Ben Bernankes Wiederwahl gerät in Gefahr
Foto von Ben Bernanke dank der Welt
WELT ONLINE: Die drohende Rezession und die Turbulenzen an den Finanzmärkten bringen den US-Notenbankchef in Bedrägnis. Egal was Ben Bernanke derzeit macht, die Kritiker melden sich immer lauter zu Wort. Einige sehen bereits seine Wiederwahl gefährdet.

Ben Bernanke ist nicht zu beneiden. In dieser Woche hat der mächtigste Währungshüter der Welt die Hälfte seiner vierjährigen Amtszeit hinter sich gebracht. Doch nach Feiern dürfte dem Nachfolger Alan Greenspans an der Spitze der amerikanischen Notenbank Federal Reserve (Fed) nicht zumute sein. Seit im Sommer vergangenen Jahres die lange aufgestaute Immobilienblase in den USA geplatzt ist, seit die Börsen trudeln und die Wirtschaft schwächelt, steht Bernanke so stark unter Druck wie nie zuvor. Und egal was der oberste Hüter des Dollar tut oder unterlässt – aus Sicht der Finanzmärkte ist es momentan immer irgendwie das Falsche.

Erst warfen ihm die Beobachter der Notenbank vor, zu zögerlich vorzugehen. Statt die angeschlagene US-Wirtschaft zu retten, warte der oberste Dollar-Hüter einfach nur ab, kritisierten die mächtigen Banker an der Wall Street in New York die mangelnde Effizienz der Fed in Zeiten der Finanzkrise.

Doch nun, da Bernanke die Leitzinsen binnen zwei Wochen um insgesamt 1,25 Prozentpunkte nach unten gedrückt und damit die geldpolitische Reißleine so stark gezogen hat wie kaum ein Fed-Präsident vor ihm, ist es den Beobachtern auch wieder nicht recht. Zwei so große Zinssenkungen in so kurzer Zeit – das zeuge von Panik. Bernanke habe offensichtlich die Nerven verloren, lästerten Fernsehkommentatoren im Anschluss. Längst wird in New York und Washington daher auch darüber spekuliert, ob Bernanke unter diesen Voraussetzungen überhaupt das Zeug dazu hat, nach Ablauf seiner Amtszeit erneut in das oberste geldpolitische Amt gewählt zu werden. Notenbankchef: Ben Bernankes Wiederwahl gerät in Gefahr >>>

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”Arabisches” Geld für Austrian Airlines (AUA) – Scheich wird Großaktionär
Foto von Scheich Al Jaber dank der Presse
DIE PRESSE: Die Fluglinie bekommt 150 Mio. Euro von Scheich Al Jaber. Er soll im Gegenzug Großaktionär der Fluglinie werden und in das Syndikat einsteigen.

Wien. 370 Mio. Euro hat sich die AUA im Dezember 2006 über eine Kapitalerhöhung von der Börse geholt. Jetzt erhält sie eine weitere Geldspitze: Das Geld kommt aber nicht von der Börse – was angesichts der Turbulenzen an den Finanzmärkten auch kaum möglich wäre. Vielmehr soll die AUA einen strategischen Partner erhalten. Es ist Scheich Mohamed Bin Issa Al Jaber, mit dem AUA-Boss Alfred Ötsch bereits intensive Verhandlungen führt, wie die „Presse“ aus Finanzkreisen erfahren hat.

Der Saudi ist hierzulande kein Unbekannter: Er besitzt das „Grand Hotel“, „The Ring“ und das Hotel Schwarzenberg. Nun will er 150 Mio. Euro in die AUA investieren. Dafür soll er Aktien erhalten – wie viele, sei eine Frage der Verhandlungen, heißt es. Auf Basis des aktuellen Börsewerts der Fluglinie, der aufgrund des starken Kursverfalls bei knapp 450 Mio. Euro liegt, würde Al Jaber ein Drittel der Fluglinie erhalten. Grünes Licht der Regierung? >>> Von Hedi Schneid

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The Fed Cuts Interest Rates Again
FINANCIAL TIMES: The Federal Reserve on Wednesday cut interest rates by a further 50 basis points to 3 per cent, in an aggressive move to try to keep the US out of recession.

