Reuters urges Israel answer on journalist killed

Reuters: [2008-05-15 16:04:00]

LONDON, May 15 (Reuters) - A month after journalist Fadel Shana was killed by an Israeli tank crew in the Gaza Strip, Reuters renewed its demand on Thursday for a prompt explanation from the Israeli army of why it fired on its cameraman.

Shana, a 24-year-old Palestinian, was killed on April 16 along with eight mostly teenage bystanders by darts known as flechettes that burst out of a tank shell in mid-air. Shana had been filming about 1.5 km (a mile) from two Israeli tanks.

The Israeli army said it had completed an initial field investigation that had determined the soldiers had followed orders and acted appropriately. But military lawyers still had to study the case before the army could give a full account.

"A month has passed since Fadel Shana was killed by Israeli forces while responsibly going about his professional duties," said Reuters Middle East Managing Editor Mark Thompson.

"We urge the IDF to release its report on the incident now so that media organisations and the military can cooperate on ways ensure journalists can continue to cover this conflict."

Independent investigators commissioned by Reuters have prepared their own preliminary report on the incident, which raises serious questions over why the tank opened fire.

A spokeswoman for the Israeli Defence Forces, Major Avital Leibovich, said: "We are working as quickly as possible to complete the investigation at all levels."

The IDF's Advocate General's office, the military judiciary, was now looking at a field-level inquiry which, she said, had already concluded the soldiers had done no wrong.

Confirming that the tank crews involved had not been suspended and were still operating around the Gaza Strip, Leibovich said: "They acted according to their orders.

"This is the conclusion of the field level investigation."

She added: "We can say for sure that the soldiers weren't able to detect that it was a member of the press. The IDF has no intention of targeting press people."

Both Shana and soundman Wafa Abu Mizyed, who was wounded in the wrist, were wearing blue body armour bearing the word "Press" on fluorescent strips. Their vehicle also bore "TV" and "Press" markings. They had been working in open view, on a quiet road off Gaza's main highway for some time before the tank is seen opening fire in the final moments of Shana's videotape.

Media groups operating in the Palestinian enclave have been urging the Israeli military to improve troops' awareness of the presence of journalists and to coordinate where possible.

Rejecting a request that IDF officers relay information to field commanders from journalists about their movements in Gaza to avoid media crews being inadvertently targeted, the army said in a statement last week: "There will be no coordination of press movement and activity in the areas of IDF operations". ((Editing by Janet McBride))

Keywords: ISRAEL PALESTINIANS/GAZA REUTERS

Rough economy cuts into pay for U.S. CEOs - study

Reuters: [2008-05-15 13:00:00]

By Martha Graybow

NEW YORK, May 15 (Reuters) - CEO compensation at the biggest U.S. corporations dropped sharply last year, reflecting in part the rough business conditions at top-tier banks and other large financial firms, a study has found. The study, released Thursday by consulting firm Mercer, a unit of Marsh & McLennan Cos Inc <MMC.N>, is one of the most comprehensive reports to date analyzing chief executive pay data for companies' most recently completed fiscal year.

The study looked at pay data in annual proxy filings for 350 companies of varying sizes and industries in the Fortune 1000.

CEO pay is always a contentious topic, but it has received increased attention from shareholders amid the subprime mortgage meltdown and has been discussed on the U.S. presidential campaign trail, with Democrats Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton and Republican John McCain all taking aim at well-paid CEOs.

The study found that the CEOs of 50 large U.S. companies -- companies with median annual revenue of $66.2 billion -- took the sharpest cut in total direct compensation in the last fiscal year on a percentage basis, down 15.8 percent from the previous year.

This group of companies includes many big financial firms such as American International Group <AIG.N>, Citigroup <C.N> and Merrill Lynch & Co Inc <MER.N> that have been hurt by woes in the mortgage and credit markets.

"Companies are correlating their payouts more closely to performance," said Diane Doubleday, global leader of Mercer's executive compensation group in San Francisco. "I think we will see that play out in 2008 again."

Median total direct compensation for CEOs in this group was nearly $14 million in the fiscal year covered by the proxy, Mercer said.

The pay tally includes an executive's base salary, annual cash bonus and the expected value of long-term incentives such as stock options and performance shares granted in the fiscal year covered by the proxy. The tally does not include things such as the value of CEO perks or retirement benefits.

For the largest companies covered by the study, long-term incentive grant values were down 18.9 percent, contributing to the pay declines, Mercer said. Long-term incentives accounted for about two-thirds of the CEOs' total pay packages.

Compensation for CEOs of companies with median revenue of $16.2 billion was little changed in the most recently completed fiscal year. These CEOs took in median total direct annual compensation of about $9.4 million, Mercer said.

