Niederauer has spent the last few days meeting European antitrust commissioners and policy makers in Davos, Switzerland, to make a case for why the deal should be allowed to go through.I am still hopeful, but if you are realistic, history tells you it’s a 10 to 20 percent chance, Niederauer said in an interview. I don’t think it is dead, and I think it is more alive than it was three days ago.Concerned about the combined entity’s share of more than 90 percent of the listed derivatives market in Europe, EU Competition Commissioner Joaquin Almunia plans to recommend that the so-called college of commissioners block the deal when the meet on February 1.A source familiar with the matter told Reuters on Tuesday that the European Commission was expected to follow Almunia’s recommendation. Almunia presented a 459-page document laying out his case to the other 26 commissioners last Friday.Almunia had asked for Deutsche Boerse to sell its Eurex derivatives arm, or for NYSE Euronext to offload its London-based futures exchange Liffe. But the exchange operators refused.They have argued that the market for derivatives is global, not just European, and antitrust regulators should have also included the over-the-counter derivatives market when looking at the impact of the deal.Niederauer said their argument was getting some traction with the officials he had met at Davos.We are trying to meet with some of the other commissioners and policy-makers because we believe that is a contrived market definition, that is designed to make the denominator as small as possible and we fundamentally disagree and we are finding a number of other people who do too, he said. That’s where we stand right now.And I think what’s resonating with the commissioners is that it’s completely contradictory to what the commission has said clearly in statements that they have put out in the last few years, he said. So we are getting some sympathy. Is that enough to turn the tide? I don’t know. I guess we will know February 1. Niederauer also said should the deal not go through, NYSE plans to revert to its standalone strategy and reveal details as soon as its next earnings call on February 10. That will include continued focus on the derivatives and technologies businesses. He also said the company plans to say at the time what its capital management approach would be should as a standalone company.
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The franchise, which dates back to the early days of the NFL, find themselves in position to pull off the feat after a late-season surge propelled them into a February 5 Super Bowl rematch against the New England Patriots.From 1933 to 1965, from the advent of the NFL playoffs up to the creation of the Super Bowl, the Giants made the most trips to the championship game but won only three of 14 chances.With star running backs Frank Gifford and Alex Webster, and a staunch defense led by Andy Robustelli, Rosey Grier and Sam Huff, the Giants were a New York glamour team for a stretch starting in the mid-1950s.They won the NFL title in 1956 and lost to the Colts and Hall of Fame quarterback Johnny Unitas in an overtime final at Yankee Stadium in 1958 that is credited with launching the league as must-see TV.The Giants reached the championship game in five out of six seasons from 1958 but lost each time, twice to the Packers and head coach Vince Lombardi, who served as New York’s offensive coordinator in the 1950s.The Giants went into decline after the 1963 title game loss to Chicago and grew keen to leave Yankee Stadium for a home of their own. They struck a deal to build a stadium across the Hudson River in New Jersey.’LOUSY FOOTBALL’Crowds flocked to Giants Stadium but the losing drone on, and got so bad that a group fans in 1978 hired a small plane to fly over the stadium carrying a banner that read: 15 years of lousy football … we’ve had enough at a game where more than 24,000 ticket holders were no-shows.With a dispute hampering the running of the family-owned Giants, NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle suggested they hire a general manager to handle football decisions, recommending Miami Dolphins executive George Young for the job. With Young at the helm, the Giants drafted linebacker Lawrence Taylor, quarterback Phil Simms and hired Bill Parcells as head coach, the cornerstones of a championship team. The Giants won their first Super Bowl in 1987 with a 39-20 win against John Elway and the Denver Broncos. Four years later, they returned to the Super Bowl and beat the Bills 20-19 for the first of Buffalo’s four successive Super Bowl defeats. Four years ago the New York Giants entered the playoffs as a wild card team and, despite arriving to the Super Bowl as a 12-point underdog, beat the Patriots 17-14 to deprive them of an unprecedented 19-0 season. It’s the greatest victory in the history of this franchise, without question, Giants co-owner John Mara, whose grandfather Tim Mara bought the Giants in 1925 for $500, said after the win. CATCHING FIRE5Now, on the 25th anniversary of their first Super Bowl win, the Giants try to duplicate the result with coach Tom Coughlin up against New England counterpart Bill Belichick, who were opposing coaches four years ago and assistant coaches on the 1991 champion Giants team.The Giants’ trip to this year’s Super Bowl in Indianapolis has been even more bizarre than in 2008.Riding the strong arm of quarterback Eli Manning, a crew of speedy receivers and a return to health by the pass-rushing defensive line, New York pulled out of a midseason swoon of four straight losses that led to a 7-7 record before catching fire.New York Jets coach Rex Ryan, a master motivator who had led his team to the AFC title game in each of his first two seasons, inadvertently motivated the Giants for their Christmas Eve game by bragging how his team was superior to their fellow MetLife Stadium tenants.Jets personnel covered the Giants’ championship murals on the wall outside their locker room, exercising their prerogative as the designated home team and infuriating the G-Men.A 99-yard touchdown pass from Manning to Victor Cruz turned that game around and the Giants hung a defeat on the Jets that effectively ended their rival’s postseason chances.The Jets have a big mouth, big belly coach that talks too much, said Giants running back Brandon Jacobs, who had a confrontation with Ryan after the game.’IT’S CRAZY’A regular season-ending rout of the Dallas Cowboys put the Giants into the playoffs despite being outscored by opponents in total points over the 16-game campaign.Surging with confidence, New York beat the Atlanta Falcons in their playoff opener before posting victories over the top-seeded Green Bay Packers and San Francisco 49ers to punch their Super Bowl ticket.In a stunning parallel to four years ago when an overtime field goal on the road sent the Giants to the Super Bowl, they did it again this year with a 20-17 overtime victory in San Francisco on Sunday. I can’t explain it. It’s crazy how similar it is to what happened in 2007, Giants defensive end Osi Umenyiora said after New York’s 20-17 overtime victory in San Francisco. It’s scary.