The 50 point reduction, hot on the heels of the unscheduled 75 basis point cut last week, takes the total reduction over the past eight days to 125 basis points.

This is the most radical adjustment of Fed rate policy in a short period of time since 1982.

It reflects concern that a negative feedback loop between the financial system and the economy could be spreading from housing to other sectors. Fed cuts rates by 50 basis points >>> By Krishna Guha in Washington

FT:
Full text of Fed statement

FT:
Bernanke’s reflation gamble may work too well By Martin Wolf

FT:
Back to ‘the economy, stupid’: How a slowdown will influence America’s presidential contest By Edward Luce

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Shameless, Brazen Blair
Photo of the money-grubbing, ‘socialist’ Tony Blair courtesy of The Daily Express
THE DAILY EXPRESS: As he lands another giant payday, our former Prime Minister is cashing in with a vengeance on companies who are happy to buy his star quality...no matter what his lack of expertise

YOU have probably never heard of Phil Wilson. Since July 20 last year this miner’s son from County Durham has been MP for the rock-solid Lab­our seat of Sedgefield. 



Whatever qualities as a New Labour drone, he will no doubt demonstrate for decades to come the most interesting thing about him is the date of his election: just 22 days after the previous ­holder of the seat, Tony Blair, resigned as Prime Minister.



In the past, PMs have tended to linger on the backbenches after leaving Downing Street. Ted Heath stayed for 27 years, while Jim Callaghan stayed for eight and then became an active member of the Lords. Margaret Thatcher kept her seat until the 1992 general election allowed her a graceful exit, while John Major remained a backbencher throughout New Labour’s first term.

But not Anthony Charles Lynton Blair. Delighting, as ever, in driving a limousine convoy through the usual way of doing things, the three-times-elected Premier could not give up his Westminster seat fast enough when the time came. 


Having “never pretended to be a House of Commons man”, as Blair told MPs in his farewell appearance, he billed his resignation from Parliament as a clean break: lesser figures might keep the seat for the salary and the perks but Honest Tone would rather make way for a younger man to do the job properly. 



In a further sign of his People’s Ex-Premier credentials, he also let it be known that he had no desire to become Baron Blair of Baghdad. The flummery of the House of Lords wasn’t his style, he told us. 



Six months on, it is becoming clearer why. While the former PM has racked up voluntary commitments with the appetite of a hyper-active toddler – Middle East peace broker, inter-faith ambassador, global warming guru, sports messiah for the North-east, chair of the World Economic Forum in Davos – it is his greed for lucrative private-sector jobs that has stunned admirers and critics alike.

SINCE he left office he has set himself up for the kind of fortune he would never have got away with as an MP – when he would have had to declare every penny – a staggering £10,254,000 in just one year. That figure is predicted to rise to £40million in the next five years. This month, it was announced that he had taken an estimated £2.5million a year part- time job with US bank JP Morgan. The Blair Rich Project >>> By Simon Edge

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sinecures

Idiots in the Banking Sector Eager to Play Dhimmi
THE STAR: A controversial study looking at Islamic banking by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. has ignited protest from some sectors of the Muslim community.

But despite opposition from the Muslim Canadian Congress, the federal housing authority said yesterday it is going forward with the study looking at banking that adheres to Islam's guiding body of rules, or sharia.

Tarek Fatah, founder of the Muslim Canadian Congress, which bills itself as a progressive Muslim group, said in an interview he was "shocked" to learn that "a Crown corporation is using taxpayers' money" for faith-based banking.

Fatah calls sharia banking the "biggest con job ever. What are we going to have next, Buddhist banking?" he asked.

The congress released a letter yesterday written to CMHC chief executive officer Karen Kinsley, urging the housing authority to abandon the $100,000 study.

