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By John Martens

Feb. 15 (Bloomberg) — Belgium needs additional budget cuts of at least 1 billion euros ($1.3 billion) to meet its 2012 deficit target as the central bank forecast the euro region’s sixth-largest economy will contract this year.

Belgium’s budget deficit will reach 3.1 percent of gross domestic product this year following a 2011 shortfall of 3.8 percent that was narrower than previously estimated, the National Bank of Belgium said today. The Belgian economy will contract 0.1 percent in 2012, the bank forecast, cutting a Dec. 14 prediction for growth of slightly less than 0.5 percent.

Central bank Governor Luc Coene urged Prime Minister Elio Di Rupo’s six-party coalition to maintain its deficit target of 2.8 percent of GDP this year and said an additional 1.3 billion euros of cuts are needed if the government wants to unblock planned expenditure that was frozen last month to win a reprieve from European Union sanctions.

“The growth rate in government expenditure remains a fundamental problem that needs to be solved and it is closely linked to an increase in public-sector employment,” Coene told reporters in Brussels on Feb. 14. His comments were embargoed until today. “One should do more to stimulate economic growth and make the budgetary correction a bit easier.”

Public spending less debt-servicing costs in Belgium increased an average 2.8 percent a year in the past decade, reaching 49.9 percent of GDP last year and surpassing an economic expansion that averaged 1.6 percent annually in the period, according to the central bank’s annual report.

Municipal Finances

Last year’s deficit will be revised down to 3.8 percent of GDP from 4 percent because Belgian municipal finances are in better shape than previously estimated, Coene said.

An analysis of actual budget data covering about 80 percent of local authorities Replica Omega Watches, rather than extrapolations based on samples, will show next month that the central bank overestimated their capital spending, he said. At the same time, income from investments was higher than previously estimated, according to Coene.

The central bank also raised its forecast for the average increase in 2012 consumer prices to 2.6 percent, from a Dec. 14 prediction for inflation of 2.4 percent, saying the change is entirely due to an increase in indirect taxes including value- added tax.

–Editors: Jones Hayden, John Simpson

To contact the reporter on this story: John Martens in Brussels at jmartens1@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Jerrold Colten at jcolten@bloomberg.net

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By Sebastian Boyd

Feb. 9 (Bloomberg) — Chile’s peso rose to the strongest level in five months as Greek leaders reached a deal on austerity measures and copper gains bolstered trade prospects for the metal’s top-producing nation.

The peso strengthened 0.5 percent to 475.35 per U.S. dollar from 477.78 yesterday, closing at its strongest level since Sept. 13.

Copper, which makes up more than half of Chile’s exports, extended this year’s rally to 16 percent in New York after slumping 21 percent last year. The peso gained after Greek politicians agreed to a deal to cut spending, putting them a step closer to a 130 billion euro ($173 billion) rescue package.

“It’s a combination of three things: the euro-zone news; flows from foreign investors betting on the peso, which you can see in the forwards data; and it’s Thursday,” said Osvaldo Cruz, an economist at Banco de Credito e Inversiones in Santiago.

The Chilean peso generally outperforms the dollar on Thursdays, a day when mining companies sell the proceeds of exports in order to have pesos for paying workers.

Offshore investors in the Chilean peso forwards market trimmed bets against the currency to $4.3 billion on Feb. 7 from $4.5 billion on Feb. 6, according to central bank data. They have increased bets on the currency by $1.3 billion in the past month.

The peso’s 9.3 percent gain this year has prompted analysts to question whether the central bank may start buying dollars, as it did last year to curb currency gains.

‘Starting to Talk’

“Chile has one of the last central banks that hasn’t yet intervened,” said Flavia Cattan-Naslausky, a local markets strategist at RBS Securities Inc. in Stamford, Connecticut. “The market is starting to talk about whether they come back in or not.”

Any central bank intervention would slow rather than halt local currency appreciation, Leonardo Suarez, chief economist at Santiago-based brokerage Larrain Vial SA wrote today in a note to clients. The peso may reach 450 in the second half of the year even if the central bank starts buying dollars, he said.

