World Business

In Brussels, the Rolling Stones lead singer talked with commissioners about anomalies in music downloads and licensing

by Leigh Phillips

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EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - Rolling Stone lead songster Mick Jagger visited the European Commission on Wednesday (17 September) for a roundtable discussion on online retailing with competition deputy Neelie Kroes and internal market commissioner Charlie McCreevy.

The original “street-fightin’ man” no longer needs to throw cobblestones to get the regard of the centres of power like his 1968 incarnation. These days he is warmly invited to the top floors of the duty building in the place of a friendly chat with Europe’s competition guardian and a host of key figures in the business of commerce on the web.

Ms Kroes is worried that shoppers frequently find themselves up against barriers to buy what they privation online, for items they would have little problem purchasing in the real world.

“Why is it possible to buy a CD from an online retailer and have it shipped to anywhere in Europe, no more than it is not possible to buy the same music, through the homogeneous consummate performer, during the time that an electronic download with similar ease?” Ms Kroes asked the knighted pop star and other guests.

“Why do pan-European services find it so difficult to get a pan-European license? Why do new, innovative services find licensing to be such a hurdle?”

The commission meeting also saw the CEO of Apple, the originator of the hugely successful fee-for-service music download shop iTunes, invited. The be directed of record label EMI furthermore attended.

“I never thought the internet was going to be such a stumbling block,” said Mr McCreevy. “This magical creation - invented by dint of. people who hadn’t been born 50 years ago and developed by people, more of whom were not even born 25 years ago - has no unaffected natural frontiers or boundaries like traditional markets. But somehow it has been trapped and parcelled up by a whole series of barriers.”

He added that the commission needed to look at the “present combination of parts to form a whole of awarding one licence for undivided kind of right, limited to one territory at a vacant time”.

The EU executive in his opinion also needs to canvass “the idea that every single owner of a copyright – from authors and composers to music publishers and record labels – should license downloads individually through a collecting society that has an exclusive mandate for each of the 27 national territories.”

The problems of online retailing are not restricted to the music sector, with the heads of Alcatel-Lucent, Ebay, Louis Vuitton and UK consumer watchdog “Which?” also at Wednesday’s muster.

“Should a company, in the place of model, subsist allowed to exclude internet-only retailers from its distribution system? I have heard today from companies who think that that is the best path to protect a brand image,” Ms Kroes uttered.

“I have also heard from companies that employment internet only retailers but impose strict terms on them. And I hold besides heard from consumers who believe that consumers should have the right to choose.”

The assembled retail stakeholders’ answer to Ms Kroes’ questions was that the exit is “complex.”

But Ms Kroes warned the rock star and the merchants: “The universe is always more complicated than we would like it to be. But that is no absolve for inaction,” adding that she intends to lo “actual carefully” into online retailing practices.

She warned that the commission will trace in if musicians, record labels and retailers do not overcome their differences and make accrue a more consumer-friendly environment since the disposal of digital music.

Mr Jagger and the others are to participate in the drafting of a commission report on the in bondage later in the year.

The EU executory will then solicit responses to the report from stakeholders to the time when 15 October 2009 and subsequently show legislative proposals forward internet retailing.

The Rolling Stones may subsist favored with declared in 1968 that the time is right in the place of a “palace revolution” and complained that in sleepy London Town “the game to play is compromise solution.” But the pop star may have to play the game himself in Brussels forty years into disgrace the line.

WASHINGTON —

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Aspirin is among the most of the people remedies used through people. Turns out more plants taste it, too. Researchers at the National Center for Atmospheric Research were surprised to tell that stressed plants produce an aspirin-like chemical that can be detected in the open air above the plants. The chemical may be a sort of immune response that helps protect the plants, the scientists speculated.

According to the researchers, the finding raises the possibility that farmers, woodland managers and others may eventually be ingenious to arise monitoring plants for early signs of a disease, an insect infestation or other types of stress.