"Religion has no place in the banking or mortgage industry," the letter said.

The group says the vast majority of Canadian Muslims already use conventional mortgages. Muslim leader calls sharia loans a `con job': Congress wants CMHC to end its banking study >>> By Tony Wong and Tonda Maccharles

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House Passes $146 Billion Economic Aid Package
NEW YORK TIMES: WASHINGTON — The House voted overwhelmingly Tuesday afternoon to approve a $146 billion fiscal stimulus package, hoping to quickly seal a fast-paced deal with the Bush administration. But Senate Democrats forged ahead with their own, more expensive plan despite a rising chorus of warnings from the White House and Speaker Nancy Pelosi that they risk delaying much-needed help for the economy and could plunge the nation too far in debt.

The House vote was 385 to 35, with 169 Republicans joining 216 Democrats voting “yes.” Voting against the package were 10 Democrats and 25 Republicans. House Passes $146 Billion Economic Aid Package >>> By David M. Herszenhorn

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Meinung: Theo Sommer über Blair als EU-Präsidenten
DIE ZEIT: Tony Blair soll der erste Vollzeitpräsident der Europäischen Union werden. Ausgerechnet Blair, ausgerechnet ein Brite: Das ist wirklich eine absurde Idee

Was immer Tony Blair sich in den zehn Jahren seiner Amtszeit als britischer Premier an Verdiensten erworben haben mag – Verdienste um die Europäische Union sind nicht dabei. Als er 1997 in die Downing Street 10 einzog, gab er sich als passionierter Europäer und gelobte, Großbritannien „ins Herz Europas“ zu rücken.

Es ist ihm nicht gelungen. Er hat es nicht einmal ernsthaft versucht. Vielmehr blieb seine Europapolitik trügerisch und halbherzig. Zaghaftigkeit charakterisierte sie, Nachgiebigkeit gegenüber den euro-phoben Pressezaren seines Landes, unbegreifliches Kuschen vor seinem Schatzkanzler und Nachfolger Gordon Brown, der eine „rote Linie“ nach der anderen zog, die das Vereinigte Königreich auf der Straße nach Brüssel nicht überschreiten dürfe.

So kommt es, dass England noch immer nicht mit beiden Beinen in Europa steht, geschweige denn mit dem Herzen im Herz der Union. Es ist bis heute ein Außenseiter geblieben. Beim Euro ist es nicht dabei; in der Schengen-Zone macht es nicht mit; die Grundrechte-Charta hat es nicht übernommen; aus der gemeinsamen Justiz- und Sicherheitspolitik hat es sich in den Verhandlungen über den Reformvertrag ausgeklinkt. Als Blair aus dem Amt schied, war Großbritannien innerlich weiter von der EU entfernt als bei seinem Amtsantritt.

Der künftige EU-Präsident soll nach dem Lissaboner Vertrag zweieinhalb Jahre amtieren, nicht länger bloß sechs Monate. Es ist schlechthin unvorstellbar, dass er, der doch die Stimme Europas sein wird, das europäische Projekt nicht mit vollem Engagement verficht. Mit einem Präsidenten, der Europapolitik nur mit halbem Herzen betreibt, ist der Union nicht gedient. Den Bock zum Gärtner >>> Von Theo Sommer

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Let the Backbiting Begin!
SPIEGELONLINE INTERNATIONAL: Less than one year from now, the European Union will choose its first long-term president. Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair appears to be the front-runner right now, but a number of senior statesment have emerged as viable candidates.

It took years for the European Union to finally agree that it should even have a president. Now, with just 12 months to go before the 27-member bloc is set to inaugurate its first full time leader, the name-game surrounding the position has begun in earnest. And so has the backbiting.

Until now, the bloc's leadership was passed around on a rotating basis, with a new country taking the helm every six months. But according to the terms of the Lisbon Treaty, signed in the Portuguese capital in December and currently in the process of being ratified across the continent, the new "President of the European Council" will hold office for a two-and-a-half year term.

