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Putin lays out case for Kremlin return

Tue, 18 Oct 2011 01:01:44 -0400

Putin also offered hints of the foreign policy he might pursue during his presidency, saying Russia will not “put on the mantle of some superpower” and punch above its weight, but warning that it would fiercely defend its interests.In some of his most extensive comments since he revealed plans to reclaim the Kremlin in a March vote, Putin, who could serve two six-year presidential terms, made clear he intends to stay in power until he feels his job is done.”When I take something on, I try to take it to its logical conclusion, or at least to the maximum effect,” he said.”It’s not the number of terms or years in power” that matters, said Putin, who was president from 2000-2008. He invoked the late U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, who died during his fourth term, to support his case.”He led the country in the toughest times of economic depression and during World War Two — and he was elected four times, because he acted effectively,” Putin said in the interview with the three leading Russian channels.”When a country is experiencing difficult, hard conditions, when it is emerging from crisis and getting back to its feet, these elements of stability — including in the political sphere — are extremely important,” Putin said.Putin steered Dmitry Medvedev into the presidency in 2008 after serving the legal limit of two straight terms. Last month, they revealed plans for a job swap, with Putin running for president in March and making Medvedev his prime minister.But while the popular Putin is expected to have little trouble winning the presidency, he suggested Medvedev’s appointment as prime minister would depend on the ruling United Russia party’s performance in a December 4 parliamentary election.Medvedev will lead United Russia’s list of candidates for the State Duma election, making him responsible for the tough task of maintaining the party’s two-thirds majority in the lower house in the face of declining popularity.”If the voters vote for this list and we manage to form an effective parliament in which United Russia retains its leading position, then … Dmitry Anatolyevich (Medvedev) will be able to form an effective government,” Putin said.THREAT FROM THE PASTPutin targeted United Russia’s biggest opponent in the parliament vote, the Communist Party, by taking aim at its Soviet-era predecessor.”This political force brought the country to collapse and ruin,” he said, adding that Russia needed a firm hand to keep it from sliding into chaos.”Two or three missteps would be enough to bring all that back upon us so fast we wouldn’t even see it coming,” he said. “Everything’s hanging by a thread, in politics and the economy.”He also hinted he believed most Russians want him back.”I very often hear from people, ordinary people … whom I meet often in different regions of the country — that in fact many would like events to develop precisely this way.”Putin dismissed fears voiced in Russia and the West that his Kremlin return would lead to Soviet-style stagnation, echoing Medvedev’s more liberal tone with a promise of political and economic reform, but he offered no details.”We need to strengthen the fundamental basis of our political system and democratic institutions, we need to create the conditions for progressive development and diversification of the economy,” he said.On foreign policy, Putin said Russia would protect its interests — a warning to the United States and Europe not to interfere with his efforts to forge closer ties among former Soviet republics.”It would be a big mistake for us to put on the mantle of some superpower and try to dictate our demands to somebody when it does not concern us,” Putin said. “As for what does concern us, here we will, of course, defend to the end all that interests us and all that enters our sphere of interests.”Critics in the West, he said, should tackle their own problems before accusing Russia of imperial ambitions.”Mind your own business: fight against rising inflation, against growing government debt, against obesity — get to work,” Putin said.

Fidelity's Abby Johnson secures another key role

Fri, 14 Oct 2011 13:18:29 -0400

By Tim McLaughlinOct. 14 (Reuters) - In a sign of shifting power inside Fidelity Investments, Chairman Edward C. Johnson III has relinquished a central role, giving his daughter Abigail Johnson the title of chairman of the company’s flagship mutual fund business.Abigail Johnson in late February became chairman of Fidelity Management & Research Company, which manages about $700 billion in discretionary client assets, according to disclosures made with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.That change, until now, slipped by unnoticed in individual mutual fund prospectuses that have trickled out over the course of a number of months. But analysts see the title change as yet another sign that Abigail Johnson is a leading candidate to run a family-held company with $1.54 trillion in total managed assets.”Incrementally, they continue to position her to run the whole of it because the whole of it will eventually belong to her,” said John Bonnanzio, who edits a newsletter for Fidelity investors.Edward “Ned” Johnson is 81 and has been running the parent company, FMR LLC, since 1977. But in January, he relinquished his role as trustee and chairman of a board that oversees stock and income mutual funds. His longtime top lieutenant, FMR Vice Chairman James Curvey, stepped in as acting chairman. Curvey is 76.Then about a month later, Abigail Johnson, 49, added the Fidelity Management & Research chairman’s title, according to disclosures to the SEC. Fidelity spokeswoman Anne Crowley downplayed the change, describing it as a “corporate formality.”“Abby has for many years served as director of FMR LLC, the parent company, and also as vice chairman of the board of directors for the entire firm,” Crowley said in an email message. “These are much higher profile roles at the parent company” than the new role at Fidelity Management & Research.Last year, though, Fidelity fanned the flames of succession talk when it named Abigail Johnson and Ronald O’Hanley to top executive roles that essentially split the duties for running the company. Analysts said the move made sense because of Fidelity’s size and Edward Johnson’s age.”Clearly, (Edward Johnson) is stepping away from Fidelity duties,” Bonnanzio said. “He has to … It’s a big company with big responsibilities. I don’t know too many people in their 80s who can do all of that.”Indeed, several former Fidelity senior executives who have left the company in recent years say that Edward Johnson’s duties are more part time than anything else. Of course, Fidelity has maintained, as recently as May, that the octogenarian is “active and fully engaged in running the company and has no plans to retire,” according to a company statement issued then.Nevertheless, Fidelity last year plucked O’Hanley from the senior management ranks of Bank of New York Mellon to play a major role inside the company. He is Fidelity’s president of asset management and corporate services while Abigail Johnson runs Personal, Workplace and Institutional Services, Fidelity’s largest business organization.

