O que significaria o bloqueio do Estreito de Ormuz?

[TRSM]

DJ N Korea Again Opposes `Multiparty' Nuclear Talks



SEOUL (AP)--North Korea reiterated its opposition Saturday to any moves to
"internationalize" its nuclear issue, saying the matter is strictly between
Pyongyang and Washington.
"The only way of solving the nuclear issue on the Korean peninsula peacefully
and in a most fair way is for the DPRK and the U.S. to hold direct and equal
negotiations," a Foreign Ministry official said in a report by the North's
foreign news agency. DPRK is the acronym for the communist country's official
name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.
"This is the invariable, principled stand" of North Korea, the report on
Pyongyang's KCNA news agency said.
U.S. officials say their plan to bring the issue before the U.N. Security
Council is to make it a matter of international concern.
Washington's ally, Japan, is proposing that the issue be tackled in
multilateral consultations involving the five permanent council members - the
U.S., Russia, China, France and the U.K. - plus Japan and South Korea.
The ministry spokesman, whose name wasn't given in the report, said the
"multiparty talks" show "U.S. sinister intention to flee from the responsibility
for the nuclear issue and put international pressure" on North Korea.
North Korea "is strongly opposed to any attempt to internationalize the
nuclear issue on the Korean peninsula and will never participate in any form of
`multiparty' talks related to the issue," the spokesman said in the report.
"It is owing to the U.S. that the issue surfaced, got worse and has reached
the extremes," the report quoted the spokesman as saying.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires
25-01-03 1528GMT(AP-DJ-01-25-03 1528GMT)

Jan-25-2003 15:28 GMT
Source DJBK Dow Jones Bankers Wire
Categories:
N/BKG N/CMDI N/DJG7 N/DJI N/DJIV N/DJMO N/DOI N/EWR N/FXW N/IPR N/WER
N/DJWI N/GEN N/NJR N/UNN M/NND P/APNY R/ASI R/FE R/FEO R/JA R/KN R/NME R/PRM
R/SK R/US MST/B/BRK MST/R/ASI MST/R/JP MST/R/KP MST/R/NME MST/R/PRM
MST/R/KR MST/R/US

[TRSM]

DJ DAVOS:Leaders Say Global Econ Outlook Positive, Over Time



DAVOS, Switzerland (AP)--Business and political leaders at the World Economic
Forum expressed optimism Saturday that major sectors of the global economy would
pick up - but not just yet.
"We are now on the right track to restore a strong Japan," said Heizo
Takenaka, Japan's minister for economic and fiscal policy and financial
services. "Of course it will take two more years or so to see a visible result
of that."
French Finance Minister Francis Mer said he was "not so pessimistic" as some,
but conceded "that the slow evolution of our reforms is not a positive signal."
He said France and other countries in Europe recognize "the changes we need to
implement" for future growth.
A panel of business and executives and economists agreed that increased
productivity could drive up growth considerably in the years to come.
However, there were concerns that the U.S. depends on other major economies,
which are doing less well, and that U.S. consumer confidence has become more
fragile in recent months.
"We have to stay focused on growth, because it is growth that really lifts all
the boats up," said U.S. Commerce Secretary Don Evans.
John T. Chambers, president and chief executive of Cisco Systems (CSCO), said
he thought the U.S. economy is generally going along the right track.
"It is holding up remarkably given all the unexpected challenges that have
occurred over the last two years," he said.
Takenaka said the Japanese government is pressing forward with programs to
tackle bad loans and introducing tax cuts. A new governor of the Bank of Japan
will be appointed soon with the brief to improve the country's monetary policy.
He said he sees no short-term effect on Japan's weak economy from the yen's
rise against the dollar.
"We are carefully watching the market trend, but the impact will only appear
in six to eight months," he said at a press conference. "I don't think it's a
strong factor.... I would not be so nervous about it at the present."
Asked about what the Bank of Japan can do to reverse Japan's persistent
deflation, he said money supply growth was still to work and urged the bank to
do more.
"The important point is that money supply growth is only 2-3% annually, and I
don't think that's enough," he said. "I would like to see the Bank of Japan
achieve a stronger money supply growth."