Tony Blair is one prominent name that has been bandied about recently. The former British prime minister is said to have a good shot, and he has powerful friends. French President Nicolas Sarkozy has thrown his support behind Blair for reasons of both personality and politics -- and Blair even spoke French during a recent speech in France that many are describing as his campaign kick-off event.

But numerous Social Democrats and most Christian Democrats, along with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, aren't as impressed. On Monday, the Daily Telegraph also reported that senior allies of current Prime Minister Gordon Brown were plotting to wreck Blair's ambitions for the post out of concern that his appointment could reignite old divisions within his Labour Party. The office could also come at considerable expense to Blair, who is currently earning millions of pounds as a bank lobbyist, author and as part of the VIP speech circuit. All that would be history should he end up with the prestigious Brussels post. Name-Dropping Begins for EU's First President >>>

SPIEGELONLINE INTERNATIONAL:
Photo Gallery of Contenders

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The BMA Has Learned Nothing from History
HMP ALBION: Dear Fellow Bloggers,

Have a look at these articles from the Daily Telegraph (27th Jan 2008):

A Healthier Way to Run the NHS
Don’t Treat the Old and Unhealthy, Say Doctors

Read these and see where the UK is being lead [sic] by the fascist Left, the malignant Politically Correct and our Hippocratically ignorant NuDoctors.



I make no apology for comparing the cancer that is the "New" Labour project and Nazi Germany.



In both cases they banned fox-hunting and smoking. In both cases they targetted the sick, the elderly, the weak and anyone who didn't fit their sick mindset.



Now the overpaid, decadent fools that head the BMA are effectively promoting the eugenics of Herr Doktor Mengele. The BMA Has Learned Nothing from History >>> By Jeremy Zeid

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Many More Millions for Tone!
THE TELEGRAPH: Tony Blair has expanded his post-Prime Ministerial employment portfolio yet again – and given his soaring earnings another rocket boost – by taking on a second job as a financial consultant.

The top Swiss financial services company Zurich announced it had signed up Mr Blair to give advice on "developments and trends in the international political environment". Zurich refused to say how much Mr Blair will earn.

But, if his £2.5-million-a-year salary for a recently announced role as part-time advisor to Wall Street bank JP Morgan is anything to go by, it will be substantial.

Mr Blair is said to be keen to earn as much as he reasonably can over the next year because he hopes to become the EU's first Permanent President of the Council of Ministers from the start of next year.

If he got the EU job, which would come with a salary of around £200,000, he would have to give up his consultancies – hence the rush to take advantage of the best offers now. Tony Blair takes new financial consultancy role >>> By Toby Helm, Public Policy Editor

THE TELEGRAPH:
Gordon Brown to thwart Tony Blair's EU bid By Andrew Pierce, Toby Helm and Rosa Prince

Join the Telegraph campaign for a EU referendum

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Stimulating the Economy?

ALWAYS ON WATCH: This letter to the editor, in the January 26, 2008 edition of the Washington Post, sums up Always On Watch’s views as to the economic-stimulus package, destined to pass Congress in some form:

The back-patting by Congress and the White House over the proposed economic stimulus package ["Negotiators Grappling With Stimulus Plan; White House, Hill Strive to Maintain Bipartisanship," news story, Jan. 24] should be put in check by calling these "tax rebates" what they really are: tax loans. Unlike the checks issued in 2001, those proposed would not be part of a planned permanent tax cut and would thus have to be repaid by taxpayers (that is, us) sometime in the future.

Encouraging us to spend these "rebates" quickly instead of saving the money to pay off this tax loan is shortsighted. That behavior would lead to a quick economic high and then a deep low. It would be like abolishing paycheck tax withholdings and telling folks to spend the money as it comes in and deal with the tax bill when it arrives.

Today's plan may work to boost lawmakers' images in the short term, but it is merely a sham to those of us who will still be paying taxes once those public servants leave office.

