Main Page «
Front Page «
Metro «
International «
Sports «
National «
Editorial «
Op-Ed «
Home «
Timeout «
Letters «

Archive «
Launch Supplement «
Special Supplements «

Business leaders and trade bureaucrats at an investment promotion seminar have emphasised infrastructural development and execution of business and investment-friendly policy to prop up business and commerce in the region.
   The seminar ‘unlocking the potentials of grater Barisal region by creating better business environment’ organised by the Board of Investment was held at the Barisal city auditorium on Thursday.
   Some 140 representatives from chamber bodies, business communities, entrepreneurs, professional groups of six districts of Barisal division attended the seminar.
   Kamaluddin Ahmed, executive chairman of the BOI, was chief guest of the programme presided over by Ebaidul Huq Chan, president of the Barisal Chamber of Commerce and Industries and newly re-elected director of the FBCCI.
   BOI director Mamdood Hossain Alamgir gave welcome speech and executive member Abu Reza Khan presented a key note paper on activities of the BOI, the Bangladesh Better Business Forum and business potentials of the grater Barisal region.
   BOI executive chairman said private investment efforts must be used rather than waiting for public sector initiatives in developing business and strengthening economy in this age of open market competition and globalisations.
   Business leaders Ali Ahmed Khan Nilu, Abdur Razak, Murtaza Alamgir Kabir, Obaidul Huq Akon, Faizul Kabir, Iqbal Hossain Khan, Shamsul Alam Kamal, Mahmud Khan and Shahida Begum participated in open discussion on the key note paper.
   The discussants said Barisal has been a transhipment centre for rice, hides, pulses and granary of Bengal because of its geographical advantage and easy accessibility to riverine, marine navigation channels and road communications.
   Greater Barisal region has huge prospects for investment in diversified sectors including agro-based industries, shrimp culture, fish processing, hospitality and tourism, skill development and training for tourism, catering service and industrial labour, steel and steel linkage ship building and ship breaking, pharmaceuticals, textile, solar power and other industrial infrastructure, they said.
   Necessary infrastructural development initiatives, including road and water transport, undisrupted power supply by using regional natural gas resource and solar energy power, tax holiday, banking loan and advancement are required to accelerate economic growth of the region, the speakers added.
   The entrepreneurs of the region also called for infrastructural development and business-friendly policy, laws, rules and regulations of the government to address the need of the time.
   They recommended execution of business-friendly policy including sufficient tax holiday for new and sick business enterprises, easy terms, conditions, procedures and lower interest rate of business and industrial loans and reducing the overall regulatory burden on investors.
   They said establishing Barisal Export Promotion Zone, introducing new policy, regulatory framework for enabling private investment in development, management, operation of EPZ, building capacity and training and outreach efforts were required for the advancement of the region’s business growth.

