Federer makes it to US Open semi-finals

Flushing Meadows, NY, USA (GenevaLunch) - Roger Federer defeated Luxembourg player Gilles Muller in three sets, 7-6 6-4 7-6  and now faces Novak Djokovic, who Thursday night defeated Andy Roddick in four sets. (details on TSR, Fre and Bloomberg).

International news digest 5 September 2008

Friday news gathered by GenevaLunch from sources around the world

• Japan's Foreign Minister Taro Aso could be in line to be the next prime minister, after announcing he will run for his party's presidency. CNN
• Asif Ali Zardari, The widower of Benazir Bhutto, former head of Pakistan, is expected to be elected president on Saturday, despite being shadowed by past unproven charges of corruption and little experience in political leadership. International Herald Tribune
• Condoleezza Rice begins a tour of North Africa Friday with a "historic" visit to Libya, the first by an American secretary of state since 1953, agreed to following Libya's promise to move hundreds of millions of dollars into a humanitarian account, compensation money for the victims of the 1988 Lockerbie airplane bombing. The money has not yet been paid. BBC
• Moscow has had to "shore up the rouble" by intervening heavily, reports the Financial Times, in the wake of what analysts say is $21 billion in foreign capital taken out of the country to support the fight in Georgia.
• US lobbyist Jack Abramoff was sentenced to an additional four years on corruption charges, to be served at the same time as the six years behind bars he is already doing. He is credited with helping the Republicans lose control of Congress in a far-reaching scandal. Reuters

Europe up against Russia - Chappatte

© Chappatte, distributed by Globe Cartoon

More cartoons on Chappatte's web site

Geneva-based Patrick Chappatte works for the International Herald Tribune, for Geneva newspaper Le Temps, and for NZZ am Sonntag. All cartoons reproduced with permission.

Credit Suisse among latest banks hit by US auction rate securities

New York, USA (GenevaLunch) - The continuing and widespread investigations in the United States into auction rate securities abuses by banks have netted two former Credit Suisse brokers, both under arrest for misleading their clients (see Securities and Exchange Commission press release). Several banks have been investigated by the SEC and various states in the US since the collapse of the auction rate securities market; widespread complaints by clients that they were told the market was relatively safe when in fact it was increasingly unstable has led to a number of settlements by banks, including UBS and Credit Suisse.

Today's story, TSR, Fre

Background: "UBS shares fall on news that New York files civil charges," 25 July 2008, GenevaLunch

Nestle surprise news: Polman's abrupt departure (is Unilever's gain)

Updated 09:30  Vevey, Vaud, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - Nestlé, in an early Thursday morning brief press release with no details, announced the departure of Paul Polman, executive vice-president in charge of the company's Zone America," with immediate effect in order to pursue other interests." Unilever, meanwhile, announced that Polman will move into its CEO slot effective January, when current CEO Patrick Cescau retires. Unilever is the world's second largest consumer group, according to Bloomberg.

Polman moved from Procter & Gamble to Nestle in 2006 as the food multinational's chief financial officer and he was widely tipped in 2007 to take on the job of executive president when Peter Brabeck-Letmathe retired and moved to the post of chairman of the board. The company in a surprise announcement in September 2007 named Paul Brucke, head of Zone Americas, to the top job and in January 2008 Polman moved from his finance job to head the Americas unit.

Polman, who is Dutch, will be heading a company based in The Netherlands.

Financial Times story on the Unilever appointment

International news digest, 4 September 2008

Thursday news gathered by GenevaLunch from sources around the world

• Sarah Palin's first public speech as John McCain's choice for vice-president wowed the Republican convention crowd in St Paul, Minnesota, almost overshadowing the fact that McCain was voted the Republican's official candidate for president. CNN, International Herald Tribune
• The US is close to filing a case at the World Trade Organisation against China for export restrictions on steel; the European Union already has three investigations underway against China for dumping. Financial Times
• Tropical storm Hanna is heading for the Bahamas, where it could hit Haiti very hard, a country that has already been badly battered this year, with three major storms in 21 days killing 170 people, leaving thousands homeless in a situation the president says is a "catastrophe." BBC
• Serena Williams beat her sister Venus in a "heart-stopping" game, writes Reuters, in "the greatest duel yet" between the sisters: 7-6 7-6.

Palin's daughter pregnant - Chappatte

© Chappatte, distributed by Globe Cartoon

More cartoons on Chappatte's web site

Geneva-based Patrick Chappatte works for the International Herald Tribune, for Geneva newspaper Le Temps, and for NZZ am Sonntag. All cartoons reproduced with permission.

Police bust pedophile ring in Switzerland, Germany, Austria

St Gallen, Switzerland (Tribune de Geneve/ATS, Fre) - Swiss police arrested four people and are investigating another nine as part of an Internet pedophile ring in eastern Switzerland, Germany and Austria. The site, where pedophiles have been sharing their experiences and tips for contacting children, reportedly started in Germany, and some 600 people are under investigation there. The Swiss Coordination Unit for Cybercrime Control uncovered the Swiss part of the ring.

Goran Bezina signs with Geneva for another five years

Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - Geneva Servette hockey player Goran Bezina and the Geneva Servette Hockey Club announced this morning that the contract for the Eagles' captain is being extended for another five seasons. The contract for the defenseman, who arrived at the club for the 2004-05 season, comes just two days before the club's season starts, with a game in Davos Friday. The first home game of the season comes Saturday at Geneva's Les Vernets stadium. Bezina's contract reportedly nevertheless carries a clause that he is free to go to the NHL at the end of the season.

Photo: club manager Chris McSorley, left and Goran Bezina, right.

International news digest 3 September 2008

Wednesday news gathered by GenevaLunch from sources around the world

• International tennis: Roger Federer made it through his game at the US Open in New York, USA, in a "thrilling game" where both his strength as a player and his recent frailty were on display (BBC), while Rafael Nadal and the Williams sisters are expected to put on a real show Wednesday, Reuters writes.
• US Republicans: Palin continues to lead the Republican convention news, with a New York Times article on her odd start in politics, the Huffington Post carrying numerous blogs sounding off on the pregnant daughter subject and other Palin matters, and Reuters pointing out that her appearance at the convention Wednesday will give most Americans their first opportunity to see the Alaska governor. CBS is checking out the rumours that she was a member of the Alaskan Independence Party, saying it looks like maybe it was her husband, not the governor, who belonged to the separatist group. The Guardian in the UK kindly lifted the focus from the pregnant teenage daughter to Governor Palin's husband's arrest 20 years ago for drunk under the influence of alcohol, at age 22.
• US forces appear to have been involved in an attack that killed 15 people in Pakistan, just over the border from Afghanistan. BBC
• India is starting a major rescue and aid operation in the face of major flooding, as criticism of its slow and too-weak response continues at home and abroad. CNN
• Coca-cola is offering $2.5 million for a Chinese juice company, the largest-ever foreign buyout of a Chinese firm, if it goes ahead. Beijing-based Huiyuan had 2007 sales of $380 million and owning it would give the US beverage multinational a strong footing in China. International Herald Tribune
• A man was arrested in Washington state, not far from the Canadian border, after a shooting spree that killed six people and injured two others. Reuters
• [Reuters video] Chopsticks in pure gold for $7,000: what more could you want? If you live in China, one Japanese company figures, quite a lot. They've manufactured a $1 million 13-piece dining set, all gold, aimed mainly at the very wealthy in China, the world's largest gold producer.