Mumtaz Rizvi assigned additional charge of FBR chief

 

Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani has approved the promotion of Mr Rizvi, a BS-21 officer of Customs and excise group, presently posted as Member (Customs) Federal Board of Revenue to BS-22.

 

According to notification issued by the PM office, Mumtaz Haider Rizvi is posted as member (Customs) by up-grading the post to Bs-22. He is also assigned additional charge of the post of Federal Board of Revenue Chairman with immediate effect.
 

No Djokovic, no problem as Serbia eye Spain’s Davis Cup title

PARIS: Serbia shrugged off the absence of Novak Djokovic to reach the Davis Cup last eight with the 2010 champions confidently setting their sights on dethroning Spain in November’s final.

Janko Tipsarevic secured an unassailable 3-1 lead over Sweden in the World Group first round tie in Nis with a 6-2, 7-6 (7/5), 7-5 win over Michael Ryderstedt.

Victory gave Serbia a quarter-final tie in April against the Czech Republic, but captain Bogdan Obradovic believes that with world number one Djokovic back in the side for that clash, his country can start dreaming of a second title.

“It’s never easy to play matches in which you are the odds-on favourite but the players dealt with the pressure really well against Sweden,” Obradovic told www.daviscup.com.

“With a bit of luck, we will reach this year’s final and hopefully take on Spain because we are confident that we can beat them on home soil.”

Tipsarevic had beaten Filip Prpic in straight sets in Friday’s opening rubber and had then played doubles on Saturday when Sweden had clawed their way back into the tie.

But despite those efforts, he had no problem in disposing of Ryderstedt.

“I want to thank my team for standing by me through the thick and thin and this is also the best home crowd we have ever played for,” said Tipsarevic.

“I hope some of these fans will be ale to make the trip with us to the Czech Republic because it will be a very open match.”

The United States, the 32-time champions, completed a 5-0 whitewash over Switzerland in Fribourg.

Ryan Harrison beat Michael Lammer 7-6 (7/0), 7-6 (7/4) and John Isner, who condemned Roger Federer to his first defeat in the tournament in nine years on Friday, saw off Marco Chiudinelli 6-3, 6-4.

The US will travel to France in the last eight. The French beat host Canada 4-1 with Jo-Wilfried Tsonga downing injury substitute Frank Dancevic 6-4, 6-4, 6-1 to clinch the tie and Gael Monfils then defeating Vasek Pospisil 6-4, 6-4.

Austria made the quarter-finals — where they will tackle Spain — for the first time in 17 years with a 3-2 win over two-time champions Russia in Wiener Neustadt.

Jurgen Melzer secured the vital point, beating debutant Alex Bogomolov 6-2, 6-4, 6-1.

“I think it was one-way traffic,” said Melzer.

“Giving Austria the chance to play a quarter-final against Spain, that was our goal.”

Spain, playing without Rafael Nadal, who is skipping the tournament this year, had already made sure of their sixth successive appearance in the quarter-finals by taking an unassailable 3-0 lead on Saturday against Kazakhstan in Oviedo.

On Sunday, they completed a 5-0 rout with singles wins for Nicolas Almagro and Marcel Granollers.

The Czech Republic wrapped up a 4-1 win over Italy in Ostrava while last year’s runners-up Argentina were also 4-1 winners over Germany in Bamberg.

Argentina will have a home tie against Croatia, who beat Japan 3-2.

Ivo Karlovic pulled off his third win of the week to beat Go Soeda and give Croatia victory in Hyogo.

Croatia’s number three, who defeated Japanese number one Kei Nishikori on the first day, notched a 7-6 (7/4), 6-1, 6-4 victory in the last of the best-of-five contest.

Earlier in the day, Australian Open quarter-finalist Nishikori evened the tie 2-2 beating Ivan Dodig 7-5, 7-6 (7/4), 6-3. AGENCIES

Japan account surplus tumbles to 43.9pc

 

The country logged a trade deficit due to lower exports and higher energy costs, government data showed Wednesday.

 

The surplus in the current account, the broadest measure of trade with the rest of the world, stood at 9.63 trillion yen ($125 billion) in 2011, the lowest level since 1996, the finance ministry said.

 

The figure was down 43.9 percent from 2010, the sharpest year-on-year decline since 1985.

 

The surplus in returns on overseas investment and other income expanded “but the balance of goods and services trade slipped into the red, reducing the surplus in the current account,” the ministry said in a statement.