The farmers of Baghabari Milk Vita Milk Producers’ Co-operative Society at Shahzadpur in Sirajganj are undergoing great hardship because of price spiral of fodder, especially granular food and hay.
   The strict fat-monitoring policy of the Bangladesh Milk Producers’ Co-operative Unions Ltd’ authorities and poor medical facilities for the cattle given by the Milk Vita Society’s doctors are also frustrating hundreds of the local farmers.
   Most of the farmers have already started thinking to leave their traditional milk business or to sell their cattle for saving themselves from gradual losses.
   Moreover, those who have taken loans from the local moneylenders or NGOs or banks for rearing cattle are also worried about repaying the interest.
   The farmers have already put forth three-point demand, including increasing the milk price, to the Milk Vita authorities to be addressed by April 15. Otherwise, they will stop selling milk to them, said a group of farmers.
   Milk production at Potazia, Rashombari, Bhaimara, Barabil, Raoitara, Bayera, Madla, Nukalia, Kaklamari, Char-Chithulia, Alakdier, Shaktola as well as the Baghabari Milk Vita’s milk buying centre has decreased alarmingly due crisis of pure fodder, adulteration of granular food in local market and price spiral of the fodder.
   A group of farmers said many of them have already decided to sell their cattle due to continuous losses. They cannot even repay the NGO’s interest, as they have to manage fodder at high price but sell milk at low prices.
   Mohammad Ali, a cowshed-owner of at Etakhola under Potazia Milk Producers’ Co-operative Society, said, ‘The fodder price has increased beyond the ratio of milk price increased by the Milk Vita Company.
   The granular fodder like wheat bran is at present sold at Tk 20 per kg but it was Tk 10.00 per kg five years ago.
   Similarly, pigeon pea bran is at Tk 22.85 to Tk 23 per kg, but it was Tk 10.50 to Tk 11 and sesame oil-cake Tk 22.50 to Tk 23 per kg while it was Tk 10.50 to Tk 11.00 per kg, hay at Tk 220 to Tk 250 per maund, but it was Tk 50 to Tk 60 per maund five years ago.
   On the contrary, milk price at Baghabari point has only increased only by Tk 9 per litre in the last five years and it is now at Tk 25 per litre for four per cent fat. Although, the fodder price has more than doubled, the milk price did not increase in that ratio,’ he added.
   Md Waaz Ali, president of the Potazia Milk Producers’ Co-operative Society, said, ‘The Milk Vita authorities strictly monitor the fat-percentage in our milk and they have fixed Tk 25 per litre milk for four per cent fat. But, we usually get 3.5 per cent fat in our milk due to adulterate fodder in the market. Moreover, Milk Vita authority cannot ensure proper medical facilities to our cattle.’
   ‘Besides, we have no permanent cowsheds in our rearing areas and cannot supply pure drinking water to our cattle,’ he added.
   ‘We have already given an ultimatum to the Milk Vita authority to increase the milk-price to Tk 30 per litre or to fix the standard milk-fat at 3.5 per cent, to supply nutritious fodder and to repay our declared bonus within 15 April 2008. Otherwise, we will stop them supplying milk,’ he said.
   Dr Joy Gopal Das, deputy general manager (society), Rajshahi division, Milk Vita Company Ltd, told New Age Saturday, ‘Milk-flow of Bahgabari point has alarmingly declined due to fodder-hike and crisis of nutritious fodder. Many farmers have already started selling their cattle, as they cannot survive.’
   ‘If we increase the milk price, some dishonest fodder-businessmen will also try to do the same. So, our higher authorities already consider supplying nutritious fodder to the farmers as subsidy,’ he added.
   ‘We have only eight veterinary doctors for about 1,80,872 cows of Milk Vita and it is very tough to handle such big cattle resources by a such poor number doctors. Besides, the management is also trying to repay the due bonus of the farmers and a big portion has already been paid,’ he said.

Malaysia will hold a weeklong exhibition on halal products in the Dhaka city from July 22 as it sees a huge prospect for the business in Bangladesh.
   Visiting Malaysian deputy secretary general of ministry of entrepreneur and cooperative Mohammad Hashim bin Abdullah spelled out the exhibition plan at a press conference at the Sheraton Hotel Saturday.
   The Halal Malaysia Week 2008 will be held at Sheraton and Basundhara City Shopping mall simultaneously.
   The announcement came at the end of a three-day Malaysian Trade Show (March 20-22) at the same hotel.
   Malaysian ambassador in Dhaka Abdul Malek Bin Abdul Aziz also spoke on the occasion.
   Hashim said there is a great prospect of halal product business in Bangladesh as the country has a huge population of 166 million.
   He said Malaysia is promoting halal food business in Muslim and non-Muslim countries across the world as halal foods are hygienic and clean from both religious and non-religious points of view.
   He said his country wants to work together with Bangladesh to promote halal foods worldwide.
   ‘We do have a plan to set up joint venture plants in Bangladesh and produce halal foods for export to the international market,’ he said.
   Three Malaysian and two Bangladesh firms signed memorandums of understanding to launch joint business for halal food production and marketing at the programme.
   A Malaysian official said there is a $2.1 trillion Halal food global market which is 12 per cent of the global agri-food products.
   To set up a halal food industry, it needs halal certification which exists in Malaysia. Similar certification system should be introduced in Bangladesh too, he said.
   Leader of the Bangladesh Malaysia Chamber of Commerce and Industry Syed Moazzem Hossain said the chamber has been working to promote business between the two Muslim countries, but so far the achievement for Bangladesh in this regard is not up to the mark.
   ‘Bangladesh does not have such products that could be exported to Malaysia...Bangladesh needs to diversify its export basket and government should have an aggressive export policy to promote its business in Malaysia,’ he said.

