Category: America

Brisa Looks for India, Turkey Highway Chances After Brazil Exit

Brisa-Auto Estradas de Portugal SA, Portugal’s biggest toll-road company, is looking for opportunities to expand in India and Turkey after selling its stake in Cia. de Concessoes Rodoviarias SA, Brazil’s biggest toll-road operator.

“After selling CCR, Brisa’s portfolio is very unbalanced,” Chief Executive Officer Vasco de Mello said at a presentation to investors, according to a regulatory filing posted on the website of the country’s securities markets watchdog. “Too much concentrated in Portugal.”

The company, based near Lisbon, plans to bid for a contract to operate and manage a highway in Mumbai, and sees opportunities in the privatization of motorways and Bosphorus bridges in Turkey. Brisa has already sold 9.4 percent of CCR and plans to sell the remaining 7 percent by the end of the year.

Brisa is facing sluggish growth in Portugal as the country’s austerity measures to curb the budget deficit choke consumer demand. The company predicts higher toll revenue next year as drivers must now pay to use some competing highways that were formerly toll-free, and Brisa’s own tolls rising 0.6 percent.

The company expects to invest between 200 million euros ($273 million) and 300 million euros in new business opportunities, according to the filing. Average annual capital spending on Portuguese highway projects for 2011 through 2015 will be 95 million euros, dropping to 65 million euros from 2016, it said.

Toll Machines

Brisa predicts operating costs will be unchanged in 2011, after dropping 4 percent this year, more than the 3 percent initially forecast. The company expects additional costs from the opening of new highways to be offset by savings from the introduction of cash and card toll machines on Portuguese highways, forecast to total 3.5 million euros from 2011.

The company will complete its corporate reorganization by the end of the year, creating a holding company that will control its three business areas. Brisa said it will finish this year with net debt of 2.3 billion euros and has “no major short-term” refinancing needs.

Brisa plans to pay a 31 euro-cent dividend to shareholders for the next five years and is considering a share buyback to bring its holding up to 10 percent, including 4 percent the company already owns.

To contact the reporter on this story: Anabela Reis in Lisbon at [email protected].

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Angela Cullen at [email protected]

via Brisa Looks for India, Turkey Highway Chances After Brazil Exit – Bloomberg.

November 23, 2010
Dollar to Become World’s `Weakest Currency,’ Drop to 75 Yen JPMorgan Says

By Shigeki Nozawa

The U.S. dollar has declined against 12 of its 16 most-traded counterparts this year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Photographer: Alastair Miller/Bloomberg

The dollar may fall below 75 yen next year as it becomes the world’s “weakest currency” due to the Federal Reserve’s monetary-easing program, according to JPMorgan & Chase Co.

The U.S. central bank, along with those in Japan and Europe, will keep interest rates at record lows in 2011 as they seek to boost economic growth, said Tohru Sasaki, head of Japanese rates and foreign-exchange research at the second-largest U.S. bank by assets. U.S. policy makers may take additional easing steps following the $600 billion bond-purchase program announced this month depending on inflation and the labor market, he said.

“The U.S. has the world’s largest current-account deficit but keeps interest rates at virtually zero,” Sasaki said at a forum in Tokyo yesterday. “The dollar can’t avoid the status as the weakest currency.”

The Fed said on Nov. 3 it will buy $75 billion of Treasuries a month through June to cap borrowing costs. The central bank has kept its benchmark rate in a range of zero to 0.25 percent since December 2008. The Bank of Japan on Oct. 5 cut its key rate to a range of zero to 0.1 percent and set up a 5 trillion yen ($59.9 billion) asset-purchase fund.

The dollar traded at 83.38 yen as of 12:04 p.m. in Tokyo after falling to a 15-year low of 80.22 on Nov. 1. The greenback declined to post-World War II low of 79.75 yen in April 1995. The U.S. currency has declined against 12 of its 16 most-traded counterparts this year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Tightening Unnecessary

There’s no need for any monetary tightening in the U.S. as even prolonged easing won’t heighten inflationary pressures with the balance sheets of banks and households still hurting from the fallout of the global financial crisis, Sasaki said.

Ten-year Treasury yields may decline to around 2.25 percent over the next year, and their premium over similar-maturity Japanese yields won’t widen, he said. The benchmark 10-year Treasury yielded 2.89 percent today.

