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To: Alex who wrote (21534)	10/13/1998 5:47:00 PM
From: goldsnow	Respond to of 116753

Frail and confused Yeltsin halts tour on doctors' orders By Marcus Warren in Moscow <Picture: >>Doctors order Yeltsin to cut trip short [12 Oct '98] - Rus PRESIDENT Boris Yeltsin returned to Moscow last night after having to cut short a visit to central Asia because of ill health. <Picture> President Yeltsin during a signing ceremony in Almaty The Russian leader's first visit abroad for more than six months exposed his physical frailty and mental confusion and prompted speculation that he could step down before the year's end. Doctors diagnosed bronchitis and said he had a slight temperature. He was overcome by a coughing fit yesterday, and his medical staff insisted that he abandon the rest of his programme in Kazakhstan and fly home. The curtailment represents yet another humiliation for Mr Yeltsin, already a mere shadow of his former self politically and now barely capable of carrying out his ceremonial duties. It followed embarrassing scenes in the neighbouring central Asian republic of Uzbekistan on Sunday when he was saved from toppling over at a welcoming ceremony only by the quick reactions of his host, President Islam Karimov. Before leaving Kazakhstan, Mr Yeltsin's spokesman, Dmitry Yakushkin, told journalists that the president had been suffering from a cold since the weekend, and had earlier been under the strain of working hard on Russia's urgent economic problems and international crises such as Kosovo. The visit to central Asia was his first prolonged exposure to the public eye for several weeks. If it was supposed to be a test of his fitness to govern, it failed spectacularly. His early return home coincided with the emergence of worrying new details about the president's health from a doctor - recently employed at the Central Kremlin Hospital - who was a regular visitor to his country residence. The unidentified doctor told the investigative magazine Top Secret that Mr Yeltsin had started to drink again after a period following heart bypass surgery two years ago when he gave up alcohol. The operation had failed to restore adequate blood circulation to his brain, the doctor said. At least one bypass was now blocked, but surgeons were insisting that he would not survive another operation. Mr Yeltsin could also be suffering from Parkinson's or Alzheimer's disease, the doctor said. Another senior physician, Mikhail Vinogradov, has expressed doubts about the president's mental health. After seeing footage of an apparently confused and unsteady Mr Yeltsin in Uzbekistan, he said: "His illness is progressing far faster than that of Soviet leaders such as Brezhnev, Andropov or Chernenko. It is impossible to say what decisions he will take next and under whose influence." telegraph.co.uk

To: Alex who wrote (21534)	10/13/1998 6:28:00 PM
From: goldsnow	Respond to of 116753

EU-gangs-up on Great Britain... Brown stung by EU calls to scrap Britain's rebate By Toby Helm, EU Correspondent in Luxembourg <Picture: External Links> <Picture: >>Economic and Social Committee - Europa <Picture: >>The European Commission <Picture> <Picture><Picture> EUROPEAN Union finance ministers rounded on Gordon Brown, the Chancellor, yesterday, demanding an end to Britain's £2 billion a year rebate from the EU budget. The concerted campaign stung the Chancellor as he tried to heighten his EU profile with a new "three-point plan" to promote economic growth and counter deepening financial turmoil. Rather than allowing the Chancellor to steal the limelight with his proposals - and pour cold water on the rebate threat - his counterparts played up their attacks on the "money back" deal. Finance ministers from Spain, Holland, France, Germany and Luxembourg all insisted that Britain could not simply refuse to discuss the rebate, negotiated by Margaret Thatcher in 1984. Amid signs of irritation at Mr Brown's approach and that of his spin doctors, Gerrit Zalm, the Dutch finance minister, said his British counterpart should not leave the meeting claiming that the rebate was safe. Mr Zalm said: "Before my colleague Brown goes out to tell the British press that nobody has discussed the rebate, I am taking the opportunity to tell him that it is about time this system of British compensation was finished." Last week a report from the European Commission attacked the rebate as outdated and unfair, saying Britain was now far wealthier than when the rebate was negotiated. The British rebate will be worth £2.154 billion to the British taxpayer this year with Britain paying £3.447 billion to the EU budget after it is deducted. Germany, Austria, Sweden and Holland are now all claiming their own rebate system as they are also heavy net contributors to the £65 billion-a-year budget. Mr Brown told ministers that Britain would not surrender the deal and would block any attempt to change it. He said: "It would require unanimity to change the terms of the rebate and we are not prepared to allow that to happen." Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the French finance minister, also rounded on the British, saying that it would not be possible to keep discussion of the rebate off the agenda. He said: "If you are opening the question of contributions then you have to open everything and the British rebate must be on the table." He said that the Germans had also made a similar plea to Britain. telegraph.co.uk

To: Alex who wrote (21534)	10/14/1998 8:59:00 PM
From: goldsnow	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 116753

