“Cavs hope moves are enough to keep James - USA Today” plus 3 more

Cavs hope moves are enough to keep James - USA Today
Dollar pares some gains versus yen, euro after U.S. data - Reuters
Munich Re will not renew business with Iran - BusinessWeek
Business travel deductions: tempting but complex - Post-Bulletin

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Cavs hope moves are enough to keep James - USA Today

Posted: 19 Feb 2010 12:42 PM PST

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The Cavaliers have three remaining players -- LeBron James, Anderson Varejao and Daniel Gibson -- from the team that won the Eastern Conference just three years ago.

As the Summer of LeBron draws near, general manager Danny Ferry's creative moves and owner Dan Gilbert's wallet have turned over the Cavaliers' roster in an attempt to give James plenty of reasons to remain in Cleveland.

"(Ferry) has done a good job of bringing in players and trying to build something," James said. "I think we all know how important it is to win around here and we have high expectations every year. The front office has done a great job of bringing in guys that want to win and want to do what's right for the team."

Cleveland's payroll for this season is near $83 million, ranking among the top five in the league. But it was the final two years on Jamison's contract, worth a total of $28 million, that allowed Ferry to acquire him at the trading deadline.

It's a move he has mastered. While teams around the league continue to shed payroll either for economic reasons or to make room for this summer's strong free agent class, the Cavaliers continue to welcome the rich and famous.

Ferry overhauled the roster in 2008, trading six players one minute before the trading deadline for Joe Smith, Ben Wallace, Wally Szczerbiak and Delonte West. It remains perhaps the most vital of all his moves, since it laid the groundwork for what was to come.

Smith was traded to Milwaukee for Mo Williams when the Bucks didn't want to pay him through 2012. Ferry turned Wallace into Shaquille O'Neal when the Suns were trying to get out from under $20 million.

Now Gilbert has allowed Ferry to turn Ilgauskas into Jamison, while leaving hope the Cavs could get 'Z' back if Washington, as expected, buys out his contract.

"This is Dan Gilbert's commitment to winning," Ferry said. "He supported us to make any move we think makes this organization a championship-caliber team."

Now Gilbert must hope it's enough to keep James, who can become a free agent in July.

In trying to get to know his superstar a little better, Gilbert brought James and his family to Idaho last summer for a convention featuring some of the biggest names in business, like Bill Gates and Warren Buffett.

It created a bond between Gilbert and James, since it was the first time the pair had spent significant time together. They talked about life, philosophy and business over the five days, but they didn't talk about James' future in Cleveland. Gilbert, a comedian at times, won't even joke with James about this summer.

"I joke about a lot of things, but probably not that," Gilbert said. "This time of year, we're focused on trying to have the right outcome."

If basketball is James' first passion, business is his second. It's why he embraced the chance to spend a week among the high level executives from around the world. James is a self-taught businessman, having never gone to college after taking the leap from high school to the NBA. Yet he was ranked fifth earlier this month on Forbes Magazine's Fab 40 list of the most powerful figures in sports.

"Great experience," James said of the trip. "I learned a lot about business, did a lot of networking, it was a great time for not only myself, but my kids enjoyed it. A lot of things I brought home not only bettered myself, but bettered my company and bettered the things I do."

Added Gilbert: "He's got a high level of awareness and a high interest in business. He takes very good notes. He's the kind of guy that wants to learn not just about basketball, he always wants to improve what he's doing. And that lines up with our culture and philosophy."

It doesn't take business acumen to understand the numbers of the NBA. On a maximum contract this summer, the Cavaliers can offer James an extra year and about $30 million more than any other team. James has maintained his decision will be based not on money, but on what gives him the best chance to win.

Cleveland certainly appears to be that team, given Gilbert's history of spending.

"You have to understand, Dan Gilbert spent a lot of money," Williams said. "It shows the commitment they have to us. It's not about how much a guy makes. If the player fits the team, they've never shied away from the contracts, even though other teams are trying to shed money. They're taking on more money. The goal is clear what we want to do."

Teams around the league are positioning themselves for James and the rest of the free agents this summer. The Knicks, Bulls, Wizards, Kings, Heat and Clippers are among the teams that will likely make a run at a marquee free agent.

Some of those teams are more appealing to James than others. He quit talking about next summer early on this season and has kept his word, sidestepping a question about whether it was good for so many teams in the league to clear cap space before Thursday's trading deadline.

"I think it all depends what their plan is for the summer," James said. "I don't think too much and get involved much with teams clearing cap space."

Short of winning a championship, Gilbert has done all he can to keep James happy. He called acquiring Jamison Cleveland's big free agent signing, since the team won't have any cap space to take part in the summer frenzy -- other than retaining James.

Gilbert, who successfully steered a campaign recently to bring casinos to Ohio, likes his odds.

"I don't lose any sleep over it," he said. "I feel very good about where the franchise is, all the moves we've made. I feel good about our odds of winning. How do you build it and give it its best odds? How do you put it in the best position to win? I think overall we've done that. Whether it's LeBron or anybody, we believe this franchise would be attractive for anyone who wants to come play basketball."

