More Fidelity funds reject genocide-linked proposal

Reuters: [2008-05-14 21:22:00]

By Muralikumar Anantharaman

BOSTON, May 14 (Reuters) - Shareholders of six more Fidelity Investments funds rejected on Wednesday a proposal to halt investments in companies linked to genocide, bringing to 12 the number of funds to block the idea floated by activists.

The rejection of the proxy proposal at the world's biggest mutual fund company demonstrates the difficulty that activists face in linking investments to social and moral issues even as pressure grows on companies and governments to cut investment ties with companies doing business in places such as Sudan.

The non-binding proposal had asked the boards of 32 Fidelity funds in all to "screen out investments in companies that, in the judgment of the board, substantially contribute to genocide, patterns of extraordinary and egregious violations of human rights, or crimes against humanity."

The proposal garnered support ranging from 20 percent to 31 percent from the six funds.

"Proposal No. 3 has not been approved," a Fidelity official told shareholder meetings at its Boston office, referring to the human rights resolution.

Six other Fidelity funds already rejected the proposal in the past two months, making it the first U.S. mutual fund group to hold votes on such as measure.

Fidelity, which manages about $1.5 trillion in assets in 450 funds, had urged shareholders to reject it. The company has long maintained its investments are legal under U.S. laws and it is obligated to achieve the best returns for shareholders.

Company officials said at the meetings on Wednesday that investors who did not agree with its stand on the issue were free to exit the funds. They said the danger in adopting the proposal was that similar ones around a whole host of issues could crop up.

Eric Cohen, chairman of Boston-based Investors Against Genocide, which spearheaded the resolution, said the proposal was defeated "primarily because Fidelity is actively opposing it and because institutional investors voted with management."

Cohen urged Fidelity's board of trustees at the meeting to remain neutral on the proposal and not recommend its rejection to shareholders. A representative of the independent trustees said the trustees would consider the request.

Human rights activists have been campaigning for the past two years to get Fidelity and other mutual fund firms to divest Sudan-linked holdings in protest against human rights abuses in the Darfur region.

They have targeted Fidelity, Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc <BRKa.N> and other funds over their holdings of PetroChina <601857.SS> and other Asia-based oil companies because of their ties to Sudan.

Experts estimate 200,000 people have been killed and 2.5 million uprooted in the Sudanese region's conflict, which started in 2003 and pits mostly non-Arab rebel groups against the Khartoum government and Arab militias.

The activist campaigns have had some success. Many U.S. universities and states have taken steps to divest Sudan-linked holdings. Last year, a Fidelity fund sold a big chunk of its PetroChina holdings, while Buffett sold his entire holding.

The U.S. Congress passed legislation last year to shield mutual funds and private pension funds from investor lawsuits if they divested shares of companies active in Sudan.

The proposal may surface at other shareholder meetings this year. It has also been filed with money managers such as Vanguard Group, Franklin Resources Inc <BEN.N> and Barclays Plc <BARC.L>, activists say. (Editing by Braden Reddall) ((murali.anantharaman@reuters.com; +1 617 233 4199; Reuters Messaging: murali.anantharaman.reuters.com@reuters.net)) Keywords: FIDELITY/GENOCIDE

UPDATE 1-Croatia wants to slow petrol price rise-PM Sanader

Reuters: [2008-05-14 17:27:00]

(Updates with Sanader, Finance Minister Suker, INA quotes)

By Zoran Radosavljevic

ZAGREB, May 14 (Reuters) - Croatian Prime Minister Ivo Sanader said on Wednesday his government would try to slow the rise of petrol prices and ease inflationary pressures which are eroding already modest living standards.

"We shall certainly intervene soon, most probably in the segment of operational costs of business, and with the floating excise (on petrol)," Sanader told the state news agency Hina. He did not elaborate.

His comments marked a departure from the free market energy policy the government, which hopes to take Croatia into the European Union by 2012, appeared to embrace this year.

Deputy Prime Minister Damir Polancec said as late as on Monday that energy prices were driven by external factors and the government would "not rush forward with any potential measures" to calm them.

Sanader urged national oil and gas oncern INA <INA.ZA> <HINAq.L>, in which Hungary's MOL<MOLB.BU> has 25 percent, and other oil suppliers to review their price policy "and see if there is any room to make savings".

