NEWS,04.03.2013

EU looks to hi-tech sector for jobs

Even with unemployment at record highs, there are hundreds of thousands of jobs available in information technology that governments and companies must work together to fill, the European Commission said Monday.Launching a 'Grand Digital Coalition', Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said there would be 900 000 vacancies in Europe's Information and Communication Technologies industry between now and 2015 but the number of fresh ICT graduates and skilled workers is simply not keeping up."The Grand Coalition we launch today is an essential part of getting Europe's economy back on track and finding jobs for some of Europe's 26 million unemployed," Barroso said. Filling these jobs will have an impact across the whole economy, he said, and prepare "Europeans to fill the jobs that will drive the next ICT revolution".Among the larger companies signing up for the programme to provide among other things jobs, training and start-up funding are Spanish telecom's giant Telefonica, Cisco of the United States and Germany's SAP.

Record number of billionaires in 2013

Forbes's 2013 list of the world's richest people includes 1 426 billionaires, a record number, with a total net worth of $5.4 trillion, up from $4.6 trillion in the previous ranking. Following are key facts from the ranking. There are 210 new billionaires from 42 countries, including 27 from the United States. The average net worth of those on full list has risen to $3.8bn from $3.7bn. Sixty people have dropped off the list and eight have died. The Asia-Pacific region saw the biggest number fall off the list with 29, followed by the United States, which lost 16. Most of the billionaires are self-made, 961, while 184 inherited their wealth and 281 inherited part of it and are increasing it. The oldest billionaires, on average, are in the Americas, with an average age of 67, with those in the United States slightly younger at 65. The United States had the most billionaires with 442, followed by Asia-Pacific with 386, Europe with 366, Middle East and Africa with 103 and the Americas, excluding the United States, with 129. The number of women billionaires rose to 138 from 104. The United States has 50 female billionaires, followed by 35 in Europe and 22 in Asia-Pacific. Saudi Arabia's 93-year-old Sulaiman Al Rajhi, the chairperson of the Al Rajhi Bank, who’s estimated net worth is $6bn, is tied for having the most children of those on the list with 23. Roman Avdeev, the owner of the Credit Bank of Moscow, also has 23 children, 19 of whom are adopted. The 45-year-old's fortune is valued at $1.4bn. 

Global 'petrol pain' indicator

The Bloomberg Gas Price Ranking sorts 60 countries by average price at the pump and by "pain at the pump", which is measured by the percentage of average daily income needed to buy a gallon of fuel.

See where different countries of the world stack up.

$9.89....Turkey........................  .#7
$9.63....Norway.....................  .#51
$9.09....Netherlands...............  #40
$8.87....Italy............................#31
$8.82....Portugal.....................#17
$8.62....Greece.......................#21
$8.50....Sweden......................#46
$8.41....Belgium..................... #41
$8.38....France....................... #37
$8.22....Denmark.................. .#48
$8.15....Hong Kong.................#36
$8.12....Finland.......................#44
$8.06....United Kingdom......... #39
$8.05....Ireland........................#43
$7.96....Germany.................... #42
$7.67....Israel.......................... #34
$7.61....Slovakia..................... #18
$7.60....Slovenia..................... #27
$7.44....Malta..........................#24
$7.21....Hungary..................... #13
$7.19....Switzerland................ #52
$7.06....Spain........................ #33
$7.03....Austria.......................#47
$6.97....Czech Republic.........  #23
$6.94....Lithuania....................#14
$6.88....Cyprus.......................#30
$6.83....Latvia.........................#16
$6.81....Luxembourg..............#55
$6.77....South Korea..............#32
$6.73....New Zealand............ #44
$6.70....Estonia......................#22
$6.70....Japan.........................#49
$6.70....Romania.....................#8
$6.67....Poland.......................#15
$6.53....Bulgaria......................#5
$6.31....Australia.....................#54
$6.29....Singapore...................#50
$6.20....Chile...........................#25
$5.40....Brazil..........................#20
$5.19....Argentina....................#19
$5.06....South Africa............... #11
$5.00....India............................#2
$4.87....Philippines..................  #3
$4.76....Canada......................  #53
$4.74....China...........................  #9
$4.72....Colombia.................... #12
$4.42....Thailand.....................  #10
$3.98....Pakistan.......................  #1
$3.68....Indonesia....................  #6
$3.47....Russia.......................  #35
$3.29....United States.............  #56
$3.22....Mexico........................  #29
$2.36....Malaysia.....................  #38
$2.34....Nigeria.........................   #4
$2.15....Iran............................. #28
$1.77....United Arab Emirates..   #57
$1.14....Egypt.......................... #26
$0.81....Kuwait........................ #59
$0.45....Saudi Arabia..............  #58
$0.06....Venezuela..................  #60

