With 585,179 valid votes counted from a total of 1.8 million
registered voters, former rebel leader Prince Johnson remains in
third place with 11.4 percent. A run-off will take place in
early November if no candidate secures more than 50 percent of
the vote.
* Softbank erases gains after iPhone order glitchBy Hideyuki Sano and Lisa TwaroniteTOKYO, Oct 14 (Reuters) - The Nikkei stock average slipped
from a one-month high on Friday, as weak earning results from
JPMorgan Chase & Co highlighted worries that strains in
the global banking system could hamper growth.Camera maker Olympus fired its British CEO over his
management style, sending its shares plunging 18 percent in
furious activity, while Suzuki Motor seesawed in
volatile trade before ending flat as its spat with biggest
shareholder Volkswagen intensified.The course of the market still largely depends on whether
Europe can fix its spiralling debt and banking crisis with many
players now looking to the Group of 20 financial policy makers’
meeting at the weekend.”After Slovakia voted for the bail-out package, the market
is focusing on the fact that that alone won’t solve the
problems. Unless you forcefully recapitalise banks, they won’t
resume lending,” said Kakuya Kojoh, manager of securities
department at Nissan Century Securities.Ratings agency Standard and Poor’s reminded investors that
the region’s problems are far from over, downgrading the
long-term credit rating of Spain late on Thursday by one notch
to AA-minus from AA with a negative outlook, due to weak growth,
tightening fiscal conditions and high private sector debt.Selling from European investors as well as profit-taking
ahead of weekend pushed down share prices with concerns about
banks’ exposure to euro zone debt still capping investors
appetite.The Nikkei shed 0.9 percent to 8,747.96 in
relatively thin trade, although it managed to stay above its
25-day moving average of 8,645. It hit a one-month high of 8,854
on Thursday.The broader Topix index declined 1.3 percent to
748.81.The Olympus news managed to drag on the overall market, and
trade in the company shot up to nearly 20 times as much as its
30-day average.Former CEO Michael Woodford had told Reuters in May he would
cut jobs to achieve his mid-term cost targets.”Investors appear to have sold futures after the Olympus
news, although it’s clearly specific to one company and should
not have a big long-term impact on the overall market,” said
Koichi Ogawa, a chief portfolio manager at Daiwa SB Investments.Suzuki Motor Corp ended down 3 points at 1,656 yen after it
accused Volkswagen of breaching a partnership pact by
withholding hybrid technology it promised to share, pushing
their two-year-old alliance to the brink of disintegration.Softbank Corp erased early gains and dropped 2.7
percent to 2,478 yen, after the mobile phone operator
temporarily stopped accepting contract applications when
heavier-than-expected applications for the new iPhone caused
system troubles. Apple Inc’s iPhone 4S went on sale in
Japan and other countries on Friday.Rival KDDI Corp , which also started distributing
the iPhone, rose 1.0 percent to 585,000 yen.Fast Retailing added 3.1 percent to 13,490 yen and
was the fifth-heaviest traded issue by turnover, as it prepared
to kick off a high-profile U.S. expansion by opening a new
flagship store in Manhattan on Friday to anchor its push to rely
less on its home market.JPMorgan Chase & Co was the biggest drag on the Dow
Jones industrial average after the second-largest U.S.
lender reported a drop in its third-quarter net profit, fanning
worries that the U.S. growth will remain weak.Some 1.56 billion shares changed hands on the Tokyo Stock
Exchange’s main board, below Thursday’s total of 1.58 billion
shares and last week’s daily average of 1.86 billion. Nearly
seven shares declined for each one that advanced.
