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Libya’s oil minister defected and fled to Tunisia, a Tunisian security official said Tuesday, one of the highest profile figures to abandon Moammar Gadhafi’s government.
Shukri Ghanem, the head of the National Oil Co. and Libya’s oil minister, crossed into Tunisia by road on Monday and defected, the Tunisian official said. The official, based in the region around the Ras Jdir border crossing, spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.
Ghanem is one of the most prominent members of Gadhafi’s government to leave amid fighting between the military and rebels seeking to end Gadhafi’s more than 40-year rule.
Others who have defected include Foreign Minister Moussa Koussa, one of Gadhafi’s earliest supporters; Interior Minister Abdel-Fatah Younes; Justice Minister Mustafa Abdul-Jalil, and Ali Abdessalam Treki, a former U.N. General Assembly president. A number of ambassadors and other diplomats also have resigned their posts.
A NATO-led campaign _ authorized by the United Nations _ is enforcing a no-fly zone over the country and launching airstrikes to try to protect civilians from attacks by Gadhafi’s forces.
Early Tuesday, NATO jets pounded two government buildings in the Libyan capital, including the Interior Ministry, setting them on fire. A government spokesman suggested that the ministry was targeted because it contained files on corruption cases against senior members of the Benghazi-based rebel leadership.
In Geneva, meanwhile, the U.N. refugee agency said Tuesday that Libyan authorities appeared to be encouraging African migrants to board unseaworthy boats bound for Europe.
Melissa Fleming, a spokeswoman for the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, told reporters that the Libyan conflict has opened up a route for migrants that was closed for two years because of an agreement between Libya and Italy.
Already some 14,000 people _ mostly from sub-Saharan Africa _ have used Libya as a springboard to reach Europe, and thousands more are poised to make the treacherous sea journey in the coming weeks as weather conditions in the Mediterranean improve.
“The authorities (in Libya) are not discouraging, at all, in fact there may be signs that they are encouraging these boat journeys,” she said.
Some are migrants fleeing the fighting in Libya, but others appear to be crossing into Libya from elsewhere in Africa because it is easier to get onto smugglers’ boats there.
Ghanem, the latest minister to defect, had been at odds with the Gadhafi regime before, basically losing his post for a while in 2009 as two of Gadhafi’s sons differed on the direction the country should take in reforming its political and economic systems. His resignation was seen, at least in part, as linked to the creation of a new superstructure governing the nation’s oil sector, with the new agency designed to replace one he supported.
Before assuming the oil ministry’s portfolio, Ghanem served for around three years as prime minister at a time when Libya was emerging from under the cloud of more than a decade of international sanctions.
Ghanem is among Gadhafi government officials under U.S. sanctions announced by the Treasury Department in early April.
Abdel Moneim al-Houni, a former Libyan Arab League representative who was among the first wave of Libyan diplomats to defect, confirmed that Ghanem had defected but said no official announcement has been made out of concern for the safety of family members who are still in Tripoli. Al-Houni said that he spoke to Ghanem after he crossed the border.
“Most of the officials remaining in Tripoli are forced to stay under intimidation and pressure. They are not happy with what is happening,” Al-Houni told the AP.
Guma El-Gamaty, London-based spokesman for the Libyan opposition’s Interim National Council, said “all what we know is that Shukri Ghanem is in Tunisia.”
NATO has stepped up strikes on the Libyan capital Tripoli, and one of the buildings hit early Tuesday was used by the Interior Ministry, which is responsible for internal security.
Libyan spokesman Moussa Ibrahim suggested the ministry was targeted because it contained files on rebel leaders in Benghazi, the de-facto capital of the eastern half of the country, which is under opposition control.
“If they (NATO) are really interested in protecting civilians … then we call upon them to stop and start talking to us,” Ibrahim said.
In Moscow, Russia’s foreign minister on Tuesday urged Libya’s government representatives to allow the delivery of humanitarian aid.
Minister Sergey Lavrov says that Gadhafi’s representatives reiterated their willingness to consider a peace plan tabled by the African Union that called for an immediate cease-fire and dialogue between the government and the rebels. The rebels have rejected that plan.
The meeting follows a Monday visit to Moscow by the United Nations special envoy for Libya.
Somewhere in St. Ann, there lives a happy man. The Missouri state treasurer’s office recently told the fellow that he has $125,000 coming.