 

The traditionally export-led economy has shifted to more overseas production as shown by strong figures for earnings from overseas assets held by Japan. Those earnings rose by nearly 20 percent to 14.03 trillion yen.

 

Analysts say any systemic shift in Japan s current account numbers could threaten the country s ability to finance its large government budget deficits.

 

Earlier data from the ministry showed Japan suffered its first annual trade deficit in more than 30 years in 2011 after the March quake-tsunami and strong yen hit exports while high fuel costs pushed up import bills.

 

The current account surplus for December alone dropped 74.7 percent to 303.5 billion yen, decreasing year-on-year for the 10th straight month since the March earthquake and tsunami disasters.

 

The surplus was smaller than an average of 337.5 billion yen expected by economists surveyed by the Nikkei business daily.

 

The March disaster disrupted manufacturing supply chains across Japan, hampering exports. It also knocked out cooling systems at a major nuclear power plant on the nation s east coast, sparking the world s worst atomic disaster in 25 years and sending confidence in the technology plummeting.

 

Japan is resource-poor and its fossil fuel imports have soared in the wake of the Fukushima nuclear crisis, with atomic power stations being taken offline and thermal fuel plants used to make up the difference.

 

In addition, the eurozone debt crisis has slowed the global economy and sent traders scurrying to the safety of the yen, driving up its value and reducing Japanese exporters  incomes.

 

The current account measures trade in goods, services, tourism and investment.
 

Panasonic reports record $10 billion annual loss

Japan s Panasonic Corp forecast a record annual net loss of $10.2 billion on Friday, joining beleaguered rivals Sony and Sharp in a sea of red ink as they struggle to fix their broken TV businesses and overcome criticism that they have lost their way.

 

Panasonic said it was headed for a loss of 780 billion yen ($10.24 billion) for the year to March, dwarfing expectations for a loss of around $6.2 billion. The loss was almost entirely due to big restructuring charges and writedowns, including to its Sanyo Electric unit.

 

Its grim outlook follows loss forecasts at Sony and Sharp Corp – almost $17 billion combined for the three Japanese electronics firms – highlighting the impact of fierce competition from foreign rivals such as South Korea s Samsung Electronics, weak demand and a strong yen.

 

Panasonic, which is in the process of shedding 17,000 jobs by end-March, also missed third-quarter market forecasts, diving to a loss of 197.6 billion yen from a profit a year earlier.

 

With TVs becoming smart – linked to other devices like tablets and smartphones – an inability to win in the TV market risks hobbling sales across their consumer electronics line-up.

 

“They don t seem like a company that s progressing towards a particular goal,” said Yuuki Sakurai, CEO and president of Fukoku Capital, which managed assets worth $7.6 billion as of last March. “What exactly is this company good at? What does it want to do? They don t have answers to these questions.”

 

Makoto Kikuchi, CEO of Myojo Asset Management in Tokyo, noted Panasonic, Sharp and Sony all have structural issues, and need to come to grips with problems in their TV businesses.

 

Speaking to reporters on Friday, Panasonic President Fumio Ohtsubo gave no indication he planned to ditch the TV business.

 

“I don t think it s a business that has lost its growth potential,” he said, adding Panasonic wanted to “develop TV in a different manner” by exploring growth in sales to businesses rather than direct to consumers.

 

The near-term outlook for better TV sales is grim.

 

By 2015, flat panel industry research company DisplaySearch expects annual global sales of liquid crystal TVs to contract by 8 percent to $92 billion. Even worse, plasma sets, a market that Panasonic dominates, will shrink 38 percent to $7 billion.

 

If Panasonic s market share “keeps shrinking by 10 percent or so they may need to prepare some more restructuring,” said Shiro Mikoshiba, analyst at Nomura Holdings in Tokyo.

 

Moody s Investors Service downgraded the debt ratings of Panasonic and Sony last month and retained a negative outlook for both, citing their continued losses on TVs.

 

It s not only the TV unit, however, that poses a risk to profits and is keeping investors away from Panasonic shares, say analysts.

 

Panasonic shares initially fell on Friday, extending a slide to their lowest in more than 30 years, but later rallied to close 1.2 percent higher ahead of the quarterly results.

 

“One silver lining is that there is investment being made for the future,” said Hiroyuki Fukunaga, CEO of Investrust.

 

“You could take the added restructuring costs as a serious move by the company to reform and improve its business. You could look at this as the bottom, to show all the losses and then move aggressively towards the next quarter,” he said.