Around one in every three baby milks and cereals, especially the imported ones, flouts rules of marketing milk powder and baby food substitutes, said a survey of the Consumer Association of Bangladesh.
   Releasing the survey reports Saturday, CAB indicated anarchy in baby food marketing and irresponsibility of the authorities concerned.
   The CAB survey, conducted during December 2007 to February 2008, found that 12 out of 40 items of baby food brands had no registration from the government authorities concerned although registration was mandatory.
   At least 25 of the said number of brands did not carry tags inking maximum retail price, 24 with no marks of standardisation authority-BSTI. Some 24 brands showed illegal infant pictures on products labels,
   Many baby food packs had no addresses of the marketing companies concerned or importers, showed the survey, coordinated by CAB programme officer Emdad Hossain Malek.
   ‘Many baby food marketers take to “tricky business policy” to boost sales of their products,’ said CAB report.
   The report said negligence and irresponsibility of the Institute of Public Health and Nutrition of the health ministry encouraged such violations.
   It said as baby food is sensitive product, its marketing should be strictly monitored by the authorities concerned.

The Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry on Saturday brought out a procession in the Dhaka city, marking its 50th founding anniversary and 400 years of Dhaka city.
   The commerce secretary, Feroze Ahmed, inaugurated the rally while president of the DCCI Hossain Khaled welcomed guests and participants at the Armonitola ground in the morning, said a press release.
   The rally was also attended by third president and a founder member of the DCCI Ahmed Yayha Bawany, chairman of Anwar group of industries Md Anwar Hossain, FBCCI president Annisul Huq, business personalities of the city and past presidents, directors and members of the DCCI.
   The colourful rally started at 10.30 am from Armonitola, first office site of the DCCI, and paraded through North South Road and Gulistan to Muktangan. Then the participants walked to Motijheel via Paltan to the present DCCI office.
   On their arrival at the DCCI office at Motijheel, the president of the trade body, Hossain Khaled, unveiled the new mnemonic of DCCI in front of the chamber building. The rally was concluded at Motijheel DCCI office at 11.45 am.
   Apart from motor vehicles the rally included decorated horse carriages and rickshaw vans that carried traditional items of Dhaka.

Three foreign oil tankers with about one lakh tonnes of petroleum products remained stranded at the Chittagong port outer anchorage for the past few days for delay in settling LC (letter of credit) money, officials of port and BPC said.
   The state-run Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation imported the petroleum products, including diesel and jet fuel, from the Kuwait Petroleum Corporation, they added.
   Among the three oil carrying ships, MT Al Deera arrived  with 22,000 tonnes of diesel and 11,000 tonnes of jet fuel on March 17, MT Al Badia with 32,956 tonnes of  diesel on March 18 and MT Al Sabia with 32,654 tonnes of diesel on March 20, the port sources said.
   But the KPC did not give clearance for discharging the imported fuels from the tankers after arrival here as the LC payment against the consignments were not duly settled, officials informed.
   A senior BPC official admitted that the oil-loaded tankers remained stuck up at the outer anchorage because of LC problem as the payment was yet to reach the supplier KPC.
   ‘We think KPC will very soon give clearance for discharging the imported fuel at our end on receipt of the LC money,’ he said.
   ‘But we don’t need to pay any demurrage for the ships delayed stay here,’ he claimed.
   BPC imports about 3.7 million tonnes of fuel annually and most of them are supplied by the Kuwait Petroleum Corporation, BPC officials said. Fazlul Haque re-elected BKMEA president
United News of Bangladesh . Narayanganj

Mohammad Fazlul Haque was Saturday elected president of Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association for a third straight stint in the office.
   Two panels under the banner of Knit Oikya Forum, led by Hatem-Chunnu, and Knit Oikya Parishad, led by Fazlul Haque, submitted nomination for the election. But the Oikya Forum on March 18 withdrew from the race.

NobeL Laureate Professor Muhammad Yunus flew from Dhaka to Chittagong on Saturday in Best Air.
   The private airliner that launched its journey on January 14 declared that it would always reserve a seat, Alpha-1, free of cost for Yunus, said a press release.
   Best Air also reserves a free seat in its aircraft for freedom fighters and disabled children.

