"We have consulted with the interested parties and assured them that there is a potential solution that is consistent with international banking laws," said McCormack."That implementation does not involve the United States," he added. マコーマック報道官は「我々は関係方面と協議の結果、国際金融法制に従った形でBDA 資金を送金することのできる可能性があることがわかった」と述べた「そのやり方では、 アメリカは(送金問題に)関与しない」
"Based on progress achieved, the U.S. government has communicated its support for release of all funds," said Treasury spokeswoman Molly Millerwise. 財務省広報官のMolly Millerwiseは「この件で、進展が達成されたことにつき、アメリカ 政府は、すべてのBDA口座資金の開放を支持する」と述べた。しかし北朝鮮は資金が 人道目的に使われることを確かなものにする必要がある、とした。
"We stand ready to assist the Macanese authorities in their efforts to release the funds and with all parties to effectuate the North Korean pledge that any money received by them would be used for humanitarian purposes of benefit to the North Korean people," she said in a statement. 「我々は澳門金融当局が口座資金の開放を行なううえで、北朝鮮が資金を北朝鮮国民の為の 人道目的に使うことを誓約し、それを達成することを支援することに準備が出来ている」と 述べている。
"We have worked with all parties to ensure this is consistent with our mutual domestic and international obligations regarding safeguarding the world's financial system," Millerwise added. 「我々は関係方面と協力し、この措置が世界の金融システムのセーフガードの確保という、 我々の国内および国際的な責務に沿ったものであることを確かなものとした」
"Our view is that the parties should be able to still meet the deadlines. We are going to work hard," said McCormack. マコーマック報道官は「我々の見解は、関係各国は依然として60日タイムリミットを満たす ことが可能であり、我々はそのためにがんばらなくてはならない」とした。
North Korea has offered no explanation why it has not claimed offshore funds it insisted be unblocked before shutting down its nuclear reactor, South Korea's foreign minister said on Friday. 韓国の外交部に拠れば、北朝鮮はBDAの口座資金を引き出しておらず、何の説明もしてい ないという。
"North has not shown any response whatsoever," Song Min-soon told reporters. 宋旻淳・外交通商相は記者団に「北朝鮮は全く反応を示していない」とのべた。
"If North Korea does not meet the deadline, we'll see where we are," a U.S. official in Washington said. "Let's take it a day at a time." アメリカ政府高官は「もし北朝鮮が60日期限を守らない場合、我々は事態が何処にあるか 解るわけだ」と述べた。「もう一日待って、対応を考えることになる」(後略)
中国外交官の配っているファクトシート・・の部分の原文 Chinese officials used the occasion to pass around a three-page fact sheet, entitled "Chinese Food Exports Are Safe." The paper stated that last year, the Food and Drug Administration turned away less than 1% of the food shipments sent to the U.S. from China, a figure it said was slightly less than the Chinese refusal rate last year of food shipments from the U.S. "The quality rate of Chinese food exports are above 99%," the report said.
<オピニオン・ジャーナルの週末インタビュー:ルディ・ジュリアーニ> ttp://www.opinionjournal.com/extra/?id=110010280 'Do We Remain on Offense?' A transcript of our interview with Rudy Giuliani. Saturday, June 30, 2007 12:01 a.m. EDT
Joe Mezrich, quantitative strategist at Nomura Securities, monitors the interplay of spreads on low-investment-grade corporate bonds and the market's implied forecast of stock volatility. These things have been highly correlated in recent years.
When stocks' implied volatility has shot higher while bond spreads have stayed calm -- as is the case now -- the bond market usually had it right and stocks recovered or rallied over the coming months. This script played out both in May 2006 and this past March.
U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Joseph F. Fil Jr., speaking from Iraq, told Pentagon reporters that the overall trend lines in the city are positive. “The number of attacks, first of all, has come down,” he said. “The effect of those attacks has come down significantly.”
”I can confirm that we believe the incident at Glasgow airport is linked to the events in London yesterday,” the chief constable in the Glasgow area, Willie Rae, told reporters. グラスゴー地域の安全保証担当責任者が、空港の事件とロンドンの自動車爆弾事件との 関連を確認した。
Britain’s Home Office announced it had raised the national security alert level to ”critical”, the highest ranking and one which indicates further attacks are expected imminently. 英内務省は国内の警戒レベルを、最高値である「クリティカル」に格上げした。これは 今後とも攻撃などの予想される場合に適用されるもの。
They were also refusing to discuss reports that they had a “crystal clear” CCTV image of a man leaving the Mercedes car outside Tiger Tiger. 警察当局はCCTVの写した、犯人の「ばっちし鮮明な画像」を持っているらしいのだが 確認を拒否している。ナイトクラブの「タイガー・タイガー」の前に停めたメルセデスか ら立ち去る犯人の画像である。
A dedicated team of officers is now watching thousands of hours of CCTV footage from shops, clubs and restaurants in the area around Haymarket and Cockspur Street. 専門チームがヘイマーケットとコックスパー街のCCTVの数千時間分の映像をチェック している。店舗やクラブ、レストランなどの付近にカメラが設置されたものである。
Capita Symonds, the company that runs a network of surveillance cameras covering every car to enter and leave central London, believes it is “highly likely” the would-be bombers have been caught on camera. 監視カメラを運用するCapita Symondsによれば、ロンドン中心部へ出入りする全ての車が カメラに収められている。犯人の車が映像に残されている可能性は大変高い。
Beverli Rhodes, head of security at Capita Symonds, said: “It is very likely that whoever drove those cars will be caught on camera. The system is top-of-the-range technology and the pictures are exceptionally high quality. 同社のBeverli Rhodesは「大変高い確率で、車を運転していた犯人の映像が記録されてい るだろう。このシステムは最新の技術によっていて、映像は例外的に高品質である」
英国は2人の逮捕を発表したが、一切の詳細を明らかにしていない。 The man, named as Peter Whitehead, said he saw a woman in what he called Muslim dress and two men in suits step out of a car which had pulled to the side of the motorway. チェルシーの道路で警官による拘束を目撃した人は、ムスリムの服装の女性と2人の男性 がいたといっている。
久間防衛相の原爆投下容認発言の海外報道 APのニュースで、アメリカの地方新聞に掲載されているもの ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ttp://www.kansascity.com/news/world/story/172306.html Japan’s defense minister criticized for atomic bomb comments The Associated Press
TOKYO | Japan’s defense minister drew criticism Saturday after saying that the dropping of atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki by the United States was an inevitable way to end World War II.
“I understand that the bombing ended the war, and I think that it couldn’t be helped,” Fumio Kyuma said at a university in Chiba. Kyuma, who is from Nagasaki, also said he did not resent the United States.
The remarks were quickly condemned by atomic bomb victims. “It’s outrageous for a Japanese politician to voice such thinking. Japan is a victim,” said Nobuo Miyake, 78, director-general of a group of victims living in Tokyo.
Nagasaki Mayor Tomihisa Taue was quoted by a news service as saying, “The use of nuclear weapons constitutes the indiscriminate massacre of ordinary citizens, and it cannot be justified for any reason.” ------------------------------------------------------------------------ この記事を読むと、普通のアメリカ人は、防衛大臣はまともだが、日本人一般は原爆 問題になると火病を発する人種、と思うのではないかすらん?
A credit crunch, he notes in a report Friday, is when “even creditworthy borrowers can’t get access to credit.” クレディット・クランチと言うのは「信用力のある借り手でさえクレディットを得られ ない状態を言うものである」
Mr. Berner won’t rule that out but sees no signs of it happening. Small business surveys “show credit in May was no harder to get than in 2006.” For most business, credit quality is strong: debt relative to net worth is low and cash flow relative to interest expense is high. Berner氏は、それが起こる可能性を否定するものではないが、現在そう言う事の起こり そうな兆候は見られない、と言う。中小企業への調査から「5月のクレディット供与の 状況は、2006年と何ら変わるところが無い」殆どのビジネスに対してクレディットの 品質は良い。つまりネットでの資産価値に対する負債の比率は低く、金利負担との比較 においてキャッシュフローの比率は高い。
It is certainly true that for low-quality borrowers, fundamentals are deteriorating, and leveraged loan rates, as eight year lows, are bound to rise, he says. But as investors insist that credit spreads reflect the quality of the underlying collateral, that “will promote a healthy reordering of relative values.” 信頼性に欠ける借り手の状況が悪化していることは事実である。またレバレッジド・ロー ンの比率は8年来の低さにあるが、高まる傾向を見せている。しかし投資家が担保の品質 を反映したスプレッドを要求しているので「そのことが、ヘルシーな相対価値の見直しを 促進する」
>>138 このマイケル・ヨンの報告をよんだブロガーのコメント ttp://instapundit.com/archives2/006779.php July 01, 2007 MICHAEL YON POSTS ANOTHER REPORT FROM IRAQ: Warning: The photos, of what Al Qaeda did to a village and its inhabitants, are pretty graphic. It's interesting to contrast his first-hand reporting, with names and photos, with what we're getting from the A.P. posted at 09:04 AM by Glenn Reynolds
Charles Schume上院議員は中国の元通貨が不当に安く操作されているとの主張でも良く 知られる、現行の米中貿易に対する批判者である。
"There are more than a half dozen federal agencies responsible for monitoring, testing, and blocking dangerous or tainted shipments," the Schumer statement said. 「連邦政府には輸入品の安全性に関与する半ダース以上の機関が有り、輸入品の監視、 検査、拒否などに関与している」と上院議員は述べている。
"This maze includes cabinet level departments, independent agencies and administrations within executive agencies, all operating with different regulations, rules and protocols." 「こうした迷路のような管理体制が閣僚のレベルにまで存在する。独立機関や行政府の 関連組織などがあって、それぞれ異なった規制のルールとプロトコルで動いている」
BAGHDAD - Iraqi civilian deaths dropped to their lowest level since the start of the Baghdad security operation, government figures showed Sunday, suggesting signs of progress in tamping down violence in the capital. 日曜日に開示された、イラク政府の統計によれば、6月のイラク民間人の死亡数は 治安回復作戦の始まって以降の最低値隣、5月から36%減少し、バクダッドの治安 回復作戦の進展を示唆する。(後略)
Yon's latest provides a clear picture of the terrorists' savage methods. Literally, because it's mostly photographs of what happened to a village that fell into the claws of al Qaeda. They just tore apart the villagers, their livestock, their children and women, and then boobytrapped the area to try to kill our guys, knowing that they would honor the dead.(後略)
With consumer spending holding up, a weaker dollar propelling U.S. exports and a pickup in production and investment, they expect real gross domestic product -- a broad measure of economic activity, adjusted for inflation -- to grow at an annualized rate of 2.6% in the second half of this year and 2.9% in 2008. WSJの行なった代表的なエコノミストへの調査に拠れば、コンセンサスは個人消費が 景気を支え、今年後半の実質GDP成長は年率換算で2.6%、2008年は2.9%との予想とな っている。この調査で、5人の中の1人が、最大の脅威をインフレと考えている。
資本市場規制を、基本的に改めて「ネガティブリスト」を示し、それに抵触しない全て を自由化するもので、その逆のポジティブリスト規制に比べて画期的である。 The biggest change will be a shift to "negative list" regulation from a "positive list" regime. Under a positive list, only financial products that are approved by regulators can be marketed.
アジアではマレーシアが3月にビッグバン式の金融規制緩和を行ない、インドのムンバイ や日本の東京にも計画がある。タイのバンコクでさえ、そうした動きを無視できないだろ うと書いている。 Reinventing a city as a financial market hub isn't a new idea, especially as competition in Asia intensifies. Malaysia enacted its own little big bang in March, easing capital controls and lifting restrictions on foreign ownership of banks. Mumbai and Tokyo would like to take similar measures. Even governments that aren't keen on globalization -- read Bangkok -- have been forced to keep their markets open to stay competitive.
But such appointments do point to the party’s rising sensitivity about its absolute monopoly on political power. The five-yearly congress, scheduled for late October, will choose the new top leadership, a process that has traditionally taken place out of sight of the public. -------------------------------------------------------------- 政府要職(閣僚級)の人事が、人材の持つ経験や専門知識に無関係に、共産党のご都合 で決められた時代が、少しは変わってきたようにも見えて、ある意味では共産党独裁の 権威が薄れてきた事の証なの鴨(?)ただし、FTの記事は共産党の背景を持たない高 官の権力は限定されるだろう、と書いている。
Not being a party member, Mr Chen will be ineligible to attend the ministry’s party meetings, creating a potentially awkward relationship with other officials. Lacking party status and networks, he will also struggle to impose his own agenda on the ministry.
<SALAD> ロンドン、グラスゴーのテロ事件について、左翼のブロガーが、まともな議論が出来て おらず、否定や矮小化するのみで、現実把握が出来ないようだ、と書いているDr. Sanity のブログから: --------------------------------------------------------------------------- ttp://drsanity.blogspot.com/2007/06/beyond-denial-delusion-salad-days-of.html BEYOND DENIAL & DELUSION---The SALAD Days of the Political Left
Sadly, they suffer from a totally debilitating disorder: Severe Acquired Leftist Anencephalic Dementia (SALAD). Their minds are simply not there any more! The cognitive dissonance of believing so many bizarre and contradictory fantasies; the mental contortions and fits necessary for them to retain their ideological myths has caused their minds to softly and silently vanish away (that's what happens when the snark is a boojum, you see).
1. There is no proof that this was terrorism. With Blair gone, there IS no more terrorism in the UK. This was obviously just someone's car, probably belonging to a nail salesman, who kept a lot of samples in his car. He was on his way to a barbecue, of course, which explains the propane. And he needed the extra gas, too, because - hello! - he was driving a gas-guzzler (instead of a hybrid, which is really mean-spirited). So in effect, this was some right-wing, global warming-enabling carpenter on his way to char little animals for his own gratification.(後略)
また、グラスゴーのテロで犯行車両に乗り込み、拘束された2人のうち、比較的軽傷 だった男はイラク人のビラル・アブドラ容疑者で、スカイテレビによると、バグダッ ドで医師として訓練を受けたという。 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ttp://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article2015306.ece Doctors arrested in terror probe named
Dr Asha is reported to work in the neurology department at the North Staffordshire hospital, in Hartshill, Stoke-on-Trent. He qualified in Jordan in 2004 and is registered to work in this country until 2008, it is thought he holds a Jordainian passport and is of Palestinian origin. ロンドンタイムズに拠れば、逮捕されたヨルダン国籍のDr Ashaは、パレスチナ・オリジン ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ttp://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/6263408.stm Eighth arrest in terror inquiry
<飴の住宅ローンの返済不履行の比率が増えている・・・> WSJのマーケットビート・ブログ ttp://blogs.wsj.com/marketbeat/ Mortgage-default rates keep rising, and not just in the subprime market. According to a new report by FBR Capital Markets, the default rate of subprime loans nearly doubled in April to 11.99% from 6.69% a year ago, while the rate for Alt-A loans jumped to 2.48% from 0.9% a year ago. The default rite on prime loans rose 0.42% from 0.23%. Still, FBR analysts think the worst is over for subprime defaults ― they expect that rate to peak at 13.47% by March 2008.
