Tyco International Surges After Profit Tops Estimates

- Tyco International Ltd. rose the most in more than six years in New York trading after the world’s largest maker of security systems posted first-quarter profit and sales that exceeded analysts’ estimates.
Tyco International climbed $3.93, or 19 percent, to $24.27 at 4:15 p.m. in New York Stock Exchange composite trading, the biggest percentage increase since July 26, 2002. The shares are up 12 percent so far this year.
Sales excluding acquisitions, divestitures and currency effects fell 1 percent, beating the company’s November forecast of as much as a 3 percent decline. Restructuring and other expenses declined from a year earlier. Tyco raised its estimate for cost-cutting charges this year to as much as $150 million from $50 million as it shrinks to cope with the slowing economy.
Better-than-expected results “were driven by substantially better operating margins,” Nigel Coe, an analyst at Deutsche Bank, wrote in a note to clients. “With growth in the recurring revenue and modest backlog build, this result will likely be viewed in a favorable light.” He has a “buy” rating on Tyco.
Profit from continuing operations declined 24 percent to $272 million, or 57 cents a share, from $360 million, or 72 cents, a year earlier, the Bermuda-based company said today in a statement. Revenue in the quarter ended Dec. 26 fell 8.5 percent to $4.43 billion.
Excluding some items, Tyco International earned 61 cents a share. The average of 12 analysts’ estimates compiled by Bloomberg was for 47 cents on sales of $4.39 billion. Results fell in each of Tyco’s five main divisions, hurt by the strengthening U.S. dollar and weak demand in North America and Europe.

2009 Forecast
For the year ending in September, per-share profit will be $2.28 to $2.50 a share, excluding potential restructuring costs of 8 cents a share, Tyco International said. That’s in line with the previous November forecast that included such costs and was $2.20 to $2.50.
Tyco International decided to exclude the restructuring costs because they aren’t yet set and to make the forecast “as neat and clean as possible,” Chief Executive Officer Ed Breen said on a conference call. As economic conditions become more clear, Tyco will update the forecast on cost cutting, he said. The unchanged $2.50-a-share end of the range reflects a reduced outlook for the electrical and metal unit.
“While the environment is clearly more challenging, I believe we have the appropriate focus and disciplines to address our cost structure and our long-term growth initiatives,” Breen said on the call.
Swiss Move
In the second quarter, total revenue will be $4.2 billion to $4.3 billion, while per-share profit should be 40 cents to 43 cents, excluding about 6 cents in restructuring costs and other expenses, Breen said. Currency translation will shave about $500 million, Breen said.
The electrical and metal products segment will likely have a better second half of year than first as costs improve, Breen said.
“We see Tyco as one of only a few names within industrials that we would buy both relative and absolute,” Scott Davis, a Morgan Stanley analyst, wrote in a note to investors today, citing results and the 2009 forecast. He has an “overweight” rating on the stock.
Tyco International, run from West Windsor, New Jersey, projected on Nov. 11 that first quarter profit from continuing operations excluding some items would be 46 cents to 49 cents a share.

The company said it December it is seeking to move its headquarters to Switzerland, which has an established tax treaty with the U.S.
Director Resignation
Tyco International agreed to sell most of its infrastructure business known as Earth Tech to Aecom Technology Corp. for $510 million in the 2008 second quarter. The company agreed to sell its Ancon building products unit for $174 million in cash in the third quarter.
The company also said today that Admiral Dennis C. Blair has resigned from the board after President Barack Obama appointed him as director of national intelligence.



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Market Share J.C. Penney Bridge Plan Targets Market Share Gains in Downturn

The J.C. Penney bridge plan, initiated in early 2008 to help it mitigate the impact of a slowing economy, has helped the retailer survive the recession and position itself for market share gains.
In discussing 2008 results during a Friday conference call that included lower but a better than expected earnings, the company reported that it cut headquarters and store labor expenses, managing to realign its work functions without the major lay offs many of its competitors have initiated.

