Officials: New mass graves found in Ivory Coast

ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast (AP) — Up to 10 new mass graves have been discovered near the site of a July attack on a camp for displaced people, officials said Tuesday, amid allegations that initial casualty totals were downplayed to mask killings carried out by the national army.

Rights groups claim summary executions were carried out by the Republican Forces of Ivory Coast, known by its French acronym of FRCI. Last month, officials found six bodies in a well close to the former campsite in the western town of Duekoue.

Government, army and U.N. officials toured 10 more graves in the same area on Saturday, said Paul Mondouho, vice-mayor of Duekoue. He said the graves had first been identified by civilians, and that officials did not know the number of bodies they contained because they had not yet been properly exhumed.

“People were suspecting the presence of bodies in these graves because of the smell coming out of them and because of the shoes we saw nearby,” Mondouho said.

Prosecutor Noel Dje Enrike Yahau, who is based in the commercial capital of Abidjan, confirmed that multiple new graves had been discovered but could not provide details. U.N. officials and the local prosecutor in charge of investigating the suspected killings could not be reached Tuesday.

U.N. spokeswoman Sylvie van den Wildenberg confirmed that U.N. forces helped Ivorian authorities secure a perimeter around 10 wells “similar to the one in which six bodies were found,” and that “some of those wells are suspected mass graves.”

She stressed that Ivorian authorities were leading the investigation but that the U.N. was able to provide assistance.

Army spokesmen could not be reached Tuesday. The Justice Ministry has previously vowed to investigate the discovery of the initial grave.

On the morning of July 20, a mob descended on the U.N.-guarded Nahibly camp, which housed 4,500 people displaced by violence in Ivory Coast, burning most of the camp to the ground. Officials said at the time that six people were killed.

The attack was prompted by the shooting deaths of four men and one woman on the night of July 19, according to local officials and residents. In response a mob of some 300 people overran the camp on the morning of July 20 after the perpetrators of the shootings reportedly fled there.

The victims in the July 19 attack lived in a district dominated by the Malinke ethnic group, which largely supported President Alassane Ouattara in the disputed November 2010 election. The camp primarily housed members of the Guere ethnic group, which largely supported former President Laurent Gbagbo.

Gbagbo’s refusal to cede office despite losing the election to Ouattara sparked months of violence that claimed at least 3,000 lives.

Albert Koenders, the top U.N. envoy to Ivory Coast, said one week after the attack that U.N. security forces had been inside and outside the camp at the time but that no Ivorian security forces were present. He said the U.N. forces decided not to fire at a large group of people that were attacking the camp in order to avoid “a massacre.”

Several witnesses have said soldiers and traditional hunters, known as dozos, participated in the attack on the camp. Both military and dozo leaders have denied the claims, saying they had tried to protect the camp.

In a statement released Friday, the International Federation for Human Rights, known by its French acronym of FIDH, said it had information — including the preliminary results of autopsies — confirming that the six bodies found in October were men who had been summarily executed by the army.

“The disappearance of dozens of displaced persons after the attack, as well as confirmation of cases of summary and extra-judicial executions, suggest a much higher victim rate than the official figures report,” said the organization, which counts Ivorian civil society groups among its members.

Duekoue was one of the hardest-hit towns during the post-election violence. The U.N. has established that at least 505 people were killed in and around the town, including during a notorious March 2011 massacre that claimed hundreds of lives and was allegedly carried out by fighters loyal to Ouattara.

Duekoue residents belonging to ethnic groups that supported Gbagbo have long complained about abuses carried out by the FRCI, with some pointing to the direct involvement of the local commander, Kone Daouda. FIDH said in its statement that Daouda had been transferred following the discovery of the grave in October, and called for him to be interrogated over the matter.

The group also said two FRCI members were being “actively sought” after failing to return to their barracks on Oct. 16, noting that they are believed to have fled to neighboring Burkina Faso.

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Family defends Malaysian held over Facebook insult

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — The family of a Malaysian man detained for allegedly insulting a state sultan on Facebook called for his release Monday, saying the government is violating his free-speech rights.