That said, they don't have to be great, they only have to be lucky from time to time, and they are tenacious. For all their blunders, they seem to have planned a sequence of terror attacks in London and Scotland, and are undoubtedly planning others there and elsewhere. It's highly unlikely they will always fail (nobody's perfect, after all). But smart people don't sign up for suicide missions. It takes a fool.
ベアスターンズガ、失敗したヘッジファンドのひとつを救済したことは、望ましいこと であるのか?と言うFTの評論: ---------------------------------------------------------------- ttp://www.ft.com/cms/s/e0ddb9e6-28b3-11dc-af78-000b5df10621.html Market insight: Fund bail-out reveals dangers of a Bear hug By Francesco Guerrera in New York Published: July 2 2007 16:56
Put simply: by helping its hedge fund, Bear could have changed the future rules of the game. Consider this. Bear, and other banks, treat their hedge funds as arm’s length entities, independent of the parent company. The classification enables financial institutions to keep hedge funds, and their liabilities, off balance sheet, thus avoiding the need for provisioning and other costly regulatory requirements. 投資銀行系列のヘッジファンドは、現在のSECの規制では、ベアスターンズのように 系列へジファンドを独立したものとして扱っている場合は親会社のバランスシートから 外しておくことを許すので、その失敗に伴う負担を、バランスシートには影響しないも のにでき、それが規制を弱めているところがある。
And I do sympathise with creditors asking for a parent company’s help in sorting out a financial mess. But neither party can have it both ways: if the funds are independent they should be left to fail. If they are not, Bear and the creditors should shoulder higher regulatory and financial burdens.
Japan's embattled defense minister resigned Tuesday over his comments suggesting the 1945 atomic bombings Hiroshima and Nagasaki were inevitable.
Fumio Kyuma had come under intense criticism from survivors of the bombings, opposition lawmakers and fellow members of the Cabinet following the comments over the weekend. "I told Prime Minister (Shinzo) Abe, 'I'm sorry but I must take responsibility and resign.' The prime minister said, 'That's very unfortunate ... but I accept your decision,"' Kyuma told reporters.(ry
"I think the damage is pretty substantial. It's better for Abe that Kyuma resigns than not, but it's a bad story for Abe," said Gerry Curtis, a Columbia University political science professor. "I still wouldn't predict the results of the election. If the voting rate is low, Abe can survive. But now there is a real chance he won't survive," Curtis said.
Minoru Morita, a political analyst, said the prime minister had tried to rule by consensus, but had been the victim of competing forces within his own faction-riddled party.
Today, after British Crown Prosecutors finished wrapping up their lengthy case against three defendants from London accused of using the Internet to facilitate acts of terrorism in Europe, North America, and the Middle East, two of those defendants -- Younis Tsouli (a.k.a. "Terrorist 007") and Wasim Mughal -- suddenly reversed their legal course and pled guilty to charges of inciting the commission of an overseas act of terrorism, specifically murder. インターネットを用いた欧州、北アメリカ、中東でのテロ行動に対して、今日英国の 刑事裁判所は長い審理を終えて、二人の被告、Younis Tsouli(テロリスト007として 知られる)とWasim Mughalを有罪とした。
For those who have forgotten, Tsouli is the unassuming son of a low-level Moroccan diplomat who won a notorious reputation for himself as arguably the "godfather" of Al-Qaida activity on the Internet. Using only his computer and a web connection, Younis Tsouliを知らない人のために説明すると、彼はモロッコの下級外交官の息子で インターネットの中のアルカイダの活動のゴッドファーザーといわれる。彼はPCだけ を使ってWebを利用してアルカイダの活動に参加してきた。
Tsouli established himself as a webmaster and key propagandist for Al-Qaida's network in Iraq--even serving as a communications "operator" to secretly connect homegrown would-be suicide bombers arriving in Syria with official jihadi recruiters working for Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. Younis TsouliはWebマスターで、アルカイダのイラクにおけるネットワーク上の鍵と なるプロパガンディストであり、ザルカウィの為にジハーディストをリクルートする組 織と、ジハーディスト志願者を秘密裏に結びつけるオペレーターとして行動してきた。
At the time of his arrest in October 2005, Tsouli's computer contained original digital video recordings of what appeared to be vetting missions eyeing potential terrorist targets in Washington D.C. Allegedly, the videos were filmed by a pair of Tsouli's online associates living in Atlanta, Georgia, and copies of those same terror reconnaissance videos have subsequently surfaced in multiple locations searched by authorities across the United Kingdom. Tsouli is expected to receive his sentence back in court later this week on Thursday or Friday. 彼が2005年10月に逮捕されたときには、彼のPCにはワシントン・DCのテロ目標を 撮影したと思われるディジタルビデオがあり、それは彼の協力者であるジョージア州 アトランタのオンラインの彼の助手によって撮影された。これらのテロ用の偵察ビデ オは英国警察の調査で英国内各所にコピーが渡っていた。彼への刑の言い渡しは今週 木曜日か金曜日になるみこみ。 (筆者は本件で、スコットランドヤードとコンサルタントとして働く契約をして1年間 作業を行なってきた。筆者は被告人のテロ行動の証拠となるオンライン資料を収集し 裁判で証言している)
The Federation of European Securities Exchanges, the European Association of Central Counterparty Clearing Houses and the European Central Securities Depositories Association submitted the guidelines.
Although the debate over the use of nuclear arms is not the taboo it once was, Japan’s self-image as a special victim of World War II remains deeply rooted, even as revisionist politicians like Mr. Abe have tried to minimize Japan’s militarist past.
ttp://aei.org/publications/pubID.26441,filter.all/pub_detail.asp Pyongyang Pussyfooting By John R. Bolton Posted: Tuesday, July 3, 2007 ---------------------------------------------------------------- これ↑は、ジョン・ボルトン前国連大使の書いている北朝鮮評論でWSJの オピニオン欄に寄稿されたもの。このAEIのサイトは購読契約なしに読め るので、こちらのURLを掲げる。
The Bush administration has effectively ended where North Korea policy is concerned, replaced for the next 18 months by a caretaker government of bureaucrats, technocrats and academics. So complete was the transformation that putative Shadow Secretary of State Richard Holbrooke facilitated a number of Mr. Hill's bilateral contacts with Pyongyang. Kim Jong Il will now, in all likelihood, further his slow roll, waiting for America's 2008 elections, when the Clinton era may return de jure as well as de facto.
General Motors 320,668(21%) (6.8%) Ford Motor 247,599(8.1%) (11%) Toyota Motor 245,73910% 8.9% Chrysler Group 183,347(1.4%) (1.5%) Honda Motor 140,93512% 3.5%
サルモネラ汚染について ttp://www.robscape.com/pressrelease7307.pdf Our preliminary independent test results have indicated that it is the veggie seasoning that is the likely cause. Sources of origin on all components of the seasoning have been determined to be primarily from China. 我が社の初期の調査によれば、汚染の原因は調味料である可能性が大変高いと判明し ました。この調味料の原材料は全て中国からの輸入品であることがわかりました。 (後略)
ムーディーズは「公共投資の削減など財政再建策の取り組みが、一般会計赤字の継続 的な縮小とプライマリーバランス(基礎的財政収支)の黒字化につながる可能性があ る」と指摘。21段階で6番目の水準にある日本国債の格上げを検討するとした。(13:43) --------------------------------------------------------------------------- ttp://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aobGyneuP_sQ&refer=home Japan's Debt Rating May Be Raised From A2 By Moody's (Update3)
``Moody's evaluated Japan's steady economic growth and continuous efforts to decrease its debt,'' said Hiromichi Shirakawa, a former Bank of Japan official who's now chief economist at Credit Suisse Group in Tokyo. ``Still, Japan has a long way to go to emerge from the red and economic growth is too slow to repay the debt without a tax increase.''
``Sustained improvement, albeit gradual, in Japan's macroeconomic performance has helped support Japan's fiscal consolidation,'' Moody's Senior Vice President Thomas Byrne said in a statement today. He said the government may be able to balance its budget by 2011 or sooner.
Moody's reduced Japan's debt rating from its highest Aaa rank in November 1998, the year the country was struck by a bout of deflation. It followed with three additional reductions, most recently to A2 in May 2002.
Tokyo wants Washington to refuse to remove Pyongyang from the U.S. list of terror-sponsoring states until it ponies up more information on the abductees. 日本政府はアメリカ政府が北朝鮮をテロ支援国家のリストから除外することに反対し ている。
South Korea, which has hundreds of missing citizens, has been silent.
North Korea is months overdue in fulfilling the first tranche of the promises it made in February, and letting the inspectors into Yongbyon is only a first step. 韓国は数百人の拉致被害者がいるのだが、沈黙を守っている。北朝鮮は2・13合意の 最初の約束した行動を何ヶ月も遅らせ、今ようやくIAEA検査官をヨンビョンに入 れたばかりだ。 Meanwhile, it's good that North Korea's continuing human-rights abuses are not being overlooked. そういう状況であるから、北朝鮮の人権侵害の問題を見落とさないようにしたほうが 良いのだ。
アメリカは、かって一度、その生得の多民族コミニティとしての弱さと不安定さを超越 することが出来た。ジョージワシントンの言う「アメリカは、全ての迫害された民族や 宗教を持つ人々に、胸を開いた」。ウッドロー・ウイルソンはそれをアメリカの偉大な メルティングポットとよび、それが社会のプロトタイプになった。それは、E pluribus unum: one out of many.(多くの人々からひとつのものが生まれる)
Chrysler Group will introduce a Chinese-made small car in the U.S. next year that retails for about half the price of its cheapest model, as it seeks to win back market share from Toyota Motor Corp. and Honda Motor Co. クライスラーは来年、中国製の小型車をアメリカ市場で発売し、現行の最安値モデル の半分の値段で販売する。同社はトヨタ、ホンダなどからのシェア奪回を狙っている。
The carmaker will begin selling Chery Automobile Co.'s A1 hatchback in the first quarter of 2008, Chery President Yin Tongyao said in Beijing today. The 1.3-liter A1 costs from 53,800 yuan ($7,100) in China. Chrysler's least expensive U.S. model is the $13,850 Dodge Caliber, according to Edmunds.com. Yin didn't say how much the A1 would cost in the U.S. クライスラーは提携した中国のチェリー自動車のA1ハッチバックを2008年Q1に販売 開始する。1.3リットルのA1は58000元($7100)で中国で売られており、クライスラー の米国での最も安い$13850のDodge Caliberより遥かに安い。
Thus, Livingstone works his way into a logical impasse: Do we dislike them because they want to kill us, or do they want to kill us because we dislike them? He implies that the main blame must lie with the British government and its U.S. allies, especially President Bush, who has declared war on terror rather than seeking to cuddle it. リビングストンの論理では、英国国民がイスラムを嫌悪しているのは、彼らが英国人を殺 そうとしているからなのか、それとも、英国国民がイスラム嫌悪なので彼らが英国人を殺 そうとしてるのか?リビングストンは非難の中心が英国政府、米国政府にあるべきとして いるわけだが、特にブッシュ大統領がその対象なのだ。
But can one accuse Britain of "Islamophobia"? The answer is an emphatic no. でも英国国民をイスラム嫌悪症であるとして、非難できるものなのか?トンでもない。
Livingstone also said he believed that the ``vast majority'' of people involved in U.K. attacks have been arrested. He sought to downplay the attacks, saying they involve a small number of criminals. ``This is a small group of mostly young people, disaffected and disillusioned, who are able to claim lives,'' Livingstone said. ``We shouldn't work ourselves up to a hysterical panic. It would be mad to build this up and make people worried.''
#個人的には、この社説の中に・・Health Minister publicly called women "birth # machines," creating a huge public outcry とか書いていて、国内メディアの報道 #をそのまま信じているようなので、いささかがっかりした。でも、外国人は英語メディ #アに頼る限り、そのあたりが限界で、容易にメディアのプロパガンダに乗せられるよう #に思える。
テキサス大学のアンダーソン癌治療センターのJack A. Rothによれば、この種の遺伝 子治療による癌の治療はFDAでこの7年間審査中である。薬品の使用許可が下りるか どうかは予想しがたく、審査は時間のかかるフラストレーティングなものだという。
ニューヨークのマウントシナイ医療研究所のSavio Wooは中国の深センにSiBionoを訪 問し研究者と会ってきた。彼は同社の作業を"looks spic and span; on paper it looks fine."(紙の上では良さげに見えるが、台所洗剤のようなもの)という。彼は同社が 治療データを公開していないことを気にしている。「誰も中国で、治療がどういう風 に行なわれているか、良くわかっていない」「彼等は品質管理をやっているのだろう か?」(後略)
据晏家镇(亦称街道办事处)民众昨天对本报表示,政府为兴建两个大型工业园区, 近年来已徵光土地,而补偿又少,令他们现在生活很困难。(後略) --------------------------------------------------------------------- これは中学生がクラスメートに刺殺された事件の処理をめぐって警察と学生ら住民が 対立しているというもの。事件の詳細は報道されていないので良くわからず、住民数 千人の抗議行動が続いているニュースだけが流れている。 ttp://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/PEK362934.htm Mass protest, police clash reported in Chinese city (ロイター)
(大都市中心部のオフィス賃貸料、Q2、2007年の値上がり率) ニューヨーク=7.8%、サングランシスコ=6.3%、シアトル=6.3%、サンノゼ=5.4% フェアフィールド=3.9%、ロサンゼルス=3.8%、タコマ=3.7%、ボストン=2.9% --------------------------------------------------------------------- ttp://online.wsj.com/article/SB118358467443957330.html?mod=home_whats_news_us Number of Unsold Homes Increases Listings Rise 2.5% In 18 Metro Areas; Pending Sales Fall By JAMES R. HAGERTY July 5, 2007; Page B8
WSJ:18の大都市で、販売用住宅の在庫が2.5%増加
18大都市の販売用住宅在庫は増加を続け、6月は2.5%在庫が増加した。(後略) --------------------------------------------------------------------- #良くワカランけど、住宅用の不動産市場はスランプで、商業不動産そうではないとい #うことなのかすらん?商業用不動産の家賃高騰は一般には景気の悪くなるシグナルで #はないはずなのだけれど。WSJも、この現象に The red-hot commercial sector offers a sharp contrast with the housing market(ry
Jitters in global credit markets may have captured the headlines of late, but other news suggests that the US economy remains resilient. グローバルなクレディット市場の、神経質になりそうな問題がニュースのヘッドライン を飾っているものの、それ以外の(経済統計などの)ニュースをみれば、アメリカ経済 は回復力に富む事がわかる。 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- FTは、最近の住宅市場のスランプやCDOやヘッジファンドの失敗が脚光を浴びすぎ またQ1のGDPが統計的なブレで酷い値になっているので悲観的な見方が出ているけ れど、そういう観測は誤りで、穏やかな回復が続くという。
Gross domestic product will likely bounce back in the second quarter after an unusual lull in the first. This is partly an illusion created by fickle data. First-quarter GDP data shows an inventory correction combined with a surprise decline in both government spending and net exports over the New Year period. Second-quarter data will likely reverse these unexpected jumps. Taking the average over six months would suggest an annualised growth rate of perhaps two per cent. FTの見方はアメリカ経済は年率2%程度のGDP成長で、高い成長ではないけれど不 景気とか、クラッシュではない、というもの。
It would be surprising to find a crash in the near future – or, sadly, a dramatic, sustained acceleration.