Mr. Ryan Fitzgerald, the author of the above letter, has it exactly right! Putting money, so-called "rebates," into the hands of the American people fails to address the multiple causes of the present economic crisis.

And it is a crisis. The subprime mortgage crisis, Americans' penchant to spend over 100% of what they earn (via easy credit and other overspending), and the outsourcing of American industry cannot be solved by a one-time Congressional measure. In fact, the economic-stimulus package is like putting a bandaid on an arterial rupture and provides only short-lived relief. Stimulating the Economy? By Always On Watch

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George Bush in Saudi Arabia: The 20 Billion Dollar Arms Deal


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Banks are Helping Sharia Make a Back-Door Entrance
GLOBE AND MAIL: It seems only yesterday that Premier Dalton McGuinty declared: "There will be no sharia law in Ontario." Many of us, who witnessed the medieval nature of manmade sharia laws in our countries of birth, heaved a sigh of relief back in September of 2005. We thought this was the end of the attempt by Islamists to sneak sharia into a Western jurisdiction. We were wrong.

The campaign to introduce sharia is back. Last time, the campaign took a populist approach, invoking multiculturalism. This time, the pro-sharia lobby is dangling the carrot of new niche markets and has the backing of Canada's major banks. Such icons of the corporate world as Citibank NA, HSBC Holdings PLC, and Barclays PLC have endorsed sharia banking and have started offering Islamic financing products to a vulnerable Muslim population.

In May, 2007, The Globe reported that "Several Canadian financial institutions are preparing sharia-compliant mortgages, insurance, taxi licensing and investment funds to help serve the country's fastest-growing part of the population." Recently, the Toronto Star's business section reported that an unnamed bank may offer sharia loans as early as this summer; Le Journal de Montreal disclosed that Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) was also getting in on the act. Stephanie Rubec, spokesperson for the CMHC, said the Crown corporation had launched a tender worth $100,000 to study Islamic mortgages for Muslim Canadians. Could she be oblivious to the fact that almost all Muslim Canadians currently have home mortgages through banks and don't feel they are living in sin? In fact, CMHC has gone a step further: It has quietly entered into a partnership with a Saudi company, AaYaan Holdings, to develop sharia-compliant mortgage-lending systems.

The origin of Islamic banking has its roots in the 1920s, but did not start until the late 1970s and owes much of its foundation to the Islamist doctrine of two people — Abul Ala Maudoodi of the Jamaat-e-Islami in Pakistan and Hassan al-Banna of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt. The theory was put into practice by Pakistani dictator General Zia-ul-Haq who established sharia banking law in Pakistan.

Proponents of sharia banking rest their case on many verses of the Holy Koran that outlaw usury*, not interest.

Verses that address the question of loans and debts include:

Al Baqarah (2:275): God hath permitted trade and forbidden usury;

Al Baqarah (2:276): Allah does not bless usury, and He causes charitable deeds to prosper, and Allah does not love any ungrateful sinner.

Every English-language translation of the Koran has translated the Arabic word riba as usury, not interest. Yet, Islamists have deliberately portrayed bank interest as usury and labelled the current banking system as un-Islamic. Instead, these Islamists have created exotic products with names that are foreign to much of the world's Muslim population. This is where they mask interest under the niqab of Mudraba, Musharaka, Murabaha, and Ijara. Two authors, both senior Muslim bankers, have written scathing critiques of sharia banking, one labelling the practice as nothing more than "deception," with the other suggesting the entire exercise was "a convenient pretext for advancing broad Islamic objectives and for lining the pockets of religious officials." Why Canadian banks would contribute to this masquerade is a question for ordinary Canadians to ask. Banks are helping sharia make a back-door entrance >>> By Tarek Fatah

*Usury is “the practice of lending money at exorbitant, or illegally high, rates of interest”. [Source: Dictionary.com]

Tarek Fatah is the author of Chasing a Mirage: The Tragic Illusion of an Islamic State, to be published in March.

