Moody’s lowers credit rating of major Italian bank to Junk Status

 

Moody’s Investors Service has slashed the credit rating of Italy’s Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena.

Source: Press TV

http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2012/10/18/267361/moodys-cuts-italy-bank-credit-rating/

Moody’s Investors Service has slashed the credit rating of Italy’s third biggest bank Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena (BMPS) to ‘junk’ status, saying Rome’s recapitalization program is feared to prove inadequate.

The rating agency said on Thursday that the lowering of the bank’s rating by two notches to ‘Baaa3’ (a non-investment grade) reflects Moody’s view that there “remains a material probability that the bank will need to seek further external support.”

Earlier in June, BMPS, the world’s oldest bank, said it was set to borrow around 1.5 billion euros ( about 1.87 billion dollars) from the Italian government to pay off its debt and beef up its capital.

The ailing bank has also said it would downsize its workforce by 4,600 employees by 2015.

In July, Moody’s also lowered the debt ratings of 13 Italian banks, including Unicredit and Intesa Sanpaolo, by one to two notches, citing the Italian government’s weakened creditworthiness.

Several eurozone member states, including Greece, Spain and Italy, have been struggling with deep economic woes since the financial crisis began about five years ago.

Over the past decade, Italy has been the slowest growing economy in the euro area.

The continued recession in the eurozone’s third-largest economy is gloomy news for Italians, who have seen a series of austerity packages, tax hikes and pension charges.

The worsening debt crisis has forced the EU governments to adopt harsh austerity measures and tough economic reforms, which have triggered incidents of social unrest and massive protests in many European countries.

White House sued for 'targeted killings'

US President Barack Obama


Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/140669.html


The United States government faces legal action for ordering the assassination of American citizens, whom it accuses of terrorist links.

On Monday, the American Civil Liberties Union and the Center for Constitutional Rights filed the lawsuit, protesting the death warrants including the one, signed by the country's President Barack Obama, against Anwar al-Awlaki, an American-born cleric, who is identified by the White House as an al-Qaeda leader, Reuters reported.

Al-Awlaki was born in New Mexico and spent years in Virginia, before moving to Yemen, where he is said to be currently staying.

The US recently accused him of being tied to a young Nigerian whom, Washington insisted, had been trained by alleged al-Qaeda militants in Yemen and unsuccessfully tried to bomb a US-bound plane on the Christmas Day. US authorities have also said al-Awlaki is linked to a US army major who killed 13 soldiers at Fort Hood in Texas last year.

Washington has authorized the Central Intelligence Agency, better known as CIA, to assassinate the cleric.

"A program that authorizes killing US citizens, without judicial oversight, due process or disclosed standards is unconstitutional, unlawful and un-American," Anthony Romero, executive director of the ACLU, said in a statement.

In taking the action, the bodies represented Nasser al-Awlaki, the cleric's father.

Citing the alleged militant presence, the US air force is said to have conducted several attacks on the Yemeni soil, reportedly leaving dozens of civilians dead.

In July, the clergyman reportedly painted a glum future for the Obama's efforts to establish a military foothold in Yemen.

"If George W. Bush is remembered as being the president who got America stuck in Afghanistan and Iraq, it's looking like Obama wants to be remembered as the president who got America stuck in Yemen," AP quoted him as saying in an audio message according.

US Rep. Dennis Kucinich has also presented a bill prohibiting the extrajudicial killings of Americans suspected of working with terrorist groups in direct response to the White House's order.

Cyprus holding presidential election

Source: PressTV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=123630§ionid=351020606


Turkey's European Union aspirations hang in the balance over the results of the presidential election in northern Cyprus, which is being held on Sunday.

If the breakaway region elects a hardliner, Ankara's quest to join the EU could be dealt a crippling blow, and it could even shape the future of Cyprus's fragile reunification process.

Some 164,000 Turkish Cypriots are choosing between incumbent Mehmet Ali Talat and challenger Prime Minister Dervis Eroglu.

Opinion polls have put Eroglu, a staunch supporter of Turkish Cypriot independence, in the lead.

The final results of the vote, which have to be ratified by an election council, are expected by 1800 GMT on the same day.

The winner will have to negotiate a settlement on the divided island with rival Greek Cypriots in the south who represent Cyprus in the European Union. Without a deal, the Greek Cypriots will block Ankara's bid to join the bloc.

The enclave owes its very creation to a 1974 Turkish army invasion launched after a militant Greek Cypriot coup seeking union with Greece. Since Cyprus gained independence from Britain in 1960, Turkey has acted as guarantor of Turkish Cypriot interests and is alone in recognizing and supporting northern Cyprus.