What happens when you, er, boil that statement down? “It is recommended that in the meantime, water intended for drinking should be boiled,” according to China Daily. Cheers!
China's main stock index closed down more than 5 percent on Thursday, hit by a rising number of new share issues and the government's plan to issue 1.55 trillion yuan ($200 billion) in special treasury bonds. 中国の主要な株式が木曜日に5%以上下落、1.55兆元に上る巨額の債券発行やIPO の(巨額の新株発行の)影響を受けている。
The Shanghai Composite Index ended down a provisional 5.25 percent at 3,615.872 points, continuing a steady decline over the past two weeks which analysts said heralded a medium-term correction. "With huge stock and bond supplies pouring into the market, the liquidity-driven bull run seen last year and earlier this year is over," said analyst Cao Xuefeng at West China Securities. 上海総合指数は5,25%下落の3615.872で、過去2週間の下落傾向を続けている。アナリ ストのCao Xuefengは「巨額の債権や新株発行で、流動性過剰から起こった強気相場が 終わった」という。
Analysts also said the lack of apparent support from state-controlled institutional investors for blue-chip shares, often viewed as an indication for government policy intentions, was undermining confidence. アナリストは、政府の明らかな価格支持の動きのなさ、つまり国営の機関投資家からの ブルーチップ株式への買いの無さを見て、それはしばしば政府の政策意図を示すもので あることから、市場への信頼が低下している、と述べている。 Chinese Shares Fall Sharply, Bucking Regional Upward Trend 7、5
<WSJのブログ、マーケット・ビートから、上海株式市場> ttp://blogs.wsj.com/marketbeat/ July 5, 2007, 3:16 pm Blog Roll: Big Trouble Brewing in China? Posted by Mark Gongloff MktBt:中国が大トラブルなのか?
Writing at 24/7 Wall Street, Doug McIntyre points out that the Shanghai Composite has tumbled 15% since its intraday peak in June. The consensus explanation of the decline is that a glut of IPOs is driving prices lower by flooding the market with stock, Mr. McIntyre says, but he wonders if China’s rampant quality-control headaches (in exported toys, food and other products) isn’t playing a role, along with the country’s massive pollution problem. 上海株式市場が6月の高値から15%下落している。アナリストのコンセンサスはIPOで 市場に投入される新規株式が増加することが下落の原因だと言う。しかしDoug McIntyre は、中国の輸出商品の問題の多さ(有毒の玩具とか、有毒食品とか)は問題になっておら ず、中国の酷い環境汚染も問題になっていないのは不思議だという。
“Taken separately, the issues with product quality, falling stock markets, and acute health problems may not represent substantial cracks in the country’s economic future,” he writes. “But, taken as a whole, they may well spell the onset of a troubled period.”
Helen Thomas of the Financial Times’s Alphaville blog offers a visual aid to Mr. McIntyre’s post ― unlike other tumbles in Shanghai’s bloated market this year, this one really looks like it could be the start of a roller-coaster ride down. “What we now have is a visible downwards tick in [the] index’s rocket-fueled run over the long term,” she writes. 「これらの事項を考えてみると、輸出製品の品質に問題が多く、株式市場が下落して、 環境汚染が進行していても中国の経済的な将来には影響は無い」と彼は書いている。 「しかし、全体として眺めると、これは中国のトラブルの時代の始まりなのだ。ピリ オド」FTアルファビレのブログにHelen Thomasが書いていて、上海株式市場の下落 は、ローラーコースターの時期の始まりかもしれないという。「我々に解ることは、 長きに渡った、上海株式市場のロケット推進の株価が、下向きになったという事であ る」と書いている。
It’s the moment we’ve been waiting for! No, not the fact that the volatile Shanghai Composite had another of its little episodes, finishing down 5 per cent overnight. What we now have is a visible downwards tick in index’s rocket-fuelled run over the long term. The trouble with previous “corrections” in the Chinese market have been that over the longer term they have been, well, invisible. 我々が来るだろうと予想していた時期が来たのかもしれない。上海総合株式市場の ボラタリティは高いから5%下落したからといって大きな話題ではないのだが、我々 が今や確認できることは株式インデックスの、長きに渡ったロケット推進の動きが 下向きに変わったという事である。以前の中国の株式市場の修正といったものは、 長期的に見たときには、殆ど観察できない。
<WSJのブレーキングニュース BREAKING NEWS:> Microsoft will take a charge of as much as $1.15 billion to extend Xbox 360 warranties, citing an "unacceptable" number of hardware failures. Full article coming soon. マイクロソフトはXbox 360のハードウエアに問題があるために、$1.15B(1400億円) までの対応費用が発生し得るという。
Arroyo called on China to invest more in the Philippines, especially in agriculture, fisheries, and infrastructure. . . . She also emphasized China's important strategic role in economic development and security in the Pacific Rim. ・・・ While the United States remains Southeast Asia's most important military actor, its power and influence are being gradually eroded by China's soft-power diplomacy and hard-power buildup. Unless the United States develops a comprehensive strategy that includes economic and diplomatic resources in addition to military capabilities, its strategic and diplomatic preeminence risks being outflanked by China's diplomatic gambit.
Download Phone Activation Server v1.0 to activate your iPhone for iPod+WiFi use. Note that this application will not do anything unless you understand the magic numbers as well as add the hosts entry. Phone Activation Server (PAS) requires that you have the MS .NET Framework 2.0 installed.
>>262 オリジナルのCRS報告書は ttp://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/weapons/RS22684.pdf Potential F-22 Raptor Export to Japan Christopher Bolkcom and Emma Chanlett-Avery Foreign Affairs, Defense, and Trade Division Order Code RS22684 Updated July 2, 2007 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Regional Security. China and South Korea have voiced concern about Japan’s intention to upgrade its military capabilities, largely grounded in suspicions that Japan will inch toward returning to its pre-1945 militarism. 毎日の記事は、あまり書いていないのだけれど、中国と韓国が日本のラプター取得に 神経を尖らせていると述べている。
Some analysts caution that selling the F-22s to Japan could destabilize the region by angering Seoul and Beijing, possibly even sparking an arms race, and contribute to an image of Japan becoming America’s proxy in the region. The sale could complicate the U.S. effort to manage the relationship with China. South Korea has already registered its unease at Japan acquiring F-22s, and suggested that it may seek a deal to purchase the aircraft in order to match Japan’s capabilities.10 The U.S.-South Korean alliance has been strained in the past several years due to diverging approaches to dealing with North Korea, and some South Koreans see improved U.S. defense ties with Japan as coming at their expense. 韓国の、日の丸ラプター反対については↑のようにかなり具体的な記述が。韓国が日本 と同じものを要求するだろうと書いている。
日本の武器輸出三原則がF-35開発参加を不可能にしたことについて: Japan’s aversion to military export led to Tokyo’s decision not to participate in the international consortium to codevelop the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter.
更に、国内にある憲法解釈からの「攻撃的軍備」への否定的な意見について: ・・under the current interpretation of the Japanese constitution, the SDF is only allowed to possess defensive capability. Military aircraft are almost inherently flexible weapon systems and can be difficult to classify as “offensive” or “defensive.”
毎日の記事の言っている機密漏洩の問題を述べている部分は: The recently reported leak of secret data associated with the Aegis weapon system by Japanese military personnel is an example of this potential danger.9 Japan is a military ally, but also an economic rival. Many of the F-22 technologies or industrial processes could have commercial application. Some may be concerned that F-22 technology or knowledge could find their way into a myriad of Japanese products, to the competitive detriment of U.S. industry. A second proliferation issue relates to the effect a potential F-22 sale could have on other countries.
After seeing the largest plunge in comparative terms in a month yesterday, Chinese stocks made a U-turn and achieved the biggest growth for a month today. The Shanghai Composite Index closed at 3,781.35, up 165.48 points or 4.58 percent.
女性は身柄拘束の翌日に1000リンギ(約3万6000円)の保釈金を支払って釈放 されたが、「警察官にこの服が露出過多だと言われたときは驚いた」とコメント。さら に、「昼間でもこれに似たような服装で外出することもある。これが挑発的?私はそう は思わない」と続けた。(後略) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- どの程度の、露出的ファッションなのか?といえば(写真アリ) ttp://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/NST/Friday/National/20070706083549/Article/index_html Is this too revealing? By : Shahrul Hafeez
Gillian Tett によれば: Numbers are scarce but Citigroup has combed its records of CDO sales to collate a global pattern. The bank’s data suggests that its hedge fund clients hold about 50 per cent of their CDO exposure in equity tranches. But, asset managers who are not classic hedge funds have more than 40 per cent of their CDO exposure in equity tranches too. CDOの保有についてのデータが少ないのだが、シティグループは担保CDOの販売 について調査して、そのデータに拠ればヘッジ・ファンドがCDOの50%を持っている。 しかし、それ以外のファンドマネージャーがCDOの40%を持っていて、それらはクラ シックな意味でのヘッジ・ファンドには属さない人たちである。
Indeed, these asset managers hold less than 20 per cent of their CDO exposure in the form of AAA-rated, senior tranches. And ― most striking of all ― that proportion of senior debt is actually lower than at hedge funds, insurance companies or banks. (Banks have a whopping 60 per cent of their CDO exposure in senior tranches, although this pattern varies sharply across regions.) それらのファンドマネージャーの20%以下がAAAの格付けでCDOを上位債権として持って いる。この上位債務のプロポーションは、ヘッジファンドや保険会社や銀行より低い。
Measured in terms of the overall “equity tranche” pie, the asset management component is still pretty small (because their overall CDO holdings remain modest), says Tett. But if even a small proportion of money comes from the pension world it implies that losses in CDOs would hit more than just the hedge funds ― or banks. 一般的ファンドマネージャーの持つCDOの全資産に対する比率は小さいが、それでも 年金ファンドなどのような巨額ファンドがそれに手を出しているとすれば、資産比率 では小さくても、損失金額はヘッジファンドや銀行のそれよりも大きくなるかもしれ ない。(後略)
Investment banks are demanding more capital to back loans to hedge funds investing in US subprime mortgage-linked debt, as they try to head off a repeat of the near-collapse of two Bear Stearns hedge funds earlier this month, reports the FT. 投資銀行がヘッジ・ファンドに対して、モーゲージ関連の債権に投資している部分の ローンについて、より多く資本(証拠金)積み増しを求めている。
Jonathan Laredo, partner at London-based credit specialist Solent Capital, told the FT there were unlikely to be other big funds brought down by the margin hikes as the two Bear funds were the biggest in the area. “This increase in margining is happening, but you have to put it into context,” he said. ロンドンに基盤を置くクレディット専門のSolent CapitalのパートナーであるJonathan LaredoがFTに語ったところでは、ベア・スターンズの二つのヘッジファンド以外には 破綻に陥る大きなヘッジファンドは無いだろうという。「証拠金積み増しが起こってい るわけだが、コンテキストの中で見ないといけない」という。
某NYCのデリバティブ専門家のヘッジファンド・マネージャーは、シングルAやAAの 格付けのCDOの証拠金は5%−10%増加したという。シティグループのアナリストの、 Matt Kingの推定によれば、BBB格付けのCDOの証拠金が10-20%から50%に引き上げ られただろうという。格付けの高い債権の証拠金比率の増加は、より少ないという。
Toyota Motor Corp., the world's biggest automaker by market value, plans to increase its capacity in India 10 fold to 600,000 units by 2015. The local unit, Toyota Kirloskar Motor Pvt., produces the Corolla sedan and Innova multipurpose vehicle at a factory near Bangalore in southern India. The company imports the Camry sedan and Land Cruiser Prado sport-utility vehicle.
Annual car sales in India may triple to 3 million by 2015, according to the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers. The local automobile industry seeks to reach a size of $145 billion by 2016 from $34 billion, according to India's Automotive Mission Plan for 2006-16 issued in September by the vehicle manufacturers.
"The economy seems poised to return to its full potential," said Carl Tannenbaum, chief economist at LaSalle Bank. "Employers are seeking opportunities to add to their talent pools. The demand for labor is being driven by very solid demand for goods and services."
Analysts believe the economy rebounded in the April-to-June quarter, expanding at a pace anywhere from 2.3 percent - to more than 3 percent. The government's estimate of second-quarter economic activity will be released later this month. エコノミストはこの統計から見て4-6月のQ2のGDP成長が2.3%-3%のペースであろう と予想している。Q2のGDPは今月末に公表される。
“Continued strength in the job market reminds everyone that inflationary pressures still remain and the Fed’s focus on inflation is warranted, Esays Sean P. Simko, senior portfolio manager at SEI Fixed Income Management.
