October 22, 2007 nº 555 - Vol. 5
“They always say that times changes things, but you actually have to change them yourself.”
Andy Warhol
Insider's view: see how local concerns shape up the global world. Read the daily press review in Migalhas International
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Non-American law firms move up latest list of top dealmakers
For lawyers who like rankings, there is more than one way to keep score. But the question remains: does a high ranking matter, and for whom? The third-quarter tables for legal advisers - those charts that list how many deals firms have worked on - provide few surprises but offer a glimpse into the tight credit market, which brought deals to a halt this summer in the United States. While the top players remained unchanged, several non-U.S. firms moved up - underscoring the importance of European deals and the strength of bidders outside the United States. The perennial front-runners - Sullivan & Cromwell; Skadden Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom; and Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz - share the top billing this quarter with firms based outside the United States - Clifford Chance, Allen & Overy, Linklaters and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer. A Canadian firm, Blake Cassels & Graydon, also moved into the top 10 in the Bloomberg table, largely based on deals like the private equity buyout of BCE, the parent of Canada's largest telecommunications company. And the Spanish firm Uría Menéndez jumped to ninth this quarter in Bloomberg's table for its representation of principals, up from 49th a year ago. Cravath was 11th in the Bloomberg table listing firms representing principals. Other firms - like Jones Day, DLA Piper, Clifford Chance and Latham & Watkins - top the charts for the number of - rather than value of - of deals.
Pseudoscientific bigotry in France
Immigration issues bring out the worst instincts in politicians who should know better. France's Parliament is moving toward final approval of an ugly new law that would introduce DNA testing as a potential basis for excluding prospective immigrants hoping to join family members already living in France. DNA testing can be a useful tool in establishing criminal guilt or innocence. But it has no rightful place in immigration law. Modern French families, like modern American families, are constituted on many bases besides bloodlines and genetics. This is something most French politicians and voters should be know. They should also be aware of the cautionary lessons of French history. Under the Nazi occupiers and their Vichy collaborators, pseudoscientific notions of pure descent were introduced into French law with tragic consequences.
Federal judge dismisses SWIFT data protection lawsuit
A federal district judge Friday dismissed a breach of privacy lawsuit against the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT). The Belgium-based international banking cooperative disclosed personal information about its customers to third parties, including the CIA and US Treasury Department. Ian Walker and Stephen Kruse said their privacy rights were violated because each had engaged in wire transactions that might have been processed by SWIFT, although neither disclosed his bank name. The judge wrote: “There is no allegation that plaintiffs' bank or banks are members of SWIFT, nor is there any information indicating that plaintiffs' financial information was disclosed by SWIFT...Plaintiffs rely on their own belief that their financial information has been disclosed, but such a belief, without more, cannot support standing.” The ruling leaves open the possibility that Walker and Kruse could file an amended suit, naming their banks.
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Chinese party unveils new leaders
China's Communist Party has unveiled the leadership line-up that will steer the country for the next five years. President Hu Jintao won a second term as party and army chief, while four new faces joined the party's top body, the Politburo Standing Committee. Premier Wen Jiabao was reappointed to the committee, indicating another five-year term in office for him.
UBS urged to drop Chinese listing
Human rights activists, including actress Mia Farrow and a number of Nobel Prize winners, are appealing to Swiss bank UBS to end its role in launching PetroChina on the Shanghai stock exchange. PetroChina is controlled by the China National Petroleum Corporation, the largest operator in the Sudanese oil industry.
Prize to honor Africa statesman
The Mo Ibrahim Prize - the world's richest - is being presented in London to a former African head of state for the excellence of their leadership. Mobile phone millionaire Mo Ibrahim is funding the project in the hope it will help improve governments' performance.
Airmen punished for nuclear error
The US Air Force has relieved several officers of their commands after a B-52 bomber was mistakenly flown across the US loaded with armed nuclear-armed missiles mounted on the wings. Experts have said that if the B-52 had crashed, there would not have been a nuclear explosion. However, there could have been a threat from plutonium leakage from the W80-1 warheads, which have a yield of five to 150 kilotons.
Latin American Disease May Have Spread to U.S.
Chagas, a parasitic disease caused by the bite and waste matter of the "kissing bug," is spread through contaminated food, blood transfusions and pregnancy. This weekend, the American Red Cross presented evidence that this disease, endemic to Central and South America, may have spread to the U.S.
Brazil may start new sovereign fund with $10 bln
Brazil could start a new sovereign fund to manage a small part of its international reserves with around $10 billion. The government will seek congressional authorization this year to create the fund, which would allow the Latin American country to search for safe but higher-yielding investments.