UPDATE 1-US SEC sanctions Direct Edge for weak controls

Thu, 13 Oct 2011 18:01:18 -0400

* Direct Edge settles without admitting or denying claimsBy Sarah N. LynchWASHINGTON, Oct 13 (Reuters) -U.S. securities regulators sanctioned units of Direct Edge Holdings LLC on Thursday, saying the stock exchange company’s weak internal controls led to millions of dollars in trading losses and a systems outage.Direct Edge agreed to settle the Securities and Exchange Commission’s administrative proceedings without admitting or denying the agency’s findings. The exchange company also agreed to correct the problems uncovered by regulators and the SEC said many of the remedial measures are already underway.”Direct Edge understands and embraces the responsibilities that come with being a registered national securities exchange,” the company said in a statement.”Several months ago, we developed a comprehensive plan to ensure the fulfillment of our obligations in a sustainable, repeatable and demonstrable way. We have vigorously executed on this plan, with significant investments made to enhance our technology, personnel and processes.”Direct Edge is the fourth largest stock exchange in the United States, behind NYSE Euronext , Nasdaq OMX NDAQ.O and BATS Exchange.The SEC’s sanction specifically targeted Direct Edge’s EDGA Exchange Inc, EDGX Exchange Inc and its affiliated routing broker Direct Edge ECN LLC. All of them are based in Jersey City, N.J.The SEC cited two incidents where it says Direct Edge violated federal securities laws. In the first one, on Nov. 8, 2010, the agency claims untested computer codes left Direct Edge’s two electronic exchanges to overfill orders. That led to unwanted trades involving about 27 million shares in 1,000 stocks totaling roughly $773 million.Then, on April 13, 2011, an EDGX database administrator accidentally disabled the database connections, which in turn disrupted the exchange from processing incoming orders and cancellations. That led to $668,000 in losses.The exchange is run by a consortium, including Citadel and Goldman Sachs Group Inc .

PRESS DIGEST - Financial Times - Oct 12

Wed, 12 Oct 2011 04:35:35 -0400

Scottish and Southern Energy will break ranks with rival utilities by offering its electricity for sale to any household supplier this week, heralding the biggest change for almost a decade in the UK’s electricity market.SKY INVESTORS VOICE DOUBTS OVER MURDOCHConcerns are mounting among leading shareholders in British Sky Broadcasting over the chairmanship of James Murdoch in the wake of the protracted scandal over phone hacking at News International.SLOVAKIA VOTES AGAINST EXPANDED EFSFSlovakia’s government became the first in the euro zone to fall over opposition to bailing out indebted economies after parliament voted down approval for enhancing the bloc’s rescue fund.EU BANKS FACE HIGHER CAPITAL THRESHOLDSEuropean authorities plan to set a higher than expected capital threshold for the region’s banks and give them six to nine months to achieve that level or face government recapitalisations under the auspices of the eurozone’s 440 billion euro rescue fund, senior regulators said.AEA INVESTORS IN ASCO MOVEAEA Investors, a U.S. based private equity group that counts former BP chief executive Tony Hayward among its advisers, has tabled an offer for Asco, the fast-growing oil and gas logistics business based in Aberdeen.PAULSON & CO WARNS OF ASSET REDEMPTIONPaulson & Co, the giant U.S. hedge fund run by billionaire investor John Paulson, has warned that in a “worst case” scenario, it could suffer redemptions equivalent to between a fifth and a quarter of its assets by the end of the year.PETROBRAS TACKLES DEEPWATER RIG DELAYSPetrobras’ ambitious plans to develop Brazil’s hydrocarbon-rich offshore reserves remain on track despite unexpected delays in the delivery of deepwater drilling rigs this year, according to its chief executive.PENSION SHORTFALL NEARLY DOUBLES IN SEPTEMBERThe aggregate shortfall of UK corporate pension schemes soared in September and is now at its second-highest level, new industry data show, as falling markets and bond yields sharply reduced returns.

PRESS DIGEST - Financial Times - Oct 12

Wed, 12 Oct 2011 04:35:20 -0400