international events have sought to isolate demonstrators in designated areas.

Nicholas Bequelin, a researcher for the Asia division of Human Rights Watch, criticized the broader trend in creating protest zones during international events. He described Beijing's protest zones as inadequate and said Chinese citizens would be very reluctant to use them, given the political priority that the party has placed on the Olympics. He said the police might use video cameras and collect names of demonstrators.

"Chinese people know better than to go demonstrate in a protest zone during the Olympics, except maybe a few people with nothing to lose," he said. They know the risk of retribution is very high."

He added: "It is not a step toward allowing Chinese citizens to demonstrate freely. They are using this as a fig leaf to cover the fact that they are organizing the Games in a very repressive environment."

Liu, the Olympic security director, did not spell out the consequences facing protesters who attempt to demonstrate without permission, or in a non-designated area. But he said that the Olympic charter prohibits protests at venues and that protesters should be steered toward the designated zones, in part to ensure that the Games themselves are not disrupted.

Stock Exchange :NSE Market Capitalisation Declined

2008-05-19T10:59:00.000-07:00

The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) indicators closed lower despite gains made by some blue chip companies in yesterday's transactions at stock market.
Consequently, the NSE market capitalisation declined by N12 billion or 0.1 per cent from N12.124 trillion to N12.112 trillion, while the All-Share Index fell to 62,463.66 from 62,526.24.
The indicators had recovered penultimate Monday and continued to move upwards until the marginal slide yesterday.
Market operators however, said the market would bounce back.
Investors traded 550.1million shares worth N8.6 billion in 18,051 deals compared to a total of 734.7 million shares worth N8.4 billion exchanged in 19,161 deals the previous day.
The insurance sub sector was the most active in terms of volume of shares traded. It led the equities sector with a turnover of 220.8 million ordinary shares valued at N1 billion made in 3,434 deals.
The high volume of shares traded in the insurance sub sector was largely driven by activity in the shares of Cornerstone Insurance Plc, Custodian and Allied Insurance Plc, Universal Insurance Plc and Linkage Assurance Plc. Trading on the shares of the four firms accounted for 117.3 million ordinary shares representing 53.1 per cent of the sub sector's turnover.
The banking sub sector, boosted by activity in the shares of Ecobank Nigeria Plc, Intercontinental Bank Plc, Sterling Bank Plc and Oceanic Bank International Plc trailed on the activity chart with a turnover of 196.8 million ordinary shares worth N4.8 billion exchanged in 8,453 deals.
Trading on the shares of the four banks accounted for 75.1 million ordinary shares or 38.1 percent of the sub sectors' turnover.
Meanwhile, 57 stocks appreciated in their prices. Nestle Nigeria Plc led the price gainers with N11.20 to close at N235.37 per share. Oando Plc chalked up N5.01,while CAP Plc and Ashaka Cement Plc appreciated by N2.34 and N2.28 respectively.
United Bank for Africa Plc, which announced a change its operational structure yesterday, garnered N2 to close at N57.50 per cent.
Other top price gainers included: Cadbury Nigeria Plc (N1.40), UACN Property Development Company Plc (N1.32), Lafarge WAPCO Plc (N1.21); Airline Services and Logistics Plc (N0.94) and Presco Plc (N0.93).
On the other hand, the prices of 41 stocks dropped. Costain (WA) Plc led on the price losers' chart. It recorded a loss of N2.29 to close at N43.70 per share.
Other price losers in the top 10 category included Ecobank
Transnational Incorporated (N2.22), G. Cappa Plc (N1.69), First Bank of Nigeria Plc (N1.57) and Northern Nigeria Flour Mills Plc (N1.42).

Alpha Technologies Rectified Troubled Lines

2008-05-19T10:39:00.000-07:00

Help is at hand for users of Smart numbers who have frustrating experience while dialing the 0-700 and 0-800 smart number series.
Alpha Technologies Limited, Nigeria's largest cross network personalized number service company has embarked on a massive awareness campaign to teach subscribers how they could dial these numbers with ease.
Mrs. Maggie Peter, Managing Director of the company said unlike the usual text messages on mobile phones, letter on the smart number phone key pad are related with the respective digits by punching each of the keys to get the numbers needed.
"Smart Numbers are simply dialed by punching the key pads that contain the letters one wish to spell once, as the case may be; and only figures will show on your telephone screen. To dial A, B or C, press keypad 2 once; then for D, E or F, press 3 once; for G, H or I, press 4 once and so on", she said.
The Smart number system uses telephone numbers whereby letters associated with the number digits on the telephone spell a name or word of value to the subscriber. It could be a business name, services offered or product lines including UBA, 0-700-Care-hire, 0-7-flash me cash among others, according to Peter. She said the dialing process is applicable to all other networks but reminded users that though the 0800 numbers are toll free, because only the recipients of calls are billed, the 0700 series, which is often utilized by government and corporate agencies are normally charged.
"It is a new era where business has to move with what you are known for. It is a brand people have been waiting for. We do not give you new numbers but we add value to the existing number. It is also useful in an environment where yellow pages are poor . Alpha Technologies Limited has the capacity to offer the service to the Nigerian market. Any company that has not subscribed to our Smart Number services is losing business. Any business that does not carry a 0-700 or 0-800 numbers is losing profit. By the introduction of this tool, we know that lives and businesses will never remain the same again. Alpha Technologies wishes to make this novel services the face of connect in telecommunications.
“Our switch does the automatic hunting to connect the caller to any available line at the time of all call. It removes the frustration of many attempts to get a number which is either busy or number or unavailable . At the individual level, we can program phone lines into single number such that a person does not need to carry 4-5 handsets for the purpose of receiving calls", she said.