China will shut down or punish dozens of video-sharing Web sites for carrying content deemed pornographic, violent or a threat to national security under rules that tighten Internet controls, a regulator said Friday.
   The announcement came as Chinese Web surfers were blocked from seeing foreign sites with video about protests in Tibet. The new order did not mention the anti-government demonstrations or China’s resulting crackdown.
   One of China’s most popular video-sharing sites, Tudou.com, was among those penalized, the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television said. It gave no details of Tudou’s violation or penalty. Other major competitors such as Youku.com and 56.com were not cited.
   Rules that took effect Jan. 31 ban Chinese sites from distributing online video that involves national secrets, hurts the reputation of China, disrupts social stability or promotes pornography. Web sites are required to delete and report such content.
   Communist authorities have also tightened controls on Chinese media ahead of this summer’s Beijing Olympics in hopes of stopping content that might tarnish a national prestige event.
   In the recent sweep, regulators ordered 25 Web sites to shut down and will punish 32 others following a two-month investigation, the administration said on its Web site. It gave no details of penalties and phone calls to the office were not answered.
   The companies knew the penalties were coming, and they do not appear to be connected to efforts to block footage of the protests in Tibet, said Duncan Clark, managing director of BDA China Ltd., a Beijing consulting firm.
   A Tudou.com vice president, Dan Brody, said the site received a warning. He declined further comment.
   The industry has grown quickly as a source of news in a country where the government owns all newspapers and broadcasters and enforces the ruling Communist Party’s censorship guidelines. Some sites say they get 100 million visitors a day, an audience that rivals that of the biggest state television channels.
   Chinese regulators see the profit potential for video-sharing and have tried to strike a balance between enforcing censorship and letting fast-growing sites compete for visitors.
   ‘It’s niche no longer, so the party takes the view that it’s mass media, so it has to be subject to the same controls,’ Clark said.

The International Monetary Fund signaled Friday that it was ratcheting up its scrutiny of sovereign wealth funds due to their rapidly growing financial clout.
   IMF officials are planning to develop a blueprint of voluntary best practices for the government-run investment funds which straddle international markets and control estimated assets of between two and three trillion dollars.
   ‘Official and private commentators have expressed concerns about the transparency of SWFs, including their size, and their investment strategies, and that SWF investments may be affected by political objectives,’ an IMF staff paper surmised.
   A number of governments, including oil-rich Middle East states, run large investment pools, some of which have snapped up big stakes in corporate America.
   The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority of the United Arab Emirates and Singapore’s Government Investment Corporation, which control funds with estimated assets of hundreds of billions of dollars, are two of the world’s biggest funds.
   ADIA invested 7.5 billion dollars in Citigroup, the US banking giant, in late November followed by GIC which snapped up a 6.8 billion dollar shareholding in the financial group this year.
   Representatives from both funds have been in Washington this week and met with US Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson on Thursday.
   The IMF staff paper, which was released to the media, also stated that the funds have become concerned about potential protectionist barriers which might be erected by some governments and could hamper their investments.
   IMF officials said they hope to establish an international working group of sovereign wealth funds to develop a set of best practices.
   The staff paper suggested that a set principles and practices could be presented to the IMF’s board of directors for review ahead of the Fund’s 2008 annual meetings in October.
   The Washington-based IMF, which has 185 member countries, would put together a blueprint for best practices under its remit of promoting global financial stability. The IMF’s working paper was released a day after the US Treasury said it had reached a series of agreements with the ADIA and GIC covering investments in US markets.
   Other governments including Iran, Korea, Kuwait, Libya, Norway, and Saudia Arabia also run sovereign wealth funds and China and Russia have more recently set up such investment pools.

Central banks on both sides of the Atlantic are in talks about the feasibility of mass purchases of mortgage-backed securities in a bid to solve the global credit crisis, the Financial Times said on Saturday.
   The newspaper, without citing sources, said the talks were at an early stage and part of a broader exchange on how to battle the turmoil in financial markets, which has continued despite the injection by central banks of billions of dollars of liquidity and cuts in interest rates.
   The Bank of England appears to be most enthusiastic to explore the idea, which would involve the use of public money to shore up the market in a key financial instrument, the FT said.
   The Federal Reserve is open to the idea in principle, but only as a last resort, while the European Central Bank is less keen, it said.
   ‘We’re not providing any comment,’ a BoE spokesman said. Britain’s finance ministry also declined to comment. The ECB and Federal Reserve could not immediately be reached.
   Central banks have so far been prepared to lend against mortgage-backed securities rather than buying them outright.
   The securities have plunged in value amid a credit squeeze which was sparked by low quality mortgages in the United States, leading to a vicious circle of forced sales, falling prices and weakening balance sheets for banks.
   Banks have written down over $125 billion of assets since November, hammering their shares. The DJ Stoxx European banks index has fallen almost 40 per cent since June. Governments and central banks have made repeated attempts to restore order. Britain has nationalised struggling mortgage bank Northern Rock, Germany is overseeing the rescue of lender IKB and the United States is presiding over a rescue of Bear Stearns.
   But markets remain jittery, with Credit Suisse warning on Thursday it could report its first quarterly loss in five years and credit ratings agency S&P saying on Friday it was cutting its view on US banks Goldman Sachs and Lehman Brothers to ‘negative’ from ‘stable.’

