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Utente:RomelaBay892

2012-03-23T16:18:57Z

86.182.122.213: Nuova pagina: EU foreign ministers have imposed a travel ban and asset freeze on the UK-born wife of Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad and other family members, diplomats say. Asma al-Assad is among 12...

EU foreign ministers have imposed a travel ban and asset freeze on the UK-born wife of Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad and other family members, diplomats say.

Asma al-Assad is among 12 people added to the sanctions list, which already includes her husband.

The ban cannot stop her from travelling to the UK, British officials say.

Anti-government activists accuse the regime of killing thousands of protesters over the past year.

In recent weeks, the Damascus government has stepped up its efforts to crush pockets of rebellion in cities including Homs and Hama.

Russia and China have vetoed two UN Security Council resolutions on Syria for fear that intervention could lead to regime change, as happened in Libya last year.

Mr Assad has promised political reform, but observers and his opponents have dismissed his plans as window-dressing.

The BBC's Chris Morris in Brussels says for years there was a perception that Mrs Assad's Western upbringing could encourage reform in Syria.

The 36-year-old, who is of Syrian descent, was born in the UK and spent much of her life in west London. The UK Border Agency has confirmed that Mrs Assad is British.

"British citizens subject to EU travel bans cannot be refused entry to the UK," a spokesman said.

Mrs Assad, who worked as an investment banker in the City of London before her marriage in 2000, has generally played a low-key role in the regime.

The BBC's Caroline Hawley looks at Asma Assad's UK roots

However, in February she wrote to Britain's Times newspaper to explain why she thought her husband was still the right man to lead Syria.

Other members of Mr Assad's family have also been added to the sanctions list. The AFP news agency says these include Mr Assad's mother, sister and sister-in-law.

Utente:CarolannBadger902

2012-03-23T12:45:04Z

86.182.122.213: Nuova pagina: BT says it will pay �2bn into its pension fund to help cover the scheme's deficit. It is one of the biggest one-off payments yet made by a company into a pension fund. The payment ...

BT says it will pay �2bn into its pension fund to help cover the scheme's deficit.

It is one of the biggest one-off payments yet made by a company into a pension fund.

The payment is part of a nine year plan to bolster the scheme, which at the last valuation in June had a deficit of �4.1bn.

Supporting the pension fund has dragged down BT's performance. Back in 2008, the fund had a deficit of �9bn.

Under the latest plan, BT will make nine further annual payments of �325m.

BT's pension fund has 330,000 members, making it one of the biggest private sector schemes in the country.

"This agreement, under which the company makes an immediate contribution to the scheme of almost half of the deficit, reflects BT's financial strength and re-affirms our commitment to the scheme," said chief executive Ian Livingston.

BT, Royal Mail and Trinity Mirror - there is quite a lot going on in the fraught world of final salary pensions. �

"BT's long-term sustainable cash generation has improved significantly since the 2008 valuation and we remain focussed on improving BT's financial strength, investing in our future and enhancing shareholder returns."

Utente:ErnestaGilder633

2012-03-22T21:01:12Z

86.182.122.213: Nuova pagina: George Osborne is considering cutting the 50p top rate of income tax in next week's Budget, the BBC understands. Prime Minister David Cameron will discuss the Budget with the chancell...

George Osborne is considering cutting the 50p top rate of income tax in next week's Budget, the BBC understands.

Prime Minister David Cameron will discuss the Budget with the chancellor and other senior ministers on Friday.

There is speculation the tax on earnings over �150,000 could be reduced to a 45p rate or scrapped entirely in return for tax cuts for low earners.

Labour leader Ed Miliband said it was the "wrong priority" and money should be spent on jobs for young people.

The coalition's "quad" of top ministers, Conservatives Mr Cameron and Mr Osborne and Lib Dems Nick Clegg and Danny Alexander are discussing the Budget by telephone on Friday.
Temporary tax

All budget decisions will have been made by the end of Friday so that the details can be sent to the Office for Budget Responsibility.

The government-appointed body will use these tax and spending decisions to make its economic forecasts.
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�Start Quote

For a chancellor sometimes likened to a submarine - George Osborne has never been timid about deploying a torpedo�

image of Ben Wright Ben Wright Political correspondent, BBC News

Is Osborne planning a 50p tax surprise?

The 50% income tax rate was introduced by the previous Labour government in 2010, to help pay for declining government revenues during the recession.

Mr Osborne has always said it was a temporary measure and has asked officials to assess how much extra it is raising.

Utente:UrsulaTimm188

2012-03-22T19:21:08Z

86.182.122.213: Nuova pagina: Bank of America has reported a $2bn (�1.2bn) profit for the three months to the end of 2011, compared with a $1.2bn loss in the same period in 2010. It signals continued recovery fo...