Currently they often do not know whether or not an ecosystem is unhealthy until in that place are visible indicators, such of the same kind with dead leaves.

“Unlike humans, who are advised to be in favor of aspirin because a febrile disease suppressant, plants require the ability to produce their own mix of aspirin-like chemicals, triggering the formation of proteins that boost their biochemical defenses and reduce injury,” NCAR scientist Thomas Karl, the lead researcher, said in a statement.

“Our measurements show that forcible amounts of the chemical can be detected in the atmosphere as plants respond to dryness, unseasonable temperatures or other stresses.”

While researchers had known that plants in the laboratory produce a form of aspirin known as methyl salicylate, they had never looked for it in the forest.

But whereas they set up measuring devices in a walnut woodland near Davis, Calif., to monitor plant emissions that be possible to affect pollution, they discovered temperate amounts of methyl salicylate.

Previous studies have shown that plants being eaten by animals also produce chemicals that can be sensed by other plants nearby.

The novel findings, announced Thursday by NCAR in Boulder, Colo., were published in the diary Biogeosciences. The research was funded by the National Science Foundation, NCAR’s sponsor.

Measuring instruments 100 feet above the turf measured methyl salicylate from plants that were stressed by a local drought and unseasonably cool nighttime temperatures followed by large daytime temperature increases.

In addition to having an immune-like function, the chemical may be a means for plants to communicate to neighboring plants, warning them of the threat.

“These findings show tangible proof that plant-to-plant communication occurs on the ecosystem level,” says NCAR scientist Alex Guenther, a co-author of the study. “It appears that plants have the vigor to communicate through the air.”

VATICAN CITY A cardinal says that Pope Benedict XVI will not serve an event in Mexico City next year because the city sits in addition high above sea level toward someone his age.

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The pontiff had been invited to attend the World Family Day in January. But Cardinal Ennio Antonelli of the Pontifical Council for the Family said Thursday that the 81-year-old pontiff would not draw part.

Antonelli said “the bishop of rome is in good health, but he’s no longer a young man,” according to the ANSA and Apcom news agencies. Mexico City is more than 2200 meters (7300 feet) above sea level.

Antonelli said the decision was made as a precaution, and said organizers were meditation of ways as being the pope to take a part in, possibly by videoconference.

WASHINGTON —

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One way to help impede overfishing may be to surety each fisherman a specified share of the capture, according to a new report. Collapse of draw up stocks is much less common in areas where “catch share” fishing is practiced than in other regions, researchers say in Friday’s number printed at once of the journal Science.

The reason, they say, is that the regularity increases the stimulus to protect the fishery rather than causing fishermen to compete contrary to each other to see who can bring in the largest catch.

In a catch certain quantity system, individual fishermen, or fishing cooperatives, are allocated a share of the seize based on what they have caught over a prior period, say five or 10 years, explained Christopher Costello of the University of California, Santa Barbara.

For prototype, if someone averaged 1.5 percent of the catch in a fishery in the past time, they would be guaranteed 1.5 percent of the total in the future - regardless of what the total take is.

Thus, a wholesome fish stock allowing for a larger total catch means each share is larger, Costello said, so fishermen tend to protect the dolt by using less damaging methods.

Using catch shares to manage fisheries is common in some parts of the world and is currently while suffering consideration because of more U.S. fisheries also.

The finding was welcomed by means of the Environmental Defense Fund.

“The inclination around the world has been to draw up the oceans until the fish are gone,” uttered David Festa, error president and oceans director at EDF. “The scientific data presented today shows we can turn this exemplar on its head. Anyone who cares about saving fisheries and fishing jobs determination find this study highly motivating.”

—

On the Net:

Science: http://www.sciencemag.org

(This version CORRECTS Subs 4th graf: In a …. to correct name to Christopher, sted Kevin. Moving on general news and financial services.)

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In one unprecedented move, the U.S. Federal Reserve made an extra $180 billion available to other major central banks to lend to their local commercial banks in a order to get U.S. dollars circulating in overnight and short-term standard of value markets.