"This is not putting pressure on the companies, but I do expect responsible behaviour from them...It is clear that global oil prices will continue to rise and we don't know where this will stop," Sanader said.

But INA's chief executive Tomislav Dragicevic told the annual shareholders' meeting on Wednesday the state's partial control of local petrol and gas prices was severely hampering INA's business and eating into its profits.

"We lost around 1 billion kuna ($213.2 million) on gas import and some 700 million kuna on oil import. It is not possible to run business that way in the longer run," Dragicevic said.

Finance Minister Ivan Suker said during his visit to Brussels on Wednesday that intervening through lowering excise duties or different value added tax calculation might not be in line with EU practice.

Until this year the government managed to keep the price of the most widely-used grade of petrol below 8 kuna ($1.71) per litre but it reached a record 8.99 kuna on Tuesday.

The government has also promised to keep until July a lid on prices of household gas and electricity, both of which are largely imported.

Sanader said on Wednesday the government expected utility companies, most of them state-controlled, to file requests for price rises after July. "We shall review those requests most probably after the summer," he said.

Consumer price inflation started accelerating in the second half of last year, driven mostly by food and energy, to stand at 5.7 percent year-on-year in April. Average inflation last year was 2.9 percent.

(Reporting by Zoran Radosavljevic, Editing by Ian Jones) ((zoran.radosavljevic@reuters.com; Reuters Messaging: zoran.radosavljevic.reuters.com@reuters.net, +385 1 4899 971)) ($1=4.691 Croatian Kuna)

Keywords: CROATIA PETROL

UPDATE 1-Bangladesh invites parties for election talks

Reuters: [2008-05-14 16:55:00]

(Adds Awami League sets preconditions)

By Nizam Ahmed

DHAKA, May 14 (Reuters) - Bangladesh's army-backed interim government invited political parties for talks on elections planned for December, while pressing on with the prosecution of two detained former prime ministers.

Supporters of ex-prime ministers Begum Khaleda Zia and Sheikh Hasina have been demanding their release ahead of the polls, but the army-backed interim administration has said the law will take its own course and that the conduct of elections was not linked with the trials of the leaders.

"We have started inviting party leaders," said Fahim Munaim, chief spokesman for leader of the interim administration Fakhruddin Ahmad.

The talks will cover election details, preparations and security concerns, officials said.

Hasina's Awami League and Khaleda's Bangladesh Nationalist Party -- the nation's two main parties -- say talks with the government and the election commission on the elections were pointless without the participation of their leaders.

The Awami League said on Wednesday it has six preconditions before the talks can take place, including the release of Hasina, the withdrawal of the state of emergency, and the announcement of an election schedule.

"We have set up the preconditions because we think without Sheikh Hasina, the talks will be meaningless," Syed Ashraful Islam, acting general secretary of Awami League, told reporters after a meeting of party leaders.

But leaders of smaller groups said they would attend the talks so that elections could be held on time. "Otherwise the country is likely to plunge into a worse crisis than it faced before," said Ferdous Ahmed Koraishy of the Progressive Democratic Party.

Both Hasina and Khaleda, who have been under detention since last year, face charges of corruption and abuse of power.

On Wednesday, a court ordered Hasina to appear next week over corruption charges involving a Canadian oil exploration company Niko Resources <NKO.TO>.

Khaleda has also been charged with underhanded dealings with the same firm.

Both leaders deny the charges

Khaleda's BNP held consultations on Tuesday night following interim leader Fakhruddin's announcement on Monday that a new parliament would be elected in the third week of December.

The party has been riven with factional infighting between Khaleda loyalists and a group led by former finance minister Saifur Rahman.

One party leader said the two groups were trying to end their differences and forge a united front.

"The ball is now in the politicians' court. The election timeline has been given and it's their (politicians) responsibility to avail of it," said professor Ataur Rahman, president of Bangladesh Political Science Association.

Fakhruddin, who assumed power in January 2007 after months of political violence, cancelled an election due within days and imposed a state of emergency and a ban on political activities.

On Monday he said the state of emergency will be relaxed or lifted, as appropriate, at a suitable time ahead of the polls, but he made no mention of demands by the Awami League and BNP for the release of their party leaders.