(END) Dow Jones Newswires
25-01-03 1304GMT(AP-DJ-01-25-03 1304GMT)

Jan-25-2003 13:04 GMT
Symbols:
US;CSCO XE;CSCO
Source DJBK Dow Jones Bankers Wire
Categories:
HOT I/CMT I/TEL I/XGTI I/XISL I/XNQ1 I/XSP5 I/XSTX G/IGV N/BKG N/CMDI
N/DJG7 N/DJI N/DJIV N/DJMO N/DJPT N/DOI N/ECR N/EWR N/FXW N/IPR N/WER N/CBK
N/CNW N/DJWI N/DJXX N/ECB N/EEC N/EMU N/FRX N/HOT N/ICM N/IEN N/NJR N/WEI
M/JPY M/NND M/TEC M/USD P/DRT R/ASI R/CA R/EC R/EU R/FE R/FR R/JA R/NME
R/PRM R/SZ R/US R/USW R/WEU MST/HOT MST/I/CMT MST/I/TEL MST/G/CBI MST/I
MST/G/ECB MST/F/FRX MST/F/SOV MST/E/GEN MST/R/ASI MST/R/US/CA MST/R/EU
MST/R/EUR MST/R/FR MST/R/JP MST/R/NME MST/R/PRM MST/R/CH MST/R/US

[TRSM]

DJ Blair, Bush Reiterate Need To Disarm Iraq In Phone Call



LONDON (AP)--U.S. President George W. Bush and U.K. Prime Minister Tony Blair
have had a long telephone conversation in which they reiterated their shared
belief that if Iraq does not give up its weapons of mass destruction it will
have to be disarmed by force, Blair's office said Saturday.
The talk on Friday gave the two leaders a chance to take stock of the latest
developments in the standoff with Iraq as U.N. weapons inspectors prepare to
present a key report on their progress on Monday, a Blair spokesman said on
condition of anonymity.
The spokesman described the conversation as "lengthy" but did not specify how
long Bush and Blair spoke. The prime minister plans to travel to the U.S. to
meet Bush at Camp David on Friday.
"Both (Blair and Bush) remain agreed that Saddam Hussein has to be disarmed,
that he has been offered a peaceful way to do that, and if he fails to comply,
cooperate fully, and disarm his weapons of mass destruction, then he will have
to be disarmed by force," the spokesman said.
Blair has been the staunchest overseas supporter of Bush's tough stance on
Iraq. He has said he would prefer U.N. Security Council support for any attack
on Iraq but would support a U.S.-led war without U.N. backing if any countries
imposed "unreasonable blockage" of a Security Council resolution.
The U.S. government, facing pleas at home and abroad for a go-slow approach on
forcibly disarming Iraq, may embrace giving U.N. inspectors more time to find
weapons of mass destruction, a senior U.S. official said Friday.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires
25-01-03 1128GMT(AP-DJ-01-25-03 1128GMT)

Jan-25-2003 11:28 GMT
Source DJBK Dow Jones Bankers Wire
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N/BKG N/CMDI N/DJG7 N/DJI N/DJIV N/DJMO N/DOI N/ECR N/EWR N/FXW N/IPR
N/WER N/DJWI N/GEN N/PET N/UKMR N/UNN M/NND P/APNY R/EC R/EU R/IZ R/ML
R/NME R/UK R/US R/WEU MST/B/BRK MST/N/PET MST/R/EU MST/R/EUR MST/R/IQ
MST/R/MID MST/R/NME MST/R/GB MST/R/US

[TRSM]

