World Bank $275 mn loan to tackle Philippines sewage

MANILA: The World Bank is lending the Philippines $275 million to tackle huge volumes of untreated sewage that threaten to swallow the capital Manila, the lender said Wednesday.
The loan would be reinvested by a government bank into Manila Water Co. and Maynilad Water Services projects to boost the two utilities' household wastewater collection and treatment systems, the World Bank said.
World Bank country director Motoo Konishi said the project is part of the lender's broader programme to support the urban renewal of Manila, a metropolis of at least 12 million people that is blighted with huge slums.
Its residents produce about two million cubic metres (500 million gallons) of wastewater a day, of which only 17 percent is treated before being released into Manila Bay, the bank said.
The rest seeps into 30 highly polluted rivers and streams criss-crossing the city and eventually ends up on the bay.
"The health of poor families, especially their young children, suffers the most from lack of proper wastewater treatment facilities and poor sanitation," Konishi said.
Economic losses from poor sanitation add up to an amount equivalent to 1.5 percent of the country's total economic output, Konishi said. AFP

 Radisson® and Radisson blu offer up to 100,000 free nights as part of global big night giveaway event

New Delhi: Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group, one of the world's largest and most dynamic hotel groups, on Wednesday unveiled the Radisson® Big Night Giveaway, where the first 100,000 people to register for the offer will be eligible to receive 50,000 bonus Gold Points®, enough for a free night at any Radisson or Radisson Blu hotel worldwide.
"This year marks many global landmark achievements for the brand, including introducing Radisson Blu in the U.S., the conversion of 13 Radisson Edwardian Hotels in the United Kingdom to Radisson Blu and continuous growth in Europe, the Middle East, Africa and in Asia Pacific," said Heather Passe, vice president, Marketing, Loyalty and E-commerce. "We are thrilled to launch a promotion that allows our guests to join the global event."
Beginning today, travelers can register for the Big Night Giveaway by visiting. The first 100,000 guests to register and stay at least one night at any Radisson or Radisson Blu hotel or resort by July 15, 2012, will earn 50,000 bonus Gold Points - enough points for a free stay at any Radisson or Radisson Blu hotel or resort worldwide. After the 100,000 spots are filled, guests who register for the promotion will earn 15,000 bonus Gold Points after completing a one-night stay at any Radisson or Radisson Blu hotel or resort by July 15, 2012.
Radisson is committed to providing vibrant, contemporary and engaging hospitality characterized by a unique Yes I Can!(SM) service culture. Radisson celebrates its 50th anniversary this year and is expanding as one of the world's most attractive, globally consistent, first-class, tiered brands with a range of World of Radisson features that are empathetic to the challenges of modern travel, including the 100% Guest Satisfaction Guarantee.
For more information about the promotion, as well as terms and conditions, celebrating its one-year anniversary, is the global hotel rewards program from the Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group. Guests who are not members can join for free during any stay at a Carlson Rezidor hotel or resort, during registration for the Big Night Giveaway, or by visiting.
Club Carlson redefines hotel rewards with a collection of superior benefits and offers a faster way to a free night 2 stay at any of the more than 1,000 participating hotels worldwide: Radisson Blu, Radisson®, Park Plaza®, Park Inn by Radisson and Country Inns & Suites By Carlson(SM). UNB

   World markets take fright at Greek threat to eurozone

LONDON: World stocks and the euro fell and borrowing rates for eurozone countries signalled alarm on Wednesday at new elections in Greece, prolonging agony for the eurozone.
Inconclusive talks between German leader Angela Merkel and new French President Francois Hollande were followed by insistence from the German finance minister that Greek voters should not think they can renegotiate rescue conditions.
The feeling that Greece has taken yet another step towards the unknown was reflected in remarks by the head of the International Monetary Fund and from the Greek president.
Lagarde openly referred to the possibility of Greece having to leave the eurozone, telling France 24 television late on Tuesday: "It is something that would be extremely expensive and would pose great risks but it is part of options that we must technically consider." And Greek President Carolos Papoulias said in a transcript of a conversation with Greek central bank head George Provopoulos that Greeks were withdrawing savings from banks, at the rate of some 700 million euros ($894 million) on Monday alone.
Papoulias said the bank chief had told him that the banks' situation was very difficult and that the situation "would worsen in the next two days." The head of the bank said that "there were a lot of fears that could turn into panic," the president said. Merkel and Hollande underscored their intention to help Greece stay in the eurozone and said they were mulling measures to boost growth in the debt-stricken country.
But on Wednesday, German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble insisted that it was not possible to re-negotiate an international aid plan for Greece. "This is an aid programme that was prepared down to the last detail, we cannot renegotiate it," Schaeuble told Deutschlandfunk radio.
"Those who win the elections will have to decide if they accept the conditions or not," he added.
The alarm stalking the streets of Greece, screens in dealing rooms and meetings among policymakers arises from the failure of Greek politicians to form a government and the calling of a new election in June.
Given the sudden rise of left-wing parties bent on rejecting the bailout terms, the central issue is whether Greeks will vote to reject conditions tied to a second debt rescue, or will vote in a government committed to enacting reforms.
"Events surrounding Greece and the inability to form a new coalition government continues to cause havoc, negatively affecting stock markets around the world and pushing periphery bond yields to highs not seen for several months," said ETX Capital trader Markus Huber.
In early stock market deals, London's benchmark FTSE 100 index was down 1.50 percent at 5,355.78 points, Frankfurt's DAX 30 shed 1.47 percent to 6,307.65 points and in Paris the CAC 40 slumped 1.23 percent to 3,001.84. Madrid tumbled 2.24 percent and Milan retreated 1.69 percent in value.
In Asia, stocks in Tokyo fell by 1.12 percent, the Sydney market was 2.36 percent lower, Seoul closed 3.08 percent lower, and Hong Kong shares slumped 3.19 percent. On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average had closed down 63.35 points, or 0.50 percent, at 12,632.00. The euro struck a four-month low point at $1.2681. It later pulled back to $1.2707, which compared with $1.2728 late in New York on Tuesday. AFP

