Monday, October 19, 2009

“Zimbabwe's PM seeks help from regional leaders - Miami Herald” plus 4 more

“Zimbabwe's PM seeks help from regional leaders - Miami Herald” plus 4 more

Zimbabwe's PM seeks help from regional leaders - Miami Herald

Posted: 19 Oct 2009 04:55 AM PDT

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The Associated Press

HARARE, Zimbabwe -- The spokesman for Zimbabwe's prime minister says Morgan Tsvangirai is asking other leaders in the region to "rescue" the unity government from which he temporarily withdrew last week.

James Maridadi said Tsvangirai was leaving later Monday to visit Congo, Mozambique, Angola and South Africa to seek "understanding and rescue." Congo chairs the regional group that mediated Zimbabwe's unity government agreement, and the others are key players in the group.

Tsvangirai announced Friday he was withdrawing from the coalition at least temporarily, citing the prosecution of one of his top aides.

Robert Mugabe's spokesman George Charamba on Sunday said the president was too busy to address the crisis in his unity government.

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JAL shares surge nearly 12 percent on report of government bailout ... - Newser

Posted: 19 Oct 2009 03:36 AM PDT

Japan Airlines Co. shares surged 11.9 percent, closing at 113 yen on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, after the Nikkei business daily reported a government-appointed taskforce is to announce the final reconstruction scheme for the airline by the end of October and launch the plan early November _ one month earlier than expected.

The newspaper cited comments made to reporters by an unidentified taskforce member following a meeting with JAL's main banks Sunday. Transport Ministry officials declined to confirm the report.

"The report that the government is expediting the reconstruction plan reassured investors, who interpreted it as a sign that the taskforce is confident about saving JAL without turning the company inside out or having it go bankrupt," said Mitsushige Akino, fund manager at Ichiyoshi Investment Management.

The government last month formed a team of corporate turnaround experts to create a restructuring plan for the airline after JAL sought public funds for survival.

The five-member team asked JAL's banks to provide 300 billion yen ($3.3 billion) through debt relief and equity swaps, the Nikkei said. It said at least two taskforce members may take posts within the company to negotiate restructuring and cost-cutting measures with the airline's labor unions and retirees.

JAL has also submitted its own draft reconstruction plan, which included 6,800 job cuts, or about 14 percent of its workers, but failed to get a pass mark from its main banks and the transport minister.

The airline has reportedly been in talks on financial tie-ups with several top airlines including Delta Air Lines Inc., the world's biggest airline operator, its rival American Airlines Inc. and Air France-KLM, Europe's biggest airline group.

JAL, which was privatized in 1987, incurred its biggest quarterly net loss of 99 billion yen ($1 billion) in the three months to June, and has forecast a net loss of 63 billion yen ($701 million) for the current fiscal year to March 2010.

Its request for taxpayer money came months after it received 60 billion yen ($668 million) in loans from the government-owned Development Bank of Japan in June.

JAL has reportedly told the government that it's short 450 billion yen ($5 billion) through March 2011 _ money that is needed for debt repayment.

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John Cook wins Houston Champions Tour event by 2 shots over Jay Haas ... - Minneapolis Star Tribune

Posted: 19 Oct 2009 01:34 AM PDT

THE WOODLANDS, Texas - John Cook says a friend keeps reminding him to finish like a champion. And he's been telling himself to trust his golfing instincts more after several disappointing finishes this year.

He did both Sunday, closing with a 4-under 68 to win the Administaff Small Business Classic, Cook's third career Champions Tour title and first of the season.

"I haven't really walked off the 54th hole or 72nd hole of our weeks with a real good taste in my mouth until today," said Cook, 52, an 11-time winner on the regular PGA Tour.

Cook shot an 11-under 205 and held off Jay Haas and Bob Tway for a two-shot victory at The Woodlands Country Club's Tournament Course.

Cook lost to Mike Reid in a playoff in August at the Jeld-Wen Tradition in Oregon, one of the Champions Tour majors, then was fifth two weeks ago at the Senior Players Championship, where he faded in the final round.

"I've had trouble finishing events," he said. "I was getting ahead of myself. Today, I just didn't do that. I wanted to make sure I trusted what I was thinking coming down the stretch. And that's all you can do. And I hit some good quality shots coming down the stretch.

"Just go ahead. Trust it. You make good golf swings. You know what it does. And I did that today."