Higher gas prices mean jump in Canadian heating bills 05:46 p.m Oct 13, 1998 Eastern By Jeffrey Jones CALGARY (Reuters) - Canadian consumers may face the highest heating bills in several years this winter as natural gas prices climb after an end to a long-standing glut of supply. Some major gas utilities have had double-digit increases in rates approved by provincial regulators -- or are bracing their customers for coming jumps -- as the gas producing industry struggles to pump out enough volume to meet new demand. Utilities are implementing the increases as meteorologists predict a return to more frigid Canadian weather this winter after last year's unusually warm El Nino conditions. ''My recollection is that the commodity portion (of the rates) right now is the highest its been since deregulation,'' said George Dann, director of gas supply services for major Ontario utility Enbridge Consumers Gas, a unit of Calgary-based Enbridge Inc. , formerly IPL Energy. The industry was deregulated in 1986. Enbridge Consumers serves about 1.2 million residential customers. Wholesale spot natural gas at the Alberta border, the commodity portion of the consumer price, is currently C$2.69 a gigajoule, up 37 percent from last year. The one-year supply contract is valued at C$2.77 a gigajoule, up 54 percent. ''These are commodity prices that residential clients have not seen for several years,'' said Roland George, analyst with energy consulting group Pervin & Gurtz in Calgary. Higher utility rates, expected to hit western Canadian consumers most dramatically, are a result of a jump in wholesale gas prices as newly expanded pipelines to rich U.S. markets start operations within the next few weeks. George said the new pipeline capacity would bring prices in the producing provinces of Alberta and British Columbia more in line with those in U.S. after years of a glut, the result of a bottleneck for gas at the Alberta border. Analysts have also pointed out that low crude oil prices have constrained producers' cash flow to the point where their ability to drill a spate of gas wells has been reduced, meaning new supplies would be slow in coming. About 47 percent of Canadian homes are heated with natural gas, compared to 34 percent with electricity and 14 percent with fuel oil, according to the Canadian Gas Association. The average Canadian residential customer with a gas furnace and water heater uses about 150 gigajoules a year. ''We're giving people a heads-up because rate increases are coming. Certainly, in our humble estimation, it will be double digits, somewhere around 15 percent,'' said Jan Marston, vice-president of gas supply for BC Gas Inc. unit BC Gas Utilities Ltd. The Vancouver-based utility serves 732,000 residential and commercial customers on the British Columbia mainland. That one-year rate for residential customers would be about C$5.60 per gigajoule, based on the 1998 rate of C$4.86. In neighboring Alberta, where most of Canada's gas is produced, Canadian Western Natural Gas, a unit of ATCO Ltd. , has applied to the Alberta Energy and Utilities Board for a winter price of C$2.57 per gigajoule, about 22 percent higher than last winter's average. ''This is the highest rate in a while that we've filed with the board,'' said Ralph Trovato, manager of pricing for Canadian western, which serves about 355,000 residential customers in Calgary and the surrounding southern Alberta region. The average price a typical customer of Enbridge Consumers in Ontario will pay in 1999 is estimated at about C$6.87 a gigajoule, up 12 percent from the beginning of last year. About a third of the price a residential Enbridge Consumers customer pays is commodity price. The rest reflects the cost of transporting the gas from western Canada on the TransCanada PipeLines Ltd. mainline and distributing it. ($1-$1.55 Canadian) Copyright 1998 Reuters Limited

To: Alex who wrote (21534)	10/14/1998 9:12:00 PM
From: goldsnow	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 116753

Warning on another big hedge shock By Roger Hogan and Alan Deans in New York One of the co-heads of Merrill Lynch in Australia warned yesterday that the global financial system could experience another major hedge fund-related shock within the next six months. "I wouldn't be surprised if there's one more major financial accident in the next quarter," Mr Greg Bundy said. "I see some more difficulties with hedge funds. The trades are pretty obvious: [US] dollar/yen, credit markets in the US and emerging markets." Merrill Lynch, which played a key role in last month's $US3.5 billion rescue of US hedge fund Long Term Capital Management, yesterday announced its withdrawal from market-making in Australian government and semi-government bonds, and the loss of 37 local jobs. Worldwide, the investment bank has sacked 3,400 staff, or 5 per cent of its staff, following a third quarter loss of $US164 million compared with a $US502 million profit in the same period last year. It was the first time in nearly nine years that Merrill had posted a loss and the news highlighted expectations of a grim third quarter reporting period for US investment and money centre banks. Overnight, BankAmerica Corp, the fifth largest bank in the US, was expected to announce a big hedge fund loss. According to The New York Times, some analysts had estimated the loss at about $US100 million. Others put BankAmerica's overall exposure to the hedge fund, DE Shaw & Co, as large as $US1 billion, taking the form of either loans or credit lines. There was speculation yesterday that Prudential Securities was in the process of making staff cuts, but several other firms said they were holding at current numbers. PaineWebber said it did not plan any sackings, despite posting a 27 per cent slump in third quarter earnings to $US82.9 million. Donaldson, Lufkin and Jenrette also announced a profit dive, down 79 per cent to $US25.7 million, but said nothing about staff cuts. Lehman Bros, which has been the victim of persistent rumours about deep losses, said that it did not plan any sackings. Merrill Lynch's loss included a $US288 million charge for severance charges and came after the group recorded a 7.3 per cent drop to $US3.8 billion in revenues. Chief executive officer Mr David Komansky said the broker expected to make savings of $US500 million annually from cost efficiencies. "Because of uncertainties now apparent in the global economy, we anticipate a much more challenging environment ahead," Mr Komansky said. The job cuts were the largest Merrill Lynch has made since the aftermath of the 1987 sharemarket crash when it reduced its employee numbers by 18 per cent. Despite the withdrawal from Australian Government bonds, Mr Bundy said Merrill Lynch was "very keen" on the credit markets in Australia. The firm would "put more resources" into the area and position itself for growth in bond issuance here by offshore borrowers. Market uncertainty would persist for a while yet, however. "We expect further deleveraging of hedge funds some time in the first quarter of next year at least. Australia has been a little immune, because its markets are in their infancy," Mr Bundy said. afr.com.au