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Picture: Jeff Glor. outside ‘The CBS Early Show’ in New York City. New York Breitling replica watches, USA

By Edvard Pettersson and Patricia Hurtado

Aug. 30 (Bloomberg) — The Securities Investor Protection Corp. said it opposes the dismissal of a lawsuit brought by the liquidator of Bernhard Madoff’s investment firm against Bank Medici AG founder Sonja Kohn and UniCredit SpA.

Lawyers for SIPC said in a filing yesterday in federal court in Manhattan that, as the agency charged with the administration of the Securities Investor Protection Act and as an adviser to the court, it opposes UniCredit’s and the related defendants’ request to dismiss trustee Irving Picard’s common law claims Cartier replica watches, including those for unjust enrichment.

“There is no legal barrier to the trustee’s pursuit of his common law claims to recover customer property,” according to the SIPC filing. “The fact that customers have assigned their claims for such recoveries to the trustee merely bolsters his standing.”

UniCredit last month asked a district judge to dismiss Picard’s “hollow” racketeering claims seeking $59 billion from the bank, or three times what investors lost in the Ponzi scheme.

Picard named Milan-based UniCredit and its Bank Austria unit in a December complaint against Bank Medici, Kohn and dozens of other Austrian and Italian parties. He demanded $19.6 billion — his estimate at the time of all principal lost by Madoff investors — using the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act to triple the amount.

The claim is the largest of more than 1,000 filed by Picard.

In yesterday’s filing Breitling replica watches, SIPC said that while Picard in his opposition to the motion to dismiss focuses on the RICO claims, it seeks to support his common law claims. U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff last month ruled that Picard didn’t have standing to pursue common law claims against London-based HSBC Holdings Plc.

The SPIC lawyers said they respectfully disagree with that ruling, which they said is inconsistent with the provisions and purposes of the Securities Investors Protection Act and will undermine future applications of the law in lawsuits.

The case is Picard v. Kohn, 11-cv-01181, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York (Manhattan).

–With assistance from Linda Sandler in New York. Editors: Michael Hytha, Peter Blumberg

To contact the reporters on this story: Edvard Pettersson in Los Angeles at epettersson@bloomberg.net; Patricia Hurtado in New York at pathurtado@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Michael Hytha at mhytha@bloomberg.net

Business Exchange E-mail Print READER DISCUSSION

By Robert Brand

July 1 (Bloomberg) — The rand headed for its biggest weekly advance in four against the dollar, boosted by investor demand for higher-yielding assets on optimism Europe may have averted a Greek debt default.

The South African currency added as much as 0.2 percent to 6.7476 per dollar, and traded at 6.7715 as of 3:09 p.m. in Johannesburg Breitling replica watches, bringing its increase this week to 1.9 percent, the biggest since the week ending June 3. It appreciated 0.1 percent to 9.8055 per euro.

The euro was poised for its first weekly gain in a month versus the dollar and emerging-market stocks rose for a fifth day as the U.S. currency lost its allure as a safe-haven currency after officials agreed on 85 billion euros ($123 billion) of new aid to Greece.

“The rand has strengthened markedly this week, buoyed by optimism over the temporary resolution of the crisis in Greece and consequent rise in risk-on sentiment,” Nomvuyo Guma, an analyst at Johannesburg-based Standard Bank Group Ltd., Africa’s biggest rand trader, said in a research note.

Euro-area nations and private investors will contribute 70 percent of new aid to Greece, with the International Monetary Fund offering the rest, Thomas Wieser, head of the ministry’s economic policy and financial markets department, said at a briefing late yesterday in Vienna. European Union finance chiefs also hold a conference call tomorrow to free up a 12 billion- euro payment overdue from the original rescue.

Markets ‘Settled’

“Heading into the weekend, the fact that the Greek risk event is behind us will leave the markets far more settled than they have been recently,” Tradition Analytics researchers led by Johannesburg-based Quinten Bertenshaw said in a research note. “For the time being the bias remains generally supportive of emerging markets and the rand.”

The rand earlier declined on speculation demand for South Africa’s metal exports will fall as China’s economy slows. Commodity prices retreated for a second day and metals including platinum and for copper tumbled after China’s Purchasing Managers’ Index slipped to the lowest level since February 2009, signaling that the world’s second-biggest economy is cooling as export demand weakens and the government reins in credit to control inflation.