Bank of America has reported a $2bn (�1.2bn) profit for the three months to the end of 2011, compared with a $1.2bn loss in the same period in 2010.

It signals continued recovery for the US' second biggest lender.

For the full year, the company reported net profits of $1.4bn compared with a net loss of $2.2bn in 2010.

Meanwhile Morgan Stanley, the world's largest broker, reported a fourth-quarter loss of $250m compared with a profit of $836m a year earlier.

Despite the loss, the results at Morgan Stanley beat analysts' expectations since it was able to increase its share of the equity trading market in the period.

For the full year, Morgan Stanley said its net revenues were $32.4bn compared with $31.4bn in 2010.

Recent results from American banks have been mixed with Goldman Sachs announcing on Wednesday that it made 47% less in profits than in 2010 whilst Citigroup posted a 6% rise on the previous year.

Bank of America chief executive Brian Moynihan said: "We enter 2012 stronger and more efficient after two years of simplifying and streamlining our company."

"Reflecting a gradually improving economy," continued Mr Moynihan, "we saw solid business activity by companies of all sizes, with commercial and industrial loan balances rising."

Bank of America was one of the worst performers on Dow Jones Industrial Average index of leading companies in 2011, losing 58% of its share value over the year.

The lender has been hit by lingering concerns about bad mortgage loans on its books in the wake of the 2008 sub-prime crisis when it was bailed out by the US government.

The bank has been building up its reserves, known as Tier 1 capital, to protect itself against the risk of further bad loans.

"Our fourth-quarter results reflect the aggressive steps we have been taking to strengthen the balance sheet and position the company for long-term growth," said chief financial officer Bruce Thompson in a statement.

"During the quarter, we significantly increased capital and liquidity. For 2012, our focus is to continue to build capital and liquidity and manage expenses."

Utente:DariaHoskins227

2012-03-22T02:29:56Z

86.182.122.213: Nuova pagina: FAIRNESS played a central role in Barack Obama's state-of-the-union address, and I suspect it will play a central role in the president's re-election campaign. But what does Mr Obama h...

FAIRNESS played a central role in Barack Obama's state-of-the-union address, and I suspect it will play a central role in the president's re-election campaign. But what does Mr Obama have in mind when he deploys the f-word? It may not be the case that fairness is, as Scott Adams, the creator of Dilbert, puts it, "a concept invented so dumb people could participate in arguments". But it cannot be denied that fairness is an idea both mutable and contested. Indeed, last week's state-of-the-union address seems to contain several distinct conceptions of fairness worth drawing out and reflecting upon.

Toward the beginning of his speech, as Mr Obama was trying to draw a parallel between post-second world war America and today's post-Iraq war America, he offered this rather stark choice:

We can either settle for a country where a shrinking number of people do really well while a growing number of Americans barely get by, or we can restore an economy where everyone gets a fair shot, and everyone does their fair share, and everyone plays by the same set of rules.

Here we have three distinct conceptions of fairness in a single sentence.

To get a "fair shot" is to be offered the opportunity to participate fully and succeed within the country's institutions. This is, I think, the least controversial conception of fairness in America's political discourse. Conservatives who strenuously object to the idea that the American system should aim at "equality of outcomes" will sometimes affirm "equality of opportunity" as an alternative. But this is a mistake. To really equalise opportunity requires precisely the sort of intolerably constant, comprehensive, invasive redistribution conservatives rightly believe to be required for the equalisation of outcomes. If one is prepared to accept substantial inequalities in outcome, it follows that one is also prepared to accept substantial inequalities in opportunity.

Getting a fair shot doesn't require equalising opportunity so much as ensuring that everyone has a good enough chance in life. The content of "good enough" is of course open to debate, but most Americans seem to agree that access to a good education is the greater part of a "good enough" and thus fair shot. Naturally, there is strong partisan disagreement over the kinds of education reform that will do right by young Americans.

Utente:BarbraFlanders109

2012-03-21T01:01:35Z

86.182.122.213: Nuova pagina: IN AN ordinary American presidential election, a candidate who had earned a fortune in business and then paid an absurdly low tax rate would barely raise eyebrows. Americans have long ...