DJ Israelis Raid, Pull Out Of Gaza Town; 1 Palestinian Dead



GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP)--Israeli troops raided a town on the northern edge
of Gaza Strip after Palestinian militants fired rockets on a nearby Israeli
town.
The Israeli forces killed one Palestinian and wounded about 25 during the
incursion in Beit Hanoun, which began Friday and ended with the Israeli troop
withdrawal early Saturday, Palestinian hospital officials and witnesses said.
The latest violence came as Israelis prepare to vote in national elections
Tuesday that are expected to keep the hawkish Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and
his Likud party in power.
The Israeli raid began after Palestinian militants fired a series of rockets
from northern Gaza on the nearby Israeli town of Sderot, about three miles (five
kilometers) from the Gaza fence. The town of about 25,000 people, the largest
population center within striking distance of the short-range projectiles, has
been hit in a handful of other attacks during more than two years of fighting.
One of the rockets left a hole the size of a truck tire in the yard of a home
and lightly injured a woman hanging laundry, police said. Two other rockets
landed in a field near a swimming pool.
Visiting the scene, Sharon said: "The people here are confident and have
strong endurance to bear difficult situations. We haven't lost hope and even in
this situation, we will prevail.
Sharon, who has promised tough military action against Palestinian attacks, is
favored over his dovish opponent, Amram Mitzna, who calls for a resumption of
negotiations with the Palestinians and withdrawal from most of the West Bank and
all of the Gaza Strip.
During the army's raid on Beit Hanoun, Israeli soldiers called on Palestinian
residents to evacuate their home from a neighborhood that borders Israel.
In Beit Hanoun, witnesses said they saw Palestinian militants detonate a bomb
alongside an Israeli tank and set it on fire. Islamic Jihad claimed
responsibility for the attack. The army said militants had detonated three
bombs, but no one was injured.
The army said forces blew up three small bridges in Beit Hanoun used by
militants to fire rockets. The Israeli forces did not enter the center of the
town.
On Friday, Israeli helicopter gunships fired 11 missiles at Gaza City,
wrecking a metal workshop the army said turned out crude rockets and mortars.
One missile also damaged the 19th-century Anglican chapel at Ahli Arab Hospital,
punching holes in the roof and the floor near the altar and dusting a painting
of the Virgin Mary with debris.
"This is an act of terrorism against our church," said Anglican Church Bishop
Riah Abu Assal. "Its location next to the hospital is well known. There is no
room for mistakes, and they (Israeli military officials) didn't even bother to
issue a statement to express their regret."
The military said it was checking whether pieces of a misfired missile hit the
chapel. Palestinians said six people were wounded in the missile strikes, though
none of the 40 patients at the hospital were harmed.
In Rafah, at the southern end of the Gaza Strip, Palestinians said the army
demolished 13 homes along the Egyptian border, including five that were
populated.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires
25-01-03 1039GMT(AP-DJ-01-25-03 1039GMT)

Jan-25-2003 10:39 GMT
Source DJBK Dow Jones Bankers Wire
Categories:
N/BKG N/CMDI N/DJG7 N/DJI N/DJIV N/DJMO N/DOI N/EWR N/FXW N/IPR N/WER
N/DJWI N/GEN M/NND P/APNY R/ISR R/ML R/NME R/PSE R/US MST/B/BRK MST/R/IL
MST/R/MID MST/R/NME MST/R/PSE MST/R/US

[TRSM]

DJ DAVOS: Powell Warns Intl Community: `Iraq Must Comply'



DAVOS, Switzerland (AP)--U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell warned the
international community Saturday that it cannot shrink from its responsibility
to disarm Iraq by force if necessary just because "the going is getting tough."
"The burden is upon Iraq," Powell said on his arrival in this Swiss Alpine
resort, where 2,300 world political and business leaders have gathered for an
annual meeting. "Iraq must comply, or it will be made to comply with military
force."
Powell made no mention of a timetable. But the U.S. government, facing pleas
at home and abroad for a go-slow approach on forcibly disarming Iraq, may
embrace giving U.N. inspectors more time to find weapons of mass destruction, a
senior U.S. official said.
The U.S. has come under intense criticism at the World Economic Forum for its
growing threats to attack Iraq. Powell, the most senior U.S. official to attend
the conference, said he would "bring a message of American determination to deal
with an important threat represented by Saddam Hussein and his weapons of mass
destruction."
He said the week ahead will be important because U.N. inspectors will be
presenting their 60-day report on the resumption of inspections to the Security
Council on Monday. President George W. Bush will discuss Iraq in his State of
the Union address on Tuesday, and Powell said there will then be consultations
with leaders around the world.
"We will determine what steps are appropriate at that time to move forward,
keeping in mind always that the goal is disarmament of Iraq and its weapons of
mass destruction," Powell said.
He reiterated that Iraq's 12,000-page weapons declaration does not account for
biological and chemical agents, chemical shells and nuclear documents - each of
which "has the potential to kill thousands upon thousands of innocent human
beings."
"This is not the time for the international community, for the United Nations,
to step back from the solemn responsibility it undertook in Resolution 1441 to
disarm Iraq, and that message I hope to deliver."
"We cannot now start shrinking because the going is getting tough."
In Washington, a U.S. official discussing the Bush administration's options,
said much will depend on the inspectors' report. A decision will be based on
whether these searches so far have been useful, this official said, speaking on
condition of anonymity.
The State Department also said Powell's speech would touch on tensions with
North Korea. Two key intermediaries in the dispute over North Korea's nuclear
program told the Forum on Friday night that they see prospects for easing the
showdown.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires
25-01-03 1032GMT(AP-DJ-01-25-03 1032GMT)

