Hume Dam Albury
Tags
Albury
Australia
Dam
Lake
Wednesday, December 28, 2011
Sarah
Sarah
Tags
Maternity Shoot
Maternity
Grass
Reindeer
Stuffed Animal
Stuffie
Christmas
Christmas Baby
Mt. Vernon Trail
Portrait
Expression
Water
SarahTagsMaternity ShootMaternityGrassReindeerStuffed AnimalStuffieChristmasChristmas BabyMt, Vernon TrailPortraitExpressionWater
Tuesday, December 27, 2011
Monday, December 26, 2011
Steam Train Water Station, Luque, Spain
Spat Over MF Global
Legal authorities unwinding the brokerage operations of MF Global Holdings Ltd. in the U.S. and U.K. could be heading for a legal clash over $600 million to $700 million in customer money that both sides consider to be their responsibility.
James Giddens, the U.S. trustee unwinding MF Global's domestic brokerage unit, on Friday disputed the stance of KPMG, which is unwinding MF Global's London-based arm, over the legal classification of the money.
"We would hope to resolve it, but this certainly could end up in a U.K. court," a spokesman for Mr. Giddens said on Friday. Mr. Giddens has retained legal counsel in the U.K. in advance of any legal skirmish, according to the spokesman, Kent Jarrell.
The disputed funds don't make up part of the $1.2 billion in customer money that remains unaccounted for, he said. That means if it can't be returned, clients in the U.S. might have lost close to $2 billion in various accounts at MF Global across the world.
Officials for KPMG weren't immediately available for comment.
The dispute highlights the lengthy and messy process of returning billions of dollars in customer funds, which has dragged on for nearly two months after MF Global's Oct. 31 bankruptcy filing. The effort has been complicated by the estimated $1.2 billion shortfall in customer money that has yet to be fully understood by regulators and investigators, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
More on MF Global
MF Global Transfer Scrutinized 12/21/2011
Opinion: Corzine and the Missing Money
Topics: MF Global
Mr. Jarrell said Friday that both Mr. Giddens and KPMG see the $600 million to $700 million in question falling under their respective jurisdictions. The picture is clouded because the U.S. and U.K. maintain different bankruptcy and regulatory regimes.
No funds used to back up transactions on international exchanges have been returned yet, according to Mr. Jarrell, and authorities haven't settled on just how much money is out there.
KPMG aims to carry out its own "interim distribution" of the funds, according to a statement last week from Richard Heis, joint special administrator of MF Global UK for KPMG.
A series of asset transfers has reunited former clients with 72% of the property held in U.S. segregated accounts, which had been used to trade on futures markets like the New York Mercantile Exchange and the Chicago Board of Trade. The trustee has estimated that the total U.S. figure could be at least $5.9 billion.
About 80% of MF Global customer funds linked to non-U.S. trading are likely in the U.K., a hub for trade in metals and contracts linked to short-term European interest rates, according to Mr. Jarrell. Nearly all of the 1.6 million open trading positions of customers have been closed or transferred since KPMG took over as administrator of MF Global's U.K. arm Oct. 31, the firm reported last week, representing more than $1.5 billion in collateral.
—Marietta Cauchi contributed to this article.
Write to Jacob Bunge at jacob.bunge@dowjones.com
MF Global Holdings Ltd., KPMG, MF Global, MF Global, customer funds, MF Global customer
Sunday, December 25, 2011
Saturday, December 24, 2011
Friday, December 23, 2011
Industriacolor
Thursday, December 22, 2011
Mercosur to Block Ports to Falklands Ships
MONTEVIDEO, Uruguay–The countries of a South American customs union agreed to work to block ships flying flags from the disputed, British-held Falkland islands from dropping anchor in their ports.
The Mercosur group includes Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay and Paraguay with Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Peru and Ecuador as associate members.
The presidents of the four full member countries signed a declaration Tuesday vowing "to adopt, in conformity with international law and respective domestic legislation, all the measures it's possible to impose to impede the entry of boats flying the illegal flag of the Malvinas Islands," according to a copy of the agreement released by the Argentine foreign ministry. Argentina refers to the islands as the Malvinas.
Britain has controlled the islands since 1833 and fought a two-month war with Argentina over the territory it claims in 1982, resulting in the deaths of 255 British and 649 Argentine soldiers.
Argentina increased its claims of sovereignty over the Falklands, as well as South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands, following the start of oil and gas exploration last year by London-listed oil-and-gas exploration companies Falkland Oil & Gas Ltd., Rockhopper Exploration PLC, and Desire Petroleum PLC.
In February 2010, Argentina began requiring ships sailing to or from the Falkland, South Georgia and South Sandwich islands to seek permission if they want to travel through Argentine waters.
The couched language of the Mercosur declaration contrasts to a more forceful stance taken by Uruguay on behalf of Argentina, which continues to claim the islands and refuses to acknowledge British control.
Earlier in the meeting Uruguayan President José Mujica said in a statement that he would block Falkland Island-flagged ships from entering Uruguayan ports, although said his country would do nothing to stop ship's flying different colors from sailing to the British-held islands.
However, navy ships from the U.K. bound for the Falkland Islands would not be allowed to port in Uruguay "for reasons of solidarity with Argentina," Mr. Mujica said.
The U.K. Foreign Office said Wednesday it was concerned by the Mercosur decision.
"It is unacceptable to engage in an economic blockade of the Falklands. Mercosur should take the responsible decision and not do this. There can be no justification – legal, moral or political – for efforts to intimidate the people of the Falkland Islands," a British foreign office statement said on Wednesday.
Sparks flew earlier this month when Uruguay turned back a Spanish-owned fishing boat flying a flag from the Falkland Islands.
On Friday, Britain summoned Uruguay's ambassador to voice its complaints over the move, but Mr. Mujica stood firm. "We don't have anything against England, but we've got a lot in favor of our neighbors," he said in a statement.
The U.K. has repeatedly said that its sovereignty over the three groups of islands, whose inhabitants are overwhelmingly of British descent, isn't negotiable.
Write to Shane Romig at shane.romig@dowjones.com
Argentina, Mercosur, Mercosur online, Uruguay, Falkland islands, Malvinas Islands, Falkland, Falkland Islands, South Georgia and South Sandwich islands, Falkland Oil , South American customs union, Rockhopper Exploration PLC
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)