Swap rates rose today as investors continued to take off bets on a central bank interest rate cut and as they responded to a broader increase in yields in international markets. Swap rates in Colombia, the U.S. and the eurozone climbed after news of the Greek deal. European finance chiefs still need to approve the pact.

‘Greater Optimism’

“That greater optimism pushed up swap rates and is also reflected in commodities and stocks,’ said Sebastian Ide, head of the interest-rate trading desk at Banco de Chile in Santiago. “The curve is pricing in a monetary policy rate of higher than 4.5 percent at the end of the year, which is a response to the inflationary pressure.”

The one-year swap rate in pesos climbed four basis points Replica Watches, or 0.04 percentage point, to 4.75 percent. The two-year swap rate also climbed four basis points to 4.75 percent.

Six-month breakeven inflation rose 11 basis points to 3.26 percent. Suarez forecast breakeven and long-dated bond yields rise to rise.

Forwards for unidades de fomento, Chile’s inflation-linked accounting unit, today suggested that inflation would end the year at 3.42 percent, up from 3.38 percent yesterday and 2.99 percent at the end of January. Suarez said inflation may pass 5 percent this half and end the year faster than 4 percent.

–Editors: James Attwood, Brendan Walsh

To contact the reporter on this story: Sebastian Boyd in Santiago at sboyd9@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: David Papadopoulos at papadopoulos@bloomberg.net

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By Jennifer Tan

(Updates with comment from analyst in fourth paragraph.)

Feb. 16 (Bloomberg) — Creative Technology Ltd., the maker of music players that compete with Apple Inc.’s iPods Replica Omega watches, surged the most since it began trading in Singapore in 1994 after announcing a tablet computer platform aimed at the China market.

The stock surged 71 percent to S$4.15, after rising as much as 86 percent to S$4.50 earlier, with 69 times more shares traded than the average daily volume over the past six months. Creative began trading on the Nasdaq exchange in the U.S. in August 1992.

Creative unveiled a platform called HanZpad, a new media processor named ZMS-40 and a Chinese operating system, according to a statement after the market closed yesterday. The Singapore- based company said the tablet computer platform is focused on the Chinese market, where it wants to take advantage of the government’s aim to embrace “digital textbooks, digital classrooms and the digital school bags” in the education system.

“If Creative gets the right partners in China Replica Cartier Watches, who have good relationships with the local education sector and the government, it might be able to create a niche for itself in China’s highly competitive tablet market,” said Bryan Ma, a Singapore-based analyst at IDC.

–Editors: Lars Klemming, Linus Chua.

To contact the reporter on this story: Jennifer Tan in Singapore at jennifertan@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Lars Klemming at lklemming@bloomberg.net

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By Aydan Eksin and Ali Berat Meric

Feb. 17 (Bloomberg) — BP Plc, Chevron Corp., ConocoPhillips, Genel Energy Plc, OMV AG, Perenco SA, RWE AG and Total SA applied to take part in Turkey’s oil exploration project in eastern Mediterranean, Bloomberg HT reported today Special Occasion, citing Energy Ministry officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

Turkey’s state oil and gas company Turkiye Petrolleri AO, known as TPAO, will “farm out” licences for seismic work and possible exploration in eastern Mediterranean off the cities of Iskenderun and Mersin, TPAO head Uysal said on Nov. 22. TPAO seeks 50-50 percent partnerships in the project, Uysal said.

About 10 international companies applied for Turkey’s east Mediterranean exploration project off Mersin Tops and Tees, Energy Minister Taner Yildiz said at a fuel industry meeting in northwestern Bolu province earlier today.

To contact the reporter on this story: Aydan Eksin in Istanbul at aeksin@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Ercan Ersoy at eersoy@bloomberg.net

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By Ilya Khrennikov

Feb. 13 (Bloomberg) — Barrick Gold Corp. Watches Replica, the world’s largest producer, plans to sell its 20 percent stake in Highland Gold Mining Ltd., the Russian miner part-owned by billionaire Roman Abramovich’s Millhouse Capital, after output stagnated.