1. Lawrence Abele, Auriel Capital Management, 40 2. Jennifer Coffey, HRJ Capital, 36 3. Uwe Eberle, Man Investments, 42 4. David Fiszel, Rhombus Capital Management, 34 5. Elizabeth R Flisser, Capital Z Investment Partners, 33 6. Ravi Gopalakrishnan, Hudson Fairfax Group, 40 7. Alissa Grad, DB Zwirn, 28 8. Anne Dias Griffin, Aragon Global Management, 36 (They rise above mentioning her famous husband - yes, that Griffin) 9. Andrew A F Hack, Carlyle-Blue Wave Partners, 33 10. Eric Hage, Mohican Financial Management, 42 11. James J Higgins, Sorin Capital Management, 39 12. Moe Ibrahim, The Asian Debt Fund, 32 13. Steve Keeling, KI Asset Management, 38 14. J Alan Lenahan, Fund Evaluation Group, 32 15. Kevin McCarthy, Carlson Capital, 42 16. Keith Pagan, GEM Capital, 40 17. Thomas C Priore, Institutional Credit Partners, 37 18. Stephen Roseman, Thesis Capital Management, 36 19. Steven A Tananbaum, GoldenTree Asset Management, 42 20. Whitney Tilson, T2 Partners, 40
As with the Battle for Mosul, which I held in near monopoly for about five months during 2005, the most interesting parts of the Battle for Baqubah are unfolding after the major fighting ends. But as the guns cool, the media stops raining and starts evaporating, or begins making only short visits of a week or so. バクバ作戦の最も興味深いことは、戦闘が終わった後の話なのだが、戦闘が終わると、 普通のメディアのレポーターは引き上げてしまう。
The big news on the streets today is that the people of Baqubah are generally ecstatic, although many hold in reserve a serious concern that we will abandon them again. 今日のバクバの街中のニュースは、戦闘が終わって大喜びの人々が通りに繰り出してい ることで、彼らの心配はアメリカ軍が再びバクバを見捨てる(またもとのアルカイダ支配 地域に戻る)のではないかと言う事だ。
モルガンスタンレーのグローバル経済フォーラムに、通貨ストラテジストとして著名な ステファン・ジョンが以下のような興味深い評論を載せている。 -------------------------------------------------------------------- ttp://www.morganstanley.com/views/gef/index.html Why Japan Should Have Its Own Sovereign Wealth Fund July 06, 2007 By Stephen Jen | London
MSGEF:何故日本国は、国営ファンド(SWF)を持つべきであるのかについて
But with (1) the mounting burden of higher taxes, (2) the good performance of the SWFs of other countries, and (3) a greater tolerance for investment risk by the general public, I believe that Japan will eventually have one of the largest SWFs in the world. How much official reserves does Japan need? 国営投資ファンド(SWF)は、上手くゆけば国民の税負担を軽減でき、ほかの国でも 良い運用成績を上げている例があり、国民の投資リスク許容度を高める働きがある。私 は、いずれ日本は、最大級の国営投資ファンドをもつ事になると思う。
・How much official reserves does Japan need? 日本の外貨準備高は多すぎるのではないか? ・Good reasons to enhance Japan’s investment returns 以下のように日本のSWFは良い結果をもたらす理由がある。 ・・• Reason 1. Japan’s fiscal position remains weak. 第一の理由:日本の財政収支は相変わらず弱いままだ。日本の消費税は全部で $80Bくらいだが、$911Bの外貨準備のリターンを2%改善すれば消費税の1% の値上げと同じ財政収入が得られる。消費税値上げより経済的に意味が大きい。
・・• Reason 2. Offsetting the valuation loss from prospective JPY appreciation. 第二の理由:私は円はいずれ対ドルで高くなると信じるが、それが起こると日本国 の持つドル建て財務省債券の円建て価値が低下する。巨額の外貨準備資産の資産管 理の上で、円高によるロスをオフセットする資産運用が必要である。
・・• Reason 3. Japan’s aging population will exert more pressure on the budget. 第三の理由:日本の少子高齢化に対応した日本国の資産運用が必要である。
・・• Reason 4. Running a SWF is the responsible thing to do for the ultimate stakeholder ― the general public. 国営投資ファンドの運営は国の資産を賢く管理するので、主権者=国民の為である。 それは日本国民の資産管理が、よりリスク許容的(海外資産や株式志向)になること も助ける。
Bottom line I believe that Japan should form its own SWF. Of the total reserve holdings of US$911 billion, Japan may only ‘need’ US$225 billion for liquidity purposes. Structural pressures on the budget, particularly in light of the demographic trend, do not permit Japan the luxury to not maximise its investment returns today. Japan could have its SWF within the next 2-3 years. 日本の外貨準備の$911Bから見て、日本国は$225B(27兆円)を残せば充分で、残りを 国営投資ファンドを運用するだけで少子高齢化に対応する財政収入を得ることが出来るだ ろう。日本は来る数年以内に、そう言う事を実現できるはずである。
------------------------------------------------------------- WSJのマーケーット・ビート・ブログに拠れば July 6, 2007, 2:33 pm
Bond-Market Fireworks Posted by Joanna Ossinger
The 10-year Treasury note has made quite a splash in an otherwise quiet week. Its yield touched lows just under 5% on Tuesday, but has climbed quickly since, touching 5.2% this morning. A big reason for the shift is simply the strength in economic data this week ― in particular, the Institute for Supply Management’s index of service sector activity Thursday and the payrolls report this morning. 10年国債のイールドがジャンプして、木曜日に5%だったのが、今朝は5.2%に急騰した。 この理由は、強い経済データの為だが、特にサービス・セクターのISMと雇用統計がそ の理由である。
これもモルガンスタンレーのグローバル経済フォーラムに掲載されているもので ロバート・アラン・フェルドマンの安倍政権の経済政策論 --------------------------------------------------------------------- ttp://www.morganstanley.com/views/gef/index.html Mr. Abe’s Choice ― Faster Reform, or Much Faster Reform July 06, 2007 By Robert Alan Freedman | Tokyo
・Fuzzy logic in the political debate ・Mechanics of an Upper House election ・Two models ・Aggregate results ・What the results mean for economic reform
The implications depend on two factors. (a) First is the ‘Kobayakawa Factor’ ― the incentive for the right-wing inside the DPJ to bolt, form its own party, and join the coalition. (At the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600, a small force led by Hideaki Kobayakawa had pre-arranged to defect to the side of the Tokugawa forces during the course of the battle. After much dithering, Kobayakawa eventually kept his promise, and decisively turned the battle.) (b) The second is the ‘Macbeth Factor’. The worse the outcome for the LDP, the stronger is the likelihood of an anti-reform Macbeth toppling PM Abe. When such a possibility grows, there is an incentive for PM Abe to ‘go for broke’ by pushing economic reforms aggressively.
Interestingly, the combination that gives the strongest push for economic reform occurs when the coalition is just below a majority. The Kobayakawa factor is strongest when the bargaining position of a small rebel group is greatest, at a coalition seat total of about 117 seats. The Macbeth factor leads to a go-for -broke strategy if PM Abe is sandwiched between the anti-reform Macbeths and the pro-reform voters. In fact, he has little choice, because appeasing the anti -reformers would destroy any hope of the LDP winning the next general election.
Thus, even if the coalition does retain its majority in the Upper House, the Abe government will be scared about the next Lower House election. This fear will likely tilt toward more aggressive economic reforms. If the LDP has a slim loss of majority, there will be a double incentive for more aggressive reform, from both the Kobayakawa Factor and the Macbeth Factor.
> But with (1) the mounting burden of higher taxes, (2) the good performance of the > SWFs of other countries, and (3) a greater tolerance for investment risk by the > general public, I believe that Japan will eventually have one of the largest SWFs > in the world. How much official reserves does Japan need? > 国営投資ファンド(SWF)は、上手くゆけば国民の税負担を軽減でき、ほかの国でも > 良い運用成績を上げている例があり、国民の投資リスク許容度を高める働きがある。私 > は、いずれ日本は、最大級の国営投資ファンドをもつ事になると思う。
With such views, Mr. Chalabi quickly added parts of the Bush administration to his enemies on the antiwar left. Relations became so strained during the Bremer-era that on May 20, 2004, U.S. soldiers raided his offices in Baghdad. He was also accused of leaking intelligence to Iranian operatives inside Iraq to the effect that the U.S. had broken their communication codes. From Mr. Chalabi's side the accusation meets with a ready dismissal: "It's strange that the Iranians then used the same code to inform Tehran of the fact."
Most interesting perhaps are Mr. Chalabi's views on Iran, which differ substantially from the alarm expressed by many of his current and former American backers. "The influence of Iran on Iraq is inevitable," he says. "It's been there for centuries. They supported the anti-Saddam resistance for years. They were the first to accept trade agreements, transit rights, electricity linkups and the like with the new Iraqi government. Some 90% of Iraq's population lives within 100 miles of Iran. We have an enormous land border in common and it's the only country that ships goods to us unhindered." "I understand the U.S. has worries about Iranian power so here's a solution," he continues. "Let us quantify and monitor the amount of Iranian influence: Let's make an agreement on how much trade, how much electricity, how many trucks and so on can come through. Iraq needs as many friends as possible and nobody wants to be dependent on one source of help. Everything can be worked out. We will have to in the end anyway. What choice is there?"
税関に拠れば、にせの携帯電話の電池、主に内陸から来て、質はわりに劣って、売価は 本物のブランドの4分の1つです。同じく高い部分の電池のシミュレーション度があって、 しかもまぎれこんで本物のブランドの携帯電話の電池の中で売って、値段はただまっす ぐな商品の略平だけに比べて。税関は市民に注意して、偽物は安全に保障がありません。 Hong Kong Commercial Broadcasting Co. Ltd.
“Credit markets seem to be disregarding strength in other risky asset classes at the moment, in particular stock markets which are back close to their year-to-date highs,” said Daniel Lamy, credit strategist at JPMorgan. JPモルガンのクレディット・ストラテジスト、Daniel Lamyは「クレディット市場 (の問題)は今のところ他のリスキーな資産クラスでは、特に株式市場の強さなどか らみて、無視されているようにみえる。株式市場は年初来高値に近いレベルにある」
UNDPのスポークスマンは記者会見でUNDPの解雇した元スタッフで北朝鮮オペ レーションに関わっていたArtjon Shkurtajの非難を否定し「証拠が無い」などとして いる。 "If there is evidence of retaliation, we would like to see it," Morrison said. (後略) --------------------------------------------------------------------------- このスキャンダルは、UNDPとそのNo2のAd Melkert、それを応援する欧州リベ ラル、欧州メディアに対する、アメリカ保守派の上院議員、WSJなど保守メディア の対決するメディアのミニ戦争のようになってきている;
The letter announces that the auditors, at the urging of U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon, will make a second attempt to probe the depths of the UNDP’s operations in North Korea, which were suspended in February after the Kim regime refused to accept a variety of new restrictions sparked by the U.S. accusations. When the new auditing effort will begin is not specified. ---------------------------------------------------------------- ttp://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/6279998.stm UN denies firing 'whistleblower'
BBC:UNDPは北朝鮮スキャンダルの告発者を解雇したとの指摘を否定
A UN agency has denied firing an employee after the man questioned alleged financial irregularities at its North Korean operations. ---------------------------------------------------------------- 国連人権評議会だのUNDPだの、如何に国連組織と、そのなかの人が腐っている かが良くわかるわけで・・
・・・Yang Jong-sung, a senior curator at the National Folklore Museum of Korea. “Korean shamanism is very, very materialistic and this-worldly, as Koreans tend to be,” the curator said. “I don’t think a Christian pastor can succeed here if he only talks about heaven and does not hint at health and material prosperity.”