   Stocks fall amid court hearing delay

Dhaka: Cautious trading due to delay over hearing on writ petitions over the SEC's directive on minimum share holding kept stocks in the negative territory on Wednesday, posting a slight fall at both the bourses-Dhaka and Chittagong.
The High Court was scheduled to hear all the writ petitions on Wednesday, filed by directors of listed companies against the Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) mandatory shareholding rules. The investors remained alert in trading as they did not get any outcome over the hearing during the four-hour trading session of the day.
Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) benchmark index, DGEN, lost 0.19 percent or 9.57 points to close at 5010.63. The premier bourse tracking index, however, showed a gain of over19 points or 0.39 percent till 11:30am.
The bourse lost 0.73 percent or 36 points to close at 5020.21 on Tuesday though it gained 1.10 percent or 55.34 points on Monday. Meanwhile, Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) key index, CSCX, shed 27.57 points to close at 9444.57 though it showed a gain of over 30 points in the first 30 minutes of day's trading.
The port city bourse lost 81.33 points to close at 9472.14 on Tuesday while it showed a gain of 123.75 points to close at 9553.4831 on Monday.
The DSE turnover continued to fall posting Tk 349 crore on Wednesday against Tk 433 crore and Tk 348 crore recorded respectively on Tuesday and Monday. The premier bourse turnover was Tk 389 crore on Sunday.
The port city bourse turnover came down to Tk 47.23 crore against Tk 53.99 crore recorded on Tuesday. The turnover was Tk 48.47 crore on Monday. The bourse recorded Tk 46.97 crore in turnover on Sunday. Of the issues traded at the DSE, 135 issues gained, 100 suffered losses and 25 remained unchanged.
At the CSE, 62 gained, 96 suffered losses and 23 remained unchanged at the end of the day's trading.
Earlier, Justice Farid Ahmed and Justice Sheikh Hassan Arif set the date for the hearing of all the writ petitions on Wednesday filed by directors of listed companies against the SEC mandatory shareholding rules.
On November 22, the SEC made it compulsory for directors to hold at least 2 percent stakes individually in their own companies. The com-mission also made it mandatory for the directors of a listed firm to jointly hold a 30 percent stake in the firm.
The SEC set a six-month deadline that ends on May 22 for the directors to buy stocks from the market.
Meanwhile, a group of investors staged protest in front of the High Court key entrance and chanted slogans against the directors who filed writ petitions. UNB

   Japan to pay $4.4 bn for Australian gas field stake

TOKYO: Japan's government and several major firms are to buy a 10.0 percent stake in an Australian natural gas field as the country seeks alternatives to atomic power, a spokeswoman for one of the companies said Wednesday.
The consortium, including the operator of the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant Tokyo Electric Power and state-backed Japan Oil, Gas and Metals National Corp. (JOGMEC), is to invest $4.4 billion in the Wheatstone liquefied natural gas project in the state of Western Australia, a JOGMEC spokeswoman told AFP.
Japan is heavily involved in Australia's burgeoning LNG sector and a major customer for its gas as it searches for alternatives to nuclear power following last year's crisis at the plant, operated by Tokyo Electric Power, or TEPCO.
The Asian nation is the world's biggest LNG importer.
All 50 of Japan's atomic reactors remain switched off amid a wave of anti-nuclear sentiment after last year's tsunami swamped reactors at Fukushima, sending them into meltdown.
The consortium, which will pay about 350 billion yen ($4.4 billion) for the investment in a project led by US-based Chevron, also includes Japanese trading house Mitsubishi Corp. and shipping company Nippon Yusen, the spokeswoman said.
TEPCO said in 2009 that it would acquire 15.0 percent of the gas field development rights and an 11.25 percent interest in the business, which is expected to produce 8.9 million tons annually from 2016.
The utility's negotiations were put on hold after the March 11 quake-tsunami disaster last year, which sparked the worst atomic crisis in a generation.
But as Chinese and other foreign rivals eyed the gas field project, "the government decided to support the deal through JOGMEC," the company spokeswoman said. AFP.