Bonds fell after the central bank said South Africa’s economic recovery remains slow and fragile and higher domestic spending isn’t pushing up prices.

“I don’t think we will see demand-side pressures coming into the economy any time soon Tag heuer replica watches,” Monde Mnyande, the chief economist of the Reserve Bank, said in an interview in Pretoria, the capital, after the release of the bank’s annual economic report.

A slow recovery may reduce pressure on the central bank to raise its benchmark interest rate from a 30-year low of 5.5 percent. The bank, which cut rates three times in 2010 to support growth, has left borrowing costs unchanged this year.

The 13.5 percent notes due 2015 slid 7 cents to 121.13 rand, driving the yield up one basis point, or 0.01 percentage point, to 7.52 percent. The 6.75 percent securities due 2021 retreated 8 cents to 88.94 rand, lifting the yield one basis point to 8.44 percent.

–Editors: Ana Monteiro, John Kohut

To contact the reporter on this story: Robert Brand in Cape Town at rbrand9@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Gavin Serkin at gserkin@bloomberg.net

Business Exchange E-mail Print READER DISCUSSION

By Sophia Pearson

(Updates with excerpt from complaint in third paragraph.)

July 25 (Bloomberg) — Temple-Inland Inc. was sued by an investor seeking to force the producer of cardboard shipping boxes to consider a $3.31 billion takeover offer by International Paper Co.

Temple-Inland directors’ “utter refusal” to hold talks is unreasonable and not in the best interests of the company or its shareholders, investor Alan R. Kahn said in a complaint filed today in Delaware Chancery Court in Wilmington. Kahn seeks to represent all Temple-Inland shareholders in his request for a court order directing the company to consider and respond in good faith to acquisition offers.

“The director defendants’ selfish refusal to negotiate deprives Temple-Inland’s stockholders of the certainty of receiving a significant immediate cash premium versus waiting years for a recovery in building products Breitling replica watches,” lawyers for Kahn said in the complaint. “Their rejection also ignores that the economic recovery is slow, which implies a slow recovery in packaging markets.”

International Paper, the world’s largest pulp and paper maker, took its buyout offer directly to shareholders on July 12, six days after Temple-Inland directors rejected a proposed transaction. The $30.60-a-share cash bid “grossly undervalues” Temple-Inland, the Austin, Texas-based company said on July 18.

‘Unrealistic’ Expectations

Tom Ryan, a spokesman for Memphis, Tennessee-based International Paper, said in an e-mail on July 18 that Temple’s board had “unrealistic” price expectations.

Kahn argued in his complaint that it would be in the best interest of Temple-Inland shareholders for the company to take advantage of the proposed transaction or at least negotiate actively with International Paper.

“The director defendants’ stubborn refusal jeopardizes any chance that Temple-Inland shareholders will have the opportunity to consider a higher per share price offer by International Paper,” Kahn said in the complaint.

Chris Mathis, a spokesman for Temple-Inland Omega replica watches, didn’t immediately return a phone call seeking comment on the complaint.

The case is Kahn v. Temple-Inland, CA6702, Delaware Chancery Court (Wilmington).

–Editors: Stephen Farr, Fred Strasser

To contact the reporter on this story: Sophia Pearson in Philadelphia at spearson3@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Michael Hytha at mhytha@bloomberg.net

Business Exchange E-mail Print READER DISCUSSION

By Thom Weidlich

(Updates with lawyer’s comment in the eighth paragraph.)

July 20 (Bloomberg) — A U.S. citizen from Afghanistan hid evidence of, and lied to investigators about, his son’s failed plot to bomb New York City’s subways in 2009, a prosecutor said at the close of the father’s trial.

“The evidence has shown that the defendant did everything he could to manipulate the system to get what he wanted,” which was to protect his son, his family and himself, Assistant U.S. Attorney Melissa Marrus said in her closing argument today in federal court in Brooklyn, New York.

Prosecutors allege Mohammed Wali Zazi, 55, directed family family members to destroy evidence, including glasses, masks, liquid chemicals and containers, that was part of the probe into his son and that he lied to agents looking into the subway plot.

His son, Najibullah Zazi, pleaded guilty in February 2010 to supporting al-Qaeda and conspiring to use a weapon of mass destruction in a plot to detonate bombs on New York subways around the anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

A co-conspirator, Zarien Ahmedzay, pleaded guilty to his role in the foiled plot in April 2010. Ahmedzay and Najibullah Zazi face life in prison.

