Raul Castro, the Cuban president, says his country does not have to make any gestures to the US, but has offered once again to hold wide-ranging talks with Washington.
Barack Obama, the US president, earlier this month eased the US trade embargo on Cuba by removing limits on Cuban American travel to the island.But he said he wanted to see "signals" from Cuba on such issues as freeing political prisoners and improving human rights to be able to move to normalise relations.
Speaking in Havana on Wednesday, Castro said the US steps were "fine, positive but only achieve the minimum. The embargo remains intact".The comments came as part of a speech to a ministerial meeting of the Non-Aligned Movement.
"We have reiterated that we are willing to talk about everything with the United States, in equality of conditions, but not to negotiate our sovereignty, nor our political and social system, the right to self-determination, nor our internal affairs," Castro said.
He said Cuba "has not imposed sanctions against the United States ... and therefore it is not Cuba that has to make gestures".
The last time Castro offered to discuss a wide range of topics with the US was on April 16.
He said then that discussion topics could include political prisoners - whom Cuba views as "mercenaries" in the service of the US - as well as democracy and freedom of the press.
The Obama administration greeted those comments as an important gesture, but Raul Castro's older brother, Fidel Castro, the former Cuban leader, wrote a few days later that the words had been "misinterpreted".
Fidel Castro indicated that Cuba had no intention of making concessions to Washington.
Cuban and US officials have begun informal talks in Washington to explore ways of improving relations that have been hostile since Fidel Castro took power in a 1959 revolution.
Wednesday, 29 April 2009
Tuesday, 14 April 2009
Goldman Sachs sees strong results
Goldman Sachs has reported a $1.8bn (£1.2bn) net quarterly profit, beating analyst expectations.
In contrast, the previous quarter had seen the firm post its first quarterly loss since going public in 1999.
The bank also said it would place $5bn worth of its stock on the market, to raise funds to repay an emergency $10bn loan provided by the US government.
Some analysts say the earnings results suggest the worst could be over for finance firms.
Last week US bank Wells Fargo surprised investors by saying it expected a record net profit for the quarter.
'Competitive advantage'
Goldman Sachs' earnings per share in the three months to 27 March were $3.39, around double that forecast by analysts.
Keith Wirtz, president of Fifth Third Asset Management, said: "The simple fact that they doubled expectations is really great news. It's another sign, another brick on the wall that the financial sector has gone through the worst."
Analysts also said it showed how Goldman Sachs had managed to exploit recent volatile economic conditions, and the less crowded marketplace.
Analyst Gary Townsend, chief executive officer of Hill-Townsend Capital, added: "I think for [Goldman Sachs] the principal issue is going to be how much of the market they are seizing in the absence of competitors that have fallen by the wayside.
"What we are seeing here is the competitive advantage that Goldman has, asserting itself as others have disappeared."
Revenues for the first quarter hit $9.43bn, boosted by the strength of its fixed income and currency departments. The investment banking division meanwhile saw its revenues fall for the period.
Lloyd Blankfein, the bank's chairman and chief executive, said: "Given the difficult market conditions, we are pleased with this quarter's performance."
'Road map'
The loans that the bank is seeking to repay is part of the White House's $700bn Troubled Asset Relief Program (Tarp).
Goldman Sachs is one the firm's undergoing "stress tests" by federal authorities to determine their viability.
"If permitted by our supervisors and if supported by the results of the stress assessment, Goldman Sachs would like to use the capital raised plus additional resources to redeem all of the Tarp capital," the company said.
Mr Wirtz said: "Goldman may provide all the other companies with a road map on how to separate from the government.
"Removing the government from your back is great positive news."
The latest results are 13% higher compared to the first quarter of 2008, which ended in February.
But they are not directly comparable since the firm changed to a calendar year from a fiscal year that had ended in November.
Qantas slashes profits forecast
Qantas Airways has cut its profit forecast by more than half and says it will have to make job cuts in order survive the economic downturn.
The Australian airline said full-year profits would be between 100m ($72.8m; £49m) and 200m Australian dollars, down from its previous forecast of A$500m.
It also said 500 management positions would be cut, with a further 1,250 jobs also under threat.
The airline has been struggling with falling demand during the downturn.