(Additional reporting by Anis Ahmed; Editing by Valerie Lee) ((nizamuddin.ahmed@thomsonreuters.com; +880-2-8330123; Reuters Messaging: nizamuddin.ahmed.reuters.com@reuters.net)) Keywords: BANGLADESH/ELECTIONS

Croatia wants to slow petrol price rise-PM Sanader

Reuters: [2008-05-14 15:52:00]

ZAGREB, May 14 (Reuters) - Croatian Prime Minister Ivo Sanader said on Wednesday his government would try to slow the rise of petrol prices and ease inflationary pressures which are eroding already modest living standards.

"We shall certainly intervene soon, most probably in the segment of operational costs of business, and with the floating excise (on petrol)," Sanader told the state news agency Hina. He did not elaborate.

His comments marked a departure from the free market energy policy the government, which hopes to take Croatia into the European Union by 2012, appeared to embrace this year.

Deputy Prime Minister Damir Polancec said as late as on Monday that energy prices were driven by external factors and the government would "not rush forward with any potential measures" to calm them.

Sanader urged national oil concern INA <INA.ZA><HINAq.L>, in which Hungary's MOL<MOLB.BU> holds 25 percent, and other oil suppliers to review their price policy.

"This is not putting pressure on the companies, but I do expect responsible behaviour from them ... It is clear that global oil prices will continue to rise and we don't know where this will stop," Sanader said.

Until this year the government managed to keep the price of the most widely-used grade of petrol below 8 kuna ($1.71) per litre but it reached a record 8.99 kuna on Tuesday.

The government has also promised to keep until July a lid on prices of household gas and electricity, both of which are largely imported.

Sanader said on Wednesday the government expected utility companies, most of them state-controlled, to file requests for price rises after July. "We shall review those requests most probably after the summer," he said.

Consumer price inflation started accelerating in the second half of last year, driven mostly by food and energy, to stand at 5.7 percent year-on-year in April. Average inflation last year was 2.9 percent.

(Reporting by Zoran Radosavljevic, Editing by David Stamp) ((zoran.radosavljevic@reuters.com; Reuters Messaging: zoran.radosavljevic.reuters.com@reuters.net, +385 1 4899 971)) ($1=4.691 Croatian Kuna)

Keywords: CROATIA PETROL

PRESS DIGEST - Canada - May 14

Reuters: [2008-05-14 13:46:00]

TORONTO, May 14 (Reuters) - The following are top stories from selected Canadian newspapers. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.

THE GLOBE AND MAIL:

- Rescuers race to save the buried; China says death toll hits 13,000 and will climb higher

- Tories consider giving up on bid for top UN seat; Ottawa fears it will likely lose race for Security Council

- Crashing copter kills student mailing letter home to Kenya

- With no real alternative, judge divides a sick boy between family, caregivers

Report on Business Section:

- The new realities of record oil; Emerging economies are fighting soaring prices with subsidies and price controls. But are their methods part of the problem?

- Gasoline prices near "the pain threshold"

- Global carbon market takes flight; In exchange for financing green energy projects, such as wind power, banks can receive tradable emission credits

- No pilots, no actors, few scripts, and bidding starts now; As Canadian TV networks head to Hollywood this week to buy new shows for prime time, they are bracing for what could be one of the strangest years yet for the industry

NATIONAL POST:

- Force Burmese aid: Canada; Calls on UN to insist rulers allow outside relief

- Sneakers and bookbags amid China's rubble; An overwhelming scene of grief at one school

- Worrying signs for Obama in Clinton's win; Former first lady won a commanding victory in West Virginia's Democratic primary, prolongs the party's presidential race

- Senator Romeo Dallaire likens U.S., Canada to al-Qaeda; Testifies Omar Khadr is a child soldier, his treatment illegal

Financial Post Section:

- Sovereign wealth funds circling oil industry; Already approached by two, UTS <UTS.TO> confirms

- Ottawa takes heat on airfare fees; Amendment to the Canadian Transportation Act, which passed through Parliament last summer and would force Canadian airlines to divulge all fees, costs and taxes in the advertised price of airfares, has not been enacted

- ABCP workout: Change would let regulators take action; Investment Dealers Association had concerns

Looking for more information from local sources? Factiva.com has 35 Canadian sources including Financial Post and The Globe and Mail. ((Reuters Toronto Newsroom, 416 941-8100, Fax 416 869-3436, toronto.newsroom@reuters.com))