In one example, it saved $16 million in selling-related labor costs in December even as it improved customer service scores by more effectively pegging employee hours to peak selling periods. Because it launched its plan at the beginning of 2008, J.C. Penney got a jump on costs before the economic downturn deepened later in the year, so it was in a position not only to cut labor expenses in the critical holiday selling season but also to slash inventories by 10.5%.
And, although it dropped its store opening pace from 50 annually, J.C. Penny did manage to opened 35 new or relocated stores in 2008 while committing $970 million to capital spending, down from $1.2 billion in 2007 and a little below the reduced number of $1 billion it announced under the bridge plan. The company plans to spend about $600 million this year opening 17 new stores, including its first Manhattan location, and renovating existing ones. J.C. Penney is opening new stores in a period when many rivals are closing locations, a point chairman and CEO Mike Ulman made in the call.

Store closings and some outright liquidations, of the Mervyns chain particularly, provide J.C. Penney a ready chance to win market share. So do service disruptions and problems with keeping shelves properly stocked that will arise at other stores as management deals with work force issues in the midst of major layoffs.

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Anheuser Busch InBev

Why "Anheuser-Busch" Hall?

The Current is happy to join with the whole University community in celebrating the Anheuser-Busch Foundation's recent gift of $2.5 million, to underwrite, in part, construction of a new building for the College of Business Administration. While we hope that we may avoid a charge of biting the hand that feeds us, we are nonetheless perturbed to learn that the new building will be christened Anheuser-Busch Hall.
We are constrained to wonder why the new facility will not be called "Anheuser-Busch InBev Hall." That, after all, is the new name of the corporate entity that has contributed, for over 150 years, to the worldwide reputation of St. Louis as the home of what is, arguably, the world's best (certainly the best-selling) beer.
Is the soft-pedaling of the InBev takeover a tacit admission of the bad taste that the beer wars have left in the mouths of St. Louisans? We cannot help but wonder why A-B InBev, and its corporate dependent, the A-B Foundation, have been so studious in ignoring the InBev connection in terms of the Foundation's corporate largesse.
All of this is beside the point. What has caught us off-guard is the fact that the building is to be named for the sponsoring corporation at all. There is subtext to this decision, and we are not pleased thereby.

We understand that the University of Missouri - St. Louis, being a public institution, lacks, to a great degree, the cachet that private institutions of higher education, with their private endowments, enjoy. We appreciate that UM-St. Louis is, in many ways, the red-headed stepchild of public education in Missouri.
We get the fact that, without the charity of a private enterprise, the College of Business Administration's construction effort would be just that much further from realizing its financing goal. We do not feel that the point had to be rammed home quite so bluntly, or so blatantly, by naming the new facility Anheuser-Busch Hall.
If A-B and the College of Business Administration wanted to draw the connection between business education and the business of beer, we submit that a better name might have been "August Anheuser Hall," or "Adolphus Busch Hall," or even "August Anheuser/Adolphus Busch Hall." Any of those choices would have paid tribute to the business leaders who built the brewery that built St. Louis' reputation. Naming the facility "Augustus A. Busch, III Hall," would have at least afforded the opportunity to nickname the building, "The Gussie," the same way the Blanche M. Touhill Performing Arts Center is affectionately known as "The Blanche."
We note that the North Campus quadrangle is bounded, on the south, by Thomas Jefferson Library, and on the east by Clark Hall, named for William Clark; on the northeast stands Lucas Hall, named for St. Louis pioneer Jean-Baptiste-Marie Lucas.
We submit, that if A-B and the College of Business Administration wanted to honor the business heritage of St. Louis, they would have done better to name the new building "Chouteau Hall," which would honor the greatest of St. Louis' entrepreneurial pioneers. That, at least, would have maintained the historical integrity of the system by which UM-St. Louis named its academic buildings.
As it stands, we have to wonder whether A-B's gift actually constitutes a charitable contribution, or an advertising expense.



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China Sees Global Law-Firm Growth as Jobs Fall in U.S., U.K.

Yuval Tal’s new office in Hong Kong, New York-based Proskauer Rose LLP’s first in Asia, doesn’t have a doorbell yet, and he’s already planning to open another in Beijing “as soon as we can.”