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Tony Blair at the World Economic Forum on Faith and Modernization

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World Economic Forum: Worse to Come for the Economy, Warns Brown
THE GUARDIAN: There is worse to come for the world economy and banks have been guilty of underpricing risk and undertaking too much off balance sheet activity, Gordon Brown said today.

The prime minister, addressing the World Economic Forum in Davos after a traumatic week for world stock markets, said: "This is a testing time for the global economy and those of us who believe in free markets, flexible economies and sustainable globalisation.

"There is also a danger, with bad news still to come, of being overoptimistic about what we can achieve and overemphasising the silver lining at the expense of the clouds." Worse to come for the economy, warns Brown >>> By Ashley Seager and Fiona Walsh

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FTSE 100 Sees Biggest Ever One-Day Rise
THE TELEGRAPH: The FTSE 100 has closed up 266.5 at 5875.80 - the largest-ever one-day points rise.

Markets across the world rebounded on the back of hopes of a rescue package for the bond insurance sector and details of a planned $150bn (£76bn) fiscal package designed to revive the US economy.

In New York, the Dow Jones Industrial Average looked set to close higher for the second day running, trading up 83.81 points at 12353.98 by early afternoon. Other US indices followed suit, with the S&P 500 10.63 points higher at 1349.23, while the Nasdaq rose 31.12 points to 2347.53.

In Europe the CAC 40 and the Dax both ended the day up 6pc.

The gains came despite rising doubts about a $15bn plan to bail out bond insurers. FTSE 100 sees biggest ever one-day rise >>> By James Quinn, Wall Street Correspondent

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Mandelson Worried by Hillary’s Tough Talk
THE TELEGRAPH: The EU's trade commissioner fears this is the last year the Doha trade round will survive, says Ambrose Evans-Pritchard

Peter Mandelson, the EU trade commissioner, has warned Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton, that she risks stirring up a hornets nest by inflaming protectionist sentiment in the United States.

"The things she's been saying reverberate around the world," he said.

"This is the last year the Doha trade round can survive. There is little chance of a breakthrough after this president leaves office. People in the current administration tell me the US is turning into a protectionsist country. It is a serious concern."

Mr Mandelson, the ex-architect of New Labour, once had close ties to the Democratic Party. But his duties as defender of the EU trade system now put him starkly at odds with his former allies and soulmates.

"The Democratic Party is not where it was in the free trade heyday of Bill Clinton, but I don't think it is irretrievable," he said. 



Hillary Clinton has vowed to "review" America's main trade treaties, including the North American NAFTA pact signed by her husband. She has called for measures to "shelter" US companies from foreign investors. 



Her arguments appear to go beyond campaign rhetoric. She now argues that "free trade" doctrines have been overtaken by the rise of cheap labour rivals in Asia, forcing the US to adopt a radically different strategy. "We just can't keep doing what we did in the twentieth century. We have to drive a tougher bargain," she said. Mandelson worried by Hillary’s tough talk >>> By Ambrose Evans-Pritchard

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Recession Alert! Luxury Mansion in London: Price Tag 50 Million Pounds
Photo of luxury mansion in London courtesy of the BBC
BBC: A luxury mansion in north-west London has been sold for £50m, estate agents have revealed.

Toprak Mansion in Bishops Avenue, Hampstead, boasts seven bedrooms, seven kitchens, an 80ft salon, a swimming pool and a two acre garden.

The new owner, who does not want to be identified, is planning to spend £30m "improving" the home, and installing a beauty salon, spa, and 35-seat cinema.

The property was originally built by Turkish businessman Halis Toprak.

However, it is thought he only lived in it for two days.