The latest move brought to $247 billion the total amount of dollars the Fed was providing to other central banks.

In addition, the U.S. central bank pumped an extra $105 billion dollars into the U.S. market, a record amount that built on already large operations earlier this week.

Other central banks, including the Bank of England and the European Central Bank, also lent out extra funds in their own currencies as markets reeled in the wake of a round of takeovers and mergers amidst head financial firms and renewed concerns about how the U.S. economy will weather the storm.

Investment bank Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc (LEH.N) filed for insolvency on Monday, roiling markets, and the Fed announced any $85 billion bailout of insurer American International Group (AIG.N) forward Tuesday, worried a failure could wreak untold havoc worldwide.

President George W. Bush sought to pacify unsettled nerves in succession Thursday, saying authorities would take further actions if needed. "The American the bulk of mankind can be sure we will continue to act to strengthen and stabilize our financial markets and make progress investor confidence," he said.

GREASING THE WHEELS

Well-oiled money markets, where banks lend short-term funds to each other to smooth daily swings in their balances, are crucial for the proper functioning of the monetary system and the economy at abundant.

Central banks have responded to a jump in interbank lending rates, exacerbated by investors' flight into safe havens of gold and government bonds, by flooding markets by specie, but so far have had only limited success.

The demand for the extra central deposit funds was heavy and helped calm markets, except analysts warned this would likely prove only temporary.

U.S. stock markets, which succeed a three-year low on Wednesday, opened higher but were off scornfully at midday.

There was a huge appetite for dollars in auctions held by means of the pair the Fed and ECB, but the appetite was lower at the BoE's first dollar auction and at an auction held by the Swiss National Bank. However, demand for pounds at a separate BoE auction was weighty, being of the class who was ask for euros from an ECB tender.

Barry Moran, older money market trader at the Bank of Ireland, said the difference in demand at the dollar auctions was partly explained by the ECB accepting a broader extent of assets in the same proportion that subordinate than the BoE.

"The markets are habitually true, remarkably jittery," he said. "I think the coordinated attempts — particularly on the dollar sides — has helped a little grain."

In order to perform the additional $180 billion in U.S. dollars available in other markets, the Fed increased existing currency swap lines with the ECB and Swiss National Bank, and established new ones with the Bank of Japan, Bank of Canada and the BoE. The lines will be in place end January.

"These measures, together by other actions taken in the last small in number days by means of individual central banks, are designed to become better the liquidity conditions in global financial markets," the central banks said in simultaneous statements released ahead of the opening of markets in Europe.

"The central banks continue to drudge together closely and will have recourse to appropriate steps to address the ongoing pressures."

The SNB kept touch rates on hold on Thursday citing major uncertainties relating to the global economy and the impact of market moves, which it called "a matter for concern."

SOME RELIEF

News of the huge coordinated action brought more relief to markets, initially buoying bank stocks and bond yields and cutting dollar borrowing costs. Overnight U.S. dollar interbank lending rates dropped as low as 2 percent, matching the Fed's target rate, according to Reuters premises.

Overnight dollar Libor rates fixed at 3.84375 percent from 5.03125 percent on Wednesday, although three-month rates rose across the committee and the premium over expected official rates continued to rise.

As year end looms, adding to the already intent funding strains triggered by the biggest global financial turning point in decades, three month lending rates are spiking higher.

"What we're looking at is a complete breakdown of the interbank lending market," said Sean Maloney, rates strategist at Nomura International. "What central banks have finished has definitely eased the situation, but it's not enough on its own to spiritual charge the problem, hence spreads are stop widening."

To help obviate the Fed spreading itself too thin, the U.S. Treasury onward Wednesday took the extraordinary step of establishing securities auctions to raise funds for the U.S. central bound.

The Treasury auctioned $40 billion on Wednesday, $60 billion on Thursday, and announced some supplementary $60 billion dollar auction since Friday and a $40 billion auction for nearest Wednesday. The auctions have met with very great demand.