A third man, Adis Medunjanin, pleaded not guilty in August 2010 to participating in the plot.

The elder Zazi, a former New York City taxi driver who lives in the Denver area, was charged with two counts of obstruction of justice and one count of conspiracy to obstruct justice.

‘Not Guilty’

“Mr. Zazi is not guilty of those crimes,” Deborah A. Colson, one of his lawyers, said in her closing argument today. “He didn’t destroy evidence or tell anyone else to.”

Colson said Zazi’s nephew and brother-in-law, who pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice under cooperation agreements and testified for the government, were responsible for the wrongdoing.

The jury is scheduled to begin its deliberations tomorrow. The trial began July 18.

Naqib Jaji, Mohammed Wali Zazi’s brother-in-law, testified that in July 2009 Najibullah Zazi left chemicals, including bleach and nail-polish remover, in the garage of Jaji’s house in Aurora, Colorado, where Najibullah was living. Najibullah told Jaji he planned to use them to make a fertility drug, Jaji testified.

Amanullah Zazi Breitling replica watches, the nephew, testified that he went to Jaji’s house to participate in a cover-up of bomb-making equipment, acting under orders of the elder Zazi.

Chemicals Destroyed

“The defendant is the one who ordered that the chemicals be destroyed,” Marrus said.

Colson said the government didn’t present enough evidence linking Zazi to the evidence destruction.

The prosecutors are “arguing because his family members did something wrong, he did something wrong too,” Colson said. “Naqib wanted his cooperation agreement and he had to serve somebody up.”

Prosecutors said Mohammed Wali Zazi lied to investigators when he said he didn’t speak with an imam, who was also a police informant Rolex replica watches, about a trip Najibullah Zazi took to New York. The jurors heard evidence of four phone conversations Mohammed Wali Zazi and the imam had in September 2009.

“He knew he had talked to someone in New York about what his son was up to,” Marrus said.

The defendant also lied when he said his nephew, who investigators were looking into, was his adopted son, the government said.

Colson said Zazi viewed Amanullah as a son and paid for some of his education. She said what the government called lies were the results of misunderstandings.

The case is U.S. v. Zazi, 1:10-cr-60, U.S. District Court, Eastern District of New York (Brooklyn).

–With assistance from Tiffany Kary and Chris Dolmetsch in New York. Editors: Mary Romano, Glenn Holdcraft

To contact the reporter on this story: Thom Weidlich in Brooklyn, New York, federal court at tweidlich@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Michael Hytha at mhytha@bloomberg.net.

Business Exchange E-mail Print READER DISCUSSION

TALLINN, Estonia – Estonia switched smoothly to the euro on Saturday, brushing off worries about a crisis in the currency club which is likely to put off bigger eastern European nations from joining for up to a decade.

The Baltic state of 1.3 million became the 17th euro zone country at midnight and was the first former Soviet state to adopt the euro, capping 20 years of integration with the West.

Estonia sees the change as marking the end of its struggles since a 2009 recession lopped 14 percent off its output. It hopes to entice investors by removing fears of devaluation and make borrowing more secure for its people, many of whose mortgages are already in euros from top Nordic banks.

"It is a small step for the euro zone and a big step for Estonia," said Prime Minister Andrus Ansip, who was the first to take euros out of a specially installed cash machine.

"We are proud to be a euro zone member state."

The central bank, whose governor will now help decide euro zone interest rates Omega replica watches, said the changeover was smooth.

"The money reached ATMs and retail stores in time at the end of the year Breitling replica watches," said deputy central bank head Rein Minka.

Estonia will be the currency club’s poorest member but its debt and deficit levels — the cause of the crisis for some euro zone members — are among the lowest in the bloc.

In economic terms, the single currency bloc will barely notice the addition — Estonia’s GDP is 0.2 percent of the euro zone’s 8.9 trillion euros.

Eastern skeptics

Poland, Hungary and other eastern European EU states are sceptical about joining the euro. They have all promised to join one day but want to see how the debt problems of Ireland, Greece, Spain and Portugal are solved.

They also fear that losing flexible exchange rates will make them less competitive and less able to fight financial crisis.