Kurd raid fuels rage in Turkey
Turkey's leaders have vowed to "pay any price" to defeat terrorism after the latest attack by Kurdish rebels, which killed at least 12 soldiers.
Bush ramps up sanctions on Burma
Bush has announced further sanctions against Burma's ruling junta and ordered a tightening of export controls, and urged India and China - who have extensive trade ties with Burma - to apply more pressure. He asked the Treasury Department to freeze the financial assets of members of the military regime not covered by previous measures. The announcement follows the violent suppression of anti-government protest.
Lab suspends DNA pioneer Watson
The Nobel Prize-winning DNA pioneer James Watson has been suspended by his research institution in the US. Watson has drawn severe criticism over remarks , saying that Africans were less intelligent than Europeans. Watson was due to give a lecture at the Science Museum in London on Friday as part of a book tour. But the museum cancelled the event, saying the scientist had gone beyond the point of acceptable debate.
Firms Are Returning to Their Roots
In corporate boardrooms across the globe, the commodity boom is producing a back-to-basics boomlet. Aluminum giant Alcoa is getting out of the plastic-wrap and some automotive businesses. Newmont Mining, the world's second-largest gold producer by output, plans to jettison its merchant-banking unit. And Anglo American, the No. 2 mining company by output, has put its Tarmac road-surfacing unit on the block. Economists call it respecialization. Companies call it focusing on core assets, and it comes and goes in cycles. In the first phase, companies with cash and ambition make acquisitions aimed at broadening their business lines. The idea is to cushion the blow from a bad year in any one business. The trend continues until Wall Street decides those companies have become too diversified and starts favoring "pure plays," or a conglomerate stumbles because it has gotten too big to manage profitably. Then, the pendulum swings back: After some board-directed soul-searching, companies begin to shed tangential operations.
IMF meets amid fears for growth
The International Monetary Fund's main ministerial policy-making committee is meeting in Washington amid concerns about the global economic outlook. Turbulence in financial and housing markets and record oil prices have cut forecasts of strong global growth. By contrast, many developing nations are seeing impressive rates of growth.
Coke Tries New Defense
In a move being watched by large-company lawyers, Coca-Cola Co. is trying to use the impending guilty plea of attorney William Lerach to scuttle a seven-year-old securities-fraud lawsuit against the beverage giant. In papers filed this month, Coke asked a federal judge in Atlanta to deny class-action status to the case, saying Lerach "entered into a plea agreement admitting that he participated in a criminal conspiracy to obstruct justice in securities cases just like this one." Lerach originally filed the case in 2000. Class-action suits let individuals band together to pursue big defendants with more power than they could on their own. A court will award class-action status only if the case meets several criteria, including whether the plaintiff's attorney can adequately represent the entire shareholder class. Denial of class-action status is a big win for defendants, as few individual plaintiffs have the economic incentive to continue litigation on their own.
Zions cleared for auction on options
The Securities and Exchange Commission gave final clearance for Zions Bancorp to use an auction process to value employee stock options, the cost of which results in a charge against earnings. The decision overrides concerns expressed earlier this year by the Council of Institutional Investors, an industry association representing pension funds, that the auction process was flawed because both the company running it and buyers taking part want to see as low a price as possible. A lower options value translates into a lower hit to profit.
Protesters storm Bolivia airport
Thousands of local residents have occupied Bolivia's busiest airport, after troops sent in by Morales, following claims that local officials were illegally demanding landing fee payments.
US ex-commander sentenced in Iraq
A US officer in Iraq has been acquitted of aiding the enemy by lending a mobile phone to a prisoner, but sentenced to two years in prison on lesser charges. A court martial judge found former prison commander Lt-Col William Steele guilty of the illegal possession of thousands of secret military documents. Steele was also convicted of behavior unbecoming an officer and failing to obey an order.
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Time
The Power of Birth Order. Parents insist that how kids turn out depends on when they were born. More and more, science agrees
Newsweek
Pakistan. The most dangerous nation in the world isn't Iraq.
Business Week
Little Green Lies. The sweet notion that making a company environmentally friendly can be not just cost-effective but profitable is going up in smoke. Meet the man wielding the torch
The Economist
Lessons form the credit crunch. Central banks have worked miracles for the past quarter century. Don't count on that continuing.
L'Express
L'affaire Cecilia.
Der Spiegel
SPD S.O.S.: Wenn wir schwimmen Seit' an Seit'.