まあこれは、あまり信頼できない情報なので、そういうものとして聞き置く類ではある のだけれど、中東情報のMEMRIに物騒な話が書いてあって、一部の飴のブログの話 題に・・・ ----------------------------------------------------------------------- ttp://memri.org/bin/latestnews.cgi?ID=SD164807 July 6, 2007 No.1648 Possible Eruption of Violent Crisis in Lebanon After July 15 MEMRI:7月15日以降にレバノンで暴動事件の発生する可能性がある
In the past few days, Arab and Iranian media reports have pointed to the possibility that Lebanon's current political crisis may become a violent conflict after July 15, 2007. この数日間、アラブとイスラエルのメディアが、レバノンの政治危機が悪化する可能性 を報道している。これは15日以降に暴動事件に発展する可能性がある。
It should be noted that certain international events concerning Lebanon and Syria are expected in mid-July, specifically: これはシリアとレバノンのイベントが7月半ばに予定されている為で
1. The U.N. Security Council session scheduled for July 16, 2007, which is to discuss a report by U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon on the progress in the implementation of U.N. Security Council Resolution 1701. This discussion will be devoted in part to the report submitted by a delegation sent by Ki-Moon to the Syria-Lebanon border to assess border supervision. According to the London daily Al-Hayat, the delegation's recommendations included the stationing of international experts in border control to aid Lebanon's security apparatuses in monitoring the Syria-Lebanon border. [1] 安保理で7月16日に事務総長報告があり、安保理決議1701で決められたシリアとレバノン の国境監視に関するもの。レバノンの新聞、アルハヤトによれば専門家の監視団への派遣 を要請するものになる。
2. Between July 15 and 17, 2007, the submission of another report to the U.N. Security Council, by the head of the International Investigation Commission into the murder of former Lebanese prime minister Rafiq Al-Hariri, Serge Brammertz. 7月15日から17日に、安保理に、ハリリ・レバノン前首相暗殺事件の報告書が提出される。
Reports of Syria Instructing its Citizens to Leave Lebanon by July 15 イランの報道によれば、シリアはその国民に、7月15日以前にレバノンから退去する ようにと言う
On July 5, 2007, the Iranian news agency IRNA reported that Syrian authorities had instructed all Syrian citizens residing in Lebanon to return to their country by July 15, 2007. [2] The next day, the Israeli Arab daily Al-Sinara similarly reported, on the authority of a Lebanese source close to Damascus, that Syria was planning to remove its citizens from Lebanon. [3] Also on July 5, the Lebanese daily Al-Liwa reported rumors that Syrian workers were leaving Lebanon at the request of the Syrian authorities. [4] In addition, the Syrian government daily Al-Thawra reported that Syrian universities would accept Syrian students who were leaving Lebanon due to the instability there. [5] 7月5日付イランの通信社IRNAが報道した記事に拠れば、シリア政府はレバノンにいる 国民に対して、7月15日までに帰国するようにと指示している。翌日にはイスラエル・アラ ブ系のアル・シナラ紙が類似の報道をしている。5日にはレバノンのアル・リワがシリア人 の労働者がシリア政府の指示で帰国しているとの噂を伝えている。シリア政府系のアル・ サワラはシリアの大学がレバノンか帰国した学生を受け入れると伝えている。(後略)
>>336-337 MEMRIの記事はともかくとして、レバノンの政治危機が深まっていて、場合に よってはクーデターなどの非常事態が、必ずしも荒唐無稽ではないというのは事実 で、今日のロイターの分析記事にもそう言う事が書いてある。 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ttp://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L08765267.htm ANALYSIS-Instability stalks Lebanon a year after Israel war 08 Jul 2007 08:43:18 GMT Source: Reuters By Alistair Lyon, Special Correspondent
ロイター:イスラエルとの戦争の1年後、レバノンに不安定さが高まる(部分抜粋)
Fear that political deadlock may spill into violence is gripping Lebanon, a year after Israel and Shi'ite Hezbollah guerrillas jumped into a war that shattered trust between rival Lebanese camps レバノンでは政治的デッドロックが暴動に発展するのではないかとの恐れが高まってい る。イスラエルとシーア派のヒズボラの戦争の1年後にあたる時期である。
Rhetorical barbs that flew between Hezbollah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah and pro-government politicians such as Jumblatt and Sunni leader Saad al-Hariri inflamed communal feelings. ヒズボラのトップ、ハッサン・ナスラーと政府与党系政治家のJumblatt、あるいはスン ニ派の政治家Saad al-Haririとの対立が激しさを増している。
If the two camps cannot agree on a national unity government or on choosing a new president later this year, the stage would be set for chronic instability and fragmentation of authority. In those circumstances, Hezbollah might turn away from domestic politics to focus on preparing for what it believes is an inevitable renewal of conflict with the Israelis. レバノン国内の、これら対立勢力が統一政府に合意できず、あるいは今年後半に予定さ れる大統領選出で合意できない場合、国内政治の不安定化が予想される。こうした状況 のなかで、ヒズボラが政治参加を止めて、イスラエルとの対決姿勢を高める行動に出る 可能性もある。
Ghorayeb said Hezbollah had only held back from military operations, for example in the disputed Shebaa Farms border area, out of political concern for national unity. Hezbollah's Shi'ite supporters, frustrated by the government's survival and the U.S. support lavished on Siniora, had turned more radical than the leadership. "The popular base is much more hardline than Hezbollah," she added. カーネギー平和財団のアナリスト、Amal Saad Ghorayebに拠れば、ヒズボラはレバノン の統合政府に参加する見地から、イスラエルとの紛争地域であるShebaa農場の国境地域 から武装部隊を引き上げている。ヒズボラのシーア派支持者らはレバノン政府の継続や、 アメリカによるシニオーラ首相の支持にフラストレーションを起こし、指導部より過激 になってきている。「草の根では、支持層がヒズボラよりもハードラインに傾いている」 という。
今日は、中東関係の怪しげな噂がいろいろ流れていて MEMRIと同じような ニュースが、これまた余り信頼性は無い、DEBKAfileに掲載されている。 (注意:小生はこの↓記事の信頼性には、全く責任をもてません。噂を噂として 楽しむので無ければ・・) ----------------------------------------------------------------------- ttp://www.debka.com/headline.php?hid=4389 DEBKAfile Exclusive: Iran, Syria Hizballah feared stoking major conflagration in Lebanon to forestall Security Council reprimand on July 16 July 8, 2007, 12:11 PM (GMT+02:00)
DEBKAfile cites Western, Saudi and Lebanese intelligence as sighting hectic preparations by Iran, Syria and the Hizballah to foment major trouble in Lebanon up to and after mid-July. They intend the eruption to throw off track the July 16 UN Security Council session called to castigate their non-implementation of its Resolution 1701, especially their defiance of the clauses banning the continued arms smuggling to Hizballah from Iran and Syria. 西側およびサウジアラビアの諜報筋に拠れば、イラン、シリア、ヒズボラが7月16日の 安保理に前後して、レバノンで暴動事件を起こす可能性がある。
Our Washington sources report that ahead of the session, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice appealed to a number of European and Asian governments for contingents to bolster the UN force patrolling South Lebanon. None refused outright, only explaining they were short of military manpower. This would also apply to the United States. ライス国務長官は、関連する欧州とアジア諸国の政府に国連PKFの南レバノンでの 警戒を高めるように要請したという。
DEBKAfile’s intelligence sources expect the ructions already gripping Lebanon to escalate from mid-July and climax in the first week of September, when the pro -Syrian president Emil Lahoud ends his tenure. Damascus, Tehran and Hizballah are aiming to bring down the pro-Western Fouad Siniora’s government in Beirut or at least shrink its jurisdiction to a number of neighborhoods in the capital similar to Nouri al Maliki’s administration in Baghdad. Word has reached Riyadh from Damascus indicating that president Bashar Assad means to use the showdown in Lebanon to ignite war clashes in all of Lebanon and against Israel on two fronts, the Golan and the Gaza Strip. 7月半ばから9月にかけて、シリアとヒズボラによるレバノン政府の崩壊ないしその権限縮小 を狙った暴力行為が発生する可能性がある。
Japan's companies are gearing up for resurgent demand from the U.S., the country's biggest export market, said economist Hiromichi Shirakawa. エコノミストの白川氏はアメリカ経済の回復にあわせてギアアップしているという。
``The business cycle has bottomed out, mainly because the U.S. economy is improving,'' said Shirakawa, chief economist at Credit Suisse Group in Tokyo. Shirakawa, a former Bank of Japan official, predicts an August rate increase. 「主にアメリカ経済の影響で、景気が底入れしている」といいい、8月の日銀の利上げを 予想する。
Credit Suisse last week increased its estimate for Japan's gross domestic product for the year ending March 31 to 2.9 percent from 2.5 percent, citing the pickup in the U.S. クレディ・スイス銀行は、先週日本の今年度(来年3月まで)のGDP成長を2.5%から修 正して2.9%としていて、その理由はアメリカ経済の回復である。
筆者はテロ組織の研究家で、 Dr Walid Phares is the Director of the Future Terrorism Project at the Foundation for the Defense of Democracy and the author of War of Ideas というしとなのだけれど、このしとのMEMRI記事への評価は、まとめてみれば:
ttp://online.wsj.com/article/SB118394690844560629.html?mod=home_whats_news_us PAGE ONE:U.S. Studies Ways To Formally End The Korean War North's Positive Signals On Disarmament Raise Regional Security Hopes By JAY SOLOMON July 9, 2007; Page A1 WSJ(1面記事):アメリカ政府は朝鮮戦争の正式な終結(平和条約締結)を検討中 北朝鮮が核廃棄に踏み切れば、極東の和平への希望が高まる
WSJは多くの女性たちが、日本によって売春を強制され、苦痛を受けたことを否 定しない。日本がその多くの犯罪を取り繕ってきた(whitewashed)ことも事実であ る。しかしながらホンダ議員の行なっている日本をその過去の罪によって糾弾しよ うというのはアメリカ国民の考えと一致しない(out of step)。日本はアメリカ の良き友人であることを、国民はわきまえているのだから。
But Rep. Honda's efforts to rap Tokyo's knuckles over the past seem out of step with the American public -- which has a fairly good idea who its real friends are.
He said, regarding the price of the fishery licenses, "A small boat is 1,000 Yuan (US$133) per day and a large boat which can accumulate over 100 ton is around 7,000 Yuan (US$ 922) in Chinese currency." 小型漁船で1日1000元、大型(100トン以上)漁船で1日7000元で漁獲権を販売している。
He added, "The rumors say besides the costs of the licenses, a lot of money has been handed over to North Korea in the negotiations process." 噂では、正規の料金以外に、北朝鮮の役人に多くの賄賂が支払われたという。(後略)
"It has been relatively quiet, but recently there is tension in the air. We are at our wits' end because we sense new war is going to break out,"
"Hizbullah has returned to the border fence recently. We can see their men carrying flags and observing us. Every little noise makes us jump. I am afraid at nights and I think the war will return."
For decades, America has shunted its really difficult social problems into the courts. Abortion and race – among the most divisive issues in US society – have been dealt with largely by judges rather than politicians. Liberals have won victories in court on those issues that they could never have won in Congress. 数十年にわたって、アメリカはその社会的問題を裁判所で解決することを行なってきた。 妊娠中絶問題や人種差別問題がそれで、そうしたアメリカ社会の最も意見の分かれる問題 を政治的にではなく司法的に判断してきた。これらの問題ではリベラル勢力は議会では得 られない勝利を、裁判所で得てきた。
But now the US Supreme Court, replete with two new conservative appointees hand -picked by President George W. Bush, is no longer willing to play along. In the term that ended 10 days ago, America’s top court subtly, but profoundly, changed gears on both issues. Landmark rulings on integration in education and the right to choose abortion were silently repudiated by the court, under its new conservative leader, Chief Justice John Roberts. しかし今やアメリカの最高裁判所は、ジョージ・W・ブッシュ大統領の選んだ二人の裁判 官の影響で、むかしのような、(リベラルに好意的な)ゲームを行なわない。10日前に起 こった事件から見て、アメリカ最高裁は妊娠中絶と人種差別の両方についてギアをチェン ジした。教育での人種統合問題や妊娠中絶を選ぶ権利は最高裁の新しいリーダーであるジ ョン・ロバーツのお陰で、沈黙の中で否定されることとなった。
Technically, nothing has happened to threaten the court’s most famous liberal precedents, like Brown v Board of Education (the 1955 ruling ending deliberate school segregation) or Roe v Wade (the 1973 opinion guaranteeing the constitutional right to abortion). But the spirit of the court has been profoundly altered. Ruling in a case involving so-called partial-birth abortion (a gruesome method for ending late-term pregnancies), the court made it much harder to challenge any state anti-abortion law. In practice, the court may have significantly restricted the right to choose – without unleashing political mayhem by overruling Roe. 最高裁判所の有名なリベラル風味の判例である「Brown v Board of Education判例」 (1955年に学校教育での人種差別撤廃を求めた判例)や「Roe v Wade判例」(1973年の 妊娠中絶の権利が憲法で守られるとする付帯意見)などが、変わったわけではない。 しかし、裁判所の精神が変化して、いわゆる(partial-birth abortion)に対する 判断で、最高裁は、州のレベルのアンチ妊娠中絶の法律に挑戦することを大変難しく してしまった。実際問題、最高裁は「Roe v Wade判例」の示した妊娠中絶を選択する 権利を、大きく制約することになったのかもしれない。 (後略) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- この問題は民主党と共和党で、意見が極端に分かれるもので、共和党から見ればリベ ラルバイアス過剰であった最高裁をようやくまともな方向に少し戻した、とする。 民主党はブッシュ大統領の選んだ裁判官の為に、最高裁が右傾化してトンでもない話 であり、これがブッシュを辞めさせなければ行けない主要な原因のひとつである。
アメリカ最高裁にはリベラル系の老年の裁判官がまだ二人いるので(John Paul Stevens と Ruth Bader Ginsburg)もしこのしとたちが引退し、ブッシュ大統領が保守派の裁 判官を選ぶなら、「右傾化」が更に強まることになる。
<モルガンスタンレー、グローバル経済フォーラム、アメリカ経済の現状> ttp://www.morganstanley.com/views/gef/index.html#anchor5157 United States:Review and Preview July 09, 2007 By Ted Wieseman and David Greenlaw | New York ------------------------------------------------------------- 先週末に発表された、アメリカ景気の回復を印象付けるISMのデータと雇用統計 を受けて、アメリカ経済の現状評価のレビューと若干の見通し修正。
Key economic reports released over the past week, with another solid employment report and surprising further upside in both ISM reports, provided further confirmation of the economy’s significant rebound in 2Q. We continue to see GDP growth jumping to +3.8% in 2Q after the paltry +0.7% advance recorded in 1Q, through we would focus on the average +2.25% first half pace as more indicative of the underlying trend over this period, which we expect to gradually improve back towards what we believe is the sustainable trend near +3% over the coming year.
"Our sources do show Moqtada in Iran," one U.S. military source said, declining to speculate on why Sadr had gone back. A senior aide to Sadr denied the cleric had left Iraq.
His lower profile has coincided with a growing rift between his movement and Shi'ite Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki.
イスラマバードで過激派の立てこもっていたレッド・モスクに特殊部隊が襲撃をかけ 8人の武装派が死亡、15人負傷。警官隊の2人が死亡、8人負傷;襲撃は続いている; The assault began at 4 a.m. (2300 GMT on Monday) and was still going on.
【ワシントン9日共同】米シンクタンク、科学国際安全保障研究所は9日、イランが 中部ナタンツのウラン濃縮施設に近い山腹にトンネルを掘り、何らかの施設を新たに 造っていると推定される衛星写真を公開した。6月11日に撮影された写真は、核施 設の南側に長さ2キロ前後の2本の道路が敷設され、いずれも山の中腹で途切れてい るように見える。別の写真には、土砂の集積場や、多数のトラックが写っている。 [ 2007年7月10日10時50分 ] ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ttp://www.gulfnews.com/region/Iran/10138253.html Reuters/ISIS, DigitalGlobe (写真アリ) Iran tunnel photos worry US officials By Joby Warrick, Los Angeles Times-Washington Post News Service Published: July 10, 2007, 00:15
>>382 ISISの発表した報告書は↓ ttp://www.isis-online.org/publications/iran/IranNatanzTunnels.pdf New Tunnel Construction at Mountain Adjacent to the Natanz Enrichment Complex Iran should allow IAEA inspections of tunnel facility David Albright and Paul Brannan The Institute for Science and International Security (ISIS) July 9, 2007
Figure 2. Construction activity appears related to the building of a tunnel complex. Soil and rock dumps are identifiable. Tunnel entrances are not visible, but they could be at or near the end the end of the road in the upper left section of the image A fenced, apparently secured area, is visible adjacent to the road just past the first set of construction support buildings. This area could store high explosives used in tunneling.
• Too many generals.(軍事組織の行動を決める、指揮官が多過ぎ) ------------------------------------------------------------------ John Quincy Adams warned us against going abroad "in search of monsters to destroy," and some argue that the war on terror is just such a case. I disagree.
On 9/11, the monster found us asleep at home and will continue to find us inadequately prepared unless we muster more strength and more wisdom. Unless we break with illusionary democracy mongering, inept handling of our military resources and self-defeating domestic political debates, we are in danger of becoming our own worst enemy.
Mr. Shkurtaj arrived in North Korea on Nov. 4, 2004. He says one of his first indications that something was amiss was when checks denominated in euros and made out to "cash" arrived on his desk for signature. "Rule No. 1 in every UNDP country in the world is that you have to operate in local currency," he says, "not in hard currency. It's the rule No. 1 of development . . . in order to support the local economy and not devalue or destroy the local currency." "I didn't sign the checks for about a week," he says, and then "it became a real mess. Headquarters contacted me, and said, 'Don't become a problem. You're going to wind up a PNG, a persona non grata, and ending up a PNG means the end of your career with the U.N. . . . We are authorizing you to go ahead and sign the checks. . . . So I started signing." 国連のルールに反する外貨を使っての支払い。その支払いを拒否したことによって本部から圧力が。
"Every morning from 8 to 10, we would issue checks" in euros for staff and projects, Mr. Shkurtaj says. "Then the checks, instead of going directly to the people or institutions by mail, as they should go [as specified by U.N. rules], the checks were given to the driver of our office. " The driver would take them to the Foreign Trade Bank, where he would "exchange them into cash and come back to the office." North Korea did not permit Mr. Shkurtaj to have access to the UNDP's accounts at the Foreign Trade Bank, which refused even to keep his signature on file.