Other features of the mansion include a Turkish bath for 20 people, a glass lift, and a swimming pool with a glass bridge, and following the improvements will also include a squash court. Luxury mansion is sold for £50m >>>

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Premium Bonds and Islamic Law
Premium bonds have been debated for decades over their ability to actually beat out interest bearing savings plans and conventional banking practices. Premium bonds allow the bond buyer to participate in a monthly lottery that picks out individual bond numbers. If your bond number is picked you are awarded a cash prize that can range from fifty pounds to a million pounds. Your investment is safe and the government uses the money to fund public projects. There have been conspiracy theories and other grumblings about the premium bond system and now there are religious concerns.

A recent ruling in the Islamic world has made premium bonds ownership against Islamic law. Muhammad Adam al-Kawthari has interpreted the Koran in stating that contrary to shares, premium bonds are a loan instead of a partial owning of a company as in shares. The act of making money off of your own money in the form of interest is considered usury and takes away from the pillar of faith that represents being charitable. Islamic scholars have declared all bonds that produce interest as unlawful. Even a premium bond cash prize is considered apart of interest and cannot be allowed. Premium Bonds and Islamic Law >>> By Allyson Rowen Taylor

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Amsterdam Investors Can Now Be Shariah-Compliant
SHARIAH FINANCE WATCH: The Arab economic boycott of Israel has mostly disappeared. But now it lives on, in the Dutch stock exchange. Businesses dealing with alcohol, the sex industry, financial services - they are all banned by Sharia law due to what they do. Businesses in Israel are banned due to what they are. Are Arab-Israeli businesses banned as well? Would anybody think it strange?

Apparently, nobody thinks it strange, or hypocritical, that Sharia compliant funds can’t invest in Israeli businesses, while investing in American businesses on a Dutch stock exchange (two countries with military forces in Muslim countries) is completely ok.

—

Investors in the Amsterdam stock exchange can now also invest in shares that conform to the Islamic rules of the Sharia.
There are three exchange trade funds available: a worldwide fund, a fund specializing in upcoming market and a fund investing in American businesses.

Pure Islamic fund are availalbe in other lands, such as the US and the London exchange. In Amsterdam, Barclays Global Investors listed five new exchange traded funds, or ishares, on Tuesday of which three conform to Sharia. These shares will follow a specified index.

Muslims who want to invest according to laws of sharia, may not put their money into companies that do ‘wrong’ business according to Islamic laws.

The Sharia doesn’t allow investing in companies that produce alcohol, have to do with the sex industry or financial institutions. The latter sector works with interest, riba in Arabic, and Muslims can’t collect it according to Sharia. The funds also don’t invest in companies from Israel. Investors in Amersterdam stock exchange can invest in shares that conform to the Islamic rules of Shariah >>> By Allyson Rowen Taylor

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London Stocks Hit by Rate Fears
THE GUARDIAN: The FTSE 100 share index suffered heavy losses again this today after hopes of hefty UK interest rate cuts were punctured by the latest news from the Bank of England.


With financial markets braced for more mayhem in the weeks ahead, London traders were still in selling mood after yesterday's turbulent session and hectic trading in Asia overnight. Although an emergency interest rate cut from the US Federal Reserve yesterday provided some early support, traders described it as little more than a stop-gap.


In a day of choppy trading, the mood darkened after it emerged at 9.30am that the Bank was not as divided over holding interest rates this month as the market had thought - with just one policymaker voting for a cut. At 1.30pm the FTSE 100 was down 3.5% at 5539.7 points, a 200.4 point loss, as it shed all of yesterday's gains.


There was disappointment that the latest minutes from the Bank of England's January rate-setting meeting showed it is unlikely to follow America's lead by making big reductions to borrowing costs in the UK. London stocks hit by rate fears >>> By Graeme Wearden and Katie Allen

THE GUARDIAN:
Market Turmoil

THE TELEGRAPH:
Ben Bernanke plays his ace - now what?

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Stocks Rebound On Fed’s Rate Cut
BBC: Global shares have rebounded after the US Federal Reserve slashed interest rates in an attempt to pull the world's biggest economy away from a recession.