* Voting due to start around 1030 GMT, result due after 1200
GMTBy Gavin JonesROME, Oct 14 (Reuters) - Italy’s Prime Minister Silvio
Berlusconi is expected to scrape through a vote of confidence on
Friday, despite the scandals, economic stagnation and intense
pressure from financial markets plaguing him and his
administration.Berlusconi was forced to call the vote, to be held in the
Chamber of Deputies early afternoon, after his divided
centre-right government suffered a major embarrassment when it
failed to pass a routine budget provision on Tuesday.He is seen surviving for now, just as he has survived many
such votes, because squabbling factions in his coalition are
still not ready to replace him.”If a group of deputies inside his People of Freedom party
had a precise strategy then probably Berlusconi’s days would be
numbered, but we are not there yet,” political commentator
Sergio Romano told Reuters.Voting is scheduled to start at around 1030 GMT, with the
result expected after 1200 GMT.Analysts say even if the 75-year-old premier wins, it will
be a matter of months only before a new crisis hits, and the
country is likely to hold elections next spring, a year early.”It’s very probable that Berlusconi will win confidence in
parliament today,” said Massimo Franco in newspaper Corriere
della Sera.”But the anxiety and fatigue of the ruling majority does not
point to any revival. If anything, it increases the sense of a
government limping towards the terminus, hoping to make it to
the end of the year without being forced to stop earlier.”Berlusconi told parliament on Thursday the fall of his
government would be “a victory for those who want to see (Italy)
fall into decline, catastrophe and the kind of speculation we
have seen for months in Europe and Italy”.Many analysts see the opposite as true, and see Berlusconi’s
ineffectiveness in the face of crisis bringing either snap
elections or an unelected government of technical experts, which
they say would be preferable to the current malaise.Nicholas Spiro, head of debt consultancy firm Spiro
Sovereign Strategy, said a “Berlusconi premium” had been built
into Italy’s borrowing costs.His political demise “could trigger a favourable
re-assessment of Italy in the minds of international investors,
particularly if a non-partisan technocratic cabinet took
office”, Spiro said.DISSENTERSSeveral newspaper editorials on Friday highlighted the lack
of new ideas in Berlusconi’s speech to parliament, describing
him as paralysed by a fear of aggravating tensions in his
coalition.”Not one new thought was expressed. Absolutely nothing. A
complete vacuum,” said Luca Ricolfi in La Stampa daily.
“Berlusconi has by now become a factor that is immobilising and
freezing Italian politics.”A number of centre-right deputies were absent from Tuesday’s
vote, infuriating Berlusconi and feeding suspicions that some
stayed away to raise their bargaining power in the coalition.On Thursday, Berlusconi described the episode as an
“accident” and insisted the centre-right bloc was united.He is facing internal challenges from a number of ministers,
most notably from Economy Minister Giulio Tremonti, who are
unhappy with his leadership and the damage his personal and
legal woes have done to Italy’s reputation.The prime minister is on trial in four separate cases,
accused of fraud, corruption and paying for sex with a minor.President Giorgio Napolitano entered the fray this week,
expressing deep concern about the viability of government and
demanding a “credible response” to Italy’s acute problems.A Reuters survey of about 20 analysts said on Thursday that
Italy was already in recession, would barely muster any growth
in 2012 and would miss the government’s fiscal deficit targets.Its sovereign debt has been downgraded in the past month by
Standard & Poor’s, Moody’s and Fitch, and since early August it
has relied on the European Central Bank to buy its bonds to
prevent yields rising to unsustainable levels.