London’s Slaughter and May will also open in China’s capital once it gets the needed approvals, adding to the 28 foreign firms in mainland China since September 2006, a 19 percent increase to 177 firms. In Hong Kong, they’ve doubled to 66 since 2004, driven by initial public offerings that raised more than $40 billion a year in 2006 and 2007.
The continued expansion comes as some of the largest U.S. and U.K. law firms cut jobs at home because of the global financial crisis. While China isn’t immune -- new share sales collapsed to $7.9 billion last year -- lawyers said the country’s growing importance to clients makes it an essential location for global law firms, along with New York and London.
“It’s insane not to be doubling down on China if you can afford to take the long-term view,” said Christopher Stephens, Asia managing partner of Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP.
With the world’s largest foreign-currency reserves and third-largest economy “it’s now at the center of resolving global economic, financial and political crises,” Stephens said. San-Francisco based Orrick cut 40 structured-finance, real estate and corporate lawyers worldwide in November.
Latham & Watkins LLP, based in Los Angeles, expanded its Hong Kong office this month into a local law practice with the addition of seven lawyers from Allen & Overy LLP, including the U.K. firm’s former Asia corporate chief, Michael Liu.

Shift to Asia
“Latham & Watkins made a significant investment in London and Europe in the last decade, and you’re now seeing that same approach in Asia,” said Joseph Bevash, its Hong Kong managing partner. “A preponderance of future deals” will involve U.S., U.K. or Hong Kong law, he said.
The Hong Kong law capacity that Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP developed in 2005 helped the New York-based firm win work from Coca-Cola Co. advising on its planned $2.3 billion acquisition of China Huiyuan Juice Group Ltd.
“Skadden has a long relationship with Coca-Cola in the U.S., and we were able to demonstrate that we had the right platform and experience in Hong Kong and China to advise them on this deal,” said Nicholas Norris, co-head of the firm’s Hong Kong practice.
The purchase of China’s largest fruit juice maker, listed in Hong Kong, will be Coca-Cola’s largest outside the U.S. if approved by regulators.

Chinalco, Minmetals
Chinese companies seeking acquisitions like Aluminum Corp. of China (Chinalco) and China Minmetals Corp. are also encouraging firms like Slaughter and May to open in Beijing, according to Hong Kong Senior Partner Richard Thornhill.
“Last year everybody saw an increase in Chinese outbound acquisitions, and we concluded that we needed to be there physically,” he said. The world’s top metal user, China has agreed to acquire $22 billion worth of commodity assets this year. Chinese companies are also considering buying businesses like Ford Motor Co.’s Volvo car unit.
“This is potentially the buying opportunity of a lifetime,” said Howard Chao, Asia practice chairman of Los Angeles-based O’Melveny & Myers LLP. “Besides energy and resources, general manufacturing like automobiles, this is a great opportunity for Chinese companies to build a global network.”
Asia’s long-term growth prospects lie behind Chicago-based Winston & Strawn LLP’s opening a Hong Kong office in December, according to Asian Practice Chairman Simon Luk.

Right Time
The current financial crisis may affect its plans for Beijing and Shanghai offices, he added. “Clearly we’re looking at the environment and the time to decide.”
New private equity investments in Asia fell 38 percent to $54.9 billion last year, while the funds raised by private equity-invested companies from new share sales slumped 77 percent to $15.2 billion, according to the Asian Venture Capital Journal.
“The market has become smaller, and private equity activity is down,” said Neil Torpey, Hong Kong office chairman of Los Angeles-based Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker LLP. “Many bank- affiliated investment groups are either closing up shop or not doing much.”
The impact on China from the global financial crisis is just starting to be felt, according to Peter Charlton, Asia managing partner for Clifford Chance LLP, the London-based firm advising Chinalco on its $19.5 billion acquisition of Rio Tinto Group debt and stakes in its mines.

Cutbacks, Caution
“Chinese and other Asian businesses will continue to invest in the region and beyond, but many clients outside the region are cutting back on investment into China at the moment,” Charlton said.
“When I came here in November, I wanted to double Asian revenues and had hoped that was achievable in a four-year time frame. It’ll take longer, and we’ll be more cautious about growth,” he said in a Jan. 21 interview.
Clifford Chance, the world’s largest law firm by revenue, said Feb. 4 it would cut as many as 106 lawyers in the U.S. and U.K. Firms including Allen & Overy have also been trimming their staff in Hong Kong and China.
Proskauer Rose said some clients, including the National Basketball Association, are going ahead with plans in China and opening a Beijing office is important to serving more than U.S. clients. Proskauer fired 35 lawyers and about 25 support administrative staff in December.
“Obviously it’s a difficult market to expand in, and we’ll be prudent, but this is a long-term plan for us,” Tal said this month in an interview.