Polish central bank governor Marek Belka told newspaper Super Express Poland would join when there was "order" in the euro zone. "In the euro zone there are dramatic things happening, so why rush?" he said.

Czech Prime Minister Petr Necas has said the euro would not be to the country’s advantage for a long time. Economists say the larger eastern EU nations may now not join before 2019-2020.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy used New Year addresses to show support for the euro.

"The euro is the foundation of our prosperity," said Merkel. "Germany needs Europe and our common currency … We Germans assume our responsibility, even when it is sometimes very hard."

With a similar history of Nazi and Soviet occupation, all three Baltic states made joining Western structures their goals and joined NATO and the European Union in 2004.

Latvia and Lithuania hope to adopt the euro in 2014 and have had their currencies pegged to the euro for years.

The kroon will be converted at the rate of 15.6466 at which the currency was pegged to the euro. They will circulate together as legal tender for two weeks.

Additional reporting by Patrick Lannin in Stockholm; Editing by Patrick Graham, Lin Noueihed and Padraic Cassidy

GENEVA – The World Health Organisation said on Tuesday that current healthcare systems were inadequate to meet the challenges of the modern world and urged countries instead to go back to the basics of patient care.

Health systems have so far responded in an "inadequate and naive" way to social changes such as globalisation, urbanisation and ageing, and wide inequalities persist between and within countries, the WHO said in its Annual Health Report.

"Business as usual for health systems is not an option," the WHO said.

"It is clear that left to their own devices, health systems do not gravitate naturally towards the goals of health for all," the report said.

Annual government expenditure on health varies from as little as 20 dollars per person (15 euros) to well over 6,000 dollars, while the difference in life expectancy between the richest and poorest countries now exceed 40 years, the WHO said.

On a national level, the WHO highlighted the striking example of under-five mortality rates in the Kenyan capital Nairobi. In a high-income area, the rate is below 15 per thousand, while in a slum in the same city Omega replica watches, the rate is 254 per thousand.

"Rather than improving their response capacity and anticipating new challenges, health systems seem to be drifting from one short-term priority to another, increasingly fragmented and without a clear sense of direction," it further charged.

Health care is often delivered according to a model that concentrates on diseases Breitling replica watches, high technology, and specialist care, with health viewed as a product of biomedical interventions and the power of prevention largely ignored, the WHO said.

A "command-and-control" approach to disease, focused on short-term delivery, is fragmenting service delivery while some governments have adopted an overly "laissez-faire" approach leading to unregulated commercialisation of the health sector, it noted.

For 5.6 billion people in low- and middle-income countries, more than half of all health care expenditure is through out-of-pocket payments, the WHO said.

"These trends fly in the face of a comprehensive and balanced response to health needs," it warned.

The WHO released its report on the 30th anniversary of a seminal conference in Almaty — now the principal city of the independent state of Kazakhstan, and then the capital of the former Soviet republic of the same name — which sought to tackle political, social and economic health inequalities.

MANILA, Philippines — Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Chairman Rene Pardo and Philippine National Shooting Association (PNSA) President Art Macapagal have expressed support for Philippines’ attempt to break the Guinness World Record for Swimming Relay event in December.

Pardo and Macapagal both pledged to join the swimming event during the SCOOP Kamayan weekly forum last October 1.

Former Senator Nikki Coseteng, who is also the President of the event organizer Breitling replica watches, Diliman Preparatory School (DPS), was delighted to receive the support.

DPS will try to beat the Guinness World Record currently held by Swim For Children Italy for the most number of people swimming one length in a 24-hour relay.

A total of 5,028 participants completed a minimum distance of 60 feet or 18.3 meters in Padovanuoto, Padova Tag heuer replica watches, Italy in 24 hours, with an average of 17.1837 seconds per individual.

On December 10, DPS will bring together 6,000 swimmers, including students, parents, teachers, celebrities, athletes, artists, among others, in the DPS

Guinness 6000 will be held at the Olympic-size swimming pool in the DPS main campus along Commonwealth Avenue in Quezon City. – By Robbie Pangilinan

MANILA, Philippines – SM Prime Holdings said it was dropping plans to raise up to $500 million via a real estate investment trust (REIT) offer after Manila issued new rules that mandate a minimum 40% public ownership in REITs.

The country’s biggest mall developer, a unit of conglomerate SM Investments Corp. owned by the Philippines’ richest man Henry Sy Omega replica watches, had earlier picked CLSA and Macquarie as financial advisers for its planned REIT issue.