Global unrest fuels armoured car demand

In a workshop in a dusty industrial area on the outskirts of Dubai, engineers are stripping down a Toyota Land Cruiser to install armoured plating, bullet resistant glass and run-flat tyres.In the aftermath of the Arab spring revolts and with the wealth gap and social unrest rising in many parts of the world, there is no shortage of rich individuals and governments who suddenly feel they need a little extra protection.For companies such as Canada's INKAS, Britain's Jankel and Germany's Transeco, it has been a lucrative decade. Even with the Iraq and Afghan wars the conflicts on which the industry grew winding down, there are still deals to be done.Newer entrant Ares Security Vehicles  founded in 2010 but largely staffed by industry veterans says it has a strong and growing order book."This batch of vehicles is going to Iraq," says Marc Rouelle, a Belgian engineer now chief executive officer of the Dubai-based firm. " And the one behind is going to Russia. We are awaiting delivery tomorrow of 30 ... destined for Libya."With spending cuts around the world, industry consultancy IHS Jane's says the market for conventional military vehicles is contracting by more than four percent a year. But the demand for armoured sports utility vehicles and limousines - visually indistinguishable from regular civilian vehicles but protected against small arms fire and grenades is on the up.The gold standard, perhaps unsurprisingly, is set by the US president. Barack Obama's Cadillac limousine dubbed "the beast" by the US media and Secret Service is believed to weigh several tonnes and include its own defensive weaponry and air supply in the event of chemical attack.Several major carmakers, including Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Jaguar Land Rover, produce their own armoured versions of key brands.Most of the industry, however, is made up of companies who fit armour to regular new or second hand vehicles. Not only are they often considerably cheaper, but sales of vehicles built outside Western Europe and the United States can be less constrained by complex export regulations.The conversion trade is far from new. Britain's Jankel which also builds armoured riot control vehicles for police and militaries has been fitting armour and rebuilding limousines for heads of state and other clients since the 1980s.But the scale and breadth of demand in recent years, industry watchers say, has been entirely new. Particularly in those countries affected by the "Arab spring" analysts say demand from government, individuals and firms is sharply up."It's a murky market and it's hard to get any exact figures," says Jon Hawkes, senior analyst for military vehicles at IHS Jane's. "But companies are talking about a 30%-40% increase in sales in the last four or five years. The big auto manufacturers are increasingly realising there is money to be made but the main area of growth is probably at the other end of the spectrum."Prices vary, but an armoured Land Cruiser can sell for $150 000 or more, more than three times the cost of a non-armoured vehicle. In the entrance of its Dubai workshop, Ares proudly displays one of its most heavily tested vehicles a Land Cruiser subjected to heavy gunfire on a test range in Germany. Given enough time, the company says it can convert almost any vehicle - but the Toyota Land Cruiser has emerged as far and away the favourite. The Dubai plant now produces two such vehicles a day, CEO Rouelle says, still primarily for shipment to Iraq and Afghanistan but increasingly also to other buyers elsewhere. The Middle East emerged as a major centre of the industry because of its proximity to those two war zones and other markets. At the height of the Iraqi and Afghan wars, more than a dozen companies were operating in the United Arab Emirates alone producing what industry insiders said could be 400 vehicles a month. That demand, industry insiders say, has fallen off somewhat lately. In part, the drawdown of Western troops has meant fewer foreign personnel on the ground. At the same time, workshops have sprung up in both Iraq and Afghanistan capable of doing their own conversions to add armour. Several companies, including Ares, have set up operations elsewhere. Jordan, with its land border with Iraq, is a particular favourite. For Rouelle, however, Dubai, still offers an appealing base. As well as an easily tapped migrant workforce, it charges little tax and is well located for the other growing markets of the Middle East, Africa and Asia. "The UAE is an attractive base for our main operations," he says. "European engineering, tested and certified in Germany, made in Dubai. "Multinational companies, particularly oil firms, are big buyers, finding such vehicles a useful tool to bring down rising insurance premiums. Rich people in emerging economies hope they will offer protection from kidnapping and street violence. But the real money, those in the industry say, still lies with large government contracts. At last week's IDEX arms fair in Abu Dhabi, Ares and several other companies exhibited their wares alongside more conventional defence suppliers. The bullet-riddled Land Cruiser, they say, attracted more than a little attention. "We've had a lot of interest," says John Lashmar, director of marketing and business development at Ares. "Interior ministries, presidential protection details, companies and individuals in the Gulf and beyond. "In the Middle East and North Africa in particular, secret police and government security forces have ramped up their resources. Saudi Arabia, one source said, had bought several dozen armoured land cruiser-type vehicles recently as it worries over potential trouble along its border with Yemen and minority Shi'ite dominated areas in its oil-rich east. Qatar had bought a similar number, suspected to be for delivery to rebels in Syria. Some manufacturers are also expanding into military-style riot control vehicles, another growing market where they believe they can compete with larger, established defence companies. With many nations seeing an uptick in riots and unrest since the financial crisis, such vehicles are in mounting demand. Jankel's armoured police vehicles were credited with helping restore order in London after its 2011 riots.The strangest request he has had so far, Rouelle said, was from somebody looking to armour a Porsche sports car. He declined, preferring to concentrate on the firm's existing strengths.Other firms, however, will offer just that service. One US-firm, Lasco Group, says it will armour a Ferrari for $100 000 plus the original cost of the vehicle. Its armoured aluminium, however, would only be proof against handguns."Sometimes it can be seen as a lifestyle item," says Hawkes at IHS. "These buyers are much less concerned about exactly how bullet-proof a vehicle might be."

