BRIEFS

Europe to demand bluefin tuna trade ban

BRUSSELS: Europe yesterday joined the United States in formally seeking to ban trade in Atlantic bluefin tuna, the king of Japanese sushi and sashimi, in a move that has angered Tokyo. Ambassadors from the 27 European Union nations agreed that a UN body that lists protected species and which meets on Saturday will be asked to ban international trade in the fish, although not until next year, while allowing small-scale "artisanal" fishing not for export. Japan, which consumes 80 per cent of the global catch, says a ban is too drastic and has threatened to defy restrictions if approved by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) in Qatar.

ANC youth losing faith in finance minister

JOHANNESBURG: The hardline youth wing of South Africa's ruling ANC said yesterday it was losing confidence in Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan for not following party policy and ignoring the plight of the young. The African National Congress Youth League, which is pushing for mines in the world's biggest platinum producer to be nationalised, said Gordhan had ignored the development of the country's poor and unemployed youth. The youth league, under the leadership of its firebrand leader Julius Malema, is increasingly becoming a significant political force in South Africa after its support helped Jacob Zuma become president in may last year. Its criticism of Gordhan, whose appointment last year was welcomed by markets and investors, is the most vocal yet from within Zuma's ANC.

Fortis fined for market manipulation

THE HAGUE: Dutch financial markets watchdog AFM said yesterday it had fined insurance group Fortis Holding €576,000 (US$780,000) for market manipulation and withholding share price sensitive information. Four fines of €144,000 each were imposed on Fortis Holding last month for actions that followed its takeover of Dutch bank ABN Amro in 2007 in a consortium with the Royal Bank of Scotland and Banco Santander of Spain, the AFM said in a statement. Two of the fines were for market manipulation related to then chief executive officer Jean-Paul Votron's statement in June 2008 that Fortis' solvency was "on course" and "strong." The other two fines were for failing to timeously publish price-sensitive information affecting Deutsche Bank's bid for certain subsidiaries of ABN Amro. Fortis said in its annual report that it "challenges any allegations of wrongdoing and has appealed the decision of the AFM."

EMF idea should be examined 'rapidly'

BERLIN: The idea of a European-style International Monetary Fund to help debt-stricken eurozone members should be examined "rapidly," French Prime Minister Francois Fillon said yesterday. "We think this is an idea that should be looked at by experts rapidly in order to create the means with which the eurozone and its members can have at their disposal to respond to financial tensions that threaten monetary stability," Fillon said in a speech at Berlin's Humboldt University.

"But this form of support is only acceptable if the states confronted by financial difficulties make in parallel all necessary efforts to fix their structural problems and balance their books."



Yen down ahead of BOJ, pound slips

NEW YORK: The yen was broadly lower yesterday with investors betting that the Bank of Japan will apply further easing measures, while sterling fell on a British report showing weak industrial production. The yen has benefited from repatriation flows as Japanese corporates looked to bring offshore earnings back home for their fiscal year-end. However, a Reuters report that Japan's central bank may ease monetary policy as early as next week pushed the yen to lows against the dollar and the euro. The pound, already under pressure, dipped after an unexpected drop in British industrial production data for January. The BOJ is leaning towards easing monetary policy again next week, sources said, but there is disagreement among policymakers on its board on how to justify such a move. In early New York trade, the dollar was up 0.5 per cent versus the yen at ¥90.38 after climbing to ¥90.51 in earlier trade, according to Reuters data in New York.Agencies