Russia’s parliament is to vote Friday on a draft law limiting foreign investor access to key sectors including oil and gas, the media, and fishing, officials said.
   The draft text concerns ‘foreign investment in companies of strategic significance for the defence and security of the state,’ Martin Shakkum, head of the committee bringing the law to parliament, said on Thursday.
   This will be the second reading of a law that has raised concern among the foreign investor community in Russia as it would widen the powers of the security services in business transactions.
   If adopted on Friday, there would be no significant changes before the third and final reading. The law then needs to be approved by the upper house of parliament before being signed into force by President Vladimir Putin.
   Under the terms of the law, any private foreign company wanting to buy more than 50 per cent of a company in any of 42 ‘strategic’ sectors will need authorisation from a commission made up of economic and security officials.
   Foreign state-controlled companies will need to obtain the same permission if they plan to acquire more than 25 per cent stake in a Russian company on the list.
   Russian newspapers said the ‘strategic’ sectors also included the nuclear industry, aerospace, and arms building, as well as the oil and gas business, fishing and mass media.

The US economy is teetering on the brink of recession but eurozone countries could pull through the global financial crisis without special measures, the OECD said on Thursday
   The OECD slashed US growth estimates for the first half of this year, saying the latest data ‘suggest that the US economy is now essentially moving sideways, if not contracting outright.’
   The US economy was now expected to grow 0.1 per cent in the first quarter, a sharp reduction from the 0.3 per cent estimated in December, and to show zero growth in the second, a sudden halt compared with 0.4 per cent given previously.
   Despite the sharp downward revision, acting chief OECD economist Jorgen Elmeskov said in a statement ‘it may be premature to declare a recession’ in the United States.
   The OECD interim assessment report said the eurozone economy would grow 0.5 per cent in the first quarter, up from 0.4 per cent, but slip to 0.4 per cent in the second, down from 0.5 per cent.
   But the estimate showed the British economy doing better than expected in the first quarter, growing by 0.6 per cent from a previous estimate of 0.4 per cent, although the second-quarter estimate of 0.6 per cent was unchanged.
   Japan would grow by 0.3 per cent in the first quarter, down from 0.4 per cent previously, and by 0.2 per cent in the second quarter, down from 0.4 per cent.
   The overall tone of the OECD’s assessment was one of concern about the slowdown in the US, and of signs that flattening US activity is being accompanied by inflationary pressures: a phenomenon usually referred to as stagflation.
   ‘The US economy is going to be very weak’ over the first two quarters, Elmeskov told a press conference later, but Europe ‘will be in nowhere near the same camp as the US.’
   For 2008, the US economy would likely grow 1.4 per cent, down from the December estimate of 2.0 per cent, Elmeskov said, stressing that this projection was based on the early estimates only and would be formally reviewed in May.
   On the same basis, Eurozone growth would be unchanged at 1.5 per cent and Japan fall to 1.5 per cent from 1.6 per cent.
   Elmeskov said that the global economy faced major headwinds, with a growing level of distrust in the financial markets, as reflected in the credit crunch, feeding through into the real economy as funding costs rose.
   The US housing market collapse ‘has further to go ... there will be falling house prices for some time to come,’ he said, adding that the slump was now very bad and likely to turn out to be the worst on OECD records.
   At the same time, rising food, energy and raw material costs were stoking inflation, making it more difficult for central banks facing a choice between cutting interest rates to spur growth and keeping them high to curb prices.
   ‘Headling inflation is being boosted everywhere,’ Elmeskov said, noting that if people began to expect further price hikes, ‘it could be very costly; (there are) some yellow (warning) lights flashing.’
   Whilst saying current US monetary policy was ‘appropriate ... one would want to think closely about the risk of inflation expectations becoming un-anchored before moving further,’ he cautioned.
   Despite these headwinds, Elmeskov said there were no signs yet of a slowdown outside the OECD countries but there ‘must be limits as to how long’ this can continue and whether the non-OECD could really decouple from OECD.
   The OECD, a multilateral government research body, said its latest estimates reflected a sharp downturn in US economic conditions since December, with financial markets in turmoil, evidence of employment weakness, plunging confidence and further declines in the housing market.