IN AN ordinary American presidential election, a candidate who had earned a fortune in business and then paid an absurdly low tax rate would barely raise eyebrows. Americans have long considered wealth something to admire and pursue, not vilify and redistribute. Alexis de Tocqueville said he knew �of no country�where a profounder contempt is expressed for the theory of the permanent equality of property.�

But this is no ordinary election. That so much scrutiny has fallen both on how Mitt Romney earned his fortune (in the ruthless world of private equity) and his tax rate (15%, less than what some middle-class families pay) is a sign something has changed. For that, credit a decade in which the median family in America saw its real income fall by 7%, even as the top 1% grabbed a share of national income unseen since the 1920s (see article), and a level of unemployment that, though falling, remains troublingly high. Not many Americans like the tactics or fashion choices of Occupy Wall Street, but quite a few share the movement�s opinion that the economy is tilted in favour of the wealthy.

And so the rich are now a campaign issue. Barack Obama calls for �millionaires and billionaires� to �pay their fair share�: introduce a minimum tax rate on millionaires and return the top income-tax rate to 39.6% from 35%, and the other 98% of Americans would not have to pay more, he claims. Republicans shoot back that raising any taxes would destroy jobs and business confidence. They think you can fill the budget hole by spending cuts alone; many want to cut taxes further.

Neither side is talking sense. America�s rich should indeed pay more tax; but marginal rates should not go up.

Utente:TammieWeakley464

2012-03-20T13:43:36Z

86.182.122.213: Nuova pagina: The UK's trade deficit was less than expected in January, thanks to strong exports of cars to the US, China and Russia, official figures have shown. The deficit on seasonally adjusted...

The UK's trade deficit was less than expected in January, thanks to strong exports of cars to the US, China and Russia, official figures have shown.

The deficit on seasonally adjusted trade in goods and services was �1.8bn in the first month of the year, compared with �1.2bn in December.

Car exports from the UK in January were worth �531m more than in December.

The UK's goods trade deficit widened to �7.5bn in January, while the services surplus narrowed to �5.8bn.

The goods deficit compares with �7.2bn in December, while the services surplus in the last month of 2011 was �6bn.

Utente:DorrisAvent479

2012-03-20T09:47:20Z

Utente:DanicaPlyler480

2012-03-18T17:13:54Z

86.182.122.213: Nuova pagina: BARELY a week goes by without a report on the level of confidence among consumers, businesspeople and investors. Optimism is what�s wanted�Keynes talked of the �animal spirits�...

BARELY a week goes by without a report on the level of confidence among consumers, businesspeople and investors. Optimism is what�s wanted�Keynes talked of the �animal spirits� that influence economic activity. Pessimists are routinely denounced as Jeremiahs. Those who try to bet on falling prices find their activities are restricted.

A cheery disposition may be necessary for societies to function. Daniel Kahneman, a psychologist and Nobel economics laureate, has a chapter in his book �Thinking Fast and Slow� which describes overconfidence as �the engine of capitalism�. No entrepreneur can be sure that his planned investment will succeed but if no one took a risk, new products and jobs would never be created. A certain blindness to the odds may be necessary. According to Mr Kahneman, the chances of an American small business surviving for five years are just 35%. But ask individual entrepreneurs about their prospects and 81% think they have a better than seven-in-ten chance of success.

This self-confidence may be innate, just as most people think they are better-than-average drivers. And it would seem logical that the most optimistic people gravitate towards entrepreneurship. That is good for consumers, who can select from a wider variety of products. Even the failed businesses serve a purpose. Daniel Gross, a journalist, wrote a book claiming that bubbles were good for economies since they leave behind infrastructure (canals, railways, fibre-optic cable) that can last for generations.

Utente:BlaineAdamo145

2012-03-18T11:38:33Z

86.182.122.213: Nuova pagina: The Greek PM has warned the nation of a collapse in living standards if MPs fail to pass an unpopular austerity bill demanded in return for a 130bn-euro ($170bn; �110bn) bailout. In...

The Greek PM has warned the nation of a collapse in living standards if MPs fail to pass an unpopular austerity bill demanded in return for a 130bn-euro ($170bn; �110bn) bailout.

In a TV address, Lucas Papademos said Greece was "just a breath away from Ground Zero".

The cabinet has approved the measures but five government ministers resigned.

Unions are holding a 48-hour strike, and thousands of protesters rallied in central Athens against the measures.

Riot police were on standby after clashes on Friday, but the demonstrations were mostly peaceful.

The austerity measures are being demanded by the eurozone and IMF - they must now be passed by the Greek parliament and approved by European finance ministers.

Some MPs from the governing parties are expected to vote against the bill, the BBC's Mark Lowen in Athens reports.

But analysts say the package should still have enough support in parliament, because Pasok, the largest party, and its coalition ally New Democracy account for more than 230 deputies out of a total of 300.
Catastrophe fear

Mr Papademos said the measures would "decide the country's future" and enable it to stay inside the euro.
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What went wrong in Greece?