The Star Online: World Updates
The Star Online: World Updates |
- Parts of NZ city have to be abandoned after quakes: govt
- Tokyo Electric compensation plan gets cabinet OK, shares up
- FACTBOX - Key quotes from US Republicans' first debate
| Parts of NZ city have to be abandoned after quakes: govt Posted: 13 Jun 2011 08:06 PM PDT WELLINGTON (Reuters) - This week's earthquakes in Christchurch, New Zealand's second biggest city, confirm parts of the quake-prone city will have to be abandoned, but did not substantially add to damage bill from a series of major tremors since last September. The series of quakes, the most powerful one upgraded to magnitude 6.3 from an initial measurement of 6, sent boulders tumbling down hillsides and destroyed buildings already weakened in previous quakes, as the city struggles to recover from a Feb. 22 shake which killed 181 people. "The damage that occurred yesterday has simply exacerbated the damage that occurred in the two previous events in the same places as before so I don't think it's going to hold us up or put us back," Earthquake Recovery Minister Gerry Brownlee told Radio New Zealand. An elderly man had died at a rest home in the city as a result of this week's quakes, local media reported on Tuesday, although no other details were immediately available. Brownlee said the most recent tremors, which injured 46 people, confirm that parts of the eastern side of Christchurch needed to be abandoned and should hasten the decision-making process. However the fresh round of shakes had done little to dent the rebuilding plan, and would not substantially add to the overall NZ$15 billion ($12.2 billion) damage bill, Brownlee said. Parts of eastern Christchurch suffered further liquefaction, where water pushed up from under the ground by the force of the quake turns the ground into liquid. Other parts of the city could be at risk of liquefaction in future earthquakes, and will likewise need to be abandoned. New Zealand's GNS Institute, which has warned the latest series of tremors could produce another spate of powerful aftershocks in the weeks to come, has reported 37 earthquakes of magnitude 3.2 or greater in the Christchurch area in the past 24 hours. Early on Tuesday about 15,000 houses remained without power, and many schools and businesses were shut as residents were asked to stay at home so essential infrastructure could be repaired. Christchurch has experienced a number of strong earthquakes since a magnitude 7.1 quake struck the city on Sept 4 last year. Parts of the city centre have been closed since the Feb 22 quake, and many of the buildings in the area sustained further damage or collapsed after the latest shakes. The New Zealand dollar lost as much as a cent in the aftermath of the quakes on Monday, as markets trimmed expectations the central bank would raise rates this year. The Reserve Bank of New Zealand cut rates after the February tremor to a record-equaling low of 2.50 percent. But signs of recovery and an upbeat assessment from the bank at its review last week had led markets to price in rate rises from December. "It is not difficult to imagine that this new damage may delay the reconstruction effort in the city and thus, all else equal, the timing of when the RBNZ needs to begin withdrawing monetary stimulus," said Deutsche Bank chief economist Darren Gibbs. (Reporting by Adrian Bathgate; Editing by Balazs Koranyi) Copyright © 2011 Reuters Full Feed Generated by Get Full RSS, sponsored by USA Best Price. | ||
| Tokyo Electric compensation plan gets cabinet OK, shares up Posted: 13 Jun 2011 08:06 PM PDT TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's cabinet approved a draft law to help Tokyo Electric Power Co compensate those affected by the radiation crisis at its stricken nuclear plant, sending the utility's shares up as much as 13 percent.
The decision is a step forward in a slow process that has frustrated the victims and investors but it remains uncertain when, or even if, the scheme will be enacted into law. Prime Minister Naoto Kan faces mounting pressure to step down and his cabinet has been unable to get several disaster-related bills passed in a divided parliament. It comes three months after a massive earthquake and tsunami triggered radiation leaks at Tokyo Electric's Fukushima Daiichi plant 240 km (150 miles) north of Tokyo, triggering the worst nuclear crisis since Chernobyl, and a month since the government first presented its plan. The utility, also known as Tepco, said on Tuesday it was preparing to make fair and speedy compensation payouts under the scheme approved by the government. "We hope that the proposed bill will be enacted in parliament as soon as possible," the company said in a statement. While the scheme was designed to restore market confidence by keeping the utility solvent, Tepco shares had been sliding and its credit default spread spiked, reflecting investors' scepticism about the fate of the scheme and Tepco itself. "It's not the problem of the scheme per se. It's just that it has not been finalised into a law yet. That's what makes (the market) anxious. And there have been many comments in the meantime," an executive at one of the Tepco's creditor banks said recently. He declined to be named given the sensitivity of the matter. Shares in other utilities also gained after the cabinet nod on Tuesday, even though the move clears only the first hurdle for the scheme that aims to help Asia's largest utility handle compensation claims expected to run into tens of billions of dollars. Trade Minister Banri Kaieda, whose ministry regulates Tepco and other power utilities, told a briefing the government aimed to submit the compensation bill to parliament as soon as possible. Asked about a newspaper report that Tepco could raise its electricity tariffs to raise funds for compensation, Kaieda said: "We have to watch so that (Tepco) will not shift it (compensation fee) on to utility fees so easily." The Mainichi newspaper reported on Tuesday that Tepco will face a total of 10 trillion yen ($124 billion) in compensation claims and will have to raise its electricity charges by 16 percent from next year to cover the costs. The paper cited documents it had obtained. COMPENSATION FUND Under the plan, a fund will be set up to help Tepco compensate people and businesses affected by radiation leaks from the Fukushima plant so that the regional power monopoly in Tokyo and surrounding areas can keep supplying electricity. Thousands of residents and businesses have been forced to evacuate the area around the plant. The country's other nuclear power operators will be required to make annual contributions to the fund and the government will also inject money in it if necessary. Tepco will pay back the fund over an unspecified number of years. The government plans to issue special-purpose bonds to help finance the fund and has said that in return for public backing it would exert control over management of Tepco and other power utilities "for a certain period of time." (Additional reporting by Chisa Fujioka, Writing by Tomasz Janowski; Editing by Vinu Pilakkott) Copyright © 2011 Reuters Full Feed Generated by Get Full RSS, sponsored by USA Best Price. | ||
| FACTBOX - Key quotes from US Republicans' first debate Posted: 13 Jun 2011 07:36 PM PDT REUTERS- Seven U.S. Republican presidential hopefuls held their first major debate in a nationally televised forum from Manchester, New Hampshire on Monday that included most of the top-tier contenders vying to challenge President Barack Obama in 2012. Here are some key quotes from the candidates.
Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney "This president has failed. And he's failed at a time when the American people counted on him to create jobs and get the economy growing. And instead of doing that, he delegated the stimulus to Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid, and then he did what he wanted to do: card-check, cap-and-trade, Obamacare, re-regulation." Former Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty "This president is a declinist. He views America as one of equals around the world. We're not the same as Portugal; we're not the same as Argentina. And this idea that we can't have 5 percent growth in America is hogwash." Minnesota Representative Michele Bachmann "Unlike how the media has tried to wrongly and grossly portray the Tea Party, the Tea Party is really made up of disaffected Democrats, independents, people who've never been political a day in their life, people who are libertarians, Republicans -- it's a wide swathe of America coming together." Former pizza executive Herman Cain "This economy is stalled. It's like a train on the tracks with no engine and the administration has simply been putting all of this money in the caboose. We need an engine called the private sector." (Additional reporting by Paul Eckert in Washington) Copyright © 2011 Reuters Full Feed Generated by Get Full RSS, sponsored by USA Best Price. |
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