Police arrested 27-year-old Ahmad Abdul Jalil in Kuala Lumpur and took him to southern Johor state late Friday. He was freed briefly Monday after a magistrate court in Johor refused to extend his remand order but police immediately arrested him again, said his sister Anisa Abdul Jalil.

Anisa said the family was told he was being investigated for seditious remarks against the Johor sultan.

She said the family did not know what the offensive postings were. Local media have reported that the Facebook postings at issue question Sultan Ibrahim Iskandar‘s abilities as leader of a special forces group.

Anisa said police told family lawyers they are pursuing the case under the Communications and Multimedia Act for improper use of the Internet.

“This is too much. He has a right to free speech and he should be freed immediately. There should be no charges against him,” Anisa told The Associated Press.

Fadiah Nadwa Fitri, a lawyer for the family, said the court has ruled that Ahmad’s detention was unjustifiable and that his rearrest was a “blatant abuse of power” by police in defiance of the court order.

District police chief Ruslan Hassan said the case is “highly sensitive” and should be referred to the state police headquarters. The state police chief didn’t answer his phone.

Nine Malaysian states have sultans and other royal figures. Though their roles are largely ceremonial, they command wide respect after centuries of hereditary rule.

Under Malaysian law, acts that provoke hatred against royal rulers are considered seditious. Only a few people have been charged with the crime in recent years.

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Brad Pitt turns designer for high-end furniture collection

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Actor Brad Pitt has turned his talents to creating furniture for a luxury design house with a high-end collection inspired by both Art Nouveau and Art Deco, according to Architectural Digest.

Pitt, who collaborated on the collection with U.S. furniture designer Frank Pollaro, discussed his inspirations for the capsule collection in the December issue of the magazine.

“I’m drawn to furniture design as complete architecture on a minor scale,” Pitt said. “I am obsessively bent on quality, to an unhealthy degree.”

Pitt said it was his obsession that introduced him to Pollaro, whom he said embodies the “same mad spirit of the craftsmen of yore, with their obsessive attention to detail.”

The dozen-piece collection, which will be unveiled by the Pollaro furniture house in New York between November 13 and 15, will include tables, chairs, an elaborate bed and a bathtub made of marble.

The 48-year-old “Fight Club” actor said he was influenced by Scottish architect Charles Rennie Mackintosh’s Glasgow Rose, drawn with a continuous line. He designed his collection with the fluidity of a single line, be it geometric or circular.

“There is something more grand at play, as if you could tell the story of one’s life with a single line — from birth to death, with all the bloody triumphs and perceived humiliating losses, even boredoms, along the way,” the actor said.

Pitt has previously worked with well-known architects for his Make It Right foundation to create affordable quality housing for the victims of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans. He also designed a diamond ring for his partner, Angelina Jolie, when the couple got engaged earlier this year.

The actor also became the latest and first male face of Chanel’s iconic women’s fragrance Chanel No.5 last month, mystifying critics and fashionistas with an enigmatic video commercial.

(Reporting By Piya Sinha-Roy; editing by Patricia Reaney, Bernard Orr)

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Factbox: Mitt Romney, Republican U.S. presidential candidate

(Reuters) – U.S. Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, the former governor of Massachusetts and private equity executive, is pursuing the White House for the second time in Tuesday’s election.

Here are key facts about him.

* Romney, 65, espouses traditional Republican positions to cut taxes, reduce federal regulations, shrink government spending and bolster the U.S. military. He vows to create 12 million new jobs in his first term with a plan focused on domestic energy development, expanded free trade, improving education, reducing the deficit and championing small business.

* He lost the 2008 Republican presidential nomination to Senator John McCain but entered this year’s race with a large campaign war chest and the blessing of many in the party establishment. Conservative unease over his reputation as a moderate led to a stiff challenge in the Republican primaries.