The US Federal Reserve said Thursday it would auction 75 billion dollars in credits under a program announced last week to deliver more liquidity to stressed banks and securities firms.
   In a modification to the announcement a week earlier, the Fed said it would ease the collateral requirements for firms seeking credits under the new plan.
   The Fed said March 11 it was pumping a total 200 billion dollars into a new Term Securities Lending Facility to help unfreeze the credit markets.
   The change announced Thursday allows the companies to provide ‘schedule 2 collateral,’ instead of the schedule 1 collateral.
   Analysts said this will make it easier for companies holding some mortgage-backed securities that cannot be easily traded.
   ‘The Fed will be lending banks highly liquid Treasury securities in exchange for less liquid assets,’ said analysts at Briefing.com.

The Bangladesh Embroidery Manufacturers and Exporters Association on Thursday congratulated Annisul Huq on his becoming president of the FBCCI.
   Major Ekram U Siddique (retd), president of the BEMEA, handed over a basketful of flowers to Annisul Huq at a ceremony held in the Dhaka city, said a press release.
   Abdul Aziz Dewan, senior vice-president of the
   BEMEA, Anwar Kadir Kamrul, secretary general, and directors of BEMEA Abul Kamal Azad,
   MA Awal and Sharif Hossain Khan were present on the occasion.

Nokia, the mobile set company, opened the 28th customer care centre at the Nayan super market in Narayanganj on Thursday.
   Riad Rouf, care manager for Nokia Emerging Asia, inaugurated the service centre through a function, said a press release.
   Senior officials of the Nokia care team and representatives of the Nokia Care Partner, Mobile Technic Limited, were present at the ceremony.
   Nokia aims to provide after sales support and service to the large number of Nokia users in Narayanganj, a leading business hub of the country.

The Mutual Trust Bank Limited has inaugurated the 4th brokerage house at Uttara in the Dhaka city recently.
   Faruq Ahmed Siddiqi, chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, inaugurated the brokerage house as chief guest.
   Samson H Chowdhury, chairman of the Mutual Trust Bank Limited, presided over the function.
   Among others, Salahuddin Khan, chief executive officer of the Dhaka Stock Exchange, and Syed Manzur Elahi, founding chairman of the Mutual Trust Bank Limited, were also present as special guests.
   Kazi Md Shafiqur Rahman, managing director of the bank, was present, said a press release.

A White House economic affairs advisor said Friday that developing countries have more to gain than the rich north from the lower tariffs the United States is seeking in the Doha round of trade talks.
   ‘The Doha round is often incorrectly characterized as a North-South issue. In fact, developing countries have the most to gain from the cut in tariffs from other developing countries,’ Daniel Price told a trade meeting in Hanoi.
   ‘Around 70 per cent of tariffs paid by developing countries are paid to other developing countries’ he added, adding that trade between developing countries is increasing 50 per cent faster than overall trade.
   The trade talks have opposed developing countries that denounce food subsidies by rich countries and poorer countries that are demanding lower tariffs for their products and services.

Aloha Airlines said in US Bankruptcy Court on Friday that it was in discussions to sell all or some of its company.
   The state’s second-largest airline filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Thursday, a little more than two years after emerging from bankruptcy.
   Aloha’s attorneys said the company’s passenger services, air cargo and contract services, which include U.S. mail shipments, were for sale.
   The carrier said it will continue to fly as long as a bankruptcy court accepts the airline’s financial plan to keep operating. The company told the court it had $3.5 million remaining in cash, but expenses over the next 10 days would take $2.3 million of that.
   Judge Lloyd King granted Aloha permission to pay its daily operating costs, such as wages, fuel and utilities.
   The airline said in its bankruptcy filing that it was unable to generate sufficient revenue due to what it called ‘predatory pricing’ by Mesa Air Group Inc.’s go! airline. Phoenix-based Mesa launched go! into the inter-island market in 2006 to compete with Aloha, as well as Hawaiian Airlines Inc.
   In January, go! reported a $20 million operating loss in its first 16 months of operations. Meanwhile, Aloha and Hawaiian reported combined losses of nearly $65 million since go! began operating.
   Aloha Airgroup Inc. emerged from bankruptcy protection in February 2006, just 14 months after filing under Chapter 11.
   Aloha’s main investor, Yucaipa Cos., led by billionaire investor Ron Burkle, had invested more than $110 million in Aloha since it emerged from bankruptcy. Yucaipa has indicated it was unwilling to provide further financing.