 

Sony on Thursday pressed its reset button by announcing that Kazuo Hirai will succeed Howard Stringer as CEO in April, sparking an 8 percent surge in its share price on Friday, its biggest one-day percentage gain in almost a year.

 

Ohtsubo, who like Stringer at Sony, has called the shots at Panasonic for the past six years, has so far shown no intent to step aside.

 

“Its last record net loss in 2001/02 was because of the impact of a sudden slump in PCs after the IT bubble burst, but there was hope then for growth in flat-screen TVs,” said Hideyuki Suzuki, general manager investment research at SBI Securities.

 

“This time, and not just for Panasonic, it doesn t feel like they ve got rid of all the rot.”

 

SANYO DRAG

 

Buying Sanyo was part of a strategy to focus Panasonic more on business-to-business markets such as car parts and green technologies, rather than selling to more fickle retail consumers.

 

Panasonic makes everything from refrigerators and bicycle pumps to fax machines, light bulbs and nose hair trimmers. Its most profitable business currently is white goods, including fridges and washing machines.

 

“We decided to purchase (Sanyo) in the summer of 2008 and … the competition (environment) has changed since then and the yen has strengthened very much,” said Panasonic Managing Director Makoto Uenoyama.

 

Sanyo had a quarterly operating loss of more than 20 billion yen.

 

Panasonic, which trimmed its forecast for the number of flat-screen TVs it will sell, does expect to make an operating profit for the year, though this is now seen at just 30 billion yen, down from a previous 130 billion yen.

 

Last year, Panasonic had an operating profit, which excludes one off items, of 305 billion yen.
 

Euro remains under pressure

 

The euro remained under pressure in Asian trade Tuesday, despite a slight rebound following a sharp fall Monday, as nervous investors waited for a fresh deal on the tense Greek debt crisis.

 

The euro edged up to $1.3158 and 100.44 yen, from $1.3134 and 100.34 yen in New York.

 

Increasing uncertainty over the sovereign-debt situation in Europe prevented the euro from recovering most of Monday s losses, analysts said.

 

Then, the single unit plunged as EU leaders worked to reach a fresh treaty to tighten budgetary rules, aiming to give the go-ahead this week for Greece s second bailout deal.

 

“The euro s weaker trend will likely continue until an agreement on (Greek) debt reduction is in sight,” Sumino Kamei, senior analyst at Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, told Dow Jones Newswires.

 

Credit Agricole said in a note to clients: “European fiscal concerns have been largely overlooked in the opening weeks of 2012, (but) such problems however may be about to resurface.

 

“As such, investor uncertainty may be about to return in force to undermine the euro and drive fresh safe haven demand for the US dollar,” the bank said.

 

Meanwhile, the dollar s continued weakness, standing at 76.33 yen compared with 76.35 yen in New York, prompted Japan s finance minister to again suggest possible intervention.

 

European and global uncertainty has encouraged investors to buy the safer yen by dumping riskier currencies, such as the euro and the dollar.

 

“If there is excessive volatility or really speculative movement, I will be vigilant against it, and I will take decisive steps if necessary,” Jun Azumi told a regular briefing.

 

He voiced hopes that Europe s debt crisis would ease, helping Japanese stock markets stabilise.

Euro slips against other currencies in Asia

 

The euro slipped against other currencies in Asia on Monday as market players awaited a European Union summit to see whether leaders will make progress on containing the region s debt crisis.

 

The euro bought $1.3181 and 101.03 yen in Tokyo afternoon trade, down from $1.3221 and 101.37 in New York late Friday.
The dollar was at 76.66 yen, flat from New York.

 

The euro eased due to falls in Tokyo stocks and uncertainty over the outcome of the summit in Brussels later in the day, said a trader at a Japanese trust bank.

 

The finance minister of debt-stricken Greece on Sunday rejected a German proposal for the EU to take control over its tax and spend decisions, citing national sovereignty.

 

But the Wall Street Journal reported Berlin s finance minister issued a blunt warning the eurozone might refuse Greece a fresh bailout, pushing Athens into default, unless it convinces Europe it can overhaul its state and economy.

 

“Unless Greece implements the necessary decisions and doesn t just announce them… there s no amount of money that can solve the problem,” it quoted Wolfgang Schaeuble as saying.

 

A senior dealer in Tokyo told Dow Jones Newswires: “Germany looks like it can t wait any longer” for reforms to solve the Greek debt crisis.