The Canadian company intends to divest its stake in Highland Gold after deciding that it’s “non-core to Barrick’s business operations and strategy Watches Replica,” the London-listed miner said in a statement today. Highland fell the most in six months.

Millhouse controls 40 percent of Highland Gold, including shares owned by Abramovich’s partner Eugene Shvidler, and is “happy” with this stake, spokesman John Mann said in e-mailed comments. Millhouse doesn’t rule out buying Toronto-based Barrick’s stake in the company, he said.

“Barrick, which bought into Highland Gold in 2003, initially sought to use the company as a platform for expansion in Russia,” said Nikolay Sosnovskiy, an analyst at VTB Capital in Moscow. “Highland failed to increase production, and now Barrick is basically quitting Russia.”

Highland produced 184,102 ounces of gold equivalent last year, compared with 199,896 ounces in 2004, according to the company’s regulatory filings.

Highland dropped 9.5 percent to 154 pence in London trading at 9:09 a.m., the largest intraday slump since Aug. 8, valuing Barrick’s 20.4 percent at about 106 million pounds ($170 million).

–Editors: John Viljoen, Ana Monteiro

To contact the reporter on this story: Ilya Khrennikov in Moscow at ikhrennikov@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: John Viljoen at jviljoen@bloomberg.net

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By Weiyi Lim

Feb. 14 (Bloomberg) — Shares of the following companies had unusual moves in Taiwan trading. Stock symbols are in parentheses and prices are as of the close in Taipei.

The Taiex Index fell 0.4 percent to 7,884.08.

Memory chip companies: Powerchip Technology Corp. (5346 TT) surged 6.8 percent to NT$1.26, the most since Nov. 16. Nanya Technology Corp. (2408 TT) jumped 7 percent to NT$3.83, the biggest advance since Aug. 24. Inotera Memories Inc. (3474 TT), a venture between Micron Technology Inc. and Nanya, climbed 6.9 percent to NT$6.64, the highest close since Sept. 30.

Micron Technology President Mark Adams said prices of computer memory have probably hit their lowest after a slump that caused losses at three of the four largest companies in the industry.

E Ink Holdings Inc. (8069 TT) slumped 6.2 percent to NT$40.30, the biggest loss since Jan. 9. The supplier to Amazon.com Inc. was cut to “sell” from “neutral” at Goldman Sachs Group Inc. The share-price estimate was also lowered 40 percent to NT$36 at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. (2317 TT), a unit of Foxconn Technology Group, declined 1.5 percent to NT$101. Apple Inc. said the Fair Labor Association started audits of supplier Foxconn Technology Group’s factories in China Replica Watches, the first inspections of a larger effort to respond to criticism of conditions of workers making its gadgets.

–Editor: Chan Tien Hin

To contact the reporter on this story: Weiyi Lim in Singapore at wlim26@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Darren Boey at dboey@bloomberg.net

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You don’t have to be the homecoming queen to make it in life Print Dresses, and these 5 stars are all proof that being popular in school doesn’t mean anything in real life. They may not have been hugely popular as teenagers, but they have all blossomed into beautiful and talented women who have made something of themselves. Looking back, here is what these 5 stars felt about their unpopular teenage years – some were outsiders, and some simply weren’t popular but say they weren’t “losers” either.

Charlize Theron

Charlize says she definitely wasn’t popular in school, and was obsessed with someone who was:  “I wasn’t in the popular crowd. There was a really popular girl at school and I was obsessed with her. I mean you would go to jail for that stuff today, I was in tears one day because I couldn’t sit next to her.”

Selena Gomez

Selena Gomez was mostly schooled on set, but when she did go to school, she wasn’t popular and says she didn’t have many friends either:  “I went to school until eighth grade. I was not the popular kid -  I sat in the back, I had, like, two friends. I was mostly schooled on set. I liked that.”