Jan-25-2003 10:32 GMT
Source DJBK Dow Jones Bankers Wire
Categories:
G/IGV N/BKG N/CMDI N/DJG7 N/DJI N/DJIV N/DJMO N/DOI N/ECR N/EWR N/FXW
N/IPR N/WER N/CBK N/DJWI N/ECB N/EEC N/EMU N/FRX N/ICM N/IEN N/PET N/RPT
N/UNN M/NND M/USD P/DRT R/EC R/EU R/IZ R/ML R/NME R/SZ R/US R/WEU MST/G/CBI
MST/G/ECB MST/F/FRX MST/F/SOV MST/E/GEN MST/N/PET MST/R/EU MST/R/EUR MST/R/IQ
MST/R/MID MST/R/NME MST/R/CH MST/R/US

[TRSM]

DJ Iraq Must Disarm To Reach `Peaceful Solution'- German Min



CAIRO (AP)--Germany's foreign minister on Friday said Iraq must dispose of its
mass-destruction weapons and that Berlin maintained "close ties" with
Washington.
Joschka Fischer also said Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak will visit Germany
midway through next month for Mideast peace talks expected to focus on the
Iraqi-U.S. standoff and the Israeli-Palestinian crisis.
Fischer, who met with Mubarak Saturday, later told reporters the international
community still needs "the detail" about Iraq's suspected banned weapons
programs to make further decisions.
"We are working very hard to find a peaceful solution, whether we will be
successful or not...I can give you no idea," Fischer said. "This depends on the
Iraqi government."
The German envoy said Iraq had "no more room for tactics and any type of
maneuvering...Iraq is obliged to disarm, she may not have any weapons of mass
destruction."
Chief U.N. inspectors are due to report Monday on Iraq's compliance with U.N.
Security Council resolution 1441 concerning Iraq's non-conventional weapons
disposal. One U.N. agency said Baghdad would get a "quite satisfactory" grade
for compliance with weapons inspectors.
European states, led by Germany and France, want inspectors to have more time
to search in a bid to disarm Iraq peacefully. Under growing international
pressure to avoid war, the Bush administration is considering curbing its
momentum toward war and, instead, give weapons inspectors more time to conduct
searches.
Inspectors have so far turned up few of the thousands of chemical and
biological weapons Washington insists Iraqi President Saddam Hussein has
concealed. Baghdad claims it has no such weapons.
"Iraq must be disarmed and therefore the inspectors on the ground are very
important," Fischer said, adding he will keep working with Iraq's neighbors,
other Arab states, European friends and international allies in a bid to find a
peaceful solution to the crisis.
Fischer, who is expected to travel to Jordan later Saturday, said Germany's
relations with America were "close" and that both sides will "continue all our
efforts to find a solution" to the crisis.
On Wednesday, U.S. Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld dismissed Germany and
France as "old Europe" and "a problem" on the Iraq issue, remarks that drew
sharp criticism from politicians in both countries.
Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Maher urged Iraq to continue cooperating with
the weapons inspectors and for the Security Council to "promote a peaceful
solution."
Arab states fear a new U.S.-led Gulf war will further destabilize the already
volatile Mideast region, where anti-American sentiment is running high against
its threats on Iraq and perceived bias toward Israel in its conflict with the
Palestinians.
When asked if war was inevitable, Maher said, "Nothing is inevitable. The
desire of the whole world is to find a peaceful solution. Nobody would go to war
lightly."