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Investment Bankers Wanted Investment Banker Found in Virginia

To some people, $8 billion looks like their retirement and other investments thrown to the side.
Investor Allen Stanford was tracked down to Virginia Thursday. He's thought to have been staying with his girlfriend.
The SEC is accusing Stanford of luring investors with promises of "improbable and unsubstantiated" high returns on their investments.
Although Stanford is not in police custody, he was told to surrender his passport. All of his assets have been frozen.

A half-dozen other countries have been affected by this fraud case. In Venezuela, a bank run by Stanford was siezed. Bankers were unable to withdraw their money and were just waiting to find out when they'd hear about their savings.
Stanford owns a house on the Virgin Islands and runs businesses across the nation and overseas.

[SigmaForex Bonus Revolution]

Have you ever imagined that even the hardest times can lay your interest?
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Actually the key solution is within your hands! But what happened is that you have got blinded with the shock of unexpected financial crisis that extends its arms to hold the entire economic world for a not specified time. All what you need is some confidence and a helping hand guiding you to a real bright path.
Almost all successful people have learned how to make their own interest even from their own loss! Just some confidence and resistance, and above all the choice of the right hit at the right time. It is a common goal for money makers to have a continuous ability of preserving their financial status. So, stop thinking of the goal only and start thinking of the way you are going to do it, and ask yourself how can I still make the amount of money I was doing before even in the worst time in economic history?
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Zuckerman

ZICER is the first physical symbol of recognition commemorating Lord Solly Zuckerman, the Government's first Chief Scientific Adviser and one of the founding fathers of the School. Covering five floors, it houses open plan office accommodation for researchers as well as novel exhibition and seminar space on the top floor. Its core aim is to foster interdisciplinary research between the natural and social sciences.

ZICER houses a number of collaborating, cutting-edge international research centres, namely the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change, CSERGE and the Centre for Environmental Risk, as well as faculty, research scientists and postdoctoral researchers from right across the School. ZICER also hosts a number of bodies which are actively involved in Knowledge Transfer activities, namely CRed and Renewables East. One floor of the building houses a Virtual Reality theatre which is the centrepiece of the Social Science for the Environment, Virtual Reality and Experimental Laboratories (SSEVREL). SSEVREL also includes an Experimental Laboratory and facilities for holding and monitoring focus group discussions.

The building is also showcases some of the most innovative environmentally friendly building design in the world. The roof is covered with photovoltaic panels, which generate 33 kilowatt of electricity in peak conditions. This is fed into the building, reducing the demand on the grid. The building is naturally cooled by air which is circulated at night through the building’s hollow Termodeck floors. Improved insulation, triple glazed windows, energy efficient lighting, as well as better sealing and more efficient air handling result in even lower energy standards than the current leader in the industry, UEA’s Elizabeth Fry building, constructed in 1995.
ZICER won the ‘Low Energy Building of the Year’ award in the Building Magazine’s 2005 sustainability competition. It has also been short listed for the Times Higher Education Supplement’s ‘Outstanding Contribution to Sustainable Development’ award in the Higher 2006 awards.



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Safety of funds plays an important role in any type of business; we make our best efforts to ensure protection of customers’ money.
Minimum deposit required for funding new accounts:
Our accounting department is ready to help you fund your new account or add funds to an existing account. For Standard Dealing Desk Accounts the minimum deposit is $ 500, and for the No Dealing Desk Accounts the minimum deposit is $ 2000.
Deposit instructions:
You must open a web account and associate it with your live account to insure security of transactions in your account

How to do so?
1. Open web account
2. Login and associate your Live Trading Account with your Web Account
3. Login to your Web Account and click 'Make a Deposit"

Deposit methods
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A wire transfer is a transfer of money from one bank account to another. The actual transfer is done by the bank, and neither the sender nor the recipient of the money sees or touches the actual funds.

Deposit Time
1-5 business days SigmaForex does not guarantee deposit times in the event of a margin call

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None
SigmaForex will not be held responsible for charges or fees assessed by going through an intermediary bank.

Withdrawal Eligibility
Immediate availability
Restrictions
The account holder name of the funds must always match the name listed as the customer on the trading account.

2- E-gold payments
Open www.e-gold.com- Create new e-gold account - Issue transfer request from your e-gold account to SigmaForex e-gold account.
Deposit Time
Immediate deposit SigmaForex does not guarantee deposit times in the event of a margin call
Fees
None
SigmaForex will not be held responsible for charges or fees assessed by going through an intermediary bank.