Mobile Technology Ease Unemployment

2008-05-19T10:23:00.000-07:00

Ngozi is all smiles as she counts the gains made for the day. She is pleasantly surprised at the returns she has been making since her church charity group procured her a GSM mobile phone to start a small calling centre in her neighbourhood. Things are now looking up for her and from the savings made on business from the first phone she is able to buy two more phones and business is good.
Ngozi’s example and many more such examples are becoming common sight in the country, especially in the rural areas as many wake up to the reality and difference mobile technology can make in their lives. From Fantsuam village to the hinterland of Osun and Benue, the benefits of this technology to life is becoming more and more evident by the day and authorities in charge of the states of the federation are falling over themselves to build information communications technology parks and other technology initiatives to bridge the digital divides in their communities.
The rewards of the adoption of this technology can be seen in practically every area of life in the country today. It’s been more felt in the area of businesses where it played a revolutionary role in driving businesses to uncommon successes. Mobile technology has been adopted by many countries in Africa and is spreading its reach beyond African cities into unserved, remote and rural areas.
One of the initiatives introduced to make mobile technology better the lots of rural folks was a recently unveiled collaboration between Zain, Ericsson and the Earth Institute seeking to provide telecommunications deliverables to the Millennium Villages initiative powered by Ericsson in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania. The initiative seeks to provide mobile communications and Internet connectivity to the Millennium Villages projects covering up to 400,000 people in 10 sub-Saharan African countries.
One of the goals of the partnership is to develop a comprehensive telecommunication strategy in the villages and to drive mobile phone connectivity across all the communities.
The Special Advisor to the United Nations Secretary-General and Director of Columbia University's Earth Institute, Jeffery Sachs in his comments on the partnership described mobile communication as perhaps the single most transformative technology for rural African villages to improve access to health care and education, create new business opportunities and access to markets, and ultimately to help eradicate extreme poverty. He added that the tremendous opportunities that mobile technology is bringing the way of many people across developing communities was inspiring. In these areas economic activities from farmers, artisans, to traders, health workers and teachers is looking up as more opportunities are enabled by the technology. Examples of this abound across the globe. In Bangladesh for example, the Grameen Foundation has redefined poverty eradication by empowering rural women to be self sufficient and provide for their families by giving them loans to acquire phone kiosks and phone which they use to do business. The Foundation is also working to totally eradicate poverty from the women through the rural village phone project and using its mobile network to connect hundreds of booths run by local women entrepreneurs in the rural communities to the internet. The villagers use the booths for different purposes like contacting relatives overseas, comparing market prices, or seeking for medical aid.
The Fantsuam Foundation in Nigeria is also doing same by empowering especially the women to work their way out of poverty through the platform of mobile technology, through the provision of microfinance to clan women's groups, promoting the use of the technology in support of traditional governance in rural development, education, rural-urban-rural and rural-rural connectivity, eCommerce, IT transfer for the manufacture of tropical solar-powered computers in our rural areas, accessibility etc.
In most places in Africa today, the potential of mobile technology to enable business is growing by the day. People no matter their trade are deploying mobile technology to enhance their trade. From fishermen, traders, artisans, mechanics, beauty parlors, teachers etc are all using the technology to enhance their businesses. In several countries in Africa like Mozambique, mobile technology is being used to tackle the poverty and enhance productivity in business and Ethiopia, where it’s being used to provide market information to rural communities to help small producers in the countryside find better prices for their products down to Zambia, where the adoption of mobile technology is helping farmers improve their production and their purchasing and marketing decisions etc. The deployment of the technology by countries to drive economic growth is enabling the outstanding growth rate of the technology with about five billion subscribers expected globally by 2015.
Telecoms experts agree that it’s the only technology that can adequately bridge the digital divide and enhance life. Bodies like the GSM Association and International Telecommunications Union are in the lead in driving the uptake of the technology amongst government and policy makers of these nations and regions to ensure that the continued demand for capacity and coverage in these regions is met for the nations to assuage their thirst for development. The ITU in this regard is this week holding a conference in Cairo, Egypt in the continued quest to drive technology into every cranny of Africa and beyond.
In Nigeria today, the gains recorded by the telecoms sector have touched every facet of the social and economic lives of the people. Mobile technology has opened up the country and brought in foreign direct investments running into $12 billion currently with more inflows expected before the end of the year. Aside that is the fact that it has brought in a veritable means of wealth creation for the people. The technology has created jobs both directly and indirectly, strengthened the small and medium scale enterprises in the nation.
The country has seen vast improvements in its productivity level because of this technology. Thousands of Nigerians have directly and indirectly benefited by way of employment and entrepreneurship with the creation of a new class of business men and women dealing in GSM enabled businesses dealing with sales of phones, accessories, call cards etc. Most businesses today cannot survive without mobile technology. It’s the bedrock of all the sectors of the economy today, be it oil and gas, the media, education, financial or otherwise. All the banks operating in the country today have dazzled their customers with an array of innovative products and e-payment solutions that leverage on mobile phone technology. The call today in the country is for all parts of the rural areas in the country to have access to this technology so that the people in those unserved and un reached areas can benefit from it. With Nigeria, overtaking South Africa as the largest and most vibrant telecoms market, all hands must be on deck to ensure that the rural areas are not left in isolation, but included in the mobile storm that is bringing good dividends to the people.