At companies with median revenue of $3.2 billion, CEOs had median total direct compensation of $4.7 million for the most recent year, down 4.6 percent from the prior year, according to the study. (Reporting by Martha Graybow; editing by John Wallace) ((martha.graybow@thomsonreuters.com; +1-646-223-6133; Reuters Messaging: martha.graybow.reuters.com@reuters.net)) ((Multimedia versions of Reuters Top News are now available for: * 3000 Xtra: visit http://topnews.session.rservices.com * BridgeStation: view story .134

For more information on Top News: http://topnews.reuters.com)) Keywords: EXECUTIVEPAY/STUDY

Italian Stocks - Factors to watch on May 15

Reuters: [2008-05-15 08:59:00]

    MILAN, May 15 (Reuters) - The following factors could affect 
Italian markets on Thursday. 
    Reuters has not verified the newspaper reports, and cannot 
vouch for their accuracy. New items are marked with (*). 
     
    PARMALAT <PLT.MI> 
    More than four years after the meltdown of Italy's Parmalat 
SpA, the food company is set to begin presenting its case to a 
U.S. jury on Thursday accusing Citigroup Inc <C.N> of playing a 
key role in its collapse. 
    For a story, double click on [nN14430039]. 
     
    Parmalat reported an 18 percent drop in net profit due to 
the higher cost of raw milk as well as higher production and 
marketing expenses. 
    For a story, double click on [nL14597557]. 
     
  * ERG SpA <ERG.MI> 
    Italian oil refiner ERG SpA posted a 53 percent rise in 
first-quarter adjusted core profit on Thursday and said it would 
invest more than 2 billion euros ($3.1 billion) under a 
2008-2011 business plan, most of it on power production. 
    For a story, double click on [nL15847783]. 
     
  * BANCA MONTE DEI PASCHI DI SIENA <BMPS.MI> 
    Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena reported on Thursday that 
its net profit rose 48 percent in the first quarter thanks 
entirely to a large gain from the sale of a depositary bank 
services unit. 
    For a story, double click on [nL15139393]. 
     
  * PRYSMIAN <PRY.MI>  
    Italian cable maker Prysmian SpA forecast on Wednesday a 
higher result for the year thanks to a strong order book, saying 
demand for its high-voltage and underwater cables were 
particularly strong. 
    For a story, double click on [nL14870024]. 
     
    BENETTON <BNG.MI> 
    Italian clothing retailer Benetton turned in a 9 percent 
rise in first-quarter core profit on Wednesday on slightly 
higher sales, and confirmed its outlook for the year. 
    For a story, double click on [nL14740014]. 
     
    TOD'S <TOD.MI> 
    Italian luxury shoe and bag maker Tod's said its 
first-quarter core profit rose 8.1 percent as sales increased 
and it saw "good growth" for the whole year. 
    For a story, double click on [nL14161643]. 
     
  * ALITALIA  
    Giovanni Sabatini has resigned as member of the airline's 
board, according to a statement late on Wednesday. 
     
    His departure leaves the board with a minimum of three 
members, La Repubblica says. 
     
    Carlo Toto, chairman of the Air One airline, has yet to 
reach an agreement with Bruno Ermolli, who is trying to put 
together a rescue plan for Alitalia on behalf of the government, 
Il Messaggero says. 
     
    A2A <A2.MI> 
    Italian regional utility A2A SpA posted a 2.1 percent drop 
in first-quarter net profit on Wednesday and the newly merged 
company forecast 2008 results no worse than in 2007. 
    For a story, double click on [nL144572]. 
     
  * The utility is forecasting growth this year, General 
Director Renato Ravanelli tells Il Sole 24 Ore in an interview. 
 
  * ACEA <ACE.MI> 
    Rome-based utility Acea is no longer considered part of 
merger talks among northern Italian utilities, Hera SpA <HRA.MI> 
Chairman Tomaso Tommasi di Vignano said on Wednesday. 
    For a story, double click on [nL14207507]. 
     
    CAMPARI <CPRI.MI> 
    Italian drinks group Campari turned in a 6.8 percent rise in 
first-quarter pretax profit and confirmed its mid to long-term 
guidance for 5 percent organic growth, boosting its shares. 
    For a story, double click on [nL14860780]. 
     
    DAMIANI <DMN.MI> 
    Upmarket Italian jeweller Damiani posted on Wednesday a 5 
million euro ($7.73 million) net loss in the fourth quarter of 
the fiscal year ended March 31, but its full-year net profit 
rose 11 percent. 
    For a story, double click on [nL14251005]. 
     