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Admiral Robert Willard, head of the U.S. Pacific Command, said the military’s goal is to have a network of places close to the sea lanes of Southeast Asia where American forces can visit on rotation, avoiding the costly maintenance of bases.There is no desire nor view right now that the U.S. is seeking basing options anywhere in the Asia-Pacific theater, he told reporters in Washington.Willard spoke as U.S. and Philippine officials were wrapping up two days of strategic talks in Washington that prompted speculation that Washington aimed to reopen bases in the Philippines. The Pentagon flatly denied having new basing plans.He said his Hawaii-based Pacific Command preferred a model along the lines of plans to set up a Marine training facility in northern Australia and to rotate warships through Singapore.As I look at where the forces are and where they need to be present day-to-day, we are biased in Northeast Asia, and when we look at Southeast Asia and South Asia, the pressure is on Pacific Command to deploy and sustain forces there day to day, said Willard.The Pacific Command has 50,000 U.S. forces stationed in Japan and 28,000 in South Korea.Willard noted that media and public discussion of the U.S. strategy in Asia portrayed the policy as being aimed at China, with its fast-growing military budget and assertiveness over maritime territory claims in contested waters of the South China Sea.But the admiral said the Pacific Command’s primary mission was protecting sea lanes in the South China Sea that carry $5 trillion in commerce annually, including $1. trillion in trade with the United States.The U.S. goal with China’s military was to build closer military-to-military ties, overcoming differing philosophies on the purpose of such contacts, trust factor issues and other disputes, said Willard. High-level U.S.-China dialogue and leaders’ meetings like next month’s U.S. visit by Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping has resulted in a situation where the military relationship at that strategic level has been … sustaining itself, said Willard. In other ways, at the operational and tactical level, getting our two militaries more acquainted with one another through operations or through counterpart visits have not advanced, he added. I’m not satisfied that the military relationship is where it needs to be, said Willard.
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Wrapping up a cross-country tour to promote a populist agenda laid out in this week’s State of the Union address, Obama hammered home a reelection campaign appeal for greater economic fairness and called on fellow Democrats to close ranks with him.Obama, who must convince voters to give him a second term despite a fragile economy and high unemployment, used his speech to a Democratic lawmakers’ retreat in Maryland to turn up the heat on their Republican opponents.Republicans accuse him of pursuing the politics of envy and have assailed his State of the Union proposals, including higher taxes on wealthier Americans.Where they obstruct, where they’re unwilling to act, where they’re more interested in party than they are in country … then we’ve got to call them out on it, Obama said to loud applause. We’ve got to push them. We can’t wait. We can’t be held back.The White House believes that by casting Obama as a champion of the middle class, he can tap into voter resentment over income inequality and Wall Street excess, while painting the Republicans as the party beholden to the rich.But Obama’s economic proposals are unlikely to make headway in a deeply divided Congress, where Republicans control the House of Representatives and the president’s legislative agenda remains stalled.Pledging to push hard for his proposal that people earning more than $1 million a year pay a minimum of 30 percent in tax, Obama dismissed Republican criticism this was class warfare.Nobody envies rich people. Everybody wants to be rich … the question is, are we creating opportunity for everybody?Relations between Obama and Democratic lawmakers suffered after Republicans won the House in the 2010 congressional elections, with some Democrats complaining Obama had made too many concessions to his political opponents. But ties have improved in recent months as Obama has taken a more combative line toward Republicans over taxes and jobs and has drawn a stark contrast with Republican presidential hopefuls vying to face him in the November election. Starting his appearance with a standing ovation from the audience, Obama thanked the House Democrats for giving him a compact disc in which they all performed a rendition of Al Green’s ‘I’m So In Love With You.’2
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The regulations, approved unanimously by the state’s Air Resources Board at a meeting in Los Angeles, would also support development of an infrastructure for hydrogen fueling stations.The program is expected to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 34 percent and cut smog and soot pollutants by 75 percent, in part by putting 1. million electric, plug-in and hydrogen vehicles on the Golden State’s roads by 2025.The influential CARB voted on the rules following a two-day hearing that included testimony from automakers, environmentalists, politicians and members of the public.The rules are part of the state’s aggressive plan to reduce climate warming emissions by 80 percent by 2050. California is the biggest U.S. car market and has had the distinction of being able to set policy independent of federal rules, making it over the years into a laboratory for change.About 40 percent of California’s greenhouse gases come from vehicles.