(END) Dow Jones Newswires
25-01-03 1023GMT(AP-DJ-01-25-03 1023GMT)

Jan-25-2003 10:23 GMT
Source DJBK Dow Jones Bankers Wire
Categories:
N/BKG N/CMDI N/DJG7 N/DJI N/DJIV N/DJMO N/DOI N/ECR N/EWR N/FXW N/IPR
N/WER N/DJWI N/GEN N/PET N/UNN M/NND P/APNY R/AF R/EC R/EG R/EU R/GE R/IZ
R/ML R/NME R/US R/WEU MST/B/BRK MST/N/PET MST/R/AFR MST/R/EU MST/R/EG
MST/R/EUR MST/R/DE MST/R/IQ MST/R/MID MST/R/NME MST/R/US

[TRSM]

VOS, Switzerland (AP)--Two key intermediaries in the U.S.-North Korea
nuclear dispute told political and government leaders meeting in the Swiss Alps
that they see prospects for easing the showdown.
The comments Friday night by New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson and U.N. envoy
Maurice Strong to the World Economic Forum came as Secretary of State Colin
Powell was flying to Switzerland to make a speech that will touch on the
situations in Iraq and North Korea.
The separate disputes between Washington and Iraq and North Korea have been
major concerns at the six-day World Economic Forum since it opened Thursday.
"I think soon there will be direct talks between the United States and North
Korea, perhaps at a very technical level," said Richardson, who met with North
Korea's deputy ambassador to the U.N. earlier this month.
The North Korean official contacted Richardson, a former U.S. envoy, as
tensions were escalating over the Asian nation's decisions to restart missile
testing and pull out of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty.
Strong, who left North Korea last weekend, said, "They are prepared to agree
to an inspection and verification that is acceptable to the U.S."
"An interesting issue here is that you have the two sides saying what they
other one wants to hear, but there is no framework" for an agreement, Strong
said.
He said the North Koreans insisted that they were restarting a nuclear power
plant for energy needs and vowed they wouldn't make nuclear weapons with the
plutonium produced.
The reclusive communist government decided to restart the plant after the U.S.
canceled oil shipments because it said North Korea had acknowledged a secret
nuclear weapons program.
The fuel oil was provided under a 1994 agreement in exchange for Pyongyang's
promise to stop building nuclear weapons.
Strong, a Canadian envoy dispatched by Secretary-General Kofi Annan, said
efforts were under way to see whether "parallel declarations" by the U.S. and
North Korea might help ease the standoff.
North and South Korea announced earlier Friday that they would continue their
own negotiations on the issue after the weekend.
Also attending the session addressed by Richardson and Strong was Chung
Dong-young, a special envoy of representing President-elect Roh Moo-hyun, who
takes office next month. Absent were any representatives of North Korea. Forum
officials said they were invited but didn't come.
Chung said Roh's initiative will include aid for infrastructure, energy and
agriculture.
"We will ask other countries to participate in this bold initiative to help
North Korea after the nuclear issue is settled," he told the gathering.
The wide-ranging discussions at the first two days of the annual meeting have
included criticism of the U.S. for its threats to Iraq and its conduct of the
war on terror that opponents say targets Muslims and violates human rights.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires
25-01-03 1018GMT(AP-DJ-01-25-03 1018GMT)

Jan-25-2003 10:18 GMT
Source DJBK Dow Jones Bankers Wire

[TRSM]

DJ Italy Ctrl Bk: 1H World GDP To Rise If War Risks Subside



AGRIGENTO, Sicily (Dow Jones)--The Bank of Italy Saturday said world growth
could be boosted in the first half of this year if risks of a war in Iraq
subside.
"If geopolitical tensions subside, industrial output globally could accelerate
in the first half of this year," Fazio said in a keynote speech at Italy's
annual foreign exchange conference here.
Fazio said concerns over an Iraq war and worries about terrorist attacks are
dampening demand and investment around the world.
United Nations inspectors are expected to present Monday a report on whether
Iraq has violated a U.N. resolution on weapons, a move that could trigger a war.
The Bush administration said Friday it was weighing the option of giving U.N.
weapons inspectors more time to conduct searches in Iraq, moving the U.S. closer
to the Europeans' go-slow approach.
Fazio said a war risks causing energy prices to rise, halting the
globalization process, which has boosted growth in the last decade, as well as
increasing the risk of terrorist attacks.