In other operations, central banks in Japan, Australia and India pumped a further $28 billion into their wealth markets.

In addition, China relaxed its policy for the other time this week, South Korea sold dollars in the swap market and said it would try to halt the slide in bond prices, the Philippines intervened to support the peso, and Taiwan warned it could use a state fund to prop up stocks.

Russia said it would adduce 500 billion roubles ($19.59 billion) to support and stabilize its stock markets, where trade will resume on Friday. President Dmitry Medvedev aforesaid that half of the 500 billion roubles will come from the budget, and that further measures could be taken if necessary.

(Additional reporting by Vidya Ranganathan and Kevin Yao in Singapore, David Milliken in Frankfurt, Sven Egenter in Zurich and John Parry in New York; Writing by Tomasz Janowski, Krista Hughes and Mark Felsenthal)

Stocks in the news Thursday

From Standard & Poor’s Equity Research

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CNBC reports that Morgan Stanley (MS) to begin official merger negotiations with Wachovia (WB) imminently. MS continuing efforts to raise capital from Chinese body of executive officers. Earlier, CNBC reported Morgan Stanley CEO John Mack is committed to keeping MS unconstrained. In addition to WB, MS has talked to Citigroup (C), foreign banks, according to the circulate publicly. S&P maintains hold on Morgan and upgrades Wachovia to sell on valuation.

Washington Mutual (WM) shares seen higher on manifold media reports that firm has deposit itself up beneficial to sale. S&P maintains hold.

American International Group (AIG) - Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services said it revised the CreditWatch status of most of its ratings on the AIG arrange of companies to CreditWatch developing from CreditWatch negative, and that it raised its short-term counterparty ratings on AIG, its guaranteed subsidiaries, and ILFC to A-1 from A-2. Standard & Poor’s also lowered ratings upon numerous subsidiaries’ preferred shares to B from BBB.

Constellation Energy Group (CEG) agrees to be acquired by MidAmerican Energy Holding Co. in a deal valued at about $4.7 billion, or $26.50 per CEG distribute.

FedEx (FDX) posts $1.23, vs. $1.58, first quarter EPS at the same time that higher operating costs offset 8% sales rise. Expects second quarter EPS to have being in the range of $1.40-$1.60, vs. $1.54 a year ago. Reaffirms its EPS conduct of $4.75-$5.25 for fiscal year 2009, which reflects weaker global economic conditions, incorporates current fuel prices, related collision of fuel surcharges.

ConAgra Foods (CAG) posts $0.27, vs. $0.26, first quarter EPS from continuing operations (excluding items) on 17% sales rise. Based on a combination of bulk and inflation expectations in the same manner with well while increased investments for some brands and categories, slightly lowered its fiscal year 2009 view; now EPS from continuing operations to be slightly above $1.50 (excluding items).

Prologis (PLD) cuts 2008 FFO guidance to $4.00-$4.35 from $4.65-$4.85, reflecting more conservative outlook in quest of valuation and contribution timing in its CDFS business, as well as appreciation of dollar. Now sees EPS of $2.70-$3.00, down from $3.15-$3.35. Sees 2009 FFO per share of $4.10-$4.35, EPS of $2.75-$3.00. Raises annualized dividend level for 2009 to $2.28 per common share, or $0.57 per fourth part, representing a 10.2% augment over 2008.

Baird upgrades Adtran (ADTN) to outperform from neutral.

Tetra Technologies (TTI) withdraws its previous 2008 EPS guidance of $1.30-$1.55 due to the impact of Hurricanes Gustav and Ike.

Black Hills (BKH) sees 2009 EPS from continuing operations of $2.40-$2.65, including nearly $0.10 per share of one-time integration-related expenses. Expects 2008 EPS from continuing operations of $2.15-$2.25.

Media General (MEG) posts total joint concern revenues of $65.7 million in August, compared to year-ago’s $68.8 million. Notes Publishing Division revenues were down 16.6%, meditative continued weak newspaper advertising. Does not see an improvement in the Publishing business for the period of the repose of ‘08, and Broadcast transactional advertising too continues to have being weaker than antecedently expected.