The world economy is likely to expand 3 percent next year amid the extra liquidity provided by central banks, “repeating a pattern from early 2002 to the end of 2004” when improving risk appetite boosted stocks and commodities and the dollar fell 25 percent against the yen, Sasaki said.

With monetary easing in the U.S., Japan and Europe likely to bolster the global recovery and increase demand for yield, the yen is poised to weaken against other currencies beside the dollar to levels last seen in early 2007, Sasaki said.

Japan will refrain from selling the yen even if it strengthens against the dollar, following international criticism of foreign-exchange intervention, he said. The nation intervened in the currency markets for the first time in six years on Sept. 15 when the yen climbed to a 15-year high.

To contact the reporter on this story: Shigeki Nozawa in Tokyo at [email protected].

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Rocky Swift at [email protected]

https://www.bloomberg.com/tosv2.html?vid=&uuid=90a3d4d1-d357-11ed-9133-55546f6d5541&url=L25ld3MvYXJ0aWNsZXMvMjAxMC0xMS0xOC9kb2xsYXItdG8tYmVjb21lLXdvcmxkLXMtd2Vha2VzdC1jdXJyZW5jeS1kcm9wLXRvLTc1LXllbi1qcG1vcmdhbi1zYXlz, Nov 18, 2010

November 23, 2010
Will the US back Turkey once again?

Sunday, November 21, 2010

SERTAÇ AKTAN

The NATO and the EU-U.S. summits in Lisbon are important for the future prospects of Turkey in the EU membership process because the outcome of the NATO Summit will have a direct effect on the amount of U.S. support at the EU-U.S. summit for Turkey’s membership. So it would be wise to remember the last unofficial EU-U.S. summit that took place in Prague in the beginning of 2009 and afterwards.

Conservative parties coming to power both in Germany (2005) and France (2007) led to an anti-Turkey membership alliance followed by some smaller countries in the EU. Parallel and simultaneous statements on “privileged partnership” and declaring that Turkey was not welcomed as a full member was not doing any good to the already-troubled negotiation process where chapters were blocked by southern Cyprus and France. Also failing to ratify the Lisbon treaty, the EU questioned whether there could be anymore enlargement in the future.

At this period of time the first official bilateral visit to overseas, after Barack Hussein Obama’s election as the 44th president of the United States in November 2008, was made to Turkey. Before he did, he was in Prague for the unofficial EU heads’ of state meeting where he emphasized Turkey’s full membership as a “must” for the EU’s future. As it is also one of his most important visions to make closer ties and relations with the East, specifically the Islamic world, he stated that having Turkey in the union would be the best message to send throughout the region.

Given an immediate counter statement by Nicolas Sarkozy, the French president, that it was only up to the EU whether Turkey would join or not, Obama came to Turkey with the confidence of showing the clear support for its EU membership process. He continued expressing the U.S.’s support for membership in Ankara and Istanbul, where he gave several speeches. This also strengthened and renewed the floppy ties between the U.S. and Turkey. Naturally, the EU issue was not the only one to be raised in this visit but for the EU, the message was made clearer than ever when Obama said these words in his speech in the Turkish Parliament: “They keep asking me if I am trying to give a special message by visiting Turkey. The answer is ‘evet.’ Turkey is a critical ally and an important part of Europe. We must work together to overcome the challenges. We are close friends of both Turkey and the EU. Turkey has been a trusted ally and responsible partner in all transatlantic and European institutions. Turkey is bound to Europe with more than the bridges on the Bosphorus. Turkish membership will broaden and strengthen EU’s foundation once more.”

Obama also visited Istanbul and there he came together with some Turkish youth to answer their questions. In his answer to an EU membership-related question, he stated: “The U.S. is not a member of the EU so it is not our decision to make but that does not prevent Washington from having an opinion. I notice that Europeans have had a lot of opinions about U.S. policy for a very long time and they have not been shy about giving us suggestions about what we should be doing. So I do not think there is anything wrong with us reciprocating. That is what friends do. We think it is the right approach to have Turkey in the EU. If Turkey can be a member of NATO and protect its allies by sending and risking its troops I do not know why Turkey should not be able to sell apricots to its allies or have more freedom in terms of travel. However, make no mistake, our relations with Turkey does not depend on EU membership. Even if Turkey would continue not be a member, our bilateral relations and relations as a NATO ally will strengthen and progress.”

