Sunday, October 28, 2012

Economical and Political Storm? _ More News.



Billionaire Holds Navy Ship Hostage

By Lee Ferran | ABC News – Fri, Oct 26, 2012
Billionaire Holds Navy Ship Hostage (ABC News)ABC News - Billionaire Holds Navy Ship Hostage (ABC News)


So you're a super-rich American investor and a large South American country owes you $1.6 billion, which it refuses to pay in full.
You can take a partial settlement that others have taken - which reportedly would get you just 30 cents on the dollar - or you could do something a little more drastic and, say, seize a high-profile naval vessel belonging to the offending country. What do you do?
Such was the real-world problem facing billionaire Paul Singer before he decided on option B, and his company convinced a small African nation to seize Argentina's Libertad frigate.
As reported by Bloomberg.com, the ship's seizure is the latest salvo in a standoff between Singer, a hedge fund kingpin and one of the largest GOP donors this election season, and the government of Argentina. The two have been locked in a global dispute over the reported $1.6 billion debt claim that resulted from the country's nearly $100 billion default a decade ago.
Caught in the middle this time is the historic frigate ARA Libertad and the West African nation ofGhana. The stately, three-mast ship was seized three weeks ago after it docked in Ghana, where a local court ruled the ship could be held on behalf of NML Capital, a subsidiary of Singer's investment group,Elliot Management Corp. More than 300 Navy sailors stayed with the ship until the Argentinean government ordered them to abandon it earlier this week. They returned home Thursday.
Top Argentinean officials have reportedly accused the Ghanaian government of violating rules of diplomatic immunity and likened NML Capital's actions to a " vulture fund" involved in international extortion.
In a "Braveheart"-worthy declaration earlier this week, Argentinean President Cristina Kircher said on national television, "They may keep our frigate, but not our freedom."
Argentina's Foreign Minister, Hector Timerman, said Thursday he was confident the nation would get its ship back without negotiating with NML Capital, noting that such seizures had happened before - an astounding 28 times.
Today the Buenos Aires Herald listed several notable seizures including the grounds of the Argentinean ambassador's residence in the U.S. in 2004 and the president's private jet in 2007. Each were eventually returned. The frigate is estimated to be worth just 1 percent of the outstanding debt,Bloomberg reported.
As ABC News previously reported, Singer has made a name for himself in the high-dollar game of political donations. He has donated millions to Republican candidates in the last two election cycles but his most important role may be as a "bundler" for Presidential candidate Mitt Romney. He helped Romney raise $5 million with a single Manhattan fundraiser in May.
Bloomberg reported the Libertad's sailors were flown out of Ghana on a French commercial jet. Apparently the Argentinean government was afraid that if any Argentinean assets were sent to retrieve them, they too would be seized.
A call for comment on this report from Elliot Management Corp were not immediately returned. Representatives for NML Capital, which is listed on its website as being based in Cyprus, also did not immediately return after hours requests for comment.
Also Read
Posted by at No comments:

Sandy: East Coast braces for epic hurricane, ‘life-threatening’ storm surge

By 
Senior Media Reporter
By  | The Lookout – 2 hrs 16 mins ago
Waves crash into a pier in Nags Head, N.C., Oct. 27, 2012. (Gerry Broome/AP)
"Superstorm." "The Perfect Storm." "Frankenstorm."
Whatever you want to call it, the East Coast is bracing for Hurricane Sandy, a "rare hybrid storm" that is expected to bring a life-threatening storm surge to the mid-Atlantic coast, Long Island Sound and New York harbor, forecasters say, with winds expected to be at or near hurricane force when it makes landfall sometime on Monday.
According to the National Hurricane Center, the Category 1 hurricane was centered about 260 miles southeast of Cape Hatteras, N.C., and 395 miles south of New York City early Sunday, carrying maximum sustained winds of 75 mph and moving northeast at 10 mph.
New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg ordered the immediate, mandatory evacuation for low-lying coastal areas, including Coney Island, the Rockaways, Brighton Beach, Red Hook and some parts of lower Manhattan.
"If you don't evacuate, you're not just putting your own life at risk," Mayor Bloomberg said at a news conference Sunday. "You're endangering first responders who may have to rescue you."
Earlier, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced the suspension of all MTA service--including subways, buses, Long Island Railroad and Metro North--beginning at 7 p.m. Sunday. New York City Public Schools will be closed on Monday, the mayor said.
Sandy is expected to continue on a parallel path along the mid-Atlantic coast later Sunday before making a sharp turn toward the northwest on Monday--with the Jersey Shore and New York City in its projected path.
But the path is not necessarily the problem.
"Don't get fixated on a particular track," the Associated Press said. "Wherever it hits, the rare behemoth storm inexorably gathering in the eastern U.S. will afflict a third of the country with sheets of rain, high winds and heavy snow."
(Weather.com)
A tropical storm warning has been issued between Cape Fear to Duck, N.C., while hurricane watches and high-wind warnings are in effect from the Carolinas to New England. The hurricane-force winds extend 175 miles from the epicenter of the storm, while tropical storm-force winds extend 520 miles--making Sandy one of the biggest storms to ever hit the East Coast.
"We're looking at impact of greater than 50 to 60 million people," Louis Uccellini, head of environmental prediction for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, told the Associated Press.
"The size of this alone, affecting a heavily populated area, is going to be history making," Jeff Masterswrote on the Weather Underground blog.
New Jersey Governor Chris Christie declared a state of emergency, ordering a shutdown of the state's casinos.
"I can be as cynical as anyone," Christie said on Saturday. "But when the storm comes, if it's as bad as they're predicting, you're going to wish you weren't as cynical as you otherwise might have been."
Similar emergency evacuations were being mulled by state officials in Connecticut, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire and even Maine.
"This is not a coastal threat alone," said Craig Fugate, director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, said during a media briefing early Sunday. "This is a very large area."
Forecasters also fear the combination of storm surge, high tide and heavy rain--between 3 and 12 inches in some areas--could be life-threatening for coastal residents.
According to the National Hurricane Center summary, coastal water levels could rise anywhere between 1 and 12 feet from North Carolina to Cape Cod, depending on the timing of the "peak surge." A surge of 6 to 11 feet is forecast for Long Island Sound and Raritan Bay, including New York Harbor.
The storm surge in New York Harbor during Hurricane Irene, forecasters noted, was four feet.
Posted by at No comments:

Monday, October 22, 2012

For Personal Reason -This site Take a break for Little While




Thank you for your visiting and Thank you for your understanding.
Posted by at No comments:
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)