Schwarzman Said to Avert Financial Disclosure in S
By Devin Banerjee and Cristina Alesci
Jan. 20 (Bloomberg) — Stephen Schwarzman, the chief executive of Blackstone Group LP who said four months ago he pays an effective personal income tax rate of 53 percent, is taking steps to avoid releasing his personal financial information Replica Tag heuer watches, according to a person familiar with the plans.
Blackstone, the world’s biggest private-equity firm, is reducing its voting rights in BankUnited Inc. by converting some shares so that Schwarzman doesn’t have to disclose his financial information to the U.S. Federal Reserve, said the person, who asked not to be named because the information is private.
Compensation of private-equity managers and their taxation has come under scrutiny by U.S. lawmakers, who are considering proposals to eliminate tax breaks that benefit some of the richest Americans. Mitt Romney, the Republican presidential candidate and former Bain Capital LLC CEO endorsed by Schwarzman, said this month his effective tax rate is close to 15 percent, less than half the top rate on ordinary income.
The rate for private-equity executives can be lower because a large part of their income is so-called carried interest, or the share of profits they receive as compensation from the funds they run. Private-equity funds buy companies, financing the purchase by borrowing against the acquired assets with the goal of selling the company later at a profit.
Forbes Billionaire
Schwarzman, 64, had a net worth of $4.7 billion as of September 2011, according to an estimate by Forbes Magazine. He told CNBC in September that he was taxed at 36 percent by the U.S. and 17 percent by state and local governments in 2010, and he endorsed a flat tax as part of comprehensive reform of the U.S. tax code. Schwarzman earned $398.3 million in 2006, the year before his firm went public, raising $4.75 billion.
Blackstone Cartier replica watches, which owns 14.1 percent of BankUnited, Florida’s second-biggest bank, will convert part of its stake to nonvoting preferred stock, said the person.
Christine Anderson, a spokeswoman for Blackstone, declined to comment.
BankUnited was among U.S. lenders that failed during the U.S. housing market’s collapse, prompting regulators to seize its operations and sell most of them in 2009 to a group of private-equity investors.
‘Olive Branch’
Blackstone, Carlyle Group LP, WL Ross & Co. and Centerbridge Capital Partners LLC still hold stakes in the bank totaling more than 50 percent, according to regulatory filings compiled by Bloomberg. The investors raised about $900 million in an initial public offering last January, triple what the bank had registered to sell.
The bank this week ended a sale process after receiving takeover offers that fell short of the board’s expectations, according to people with knowledge of the situation. The Miami Lakes-based company said it will instead focus on building its business in Florida.
The Fed requires personal information from bank owners who hold substantial stakes in order to evaluate the financial safety of the institutions. Blackstone’s plan to change the structure of its investment in BankUnited was reported earlier today by the Wall Street Journal.
In September, Schwarzman extended what he called an olive branch to President Barack Obama, writing in a Financial Times op-ed that he’s willing to “share the pain” of spending cuts and tax reform.
“If we are to reform taxes and cut spending sufficiently to make a difference, virtually everyone will be affected,” Schwarzman wrote. “Broad-based tax reform will put everything on the table, from the rates we pay at every bracket to serious thinking about a flat tax regime with few or no deductions.”
–Editors: Christian Baumgaertel, Steven Crabill
To contact the reporters on this story: Devin Banerjee in New York at dbanerjee2@blooomberg.net; Cristina Alesci in New York at calesci2@bloomberg.net.
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Christian Baumgaertel at cbaumgaertel@bloomberg.net
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Ruble Gains Most in Two Weeks on Higher Oil, U.S.
By Denis Maternovsky
Aug. 29 (Bloomberg) — The ruble strengthened the most against the dollar in two weeks as oil, Russia’s chief export revenue earner, climbed for a third day and a report showed U.S. consumer spending increased more than forecast.
Russia’s currency appreciated 0.6 percent, its biggest daily gain since Aug. 15 Cartier replica watches, to 28.7690 per dollar by the 7 p.m. close of trading in Moscow. The currency weakened 0.6 percent to 41.8200 per euro.
Crude for October delivery gained 2.2 percent to $87.26 a barrel in New York. Personal spending in the world’s largest economy rose 0.8 percent in July, compared with a 0.5 percent increase predicted in a Bloomberg survey, as autos sold at the fastest pace in three months, the Commerce Department said.
