Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Non-Tech : The ENRON Scandal -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Skywatcher who wrote (4831)	3/13/2003 2:04:34 PM
From: Mephisto	Respond to of 5185

I saw the article last night. Did Halliburton misplace the nuclear material? I haven't heard about that story.

To: Skywatcher who wrote (4831)	3/13/2003 2:43:46 PM
From: Mephisto	Respond to of 5185

Billions lost since 'axis of evil' speech Patrick Collinson and Rupert Jones Thursday March 13, 2003 The Guardian Millions of small investors have seen their pensions, endowments and shareholdings caught in the crossfire of President George Bush's war against terrorism. Since January 29 last year when President Bush put the "axis of evil" in his sights, 40% has been wiped off the value of the average British investment trust and 30% off the average unit trust. Someone who put £1,000 into the typical unit trust on January 29 last year has seen it fall in value to £710.30, according to Standard & Poor's, and that is before dealing charges are taken. The payout on the typical endowment is down by more than a fifth over the same period, with more than four out of five of Britain's 10m policies now "off-track" and unlikely to generate enough cash to repay a mortgage. At the time of President Bush's speech, a £50 per month endowment buyer could have expected a payout of £94,738 if premiums were paid for 25 years. Now the equivalent payout is just £72,323, according to figures from insurer Scottish Life. Among the unluckiest investors are those caught up in the internet hype of the late 1990s. More than £3bn in small investors' cash poured into technology funds in 1999-2000 at the peak of the dotcom boom. But in the past three years the average technology fund has fallen more than 85%, and in a survey this week investment managers said it could take 20 years for investors to recover their losses. Pensioners have suffered more than most. Many invested in what were thought to be safe income bonds from blue-chip companies such as Scottish Widows, Abbey National and Scottish Life. When they were launched, "back- testing" of markets showed they could not go wrong. But underlying these bonds are complex derivatives which result in total capital losses in extraordinary market conditions. But what was held to be unthinkable has occured, and many are now on the verge of collapse. This month a three-year Canada Life income bond matured but its holders were told their capital had been completely wiped out. Around £1bn is tied up in tranches of a Scottish Widows bond where holders, mostly elderly, are staring at massive losses. Other walking wounded which may now collapse altogether include the remaining split-capital investment trusts. The trusts in this £10bn sector have fallen like dominoes, and the few survivors now look more precarious than ever. But it is not all gloom. Investors who opted for bond funds rather than equities have enjoyed inflation-beating gains. Since January 29 last year, the average bond fund has increased in value by 4.5%, according to Standard & Poor's figures. Gold, the traditional haven in times of international crisis, has jumped from $278 to $350 since January 29, although the gains have been less for British holders, because the dollar has fallen in value. As for the super-rich, many have sidestepped plummeting markets. Hedge funds, open to investors with £100,000 cash to spare, have largely avoided the stock market rout. According to CSFB, the average hedge fund in 2002 saw a loss of just 1.6%, with many using short-selling techniques to make large profits as the market has fallen. money.guardian.co.uk

To: Skywatcher who wrote (4831)	10/14/2003 11:53:24 PM
From: Mephisto	Respond to of 5185

France investigates Cheney company's role in gas project The Associated Press Saturday, October 11, 2003 PARIS A French judge is looking into accusations of corruption during construction of a natural gas complex in Nigeria by a consortium including a subsidiary of the U.S. oil-field services firm Halliburton Company, judicial officials said. The investigating judge, Renaud Van Ruymbeke, is looking into who may have benefited from nearly E170 million, or $200 million, in commissions allegedly handed out from 1995 to 2002, the officials said on condition of anonymity. The companies in the consortium are France's Technip, Italy's Snamprogetti, Japan's JGC and Kellogg Brown Root, a Halliburton subsidiary. Vice President Dick Cheney was chief executive of Halliburton, based in Houston, Texas, from 1995 to 2000. The inquiry in France is for "misuse of funds" and "corruption of foreign public agents," the officials said. A Halliburton spokeswoman said she was checking into the matter and would try to provide a comment later from the consortium, called TSKJ. Marina Toncelli, a Technip spokeswoman, said her company had fully cooperated with French justice officials since the opening of a preliminary inquiry last year. Officials at the Tokyo headquarters of the Japanese engineering firm could not be reached for comment late Friday. The inquiry stemmed from a separate, years-long investigation into Elf Aquitaine, the former French state-run oil giant, according to a report in Le Figaro newspaper that was confirmed by judicial officials. The Elf scandal has tarnished the reputations of many former executives as well as a former foreign minister, Roland Dumas. Halliburton's operations in Nigeria have already run into trouble. In May, the company disclosed in a federal filing that it paid a Nigerian tax official $2.4 million in bribes. The company fired several employees and emphasized that no senior officials were involved. Halliburton, the world's second-largest oil-field services company run by Cheney before he became the vice presidential candidate in 2000 - has been at the center of a debate about lack of competition for contracts on Iraq reconstruction. The Kellogg Brown Root subsidiary has received noncompetitive work worth more than $1 billion to restore Iraq's oil industry. iht.com

To: Skywatcher who wrote (4831)	10/25/2003 10:07:44 PM
From: Mephisto	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 5185

Halliburton Allegedly Overcharges in Iraq Thu Oct 16, 2:23 AM ET story.news.yahoo.com Add Politics - U. S. Congress to My Yahoo! By LARRY MARGASAK, Associated Press Writer WASHINGTON - Two Democratic lawmakers say Vice President Dick Cheney former company, Halliburton, is gouging U.S. taxpayers while importing gasoline into Iraq. The Houston-based company contends it is paying the best price possible. Reps. Henry Waxman of California and John Dingell of Michigan complained to the Bush administration that Halliburton's KBR subsidiary is billing the Army between $1.62 and $1.70 per gallon, while the average price for Middle East gasoline is 71 cents. They also complained that Iraqis are charged between 4 cents and 15 cents at the pump for the imported gasoline. "Although Iraq has the second largest oil reserves in the world, the U.S. taxpayer is, in effect, subsidizing over 90 percent of the cost of gasoline sold in Iraq," the lawmakers said in the latest Democratic attacks against the Houston company that received a no-bid contract. The charges cover the purchase and transportation of the petroleum from Kuwait and other countries. Halliburton, originally hired to extinguish oil fires, has received the expanded role of restoring Iraq's oil industry. The company has been paid $1.4 billion through September for its work. "KBR is not responsible for establishing the price Iraqi motorists pay for gasoline at the pump," Halliburton spokeswoman Wendy Hall said. She said the company negotiates "fair and competitive prices" with suppliers outside Iraq and must transport the gasoline in a hostile environment. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which chose Halliburton, has received bids for a replacement contract that could be awarded this month. Corps spokesman Robert Faletti said he could not confirm the figures that Waxman and Dingell cited in a letter to Joshua Bolten, director of the Office of Management and Budget. He said, however, that the contract is being audited by Congress and the Army. In a further move against Halliburton, Sen. Frank Lautenberg, D-N.J., announced Wednesday he would propose barring the government from awarding Iraq reconstruction contracts to companies that maintain close financial ties to the president, vice president or members of the president's Cabinet. Lautenberg wants the measure added to an $87 billion reconstruction bill for Iraq and Afghanistan (news - web sites). Cheney receives deferred payments from Halliburton and also has stock options. Cheney's office has said the vice president had no role in the contract and that the deferred payments were for his services while he headed the company. He has said he would give the proceeds to charity should he profit from the exercise of stock options.