"We don’t think we’ll avail of the structure given the minimum public ownership," SM Prime Chief Finance Officer Jeffrey Lim said in a briefing.

Last week, the government’s main tax agency issued rules on the creation of REITs, including a requirement of a 40% minimum public ownership for the first two years of the REIT’s listing Breitling replica watches, before increasing it to 67% in the third year.

The Philippine Stock Exchange and property developers have said the mandatory sale of such a significant interest in REITs would not be viable.

Most of the country’s property firms had been waiting for the release of the rules before finalizing plans for REIT offers.

The country’s top property developer Ayala Land Inc. said in May it could raise up to $400 million from a REIT listing.

Forward Nico Salva of the Ateneo Blue Eagles shoots a basket against De La Salle Green Archers’ Arnold Van Opstal in their match at the UAAP, Sunday, August 28. Salva scored 19 points leading the Blue Eagles to victory, 79-62. Photo by Diana Moraleda for abs-cbnNEWS.com.

MANILA, Philippines – The Ateneo de Manila Blue Eagles posted their 11th victory of the season by routing rival De La Salle Green Archers Breitling replica watches, 79-62, in their 2nd round match of the UAAP Season 74.

With their win, the Blue Eagles not only remained undefeated at 11-0, but also became the first team to clinch a twice-to-beat advantage going into the Final 4.

Ateneo’s Nico Salva bounced back from a horrible shooting effort against the University of the East Red Warriors in their last match, this time top scoring the defending champions with 19 points.

It was unheralded back-up guard Tonino Gonzaga who provided the spark off the bench for the Blue Eagles, however.

Gonzaga scored 12 points, and added 4 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals in what was his best game so far this season.

The Blue Eagles were looking to break the game wide open in the 3rd quarter, stringing together a 10-3 run that gave them a 12-point advantage, 44-32.

Arnold Van Opstal continued to battle inside the paint for La Salle, scoring 6 points that kept the Archers within striking distance.

Veteran point guard Emman Monfort was his usual steady self at the free throw line, making 4 charities late in the 3rd period that gave the Blue Eagles a 53-42 lead going into the final quarter.

La Salle’s back-up guard Almond Vosotros refused to go down without a fight, however. He scored 4 straight points, all on lay-ups, that brought La Salle back to the game at 53-46.

Gonzaga, however, immediately quieted the La Salle run by making a 3-pointer.

It was all Ateneo from that point as the Blue Eagles’ lead swelled to as much as 20 points after Monfort drilled a three-pointer, 75-55.

The game was close in the 1st quarter, with LA Revilla, Maui Villanueva and Luigi dela Paz all scoring for La Salle.

After Jarelan Tampus canned 2 free throws to bring his team to within one point, 14-13, in the 2nd quarter, Gonzaga made 2 straight lay-ups to give the Blue Eagles some breathing room.

Salva also added 6 points to help give Ateneo a 31-26 advantage going into the 2nd half.

The Archers were unable to take advantage of the absence of Greg Slaughter, who only played 4 minutes in the first half after incurring 2 early fouls.

Van Opstal was the only player in double figures for DLSU, finishing with 13 points. Vosotros and Tampus added 9 points each.

This is the fourth straight loss for the Green Archers, making it tougher for them to make it to the Final Four, especially as University of Sto. Tomas won their game against University of the East.

La Salle now has a 4-7 record, and will have to battle the National University Bulldogs and the UST Growling Tigers for the last Final 4 spot.

Ateneo, meanwhile, clinches a spot in the top 2, even if they lose all their remaining games.

Kiefer Ravena, who burned DLSU with 24 points in the 2 teams’ first round encounter, had 13 points this time around. Monfort finished with 13 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists and 2 steals.

Box scores:

ADMU – Salva 19, Ravena 13, Monfort 13, Gonzaga 12, Slaughter 8, Chua 7, Long 6, Tiongson 1, Erram 0, Sumalinog 0, Golla 0, Austria 0

DLSU – Van Opstal 13 Rolex replica watches, Vosotros 9, Tampus 9, Torres 8, Revilla 6, Villanueva 6, Atkins 4, Dela Paz 3, Paredes 2, Webb 2, Gotladera 0, Mendoza 0, Marata 0