Mischa Barton

Mischa was bullied in school but she feels that because she wasn’t popular no one noticed when she wasn’t there when her career took off: “I still am insecure but young Mischa was terribly insecure. The kids around me at school had realised I was an actress and I started getting teased. I wasn’t popular so it was easy to integrate me in and out without kids asking too many questions but then ‘The Sixth Sense’ came out. I would have liked to have been popular. I would have liked to have not been on the periphery so much.”

Megan Fox

Megan says she was a loner during her school years and was quite mean too: “I was never the beautiful girl in my school – I mean, I had braces and I died my hair orange. I was not the popular girl. I was always the loner. I was drawn to this industry for other reasons. “Careers sort of go up and down. Not everybody makes a hit every single time. There’s no particular technique. Most of the time it’s just about survival.”

Julia Roberts

Julia Roberts reveals that although she wasn’t popular, she wasn’t a “loser” either: “[I was] just mediocre, just getting through the hallways with my girlfriend Paige. We weren’t losers, but we weren’t popular, we were just coasting, that is exactly what we were doing.”

By Monami Yui

Feb. 10 (Bloomberg) — Australia’s dollar fell for the first week since December after the Reserve Bank lowered its forecasts for growth and inflation this year, boosting scope for policy makers to reduce interest rates.

The so-called Aussie weakened against most of its peers after the central bank said it sees the economy expanding 3.5 percent in 2012 Replica Watches, down from its Nov. 4 estimate of 4 percent. The New Zealand dollar, nicknamed the kiwi, extended a weekly drop as European finance ministers withheld an aid package necessary to prevent the Greek economy from collapsing.

“The RBA still has an easing bias, and that is reflected in them revising down their growth forecasts,” said Jonathan Cavenagh, a currency strategist at Westpac Banking Corp. in Singapore. The scale-back of half a percentage point is “a pretty huge move,” weighing on the Aussie, he said.

Australia’s dollar slid 1 percent to $1.0675 at 12:16 p.m. New York time. It reached $1.0845 on Feb. 8, the strongest since Aug. 2. It lost 1.1 percent to 82.85 yen.

The kiwi dropped 0.7 percent to 82.81 U.S. cents and slipped 0.8 percent to 64.26 yen.

The Australian currency has declined 0.9 percent against the greenback since Feb. 3, the first five-day drop in eight weeks. The kiwi has weakened 0.9 percent in the period.

“Inflation is forecast to remain around the midpoint of the target range for most of the next couple of years,” Australia’s central bank said today in its quarterly monetary policy statement. The outlook for consumer prices provides “scope for easier monetary policy should demand conditions weaken materially,” it said.

Consumer Prices

Consumer prices will rise 3 percent in the year through to the fourth quarter, less than a previous prediction of 3.25 percent, the central bank also said, while its forecast for underlying inflation was unchanged at 2.75 percent. The estimates are based on the overnight cash rate target remaining at its current level of 4.25 percent, it said.

The Australian dollar has risen 1.2 over the past month, according to Bloomberg Correlation-Weight Indexes, which track 10 developed-nation currencies. New Zealand’s dollar has strengthened 1.9 percent, the best performance, while the greenback is down 3 percent.

Greece is missing its debt-cutting targets and may fall short of its intended debt-to-gross-domestic product ratio, German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble told lawmakers in Berlin today, according to two people who took part in the meeting.

Refused to Approve

Greek Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos said his euro- area counterparts refused to approve a 130 billion-euro ($171 billion) aid package because the government fell short of austerity demands. George Karatzaferis, the leader of Greece’s Laos party, said he couldn’t support an accord on cuts in its present form.

“Right here, right now, I don’t want to be joining this risk rally because a positive outcome on Sunday and next week is already largely reflected in the price,” Westpac’s Cavenagh said of Greece’s vote on austerity measures and a meeting of euro-area finance ministers on Feb. 15. “The European debt crisis is by no means over,” he said.

–With assistance from Allison Bennett in New York. Editor: Kenneth Pringle

To contact the reporter on this story: Monami Yui in Tokyo at myui1@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Dave Liedtka at dliedtka@bloomberg.net

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