In the aftermath of the visit, the “privileged partnership” suggestions did not find any ground in the EU and were not repeated until the present time. The statements and bilateral meetings of Obama with both the president and the prime minister of Turkey are significantly important as a message to the EU. That is because Obama in fact had the opportunity to talk with the president at the NATO summit and with the prime minister in G20 summit. However, the U.S. chose to make an extra effort to show its sincerity on the matter.

In general, the interference of the U.S. has worked positively in Turkey-EU relations. Nowadays, Washington has increasingly focused on the importance of Turkey as a key ally in its quest to deal with rising transnational crime involving drug trafficking, money laundering, trafficking human beings and most important of all terrorism. Turkish participation in peacekeeping operations in Afghanistan, Somalia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo and Macedonia also demonstrated to the U.S. that Turkey is a “security-producing” country. Although there had been a temporary setback in Turkey-U.S. relations due to the developments in the Middle East and Iran, the U.S. has and still is supporting Turkey in its relations with Europe. The U.S. will definitely back Turkey for the EU membership process but “how much” support it will give this time; is the “question.” Turkey’s role in the missile defense system is the “answer.”

via Will the US back Turkey once again? – Hurriyet Daily News and Economic Review.

November 23, 2010
Stephen Kinzer: “Reset: Iran, Turkey, and America’s Future”

We turn now to America’s role in a changing Middle East. Israel has set up an internal inquiry into its deadly attack last month on the Gaza-bound flotilla of humanitarian aid ships. The attack left eight Turks and one Turkish American dead. Meanwhile, Turkey, along with Brazil, negotiated a nuclear fuel swap agreement with Iran and then voted against a UN Security Council resolution last week that imposed another round of sanctions on Iran. Award-winning journalist and bestselling author Stephen Kinzer is out with a new book that looks back into history to make sense of some of these shifting alliances in the Middle East and to chart a new vision for US foreign policy in the region.

November 22, 2010
First Native American Business Cooperation Trip

ISTANBUL, TURKEY — Representatives from 17 Native American tribes left the U.S. on Nov. 6 for a week long business, educational and cultural exchange trip to Turkey on Turkish Airlines’ inaugural flight from Washington, D.C. to Istanbul, organized by the Turkish Coalition of America.

Among the delegation is NAIHC Executive Director Mellor Willie (Navajo), former Salish and Kootenai Chairman James Steele, Tom Acevedo of S&K Technologies, and representatives from the Montana State Tribal Economic Development Commission, the Montana State Tribal Economic Development Program, and the Montana Native American Development Corporation.

Participants on the first Native American Business Cooperation Trip are scheduled to meet with Turkish Minister for Foreign Affairs Ahmet Davutoglu, Minister for Foreign Trade Zafer Caglayan, and members of the Turkish Parliament’s Turkey-USA Friendship Group.

The group also met with representatives of the Turkish Exporters’ Council; participate in business symposiums and networking at Istanbul Technical University, Hacettepe University, and Bahcesehir University; and visited Gallipoli, the site of a World War I campaign that still resonates with Turks as a defining moment in the history of the Turkish people and the modern Republic of Turkey.

“The Native American Business Cooperation Trip is the highlight of our recent efforts to foster increased economic and cultural ties between Turkey and Indian Country,” G. Lincoln McCurdy, president of TCA, said. “It is one of the largest Native American international delegations in recent years, and the first to visit Turkey. This trip marks the latest evolution in our work promoting the development of relationships between the Turkish peoples and the many ethnic and cultural groups in the United States.”

TCA has already organized three meetings with Minister for Foreign Trade Caglayan in 2010, including two meetings in the U.S. between Minister Caglayan and Native American delegations, laying the groundwork for the Business Cooperation Trip.

The delegation returned on Nov. 14. Other participants on Turkish Airlines’ inaugural flight include Members of Congress, journalists and think tank experts.

-courtesy of Tracy Schall

via News briefs – leaderadvertiser.com: Local/State News – News briefs: Local/State News.

