Breaking News: US banks seek foreclosure experts Topic: FT briefing, bbc news, biodun ig
by Judith Stein and Biodun Iginla, BBC News and the Economist's Financial Analysts
US banks are beefing up their mortgage departments in response to growing pressure and concern over the use of “robo-signers”, employees who rubber-stamped thousands of foreclosure documents without checking the accuracy of the information they contained, as required by law. http://link.ft.com/r/8P1R88/GKBVTD/3GYQH/40S8Q7/IYUWYC/VU/h?a1=2010&a2=11&a3=2
A series of apparently co-ordinated blasts in the Iraqi capital Baghdad have killed at least 63 people, officials say.
More than 280 people were wounded in the 10 attacks, which appeared to target Shia areas, officials say.
The incident is the first concerted show of force by insurgents for months.
It comes after at least 52 people were killed in Baghdad on Sunday as police stormed a church where hostages were being held.
At least seven neighbourhoods were targeted by Tuesday night's explosions, some of which detonated near cafes or restaurants.
Most of the explosions were car bombs but there was also at least one roadside bomb. A salvo of mortars was fired in one area in the south-west of the city.
Officials said the blasts were all in busy, predominantly Shia areas, although Sunni and mixed areas were also hit.
31 Oct: 52 people die as security forces storm Catholic church in Baghdad to free hostages
29 Oct: Suicide bomber kills 25 in cafe in Balad Ruz, north of Baghdad
19 Sep: Twin car bombs in Baghdad kill at least 23
25 Aug: At least 50 killed in series of co-ordinated bomb attacks across Iraq
* Last US combat troops left Iraq on 19 August
"We were just standing on the street when we heard a loud noise and then saw smoke and pieces of cars falling from the sky," said Hussein al-Saiedi, a resident of the Sadr City area of Baghdad, where a parked car exploded near a market.
"People were fleeing the site in panic, frantically calling the names of their relatives and friends," Mr Saiedi told the Associated Press.
Health Minister Saleh Mehdi al-Hasnawiaid told state media "80% of the wounded were treated and have left hospital".
The BBC's Jim Muir in Baghdad said the funerals for the victims of Sunday's attack had only just been carried out as the explosions went off.
He adds that that incident had already led people to query how stable the security situation in the city was, and the latest attack will raise further questions.
Large-scale attacks have become much less frequent than they were a few years ago, as insurgents find it harder to get hold of materials needed for explosive devices.
Official figures show October had the lowest level of violence in a year, but people are still dying violently somewhere in Iraq every day.
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WASHINGTON, Nov. 1 (UPI) -- The White House has been at great pains to explain that President Barack Obama's visit to India this week is all about jobs and trade. But nobody in Asia believes it.
With China canceling a planned summit with Japan's prime minister, Kashmir erupting again, Afghanistan sinking deeper into disaster and Iran loading fuel rods into its new nuclear reactor at Bushehr, the Asian security agenda looks considerably more compelling.
And yet Obama is hoping to save some Democratic congressional seats from the likely wreckage in this week's mid-term elections, so the propaganda about jobs makes a kind of sense. As a result, he is taking the biggest entourage of top businessmen ever to grace a presidential trip.
A jumbo jet full of chief executive officers, some 250 at last count, will be joining Obama's own entourage of family, six armored cars and a total of 40 aircraft on the Indian mission, chasing deals.
And deals there will be. Ron Somers of the U.S. India Business Council is talking of more than $10 billion being signed in contracts next week, bringing with them 100,000 U.S. jobs.
GE thinks it has sewn up a $5 billion order to supply locomotives for Indian Railways. American hopes of providing India's new generation of advanced fighter jets may not come to fruition but Boeing is confident of a $6 billion sale of C-17 military cargo and another $2.5 billion in commercial jets to India's flourishing budget airlines.
"We want to highlight growing U.S. exports to India but also growing inward Indian investment into the U.S.," said a White House official, speaking off-the-record last week, and noting that India is the second-fastest growing inward investor to America.
The United States and India are each investing more than $10 billion a year into the other country and bilateral trade is running at $43 billion a year. That's good but it's not much more than 10 percent of U.S.-China trade.