Who is he? The treasurer isn’t telling. Nor is he saying just how this big surprise came about.
Treasurer Clint Zweifel’s office is in charge of finding the owners of missing valuables. The valuables turn up in abandoned safe deposit boxes, in long-dormant bank accounts, in uncollected life insurance policies and from other sources.
In the case of St. Ann’s mystery man, the money was in a checking account in the man’s name, says Zweifel spokesman Jon Galloway. Beyond that, Galloway’s lips are sealed.
He says he’d be guilty of a misdemeanor if he revealed much more. That leaves us all to wonder how a fellow could be missing $125,000 and not realize it.
The St. Ann fellow isn’t alone. Zweifel recently returned $150,000 in securities to a business in Clayton.
In all, the treasurer has returned more than $1 million to just eight owners since February. Since last July, he’s returned $30 million to 105,000 owners. Last year, Zweifel’s office returned $1.6 million to a single individual in St. Louis.
Sometimes, the treasurer’s office finds an insurance policy taken out on children long ago. Both the parents and children are now dead, and no one knows where the heirs have gone.
It may have been a few shares of stock in an account forgotten long in the past. “Over the years it split and split and now you have a lot of money,” says Galloway.
People can check for unclaimed property in Missouri at www.showmemoney.com
Apparently people don’t like paying $5 to withdraw their own money from an ATM.
JPMorgan Chase (JPM, Fortune 500) said Monday it has finished testing $4 and $5 ATM fees for non-customers in two states, and it is now going back to the $3 fees it previously charged.
Earlier this year,the bank had been testing a $5 ATM fee in Illinois and a $4 ATM fee in Texas — both for non-customers who use its ATMs — to see if they brought in enough revenue to introduce nationwide, according to a spokesman for the company.
Out of the bank’s network of 16,000 ATMs, more than 20% — or about 3,600 — are located in these two states.
Chase spent an estimated $400 million to build the entire network and pays $200 million a year to run it. So the bank wanted non-customers to pay a little extra for the convenience of using its large network.
But the $5 fee meant that a $20 withdrawal would cost you a 25% premium for that convenience. And that doesn’t even include what your own bank charges you for going out of network — typically around $3.
But it looks like that $5 threshold inconvenienced enough customers, and convinced them to trek an extra few blocks to their own banks.
So Chase threw in the towel, and the $3 ATM fees you’re used to paying are back — for now.
Stocks lost some of their early gains and turned mixed Monday despite the death of Osama bin Laden, several strong earnings reports and a major drug industry acquisition.
The Dow Jones industrial average rose 27 points, or 0.2 percent, to 12,839 in afternoon trading. It had been up as many as 65 points earlier in the day.
President Barack Obama said late Sunday that bin Laden, the al-Qaida chief who masterminded the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, had been killed by American forces in Pakistan. That helped to raise investors’ confidence when the market opened.
“It’s a feel-good item,” said Howard Silverblatt, senior index analyst at Standard & Poor’s. “It gives closure to a lot people.”
But Silverblatt, like many analysts, cautioned that the news would likely result in only a short-term gain for the market. Most traders were instead focused on earnings and economic news. So far, strong earnings results over the last two weeks helped the Standard & Poor’s 500 reach its highest levels since the financial crisis, closing at 1363.61 on Friday.
Dish Network Corp., Chrysler Group LLC and Humana Inc. all reported strong earnings. Dish Network’s first-quarter net income more than doubled, in part, because of a patent settlement with TiVo Inc. Its stock rose 16 percent.
Humana’s profit rose 22 percent. The company benefited from more people enrolling in its Medicare plans. Its stock was flat.
Chrysler reported its first profit since leaving bankruptcy two years ago thanks to growing sales.
Whole Foods Market Inc. fell 4 percent, though, after a Jefferies analyst downgraded the company and said sales could stagnate as shoppers feel the pinch of higher gas prices.
In corporate news, Israeli drug maker Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. said it would buy Cephalon Inc. for $81.50 per share, or $6.8 billion. Cephalon’s key drugs include the sleep disorder treatment Provigil and the cancer drug Treanda. Cephalon’s shares rose 4 percent.
The S&P 500 index rose a point, or 0.1 percent, to 1,365. It had been up 7 points earlier. The Nasdaq composite index fell 2 points, or 0.1 percent, to 2,871.