* His net worth has been estimated at between $ 190 million and $ 250 million, making him one of the wealthiest people to ever run for the presidency. Romney has been criticized for holding money overseas and for not disclosing as many tax releases as his opponents have demanded.

* Romney proposes to lower individual income taxes across the board to 20 percent while closing some loopholes, which he says would stimulate economic growth without widening the federal deficit. He supports restructuring the Social Security retirement program and the Medicare government health insurance program for the elderly and disabled.

* He is a fifth-generation member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, or Mormon church. He was a Mormon missionary in France for more than two years after leaving high school and later became bishop and stake president in Boston, roles akin to being a lay pastor. His faith, however, is viewed with suspicion by some conservative evangelical Christians.

* Born into a well-off family and raised near Detroit, Romney was exposed to politics early. His father, George, was chairman of American Motors Corporation and governor of Michigan from 1963 to 1969. George Romney lost a bid for the Republican presidential nomination in 1968 and served in President Richard Nixon’s Cabinet.

* In 1994, the younger Romney ran for a U.S. Senate seat in Massachusetts as a moderate Republican, but was handily defeated by incumbent Democratic Senator Edward Kennedy. Eight years later, Romney was elected governor of Massachusetts, where he instituted a statewide healthcare reform that became a model for Obama’s 2010 national healthcare overhaul.

* In 1999, Romney took over as head of the committee organizing the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, Utah, which had been plagued by cost overruns and scandal, and produced a successful event that helped establish his national reputation as a premier problem-solver.

* As his party moved to the right, Romney changed his positions on sensitive social issues, including abortion and gay rights. That fueled criticism that he lacked core beliefs and was motivated only by ambition. Romney referred to himself as “severely conservative” during the 2012 Republican primaries but has projected a more moderate image during the general election campaign.

* Romney met his wife, Ann, at a high school dance and they married in 1969, while they were still in college. They have five sons and 18 grandchildren. Romney has an English degree from Utah’s Brigham Young University, which is owned and run by the Mormon church, and a joint law degree and MBA from Harvard University. He speaks French.

* Romney joined the management consultancy Bain & Company in 1977 and climbed the ranks. In 1984, he co-founded the highly profitable private equity arm Bain Capital, which invested in start-ups and fledgling companies including Staples, Sports Authority and Domino’s Pizza. Critics have highlighted the number of jobs Bain cut while Romney was at its helm.

* Romney has battled a reputation for being uncomfortable and stiff when campaigning and somewhat aloof when relating to ordinary Americans. The New York Times once described his campaign persona as “All-Business Man, the world’s most boring superhero.”

* He has little foreign policy experience. He stumbled in August during a gaffe-filled trip to Britain, Israel and Poland that was meant to burnish his credentials on the world stage. He has labeled Russia as America’s “number one geopolitical foe” and said that preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear capability should be Washington’s highest national security priority.

(Compiled by Americas Desk; Editing by Will Dunham)

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The Greeks Are on the Brink Once More

Not too long ago, the only people who would watch votes in the Greek Parliament were those paid to do so as part of their jobs. Over the last couple of years, though, ballots in the historic and often raucous Parliament House have become required viewing for audiences around the world. It seems that every few months Greece’s future hangs on the voting intentions of a handful of deputies that hardly anyone outside their constituencies knows. This week, the world is in for another tension-filled episode of this particular Greek drama.

Greece’s 300 MPs are being called upon to approve the structural reforms and fresh spending cuts demanded by the country’s lenders. If the bills pass, the euro zone and the International Monetary Fund will allow the disbursement of Greece’s next bailout installment of 31.5 billion euros ($ 40 billion). However, some coalition MPs have already said they will not approve the measures. If the three-party government fails to get the majority it needs, it will likely collapse and Greece’s relationship with the euro will enter a new realm of uncertainty.

In two divisive elections this summer, Greece’s traditionally dominant political forces, center-right New Democracy and center-left Pasok, just about fended off the rising anti-austerity leftist party Syriza and clung to power. They had to call on the support of the pro-European Democratic Left, though. This means the stakes are higher for the upcoming parliamentary votes than they have ever been before.