Withdrawal Eligibility
Immediate availability
Restrictions
The account holder name of the funds must always match the name listed as the customer on the trading account.

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Boston Properties

Boston Properties Inc., the biggest US office landlord by market value, said fourth-quarter earnings fell as the company wrote down the value of investments in joint ventures.
Funds from operations, a cash flow measure used by real estate investment trusts, fell to $5.9 million, or 5 cents a share, from $147.5 million, or $1.22, a year ago, the company said in a statement distributed today by Business Wire. Boston Properties had a net loss of $91.6 million, or 76 cents, compared with profit of $123.8 million, or $1.02, a year ago.

Chairman Mortimer Zuckerman, 71, said yesterday in an interview that the recession and credit crisis will make for “a much tougher 2009 than many people are expecting.”
“Almost all tenants have moved to the sidelines,” he said. They’re afraid to make a commitment, because they’ve lost confidence in the future of the economy.”
Funds from operations is net income excluding depreciation and certain one-time items, including property dispositions, and doesn’t conform with generally accepted accounting principles.
Boston Properties rose $3.44, or 7.8 percent, to close at $47.29 in New York Stock Exchange composite trading. The shares have declined 14 percent this year, compared with a 14 percent drop in the 14-member Bloomberg REIT Office Property Index.

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Please Note that transfer fees and bank charges may apply, and depend on the form of transfer.
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Potash Sale

Rio Tinto Ltd, the world's third biggest miner, has completed the $US850 million ($A1.32 billion) sale of its undeveloped potash assets in Argentina and Canada to Brazilian group Vale.
The global miner is attempting to reduce its debt and conserve cash by cutting capital spending, shedding about 14,000 jobs and increasing asset sales.

The potash divestment was part of a larger transaction with Vale that includes the sale of the Corumba iron ore mine in Brazil and an associated logistics operations in Paraguay.
Rio Tinto said the $US750 million ($A1.17 billion) Corumba sale is expected in the second half of 2009 when appropriate consents are received.



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Iron Ore assets

Anglo American has set up teams to study the iron ore assets of Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton should the mining giants be told to divest operations as a requirement of allowing the latter's hostile takeover to progress.
Anglo is understood to be keen on picking up iron ore projects in Australia - seen by many as the most likely assets to be sold if regulators force disposals on BHP.
The company has significant iron ore projects in Brazil and plans to boost capital expenditure on its assets to take advantage of soaring prices that have seen Chinese steel makers recently agree to almost double the price they pay suppliers such as Rio Tinto and Brazil's Vale.


• More on mining
However, buying assets in Australia would give the group a far stronger position.
Xstrata, which recently ceased takeover talks with Vale, is also studying Rio and BHP assets in the region.
The European Commission is due to announce within the next few weeks whether it will block the BHP takeover, clear it, or take its investigation to a more detailed phase. Most in the industry, including BHP itself, believe the latter outcome to be the most likely.
John Meyer, an analyst with investment bank Fairfax, said: "I think it will be a very big issue with the EU. I would be extremely surprised if there wasn't a divestment required. At the end of the day, the EU is not going to want to see so much Australian iron ore concentrated in single hands."


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Nothing comes between us and you, we rely on your business; therefore, you can rely on ours, which means that we will be working hard on our behalf to make certain of your success.
Reliability Is Natural For Us, Our Services and Products Natural For You.
We care to make you feel secure with us, and that is a priceless service that will bring in continuous benefits for both of us. Which is why we have created the Trio contest, it is the First and the Only Tri contest in the World wide Financial Market called Forex.

TRIO Contest divides into 3 Main contest stages,

1. Elite Competition
Every game is new business opportunity (Elite Contest)
2. Oriental Competition
A Virtual World with Live Pictures (Oriental Contest)
3. Post-Graduate Competition
Opening a new page in your Life (Post-Graduate Competition)

Rio Tinto

Rio Tinto, which is listed in the UK and Australia, currently employs 97,000 people worldwide.
It said it was responding to "the unprecedented rapidity and severity of the global economic downturn".
In the past few months, Rio Tinto has been fending off a takeover approach from rival BHP Billiton, which finally abandoned its offer in November.