The UK's FTSE 100 index closed 2.9% higher after falling more than 4% earlier. France's Cac also bounced back but Germany's Dax closed 0.3% down.

In the US, the Dow Jones and S&P 500 indexes fell, but their declines were less sharp than they had been earlier.

The Fed cut its main interest rate to 3.5% from 4.25% in a surprise move.

It came after global markets suffered their worst day since 9/11 on Monday, and as investors continued to dump shares in early trading on Tuesday.

The fears about slowing global growth were so pronounced that they spread to other asset classes, hurting commodities such as oil and gold.

But most stock market indexes and commodities quickly gained ground after their earlier losses in response to the Fed's biggest interest rate cut in more than two decades. Stocks rebound on Fed’s rate cut >>>

TIMESONLINE:
US shares plunge despite interest rate cut: The Dow Jones falls 1.1 per cent after authorities move to stop a recession by making the biggest cut to interest rates in 26 years

BBC:
Evan Davis: Bubble bursting?

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Kommentar von Ulrich Schäfer: Die Party ist aus
SUEDDEUTSCHE: Nichts lässt sich leichter zerstören als Vertrauen: Das gilt im normalen Leben, aber erst recht an der Börse, die schon seit Jahren kein Teil des normalen Lebens mehr ist.

Die Finanzmärkte haben sich losgelöst von der realen Wirtschaft; die Kurse sind schier unaufhaltsam gestiegen - obwohl schon seit langem überall Risiken lauerten. Energie und Rohstoffe? Wurden immer teurer. Amerikas Aufschwung? War wackelig. Der Dollar? Stand vor dem Absturz.
Jeder, der sehen wollte, konnte diese Gefahren sehen; jeder, der halbwegs nüchtern war, hätte in den vergangenen zwei, drei Jahren vorsichtig sein müssen, spätestens aber seit dem vorigen Sommer. Doch die Börse gleicht bisweilen einer wüsten College-Party: Weil jeder säuft, saufen alle mit. Und am Ende sind alle so besoffen, dass die Veranstaltung außer Kontrolle gerät.

Zusammenbruch in Zeitlupe

Banken und Börsianer hatten zuletzt geglaubt, dass es den immerwährenden Aufschwung gibt, die ewige Party; sie hatten darauf vertraut, dass die Kurse nur eine Richtung kennen - nach oben; sie wussten schier nicht wohin mit dem vielen Geld, mit dem die Notenbanken in den vergangenen sieben Jahren die Welt überschwemmt haben; sie haben die leicht verfügbaren Milliarden in ein Schattenreich gepumpt, das außerhalb des normalen Finanzsystems entstanden ist, in sogenannte Zweckgesellschaften außerhalb der Bilanz, deren wesentlicher Zweck darin bestand, die wahren Risiken zu verschleiern.

Neben das normale Bankensystem trat ein zweites. Kredite gab es deshalb im Überfluss, für den privaten Kunden ebenso wie für den Finanzinvestor; wer wollte, konnte sich mühelos viel Geld leihen, um ein Haus zu kaufen - oder ein ganzes Unternehmen.

Doch seit einigen Monaten kollabiert nun dieses aufgeblasene System: erst in Zeitlupe, nun im Zeitraffer. Der Grund dafür ist, dass die immer noch wichtigste Volkswirtschaft der Erde, die USA, sich in einer schweren Krise befindet, seit Hunderttausende amerikanische Familien die Kredite für ihr Eigenheim nicht mehr bedienen können. Deshalb sind unzählige Zweckgesellschaften und Dutzende Banken, die diese Risiken übernommen haben, in Not geraten.
Wie keine andere Wirtschaftsnation hatten die USA zuvor vom Schattenreich der Kreditinstitute profitiert. Sie waren froh, dass es jemanden gab, der ihren Aufschwung bezahlte, einen Boom auf Pump, finanziert mit geborgtem Geld. Die Party ist aus >>> Von Ulrich Schäfer

Mark Alexander (Paperback)
Mark Alexander (Hardback)