    The following companies report first-quarter results: 
     
    BULGARI <BULG.MI>  
    BANCO POPOLARE <BAPO.MI> 
     
    The following companies hold conference calls with analysts 
on their first-quarter results: 
     
    BANCA MONTE DEI PASCHI DI SIENA <BMPS.MI> 
    ERG 
    A2A 
     
    For Italian market data and news, click on codes in 
brackets: 
    20 biggest gainers (in percentage)............<.PG.MI> 
    20 biggest losers (in percentage).............<.PL.MI> 
    Mibtel index.......... <.MIBTEL> 
    S&P/Mib index......... <.SPMIB> 
    Indice Mib-30......... <.MIB30> 
    Midex index........... <.MIDEX> 
    Allstars index........ <.ALLST> 
    Block trades.......... <.BLK.MI> 
    Stories on Italy...... <IT-LEN> 
     
    For pan-European market data and news, click on codes in 
 brackets: 
    European Equities speed guide...................<EUR/EQUITY> 
    FTSEurofirst 300 index..............................<.FTEU3> 
    DJ STOXX index......................................<.STOXX> 
    Top 10 STOXX sectors...........................<.PGL.STOXXS> 
    Top 10 EUROSTOXX sectors......................<.PGL.STOXXES> 
    Top 10 Eurofirst 300 sectors...................<.PGL.FTEU3S> 
    Top 25 European pct gainers.......................<.PG.PEUR> 
    Top 25 European pct losers........................<.PL.PEUR> 
     
    Main stock markets: 
    Dow Jones...............<.DJI>  Wall Street report .....[.N] 
    Nikkei 225.............<.N225>  Tokyo report............[.T] 
    FTSE 100...............<.FTSE>  London report...........[.L] 
    Xetra DAX.............<.GDAXI>  Frankfurt market stories[.F] 
    CAC-40.................<.FCHI>  Paris market stories...[.PA] 
    World Indices.....................................<0#.INDEX> 
    Reuters survey of world bourse outlook.........<EQUITYPOLL1> 
    Western European IPO diary..........................<WEUIPO> 
    European Asset Allocation........................[EUR/ASSET] 
    Reuters News at a Glance: Equities...............[TOP/EQE] 
    Main currency report:...............................[FRX/] 
 
  Keywords: ITALY MARKETS/FACTORS 
    
    

Swiss stocks - Factors to watch on May 15

Reuters: [2008-05-15 07:39:00]

ZURICH, May 15 (Reuters) - The following are some of the main factors expected to affect Swiss stocks on Thursday:

ZURICH FINANCIAL SERVICES GROUP <ZURN.VX>

First-quarter net profit at Zurich Financial Services Group <ZURN.VX> rose by 3 percent, beating expectations, but higher claims were a drag on underwriting profitability.

For related news, click on [ZURN.VX-LEN-RTRS]

NOVARTIS <NOVN.VX>

Novartis said new data show Tekturna HCT is twice as effective at reducing blood pressure than the diuretic HCT alone.

For related news, click on [NOVN.VX-LEN]

ECONOMY

Second-quarter Swiss consumer morale data are due at 0545 GMT. Economists are expecting the indicator to fall to +10 points from +14 points in January <ECONCH>.

For related news, click on [ECI-CH-LEN-RTRS]

COMPANY STATEMENTS [CNR-CH]

* Georg Fischer <FIN.S> acquires the business of Alfa Plastics Inc. in Brampton, Ontario [LEN-FIN.S]

* Schweizerhall <SWHN.S> reports strong double-digit net revenue growth to 57.0 million Swiss francs [LEN-SWHN.S]

* Speedel<SPPN.S> reports reduced net loss in Q1 [LEN-SPPN.S]

* Card Guard<CARDG.S> says revenues increased by 18.2 percent to $16.4 million in Q1 [CARDG.S-LEN]

* SHL <SHLTN.S> says omparable revenues increased by 73 percent to $10.4 million in Q1 [LEN-SHLTN.S]

* PSP <PSPN.S> says et income amounted to 30.4 million Swiss frnacs in Q1 [PSPN.S-LEN]

* Schweiter Technologies <SWTQ.S> media release

* Temenos <TEMN.S> Correction of disclosure of shareholdings

EQUITY RESEARCH [CH-RCH]

FOR COMPANIES TRADING EX-DIVIDEND, PLEASE CLICK ON:

<.EX.S> for all Swiss stocks

<.EXSMI.S> for blue chips

<.EXNSMI.S> for other stocks

((Zurich newsroom +41 58 306 7340, fax 41 44 251 0476, zurich.newsroom@news.reuters.com))

Keywords: MARKETS SWISS STOCKS

     
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double click on http://topnews.session.rservices.com  
 
 FOR RELATED PRICES, NEWS AND OTHER TOPICS, DOUBLE-CLICK ON: 
     