 

Economic gloom overshadows EU meeting

Eurozone finance ministers meet on Monday against the backdrop of a weak economy and increased political uncertainty after inconclusive polls in Italy, the group's third largest economy.If there has been some relief as the debt crisis eased in recent months, the political impasse in Italy "will colour the perception of what ministers will be discussing," an EU official told a briefing.Data Friday showed eurozone unemployment at record highs and consumer demand in the doldrums, meaning the 17 euro nations will be anxious to know what damage has been done to the efforts to cut debt and stabilise public finances.There will be "a lively debate" on the economic outlook as the budget deficit numbers come in, the official said, with most attention focused on France and whether it will get another year from the EU to put its fiscal books in order."The issue will be in the back of many peoples' mind," the official said, stressing that the meeting was unlikely to make any immediate decision on this issue or the rest of the agenda. A mooted bailout for Cyprus would be left to allow its newly-elected president and ministers see what the position is on the key sticking points - debt sustainability, privatisation and anti-money laundering measures. Athens meanwhile has officials from the EU, International Monetary Fund and European Central Bank officials the 'Troika' reviewing its bailout programme while Ireland and Portugal want adjustments to their rescue loan packages.Ministers will also look at how the restructuring of Spain's struggling banks is progressing and discuss the criteria to apply from next year when member states can call on the new eurozone back-stop, the European Stability Mechanism, to directly inject money into failing lenders.They may also want to discuss last week's controversial accord in principle on new bank capital requirements and capping banker bonuses but they will have to wait until Tuesday when their 10 non-euro colleagues join them for a full EU meeting.Tuesday's gathering of all 27 European Union finance ministers promises to be livelier than usual given the hostile reaction in London to the plan to cap bank bonuses, an additional issue to pit an increasingly eurosceptic Britain against the rest.Another EU official recognised how important the City of London financial centre is to Britain but with the other 26 member states in favour of the accord, cautioned "we do not know what the British government is ready to accept."

Obama 'not bluffing' against Iran

US Vice President Joe Biden says President Barack Obama isn't bluffing when he says he'll use military action if ultimately necessary to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon. Biden told a powerful pro-Israel lobby's annual conference on Monday that protecting Israel is in the United States' interest. Biden says the US still prefers a diplomatic option on Iran but that the window for that is closing.Biden is cautioning against acting too hastily. He says every other option must be exhausted to ensure the world community will be supportive if there's a need for a military intervention.Biden says efforts to delegitimise Israel as a Jewish state are the most dangerous change he's seen as it related to Israel's security. He says Israel's legitimacy is non-negotiable for the US