Investors pared bets that the ruble will decline, with non- deliverable forwards showing the currency at 29.0990 per dollar in three months compared with 29.4600 on Aug. 26. The contracts provide a guide to expectations of currency movements and interest-rate differentials and allow companies to hedge against currency swings.
The movements against the dollar and the euro left the ruble little changed at 34.6419 against the central bank’s target currency basket Tag heuer replica watches, which is used to manage swings that hurt Russian exporters. The basket is calculated by multiplying the dollar’s rate to the ruble by 0.55, the euro to ruble rate by 0.45, then adding them together.
–Editors: Stephen Kirkland,
To contact the reporter on this story: Denis Maternovsky in Moscow at dmaternovsky@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Gavin Serkin at gserkin@bloomberg.net
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Video shows Mosley wanted to quit vs Pacquiao
MANILA, Philippines – The boxing match between pound-for-pound king Manny "Pacman" Pacquiao and "Sugar" Shane Mosley last May 7 (May 8 in Manila) has been criticized for being boring – and with good reason.
Pacquiao sent Mosley reeling to the canvas in the third round, and Mosley was never the same after that. He spent the rest of the bout locked in defense mode, unwilling to engage for fear of being knocked down again.
But new details about the match – and what happened between the rounds – are coming to light with Showtime’s release of the epilogue of Fight Camp 360°: Pacquiao vs. Mosley.
An article from Examiner.com features a 30-second teaser of the episode Cartier replica watches, and it contains a shocker:
Shane Mosley, in between the rounds of his bout with Pacquiao, wanted to quit.
The video shows Mosley sitting on a stool, pleading with his trainer, Naazim Richardson.
“Come on Rolex replica watches, you’ve got to stop the fight,” Mosley can be heard telling his trainer.
But Richardson refuses, instead telling his fighter to settle down.
“You’re cut from a different cloth, baby,” Richardson says, trying to encourage his badly overmatched fighter.
Mosley, however, tells his trainer that he can no longer move.
Despite his fighter’s request, Richardson refused to let Mosley quit. He tells the former world champion to “Dig down and fight.”
Mosley lost the fight via a unanimous decision.
More details about the fight will come on June 4 when Showtime releases the full episode.
Meanwhile, Pacquiao’s agent Michael Koncz told Examiner.com that Team Pacquiao was not aware of Mosley’s attempt to quit.
“I was not aware of it and neither was Manny,” said Koncz. He adds that Richardson should have complied with Mosley’s wishes.
“Why wouldn’t the trainer do what the fighter asks him to do?” he said. “I wonder why Richardson did not follow the instructions from his fighter.”
He added that if it was Pacquiao who wanted to have a fight stopped, his wishes would have been followed.
“This is a decision that the great fighters get to make. In this kind of case, I’d have to say that the fighter knows best,” said Koncz.
Fitch affirms PNB, Allied Bank ratings
SINGAPORE – Credit watcher Fitch Ratings has affirmed the individual ratings of Philippine National Bank (PNB) at ‘D/E’ and Allied Banking Corporation (Allied Bank) at ‘D.’
A rating of ‘D’ means a bank has weaknesses of internal and/or external origin, and there are concerns regarding its profitability and balance sheet integrity, franchise, management, operating environment or prospects.
On the other hand, an ‘E’ rating means a bank has serious problems, which either requires or is likely to require external support.
Fitch said PNB’s rating reflects its reasonably strong franchise owing to a longstanding history, but also its low profitability and weak balance sheet.
"While the bank’s reported non-performing assets have steadily declined over the years, they still remained substantial at 11.5% of total assets at end-2009 Cartier replica watches, well above the industry average of 3% to 4%. These bad assets could be a threat to PNB’s solvency position in the event of a difficult environment," Fitch said in a report on Thursday.
Fitch said Allied Bank’s rating reflects its comparatively healthier balance sheet with a strong capital buffer that mitigates the risks of its concentrated loan book and weak underlying profitability.
While Allied Bank has a better risk profile than PNB, the expected share-swap merger of the two banks has a negative financial impact on Allied Bank’s profile, but it will be positive for PNB’s credit profile.