-By Luca Di Leo, Dow Jones Newswires; +39 335 6171960; luca.dileo@dowjones.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires
25-01-03 1015GMT(AP-DJ-01-25-03 1015GMT)

Jan-25-2003 10:15 GMT
Source DJBK Dow Jones Bankers Wire
Categories:
N/BKG N/CMDI N/DJG7 N/DJI N/DJIV N/DJMO N/ECR N/EWR N/FXW N/WED N/WER
N/DJWI N/EEC N/EMU N/IEN M/NND P/DRT R/EC R/EU R/ITA R/WEU MST/F/FRX
MST/E/GEN MST/R/EU MST/R/EUR MST/R/IT

[TRSM]

DJ WRAP: Pakistan Car Bomb Suspects Formally Charged



KARACHI (AP)--Two men were formally charged Saturday with murder, terrorism
and conspiracy in a suicide car-bombing that killed 11 French engineers in
Pakistan's southern port city of Karachi in May, prosecutors said.
The men - Asif Zaheer and Bashir Ahmed - were charged at a hearing in an
anti-terrorism court, said prosecutor Habib Ahmed. They face the death penalty
if convicted.
Investigating officer Qazi Chand Mohammed told The Associated Press that
police had completed their probe into the May 8 blast, and were confident that
the court will rule in their favor. The trial is set to begin on Feb. 1.
"We have enough evidence to prove they are guilty, and we are sure they will
be convicted," he said.
The French citizens were killed when a suicide car-bomber rammed his vehicle
into a bus they were in outside Karachi's Sheraton Hotel. The Frenchmen were in
Pakistan helping build a submarine for Pakistan's Navy. A suicide bomber and two
Pakistani passers-by were also killed in the blast.
Ahmed was arrested in Karachi earlier this month, while Zaheer was picked up
in December. Police say Ahmed has admitted he was in the car packed with
explosives until shortly before it blew up.
Zaheer has admitted packing explosives into the car. He was arrested when
police foiled another suicide bomb plan, this one involving ramming an
explosives-laden Volkswagen into a car carrying U.S. diplomats in Karachi.
Zaheer was also wanted in connection with the killing of a television producer
in Pakistan's capital, Islamabad, earlier this year.
Police are searching for four other men in the attack on the French engineers.
A team of five French investigators arrived in Karachi earlier this week to
discuss the case with Pakistani officials. They have also been allowed to
question the two suspects, police said.
Ahmed is believed to be a member of Harkat-ul-Mujahedeen al-Almi, a splinter
group of Harkat-ul-Mujahedeen, or Movement of Holy Warriors - an
al-Qaida-affiliated extremist group whose members fought alongside the Taliban
during U.S.-led airstrikes in Afghanistan.
Ahmed admitted to authorities that he was in the Afghan capital Kabul on Sept.
11, 2001, and regretted he had not met bin Laden when the al-Qaida chief was in
the city after the terror attacks.
Ahmed said he left Afghanistan about six weeks after Sept. 11 because "leaders
advised us to leave due to deteriorating situations."

(END) Dow Jones Newswires
25-01-03 1004GMT(AP-DJ-01-25-03 1004GMT)

Jan-25-2003 10:04 GMT
Source DJBK Dow Jones Bankers Wire
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N/BKG N/CMDI N/DJG7 N/DJI N/DJIV N/DJMO N/DOI N/ECR N/EWR N/FXW N/IPR
N/WER N/911 N/DJWI N/GEN M/NND P/APNY R/AFG R/ASI R/EC R/EU R/FE R/FEO R/FR
R/NME R/PK R/US R/WEU MST/B/BRK MST/R/AF MST/R/ASI MST/R/EU MST/R/EUR
MST/R/FR MST/R/NME MST/R/PK MST/R/US

[TRSM]