Cook was two shots behind first- and second-round leader Dan Forsman when play began Sunday. He started birdie-bogey, but birdies at Nos. 5 and 9 got him to within one shot of Forsman. He got to 10 under, still a shot back, with a birdie at 12, then claimed a share of the lead when Forsman had a bogey on the same hole. He took control after Forsman had a disastrous triple bogey at the par-3 14th and pulled away with his birdie on 17.

Water comes into play on both the 17th, where Cook birdied, and 18th, where he made par.

"On 18, I hit one of my best drives of the week," he said, assessing winds by looking at flags blowing toward him from an adjacent driving range and figuring he didn't want to leave his shot short.

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Tourism bolsters B.C.'s business allure - Financial Post

Posted: 19 Oct 2009 04:55 AM PDT

In 1996, Frank Steiger decided to tap the budding B.C. tourism industry by starting a fishing guide company. With his meagre savings he bought a two-bedroom house in downtown Chilliwack, an old Chrysler truck and a boat for $3,500. Today, Mr. Steiger runs the Fraser River Lodge, one of Canada's premier waterfront resorts situated among the mountains and roaming buffalo.

"It was just a dream," he says. "In the beginning I was pressure washing trucks, I was dry walling for $7 an hour. I painted houses, I was a gardener. At one point, I applied to clean pig barns. You name it, I did it to pay for my advertising to get started."

His dedication and hard work is still paying off with the addition of an events hall and boutique hotel on the secluded property in Agassiz, an hour east of Vancouver. While other tourism operators in the region have suffered in the recession, Mr. Steiger says his business, which targets a high-end market, has been booming since he began to cater wedding parties.

"Now it's like a fairy tale," he says.

Mr. Steiger has also benefitted from being in a small business hot spot. British Columbia has four of the fastest growing small business metropolitan areas in the country and a lot of that stems from tourism.

A recent survey by BMO Capital Markets found Abbotsford, Vancouver, Kelowna and Victoria are among the Top 10 fastest growing small business municipalities in Canada in the past five years.

The survey also found British Columbia and Alberta to have the highest number of small businesses per capita in Canada.

However, tourism is not the only thing British Columbia has going for it. Sherry Cooper, chief economist at BMO Capital Markets, says population growth, provincial government activity and natural resources will also create opportunities for small businesses in the coming years.

"When the global economy rebounds, we're going to see a rebound in economic activity out West as commodities prices will be rising again," she says.

Municipalities in Ontario made up the majority of the BMO list, which was topped by Toronto and also included Guelph, Oshawa, Barrie and the Quebec-border municipality of Ottawa-Gatineau. Calgary was the only municipality in the Top 10 to come from outside Ontario and British Columbia.

Ms. Cooper says these areas have also benefitted from population growth, a factor that has worked against the potential for new business opportunities in Quebec because of the migration of many youth out of the province. Toronto in particular, she says, has experienced an increase in small business activity as the financial sector moves toward an increasingly outsourced workforce.

The BMO report measures the growth in the number of small businesses and not their ultimate success. As a result, the findings differ considerably to those of the FP/Canadian Federation of Independent Business survey, which ranked Toronto 96th in terms of hospitable small business environments.

Ted Mallett, vice-president of research and chief economist at CFIB, says Toronto certainly is a fast-growing small business hub, but conditions such as the cost of local government, industry and employment diversity could impact the ultimate success of the business. "Growing a business in the city of Toronto has some pretty major costs involved," he says.

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Monument Farms named 'Business of the Year' - Burlington Free Press

Posted: 19 Oct 2009 04:12 AM PDT

Monument Farms Dairy in Weybridge was named Business of the Year by the Addison County Chamber of Commerce recently.

The award is given to a business in Addison County that has shown a significant improvement in its development and positively effects the economy on a local, regional or international level.

"Monument Farms Dairy is a local business that Addison County can be proud of and they well-represent the local dairy community," said chamber president Andy Mayer.

Started in 1930 by Richard James, Monument Farms began with just a home delivery route. Today Richard's grandchildren run the operation which has grown to 35 employees and a milking herd of 450-plus cows producing more than 3,000 gallons of milk per day.

The awarded was presented at the chamber's annual meeting Sept. 10 at The Inn at Middlebury College's Bread Loaf campus. Also presented at the meeting was the chamber's Citizen of the Year award, given posthumously to Fletcher "Buster" Brush. The award will now be named after Brush, who died Nov. 7, 2008. He was involved in the community for many years, including serving as chairman of the Salisbury Village Cemetery Restoration Project.

The chamber can be found on the Web at www.addisoncounty.com.

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