 

On the other hand the euro may be supported if an agreement is reached at the EU summit over a euro-wide fiscal stability pact and a permanent bailout fund, said Sumino Kamei, senior analyst at Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ.

 

“The sense of uncertainty over the future of the European debt crisis will recede if these agreements are reached, and short-covering of the euro will continue,” she said. The dollar was mixed against other Asian currencies.

 

It eased to 31.08 Thai baht from 31.29 baht on Friday, to Sg$1.2554 from Sg$1.2573 and to Tw$29.74 form Tw$29.89.

 

The dollar firmed to 42.95 Philippine pesos from 42.84 pesos, to 1,126.10 South Korean won from 1,123.30 won, and to 8,995.00 Indonesian rupiah from 8,965.00 rupiah.

 

Earthquake, tsunami caused Antarctic icebergs

Scientists examined satellite images from Antarctica, 8,000 miles south of the epicenter, and found that 18 hours after the quake, the resulting tsunami was enough to break giant chunks off the Sulzberger Ice Shelf, chunks that together would be twice the size of Manhattan.

The largest berg measured about 9.5 kms (5.9 miles) by 6.5 kms (four miles), making it slightly bigger in surface area than Manhattan, and had a likely depth of about 80 metres (260 feet).

The tsunami was at least 23 metres (76 feet) high after it had been generated by an underwater quake of 9.0 magnitude, according to Japanese estimates published a week after the event.

Analysis of Envisat s radar pictures by experts in the United States suggests that the waves were probably only about 30 centimetres (18 inches) high by the time they had crossed 13,000 kilometres (8,100 miles) of ocean.

Ice shelves are thick floating beds of ice that are attached to the coastline. They are created by glaciers whose ice is discharged into the sea.

Couples celebrate divorce in Japan

Ceremonies that celebrate divorces have gained momentum in Japan after the earthquake compelling unhappy couples to reassess their lives.

The culminating ritual of smashing wedding rings with a gavel helped create that clean break needed in any breakup. It costs a couple 55,000 yen for the ceremony that marks the couple s transition to being single again. The divorcees also threw the ring into the mouth of a frog figurine, as a frog symbolizes a return in Japanese culture. The dress is designed in a manner that woman s back looks most beautiful when she turns around and walks away.

The March 11 disaster made many couples rethink their priorities; some found work was a higher priority to them than family, and it has helped people gain the confidence to decide on a divorce. And those who want an amicable divorce are doing divorce ceremonies.

What is a tsunami?

TOKYO: A once-exotic word that has now entered the everyday lexicon, a tsunami refers to a shock of water that spreads through the sea, usually after a sub-sea floor quake.

A section of seabed is thrust up or driven down by violent movement of the Earth”s crust.

The rift displaces vast quantities of water that move as waves, able to cover enormous distances over open water, sometimes at the speed of a jet plane.

An 8.9-magnitude quake off Japan”s northern coast on Friday generated a 10-metre (33 feet) tsunami that picked up ships and dashed them into coastal towns.

Buildings and vehicles were carried away as the huge wall of water swept inland.

The word “tsunami” comes from the Japanese words for “harbour” and “wave”.

At their point of generation, tsunamis have a relatively small wave height, with peaks far apart.

As the waves approach the shore they are compressed by the shelving of the sea floor, reducing the distance between the peaks and vastly increasing the height.

To those on the shore, the first sign of something amiss can be the retreat of the sea, which is followed by the arrival of large waves.

“The sea was driven back, and its waters flowed away to such an extent that the deep seabed was laid bare and many kinds of sea creatures could be seen,” wrote Roman historian Ammianus Marcellus, awed at a tsunami that struck the then-thriving port of Alexandria in 365 AD.

“Huge masses of water flowed back when least expected, and now overwhelmed and killed many thousands of people… Some great ships were hurled by the fury of the waves onto the rooftops, and others were thrown up to two miles (three kilometres) from the shore.”

Several factors determine the height and destructiveness of a tsunami.

They include the size of the quake, the volume of displaced water, the topography of the sea floor as the waves race to the coast and whether there are natural obstacles that dampen the shock.

Destruction of protective mangroves and coral reefs and the building of homes or hotels on exposed beaches are fingered as leading causes of high death tolls from tsunamis.

Large quakes are the main drivers of tsunamis, but the phenomenon can also be sparked by other cataclysmic events, such as volcanic eruptions and even landslides.