United States Step Up To Curb Food Price Rises In NIgeria

2008-05-08T10:56:00.000-07:00

Against the backdrop of rising food prices in the world, United States ambassador to Nigeria, Robin Sanders yesterday enumerated what the embassy has been doing to solve the problem of food insecurity and alleviate poverty in Nigeria.She said that the US mission through the US agency for International Development is increasing cassava yields and agricultural incomes for 300,000 farm households in 11 South East and South South states and at the same time creating 60,000 new jobs in cassava processing, manufacturing and trading."Our Foreign Agricultural Service is funding community health, microfinance and rural infrastructure projects in Bauchi, Benue, Kaduna and Nassarawa states, the envoy stated at the inaugural Isaac Moghalu Foundation Leadership Lecture in Lagos adding that her country is active in bore hole and school rehabilitation projects through "our office of Defence Cooperation".Sanders said that the embassy has reached an additional 500,000 farm households in the North, Middle Belt and Southern areas to increase productivity and income generation for selected domestic export products such as marine and freshwater aquaculture and dairy production adding that the mission worked on sustainable tree crop development with cocoa and cashew.According to the envoy, the mission has done a remarkable work with the private sector under the umbrella of Public Private Partnership (PPP) leading to the establishment of partial loan guarantee programmes with commercial banks to provide more than $30m in credit to small and medium size enterprises and agribusinesses to bring about increased yield which reaches the markets efficiently-benefiting both farmers and consumers."And in the spirit of PPP's, we have worked with companies like Microsoft with educationally focused NGOs like LEAP Africa and with Nigeria's dynamic banking sector with leading entities like Bank PHP and Skye Bank on an export credit programme" she added.Recently, the World Food Programme (WFP) described the rising food prices as a silent Tsunanmi which knows no borders sweeping the world.The crisis has triggered riots in Haiti, Cameroon, Indonesia and Egypt and is deemed a dangerous threat to stability.According to the WFP, it is not so much famine that is the worry, it is widespread misery and malnutrition.The WFP's biggest concern is for the people living on 50 cents a day who have nothing to fall back on. In Nigeria the cost of grain has gone up and the same could be said of other food commodities.Some analysts say the problem of Nigeria is highly associated with lack of storage.

4 Solutions To The Subprime Crisis

2008-04-13T08:08:00.000-07:00

1. Tweak the bankruptcy code

Judges already have the power to shrink or vaporize many debts, like credit card balances and mortgages on investment properties. This idea, supported by Sens. Richard Durbin (D-Ill.) and Christopher Dodd (D-Conn.), would let judges reduce primary home loans as well.

The pros: The plan could save hundreds of thousands of people from foreclosure without costing taxpayers anything, say consumer advocates. And it's a minor change, so it could happen fast.

The cons: The Mortgage Bankers Association says its members would have to raise rates on all home loans by as much as 1.5 percentage points to compensate for the risk of court-imposed losses.

2. Introduce fixed-price housing

John H. Vogel, a real estate economist at Dartmouth College, has a plan he says cures both the mortgage market and housing affordability. He proposes that the government buy up the mortgages of troubled borrowers and give them smaller mortgages, reflecting the drop in real estate values. The catch: The price of those houses would be forever fixed at their new loan amount.