Bond prices rose, sending yields lower. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell to 3.28 percent from 3.29 percent late Friday. The dollar fell 0.2 percent against an index of six other heavily traded currencies.
The Institute of Supply Management reported that manufacturing activity increased for the 21st month in April, though at a slightly slower pace than the month before. This was expected by economists. The Commerce Department also reported that builders started work on more projects in March after three straight monthly declines in construction spending.
Merck & Co. says its first-quarter profit more than tripled despite only slightly higher sales because of much lower restructuring and merger costs.
The results beat Wall Street expectations. Merck’s stock rose 61 cents in premarket trading to $36.38.
The maker of Singulair for asthma and allergies and Januvia for diabetes says net income was $1.04 billion, or 34 cents per share, up from $299 million, or 9 cents a share, in 2010’s first quarter.
Revenue edged up 1 percent to $11.58 billion. That includes several billion dollars from products acquired when Merck bought Schering-Plough Corp. in November 2009 for $49 billion.
Excluding numerous one-time items, net income was $2.86 billion, or 92 cents per share.
Analysts forecast earnings per share of 84 cents and revenue of $11.38 billion. Analysts typically exclude one-time items in their estimates.
The $1.82 billion in net charges included $1.58 billion in merger-related writedowns on the value of assets and research, $126 million in restructuring costs and a $500 million payment to settle arbitration with Johnson & Johnson over rights to two drugs.
Merck raised the bottom end of its 2011 adjusted profit forecast by 2 cents, predicting $3.66 to $3.76 per share.
“It is clear that Merck’s business momentum is building, and we continue to demonstrate the ongoing value of the merger,” Chief Executive Kenneth Frazier said in a statement.
Sales were driven by strong performance from Singulair, Januvia, Remicade for immune disorders and other key drugs. Their growth was partly offset by lower sales of former blockbuster heart drugs Cozaar and Hyzaar, which got generic competition last year.
CUPERTINO, CALIF.
Markets in Asia were mostly higher Monday, as quake-devastated Japan began turning its attention to reconstruction.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 index was up 0.3 percent to 9,710.11, with shares rising of companies expected to play a major role in the country’s reconstruction following the devastating March 11 earthquake.
Japan’s government last Friday proposed a special $50 billion (4 trillion yen) budget to help finance reconstruction efforts and plans to build 100,000 temporary homes for survivors of the earthquake and tsunami, which all but destroyed the country’s northeastern coast and killed 27,000 people.
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. and Nishimatsu Construction Co. Inc. both rose 1.6 percent. Komatsu Ltd., one of the world’s leading equipment makers, was 0.7 percent higher. Kobe Steel Ltd. was up 0.5 percent.
South Korea’s Kospi rose 0.1 percent to 2,200.84, with airline shares like Korean Air Lines Co. Ltd. making big gains. Korean Air was up 3.7 percent, and Asiana Airline Inc. jumped 4 percent.
Mainland China’s Shanghai Composite Index slid 1.1 percent to 2,976.45. Benchmark indexes in Singapore and Indonesia were also lower cash advance now.
Some investors stayed on the sidelines in anticipation of several key events later this week, including earnings reports of some major Japanese companies and the Federal Reserve meeting on April 26-27.
Benchmark crude for June delivery rose 66 cents to $112.95.
The dollar strengthened against the yen to 82.38 in Asia on Monday from 81.90 late Friday in New York.
The euro slipped to $1.4544 from $1.4550. It had risen to a 16-month high of $1.4648 during Thursday’s trading.
Investors have turned away from the dollar this year because they expect the Federal Reserve to keep U.S. interest rates near zero even as other central banks around the world raise interest rates to counteract rising food and energy prices. Higher rates tend to support a currency’s value.
Stock, bond and commodities markets were closed in the U.S. and many markets are also shut in Europe and Asia on Good Friday. Markets in Australia, New Zealand and Hong Kong remained closed Monday.
Japanese Trade Minister Banri Kaieda said he asked China and South Korea to rely on scientific evidence in deciding whether to ban Japanese goods over concern they may be contaminated with radiation.
Chinese Commerce Minister Chen Deming and South Korean Trade Minister Kim Jong Hoon both agreed that will be the criteria for any import restrictions, Kaieda told reporters after meeting his counterparts in Tokyo today. Chen and Kim also said safety is their priority, Kaieda added.
Trading partners worldwide are testing Japanese products for radiation following leaks at the crippled Fukushima Dai-Ichi plant, the world’s worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl.