In 1883, a volcano shattered the Pacific island of Krakatoa, causing a blast so loud that it could be heard 4,500 kilometres away, followed by a tsunami that killed some 30,000 people.

The tsunami of December 2004 in the Indian Ocean was caused by a monstrous 9.1-magnitude earthquake off the Indonesian island of Sumatra.

It released energy equivalent to 23,000 of the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima, according to the US trendpk.comlogical Survey (USGS). Some 220,000 people in 11 nations were killed, many of them thousands of kilometres from the epicentre.

The Pacific Ocean is particularly prone to earthquakes and therefore to tsunamis.

But research has found that, over the millennia, tsunamis have occurred in many parts of the world, including the Atlantic and Mediterranean. A global monitoring network, overseen by the UN, has been set in place to alert areas at risk.

Pacific countries became first to mark start of 2011

SYDNEY: New Year revellers around the planet began welcoming 2011 in a blaze of fireworks and parties Friday, temporarily banishing the misery of extreme weather that has struck across the world.

Countries in the Pacific became the first to mark the start of the year as a crowd of about 1.5 million crammed Sydney”s foreshore, drawn in record numbers by afternoon sunshine ahead of fireworks on the Harbour Bridge – even as Australia’s northeast battled devastating floods.

In Europe, crowds were set to throng landmarks like London’s Big Ben and the Eiffel Tower, following a big freeze that paralysed travel and cut power and water supplies for tens of thousands.

And New York workers were scrambling to plough snow out of Times Square for the famous New Year countdown, after a blizzard dumped 32 inches (80 centimetres) on the city and surrounding areas.

Party-goers carrying blankets and camping equipment began descending on Sydney harbour more than 12 hours before the main fireworks display at 1300 GMT, with new arrivals turned away as early as 3pm (0400 GMT).

Extreme, 43 degrees C (109 F) heat brought the risk of wildfires near Adelaide, while celebrations in the country’s north were muted by floods that left vast swathes of land underwater and forced thousands to leave their homes.

The tiny Pacific nation of Kiribati, just east of the international dateline, was the first to welcome in 2011 at 1000 GMT. The deeply religious community of about 6,000 had been set to mark the occasion with village church services.

New Zealand, which has experienced a mild heatwave over the festive period, moved into 2011 soon after, with a fireworks spectacular in Auckland as part of a celebration themed “Hot in the City”.

Further south in Christchurch, hit by a powerful earthquake in September, officials only approved celebrations after late checks and modifications, including removing the city cathedral’s crucifix in case it fell on revellers.

In Asia, about 400,000 were expected at a glittering fireworks-and-laser display along neon-lit Hong Kong’s harbour, while millions of Japanese will visit Shinto shrines to “purify” themselves.

Although Lunar New Year is a much bigger event in the continent, thousands will brave Beijing’s cold for the countdown at an up market shopping centre, while about 7,000 were expected at a kite-flying event in central Shanghai.

Seoul was to observe Buddhist tradition with a bell at Bosingak traditional pavilion rung 33 times by 11 civilian delegates in turn, watched by up to 100,000 revellers.

Midnight marks the beginning of year 100 on Taiwan’s calendar, and was to be celebrated with Taipei’s biggest ever New Year fireworks costing 60 million Taiwan dollars (two million US) and a concert by pop idols.

Thousands of people will jam Hanoi’s Hoan Kiem Lake for midnight, while the “Bangkok Countdown” outside a glitzy mall – where major anti-government protests took place this year — is the centrepiece of Thailand’s celebrations.

In Myanmar, democracy champion Aung San Suu Kyi, released this year after more than seven years of house arrest, called for the country”s people “to struggle together with new strengths, new force and new words in the auspicious new year”.

Revellers in Indian financial and entertainment capital Mumbai – scene of a 2008 attack that killed 166 people – were given the go-ahead to party through the night, despite intelligence about a possible New Year militant strike.

Meanwhile 250,000 people will throng the banks of London’s River Thames to hear Big Ben chime the last midnight of 2010, the traditional sound of the British New Year.

Millions of others will crowd landmarks like Rome’s Colosseum and the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, as well as Paris”s Champs Elysees and the Puerta del Sol in Madrid.

Earlier, organisers were forced to cancel a giant January 1 snowball fight in Berlin after 8,000 signed up, while in New York this week, people wrote down and shredded bad memories of 2010 in Times Square for “Good Riddance Day”.

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