The Star Online: Business
The Star Online: Business |
- Bangladesh urges no harsh EU measures over factory deaths
- Wall Street Week Ahead: Few roadblocks to equities' climb after new high
- Credit Suisse says ex-VP stole trade secrets in move to Goldman
| Bangladesh urges no harsh EU measures over factory deaths Posted: 04 May 2013 06:35 AM PDT DHAKA: Bangladesh on Saturday urged the European Union not to take tough measures against its economically crucial textile industry in response to the collapse of a garment factory that killed nearly 550 people. Bodies were still being pulled from the ruins on Saturday as tearful families stood by waiting for news of victims of the country's worst ever industrial accident. The European Union, which gives preferential access to Bangladeshi garments, had threatened punitive measures in order to press Dhaka to improve worker safety standards after the collapse of the illegally built factory on April 24. The disaster has put the spotlight on Western retailers who use the impoverished South Asian nation as a source of cheap goods. About 4 million people work in Bangladesh's garment industry, making it the world's second-largest apparel exporter after China. Some earn as little as $38 (24.40 pounds) a month, conditions Pope Francis has compared to "slave labour". Duty-free access offered by Western countries and low wages have helped turn Bangladesh's garment exports into a $19 billion-a-year industry, with 60 percent of clothes going to Europe. "If the EU or any other buyers impose any harsh trade conditions on Bangladesh it will hurt the country's economy ... millions of workers will lose their jobs," Mahbub Ahmed, the top civil servant in Bangladesh's Commerce Ministry, told Reuters. The government has not received any formal notification of punitive action from the EU or any other country over the deaths, he said. Authorities have arrested nine people in connection with the collapse, including an engineer who had raised safety concerns about the eight-story complex a day before the disaster. On Saturday, verses from Islam's holy book the Koran were read out for the souls of the victims, as the stench of decaying bodies hung in the air around the site. "The bodies that are coming now cannot be identified. The clothes the victims were wearing are also damaged, the faces are decomposed," Mohammad Masum, a volunteer rescue worker at the site in Dhaka's suburbs told Reuters Television. The collapse was the third deadly incident in six months that raised questions about worker safety and labour conditions in Bangladesh. Human-rights groups say there has never been a case in which a factory owner was prosecuted over the deaths of workers. "After this accident we are very scared and worried about such an accident happening at our factory," said garment worker Farida Parveen. "We have demanded that the government take action and examine all factories so that we can all work in a good environment." - Reuters |
| Wall Street Week Ahead: Few roadblocks to equities' climb after new high Posted: 04 May 2013 06:33 AM PDT NEW YORK: With Friday's payrolls report serving as a springboard to lift Wall Street stock indexes to fresh all-time highs, investors are left to contemplate whether the gains will fizzle or if the upward momentum will continue. Investors cheered the jobs report on Friday, which showed employment rose at a faster than anticipated pace an April and hiring in the prior two months was much stronger than previously thought. The report eased investor concerns after a raft of soft data, particularly in the manufacturing sector, and sent the S&P 500 hurtling past what was viewed as its final resistance level of 1,600 to a fresh all-time closing high of 1,614.42. With little in the way of economic data on tap next week and earnings season moving into the home stretch, there appears to be little that could derail a move higher. "That's the $64,000 question - without a micro or macro focus, what do we shift our attention to?" said Art Hogan, managing director of Lazard Capital Markets in New York. "I would argue in a lack of critical information this market has found a path of least resistance to the upside." The economic calendar for next week is extremely light, with consumer credit and wholesale inventories for March among the few notables. Earnings season continues its wind down, with Walt Disney Co Other notable S&P 500 companies expected to post earnings include Tyson Foods Inc Corporate earnings have improved from earlier market expectations, with the expected earnings growth now at 5.2 percent, up from 1.5 percent at the start of earnings season. According to Thomson Reuters data through Friday, of the 404 companies in the benchmark 500 index that have reported earnings, 68.3 percent have topped analyst expectations, above the 63 percent average since 1994 and the 67 percent average for the past four quarters. But revenue remains disappointing, with only 46.3 percent of S&P 500 companies topping Wall Street expectations, well below the 62 percent beat rate since 2002 and shy of the 52 percent average for the past four quarters. With the S&P easily breezing past what was seen as its final resistance point of 1,600, the index is now in uncharted waters for investors to try and predict when a pullback may occur or gains may slow. "(The S&P 500) broke through that 1,600 resistance level like it wasn't even there based on the payrolls report," said Paul Mendelsohn, chief investment strategist at Windham Financial Services in Charlotte, Vermont. "Generally you don't want to fight a 52-week high, you definitely don't want to fight an all-time high." For the week, the Dow rose 1.8 percent, the S&P 500 gained 2 percent, and the Nasdaq advanced 3 percent. With the gains on Friday, the S&P 500 put together its first consecutive weekly advances since a seven-week run that ended in mid-March, a possible sign of a further move higher. Markets now head into the traditionally weaker summer months. The index has fallen in May for the past three years. "The key now is, you want to see the bulls continue to push higher, you don't want to see the slip back," said Ryan Detrick, senior technical strategist at Schaeffer's Investment Research in Cincinnati, Ohio. "The ultimate contrarian would say a lot of that very well could be priced in, the thing most people aren't expecting is a continued rally in the normally weak summer months. By the same token, the lofty levels for equities could make them ripe for a pullback, with investors resuming the battle between booking profits and buying dips. That battle caused the index to alternate between weekly gains and losses throughout the latter portion of March and most of April. "It is a bipolar market. It is either all on or all off," said Mendelsohn. "Either things are great and we are going to the moon, or everything is falling apart and it's all over." - Reuters |
| Credit Suisse says ex-VP stole trade secrets in move to Goldman Posted: 04 May 2013 06:27 AM PDT NEW YORK: Credit Suisse Group AG sued the former vice president of its emerging markets group on Friday, claiming she stole confidential documents and trade secrets to transfer business to her new employer, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. In a complaint filed in Manhattan state court, Credit Suisse said Agostina Pechi sent confidential and highly sensitive company documents to her personal email account in the months leading up to her resignation, including databases, client contact information and sales team targets. The Swiss bank also accused her of conducting an "after-hours document raid" when she was scheduled to be on vacation in which she allegedly copied transaction documents related to a longtime Credit Suisse client. After Pechi resigned on April 2 and told the human resources department she was accepting a new position with rival Goldman Sachs, Credit Suisse launched an investigation into her departure and found 60 work emails in her personal account, according to the filing. The next day, those emails had been deleted and could not be recovered, the complaint said. "Upon information and belief, Pechi intends to use confidential Credit Suisse information to compete with Credit Suisse, and intends to provide this information to her new employer to specifically target Credit Suisse's clients," the complaint said. Michael DuVally, a Goldman Sachs spokesman, declined to comment. A lawyer for Pechi could not immediately be located. Credit Suisse is seeking a temporary restraining order, barring Pechi for 30 days from seeking business from the company's clients. In addition, it asked the court to order Pechi to return all confidential Credit Suisse information and trade secrets. Under her employment agreement, Pechi agreed to resolve any employment-related disputes in arbitration. In its court filing, Credit Suisse said it would pursue expedited mediation, and, if that fails, arbitration. But a court order was needed to prevent Credit Suisse from being harmed in the interim, the company said. The case is Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC v. Pechi, New York Supreme Court, No. 651617-2013. - Reuters |
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