Then, every day at noontime, "North Koreans saying they represented U.N.-funded projects would come to receive cash at the UNDP offices." Mr. Shkurtaj says he was not allowed to require the North Koreans to sign receipts for the money or even to present IDs. "I had to trust them," he says. "But, hey, if headquarters tells me to give the money away, I'll give the money away."
最終的には During the years he worked for UNDP in Pyongyang, Mr. Shkurtaj says he filed numerous reports to his superiors but got nowhere. Finally, with several months to go in his tour of duty in North Korea, he was recalled to New York.
He says that David Lockwood, deputy assistant administrator of the UNDP, told him, "Look, it would be good for your future if you come to New York and from here we'll send you somewhere else in the world. But you have rocked the boat too much right now and you should leave for your own good."
Mr. Shkurtaj's last day in North Korea was Sept. 26, 2006. When his contract came up for renewal in March--the vast majority of U.N. employees operate under work contracts--he was told that after 13 years of employment at UNDP his services would no longer be needed.
A few months before his dismissal, he received an "outstanding" rating in his annual review, dated Dec. 14, 2006, and signed by Romulo Garcia, chief of the Northeast Asia and Mekong Division. Mr. Garcia described Mr. Shkurtaj as "quick, professional, highly competent, creative, hard working and dedicated." 最高レベルの評価を受けながら、国連から追放された。
This morning, Enterprise left Norfolk for a regular deployment after coming home from its last cruise in November. Over the next few days, it will be joined by its air wing and other ships of the strike group. 今朝、空母エンタープライズは母港ノーフォークを出て中東に向かう。昨年11月の任務 からの帰港以来である。今後数日中にエンタープライズは航空機や護衛艦と合流する。
Rear Adm. Dan Holloway, commander of Carrier Strike Group 12, told reporters on the pier before Enterprise departed that the strike group’s purpose will be to provide options for national leadership while conducting maritime security operations. The carrier John C. Stennis and the amphibious assault ship BonHomme Richard are now in the Persian Gulf, and the carrier Nimitz is in the Indian Ocean, according to the Navy. Dan Hollowayは、空母エンタープライズは国の指導者にオプションを与えるために中東 に派遣される、と述べた。空母J・C・ステニス、強襲揚陸艦のBonHomme Richardも現 在中東に派遣されており、インド洋には空母ニミッツがいる。
Although it seems like Enterprise just returned from deployment, “Enterprise was the right ship for this time,” Holloway said. エンタープライズは先の派遣からそれほど時間がたっていないが「今回はエンタープラ イズが(中東派遣に)適切な船である」という。(後略)
(略) By my count that places 4 carriers in the middle east in the next couple of weeks. add into the UN peace keeping force, the naval group off of the lebenon shore of the british and franch forces. and it looks like an end game is coming for the middle east. 私の計算では、次の数週間で、中東方面に派遣されている空母が4つになる。レバノン沖に 英国とフランスの軍もいるので、中東で事件が起きることに備えているように見える。
S&Pの見直し、WSJのブログ、マーケット・ビートのリアクション; ttp://blogs.wsj.com/marketbeat/ July 10, 2007, 12:37 pm High-Stakes Blame Game Posted by MarketBeat Staff 掛け金の高い責任のなすりあい
(S&Pが、$12Bのサブプライム・モーゲージ証券の格下げを行なうと発表したことは) This raises the stakes in an increasingly ugly blame game circling Wall Street. A lot of investors blame S&P and Moody’s for putting high ratings on many classes of bonds backed by subprime mortgages during the boom and then for being too slow to lower those ratings when the housing market started sinking. これで、ウオール街の益々醜い様相の責任のなすりあいが酷くなるわけだ。多くの投資家 がS&Pやムーディーズを非難している。彼等はブームの時期に、サブプライム・モーゲ ージ担保証券に債券に高い格付けを与えてきたが、住宅市場の縮小が始まっても格付けの 修正に手がけるのが余りに遅すぎた。
S&P today points its finger elsewhere, saying it was duped by fraudsters who falsified loan documents before mortgages got into the bond pools it rates. “Data quality is fundamental to our rating analysis. The loan performance associated with the data to date has been anomalous in a way that calls into question the accuracy of some of the initial data provided to us regarding loan and borrower characteristics,” S&P says READ: Don’t blame us. We were victims too. S&Pは今日の発表で、他者に責任を転嫁して、モーゲージが債券のプールに入れられて 格付けされるときに、詐欺師によりローン文書が捏造されて、だまされたのだと言う。 S&Pは「我々の分析に拠れば、データの品質が詐欺的である。ローン文書に関連する ローンの返済実績は異例のもので、その事実からローンとその返済者について、我々に もたらされた初期のデータの品質に疑問がある」という。翻訳すると「我々を非難しな いでね。我々も被害者なのだから」
It’s going to be hard to win much sympathy from investors with that argument. S&P and its rivals made lots of money rating these bonds when the market was booming and so many others saw a bubble building. Shouldn’t the watchdogs have been looking out for fraud? 是は投資家のシンパシーを得られると言う事は無いだろう。S&Pやライバルはブーム のときに、皆がバブルが発生しているといっていた時期に、これらの債券格付けで大い に儲けていたのだ。そもそもお目付け役は詐欺とかに警戒すべきではないか?
(S&Pが$12Bの債券格付け見直しを発表したことを説明した後で) But Stephen Pope, head of equity research at Cantor Fitzgerald Europe, said today’s statement from S&P represented just another chapter in what would undoubtedly be a long, drawn-out saga over sub-prime.
Cantor Fitzgerald Europeの研究者のStephen Popeは今日のS&Pの発表はサブプライム 市場の、今後とも長く続く冒険物語の、単にひとつの章なのだと言う。
”Clearly there have been some very doubtful lending practices in the past and now that we learning the full extent of that there will have to be some selling of securities in response to the widespread downgrading; that will push credit market rates further out,” he said. 「明らかに、従来サブプライム市場で行なわれてきた、大変怪しげな融資のやり方がある わけで、今や我々はそのために関連した債券の広範な格下げに直面していて、その結果、 債券の値下がりが避けられない」
”But this is not a contagious affair...it will not spread further...and as Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke says, it will remain contained.” 「しかしながら、これは伝染性病疫ではないだろう。是がどんどん広がってゆくというこ とは考えにくい。FRBのバーーナンキの言うように、それは依然として封じ込められて いる」
China, which has the second largest holding of U.S. Treasurys behind Japan, sold $5.8 billion of notes in April ― more Treasury securities than at any time in the past seven years, according to recently released data from the Treasury Department. “Interest rates are trending higher, and there’s a growing concern that our trading partners, who represent the largest Treasury buyers, are beginning to lose interest in our debt,” Jack Ablin, chief investment officer at Harris Private Bank, said in a recent note. “China, whose foreign reserves reached $1.2 trillion in March, along with other Asian and oil-exporting nations, may be satisfied that their current reserves are adequate to meet their liquidity needs and that incremental reserves can be diverted into higher-returning assets denominated in other currencies.” 日本についで世界最大級のアメリカ財務省債券の保有者である中国が$5.8Bの債券を 4月に売却していた。過去7年間の最大の売却で、是は最近の財務省報告で明らかになった。 ハリス・プライベート銀行の主任投資役員であるJack Ablinは「金利が上昇の傾向にあり、 アメリカの貿易相手国には財務省債券の大きな買い手であることが多いが、彼等はアメリ カの債券に興味を失いつつある」という。「中国の外貨準備は3月に$1.2Tで、アジア諸 国や産油国は流動性のある資産としてのアメリカ財務省債券の保有は既に充分であり、こ れ以上の外貨準備は、ドル以外の通貨建ての、よりリターンの多いものに当てるかもしれ ない」という。
Whether or not the pan-asset wobble seen in June - triggered by the implosion of two Bear Stearns hedge funds geared to US subprime mortgages - proves to be anything more than a blip on the long term charts, markets got a sharp reminder on Tuesday that the subprime issue has not necessarily gone away.
S&P also unveiled a series of changes to its ratings methodology and said it was undertaking a deeper review of its approach to CDOs.
The result? Well, what Reuters described as a “precipitous plunge,” of course ― or what one Deutsche analyst called a “meltdown.” Bid/offer spreads on the benchmark ABX index blew out to 3 points, while the index itself crashed from 55.5 to 49.
We say “crashed,” but falling back on the more classical terminology of the equities market, a near-12 percent fall in prices really is “a crash” ― except for the fact that, until recently, the upwardly-vertical trajectory of the subprime ABX indicator renders such comparisons meaningless.
The great unknown here is how the underlying owners of subprime-related assets might react to specific downgrades. In short, will holders become forced sellers so as to stay in line with their stated investment criteria?
If the answer is “yes,” find yourself a tin hat. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- tin hat は鉄兜だけれど(put the tin hat on)で何かを、おじゃんにする、と言う 意味があるらすぃ。 このダメージがどの位重症で、どの位長引くのかは、今後のディ ベートのネタなるべし。
The timing of a reverse in the yen carry trade is difficult to forecast and market conditions do not justify such a move in the near term. But one has to recognise that the risk profile of the yen carry trade is deteriorating. A sharp increase in volatility could occur towards year-end or in early 2008. The writer is vice-chairman of asset management at Credit Suisse. 円キャリー・トレードの反転、巻き戻しの起こるタイミングは予測しがたい。マーケット の状況は、それがすぐに起こりそうには見えない。しかし、心しておくべき事は、円キャ リー・トレードのリスク・プロファイルが悪化してきていることである。年末から2008に かけて、ボラタリティのシャープな増大が起こり得るであろう。(筆者はクレディ・スイ ス銀行のアセット・マネジメント担当副社長)
Dennis Ross, a former senior U.S. Middle East peace negotiator, was quoted by an Israeli newspaper as saying he thinks "there is a risk of war" between Syria and Israel in the summer. Ross told YnetNews, Yedioth Ahronoth's Internet edition, that "no one has made any decisions, but the Syrians are positioning themselves for war." 前アメリカ・中東和平交渉代表のデニス・ロスはイスラエルの新聞に語って「戦争の危険 があると考えている」という。イスラエルとシリアの戦争を想定している。デニス・ロス はYedioth Ahronothのインターネット・ニュースに語って「誰も戦争の決意はしていない が、シリア側は戦争の準備を進めている」という。
According to the former U.S. State Department official, "Syria has rearmed Hezbollah to the teeth -- there should be a price to pay for that." Ross added that the Bush administration should aim to "squeeze the Syrian economy" by using "sticks before carrots" in dealing with Damascus. 彼は「シリアはヒズボラを再軍備して力をつけた。ヒズボラはその対価を支払わなくては ならない」という。彼によればブッシュ政権はシリアを「経済的に締め付ける」べきであ り「人参より先に鞭が必要」であるという。
The New York Sun, meanwhile, quotes an unidentified Baath official saying, "If Israel doesn't vacate the strategic Golan Heights before September, Syrian guerillas will immediately launch 'resistance operations' against the Golan's Jewish communities." The official said "Damascus is preparing for Israeli retaliation following Syrian guerilla attacks and for a larger war with the Jewish state in August or September." ニューヨーク・サンは匿名のバース党の高官の言葉を引用して「イスラエルがゴラン高原 から9月までに撤退しないなら、シリアのゲリラはすぐにゴラン高原のイスラエル・コミニ ティに対する『レジスタンス作戦』を始める」「ダマスカスの政権は、イスラエル側の、 シリアのゲリラへの報復に対抗して、イスラエルに対して8月、9月により大きな戦争を 行なう」
The official warns that "Syria has the capability to fire 'hundreds' of missiles at Tel Aviv in the opening salvo of any conflict." The official told the New York paper that Damascus has made numerous requests to Washington for the return of the Golan "either through negotiations or through war." この高官は「シリアはテルアビブに向けて、戦争開始の一斉射撃として、数百のミサイル を発射できる能力を持っている」と警告する。高官はシリア政権がアメリカ政府に対して 数々のゴラン高原返還の要求をしてきたという。「交渉によってであれ、戦争によってで あれ」という。
Some analysts believe Syria took notice of last summer's war between Israel and Hezbollah, prompting the leadership in Damascus to rethink its strategy. 一部のアナリストは昨年のヒズボラとイスラエルの戦争から、シリア政権が戦略を再考 したという。
Meanwhile a decision by Syrian authorities to recall its citizens from Lebanon before July 15 has not helped lessen the tension, nor the rumors, lending to speculation that there might be more than just rumors behind the latest tension in the Middle East. シリア政権の7月15日までの、レバノン領内の国民の引き上げ支持は、噂や緊張を和らげ ない。むしろ、噂に留まらないものが最近の中東の緊張にあるのではとの憶測を与える。 (中略、既出情報の部分)
A series of editorials in the Lebanese daily al-Mustaqbal, meanwhile, warns of a planned Syrian-Iranian coup in Lebanon, spearheaded by Hezbollah and backed by Iran and Syria. The paper, which is close to the pro-government March 14 Movement, speaks of Hezbollah's military preparations, including military activity both south and north of the Litani River, in defiance of U.N. Resolution 1701; and the transformation of the Bekaa region into a military zone. レバノンの日刊紙、al-Mustaqbalはレバノンにシリアとイランの共謀するヒズボラを使っ たクーデターの恐れがあると一連の社説で述べている。この新聞は「3月14日運動」の 勢力で、レバノン与党支持のものである。ヒズボラのクーデターへの軍事行動というのは Litani河の南北でそれを起こしベッカ高原を軍事ゾーンにするものだと言う。
With tension in the Middle East at an all-time crux, it would not require very much to set the region ablaze. If the Bush administration ever intended to push for peace in the region, now would be the time to do so. 中東の緊張が厄介なことになっており、それが火をふくことになりかねない。ブッシュ 政権が中東和平をいうのであれば、今はそれを行なうべき時である。
Ignoring the situation and allowing it to deteriorate may result in a new front becoming active with the forces of UNIFIL finding themselves engulfed in a conflict stretching from Iraq to South Lebanon. The Spanish contingent, which has already suffered half a dozen casualties in South Lebanon, was the first to pay the price of this new war. 状況を放置して悪化せしめることは国連のレバノン平和維持軍を巻き込む紛争がイラク から南レバノンに広がる結果をもたらしかねない。スペイン軍はレバノンで1ダースばか りの被害を出しているが、新たな戦争が始まれば最初に被害を受けるだろう。
Syria signed a mutual defence pact with Iran under which Tehran has started shipping large quantities of arms to Syria. Earlier this year the Islamic Republic also set up a company to build two weapons assembly plants in northern Syria. Tehran has also provided Syria with an interest free loan amounting to $1.2 billion, part of which will be spent on purchasing new Russian-made MiG-31E fighters to modernise Syria's semi-derelict air force. Iran has also managed to re-arm the Lebanese branch of Hezbollah, thus rebuilding its capabilities for opening a new front in support of Syria. シリアはイランの軍事同盟を結んでいて、この元でイランはシリアに多量の武器を送り 込んでいる。今年始めにイランはシリア北部に、二つの爆弾組立て工場を建設している。 イラン政府はまた金利ゼロの$1.2Bのローンを提供し、シリアは是でロシアのMiG-31E 戦闘機を買い空軍の能力を増強する予定である。イランはレバノンのヒズボラの武装に も支援していて、シリアを助けて前線に立つ力をつけている。
If a war comes in the near future, Syria could also count on Hamas to open yet another front against Israel from Gaza. 戦争が始まればハマスもシリアに協力し、ガザ地区でイスラエルと対決する。
Syria has rebuilt much of its traditional strategic partnership with Russia, thus countering US efforts to isolate it. Damascus and Moscow are negotiating a deal, under which the headquarters of the Russian war fleet could be transferred to the Syrian port of Latakiyah from Sebastopol in the Ukraine. シリアはロシアに近づいていて、ロシアの戦艦がシリアの Latakiyah港にに、ロシアと の関係の悪化しているウクライナのSebastopolから移動させる協議をしている。
There is no doubt that Syria feels in a stronger position than it did a year ago. シリアが1年前に比べて、力をつけていることに何の疑いも無い。(後略)
"There is a lot of unseen or off-balance-sheet investment by corporations and institutions who do not want to be identified," says Jerry Lou, China strategist for Morgan Stanley in Hong Kong. 香港のモルガンスタンレーのストラテジスト、Jerry Louは「企業や組織機関には多く の、隠された、あるいはオフバランスシートの投資があり、彼等はそれを知られたくな いのだ」という。
Ms. Kagan, an affiliate of Harvard's John M. Olin Institute of Strategic Studies, is executive director of the Institute for the Study of War in Washington.