There is some hard negotiating to be done over intellectual property rights and export controls and a bilateral investment treaty that may someday grow up to be a free trade agreement if roadblocks in Congress and over nuclear technology transfer can be resolved. It should be a no-brainer with U.S. corporations salivating over some of the $5 billion India is planning to invest in infrastructure this decade.
The really tricky negotiations will be over geo-politics. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton may have been at pains last week to stress that the United States didn't see China as an adversary. But there is little doubt that the United States, as the world's most powerful democracy, sees India, the most populous and fastest-growing democracy, as a natural ally against an authoritarian and potentially aggressive China.
But Obama must tread softly. His administration's regional envoy Richard Holbrooke got off to a bad start when India made it clear that it was no longer prepared to be seen through the traditional Indo-Pakistan perspective. India is bigger than that now and has never welcomed any outside interest in its troubles in Kashmir. Yet Pakistan remains crucial to the embattled U.S. mission in Afghanistan.
"The U.S. sees Pakistan as an indispensable but dishonest partner," suggested Pakistani commentator Imtiaz Gul, on a visit to Washington last week. "Pakistan has its own worries about the waning U.S. commitment in Afghanistan. It's a war between the short-term American agenda and Pakistan's long-term national interests."
The Pakistani military establishment still sees itself in terms of military parity with India, Gul suggests, ignoring the reality that India has eight times the population and its economy is eight times bigger. As a result, India thinks it has bigger geo-political fish to fry than the dysfunctional Pakistani nuisance and wants to be treated by the United States as an equal strategic partner.
Nor does India want to be taken for granted as a strategic ally in Asia, in part because India knows that it has much healthier long-term demographics than China. If China will be challenging the United States for the No. 1 economic slot around the year 2030, India thinks it could be the challenger by 2050.
Moreover, India is one place on Earth where Obama's predecessor remains popular for his own efforts to forge a close relationship with New Delhi.
"It is ironic that there is nostalgia for the Bush years and apprehensions about the Obama administration," noted Ronen Sen, India's former ambassador to Washington. "It's true that Bush had a deep personal fascination and an abiding admiration for India, well before he became president. He did more for India than any of his predecessors. We should honor his legacy."
Bush, who also saw India as America's key ally in Asia against a rising China, set a positive course, and it will be up to Obama to use his personal charm to maintain and extend it. The problem is that he looks like arriving in India as a loser, as a defeated leader of the Democratic Party after a humiliating loss in Congress, and with a big question mark over his power to get things done in Washington over the next two years.
Business-travel news by Biodun Iginla, BBC News and The Economist Topic: business travel, bbc news
Business-travel news
Highlights of the past week's postings on our business-travel blog
Tuesday November 2nd 2010
Where the Americans get it wrong Martin Broughton, the chairman of British Airways, has lambasted America for requiring more stringent security checks of international flights than it does ofdomestic flights, and has described certain elements of airport security as "completely redundant" read more»
Al Qaeda, again Thanks to tip-offs from intelligence services, bombs in the holds of two cargo planes were found and made safe read more»
All smiles at Emirates Strong results from Dubai's state-owned airline give its longer-established rivals more to worry about read more»
Meeting "The Resistance" America's Transportation Security Agency is using the threat of up-close-and-personal pat-downs to force passengers to go through body-scannersread more»
Going ape about APD With Air Passenger Duty rising for flights departing from Britain, complaints from the airlines have grown ever louder read more»
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One day after Ivory Coast's landmark presidential election, which saw 80% turnout, Ivoirians await the announcement of results from the first round. Though the election was peaceful, there are fears that the outcome could lead to street clashes.
Police in Athens said Monday that an explosive device addressed to French President Nicolas Sarkozy was one of four packages intercepted by Greek authorities in the capital. A female courier was injured when one of the devices exploded.
Opinion polls have indicated that while Republicans will make large gains in the US House of Representatives, the Democrats are poised to hold the Senate. Continuing economic woes have helped fuel a Republican resurgence.
Leading al Qaeda militant Jabir al-Fayfi, who turned himself in to Saudi Arabian authorities in October, provided the tip to police which helped foil the attempted bomb attack on the US, a Yemeni security official said Monday.
Governments around the world tightened air security on Monday, after two bombs were intercepted on the way to the US from Yemen. Tighter international regulations on air cargo may have a negative impact on the global economy.
