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ISRAEL-SETTLERS MOVE IN. Israeli settlers set up new community on West Bank hill. FRANCE-SOCIETE GENERALE-INTERVIEW. Lawyer: Trader acted alone under watch of superiors. ARAB TV. Arab governments take action to rein in TV talk shows that discuss taboo topics. FRANCE-SADDAM'S SEA PALACE. For sale: palatial pleasure yacht with rocket launcher built for Saddam. OLY-BEIJING-FREE SPEECH. Criticism mounts for .
SocGen Trader's Secrets, a Bank’s Missteps
The first e-mail message arrived in Société Générale's offices on Nov. 7. The surveillance office at Eurex, one of Europe's biggest exchanges, alerted a compliance officer at the bank that for seven months a trader named Jérôme Kerviel had engaged in not just one but “several transactions" that had raised red flags. Société Générale, taking its time, responded on Nov. 20, when another risk-control expert at the bank replied that there was nothing irregular. “The recent volatility increase on the U.S. and European stock markets explains our new need for after-hours trading," the bank official wrote about Mr. Kerviel's trades, according to e-mail messages reviewed by The New York Times. A second e-mail message from Eurex came on Nov. 26. Not satisfied by the bank's explanation, the bourse demanded more details.
Globex: Upping the Ante in the Electronic Trading Wars
The Chicago Mercantile Exchange's Globex electronic exchange recorded 1.33 billion deals last year, generating roughly $825 million in revenue, according to corporate statements. CME Group earns additional revenue by licensing use of Globex to the New York Mercantile Exchange and the Korea Exchange, an arrangement that likely will include the China Foreign Exchange Trade System. Free Report from Keynote Systems 2007 Trends and Observations of the Mobile and Connected World examines how technologies, from the Web to the mobile phone, are specifically impacting key vertical industries, from financial services to new media. Download yours here. .
Australian stock market climbs higher at noon
THE Australian stock market was 1.1 per cent stronger at noon as solid earnings results from Telstra and Qantas lifted investor spirits and Wall Street provided a good lead on speculation of another US interest rate cut. At 12.01pm AEDT, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was up 62 points, or 1.13 per cent, at 5558.5 while the broader All Ordinaries index had risen 62 points to 5639.3. On the Sydney Futures Exchange, the March share price index futures contract was 86 points higher at 5538 on a volume of 16,577 contracts. Macquarie Equities associate director Lucinda Chan said a strong lead from the US and some better than expected local earnings results were supporting the market. ''The market has not been supported since we started the results (season), but today looks a bit more positive with Telstra's good result and Qantas wasn't too bad either,'' Ms Chan said.
Al Qaeda in Northern Africa Has Become Pipeline for New Iraq Recruits
According to an intelligence report, Al Qaeda has smuggled up to 800 AK-47s into the region over the past two years to supply training camps. "They train in the desert, return to Morocco and then plan attacks," said a senior intelligence official who asked not to be named. "One hundred percent of new recruits go straight to Iraq." .
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