DR Congo tells Mai Mai to disarm
BBC News, Centrist newscaster, London, England
Ban Ki-moon announces slate of new Special Representatives in Africa
CongoPlanet.com, Independent online news aggregator
Baah-Wiredu frustrated with rich countries
GhanaWeb, Online news portal, Amsterdam, Netherlands
ICC/DRC: Second War Crimes Suspect to Face Justice in The Hague
Human Rights Watch (Africa), International news press releases
Woman loses legs celebrating RWC
iafrica, Online news portal, Cape Town, South Africa
More good news for rugby fans
Independent Online, News portal, Cape Town, South Africa
Woman loses legs during World Cup celebration
Mail & Guardian Online, Liberal, Johannesburg, South Africa
'I feel angry and unsafe'
News24.com, Online news portal, Cape Town, South Africa
Brazil plans oil and gas exploration in Amazon
Brazil Sun, Independent online news aggregator
Random violence erupts prior to TnT Elections 2007
Caribbean News Portal, Online news aggregator
Colombia: US Congress Should Maintain Hold on Military Aid
Human Rights Watch (Americas), International news press releases
Development: Farming Faces Phosphate Shortfall
IPS Latin America, International cooperative of journalists, Rome, Italy
Spotlight on corruption - Shaw wants World Bank to do local study
Jamaica Gleaner, Independent daily, Kingston, Jamaica
Peru: Photo of the day - Lidercon to Open a New Inspection Site
Living in Peru, News portal, Lima, Peru
In 'Riders country, no one's afraid of the big, bad NFL
The Globe and Mail, Centrist daily, Toronto, Canada
Fires scorch California coast
Toronto Star, Liberal daily, Toronto, Canada
Army chief inspects Garuda Contingent for Lebanon
Antara News, News agency, Jakarta, Indonesia
Ludhiana Blast: Police announces reward for info
India Express, News portal, Mumbai, India
UP govt transfers ten IAS officers
India Times, Conservative daily, New Delhi, India
S. Africa defeats England in final
Japan Times, Independent centrist, Tokyo, Japan
Man knuckles head of Ying Ying's alleged murderer
Malaysian Star, Online news portal, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia
Pope urges world's religions to promote peace
New Zealand Herald, Conservative daily, Auckland, New Zealand
Sri Lanka's Air Force base attacked, 5 killed and 18 injured
People's Daily Online, English-language, Beijing, China
Under fire Culina axed
Sydney Morning Herald, Centrist daily, Sydney, Australia
India to seek data on terror suspects
The Hindu, Left-leaning daily, Chennai, India
Child obesity alert plan pondered
BBC News, Centrist newscaster, London, England
Webster wins and fights back tears
BreakingNews.ie, Online news portal, Cork, Ireland
Immigration set to increase Britain's population by a third
Daily Mail, Conservative daily, London, England
Vodafone, Huawei to roll out HSDPA in Hungary
DMeurope, Online news portal, Amsterdam, Netherlands
Liverpool Unites: Band together for Rhys Jones
icLiverpool, Online news portal, Liverpool, England
Polish premier is routed in record vote, polls show
International Herald Tribune, Independent daily, Paris, France
London Stock Market Sees Sharp Fall
Sky News, Independent newscaster, Middlesex, England
Swiss Elections: A Limited Victory for Blocher
Spiegel International, Liberal newsmagazine, Hamburg, Germany
Dow slide sends FTSE sharply lower
The Guardian, Liberal daily, London, England
G7 seeking yuan appreciation against euro
The Irish Times, Centrist daily, Dublin, Ireland
Two U.S. sailors shot dead in Bahrain
The Scotsman, Moderate daily, Edinburgh, Scotland
Turkey threatens Iraq invasion to hit PKK
The Telegraph, Conservative daily, London, England
Mossad breaks silence on lonely life of a real spy
Times Online, Conservative daily, London, England
Livni Says Hizbullah Still Smuggling but Praises UNIFIL
Arutz Sheva, Online, right-wing, Tel Aviv, Israel
Turkey's FM Arrives Unexpectedly in Jeddah, Met by Saudi Counterpart
Asharq Al-Awsat, Pan-Arab daily, London, England
Bhutto seeks US, British help in bomb probe
Gulf News, Independent daily, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Politics-US: Cheney Raises the Rhetoric Against Iran
IPS Middle East, International cooperative of journalists, Rome, Italy
Muscat Festival from January 21
Middle East North African Network, Online financial portal, Amman, Jordan
Kidnappers hit again in Nigeria
Nahamet, Online news portal, Beirut, Lebanon
Cheney adds 'bribery' to list of accusations against Syria in Lebanon, vows to prevent Iranian nukes
The Daily Star, Independent daily, Beirut, Lebanon
Protests continue in Radfan
Yemen Times, Independent weekly, Sana'a, Yemen
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