The US economy grew by 2% in the third quarter according to the Commerce Department. Driving the growth was consumer spending, which increased by 2.6%.
French nuclear energy giant Areva will conclude several major contracts with China during President Hu Jintao's state visit to France this week, including deals to construct two nuclear reactors and for the supply of nuclear fuel, media reports say.
Microfinance institutions, which give micro loans to poor people in developing countries, have been hit in India by charges of profiteering and causing farmer suicides. Now authorities are taking action and local people are fighting back.
The High Court in London has dismissed French Alstom's bid to block the purchase of Siemens trains by Eurostar. The judge said that Alstom did not have a "serious case."
British Airways has reported a net profit of 107 million pounds in the six months to September, its first half-year profit since 2008, despite weeks of cabin crew strikes and the fallout from Iceland's volcanic ash cloud.
The San Francisco Giants seized a 3-1 lead in Major League Baseball's best-of-seven final against hosts, the Texas Rangers. With one more victory, they could claim their first World Series title since 1954.
Belgium's Kim Clijsters came from behind to beat world number one Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark on Sunday and pick up a second WTA Championships title, seven years after winning her first.
British golfer Lee Westwood is to take over as world number one when the new rankings are published on Monday, knocking Tiger Woods from the top spot he has held for the last five years.
Heavy rain in the south of France forced football officials to postpone Rennes' visit to Marseille, where a place at the top of the standings was at stake. Brest meanwhile became the surprise division leader after beating Saint-Etienne 2-0.
Tour de France riders are likely to face more intrusive testing, including night-time checks, as cycling authorities strive to step up anti-doping measures ahead of next year's "Grande boucle".
Alexandria Mills, an 18-year-old from the US state of Kentucky, became Miss World 2010 on Saturday, at the end of the beauty competition hosted in the Chinese resort town of Sanya.
Keira Knightley (left) and Eva Mendes (right) will turn out for opening night of the Rome film festival on Thursday. The two appear alongside Sam Worthington and Guillaume Canet in the romantic thriller "Last Night", which opens the festival.
Top art dealer Larry Gagosian opened a gallery in Paris this week, calling it a sign the French capital is "reclaiming" its role on the world art scene. The opening came just ahead of the launch of the FIAC contemporary art fair (photo) on Oct. 21.
At British artist David Hockney’s new exhibit in Paris, iPads and iPhones take the place of canvas. Using the "Brushes" application, which allows users to paint with their fingers, Hockney created a series of colourful landscapes and still lifes.
The US non-profit group TED has awarded 100,000 dollars to the French photography artist known as "JR" for putting a "human face on some of the most critical social issues while redefining how we view, make and display art."
In today’s French press review, we focus on the five year anniversary of the riots that took place in the Parisian suburb of Clichy. The death of two boys chased by the police near a power transformer sparked extreme violence in the region. Also in the papers: medical assistance on the internet and the worst US campaign adverts, seven days before the mid-terms.
Finland has just become the first country in the world to make a law aiming to eradicate smoking entirely. The government has introduced a bill which aims to make Finland smoke-free by 2040. On October 1st, the first measures of the so-called Tobacco Act were introduced, making it harder for people under 18 to smoke, and restricting smoking outdoors. And tougher measures are to come. But can Europe follow the lead?
While over 200 countries come together in Japan to work out a road map to stop the extinction of species, ENVIRONMENT looks at the bugs and pests that are gaining in strength and taking over towns. Insecticides have gotten less toxic over the years and some species are profiting, but scientists in France may soon be able to trap them using the laws of attraction.
An accident at an Alumina factory in Hungary smothers three villages with a toxic sludge, leaving 9 dead and scores of others burned and badly injured. HEALTH meets those burned by the alkaline mud which ate deep into their skin. At Budapest’s hospitals doctors still rely on results from Greenpeace to see what metals or toxic materials are present in the mud.
A network of suspected Armenian gangsters used means such as setting up fake medical clinics to try and cheat the government's medical insurance programme out of $163 million, the largest fraud by a criminal enterprise in the programme’s history.
Police in Athens said Monday that an explosive device addressed to French President Nicolas Sarkozy was one of four packages intercepted by Greek authorities in the capital. A female courier was injured when one of the devices exploded.