“The outcome of national elections led to a fragile coalition government, which for the first time in recent history had a main mandate to keep Greece in the euro zone, an issue that was never in question in the past,” says Manos Giakoumis, research director at Euroxx Securities, a financial-services firm in Athens. “International lenders as well as the leaders of New Democracy and Pasok view the upcoming votes in Parliament as an answer to this indirect question of whether Greece should remain part of the euro zone or not, something like a referendum.”

The government has heightened the intensity of these votes by piling all the structural reforms and austerity measures—worth 13.5 billion euros, or 4.5 percent of GDP—into one draft law. The legislation, which runs to more than 500 pages, was submitted to Parliament on Monday evening, giving MPs about 48 hours to read it before the ballot on Wednesday night. This vote will be followed by one on the 2013 budget at midnight on Sunday.

Prime Minister Antonis Samaras, the leader of New Democracy, is looking for a positive outcome in time for a meeting of euro zone finance ministers on Monday, Nov. 12, when the release of the Greek bailout should be rubber-stamped. But unrest within the coalition could scupper the premier’s plans.

Some deputies are unhappy about certain reforms demanded by the so-called troika of the European Commission, European Central Bank, and IMF, while others are loath to approve a new round of austerity knowing that it will guarantee a deepening of Greece’s five-year recession. The budget foresees a contraction of 4.5 percent of GDP next year and unemployment leveling out at almost 23 percent. Some analysts regard these predictions as optimistic and forecast the recession to be far deeper and the jobless rate, already at 25 percent, to rise further.

Democratic Left leader Fotis Kouvelis has indicated his party will not back the structural reforms because he opposes further changes to labor legislation, which has already been deregulated substantially over the past two years. One of the party’s 17 lawmakers has already quit and there are several others who have suggested they might leave if Kouvelis gives in to pressure to change his stance. On Monday, a potential compromise emerged by which Democratic Left MPs would vote “present” on Wednesday but in favor of the budget on Sunday. This would prevent Kouvelis and his deputies having to leave the coalition and thereby weakening its legitimacy.

Pasok, which had 33 seats in Parliament, also lost an MP last week after the departing deputy told party chief Evangelos Venizelos that he would vote against the bill. Since then, two more of the party’s lawmakers have said they will not support the measures. Ex-minister Andreas Loverdos said he feels he is being blackmailed into supporting the package.

Samaras met with his 127 MPs on Sunday and urged them to back the measures, arguing that this would secure Greece’s place in the euro zone. As of Monday night, the maximum votes the coalition could secure were 173 out of 300. A decision by the Democratic Left not to back the reforms would leave the government with 157 votes, still a majority but one slim enough to be threatened by desertions from Pasok or New Democracy.

To add to the tension, Alexis Tsipras, the leader of leftist Syriza, which has placed first in all of the opinion polls carried out since last month, issued on Sunday a call for new elections and more popular resistance to the government’s plans. Labor unions begin a 48-hour strike on Tuesday.

However, Giakoumis, the financial analyst, argues that receiving the next loan tranche, of which 23 billion euros will go directly toward recapitalizing Greek banks, is “probably the last chance for a rebound of the Greek economy.”

“Although recapitalization will not lead to a direct liquidity boost in the economy, it will help restore some of the lost confidence in the markets,” he says. “But potentially the clearest message would be to eliminate Greek euro exit scenarios. The approval of the disbursement should be the first step of a wider process, which would involve clear commitment by international lenders and restoring growth and confidence domestically.”

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Methane warnings ignored before NZ mine disaster

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — A New Zealand coal mining company ignored 21 warnings that methane gas had accumulated to explosive levels before an underground explosion killed 29 workers two years ago, an investigation concluded.

The official report released Monday after 11 weeks of hearings on the disaster found broad safety problems in New Zealand workplaces and said the Pike River Coal company was exposing miners to unacceptable risks as it strove to meet financial targets.

