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More
safeguards against SARS But Sri Lankan
migrant workers in affected cities such as Hong Kong and Singapore
appear to be safe with none reported to have caught the Severe Acute
Respiratory Syndrome. No cases have
yet been found in Sri Lanka although its impact on the hospitality
and travel trade is growing. A spokesman
for the Bandaranaike International Airport said that four more doctors
would be deployed there along with four more nurses from the Ministry
of Health and Nutrition. Only four doctors work at BIA now. A spokesman
for Gabo Travels said that family travel to East Asia during the
April season was definitely affected with a substantial drop in
numbers. There are nearly
12,000 Sri Lankan workers in Singapore and 3000 in Hong Kong. "So far
there have been no reports of Sri Lankans affected by SARS, but
that does not mean there aren't any cases. We are constantly talking
to our representatives in those countries," said Susantha Fernando,
chairman of the Foreign Employment Bureau. China, Hong
Kong and Singapore are still on the World Health organisation's
list of SARS infected countries. More than 300 people have died
of SARS worldwide. A spokeswoman
for Sri Lankan Airlines said that the airline had cut the number
of weekly flights to Hong Kong to two from three due to poor loads
owing to the SARS crisis. Cathay Pacific
Airways, which has four flights per week from Colombo to Hong Kong,
has not cut flights but reported "a substantial drop"
in the number of passengers. Sri Lanka Ports
Authority has suspended shore leave for personnel on ships arriving
from SARS-affected regions. Colombo Harbour
Master Capt. Nihal Keppetipola said the port handles about 12 incoming
vessels a day on average, and that over half come from Asia, the
region worst affected by SARS. Pilots have been given face masks, and the move to restrict shore leave was an additional precaution to measures taken earlier to conduct special checks on vessels. Fresh
moves in SEC insider dealing probe The SEC is
believed to be seeking fresh advice from the Attorney General's
Department on the matter, informed sources said. Two of the
accused, the SEC's former head, Michael Mack, and another ex-chairman
of the conglomerate, Norman Gunewardene, have filed writ applications
in the Court of Appeal seeking to quash the SEC's decision to prosecute
them for alleged insider dealing in the sale of Aitken Spence shares. The investigation
centres largely around the timing of the sale of Aitken Spence shares
with the accused alleged to have sold at a time they were privy
to price sensitive information about losses sustained by the company
following a big fraud, criminal activity and alleged exchange control
violations at its garments subsidiary. The SEC's then-chairman
Michael Mack resigned following the advice of Attorney-General K.C.
Kamalasabayson that there was a prima facie case against him and
Gunawardene. Mack said he was innocent, and alleged he had not been told of the allegations against him, and had not been given a fair hearing. Lt. General Denis Perera is the new chairman of the SEC. Big
foreign investments unlikely if talks collapse "Big money
comes in if countries create their own good environment," he
told a news conference. "Donor agencies, like private investors,
do not like volatility whether in politics or the regulatory environment." "If you
have stability you'll have more money," he added. "If
not, donor money will still be available (in reduced volumes) but
not private sector funds." Woicke, visiting
Sri Lanka for talks with government and private sector officials,
said he hopes the LTTE's partial pullout of the peace talks "is
very temporary and that the process will continue." International
donors, like the private sector, prefer stability. "No matter
what happens donors do care for disadvantaged people," Woicke
said. "We'll
always make funding available, no matter what happens, to the disadvantaged
- whether affected by war or otherwise." Sri Lanka will
attract more long term investments by private investors when the
peace process make progress, he said. "If the
peace process continues we would like to be available for more investment
financing, equity and long-term investments." The IFC, known
as the private sector arm of the World Bank group, which promotes
private sector investment in developing countries, was looking at
housing finance in the island, Woicke, also World Bank Managing
Director, also said. "We're also looking at infrastructure projects and see good potential in toll roads, although our experience elsewhere in the world was not positive."There was also "vast potential for tourism", especially the high-end variety such as eco-tourism. Wall
Street brokers face big fines for fraud At least two
brokerages -- Citigroup Inc.'s Salomon Smith Barney unit and Credit
Suisse Group's CSFB -- are expected to be charged with fraud, sources
said, with regulators planning to release to the public large volumes
of documents and e-mails as evidence. The settlement
stems from probes into allegations that stock analysts issued biased
company research to drum up investment banking business for their
brokerages. Lesser charges,
focused on violations of market rules and regulations, were expected
to be levelled against the 10 brokerages involved, the sources added. Spokeswomen
for Citigroup and CSFB, in New York, declined to comment. The Wall Street
Journal said that regulators, including New York state Attorney
General Eliot Spitzer and the Securities and Exchange Commission,
will fine former Salomon Smith Barney telecoms analyst Jack Grubman
$15 million in connection with the settlement. Citing people
close to the impending settlement, the Journal said Henry Blodget,
a former star tech industry analyst at Merrill Lynch and Co, will
also be ordered to pay $4 million in penalties over claims he allegedly
hyped stocks to win lucrative investment banking deals. Grubman and
Blodget -- whose representatives could not immediately be reached
for comment early on Monday -- will not admit or deny wrongdoing.
They will both be barred from the securities industry for life,
the Journal said. The settlement,
first unveiled in December, is also expected to include an addendum
covering tax and insurance disputes that have delayed its completion.
None of the brokerages will admit wrongdoing under their deal with
the stock exchanges, state regulators and the SEC. The brokerages
-- including Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, Lehman Brothers and
Bear Stearns -- hope the deal will begin to conclude one of Wall
Street's most damaging and embarrassing episodes. Probes by Spitzer,
other state regulators and the SEC alleged some stock analysts issued
biased company research -- mainly during the 1990s technology and
telecommunications stock bubble -- to curry favour with corporate
managers and drum up investment banking business for their brokerages. Under the terms
of the settlement the brokerages agreed to pay about $900 million
in fines and restitution, about $450 million to fund independent
research and $85 million for investor education programmes. Merrill Lynch
agreed to pay $100 million toward investor education and independent
research, in addition to a $100 million penalty it agreed to pay
earlier. Other brokerages involved in the settlement are said to
include UBS AG's UBS Warburg unit, J.P. Morgan Chase, and US Bancorp's
Piper Jaffray unit. Aside from
the monetary costs of the settlement, new rules of behaviour will
be laid out to help bring more independence and integrity to stock
research. For instance,
as previously reported, analysts will be barred from pitch meetings
where investment bankers try to win underwriting and other business
from companies. Controversy
has swirled in Congress over whether the brokerages will be able
to deduct part of the settlement cost from their taxes or get insurers
to pick up part of the tab. A source said earlier the brokerages have agreed not to make insurance claims. Congressional aides said the settlement was expected to contain an addendum stating the part of the payment that is not restitution will not be deductible. |
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