The French prosecutor (pictured) probing a massive scandal linked to L'Oreal billionaire Liliane Bettencourt handed over the investigation to independent judges Friday following criticisms of his handling of the probe.
Several polling stations set up for Ivorian expats in the Paris region failed to open Sunday, sparking anger among voters. While opposition members say the poll was rigged, electoral officials are adamant all went smoothly.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy said Friday his country would not cave in to terrorist demands after al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden threatened to attack French interests in retaliation for the country’s policies towards Muslims.
Governments around the world tightened air security on Monday, after two bombs were intercepted on the way to the US from Yemen. Tighter international regulations on air cargo may have a negative impact on the global economy.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy will meet with British Prime Minister David Cameron on Tuesday to sign new military defence agreements between the two countries. The treaties will mark a new era of French-Anglo military co-operation.
Kurdish news agency Firat reported Monday that Turkey's Kurdish separatist organisation, the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), were not responsible for Sunday's suicide bombing in Istanbul which wounded 32 people.
The arrest and subsequent release of a 17-year-old Moroccan runaway is the latest in a series of sexual scandals to hit the Italian prime minister, Silvio Berlusconi, who media now allege invited an underage girl to parties at his villa.
Germany has imposed a ban on all passenger flights from Yemen until further notice, the aviation authority said Monday. The decision comes in the wake of the security alert Friday after the discovery of two bombs on route to the US on a cargo plane.
Leading al Qaeda militant Jabir al-Fayfi, who turned himself in to Saudi Arabian authorities in October, provided the tip to police which helped foil the attempted bomb attack on the US, a Yemeni security official said Monday.
Fifty-two hostages and police were killed in Iraq on Sunday when security forces raided one of Baghdad's largest churches to free more than 100 Iraqis being held by al Qaeda-linked gunmen, a deputy interior minister said on Monday.
Germany has imposed a ban on all passenger flights from Yemen until further notice, the aviation authority said Monday. The decision comes in the wake of the security alert Friday after the discovery of two bombs on route to the US on a cargo plane.
US authorities have named a Yemen-based Saudi man as their prime suspect behind the explosive parcels intercepted in the UK and Dubai as Yemeni officials released a young woman arrested in connection with the plot.
Results on Sunday from Bahrain's second round of parliamentary elections showed that the ruling Sunni dynasty retained power, while secular opposition group Waad lost the two seats it had contested.
One day after Ivory Coast's landmark presidential election, Ivorians await the announcement of results from the first round. Though the election was peaceful, there are fears that the outcome could lead to disputes and street clashes.
As Ivorians vote in Sunday’s much-awaited, much-postponed presidential poll, the UN has increased its troop presence in three areas of Ivory Coast. Its objective: to reassure voters who fear an outbreak of violence following the poll.
Several polling stations set up for Ivorian expats in the Paris region failed to open Sunday, sparking anger among voters. While opposition members say the poll was rigged, electoral officials are adamant all went smoothly.
Votes are being counted in Niger's constitutional referendum. The poll is hoped to smooth the way to democracy, but many believe it will change little in a country ruled by a squabbling military junta.
Tanzanians have gone to the polls in general elections on Sunday across the country and in the semi-autonomous Zanzibar islands. President Jakaya Kikwete (pictured) is widely expected to return to power.
Omar Khadr, a Guantanamo inmate charged with killing a US soldier in Afghanistan, will be repatriated to Canada to serve out the remainder of his sentence, US Foreign Minister Lawrence Cannon said Monday.
Opinion polls have indicated that while Republicans will make large gains in the US House of Representatives, the Democrats are poised to hold the Senate. Continuing economic woes have helped fuel a Republican resurgence.
Foreign policy has barely been discussed in campaigns for US midterm elections. But if Republicans, as expected, win control of the House of Representatives and make gains in the Senate, the impact will be felt beyond US borders.
Ten women are presidents of their countries. While some of these are ceremonial positions, a further eight are leaders of their governments. The list keeps growing.
Survivors of last week's disasters in Indonesia are struggling to survive as aid promised in the wake of a deadly tsunami and volcanic eruptions has failed to arrive. Mount Merapi, which has already displaced 65,000 people, erupted again on Monday.