The pros: The program could produce as many as 2 million affordable homes. Of course, owners wouldn't be able to profit in future housing booms. But they'd get a house at below-market prices.

The cons: Living next to a house that never goes up in value could decrease the value of your house as well. Buying up all the houses from the banks could cost as much as $200 billion. (In time, much of that would get paid back by borrowers.)

3. Create a new financial instrument

The Office of Thrift Supervision (OTS) proposes creating negative amortization certificates (NACs). Say a bank agrees to write down a $250,000 mortgage to $200,000, relieving a borrower of $50,000 in debt. The government will then issue the lender NACs worth $50,000. When the homeowner sells, the first $50,000 in profit goes to repay the NAC. Anything above that, the seller keeps. If the home goes for less than $250,000, the bank gets all of the profits and the NAC disappears.

The pros: Banks would be more willing to cut borrowers a break because they would get an asset for doing so. Homeowners would get part of their debt relieved, a more affordable mortgage and the reduced risk of owing money when they sell the house.

The cons: If owners knew banks had first claims on profits, they'd have less incentive to renovate or maintain their homes. NACs would be hard to value - and the last thing we need is another hard-to-understand financial instrument.

4. An under-the-radar bailout

The Federal Reserve effectively buys up bad mortgage debt from banks (it has already started to do that by accepting impaired assets as collateral for loans to financial institutions). Struggling banks get cash from the government to keep them afloat.

The pros: Politicians could say they didn't bail anyone out even when they did. A cash infusion means banks could lend freely again. Mortgage rates should fall. That should bring more buyers into the market, slowing the drop in prices.

The cons: Taxpayers would foot the bill, which could run as high as $300 billion. Some borrowers could refinance, but many would lose their homes. That means more foreclosures. Real estate prices, while helped by cheaper financing, would probably still fall. But hey, score one for personal responsibility, making people bear the consequences of their mistakes - as long as they're homeowners and not financial executives.

Global Economy Crisis Brings World Finance Leaders Together

2008-04-13T07:59:00.000-07:00

Financial leaders from around the world are converging on Washington for meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank April 12-13 against the backdrop of growing concerns about the global economy.

Simon Johnson, IMF director of research, said the subprime mortgage housing crisis in the United States has brought economic growth in the world's largest economy nearly to a standstill. The U.S. economic turmoil, he added, has prompted the IMF to lower its projection for global growth in 2008 to 3.7 percent, well below its earlier prediction of 4.9 percent.

In addition, European Union member states that have adopted the euro currency are slowing to 1.4 percent projected growth rate in 2008. Johnson attributed the anemic growth rate to weakening external demand due to the U.S. downturn, a stronger euro, continued financial market strains and rising energy costs. He added that housing downturns have been a problem in some European countries.

Jaime Caruana, director of the IMF's Monetary and Capital Markets Department, said there has been a "collective failure" to appreciate the economic damage caused by the subprime crisis.

"The credit shock emanating from the U.S. subprime crisis is set to broaden amid a significant economic slowdown," Caruana said, briefing reporters April 8 about the coming IMF-World Bank meeting. "The deterioration in credit has moved up and across the credit spectrum to prime residential and commercial mortgage markets and to corporate credit markets. As the credit cycle turns, default rates are likely to rise across the board."

The economies of the emerging markets so far have not been affected severely by the subprime crisis because of improved policies, strong balance sheets and favorable macroeconomic conditions, according to Caruana. But he cautioned that the danger of contagion still was present. Caruana said the immediate challenge for policymakers as well as financial institutions is to contain and mitigate systemic risks and economic spillovers.

"The IMF is fully engaged in a wider effort by national authorities and international bodies to analyze and learn from the recent turmoil," Caruana said.

Johnson said many emerging and developing economies are threatened by inflation and the risk of becoming overheated. He said governments of emerging economies could ease pressure on food and energy prices by adopting more open trade policies in those areas.

In addition to offering analyses and policy recommendations on the global economy, the IMF and World Bank will address proposals for internal reform with the intention of giving emerging market countries and poorer countries greater say in running the IMF.

IMF Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn said the IMF executive board favors a reform proposal for the IMF to adjust its structure to the "dynamic and changing realities of the global economy."

"We are creating a more flexible system ... which involves further changes over time as the relative positions of countries in the world economy evolve," he said.

The participants in the meeting will vote on a package of measures intended to set IMF finances on a sound long-term footing. The key element of the package is to sell 403.3 metric tons of gold from the IMF's gold holdings and establish an endowment with the profits.

Strauss-Kahn said the plan, if implemented, "will put the institution on solid financial footing and modernize the IMF's structure and operations."