Gold and oil prices scored fresh lifetime peaks this week as investors snapped up commodities in favour of the weak dollar and sought safety from falling equity markets.
   Oil approached 112 dollars per barrel and gold rocketed beyond 1,030 dollars an ounce on Monday.
   However, prices then hit reverse gear as market sentiment turned sour amid profit-taking and resurgent demand concerns.
   ‘We have this constant struggle between people wanting to buy oil as perceived safe haven, and weak stock markets which mean lower demand for oil going forward,’ said Bache Financial trader Christopher Bellew.
   Traders are very worried that the global credit squeeze, which erupted last August and has yet to run its course, could have a negative impact on future commodity demand.
   Many markets experienced shortened trading this week and closed on Thursday ahead of the Easter holiday weekend.
   Oil: New York’s light sweet crude jumped to a record high 111.80 dollars per barrel on Monday, before demand fears sent prices reeling back under 100 dollars during trading on Thursday. Prices later edged slightly higher.
   ‘Crude fell below 100 dollars a barrel as fears of a US recession, its impact on the rest of the world, and on oil demand growth continue to dominate headlines,’ said Sucden analyst Michael Davies.
   Prices soared Monday as the plunging US dollar hit an all-time low against the euro. The weak US currency encourages demand for dollar-priced commodities because they become cheaper for buyers using stronger currencies.
   But oil prices closed sharply lower on Monday as traders feared that rising financial markets turmoil could damage the outlook for oil.
   On Tuesday, crude surged by more than three dollars after the US Federal Reserve slashed US interest rates, stoking expectations of strong energy demand in key consumer the United States.
   In a fresh twist on Wednesday, prices spiralled lower as traders overlooked a US government energy report that signalled softening demand in the world’s biggest economy.
   The market plunged because traders remained concerned about worsening credit conditions the world over which are threatening to derail global economic growth, analysts said.
   By Thursday, New York’s main oil futures contract, light sweet crude for delivery in May, sank to 101.22 dollars, which compared with 109.30 dollars for the April contract on Friday of the previous week.
   Brent North Sea crude for May delivery tumbled to 100.08 dollars on Thursday, which compared with 106.59 dollars for the April contract on Friday of the previous week.
   Gold and Silver: Gold leapt to a record high 1,032.70 dollars on Monday before heading lower as traders banked gains.
   ‘Deepening woes in the global financial system triggered rampant safe-haven buying of gold and silver, with gold testing above 1,030 dollars per ounce,’ said James Moore, an analyst at TheBullionDesk.com.
   Towards the end of the week, however, gold plunged in value as traders fretted over long-term demand.
   The metal was also sold off as after the US Federal Reserve cut American interest rates by three-quarters of a per centage point. That was less than expected and gave a boost to the US dollar.
   ‘Following the less-than-expected Fed rate cut and the bounce in the dollar, heavy profit-taking emerged ahead of the long weekend,’ said Barclays Capital analysts.
   On the London Bullion Market, gold tumbled to 925.75 dollars per ounce at Thursday’s late fixing, down from 1,003.50 dollars on Friday of the previous week.
   Silver sank to 17.53 dollars per ounce from 21.07 dollars.
   Platinum: Platinum prices sank, but analysts predicted that the white metal would rebound on supply concerns.
   ‘Given the extensive gains seen in the platinum market so far this year the metal is likely to remain more vulnerable to selling pressure than some of the other metals,’ added Moore.
   ‘However, with the market still sensitive to supply disruptions and forecast to see a substantial deficit we expect more substantial support to be found below 1,900 dollars per ounce.’
   On the London Platinum and Palladium Market, platinum fell to 1,823 dollars per ounce at the late fixing on Thursday, from 2,107 dollars on Friday of the previous week.
   Palladium slid to 430 dollars per ounce from 512 dollars.
   Base Metals: Base metals fell across the board as traders also fretted over slowing economic growth dampening demand, traders said.
   ‘Given the broad based commodity sell-off we are not expecting a quick snap back and with the LME (London Metal Exchange) on holiday on Friday and on Monday for Easter, we may not get a feel for where prices are heading next until later next week,’ said analyst William Adams at BaseMetals.com.
   By Thursday, copper for delivery in three months slid to 7,979 dollars per tonne on the LME, from 8,490 dollars on Friday of the previous week.
   Three-month Aluminum fell to 2,920 dollars per tonne from 3,156 dollars.
   Three-month nickel dropped to 29,300 dollars per tonne from 32,850 dollars.
   Three-month lead dived to 2,835 dollars per tonne from 3,101 dollars.
   Three-month zinc slid to 2,410 dollars per tonne from 2,608 dollars.
   Three-month tin sagged to 20,575 dollars per tonne from 20,700 dollars.
   Grains And Soya: Prices beat a retreat on profit-taking, in line with other commodity markets.
   By Thursday on the Chicago Board of Trade, wheat for May delivery had fallen to 10.45 dollars per bushel from 11.91 dollars on Friday of the previous week.
   May-dated soyabean meal — used in animal feed — sank to 12.21 dollars from 13.52 dollars.
   The price of maize for May delivery slipped to 5.14 dollars per bushel from 5.59 dollars.
   On LIFFE, London’s futures exchange, the price per tonne of wheat for November delivery fell to 151 pounds from 160.50 pounds.
   Cocoa: Cocoa prices fell sharply as investment funds took profits.
   By Thursday on LIFFE, the price of cocoa for May delivery declined to 1,301 pounds per tonne from 1,473 pounds on Friday of the previous week.
   On the New York Board of Trade (NYBOT), the May cocoa contract slid to 2,311 dollars per tonne from 2,879 dollars.
   Coffee: Coffee prices also weakened.
   By Thursday on LIFFE, Robusta for May delivery had tumbled to 2,270 dollars per tonne from 2,673 dollars on Friday of the previous week.
   On the NYBOT, Arabica for May delivery dived to 129.25 US cents per pound from 151.45 cents.
   Sugar: Sugar prices dipped.
   By Thursday on LIFFE, the price per tonne of white sugar for May delivery slipped to 325.50 pounds, from 355 pounds on Friday of the previous week.