"Market conditions have deteriorated, especially in our international business," said chief executive Alan Joyce.
"We have no choice but to lower our profit forecast and make major changes to ensure Qantas can weather the current commercial environment," he added.
He also warned that the difficult trading conditions would "continue for some time."
The airline has also been forced to defer orders for new planes.
Last month, Qantas announced that 90 senior management positions would be cut.
This comes on top of 1,500 job cuts announced last year.
Qantas slashes profits forecast
Qantas Airways has cut its profit forecast by more than half and says it will have to make job cuts in order survive the economic downturn.
The Australian airline said full-year profits would be between 100m ($72.8m; £49m) and 200m Australian dollars, down from its previous forecast of A$500m.
It also said 500 management positions would be cut, with a further 1,250 jobs also under threat.
The airline has been struggling with falling demand during the downturn.
"Market conditions have deteriorated, especially in our international business," said chief executive Alan Joyce.
"We have no choice but to lower our profit forecast and make major changes to ensure Qantas can weather the current commercial environment," he added.
He also warned that the difficult trading conditions would "continue for some time."
The airline has also been forced to defer orders for new planes.
Last month, Qantas announced that 90 senior management positions would be cut.
This comes on top of 1,500 job cuts announced last year.
Qantas slashes profits forecast
Qantas Airways has cut its profit forecast by more than half and says it will have to make job cuts in order survive the economic downturn.
The Australian airline said full-year profits would be between 100m ($72.8m; £49m) and 200m Australian dollars, down from its previous forecast of A$500m.
It also said 500 management positions would be cut, with a further 1,250 jobs also under threat.
The airline has been struggling with falling demand during the downturn.
"Market conditions have deteriorated, especially in our international business," said chief executive Alan Joyce.
"We have no choice but to lower our profit forecast and make major changes to ensure Qantas can weather the current commercial environment," he added.
He also warned that the difficult trading conditions would "continue for some time."
The airline has also been forced to defer orders for new planes.
Last month, Qantas announced that 90 senior management positions would be cut.
This comes on top of 1,500 job cuts announced last year.
Job loss cities revealed in study
Big cities outside London saw the most job losses in the past year as the UK entered recession, a new study shows.
Birmingham suffered the largest rise in the number of people on unemployment benefit - 12,383 - in the 12 months to February, the Work Foundation found.
Leeds, Glasgow, Sheffield, Hull, Manchester, Bradford, Liverpool, Bristol and the area of Kirklees also saw big increases in joblessness.
The study was based on official figures covering the year to February.
The Work Foundation said unemployment had risen most sharply in the north of England, the West Midlands, Scotland and areas dominated by traditional manufacturing and heavy industry.
Birmingham topped the list of job losses, with the number of people claiming Jobseeker's Allowance rising from 33,274 in February 2008 to 45,657 in February 2009. This took the claimant rate from 5.3% to 7.3%.
However, the biggest changes in percentage terms came in council areas that have never experienced the benefits of the UK's economic boom, the Work Foundation said.
Singapore economy in record fall
Singapore's economy shrank by 19.7% in the first quarter of 2009 compared with the previous three months, its biggest quarterly contraction on record.
Official estimates also showed the economy had shrunk by 11.5% compared with the same period a year ago.
The government now expects the country's GDP to contract by between 6% and 9% this year, much more than the previous estimate of between 2% and 5%.
Singapore has been hit by a fall in exports during the economic downturn.
Sharp falls
The country's Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) said the economy's performance was much worse than expected.
"MTI's earlier forecast had factored in the likelihood of a weak first quarter, but the advance estimates indicate that actual GDP growth will undershoot earlier expectations by a significant margin," it said.
Manufacturing output fell by 29% in the first three months of the year, compared with the same period last year, pulled down by sharp falls in exports, which fell by an estimated 17% in March.
And the prospects for any quick recovery appear slim.
"With most of Singapore's key trading partners still in recession, the manufacturing sector will remain weak for the rest of the year," the ministry said.
Tai Hui at Standard Chartered said: "We still expect to see some signs of stabilisation at the end of 2009, although admittedly mild."
Earlier this year, Singapore announced a $13bn (£8.6bn) stimulus package to try to boost economic activity.
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