Price moves
Rio Tinto said that closing one of its London offices would not necessarily lead to job cuts. Less than 2% of its workforce are based in the UK.
It said that the job cuts would comprise 8,500 contractors and 5,500 employees.
As a global miner, Rio Tinto is very sensitive to commodities prices and exchange rates.
It benefited from soaring metals prices in the first half of the year, but has since suffered as they have fallen back.
But falling oil prices have been good news for it - a $1-a-barrel fall in the price of oil adds about $11m to the group's earnings.
Debt problems
Rio Tinto's shares ended Wednesday trading up 256 pence to just above £15, although they are still well off the year's high above £70 a share.
Analysts say the level of its debt has been one of the factors depressing the company's value.

[SigmaForex Bonus Revolution]

Have you ever imagined that even the hardest times can lay your interest?
You may now wonder and asking yourself how it can be done while we live the toughest time in our economic world. All imagine that we have reached the top of the crisis and will remain there for a cloudy time, which has been specified predictably by the economic experts.

But what if you have the key for passing by all that?
Actually the key solution is within your hands! But what happened is that you have got blinded with the shock of unexpected financial crisis that extends its arms to hold the entire economic world for a not specified time. All what you need is some confidence and a helping hand guiding you to a real bright path.
Almost all successful people have learned how to make their own interest even from their own loss! Just some confidence and resistance, and above all the choice of the right hit at the right time. It is a common goal for money makers to have a continuous ability of preserving their financial status. So, stop thinking of the goal only and start thinking of the way you are going to do it, and ask yourself how can I still make the amount of money I was doing before even in the worst time in economic history?
One of the most necessary steps in your thinking and performance is not to take a long time in thinking and planning to be able to catch the chances available in the market, especially at this time. This doesn't mean to be rash, but to be selective and have the deepest insight.

In reversing the situation for the sake of your own interest, SigmaForex has strived to think and produce the best solution for money makers in FOREX through it's three types of accounts.
The motto of SigmaForex is "Not only physical power that can make you win, it is the power of mind that helps you the most to make the best living in all its sides".
The second step you need to go through after thinking is to apply the principle of "use the useless for your usefulness", by catching the best chances available. And here in speaking about the chances, Sigma Forex offers three unique business accounts with three bonus budgets existed nowhere else and we called it"The Bonus Revolution"

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Democratic Republic of Congo

A vast country with immense economic resources, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo) has been at the centre of what could be termed Africa's world war.
This has left it in the grip of a humanitarian crisis.
The five-year conflict pitted government forces, supported by Angola, Namibia and Zimbabwe, against rebels backed by Uganda and Rwanda. Despite a peace deal and the formation of a transitional government in 2003, the threat of civil war has re-emerged in the east of the country.

The war claimed an estimated three million lives, either as a direct result of fighting or because of disease and malnutrition. It has been called possibly the worst emergency to unfold in Africa in recent decades.
The war had an economic as well as a political side. Fighting was fuelled by the country's vast mineral wealth, with all sides taking advantage of the anarchy to plunder natural resources.
The history of DR Congo has been one of civil war and corruption. After independence in 1960, the country immediately faced an army mutiny and an attempt at secession by its mineral-rich province of Katanga.
A year later, its prime minister, Patrice Lumumba, was seized and killed by troops loyal to army chief Joseph Mobutu.
In 1965 Mobutu seized power, later renaming the country Zaire and himself Mobutu Sese Seko. He turned Zaire into a springboard for operations against Soviet-backed Angola and thereby ensured US backing. But he also made Zaire synonymous with corruption.

Nonetheless, DR Congo's troubles continued. A rift between Mr Kabila and his former allies sparked a new rebellion, backed by Rwanda and Uganda. Angola, Namibia and Zimbabwe took Kabila's side, turning the country into a vast battleground.
Coup attempts and sporadic violence heralded renewed fighting in the eastern part of the country in 2008. Rwandan Hutu militias clashed with government forces in April, displacing thousands of civilians.
Another militia under rebel General Laurent Nkunda had signed a peace deal with the government in January, but clashes broke out again in August. Gen Nkunda's forces advanced on government bases and the provincial capital Goma in the autumn, causing civilians and troops to flee while UN peacekeepers tried to hold the line alongside the remaining government forces.
In an attempt to bring the situation under control, the government in January 2009 invited in troops from Rwanda to help mount a joint operation against the Rwandan rebel Hutu militias active in eastern DR Congo.
Rwanda also moved to arrest the Hutu militias' main rival, Gen Nkunda, a Congolese Tutsi hitherto seen as its main ally in the area.
However, the lot of DR Congo's citizens is little improved. The Crisis Group, a Brussels-based think-tank, said in 2005 that 1,000 people were dying every day from war-related causes, including disease, hunger and violence.