China, Japan’s largest export market, earlier this month expanded a ban on imports of food and agricultural produce, threatening to exacerbate an export slump in the world’s third- largest economy after a record earthquake disrupted supply chains.
South Korea, Singapore and the U.S. have also halted imports of some products on concern that produce grown around the stricken nuclear station has been contaminated.
Japan, South Korea and China agreed on the need to accelerate negotiations to form a free-trade agreement among them, and to “resist protectionism in all forms,” according to a joint statement released after the discussions today.
Upbeat U.S. earnings buoyed stock markets around the world Thursday ahead of another round of company reports, while the euro neared a one-and-a-half year high against the dollar as investors were willing to take on more risky trades
Following a long period when investors have been focusing on other issues, such as Japan’s earthquake and tsunami, Europe’s debt crisis and the unrest in the Arab world, earnings have returned to prominence.
So far, the latest corporate results season has been generally positive, with a number of companies announcing forecast-busting earnings in another sign that the U.S. economy, the world’s largest, is performing strongly.
Particularly encouraging was Wednesday’s after-hourse statement from Apple Inc. that its hit iPhone helped earnings nearly double. Apple’s technology peer Intel Corp. also beat expectations, helping to buoy sentiment toward the technology sector. General Electric Co. then kicked off a slew of results Thursday on a positive note.
Others reporting Thursday include McDonald’s Corp. and Morgan Stanley & Co.
“In the past couple of days, the U.S. earnings season has enabled investors shrug off the euro woes and budget deficit concerns that dogged the early part of the week,” said Yusuf Heusen, senior sales trader at IG Index.
“Intel’s strong figures yesterday, followed closely by Apple’s blockbusting results, seem to have ignited risk appetite once more and investors will be looking for more of the same before the Easter break,” Heusen added.
In Europe, the FTSE 100 index of leading British shares was up 0.1 percent at 6,028 while Germany’s DAX rose 0.7 percent to 7,298. The CAC-40 in France was 0.4 percent higher at 4,021.
Wall Street was poised for a third day of gains following Monday’s retreat when investors were spooked by Standard & Poor’s warning that the U.S. faces a one-in-three chance of having its triple A credit rating downgraded. Dow futures were up 0.4 percent at 12,447 while the broader Standard & Poor’s 500 futures rose 0.5 percent to 1,335.
Buoyant stock markets are an indication of heightened investor appetite for risk. That affects other markets too and in the currency markets the euro and the Australian dollar were the big gainers as investors looked for better interest rate returns instead.
“Monday is a distant memory and markets have shifted from shunning risk into the upcoming holiday period to assuming as much of it as they can,” said Robert Ryan, a foreign exchange strategist at BNP Paribas.
The euro was up another 0.9 percent at $1.4633 by late morning London time, a little shy of its earlier high of $1.4648, which is its strongest level since December 2009.
Despite occasional bouts of weakness, such as on Monday when the dollar _ perhaps surprisingly _ gained support from its widely-perceived status as a safe haven asset, the euro has been strong all year as it benefits from expectations that the European Central Bank will follow up this month’s first interest rate rise in nearly three years with more increases in the months ahead.
The Australian dollar was also in the spotlight, as it surged as investors flocked to so-called high yielding currencies.
Australia’s benchmark interest rate is much higher than the U.S., giving investors better returns, and it is likely to be increased further if world growth gains momentum.
At one point Thursday, the Australian dollar surged to $1.0741 on Thursday _ its highest level since it was floated in December 1983.
“There’s been a general rise in risk appetite, reflected not only in equities but in Asian currencies, which have strengthened as well,” said David Cohen , economist at Action Economics in Singapore.
Earlier in Asia, Japan’s Nikkei 225 index closed up 0.8 percent to 9,685.77 while South Korea’s Kospi index rose 1.3 percent to 2,198.54. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng ended 1 percent higher to 24,138.31, and mainland China’s Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.7 percent to 3,026.67.
In the oil markets, the focus remained on the fighting in Libya. Oil prices have increased 20 percent since the beginning of the year as investors anticipated rising global demand while unrest in North Africa and the Middle East threatened oil fields and shipping lanes vital to world supply.
Benchmark crude for June delivery rose 62 cents to $112.07 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose $3.17 to settle at $111.45 on the Nymex on Wednesday.
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