Clarcor (CLC) posts $0.50, vs. $0.53, third quarter EPS despite 16% sales rise. In third quarter fiscal year 2007, CLC recorded after-tax benefit of $4 very great number, or $0.08 per part, related to consummation of various income duty audits and finalization of certain income tax liabilities. Says it’s not expecting a pickup in the U.S. economy for the rest of financial year 2008 and Europe appears to have existence slowing from a good first half. Cuts fiscal year 2008 EPS government to $1.88-$1.93. Does not provide fiscal year 2009 EPS estimate.

Pier 1 Imports (PIR) posts wider-than-expected $0.34 second quarter loss, vs. $0.49 loss a year ago, on 1.7% same-store sales drop, 7% full sales drop. Given the difficulties and uncertainties surrounding the macroeconomic environment, company testament not provide guidance for remnant of this fiscal year, withdraws previous guidance provided.

Progress Software (PRGS) posts $0.45, vs. $0.44, third quarter non-GAAP EPS on 4.1% revenue rise. Based on the less certain outlook, recent strengthening of the U.S. dollar relative to international currencies in that it does business, forecasts $1.89-$1.91 fiscal year 2008 EPS in continuance $522-$526 million revenue, $2.05-$2.15 fiscal year 2009 on $585-$600 million revenue.

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Watching some financial funds fair get wiped out in recent months, I often hear a tone in the back of my head, and it is the same voice as one of those dealers in Las Vegas who coolly tells you like he sweeps up your chips after you’ve busted in blackjack: “Thank you for playing, ladies and gentlemen.”

That’s what happens at the time bubbles burst. You feel wiped out, and the coolness with which the dealers

Let’s understand that which happened hither. Wall Street

In the ’90s, the no-lose, risk-free, high-yield return was supposed to be dot-com public funds. This decade’s translation are subprime mortgages and financial stocks. Just probable the dot-comers in the 1990s, the financial public funds got inflated to ridiculous levels and salaries for Wall Street executives reached farcical heights. You are now watching live and in color that bubble burst: “Thank you for playing, Lehman Brothers.” That’s veritably sad for a 158-year-old group.

The mart is now consolidating this industry, with the strong eating the weak, which will impose its possess financial school. Good. Maybe then more of our next body of equals in age of math geniuses will think about going into engineering the next great global industry

But we besides need to understand the uniqueness of this bubble in order to identify where smart sway needs to step in. One reason this financial bubble got so big is now well known: You and your neighbor went at a loss and got subprime mortgages, which enabled many more people to become homeowners

But as the housing market collapsed, and people couldn’t cover their mortgages or sell their houses, the bonds lost value and, therefore, the banks that held them imperceptible capital, and the whole pyramid started to crumble. This infected the entire housing market, so banks in no degree longer knew the value of their mortgage-backed assets. The result? They stopped lending. Hence, the current credit crunch. This credit crunch is what makes this crisis so lethal. We can’t tolerate a prolonged situation in what place banks won’t lend to good companies.

That’s why Congress needs to create another Resolution Trust Corp. take pleasure in we used to make acquisition out of the savings-and-loan pinch of the 1980s. As then, so now, we need a government agency to buy the toxic mortgages off the banks’ balance sheets, grasp them and sell them in an orderly way later. That would prevent a fire sale of homes and mortgages now and restore courage to banks to such a degree they start lending again.

In the long pressure, granting, regulators need to detect ways to limit the amount of leverage investment banks or insurance companies can take on at any unit time, because given how intertwined they all are in today’s global economy, one mound blowing up be possible to now assume down many.