[SigmaForex Funding Methods]

Safety of funds plays an important role in any type of business; we make our best efforts to ensure protection of customers’ money.
Minimum deposit required for funding new accounts:
Our accounting department is ready to help you fund your new account or add funds to an existing account. For Standard Dealing Desk Accounts the minimum deposit is $ 500, and for the No Dealing Desk Accounts the minimum deposit is $ 2000.
Deposit instructions:
You must open a web account and associate it with your live account to insure security of transactions in your account

How to do so?
1. Open web account
2. Login and associate your Live Trading Account with your Web Account
3. Login to your Web Account and click 'Make a Deposit"

Deposit methods
1- Bank wire transfer
A wire transfer is a transfer of money from one bank account to another. The actual transfer is done by the bank, and neither the sender nor the recipient of the money sees or touches the actual funds.

Deposit Time
1-5 business days SigmaForex does not guarantee deposit times in the event of a margin call

Fees
None
SigmaForex will not be held responsible for charges or fees assessed by going through an intermediary bank.

Withdrawal Eligibility
Immediate availability
Restrictions
The account holder name of the funds must always match the name listed as the customer on the trading account.

2- E-gold payments
Open www.e-gold.com- Create new e-gold account - Issue transfer request from your e-gold account to SigmaForex e-gold account.
Deposit Time
Immediate deposit SigmaForex does not guarantee deposit times in the event of a margin call
Fees
None
SigmaForex will not be held responsible for charges or fees assessed by going through an intermediary bank.

Withdrawal Eligibility
Immediate availability
Restrictions
The account holder name of the funds must always match the name listed as the customer on the trading account.

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European US stock Financial Stocks Pull Down European Markets

Markets in Asia and Europe fell on Monday, after a report showed that Japan’s economy contracted in the last quarter at its quickest pace in 35 years and a weekend meeting of the Group of 7 finance ministers provided few concrete proposals to counter the recession.
Screens in China showed markets in Europe and Asia lower on Monday. U.S. markets were closed on Washington’s Birthday.
Drops in Europe came after losses in Asia, but trading volumes were subdued as American markets were closed for Washington’s Birthday. American markets reopen Tuesday.

The FTSE 100 in London declined 1.31 percent, the DAX in Frankfurt sank 1.06 percent, and the CAC 40 in Paris dropped 1.19 percent.
Japan’s worse-than-expected fourth-quarter G.D.P. numbers were a sobering reminder of the toll the worst economic downturn in decades is having on Asia’s export-driven economies. Its economy, the world’s second-biggest, shrank 3.3 percent from the previous quarter, or at an annual pace of 12.7 percent.
In Europe, financial stocks dragged markets lower. Shares in Lloyds Banking were volatile in London after the company’s revelation Friday of larger-than-expected losses at the recently acquired Bank of Scotland and on market fears that the combined company might be headed for nationalization.
Shares dropped 20 percent in early trading, but regained ground to close down 8.1 percent. Shares had dropped 30 percent on Friday.
Insurance companies also dragged down the London exchange. The Legal and General Group fell 10.5 percent, Prudential lost 8 percent and Aviva slipped 7 percent.
“Whereas before people were just selling banks, now they are looking at the risk involved with other financials,” said Jane Coffey, head of equities at Royal London Asset Management.
Investors seemed disappointed after finance chiefs from the Group of 7 developed countries finished their meeting in Rome with pledges to work together to bolster growth and unemployment, but stopped short of concrete measures.
Increasingly, investors are unconvinced that world governments are acting quickly enough to counter the economic crisis, analysts said.
“The global recession is deeper than anticipated. At the same time, policy makers are failing to deliver measures to address the problems,” said Dariusz Kowalczyk, chief investment strategist for SJS Markets in Hong Kong. “It seems that what they’re doing is too little too late.”
The Nikkei 225 stock average in Japan edged down 0.38 percent, to 7,750.17 on Monday, and the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong dropped 0.73 percent, to 13,455.88.

The Kospi in South Korea lost 1.4 percent.
India’s benchmark tumbled 3.6 percent after the government, proposing its interim budget, offered no new stimulus measures. Markets in Australia and Singapore also retreated.
In Japan, several exporters were hurt by the data showing the economy sank deeper into recession.
The result represents the steepest drop for Japan since the oil shock of 1974 and outpaced G.D.P. drops in the United States and the euro zone.