“The company completely and utterly failed to protect its workers,” New Zealand Prime Minister John Key said Monday.

The country’s labor minister, Kate Wilkinson, resigned from her labor portfolio after the report’s release, saying she felt it was the honorable thing to do after the tragedy occurred on her watch. She plans to retain her remaining government responsibilities.

The Royal Commission report said New Zealand has a poor workplace safety record and its regulators failed to provide adequate oversight before the explosion.

At the time of the disaster, New Zealand had just two mine inspectors who were unable to keep up with their workload, the report said. Pike River was able to obtain a permit with no scrutiny of its initial health and safety plans and little ongoing scrutiny.

Key said he agrees with the report’s conclusion that there needs to be a philosophical shift in New Zealand from believing that companies are acting in the best interests of workers to a more proscriptive set of regulations that forces companies to do the right thing.

The commission’s report recommended a new agency be formed to focus solely on workplace health and safety problems. It also recommended a raft of measures to strengthen mine oversight.

Key said his government would consider the recommendations and hoped to implement most of them. He would not commit on forming a new agency. Workplace safety issues are currently one of the responsibilities of the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment.

In the seven weeks before the explosion, the Pike River company received 21 warnings from mine workers that methane gas had built up to explosive levels below ground and another 27 warnings of dangerous levels, the report said. The warnings continued right up until the morning of the deadly explosion.

The company used unconventional methods to get rid of methane, the report said. Some workers even rigged their machines to bypass the methane sensors after the machines kept automatically shutting down — something they were designed to do when methane levels got too high.

The company made a “major error” by placing a ventilation fan underground instead of on the surface, the report found. The fan failed after the first of several explosions, effectively shutting down the entire ventilation system. The company was also using water jets to cut the coal face, a highly specialized technique than can release large amounts of methane.

The report did not definitively conclude what sparked the explosion itself, although it noted that a pump was switched on immediately before the explosion, raising the possibility it was triggered by an electrical arc.

The now-bankrupt Pike River Coal company is not defending itself against charges it committed nine labor violations related to the disaster. Former chief executive Peter Whittall has pleaded not guilty to 12 violations and his lawyers say he is being scapegoated.

An Australian contractor was fined last month for three safety violations after its methane detector was found to be faulty at the time of the explosion.

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Not wrecked by Sandy, ‘Ralph’ tops box office

NEW YORK (AP) — The weekend box office was not only undeterred by the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy, it was buoyed by it.

Disney’s “Wreck-It Ralph” opened strongly with $ 49.1 million and Robert Zemeckis‘ “Flight,” starring Denzel Washington, soared to a $ 25 million debut. Both opened above expectations, capitalizing on East Coast audiences looking for distraction amid the recovery from the storm.

“Wreck-It Ralph,” a 3-D animated family film about a video game villain who tries to break free of his role, is the largest box-office opening ever for Walt Disney Animation, which has produced countless cartoon classics (though doesn’t include Disney‘s lucrative Pixar Animation).

Though the hurricane had forced the closure of hundreds of movie theaters in the New York, New Jersey area, most were open for business by the weekend. As many as 100 theaters were still closed on Friday, but many of those were restored during the weekend.

“We didn’t really have a playbook for this,” said Hollywood.com box office analyst Paul Dergarabedian. “But the numbers show that audiences across the country, and particularly in the Northeast, wanted to go to the movies and they did.”

With many East Coast children out of school on Friday, Disney saw an uptick of business for Friday matinees to the well-reviewed “Wreck-It Ralph.”

“‘Wreck-It Ralph‘ became something of a distraction and an opportunity for families to do something separate of the storm,” said Dave Hollis, Disney‘s head of distribution. “Schools being shut down on Friday also played a role as parents were looking for things to entertain the kids and keep them out of the cold.”

Paramount’s “Flight,” which had a smaller opening — 1,884 theaters, or about half the number of “Wreck-It Ralph” — might have been expected to be more harmed by Sandy, considering adult dramas generally depend heavily on the New York City market. But the film, which has found critical raves and Oscar buzz, proved particularly enticing to moviegoers, many of whom were surely pulled in by the star power of Washington, who plays an airline pilot of both heroic skill and debilitating alcoholism.