テキサスのヘッジ・ファンド、Hayman Capital と Corriente Advisorsの共同で運営する SCSFは同じような戦略で27.5%のリターンを出している。サンフランシスコを基盤とする Passport Capitalは13.8%を上げている。ファンドマネジャーの、サブプライムモーゲー ジ証券の空売りは、見慣れた光景である。
しかし、昨日S&Pが格付けの下向き見直しを発表して金融界にショックが起こっている。 This is “no small matter”, says Lex, reminding us that “the last time S&P moved so dramatically was about a decade ago, when it downgraded Japan”. 「S&Pが日本の格付けを下げたとき以来のショックだ」とLexがいう。
While it doesn’t matter so much for existing mortgage-backed securities, S&P’s move is more significant in its potential knock-on effect on higher-rated tranches and on the pricing of new issues, since AAA-rated tranches will require more expensive cushioning from lower-rated tranches. 「既存のモーゲージ担保証券は問題ではないがS&Pの行動が問題だ。その行動は潛在的 にはより高い格付けの証券へのノックオン効果を持ち、新規発行の証券の価格付に影響を 与える。AAA格付けの証券と低い格付けの証券との値段の開きが大きくなるだろう」
Capital Chronicle blogger RJH Adam has alighted on Chuck Prince’s recent interview in the FT, noting: ブロガーのRJH AdamがFTに掲載されたChuck Princeのインタビューを評して曰く; 無意味である;
This interview is perhaps the perfect tour d’horizon of the actual state of liquidity affairs from any big lender’s perspective: it may end badly but they are compelled to play. このインタビューは「大型の貸付機関の立場から眺めた、流動性の現状の、水平線の かなた」の典型的なものと言うべきであろう。事態は悪化しようが、彼等はゲームを 続けざるを得ない。
Adam refers to this quote from the Citigroup chief executive: Adamはシティグループの社長の言葉を引いて:
When the music stops, in terms of liquidity, things will be complicated. But as long as the music is playing, you’ve got to get up and dance. We’re still dancing…The depth of the pools of liquidity is so much larger than it used to be that a disruptive event now needs to be much more disruptive than it used to be. 流動性について言えば、音楽が止まると、問題が複雑化するわけだが、音楽が続いて いる限りは、ダンスを続けることが出来る。我々は依然としてダンスを続けている。 流動性のプールの深さは余りにも深いから、かっては問題になったような事件も、今 ではよほど大きなものでないと問題にならない。
There is an alternative to Mr Prince’s belief that disruptive events now have to be much larger to really matter, Adam argues, suggesting that in an ever-wider global economy any given event simply lasts longer as the knock on effects work their way through the world system. Princeの信じるような(今では昔より大きな事件でなければ問題にならないとする考えの) 代替案があって、Adamは拡大するグローバル経済においては、どんな事件であれ、ノック オン効果が世界経済を通じて影響を及ぼすのでより長続きするという。
And abundant liquidity may initially mask rather than mitigate the discomfort of this process. そして潤沢な流動性は、問題を初期のうちに隠すのみで、和らげるわけではない。
US subprime, Mr Prince’s disruptive example in the interview, is not a chaotic act but a symptom of the shifting US cycle. It is not discrete; and how hurtful it becomes is unlikely to be a straight function of liquidity levels. Mr Princeのいうアメリカのサブプライム問題は混乱した行動ではなくてアメリカの経 済サイクルのシフトから来る現象である。それは個別離散的ではない。それがいかに 痛ましくなろうとも、流動性のレベルの直接的な関与の問題ではない; ------------------------------------------------------------------------- 金融システムの流動性が充分大きければ、ヘッジファンド破綻等の事件も、大きな問題に ならない、とする見方と、それに対する反論。この類の議論は、昨年エネルギー関連の ヘッジファンドが破綻したときにも論じられた。あの事件は、もう忘れ去られているけど。
<ムーディーズとS&Pのサブプライム担保証券、続報、WSJマーケットビート> ttp://blogs.wsj.com/marketbeat/ Subprime: The Unraveling Continues Posted by MarketBeat Staff July 11, 2007, 1:50 pm
UBSの調査報告では、一部CDOは20%の格付けが修正になる。しかしCDO全体 の見直しは、徐々に進むものと見られる。 According to a report from UBS Investment Research, some CDOs have seen over 20% of their assets downgraded so far. It notes, however, that the impact varies widely across different CDOs. “Mortgage bond downgrades are just beginning,” UBS analysts note. “Usually, the downgrade process is done slowly and in baby steps. This may have changed.”
US stocks were firmer on Wednesday, but worries over the subprime mortgage market remained the major talking point among investors. “We’re locked in a tight range and subprime is probably going to dominate the news as we have nothing to trade off until Friday’s retail sales report,” said Scott Wren, senior equity analyst at AG Edwards. ttp://www.ft.com/cms/s/386972b2-2f31-11dc-b9b7-0000779fd2ac.html Subprime fears dominate Wall Street
【ワシントン=丸谷浩史】北朝鮮の核問題を巡る6カ国協議で米首席代表を務めるヒル 国務次官補は11日、日本人記者団と懇談した。2月の合意文書に盛り込んだ北東アジア の安全保障対話について「多国間のオープンな構造がいいと考えている」と指摘、6カ 国に限定しない新たな枠組みが必要だと表明した。9月初めのアジア太平洋経済協力会 議(APEC)前に6カ国の外相会合を開き、安保の新枠組みを議題にするとの見通し も示した。 (後略) -------------------------------------------------------------------- ttp://home.kyodo.co.jp/modules/fstStory/index.php?storyid=325155 Hill wants Korean Peninsula peace talks by end of year WASHINGTON, July 11 KYODO
On peace on the Korean Peninsula, Hill said, ''I think it still has to be on this calendar year that we need to begin it...and I think it has to be linked in some way with the disablement.'' ''Since peace is permanent, we need to link it to their permanent getting out of nuclear business,'' he told Japanese reporters ahead of his trip to Japan, South Korea and China from Friday.
"The market rose in the morning following a rise in New York stocks, but later saw a sell-off in futures after the one event passed by amid a lack of factors to trade on," said Zenshiro Mizuno, senior managing director at Marusan Securities. "But I don't think the market is facing a drastic correction as investors seem to have simply sold stocks after buying them, and the fall was limited." 丸三証券の瑞穂氏は「マーケットが劇的な修正を行なうべき理由は見当たらない。投資家 は単に買った後で売っているようで、下落幅もかぎられている」 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ttp://futuresource.quote.com/charts/charts.jsp?s=NK%207U-SGX&o=&a=V%3A5&z=610x300&d=medium&b=bar&st= ちなみに、シンガポール市場(SGX)の日経225先物↑を見ると、急落の後戻して18030 まで、戻っているような。
Bhutto said the operation was necessary to contain extremist elements. 野党指導者のブット女史は、オペレーションは過激派を押さえ込むために必要であった と述べた。
In an interview to a private TV channel, the Pakistan People's Party (PPP) leader said a huge majority of the public has supported the action against the extremist seminary, which was fanning terrorism. 民間TVチャネルのインタビューでPPP(パキスタン人民党)の指導者は、大変多くの国民 は、過激派の宗教施設を抑えることに賛成していると述べた。過激派はテロリズムを広 げている。
Credit markets also stabilised, with key derivative indices of corporate credit risk trading at steady or lower levels after moving sharply higher in previous sessions. クレディット市場も安定化してきており、企業の社債のデリバティブの鍵となるリスク インデックスが安定した、あるいはより低い値になっている。このインデックスは前日 取引ではシャープに高い値を示していた。
The derating of equity and re-rating of corporate debt (through a combination of low government yields and falling credit spreads)has offered an historic opportunity to the global private equity industry. It is no surprise to us that the buyout industry was not a big player in the last M&A boom. Their trade (issue corporate debt to buy assets in the public equity markets) made no sense when the corporate bond yield was 500bp higher than the earnings yield ― equities were too expensive relative to debt.
But now that gap has closed and we are seeing one of the biggest arbitrage trades in financial market history ― borrow off the debt markets to buy in the equity markets. Recent movements in asset valuations have done little to threaten the opportunity highlighted (in the graph above). Corporates who use cash or debt to buy other corporates are, in effect, putting on the same trade.
If the earnings yield on the global equity market was 4% (P/E 25x), then we suspect that LBO activity would stop ― it would be very hard to get the economics to make sense. A 200bp rise in global BBB yields (to 8%) might have a similar effect.
And perhaps this arbitrage opportunity will be closed off by a combination of the two (a rerating of equities and a derating of debt), but for the time being that is not happening and so we would expect this debt-financed global M&A binge to continue.
監督当局への最新の届出によると、サムスン・グループの李健煕会長がサムスン電子株 の27.9%を保有している。 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ttp://www.forbes.com/markets/feeds/afx/2007/07/12/afx3910291.html SKorean shares open sharply higher on Wall St lead; Samsung Electronics in focus 07.12.07, 10:07 PM ET
Samsung Electronics stock added 25,000 won or 3.87 percent at 671,000 won. Hynix was up 650 won at 39,450 won.
It said investigators confirmed and advanced their earlier conclusions that "individuals using six mobile cellular telephone SIM cards acted in a coordinated manner to conduct surveillance on Rafiq Hariri in the weeks prior to the assassination." 報告書は6台の携帯電話のSIMカードの使用者がハリリ前大統領暗殺の前の数週間の 監視に関連しているとしている。 "A detailed analysis of the use of these cards on the day of the assassination indicates that these individuals played a critical role in the planning and execution of the attack itself, as demonstrated by their movements and call patterns," it added. 「暗殺当日の、これらのカード使用の詳細な分析から、それらの関係者が暗殺計画の準 備と実行にクリティカルな役割を果たしたことが解った」
The report said the enquiry panel also completed an extensive review of information related to Ahmed Abu Adass, the individual who appeared in the video claim of responsibility for the Hariri murder. 調査委員会は犯罪実行を名乗るビデオに登場したAhmed Abu Adassについての徹底した調 査を完了したとしている。彼は自殺爆弾攻撃者ではなく、「強制的にビデオに記録され 犯罪を名乗らされて、殺害された」か、あるいは「より広範な過激派に属する人たちと 同意してビデオに登場した」ものという。
HH: I’m joined now by satellite phone from Baghdad by intrepid reporter Michael Yon. He’s actually in Baquba. Michael, welcome back to the Hugh Hewitt Show, always a pleasure to speak with you. How goes the fighting on the ground? イラクのバクバで取材している、マイケル・ヨンに衛星電話で話を聞きます。マイケル こんにちは、地上の戦闘の様子はどうですか?
HH: Now Michael Yon, a lot of people don’t know the significance of Baquba. And so can you explain what peace in Baquba means for the larger war effort? バクバで激しい戦闘があったとか、それに重要な意味があるとか、多くの人は知らない ので説明してくれますか?
HH: Now yesterday, Harry Reid said on the floor of the Senate that the surge has failed. Do you think there’s any factual basis for making that assertion, Michael Yon, from what you’ve seen in Iraq over the last many months? アメリカ国内では昨日、ハリー・リード上院議員が議会でイラクの治安回復策作戦は失敗 したと言った。貴方はイラクの現状から見て、是をどう思いますか?
MY: He’s wrong, he’s wrong. It has absolutely not failed, and in fact, I’m finally willing to say it in public. I feel like it’s starting to succeed. And you know, I’m kind of stretching a little bit, because we haven’t gone too far into it, but I can see it from my travels around, for instance, in Anbar and out here in Diyala Province as well. Baghdad’s still very problematic. But there’s other areas where you can clearly see that there is a positive effect. And the first and foremost thing we have to do is knock down al Qaeda. And with them alienating so many Iraqis, I mean, they’re almost doing it for us. I mean, yeah, it takes military might to finally like wipe them out of Baquba, but it’s working. I mean, I sense that the surge is working. Reid is just wrong. 彼は誤っています。治安回復作戦は絶対に失敗ではありません。私は公衆の前で、いまや それを明確に言えると思う。それは成功し始めています。私はイラク各地を回っていて、 アンバール県や、このDiyala県で、そういう感じを受けます。バクダッドには依然、問題 が多いが、ポジティブな効果を明確に見ることは出来るのです。我々の真っ先になすべき ことはアルカイダ撲滅です。彼等は余りに多くのイラク人に嫌われるようになった。バク ダッドからアルカイダなどをたたき出すには軍事的な力が必要だけれど、治安回復作戦は 機能しています。リードは、単に誤っています。(後略)
In Baghdad the results have been just as spectacular so far. The district where al Qaeda claimed to have established its Islamic emirate is exactly where al Qaeda is losing big now, and at the hands of its former allies who have turned on al Qaeda and are slowly reaching out to the government.