French bank Societe Generale vowed Friday to mount a ‘vigorous’ challenge to a New York lawsuit accusing it of misleading investors and failing to clamp down on a rogue trader who ran up massive losses.
   The bank — one of the largest in Europe — said it ‘took note’ of the class action law suit filed March 12 in a federal court in New York.
   ‘These complaints relate principally to alleged failures of Societe Generale concerning information provided on its exposure to the (US) subprime crisis and to internal controls regarding the recent fraud of which Societe Generale was a victim,’ the bank said in a statement.
   ‘Societe Generale intends to defend itself vigorously against these legal actions.’
   The class action lawsuit alleges that Societe Generale and its chairman Daniel Bouton ‘misled investors regarding its activities and exposure in the subprime mortgage markets,’ according to a statement from the law firm representing the plaintiffs.

BoJ official warns Japan economy slowing
Japan’s interim central bank chief vowed Friday not to let the absence of a governor hamper the country’s economic and financial activities while another central bank official said the economy is slowing ‘sharply.’ The Bank of Japan has no governor after the opposition controlled upper house of parliament rejected two government nominations in a row, saying they were too politically connected as former Ministry of Finance bureaucrats to uphold the central bank’s independence. The five-year term of former Gov. Toshihiko Fukui ended Wednesday. A new central bank deputy head, Masaaki Shirakawa, whose nomination was approved last week, was named acting governor this week. ‘We are in an unusual situation without a governor,’ Shirakawa said at a press conference Friday. ‘But we cannot let the bank’s operations stall. I will fulfill my duties until a governor is appointed.’ Kiyohiko Nishimura, the bank’s other deputy governor, said Japan’s economic slowdown is getting worse. ‘The economy is slowing quite sharply, even though it is on a mild expansionary trend,’ he told the same press conference. ‘We need to manage policy extremely carefully.’ The political deadlock is being viewed as a major fumble in a nation preoccupied with appearances, especially on the international stage, amid global financial market turmoil that could require cooperation among central banks. The political confrontation has brewed for weeks, although the world’s second-largest economy faces risks of slipping into recession, as a plunging dollar batters exports and soaring oil prices erode corporate profits.
— AP