=DJ DAVOS/Oil Mins -2: OPEC Pres Sees Possible Glut Looming



Also on the panel was Qatar's Oil Minister and OPEC's President Abdullah bin
Hamad al-Attiyah, who said he thinks the group will face the problem of
oversupply at its next scheduled meeting on March 11.
"There is no shortage of oil," Al-Attiyah said. "OPEC will face difficulty
with surplus in the market when it meets."
He said Venezuela's supply was starting to come back on line after being hit
by the general strike there that crippled the industry and reduced output to a
trickle, and that OPEC was also facing a seasonal downturn in demand in the
second quarter.
At its Jan 12 meeting, OPEC agreed to raise its output ceiling by 1.5 million
b/d to 24.5 million b/d in an effort to cool overheating prices driven up by
geopolitical tensions and the lack of Venezuelan output.
On Friday, OPEC Secretary General Alvaro Silva Calderon said he expected
Venezuela to be exporting around 2.0 million b/d by the end of February.
Saudi Arabia's Naimi, meanwhile, was more circumspect about the possibility of
oversupply in the market.
"I never try to predict what will happen next month," Naimi. "We will face it
when we are there, when I see the numbers ... what we should do is wait, meet,
look at the data, and then decide."
-By Erik T. Burns, Dow Jones Newswires; +351 21 319 1863;
erik.burns@dowjones.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires
25-01-03 1002GMT(AP-DJ-01-25-03 1002GMT)

Jan-25-2003 10:02 GMT
Source DJBK Dow Jones Bankers Wire
Categories:
I/AUT N/BKG N/CMDI N/DJI N/DJIV N/DJMO N/ECR N/EWR N/WER N/DJWI N/OPC
N/PET N/RPT M/CYC M/NND R/EC R/EU R/ITA R/SZ R/WEU MST/I/AUT MST/R/OPEC
MST/N/PET MST/R/EU MST/R/EUR MST/R/IT MST/R/CH

[TRSM]

DJ WRAP:2 Men Enter UN Compound In Iraq; Turned Over To Iraq



BAGHDAD (AP)--Two men - one carrying three knives, the other a notebook and
shouting "Save me!" - tried to enter the U.N. inspectors' Baghdad compound in
separate incidents Saturday morning, but were apprehended and turned over to
Iraqi authorities, U.N. officials reported.
It could not be determined whether the two otherwise unexplained events were
related. The incidents came amid U.N.-Iraqi tensions over a crucial inspectors
report to be submitted to the U.N. Security Council on Monday.
In the first incident, about 7:50 a.m. local time (0450 GMT), a man identified
in a preliminary report as an Iraqi government employee tried to enter the U.N.
compound through a gated roadway entrance, but was apprehended by U.N. and Iraqi
security men, Baghdad U.N. spokesman Hiro Ueki said. Journalists saw the man
wrestled to the ground by about a half-dozen U.N. security men.
"He was carrying three knives," Ueki said. "He was handed over to the Iraqi
police. He is being interrogated by police." Ueki said he had no further
details.
In the second incident, occurring outside the same main entrance about 45
minutes later, a man appearing to be in his 20s ran in front of inspectors'
vehicles as they left the site to begin their daily field missions to
unannounced sites, said journalist witnesses.
As he waved his arms franctically, the first two vehicles swerved around him,
but the third stopped, journalists said. "Save me!" he shouted in Arabic and
English, after which he was allowed to enter the vehicle. He was carrying a
copybook, witnesses said.
Appearing shaken and frightened, he sat inside the white U.N.-marked utility
vehicle for 10 minutes. At first, an inspection team leader sought help from
nearby Iraqi soldiers, but the man refused to leave the vehicle, and then U.N.
security men arrived, and they and Iraqi police carried the man into the fenced
compound, the journalists said.
Ueki said the man was quickly turned over to Iraqi authorities at a government
office adjacent to the compound.
Iraqi officials said they had no information about the incidents.
More than 100 inspectors and staff of other U.N. agencies have their offices
at the site, the three-story former Canal Hotel, about six kilometers (four
miles) from the city center.
Such U.N. compounds traditionally provide diplomatic protection to people
seeking asylum.
The incident came two days before chief inspectors are to submit reports to
the U.N. Security Council on whether Iraq is cooperating with their work, begun
in late November.
The inspectors have been particularly eager to find Iraqi scientists,
engineers or other specialists who may have information about any continuing
programs to develop chemical, biological or nuclear weapons, prohibited to Iraq
under U.N. resolutions.
It could not be determined immediately whether the unidentified man with the
notebook was somehow linked to the arms investigation.