“We are at the extremity of an era

“We do not need a regulatory ’surge’ on Wall Street,” he added. “We need a complete rethinking of by what mode we make global financial markets more porous and how we ensure that the risks within those markets

In sum, government’s job is to police that fine race between the necessary risk-taking that drives an violent departure from established precedent system and crazy gambling with other people’s savings in ways that threaten us all. We need to make positive that what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas

Original paragraph: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/opinion/2008186647_friedman18.html?syndication=rss

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This populist rhetoric sounds strange, especially when emitted by a politician whose province of advisers include previous Sen. Phil Gramm, vice president of the scandal-tainted Union Bank of Switzerland, and John Thain, chief executive of the firm formerly known as Merrill Lynch. But when facing the angry voters who have watched their savings evaporate, the opposed to change Republican additional hopes to uninjured more like a liberal Democrat anew.

He wants to blur the differences between himself and Barack Obama on fundamental economic philosophy. But in that place is one critical issue where the Arizonan has established a record that cannot be escaped in the way that easily.

Sen. McCain wants to privatize Social Security. It is a stance he has again and again taken over the past 10 years in recorded votes, interviews, speeches and documents. It is also a social rank that he will deny in this campaign. In fact he tried to deny it at a June town hall meeting in New Hampshire, at what time he declared, "I'm not for, name, privatizing Social Security. I not have been. I never will be." But the contrary evidence is overwhelming.

As long ago during the time that 1998, several years before the Bush administration sought to promote privatization, he voted to partially replace Social Security with special accounts. He included privatization in the household platform of his 2000 presidential campaign. He spoke out in support of the White House's ill-fated push for privatization during the hop of 2005. And when that plan started to sink into oblivion, despite an advertising and public relations lot that exceeded $50 a thousand thousand, he tried to save it.

Sen. McCain was still pushing the Bush plan earlier this year, when he needed to incite his own party's ultra-rightists to accept him as their nominee. During the same parley when he told the Journal editors that he generally opposes regulation, he explained his plan to "reform" Social Security. "I believe that private savings accounts are a part of it," he declared, "at the same time the lines that President Bush proposed."

Obviously such remarks no longer serve Sen. McCain's political purposes, and certainly won't cause to approach voters, who never liked the Bush plan — and probably like those ideas even less as they watch the place of traffic ravage their pension funds and equity accounts. Listening to the Republican nominee engagement this week to "protect "their retirement accounts, they might wonder how he will do that when so much of the value of those accounts has disappeared already. They might besides wonder what would happen to the elderly and other beneficiaries of Social Security allowing that the privatizers like him had succeeded in consigning their to come to the same Wall Street sharks he now denounces for their eagerness and irresponsibility.

For Sen. Obama, this moment presents a crucial opportunity to draw the most important distinctions between himself and his opponent as well as between Democrats and Republicans. By going after Sen. McCain upon Social Security, he can make certain those Democrats with the deepest doubts about him — older white working-class voters — that he is on their side and can be trusted to understand their concerns. And, of course, the Social Security thesis fits well with the broader Obama indictment of Sen. McCain as an repercussion of sound of the president's failed policies — because on this issue, that he is exactly which he has done, not only this year if it be not that for many years.

More broadly, Sen. Obama of necessity to convince voters that he has a program to address the economic crisis — and tell them why Democratic solutions are not only in their premium but in the national interest. This is a risk for him to account for how progressive solutions work — in what plight shared prosperity made America strong and productive during the century when we became the wealthiest and most powerful nation in the world. He should place responsibility for stagnation and phthisis whither it belongs — on the Republican policies that have created staggering inequality.

And he should emphasize that by every just degree, Democratic administrations through the whole extent of the past hundred years have achieved measurably else household success than Republican administrations — not only with in a superior manner budgeting and fairer taxation, but even in the growth of equity values. Stock prices rise which time a Democrat is president.

The recital is so clear that it is fatiguing to understand why some investing. banker or factor votes Republican. But then we've learned lately that they aren't necessarily in the way that smart, after all.

Joe Conason writes for the New York Observer (www.observer.com). To find out more about Joe Conason, examine the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

COPYRIGHT 2008 CREATORS SYNDICATE, INC.

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