Fitch said the financial position of both entities on a combined basis has improved since early-2008 when the merger was formally announced, and likely to improve further on the back of an improving economic environment in the Philippines.
PNB and Allied Bank are both controlled by the Lucio Tan Group. The plan to merge both banks is still pending regulatory approval Tag heuer replica watches, after which Tan’s group will still hold a controlling stake in the enlarged entity.
Woody Allen praises Carla Bruni’s acting
ROME – US film director Woody Allen praised French first lady Carla Bruni-Sarkozy’s acting after working with her on a movie he is shooting in Paris.
"She was very professional Tag heuer replica watches, she interpreted the role… so well that each and every frame shot will appear in the movie, nothing will be cut," Allen told Italian daily Il Corriere della Sera in an interview posted on its website Saturday.
Bruni-Sarkozy plays a tour guide at the Rodin Museum in "Midnight in Paris", a romantic comedy starring French actress Marion Cotillard and US actor Owen Wilson that is set to be released in 2011.
Allen, who is still shooting the movie in Paris, said Bruni-Sarkozy’s husband, French President Nicolas Sarkozy, showed up on the set to see and hear his wife act.
"Like all other non-staff he had to settle for staying at the side of the set Cartier replica watches," Allen said.
"We gave him a headset to hear the lines Carla was saying… he was very satisfied," Allen added.
Stricter security around Sagada’s sacred burial gr
By XENIA RIBAYA
ABS-CBN Baguio
The local government in Mountain Province will issue an ordinance for stricter security around the burial caves of Sagada to prevent more stealing of ancient remains.
Mountain Province Governor Maximo Dalog said Thursday that stricter security measures should be observed by tour guides of the burial caves.
“Sagada is now having an ordinance to formalize such disciplinary directives. Sagada’s burial caves are one of Cordillera’s timeless and priceless treasures Cartier replica watches,” Dalog said.
The Sagada Tourist Environment Association (STEA) earlier urged the local government to implement stricter monitoring of tourists in Sagada’s burial caves.
STEA president Edward Dalay said the group has become more vigilant because some tourists tend to become irresponsible leading to the desecration of Sagada’s enticing culture.
Dalog said that under the ordinance, tourists will no longer be allowed to get near and touch the coffins of Mt. Province’s ancestors.
The Cordillera Peoples Alliance (CPA) supports Dalog’s initiative.
Santos Mero, CPA deputy secretary-general, said more watchmen are needed to prevent the loss and destruction of the sacred remains.
In the 1980’s Omega replica watches, around 80 mummies from the burial caves of Buguias, Benguet were declared missing. Among the missing were the most revered remains of Apo Ammo, a 500-year-old mummy.
Apo Ammo is being hailed in Benguet as a son of a goddess.
The remains of Apo Ammo were eventually found in 1984. It was kept in a museum in Manila, and brought back to Benguet.
MBC credits PNoy for laying foundations in 1st yea
…but expects to see results in year two
MANILA, Philippines – Like other business groups, the Makati Business Club (MBC) expects President Aquino to deliver results in the second year of his term after "laying the foundations" of good governance and fiscal consolidation in the first.
Aquino has been getting mixed feedback on his first-year performance, with some saying he was slow in addressing the country’s concerns on inflation and high oil prices as well as economic growth because of delays in public spending.
The MBC said the President should be credited for a number of "undeniable gains" that have laid the framework for sustained and inclusive growth in the future.
It cited mainly a Cabinet team that is sincere in fighting corruption; the passage of the GOCC Governance Act of 2011, which aims to curb the excesses in state firms; and the fiscal reforms implemented to trim the country’s budget deficit.
"These are all important and undeniable gains that should not be disregarded or belittled Breitling replica watches, and the Makati Business Club believes the Aquino administration deserves credit for these," the MBC said.
"We see that the fiscal reforms and implementation of policies that promote macroeconomic stability have inspired the confidence of the international investment community," MBC added Cartier replica watches, referring to high investor demand for the country’s global peso bonds and bond swaps, and the recent upgrade of the Philippines’ credit rating.
However, the group said it expects the President to take it to the next level "of effective implementation" in the coming year.
It cited three vital areas that need immediate action by the government: the rollout of the Public-Private Partnership program, the resolution of the NAIA Terminal 3 dispute, and the passage of the Freedom of Information Bill.