 Daily Swiss stock market report in German................[.SDE] 
 Daily pan-European stocksdex SMI moves..................<.SSMI> 
 All SMI constituent stocks............................<0#.SSMI> 
 News on major Swiss stock price moves..................[CH-HOT] 
 Table on major world stock market performance........... [.STX] 
 FTSE Eurotop 300 index................................ <.FTEU3> 
 DJ STOXX index........................................ <.STOXX> 
 Top 10 STOXX sectors............................. <.PGL.STOXXS> 
 Top 10 EUROSTOXX sectors........................ <.PGL.STOXXES> 
 Top 10 Eurotop 300 sectors....................... <.PGL.FTEU3S> 
 Top 25 European pct gainers... <.PG.PEUR>, losers... <.PL.PEUR> 
     
 Swiss mid-cap index     <.SSMI>  SMI futures           <0#SMI:> 
 Swiss all-share index   <.SSHI>  Market statistics  <CH/STATS1> 
 Swiss market digest     <.AD.S>  Sector overview   <CH/SECTOR1> 
 All Swiss news             [CH]  Swiss diary         [CH/DIARY] 
 Swiss research news    [CH-RCH]  Virt-x sectors    <VX/SECTOR1> 
 All equity news             [E]  Virt-x price index     <.VMIP> 
     
 INTERNET ADDRESSES:             Virt-x       www.virt-x.com   
 Swiss Exchange  www.swx.ch/     SEGAIntersettle    www.sega.ch/ 
 Eurex   www.eurexchange.com     STOXX Ltd         www.stoxx.com 
 
 SPEED GUIDES: <VX/EQUITY> <EQUITY> <EQUITY/NEWS1> <EUR/EQUITY> 
 <SWITZERLAND> <REUTERS> 
  Keywords: Swiss shares   XREF 
    

Benelux stocks - Factors to watch on May 15

Reuters: [2008-05-15 06:51:00]

AMSTERDAM/BRUSSELS, May 15 (Reuters) - The following Benelux stocks may be affected by newspaper reports and other factors on Thursday:

ASM INTERNATIONAL <ASMI.AS>

A foundation aimed at protecting the independence of Dutch semiconductor equipment maker has bought 29.9 percent of the firm's preference shares, seeking to ward off an investor push to sack ASMI's chief executive.

For more double click on [ASMI.AS]

HEIJMANS <HEIJ.AS>

Dutch construction company reports first-quarter trading update

For more double click on [HEIJ.AS]

EVS BROADCAST EQUIPMENT <EVSB.BR>

Belgian broadcast equipment provider reports first-quarter results

For more double click on [EVSB.BR]

KBC <KBC.BR>

Belgian banking and insurance group reports first-quarter results

For more double click on [KBC.BR]

UCB <UCB.BR>

Belgian pharmaceutical group gives first-quarter trading update

For more double click on [UCB.BR]

COFINIMMO <COFB.BR>

Belgian property investment company reports first-quarter results

For more double click on [COFB.BR]

Shareholder meetings

Boskalis <BOSN.AS>

SBM Offshore <SBMO.AS>

Unilever <UNc.AS>

((Amsterdam and Brussels newsrooms; Tel. +31 20 504 5000; amsterdam.newsroom@news.reuters.com))

    ** ((Xtra clients: Double click on 
http://topnews.session.rservices.com to see Top News Pages in 
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To view related displays double click on the following codes: 
 
All Belgian/Luxembourg/Dutch news [BE OR LU OR NL] 
Bel-20 constituents   <0#.BFX1>   Belgian statistics <BE/STATS1> 
Bel-20 index             <.BFX>   Bel-20 futures        <0#BFX:> 
AEX constituents       <0#.AEX>   Dutch midcap stocks   <0#.AMX> 
AEX index                <.AEX>   Dutch midcap index      <.AMX> 
AEX futures            <0#AEX:>   AEX options         <0#AEX*.E> 
Latest Dutch market news [.BNL]   Dutch earnings poll  [NL/RESF] 
Luxx constituents     <0#.LUXX>   Luxx index             <.LUXX> 
European stocks report  [.EU] 
Major world stock market performance     [.STX] 
FTSE Eurotop 300 index...................<.FTEU3> 
DJ STOXX index...........................<.STOXX> 
Eurotop 300 sector gainers/losers...<.PGL.FTEU3S> 
Top 25 European pct gainers............<.PG.PEUR> 
Top 25 European pct losers.............<.PL.PEUR> 
Belgian/Luxembourg diary  [BE/DIARY] 
Dutch diary               [NL/DIARY] 
European equity diary     [WEU/EQUITY] 
Equity news               [E] 
Speed guides <REUTERS> <BELGIUM> <BE/EQUITY> <NETHERLANDS> 
<NL/EQUITY> <LUXEMBOURG> <LU/EQUITY> <EQUITY> <EQUITY/NEWS1> 
European Equities speed guide.............<EUR/EQUITY> 
Pan European indices.....................<EUR/INDICES1> 
Pan European analysis.....................<EUR/STATS1>