Iraqi Appears For Interview After Encouragement

After U.N. officials requested private interviews with three Iraqi scientists
on Friday, one Iraqi appeared at the inspectors' residential hotel in Baghdad on
Saturday morning and was led inside by an inspection team leader for an apparent
interview. It could not be learned immediately whether that interview was
conducted in private, or with an Iraqi official present.
More than an hour later, the man left the hotel without comment to waiting
journalists.
The Iraqis have generally cooperated with the inspectors' field missions, but
chief inspector Hans Blix has complained about difficulties in other areas,
specifically, for example, Iraq's reluctance to allow overflights by
reconnaissance aircraft.
On Saturday morning, the Baghdad newspaper Al-Iraq criticized the U.N. effort.
"After much evidence of Iraq's innocence has become clearer...the heads of the
(inspectors) were put under extensive U.S.-British pressure, which led to an
obvious deviation...in their professional work and the nature of the work
assigned to both orgniztions," it said.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires
25-01-03 0959GMT(AP-DJ-01-25-03 0959GMT)

Jan-25-2003 09:59 GMT
Source DJBK Dow Jones Bankers Wire
Categories:
N/BKG N/CMDI N/DJG7 N/DJI N/DJIV N/DJMO N/DOI N/EWR N/FXW N/IPR N/WER
N/DJWI N/GEN N/PET N/UNN M/NND P/APNY R/IZ R/ML R/NME R/US MST/B/BRK
MST/N/PET MST/R/IQ MST/R/MID MST/R/NME MST/R/US

[TRSM]

Acções americanas recuam com receios de guerra contra Iraque



Sexta, 24 Jan 2003 21:36

As acções americanas fecharam a semana em queda, devido a receios de que os EUA poderão atacar o Iraque em breve mesmo contra a vontade de alguns dos seus principais aliados. O Nasdaq desceu 3,32% e o Dow Jones recuou 2,85%.

O índice industrial [Cot, Not, P.Target] terminou nos 8.131,01 pontos, acumulando uma perda semanal de 5,31%, enquanto o Nasdaq [Cot, Not, P.Target] fixou-se nos 1.342,13 pontos, que a corresponde uma queda de 2,47% nas últimas cinco sessões.

A American International Group afundou 8,03% para os 56,04 dólares (51,08 euros), depois da Morgan Stanley ter afirmado que os resultados da maior seguradora do mundo deverão ser afectados pelas quedas dos mercados accionistas e pelo abrandamento económico mundial.

«Os resultados das empresas têm vindo a sair em linha com o esperado, ou até mesmo superado as estimativas, mas a iminência de uma guerra contra o Iraque é o factor mais determinante» para o desempenho dos mercados», avançou um analista à Bloomberg.

Nas últimas duas semanas, cerca de 271 empresas apresentaram resultados trimestrais, tendo registado, em média, um crescimento de 8,4%. Os analistas estimam uma subida de 12% nos lucros das empresas americanas constituintes do Standard & Poor's no primeiro trimestre.

Se, por um lado, empresas como a Texas Instruments e a Amazon.com apresentaram lucros acima do esperado, outras, como a Eastman Kodak e a Eli Lilly quedaram-se aquém do projectado.

A Nortel Networks, que anunciou ontem uma quebra nos prejuízos do quarto trimestre do ano passado de 86,44% e um crescimento das vendas acima do esperado, valorizou 6,65% para os 3,90 dólares (3,60 euros).

O «American Depositary Receipt» (ADR) da Portugal Telecom (PT) fechou nos 7,40 dólares (6,84 euros), enquanto em Lisboa, os títulos da operadora nacional terminaram nos 7,05 euros. Cada ADR representa uma acção da PT [Cot, Not, P.Target].

O ADR da Electricidade de Portugal (EDP) fechou nos 17,05 dólares (15,05 euros), enquanto em Lisboa, os títulos da eléctrica terminaram nos 1,55 euros. Cada ADR representa 10 acções da EDP [Cot, Not, P.Target].




por Ricardo Domingos

[Pata-Hari]

:-)