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The woman from Cape Cod surrendered the 71 rats to the MSPCA-Angell Adoption Center in Boston where they are now undergoing veterinary exams, the center said.The woman intended to do a good deed — she purchased the pair from a pet store to save them from a fate of snake food, it said.The animal center said the rats are young and appear to be in good condition. It expects to put them up for adoption after determining they are free from disease.The rats will join 94 hamsters already looking for homes after being surrendered to another branch of the animal rescue group less than a week ago, the MSPCA said on its website.
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The leading Japanese mobile phone service provider identified an Android application, which enables free-of-charge voice communication, as a major cause behind a service disruption that occurred on Wednesday, the business daily said.Some Android applications send out control signals once every three to five minutes even when not in use. This translates to ten times that of a conventional mobile phone, placing additional strain on the network, the newspaper said.A sharp rise in data consumption puts more pressure on wireless operators to speed up capacity investments, as they are struggling with clogged telecom networks to keep up with growing demand for data services on the go.DoCoMo intends to request that Google make Android transmit control signals less often, since frequent service disruptions could hurt the popularity of Android phones, the Nikkei reported.Other operators have complained, some publicly, about the pressure Android apps in particular are putting on their networks, said John Jackson, analyst at British wireless consultancy CCS Insight.The Japanese paper said that DoCoMo also hopes to team up with other mobile service providers, along with Google, to ask Android application developers to limit the frequency of control signals.I expect that at the very least operators worldwide will watch this dispute closely to see what remedy might be in the offing, Jackson said.Other operators may use the dispute as an occasion to demand similar modifications, he said.Either way, DoCoMo’s move comes at a challenging time for Google with the Android ecosystem failing to generate Apple-like (symbol_AAPL.O_2AAPL.O) revenue and OEM licensees coming under legal pressure from Microsoft Corp (symbol_MSFT.O_3MSFT.O) in particular, he added
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The film is based on author Janet Evanovich’s best-selling novel about Stephanie Plum, a divorced, unemployed woman who becomes a bounty hunter to pay the bills. To date, there are 17 installments of the popular book series.Money sees Plum entering the profession, only to find herself chasing down a onetime romantic acquaintance and becoming entangled in a murder. The Emmy award-winning Heigl sat down with Reuters to talk about the film, her life as a working mom, adopting another baby perhaps within the year and a bad smoking habit she just can’t seem to quit.Q: Were you a fan of Janet Evanovich’s books?A: I read the books when I was first approached about the project. The first one led to the second and by the time I got to the 10th, I was pretty hooked and obsessed. I just love Stephanie. She’s savvy, brave and has a big heart. Her perspective on life and people is sort of wacky, charming and fun. She’s got this great caustic sense of humor that I really responded to.Q: And action film is a bit different for you. What was the most difficult thing for you to learn while shooting the film?A: I was pretty bad with the handcuffs. I really wanted to master the art of cuffing somebody quickly and efficiently. There’s something about holding somebody’s hands in a crossed way and trying to slap a cuff on. I didn’t want to hurt the co-stars I was working within the scenes.Q: You’ve established yourself as a romantic comedy actress. Is that a genre you feel comfortable in?A: If you asked me the same question two years ago I would have said, I love doing romantic comedies because those are the movies I tend to only watch. I want to laugh and believe in true love and romance. I’m still thrilled to be in those movies but at 33, I wouldn’t mind breaking out of that genre a little bit. This movie had a murder mystery vibe to it, a kind of a caper film, so it was a different spin on the same formula.Q: Did you have the whole family on location with you in Pittsburgh, including your adopted daughter Naleigh?0A: Yes and it was chaos! (laughs). There was also my dog, my mom’s dog, and then my mom would come for part of the filming because she’s a producer on this as well. Then (husband/musician) Josh (Kelley) would come in and out because he’s always on tour. Naleigh and the nanny were there all the time. Q: Is Naleigh aware of what you do for a living?2A: No, she isn’t. Naleigh loves to play doctor and has a little doctor’s kit. Recently my mom said, ‘Naleigh, your mother played a doctor on TV.’ And it was the first time that anyone has ever said to her that her mom is on TV. So she’s starting to put the dots together. Q: Any more kids for you and Josh?4A: Naleigh’s three now, so I’m hoping we have another child sooner than later — at least maybe in the next year. Naleigh loves babies and the whole idea of babies. Q: Will you adopt again or have biological children?A: We’d like to do both, but I’m on an adoption bent at this point. I’m afraid of pregnancy. That terrifies me. After being in (the R-rated comedy) Knocked up and having to watch birthing videos, I’m terrified! (laughs)Q: You are in a position where you headline your own movies, but you also produce many of them too. Was that always the plan?A: For me, there’s so much inherent pressure in the position, so I started to feel neurotic and terrified all the time (laughs). I thought the only way for me to calm down was to take an active role in my future, not to sit and wait, but to create my own opportunities.Q: So what’s on the horizon?A: I’d love to write something. I’d love to direct. And there’s so much great television, I would never rule out the opportunity to do a great TV show. I watch ‘Homeland’ and think Clare Danes is brilliant and if an opportunity like that came my way, I wouldn’t say no.Q: You’ve been spotted smoking electronic cigarettes to help you stop smoking. How’s that been going?A: It’s supposed to get you off the real thing, but I smoke it all the time because I don’t have to step outside and it never goes out — except when the battery dies. So I’m smoking it way more than I probably would a real cigarette.Q: That’s not good.A: I’m a nicotine addict and it’s really ugly. If I could take anything back, smoking would be it. I wish I never picked up a cigarette. That was so stupid. That would be the one thing I would say to my kid as she gets old and inevitably will want to try a cigarette. I will say, ‘Sure, go ahead, if you want to be a slave to something for the rest of your life!’ I’ll always be fighting the addiction.
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Speaking at his neo-classical office shortly before resuming talks with bankers on a bond swap deal that is key to saving the euro zone member from bankruptcy (http://bankruptcy.ieurope.net), Papademos said: Greece will not default.We made significant progress over the last few weeks and in the last few days in particular. We are trying to conclude the discussions as quickly as possible. I am quite optimistic an agreement will be reached in the coming days, Papademos said.The prime minister, who leads an emergency coalition government tasked with steering Greece out of its worst economic crisis in decades, spoke to Reuters minutes before bankers’ chief negotiator Charles Dallara swept up to his mansion in his limousine for a new round of talks.Papademos was also upbeat about parallel negotiations with the so-called troika of the European Union, International Monetary Fund and European Central Bank, saying agreement was expected soon on the reforms they are demanding in exchange for a new 130-billion euro aid package Greece needs to stay afloat.The aim is to complete the discussion with the troika by the middle of next week at the latest. I hope sooner rather than later, he said.The former central banker said Greece had made progress on both fiscal and structural reforms with results already emerging.Much more has been achieved than sometimes appears in public. There are some slippages in the implementation of the fiscal adjustment program and the reforms. But internal devaluation is already taking place. We expect some modest growth to appear during 2013.Papademos said the budget deficit would be about 9. percent of GDP in 2011, from 10. percent in 2010. A worse than expected recession has made it hard for Greece to meet targets agreed with lenders, despite harsh salary cuts and tax hikes.The troika has criticized the slow pace of Greek reforms and privatizations. Lenders have warned the second bailout will hinge on Greece’s proven commitment to the program. SOFT-SPOKEN ECONOMIST1The soft-spoken economist, whose polite demeanor was a sharp contrast to the brash style of many Greek politicians, said he appreciated the sacrifices the population was making. We fully understand that the Greek people are not happy with current economic conditions and are concerned about the prospects for the economy, he said. I believe the majority of the Greek people recognize the need for addressing our fiscal problems. I believe they realize that other adjustments are necessary in order to restore conditions for sustained growth. Scores of riot police cordoned off streets around his office during the interview, as hundreds of leftist protesters waved fists at parliament, chanting IMF get out. The demonstration was smaller than previous, often violent, protests against the previous socialist government of George Papandreou, who was forced to step down in November.Papademos’s coalition is supported by the three main parties in parliament, ranging from socialists to the far-right, who have agreed an uneasy truce for a few months to save Greece from default and exit from the euro zone.Asked why he left a tranquil academic career for the Herculean task of leading Greece at such a difficult time, Papademos said: I had to contribute to the country’s efforts to overcome the crisis.Did he have any regrets? Once you make the decision, you don’t look back, he replied with a wry smile.