November 21, 2010
Protest by Azeri-US and Turkish-US community activists

On Friday, November 19, 2010, in a first-ever Azeri-American public protest in California, a group of Azeri and Turkish community activists held a picket outside of the Pacific Club in Newport Beach, California to protest an event featuring a separatist warlord, self-proclaimed “Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (NKR) President”, Bako Sahakyan, as a speaker. The event was hosted by the World Affairs Council (WAC) of Orange County and sponsored by the Consulate General of the Republic of Armenia in Los Angeles, Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA), and other Armenian-American groups.

The picketers held up slogans demanding the return and restoration of the rights of 800,000 Azerbaijanis displaced as a result of ongoing occupation and ethnic cleansing committed by Armenian forces on Azerbaijani territories. They also distributed factsheets with references on the conflict from U.S. and international sources to visitors at the event venue entrance.

In addition, a group of 10 Azeri- and Turkish-American community activists attended the speech by Bako Sahakyan inside the Pacific Club. Introducing the speaker was the Consul General of Armenia, Grigor Hovhannissian, who talked about the “heroic” achievements of “NKR” on a path towards self-determination. It is noteworthy, that the Republic of Armenia does not recognize the illegitimate “NKR” due to the claimed commitment to peace negotiations under the OSCE Minsk Group format. Yet high-level Armenian diplomats in the United States not only participate, but also sponsor a visit by so-called “NKR President”. Such actions manifest a clear disrespect to the Nagorno-Karabakh peace process and its mediating OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs.

Taking the stage over next, Bako Sahakyan expressed his excitement over recent decision on the legality of Kosovo independence by the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which in his opinion, will increase prospects for “NKR” to be independent as well. Sahakyan also reiterated the necessity of including “NKR” as a party in the negotiation process, repeatedly criticizing Azerbaijan’s opposition to it.

He failed to recall, however, that the 1992 Baker Rules (named after then-U.S. Secretary of State James Baker) laid out the current OSCE peace negotiation format, with Armenia and Azerbaijan as “principal” and Nagorno-Karabakh’s ethnic Armenian and Azeri communities as “interested” parties to conflict.

After the speech, during the Q&A session, Mr. Sahakyan was confronted with several questions from Azerbaijani visitors and publicly demonstrated further lack of any understanding of conflict history, settlement process, providing completely incoherent and irrelevant answers.

Asked to comment on his authority to represent “the people of Nagorno-Karabakh”, while third of those were Azeris ethnically cleansed from their homes, Bako Sahakyan said that the engagement of Karabakh’s Azeri community is possible only if “NKR” is recognized as an equal party to the conflict. Armenian separatist did not explain, however, what prevents him from engaging with Azeri community of Karabakh within the OSCE defined format of an “interested” party. Instead Mr. Sahakyan repeated the old counterproductive slogan that it is impossible for Karabakh to be part of Azerbaijan.

Asked to comment on the words of Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan about the 1992 Khojaly Massacre (“before Khojali, the Azerbaijanis thought that they were joking with us, they thought that the Armenians were people who could not raise their hand against the civilian population. We were able to break that [stereotype].” (Thomas de Waal. Black Garden: Armenia and Azerbaijan through Peace and War, NYU Press, 2004)) – Armenian separatist warlord went on to deny the Armenian responsibility [for the massacre] already acknowledged by Human Rights Watch, Armenia’s “national hero” Monte Melkonian and even the incumbent President of Armenia. Claiming that he knows the “crux of the matter” and that Azerbaijan is using Khojaly Massacre as leverage against the recognition of “1915 Armenian Genocide”, Mr. Sahakyan failed to answer the posed question honestly and coherently.

The real “pearl” of Bako Sahakyan speech came at the end of Q&A session, when he was asked to comment on the impact of Azerbaijan’s growing military budget on the fate of illegitimate “NKR” entity. Choking on his own invention of “Azerbaijan-Karabakh conflict”, Mr. Sahakyan misfired that Armenian Armed Forces (and not so-called “NKR forces”) are ready to defend it in case of a possible war.

During the past week, the board directors of Azerbaijani-American Council (AAC) and other Azeri-American groups addressed their concern to the World Affairs Council of Orange County with an appeal to cancel this presentation by Bako Sahakyan. We regret that the WAC-OC leadership did not listen to these recommendations, instead proceeding with an event that did not produce any useful outcome in terms of either knowledge or conflict resolution, instead focusing on repeated dissemination of ethnocentric and irredentist views of the speaker.

http://www.today.az/news/vdiaspora/76922.html

November 20, 2010