China on Monday began its annual census of the world's biggest population, estimated last year to be over 1.3 billion. The survey will gather key data on the effects of urbanisation and Beijing's controversial "one child" policy.
Alexandria Mills, an 18-year-old from the US state of Kentucky, became Miss World 2010 on Saturday, at the end of the beauty competition hosted in the Chinese resort town of Sanya.
The government of the Maldive archipelago said President Mohamed Nasheed has personally apologised to a European couple who were subjected to profanities during their wedding ceremony, and said that two men were arrested over the incident.
Rescuers searching for survivors of the devastating tsunami that hit Indonesia earlier this week have found some 135 people - previously thought to have been killed - on the remote island of Mentawai.
The first polling stations have opened in the US mid-term elections which will see a new House of Representatives and a third of the Senate elected.
President Barack Obama's Democratic Party is expected to lose its majority in the House of Representatives, but may hold on to the Senate.
Republicans hope to capitalise on voter discontent with the economy.
Voting will end in 14 hours when the last poll closes in Alaska at 0000 EDT (0400 GMT).
The first polls opened on the East Coast in Connecticut, Indiana, Kentucky, Maine, New York, Tennessee, Vermont and Virginia.
Up for election are all 435 House seats, 37 of the 100 seats in the Senate, governorships of 37 of the 50 states and all but four state legislatures.
The Republican Party needs to gain 39 House seats to win control of the lower chamber of Congress and 10 to take over the Senate. Opinion polls have regularly predicted that the Republicans will seize the House, but the race for control of the Senate is likely to be tighter.
In addition, voters will decide on some 160 measures on the ballots in 37 states ranging from marijuana legalisation in California to a referendum in Oklahoma on forbidding judges from using Islamic Sharia law in rulings.
If Californians decide in favour of legalising marijuana possession for personal use, it will put their state at odds with federal law.
On Monday, Mr Obama tried to rally support for Democrats by giving an interview to Ryan Seacrest, host of the popular TV programme American Idol. The interview is due to air on Tuesday on Seacrest's nationally syndicated radio show.
Mr Obama also recorded interviews for radio stations in the cities of Milwaukee, Cincinnati, Philadelphia, Honolulu and Miami.
He spent Monday at the White House, while First Lady Michelle Obama campaigned in Nevada and Pennsylvania.
Campaigning for the sitting Senate majority leader Harry Reid, Mrs Obama updated her husband's 2008 campaign slogan: "Can we do this? Yes, we can. Yes, we must," she told the crowd.
Republicans are riding high in opinion polls, buoyed by discontent over unemployment running near 10%, slow economic growth and a burst housing market bubble that has seen many Americans lose their homes.
The party has also gained from the backing of the populist Tea Party movement, which has given voice to conservative grassroots opposition to Mr Obama and the Democrats' economic stimulus programmes and healthcare overhaul.
In several areas, the Tea Party, with the backing of former Alaska governor and 2008 Republican vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin, has managed to replace establishment Republican candidates with more conservative figures.
Lacking enthusiasm
The results of the day's gubernatorial and state legislative elections could also have a big impact on the future of American politics.
Full results and live text commentary on the BBC News website
Special coverage on the News Channel, BBC World News and World News America from 2300-0500GMT
On BBC Radio 4 from midnight to 0500GMT and World Service Radio from 0030-0500GMT
In a given state, the party that controls the state legislature and holds the governor's office has influence over the redrawing of the Congressional district map for the next 10 years.
Frank Newport, editor-in-chief of the Gallup market research firm, said the polls suggested that Republicans would do well.
"The real defining variable this year is that Republicans are enthusiastic, they are motivated, they are emotional about the election and Democrats aren't - and turnout makes a big difference, and that's why it looks like the Republicans will do well," he told the BBC.
Mr Newport said President Obama had inspired Americans who didn't normally vote to turn out in 2008, but that the same groups did not seem likely to vote in the mid-terms.
However, citing the examples of Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton, Mr Newport added that it would be a mistake to assume a poor showing in the mid-terms would mean a defeat for Mr Obama at the next presidential election.
"History tells us this has very little predictive value about whether or not Barack Obama will be able to be re-elected in 2012, he said."
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