Dollar pares some gains versus yen, euro after U.S. data - Reuters

Posted: 19 Feb 2010 06:01 AM PST

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NEW YORK (Reuters) - The dollar climbed across the board on Friday, touching an eight-month high against a currency basket, a day after the Federal Reserve raised the interest rate it charges banks for emergency loans.

The Fed announced late on Thursday that it raised the discount rate to 0.75 percent from 0.50 percent, although it left the benchmark federal funds rate, its main policy tool, unchanged near zero.

Currency markets took the decision as a signal the U.S. central bank was coming closer to tightening its benchmark rate despite assurances from Fed policymakers to the contrary.

The move triggered a rally in the greenback as higher rates increase the return on dollar-denominated assets.

"The markets are taking this as a clear step toward normalization in monetary policy," said Meg Browne, a currency strategist at Brown Brothers Harriman in New York. "If you combine the Fed actions with the fundamentals of the U.S. economy and contrast it with the situation in Europe, dollar buying is more than justified."

In late afternoon trading in New York, the dollar was up 0.2 percent in a calculated measure against a basket of currencies at 80.544 .DXY after rallying to an eight-month high of 81.342, according to Reuters data.

The euro zone common currency recovered some of its losses after a U.S. government report showed consumer prices rose less than expected in January.

Analysts said tame U.S. inflation may support the view that benchmark U.S. rates will stay low for the foreseeable future.

"That type of data reinforces the outlook for low U.S. interest rates," said Joe Manimbo, a currency trader at Travelex Global Business Payments in Washington. "Consequently the dollar has pared some of its impressive overnight gains."

Against the dollar, the euro was last little changed at $1.3607, narrowly putting the single currency up for the week against the dollar and snapping five straight weeks of declines. The euro traded as low as $1.3444 according to Reuters data, its lowest in nine months, earlier in the session.

Against the yen the dollar rose 0.4 percent to 91.57 yen.

"Even though this is not an official tightening, it shows that the Fed is at least 'moving.' The Bank of Japan may require more quantitative easing and the ECB cannot change its stance, so the dollar can rally further against the yen and the euro," said Antje Praefcke, currency strategist at Commerzbank.

The dollar gained over recent weeks on the back of positive U.S. economic data while structural problems in the euro zone have weighed on the euro, driving it down more than 5 percent against the greenback since the start of the year.

FED TIMING

While the timing of the Fed's discount rate announcement surprised the market, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke had said last week the central bank could soon raise that rate. He stressed that the move would not be akin to tightening monetary policy.

St. Louis Fed President James Bullard on Thursday said investors' belief in the high probability of a rise in the fed funds rate this year was "overblown" and that the rise in the discount rate should not be seen as a policy signal.

Dennis Lockhart, the president of the Atlanta Fed, voiced a similar view on Thursday evening.

The Australian dollar slipped despite hints by Reserve Bank of Australia Governor Glenn Stevens that further interest rate rises were likely [ID:nSGE61H03Z]. The Australian currency fell 0.4 percent to $0.8986.

Sterling also remained under pressure, last down 1.1 percent at $1.5460 as the pound struggled after weak British retail sales data.

(Reporting by Nick Olivari amd Vivianne Rodrigues, additional reporting by Wanfeng Zhou, Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)

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Munich Re will not renew business with Iran - BusinessWeek

Posted: 19 Feb 2010 02:55 AM PST

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By GEORGE FREY

FRANKFURT

German reinsurance company Munich Re AG will not renew existing business or write any new business with insurance companies in Iran due to the political situation there, a spokesman said Friday.

The Munich-based company says the decision will affect Munich Re's premium volume of around euro10 million ($13.5 million) annually. In 2008, the group had a premium volume of near euro40 billion.

"We've been looking at the situation for a long time; the political situation is worse now and we decided to stop business," Munich Re spokesman Klaus Schmidtke said.

Reinsurers sell back-up coverage to insurance companies to spread risk in the event of large losses. Munich Re also sells life, property and health primary insurance and is one of the world's largest reinsurers.

In Iran, the company's business is mainly property reinsurance, Schmidtke said, adding that Munich Re does not sell primary insurance in Iran.

The company already pulled out of reinsurance for marine shipping of fuel to and from Iran in October, he said.

Joerg von Fuerstenwerth, director of The German Insurance Association said his organization is following the international discussion on Iran and urged the European Union to work to develop uniform measures to limit the effects on businesses.

"Increasing the economic sanctions against Iran is justified and will be supported by the German insurance industry," he said in a statement.

Munich Re's announcement follows that of German industrial conglomerate Siemens AG, which said last month that it will also stop doing business in Iran by mid-2010.

Iran has arrested hundreds and executed several opposition and anti-government protesters of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who they say was fraudulently re-elected last June.

Meanwhile, the country's nuclear program is worrying countries including Germany, the U.S. and Israel. The United Nations' nuclear agency said Thursday that Iran may currently be working on making a nuclear warhead. Iran denies any interest in developing nuclear arms.

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On the Net:

http://www.munichre.com

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Business travel deductions: tempting but complex - Post-Bulletin

Posted: 20 Feb 2010 06:14 AM PST

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