A survey of economists by Kyodo news agency had projected an 11.6 percent annualized contraction.
“It’s clearly very shocking data,” said Clive McDonnell, head of Asia strategy at BNP Paribas Securities in Hong Kong. “The drop is certainly beyond our own quite negative expectations.”
Shares in the Toyota Motor Corporation lost 0.7 percent, while the electronics heavyweight Canon slid 1.2 percent and the Sony Corporation fell 1.3 percent.
In the United States, equity markets were closed for Washington’s Birthday. On Friday, the Dow Jones industrial average fell 1 percent, to 7,850.41, its lowest close since Nov. 20. The Standard & Poor’s 500-stock fell 1 percent, ending its week off 4.8 percent.



[SigmaForex Withdrawal Methods]

To withdraw funds from your account Please make sure that you have sufficient funds in place to cover the the necessary margin required for your open positions, after your requested withdrawal.

No requests for transfers to persons other than the account holder will be processed.
SigmaForex may require further identification or documentation in order to complete your request.
Please Note that transfer fees and bank charges may apply, and depend on the form of transfer.
Please note that we try to process the withdrawal request quickly. However, it may take up to 5 business days, depending on the method of transfer.
Your withdrawal from sigma account will be in an efficiently, secure and fast, you can withdraw money from your SigmaForex account at any time.

Withdrawal steps:
1. Login to your web account
2. Choose your withdrawal method
3. Fill the withdrawal form and write down the withdrawn amount

Zurich Financial

Insurance Journal reports that Zurich Financial Services Group, an insurance focused financial services provider, has reached an agreement with Women’s World Banking (WWB), a New York based network of microfinance providers and banks, to establish strategic collaboration in the area of microinsurance. Under the arrangement, a global program will be created to pilot and roll out “caregiver” products, insurance-based solutions providing predefined benefits to clients of WWB affiliate institutions during hospitalization events. The target demographic is primarily female caregivers in low-income households. MicroInsurance Center LLC, a consultancy and research group focused on developing sustainable insurance programs, will aid in designing the endeavor. No further information regarding the specifics of the agreement is released.
WWB President and CEO Ms. Mary Ellen Iskenderian noted that the program with Zurich holds great promise in addressing poverty, especially for females. “Women, more often than not, are the family’s primary caregiver in impoverished areas,” said Ms. Iskenderian. “During a health event, there are more than just medical expenses - lost wages, child care, and transportation to and from the hospital - all add pressure on a household during a tough time. The caregiver program is designed to address just these issues.” The program may also have a multiplier effect in terms of entrepreneurship in low-income populations. That is, saving for adverse events, rather than investing in businesses, often puts the poor at a further disadvantage in their economic mobility efforts. Therefore, insurance programs which lower the need for savings by pooling risk could potentially unlock entrepreneurial outlays by low-income women.

Likewise, the insurance giant believes that, “collaboration with WWB marks another major milestone on Zurich’s route to address the significant unmet need for insurance among disadvantaged populations, especially in emerging markets,” according to Brandon Mathews, Head of Microinsurance. He added, “WWB’s 30 year history of microfinance innovation and its deep customer knowledge perfectly combine with Zurich’s risk management expertise.”
In February, 2007, MicroCapital reported on Zurich’s partnership with the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) to undertake joint implementation of a cross-regional microinsurance initiative. The venture’s primary aim is to expand insurance coverage to disadvantaged sectors of the population in countries across Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Additionally, according to another report from MicroCapital in May, 2008, a microinsurance research project was launched by Zurich in China. The initiative focused on assessing the local demand for microinsurance products, and was part of Zurich’s efforts to further expand its insurance offerings to the nation’s underprivileged segments.
Founded in 1872, Zurich Financial Services Group is a Swiss insurance focused financial services provider with a global network serving customers in more than 170 countries worldwide. In 2007, the company reported a return on equity of 21 percent, and as of March 31, 2008, maintained an Insurer Financial Strength Rating of A+, or Superior, from Fitch Ratings.
WWB is a global network of 54 microfinance providers and banks. It operates in 30 countries and serves 11 million micro entrepreneurs directly, in addition to another 10 million indirectly through its bank partners.



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