“When you look up his filmography — it doesn’t matter whether it was yesterday or 20 years ago — Denzel opens movies,” said Paramount distribution head Don Harris.

Harris said the studio counted only about 15 theaters lost to “Flight” due to power outages.

Aside from the draw of Washington, “Flight” is also the first live-action film in 12 years for Zemeckis. The director, whose films include the “Back to the Future” trilogy and “Cast Away,” had spent the last decade on performance-capture animated films like “The Polar Express” and “A Christmas Carol.” Harris called the return “spectacular” and said: “It’s almost like: Where have you been?”

Ben Affleck’s Iran hostage tale “Argo,” in its fourth week of release, expanded to 2,774 theaters. The Warner Bros. film added $ 10.2 million, bringing its cumulative gross to $ 75.9 million — a healthy haul for a film expected to be in the thick of the Oscar hunt.

The Universal kung fu flick “The Man With the Iron Fists,” directed by RZA of the hip hop group Wu-Tang Clan, opened with a debut of $ 8.2 million.

Overseas, the James Bond film “Skyfall” continued to dominate. It took in $ 156 million over the weekend bringing its international total to $ 287 million. The film opens in North America on Friday.

The strong box-office weekend — up 21 percent from the same weekend last year — bodes well for Hollywood ahead of the arrival of “Skyfall” and the upcoming holiday movie season.

Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Hollywood.com. Where available, latest international numbers are also included. Final domestic figures will be released Monday.

1. “Wreck-It Ralph,” $ 49.1 million.

2. “Flight,” $ 25 million.

3. “Argo,” $ 10.2 million.

4. “The Man With the Iron Fists,” $ 10.2 million.

5. “Taken 2,” $ 6 million.

6. “Cloud Atlas,” $ 5.3 million.

7. “Hotel Transylvania,” $ 4.5 million.

8. “Paranormal Activity 4,” $ 4.3 million.

9. “Here Comes the Boom,” $ 3.6 million.

10. “Silent Hill: Revelation,” $ 3.3 million.

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Estimated weekend ticket sales at international theaters (excluding the U.S. and Canada) for films distributed overseas by Hollywood studios, according to Rentrak:

1. “Skyfall,” $ 156 million.

2. “Paranormal Activity 4,” $ 14.3 million.

3. “Hotel Transylvania,” $ 13.7 million.

4. “Wreck-It Ralph,” $ 12 million.

5. “Madagascar 3,” $ 7.9 million.

6. “A Werewolf Boy,” $ 7.5 million.

7. “Asterlix and Obelix: God Save Britannia” $ 6.8 million.

8. “The Bourne Legacy,” $ 6.7 million.

9. “Taken 2,” $ 6.2 million.

10. “Frankenweenie,” $ 5.3 million.

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Online:

http://www.hollywood.com

http://www.rentrak.com

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Universal and Focus are owned by NBC Universal, a unit of Comcast Corp.; Sony, Columbia, Sony Screen Gems and Sony Pictures Classics are units of Sony Corp.; Paramount is owned by Viacom Inc.; Disney, Pixar and Marvel are owned by The Walt Disney Co.; Miramax is owned by Filmyard Holdings LLC; 20th Century Fox and Fox Searchlight are owned by News Corp.; Warner Bros. and New Line are units of Time Warner Inc.; MGM is owned by a group of former creditors including Highland Capital, Anchorage Advisors and Carl Icahn; Lionsgate is owned by Lions Gate Entertainment Corp.; IFC is owned by AMC Networks Inc.; Rogue is owned by Relativity Media LLC.

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HSBC profits to gain from cuts to bad debts, costs

LONDON (Reuters) – HSBC Holdings is expected to report a jump in quarterly profits on Monday as lower losses from bad debts and a cost-cutting plan outweigh mis-selling charges and the impact of tough economic conditions across the world.