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By Abhinav RamnarayanLONDON, Jan 27 (IFR) – ECM bankers hired to arrange
Polish privatisation transactions totalling at least 10 billion
zlotys ($3. billion) are suddenly terrified that the mandates
are set to be torn up.A new Polish Treasury team that was appointed in November
recently told the banks handling a 15% sell-down in energy
utility Enea, set to raise 1. 2 billion zlotys, that their
appointment is no longer valid and that it will be reopening the
mandate process.The move was a bitter blow as the deal was almost launched
in December 2011. Citigroup, credit Suisse, Espirito Santo, ING,
Ipopema, PKO, UniCredit were working on the transaction.Treasury officials did not give the banks specific reasons
that the Enea mandate was cancelled and it has left bankers
hired for other deals worried that their deals will also be put
up for grabs. A Treasury spokesperson declined to comment, but
said there would be an update on February 7.We hope that they will retain mandates on the upcoming
privatisations, but we will have to wait and see what happens,
said one banker appointed by the previous regime for an upcoming
privatisation deal.The changes result from the departures of Treasury minister
Aleksander Grad and undersecretary to the Treasury Ministry
Krzysztof Walenczak, who effectively ran privatisations. They
have been replaced by Mikolaj Budzanowski as Treasury Minister
and former UniCredit banker Pawel Tamborski as undersecretary.For the past two years, the Polish government has been the
bulwark of European ECM. In that period it has raised 27. 4
billion zlotys through privatisations via the stock market,
providing a steady stream of billion dollar deals – and
accompanying fees – for otherwise deal-starved ECM bankers.RETURN ON INVESTMENT0While losing mandated deals is always painful for the banks
involved, the news will be particularly hard to take because
banks have had to make significant investment in order to win
the work in the first place. Under the previous Treasury regime, banks needed a local
office and Polish staff in order to even qualify for ECM work.
Several banks, including JP Morgan, credit Suisse and UBS,
followed orders and made the required investment. Speaking to IFR last year, then undersecretary to the
Treasury Walenczak praised credit Suisse in particular for
expanding in Warsaw. In the months that followed the Swiss bank
was awarded several privatisation mandates. By contrast, Bank of America Merrill Lynch decided the
investments could not be justified, and missed out on the
follow-on sale of Tauron shares, despite being a bookrunner on
the IPO. The local office criterion was introduced between the
IPO and follow-on. In August BofA Merrill changed tack and hired a former
undersecretary for the Polish State Treasury in Warsaw. One regional investment banking head at a bulge bracket bank
believes that the investment in Polish capital markets
capabilities his firm made could well pay off on its own, but
acknowledged that the decision to expand was taken mostly in
order to win privatisation contracts.Even without this additional investment, banks can hardly
afford to miss out on deals at a time when primary deal flow is
so weak.At least two privatisation IPOs are scheduled for the second
quarter of the year. Citigroup and UBS currently hold the
mandate for the flotation of real estate holding Grupa PHN and
credit Suisse and JP Morgan are bookrunners on electricity
distributor Zespol Elektrowni PAK.Bankers are hoping that Grupa PHN in particular will arouse
investors’ interest. The company is a consolidated fund of
government-owned land acquired during the communist era, and the
government is keen to disburse those assets. One banker on the
deal expects it to act as a proxy for the Polish economy at time
when the market is looking for steady investments outside of
eurozone.Bankers mandated on deals have a clear self-interest in the
Treasury sticking to its previous commitments, but they also
point out that markets are likely to be receptive to new issues
and there is no knowing how long that will last.The IPO of utility Energa is also on the cards. Energa has
assets similar in size to Enea, and is expected to be valued at
roughly 2 billion euros, according to one banker operating in
the region. A trade sale was pursued but failed to find a buyer.Apart from this, there are a string of accelerated deals
lined up to continue the privatisation process, including those
of insurer PZU and electricity producer PGE. The government
earlier cancelled the marketed follow-on of Poland’s largest
bank PKO, with bankers expecting sales to instead be completed
on an accelerated basis.
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