While al Qaeda and Sadr are by no means finished off militarily, what has changed is that both of them are fighting their former public base of support. That course can't lead them to success in fomenting the sectarian war they had bet their money on.(後略)
>>474 これは、国防省筋のまとめた秘密報告書のドラフトがリークされた、と報じられたも ので、アルカイダは以前より強力で米国攻撃を準備しているなどというものらすぃ。 ただし、このリーク報告書の内容には、STRATFORが噛み付いていて: ttp://www.stratfor.com/products/premium/read_article.php?id=292192 Geopolitical Diary: The Reality of Al Qaeda's Resurgence July 13, 2007 02 12 GMT STRATFOR:アルカイダの組織再強化という説のリアリティについて
The agency would keep its intelligence secret until it had neutralized the militants. Shouting to the world that it knows what the militants are up to tells the militants they have been penetrated and starts them on the process of going underground and sealing the leak.
Much of the internet criticism commented on suggestions that Mr Li was apparently being groomed for a future leadership role after being awarded a government scholarship to study economics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Singaporeans woke up this morning to read a lesson in letter writing. Original email message from tommorrow.sg appended hereunder. Names and Units deleted for obvious reasons.
From: 2LT Li Hongyi, _____ PC, _____ Sent: Thursday, 28 June 2007 9:36 AM To: ___ ____ ____, Minister, MHQ; (後略)
American intelligence has already detected efforts by the Russians and Chinese to come up with special equipment and tactics to erode the F-22s aerial superiority. So the air force tries to reproduce some of those new ploys, in training exercises, and look for ways to maintain the F-22s superiority. The air force is basing two squadrons in Alaska, so that it can quickly be shifted to hot spots in the Pacific. ロシアと中国によるF-22をやっつける為の特殊な器機や戦術の開発が行なわれているこ とは、すでにアメリカの諜報組織が検知している。米軍も同じような研究や戦闘訓練を 通じて、戦闘手法を学び、優位性を確保しようとしている。
Indonesian Market Is Hot and Getting Hotter インドネシア市場が、熱くなってきている ----------------------------------------------------------------------- エマージング・マーケットで、ブラジル、インド、韓国、中国といったところが既に 充分高い価格になったので、次の市場は何処か、というお話で、最近候補に挙げられ 手いるのが台湾、タイ、インドネシアなど。この記事はインドネシアは危険も多いが 可能性がありそうだというもの。
The Indonesian economy grew 5.5% last year, and is projected to expand 6.2% this year and 6.5% in 2008 アジア経済危機以来、やっとまともな成長が望めそうな状況になってきたという。
As inflation has steadily fallen, the central bank has cut interest rates 13 times over the past 18 months, from 12% to 8.25%, and economists expect rates to fall to 8% this year and 7.5% by the end of 2008. 金利が下げられて、1.5年で12%→8.25%、2008年末に7.5%の予想。このため経済 成長に有利な環境;しかし無論、問題や危険は多くて・・(後略)
In India, Internet Shares Hardly Come Cheap インドのインターネット関連株式が、目茶高になっているわけだが ------------------------------------------------------------- With a market cap of $740 million, Rediff today trades at 115 times trailing earnings and 88 times forward earnings, while Sify, with a market value of $440 million (including $53 million in cash), sells at a trailing P/E of 205 and a forward multiple of 60. インドのインターネット関連株の代表例のようなRediffはPERが115、Sifyは205という 驚くような値になっている。これらの株の高さの背景にインド市場でのビジネス拡大 を狙う西欧の大手企業による買収の噂などがあるけれど、それにしても急成長産業と はいえ安くない値・・
阿部首相について、奥さんから見ると: “The truth is, he is a really interesting person with a great sense of humour, but the only face he shows in public is very formal,” she says. “If standing beside him softens the image, that is one of the roles I should be playing.” 「主人はユーモアのセンスあふれる面白い人ですが、公的にはフォーマルな面しか見せ ません」「主人の傍らにいて、ソフトなイメージを出すことが私の役目のひとつかと思 っています」
David Pilling記者は、従軍慰安婦の話題を持ち出しているのだけれど、婦人はやんわり かわしていて問題にならない処方を身につけているような。このあたりは流石というか、 そもそも、お馬鹿なDavid Pilling記者が問題なのだけれど。
How does she view the controversy over so-called “comfort women”, the young women, many Korean, forced to work in Japanese wartime brothels? Her husband had recently got into hot water by suggesting that Japan’s Imperial Army was not directly responsible. “I don’t want to say much about this,” she says, reaching for an answer clearly scripted by advisers. ”Many things went on under the circumstances of war and I feel very sorry for those women who had to become comfort women.”
柳澤大臣の「生む機械発言」も持ち出しているのだけれど: “I think the analogy that Yanagisawa-san used was a slip,” she says. “His wife is an artist and a university professor. She is independent and has her own opinions. If Yanagisawa-san really thought in that old-fashioned way, he would have made her quit her job and support his election campaign. I think he used the word ‘machine’ by accident.” 「柳澤さんの発言は口が滑ったと言う事でしょう。彼の奥様は大学教授で芸術家ですが 独立した方で、ご自分の意見をお持ちです。柳澤さんが古臭い女性観の持ち主であれば 奥さんの仕事を止めさせて、選挙活動を手伝わせるでしょう。彼の『機械」発言は事故 の様なものでしょう」
小泉さんについて: Junichiro Koizumi, the bachelor prime minister, also stuck. “He told me: ‘Every day as prime minister is hard, so when he comes home give him a big hug.” 「小泉さんは私に『首相にとっては毎日が激務なんだ。だから、彼が帰ってきたら抱きし めてあげなさい』といわれました」
Subpart B--Specific Tolerances for Residues of New Animal Drugs
Sec. 556.570 Ractopamine. (a) Acceptable Daily Intake (ADI). The ADI for total residues of ractopamine hydrochloride is 1.25 micrograms per kilogram of body weight per day.
(b) Tolerances--(1) Cattle--(i) Liver (the target tissue). The tolerance for ractopamine hydrochloride (the marker residue) is 0.09 parts per million (ppm).
(ii) Muscle. The tolerance for ractopamine hydrochloride (the marker residue) is 0.03 ppm.
(2) Swine--(i) Liver (the target tissue). The tolerance for ractopamine hydrochloride (the marker residue) is 0.15 ppm.
(ii) Muscle. The tolerance for ractopamine hydrochloride (the marker residue) is 0.05 ppm. [68 FR 54659, Sept. 18, 2003]
業種別に見れば:textiles (+285.0%), food and beverages (+158.9%), transportation machinery (+90.5%), and electrical machinery (+82.6%). Services saw a large positive revision (+180.0%), その一方で下方修正しているセクターは:information/communications (-19.9%), wholesaling and retailing (-16.3%), transportation (-12.6%), electric and gas utilities (-11.5%), and construction and real estate (-4.0%).
<貴方の大好きなブログは?> WSJによれば、今年はブログの生誕10年目なのだそうで、それを祝する幾つかの 記事が。有名人に「一番好きなブログ」を聞くというのもやっていて、どんなもの が読まれているか、ちょっと興味; -------------------------------------------------------------------- ttp://online.wsj.com/article/SB118436667045766268.html?mod=home_we_banner_left Happy Blogiversary By TUNKU VARADARAJAN July 14, 2007; Page P1 It's been 10 years since the blog was born. -------------------------------------------------------------------- Harold Evans:A Spurious Megaphone Editor at large, the Week Former editor, the Times of London Favorite blogs: AndrewSullivan.com (political pundit for the Atlantic Monthly); MichaelTotten.com (Mideast affairs blogger); HeadButler.com (news and culture roundup) -------------------------------------------------------------------- James Taranto:Answering an Unmet Need Editor, OpinionJournal.com Favorite blogs: KausFiles.com (Slate's prolific political blogger); InstaPundit.com (Libertarian law professor's take on politics and technology); JustOneMinute.typepad.com (Recent addition to politics blog circuit) -------------------------------------------------------------------- Newt Gingrich:New Political 'Prosumers' Former House speaker Favorite blogs: RedState.com (Republican news and notes); Corner.NationalReview.com (conservative magazine's politics blog); PowerlineBlog.com (covers law and right-leaning politics)
Xiao Qiang:Breaking the 'Great Firewall' Founder and editor of China Digital Times (an independent aggregator of China news); director, China Internet Project at the Graduate School of Journalism at the University of California, Berkeley Favorite blogs: ZonaEuropa.com (global news with a focus on China); SmartMobs.com (author Howard Rheingold's tech thoughts); Blog.DoNews.com/keso (opinated takes on tech, from iPhone to Google) -------------------------------------------------------------------- Elizabeth Spiers:Effective Niche Targeting Writer Founding editor, Gawker (news and gossip site) Favorite blogs: Reason.com/blog (news and commentary recommended by libertarian magazine's staff) MaudNewton.com (former attorney who writes on literature and culture); DesignObserver.com (posts about design)
是↓は、シンガポールのストレーツ・タイムズに掲載された中国のソフト・パワー を論じるもので筆者は華僑系の人のように見えて、英国の大学の研究者のような。 この中で、中国のやっている南京大虐殺や従軍慰安婦のキャンペーンについて触れて・・ ----------------------------------------------------------------------- ttp://www.straitstimes.com/Free/Story/STIStory_137084.html Blind spots in China's soft power 中国のソフトパワーの盲点 By Lu Yi Yi, For The Straits Times
(略) However, China has had little success in winning international sympathy and support in its dispute with Japan over history. Every Chinese national knows about the 1937 Nanjing Massacre in which 300,000 Chinese civilians were reportedly killed by the Japanese army, but only after the publication of a best-selling book by an American journalist in 1997 did the Western public learn about this 'forgotten Holocaust of World War II'. 中国は日本との諍いのある歴史問題で、国際的な支持やシンパシーを獲得していない。 全ての中国人は1937年の南京大虐殺で30万人の民間人が殺害されたといわれている事 を知っている。しかしそれは西欧の一般大衆には(アイリス・チャンの)ベストセラー 本のお陰で、忘れ去られていたホロコーストが知られたに過ぎない。
Although many Chinese women were enslaved as 'comfort women' for Japanese soldiers during the war, it was only through the efforts of South Korean, Filipino, Taiwanese and Western NGOs that the crimes against comfort women gained worldwide attention and pressure piled up on the Japanese government to issue an official apology. 中国人女性が従軍慰安婦として強制されて働かされていたにもかかわらず、日本政府へ の公的な謝罪を求めるNGOなどの動きについては、中国は韓国、フィリピン、台湾な どに及んでいない。
China's continued anger over Japan's handling of their shared history may well be justified, but there is no Chinese NGO to tell an international audience the little-known facts about the sufferings of millions of Chinese people under Japanese occupation. There is no Chinese NGO to explain to the international community, using language and methods familiar to them, why the Chinese seem hung up on things that happened long ago and why they seem to enjoy bashing Japan over its past quite so much. 中国の、日本が歴史問題を対処するやり方に覚えるに怒りには正当性があるかもしれないが 中国のNGOが国際コミニティに対して、日本の行なった蛮行を説明するといった事が行 われていない。中国は何故、昔の事件にこだわって日本バッシングばかりしているのかと いった批判があリ、有効に反論できていない。
With all the criticisms of Japan coming from either the Chinese government or blog postings and Internet chatroom discussions, their credibility has been severely challenged. The Chinese government is vulnerable to accusations that it is exploiting history to deflect domestic political tensions and to try to out-manoeuvre Japan in present-day rivalries, while most Internet chattering is rightly dismissed as nothing more than wild nationalistic raving. 中国政府哉中国系のブログなどの行なう日本への批判は、その信頼性に疑問が投げかけら れている。中国政府の(日本批判は)中国の国内問題の政治的緊張をかわす為に日本の歴 史問題を利用しているという批判に傷つきやすいところがある。
Until there are independent, internationally savvy Chinese NGOs operating abroad to serve as a bridge between the Chinese and other peoples, and to fill in the gaps left by China's formal diplomacy, it is probably premature to give high scores to China's soft power. 中国政府から独立した、国際的なセンスのあるNGOが、中国の国外で、中国国民と海外 の人たちとの間の(歴史問題に関わる)ギャップを埋めるようになるまで、そして中国の 外交の遣り残した仕事を終えるまで、中国のソフトパワーには高い評価を与えられない。
カイロに本拠を置く、エジプトの巨大建設会社、Orascom Construction Industries S.A.E. が北朝鮮の国営セメント・プラントの50%株式を引き受けると発表した。これは$115M の投資となる。
Nassef Sawiris, chief executive of Orascom Construction, said he is hopeful such aid could form the base for economic development in North Korea. "Shortly they will get a lot of aid from various countries, [which] will enhance growth and increase demand for cement," he said in an interview. 社長のNassef Sawiris氏は国際的な北朝鮮への経済支援が増大すると期待している。 「近じか、多くの国際的支援が寄せられるであろうから、それがセメントの需要を高 める」と述べている。
Mr. Sawiris is one of three sons of Onsi Sawiris, head of Egypt's most prominent business family. The family empire also includes tourism and telecom companies Sawiris氏はエジプトでも最も有名なビジネスの名家であるOnsi Sawiris氏の息子のひと りである。
What could be reassuring about killer Chinese toothpaste, toys and tires? Hard to believe, but there's a silver lining. The rash of product recalls reveals that China is not the manufacturing juggernaut we fear -- and that America has an edge we tend to overlook.
Sure, greed factors into why Chinese suppliers make defective, even harmful products. But often it's because of just plain ineptitude. 中国製の、殺人歯磨き、有毒玩具、危険なタイア等で、安心させられることがあるのだ ろうか?安心させられるわけが無いように見えるが、しかし、これは希望の兆しなのだ。
If you visited a typical Chinese factory, you'd see why. It lacks capital, technology and know-how. Its workers place obedience over quality. And it sits along an endless chain of middlemen. 中国の典型的な工場を訪問してみればわかるが、そこには資本(投下)が不足しており、技 術やノウハウが不足している。品質よりは労働者の服従が求められ、製造工場は果てしな く長い中間業者の鎖につながっている。
We should take another hard look at the "China Century." China's rise need not drive America's fall. By tapping into its expansion and capitalizing on our strengths, America's companies have a once-in-a-century windfall opportunity to build value, make money and create jobs here at home -- not shutter the shop.
Putting near-term gains aside, though, the next century will not be led by the country that can make the cheapest copy of a spark plug. It will be led by innovators and entrepreneurs, America's unrivaled assets. Innovation -- not imitation -- will create jobs and maintain America's economic primacy in the century ahead.
The scope of the product recalls will surely widen as we start to scrutinize what we're importing from China. Remember, these recalls tell us as much about China as they do about America. The silver lining is our inherent strength. 短期的な話は暫く置いて、次の世紀を考えるならば、それは製造物の安いコピーを作る 能力のある国によって導かれることはないであろう。それはイノベーターと起業家によ って、つまりアメリカの並ぶところの無い優位性のある資産によって、導かれると思う。