Europe’s biggest bank will be the last of Britain’s major lenders to report and all are facing intense scrutiny on how far they are streamlining operations, the impact of tougher regulations, and their standards as they get hit with fines and compensation charges for past misconduct.

HSBC <0005.HK> Chief Executive Stuart Gulliver kicked off the bank’s restructuring in early 2011, before most rivals, and the benefit is starting to feed through to the bottom line.

The bank should report an underlying profit – after stripping out the impact of disposals and changes in the value of its own debt – in the July-September quarter of between $ 4.9 billion and $ 6.6 billion, according to a range of analysts’ forecasts, up from $ 3 billion a year earlier.

Profits will come in at $ 5.4 billion, according to Credit Suisse analysts.

HSBC, whose origins date back to 1865 as a financier of trade between Europe and Asia, operates in 84 countries and Gulliver is well into his plan for $ 3.5 billion in cuts, axe unprofitable areas and direct investment to Asia.

He has cut 27,000 jobs and sold or closed 26 businesses, including selling its U.S. credit card arm and half of its U.S. branches.

HSBC’s bad debts in the third quarter are predicted to drop to $ 2.2-2.5 billion from $ 3.9 billion a year ago. Operating costs should also drop by more than $ 1 billion.

But Gulliver faces scrutiny on whether he can get costs to below 52 percent of revenue from around 57.5 percent in the last year.

He also aims to lift return on equity, a key measure of profitability, to 12-15 percent in 2013. In H1 2012, it was 10.5 percent.

Other problems also continue to cast a shadow, including the size of a fine it faces for lax anti-money laundering controls in the United States.

On Sunday, Sky News reported that HSBC was about to raise its provision for fines from U.S. authorities by $ 800 million to $ 1.5 billion. HSBC declined to comment.

Analysts have said the bank may also have to set aside about 150 million pounds more to cover mis-selling of UK payment protection insurance.

HSBC is also one of more than a dozen banks under scrutiny in the Libor global interest rate-rigging scandal that has put the industry’s culture and standards under fire.

Chairman Douglas Flint on Monday will appear before UK lawmakers investigating standards. He will appear alongside new Barclays CEO Antony Jenkins and Santander UK boss Ana Botin at 1600 GMT.

HSBC benefits from its strong position in faster growing Asian markets, and analysts estimate its investment bank should deliver profits of more than $ 2 billion as revenues rise to $ 4.4-4.7 billion, mirroring the strong fixed income performance shown by rivals.

(Reporting by Steve Slater, additional reporting by Natalie Huet; editing by Jason Neely)

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Newspaper discloses new Cameron text messages

LONDON (AP) — A British lawmaker says he’s asked the country’s media ethics inquiry to consider newly disclosed text messages sent between Prime Minister David Cameron and Rebekah Brooks, the ex-chief executive of Rupert Murdoch‘s British newspaper division.

The Mail on Sunday newspaper on Sunday published two previously undisclosed messages exchanged between the pair, who are friends and neighbors.

Brooks is facing trial on conspiracy charges linked to Britain’s phone hacking scandal, which saw Murdoch close down The News of The World tabloid.

In one newly disclosed message, Cameron thanked Brooks in 2009 for allowing him to borrow a horse, joking it was “fast, unpredictable and hard to control but fun.”

Opposition lawmaker Chris Bryant has asked a judge-led inquiry scrutinizing ties between the press and the powerful to examine the messages.

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Softbank changes eAccess share swap ratio after stock decline

TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan’s Softbank Corp said on Friday it will change its share swap ratio with eAccess Ltd, which it acquired in a $ 1.84 billion deal at the start of last month.

Softbank said it will change the swap ratio to 20.09 from 16.74. The decision follows a decline in Softbank’s share price that took place after it announced in October that it would buy a 70 percent stake in Sprint Nextel Corp, the third-largest U.S. carrier.

(Reporting by Shinichi Saoshiro; Editing by Matt Driskill)

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