"These are just some of the critical yardsticks by which the Aquino governemnt’s performance will be measured in year two and onwards.Ultimately, it is what comes to pass in the future that will determine the true worth of the underpinnings of reforms laid in the first year of the Aquino administration," the MBC said.
Maria Sharapova effect sells out Auckland tourname
AUCKLAND – Maria Sharapova underlined her pulling power on Monday with Auckland Classic organizers confirming they had sold out all of the day sessions for the entire tournament just minutes before she stepped on court for her first round match.
A limited number of tickets for the three night sessions were left available, though all of Sharapova’s matches will be played during the day and organizers said it was the first time the tournament, with a total prize pool of just $220,000, had been effectively sold out by the first day.
Sharapova, making her first appearance in New Zealand, received an enormous cheer from the 3,200 fans packed around the revamped center court, before the former world number one overcame a nervous start to beat Alberta Brianti 6-2 6-3.
The 23-year-old Russian, who will now meet Renata Voracova of the Czech Republic in the second round, said she had been pleased at the Auckland public’s reaction to the tournament.
"I was surprised yesterday when I came to practice even all the people with the qualifying matches," she told reporters after her victory over the Italian.
"From a player’s perspective that’s really exciting … it’s my first time here and I didn’t know what to expect, but it has been really great."
While Sharapova’s presence has undoubtedly helped drive the ticket sales Tag heuer replica watches, the draw also includes two-time grand slam title winner Svetlana Kuznetsova who also made it into the second round after a 6-4 6-2 victory over local wildcard Sacha Jones.
The 25-year-old Russian Cartier replica watches, who had what she described as a year to forget in 2010 and finished outside the top-20 for the first time since 2004 and will meet China’s Peng Shuai in the next round, also praised the crowd for their support.
"I have played many courts and crowds, but I tell you this is a lot of people for the tournament, even for the qualifiers, there were lots of people," Kuznetsova said.
"I was surprised at how many people came here, but the people obviously love tennis and love to watch. It’s a pleasure for all of the players to come and play in front of the crowd."
Video of girl throwing puppies into river sparks o
WASHINGTON – A video of a girl tossing half-a-dozen puppies into a river has sparked outrage online with chat forums and Facebook pages calling for her to be tracked down and punished. Cartier replica watches
The 44-second video, which was originally posted on YouTube, shows a blonde girl in a red sweatshirt casually taking the squealing black-and-white puppies out of a white bucket and tossing them into the fast-moving river one by one.
The video was removed from YouTube but has been embedded on a number of other sites.
Several Facebook pages have been created dedicated to exposing the girl, who appears to be a teenager, including one called "Find the Girl Who Threw Puppies in River" that has attracted more than 1 Omega replica watches,200 friends.
"Find this girl and send her to prison for animal cruelty," Facebook user Jacqueline Wills wrote on the page.
"Throw her in the river!!!" wrote Dave Sherrid.
Many of the messages on Internet message forum 4chan threatened extreme violence against the girl, who was identified by some users as being from Bosnia.
The puppies video surfaced just days after an uproar in Britain over a video which showed a 45-year-old woman dumping a cat in a trash can.
The woman became the subject of an Internet hate campaign after her actions were caught on camera and the footage posted online.
The cat was discovered and rescued 15 hours later.
Rose leads Bulls to rout of Hawks, Chicago up 2-1
ATLANTA – Chicago’s Derrick Rose was in MVP mode on Friday scoring a career-high 44 points to lead the Bulls to a 99-82 win over the Atlanta Hawks in Game Three of their NBA playoff series at the Philips Arena.
The Bulls led from start to finish and had the better of the Hawks in virtually every department to take a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven Eastern Conference semi-final series.
Chicago got off to a quick start and nursed a six-point advantage through the first quarter and their bench pushed the lead to 13 before the starters returned.
The Hawks mustered one last push in the fourth quarter trimming the lead to 11 points Cartier replica watches, but Rose responded with eight consecutive points including three-pointers.
Kyle Korver followed up with a three-pointer of his own to push the lead to a game-high 22 points with just under five minutes left allowing the Bulls to coast to victory.
For more NBA action Tag heuer replica watches, watch the games on Studio 23 free TV. The games will also be shown on cable channel Basketball TV (BTV).