* Voting due to start around 1030 GMT, result due after 1200
GMTBy Gavin JonesROME, Oct 14 (Reuters) - Italy’s Prime Minister Silvio
Berlusconi is expected to scrape through a vote of confidence on
Friday, despite the scandals, economic stagnation and intense
pressure from financial markets plaguing him and his
administration.Berlusconi was forced to call the vote, to be held in the
Chamber of Deputies early afternoon, after his divided
centre-right government suffered a major embarrassment when it
failed to pass a routine budget provision on Tuesday.He is seen surviving for now, just as he has survived many
such votes, because squabbling factions in his coalition are
still not ready to replace him.”If a group of deputies inside his People of Freedom party
had a precise strategy then probably Berlusconi’s days would be
numbered, but we are not there yet,” political commentator
Sergio Romano told Reuters.Voting is scheduled to start at around 1030 GMT, with the
result expected after 1200 GMT.Analysts say even if the 75-year-old premier wins, it will
be a matter of months only before a new crisis hits, and the
country is likely to hold elections next spring, a year early.”It’s very probable that Berlusconi will win confidence in
parliament today,” said Massimo Franco in newspaper Corriere
della Sera.”But the anxiety and fatigue of the ruling majority does not
point to any revival. If anything, it increases the sense of a
government limping towards the terminus, hoping to make it to
the end of the year without being forced to stop earlier.”Berlusconi told parliament on Thursday the fall of his
government would be “a victory for those who want to see (Italy)
fall into decline, catastrophe and the kind of speculation we
have seen for months in Europe and Italy”.Many analysts see the opposite as true, and see Berlusconi’s
ineffectiveness in the face of crisis bringing either snap
elections or an unelected government of technical experts, which
they say would be preferable to the current malaise.Nicholas Spiro, head of debt consultancy firm Spiro
Sovereign Strategy, said a “Berlusconi premium” had been built
into Italy’s borrowing costs.His political demise “could trigger a favourable
re-assessment of Italy in the minds of international investors,
particularly if a non-partisan technocratic cabinet took
office”, Spiro said.DISSENTERSSeveral newspaper editorials on Friday highlighted the lack
of new ideas in Berlusconi’s speech to parliament, describing
him as paralysed by a fear of aggravating tensions in his
coalition.”Not one new thought was expressed. Absolutely nothing. A
complete vacuum,” said Luca Ricolfi in La Stampa daily.
“Berlusconi has by now become a factor that is immobilising and
freezing Italian politics.”A number of centre-right deputies were absent from Tuesday’s
vote, infuriating Berlusconi and feeding suspicions that some
stayed away to raise their bargaining power in the coalition.On Thursday, Berlusconi described the episode as an
“accident” and insisted the centre-right bloc was united.He is facing internal challenges from a number of ministers,
most notably from Economy Minister Giulio Tremonti, who are
unhappy with his leadership and the damage his personal and
legal woes have done to Italy’s reputation.The prime minister is on trial in four separate cases,
accused of fraud, corruption and paying for sex with a minor.President Giorgio Napolitano entered the fray this week,
expressing deep concern about the viability of government and
demanding a “credible response” to Italy’s acute problems.A Reuters survey of about 20 analysts said on Thursday that
Italy was already in recession, would barely muster any growth
in 2012 and would miss the government’s fiscal deficit targets.Its sovereign debt has been downgraded in the past month by
Standard & Poor’s, Moody’s and Fitch, and since early August it
has relied on the European Central Bank to buy its bonds to
prevent yields rising to unsustainable levels.
Hurricane Jova made landfall in Mexico as a weaker category 2 storm, dumping heavy rain and flooding parts of the coast.Jova hit the coast with a minimum central pressure of approximately 973 mb, specifically putting the $50 million Class C notes at risk.But the C notes’ parametric trigger requires a minimum central pressure reading of 944 mb or lower — equivalent to a Category 4 storm — in order for the bond to incur any losses, said one investor with knowledge of the transaction.”As a result, Jova does not appear to have been powerful enough for MultiCat Mexico to sustain any principal loss to the notes”, he said.The bond was issued by Cayman Islands-based special purpose vehicle Multicat Mexico 2009 Ltd in October 2009 to protect the country from hurricanes and earthquakes.The transaction, issued under a program set up by the World Bank, was sponsored by the Fund for Natural Disasters of Mexico (FONDEN) and sold to investors via reinsurer Swiss Re.The Miami-based U.S. National Hurricane Center said the center of Jova crossed the Mexican coast near the town of Chamela in the state of Jalisco, on a stretch of land dotted with beaches south of Puerto Vallarta. Mexico has no major oil installations in the Pacific.For an update on Hurricane Jova, click hereTo join the Thomson Reuters Insurance Linked Securities Community for more news and analysis, click here)
