Results of opinion poll on press freedom

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_depth/7134918.stm

World opinion is divided on the importance of having a free press, according to a poll conducted for the BBC World Service.

Of those interviewed, 56% thought that freedom of the press was very important to ensure a free society.

But 40% said it was more important to maintain social harmony and peace, even if it meant curbing the press's freedom to report news truthfully.

A total of 11,344 citizens in Brazil, Egypt, Germany, Great Britain, India, Kenya, Mexico,
Nigeria, Russia, Singapore, South Africa, the United Arab Emirates, the United States, and
Venezuela were interviewed face-to-face or by telephone between October 1 and November
21, 2007. Polling was conducted for the BBC World Service by the international polling firms
GlobeScan and Synovate and their research partners in each country.

56% of people in the 14 countries polled think the press and media in their country is free to
report the news accurately without bias. Only 19% say there is little or no media freedom in
their country.
Private and publicly funded news organisations receive similar ratings from the public when
it comes to reporting the news honestly and accurately. 39% of people across all countries
say publicly funded news agencies are doing a good job, while 43% say the same for private
news organisations.
However, in some countries the poll shows concern over the ownership of private media.
Strong majorities in Brazil (80%), Mexico (76%), USA (74%), and Great Britain (71%) believe
that the concentration of media ownership in fewer hands is a concern because owners’
political views emerge in reporting.
Of the countries where press freedom is most highly valued, Western developed countries
are more critical of how honestly and accurately the news is reported, including Germany
(28% average rating for good performance of public and private media), Great Britain (29%),
and the USA (29%) whereas Venezuela (44%), South Africa (49%), Nigeria (58%), and
Kenya (61%) rate the media performance more positively. (See diagram below).
In countries where social stability is more highly valued, those surveyed in India (61% good
performance) and the UAE (52%) believe the news is being reported honestly, contrasting
with a more negative view of press performance in Russia (27%), Mexico (28%), Brazil
(31%) and Singapore (37%).

India
Although Indians are not strong advocates of media freedom and are generally satisfied with
the accuracy of news reporting in their country, they are in favour of having a say in news
reporting decisions.
India is one of only three countries where people who believe stability is more important than
press freedom outnumber those who believe freedom is more important. Forty-eight percent
of Indians (versus 40% globally) put stability first, while 41 percent (56% globally) put
freedom first. A further 11 percent did not answer this question. In terms of its ability to report
the news accurately and without bias, the Indian media is perceived as freer than that of
almost any other nation in the survey. Seventy-two percent of Indians give a high freedom
rating, compared with 56 percent worldwide. Only 10 percent give a low freedom rating,
compared with 19 percent globally. Indians are more positive about the accuracy and
honesty of government or publicly-funded news reporting than any other country surveyed.
Fifty-seven percent of Indians give a “good” performance rating to public news organisations,
compared with 39 percent globally. Private, for-profit news organisations are viewed more
favourably, with 64 percent rating their performance “good” (versus 43% globally), although
this is slightly less positive than the response in Africa. Fifty-seven percent of Indians agree
that growing consolidation of private media ownership is a major issue “because you often
see owners’ political views emerge in the news”, while only 30 percent agree with the
opposing view that “media owners do not interfere with the news content” (14% did not
answer). Fifty-five percent think “it is important that people like me have a say in what gets
reported in the news”, while 33 percent think “decisions as to which stories get reported in
the news are best left to news organisations”, with a further 12 percent unable to answer.

High income taxes in Denmark worsen a labor shortage

http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/12/05/business/labor.php?WT.mc_id=atomfrontpage

Denmark is long viewed across Europe as an example of how to keep an economy thriving and a society equal.
Denmark is the home of "flexicurity," the catchy name given to a system that pays ample unemployment and welfare benefits but, unusually in Europe, imposes almost no restrictions on hiring and firing by employers. The mixture has served Denmark well, and its economy barreled ahead in 2006 by 3.5 percent, one of the best performances in western Europe. The country is effectively at full employment.
.........................

But success has given rise to an anxious search for talent among Danish companies. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, which is based in Paris, projects that Denmark's growth rate will fall to an annual rate of slightly more than 1 percent for the five years beginning in 2009, reflecting a dwindling supply of a vital input for any economy: labor.

The problem, employers and economists believe, has a lot to do with the 63 percent marginal tax rate paid by top earners in Denmark - a level that hits anyone making more than 360,000 Danish kroner, or about $70,000. That same tax rate underpins such effective income redistribution that Denmark is the most nearly equal society in the world, in that wealth is more evenly spread than anywhere else.

The movement toward lower taxes passed Denmark by, even as it took root in much of Europe.

Small East European countries, notably Estonia and Slovakia, started the trend by imposing low, flax taxes on income and corporate profits about five years ago. Those moves helped prod Austria, and eventually, Germany, to slash high marginal rates as well.

Danish taxes also contrast sharply with those in nearby London, often jokingly referred to among Danes as a Danish town, because so many of them live there. Lower taxes on high earners have been a centerpiece of the policy mix that has fed the rise of London as a global financial center since the 1980s.

But today young Danes can easily choose not to pay for the system's upkeep, once they have siphoned off what they need. For starters, as citizens of the European Union they are entitled to work in any of the 27 EU countries.

........................
Acknowledging the need to reduce the tax burden, Rasmussen's previous government approved slight reductions in taxes for lower earners, but he has avoided promises of quick fixes. In 1998, Rasmussen's party narrowly lost a national election focusing on a message of business-friendly reform, an experience that colors the current message of incremental change.

"Denmark is a country of consensus," Rasmussen said recently. "Occasionally that fact tends to lower the speed of reforms, but in exchange we are efficient in our implementation."

Supermarkets admit milk price fix

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7132108.stm

Supermarket firms Sainsbury's and Asda have admitted that they were part of a dairy price-fixing group that earned about £270m extra from shoppers.

The supermarkets, along with a number of dairy firms, have agreed to pay fines totalling some £116m after an Office of Fair Trading (OFT) probe.

Cases against Tesco and Morrisons will continue after no deal was struck.

The OFT said that in-store prices went up after the collusion, but the amount received by farmers did not increase.

However, the firms insist that the farm gate price paid for milk did rise and that they were not ripping off customers.

The OFT said the collusion saw customers being charged 3 pence extra for a pint of milk, 15p extra per quarter-pound of butter and 15p per half-pound of cheese, the watchdog said.

India seeks World Bank rupee loan

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7133184.stm

The Maharashtra state government is seeking a loan worth some $3.5bn but is concerned about the fluctuations in the value of the dollar.

If approved, it would be the first time the World Bank has agreed to a such a loan in rupees.

Bush Announces Mortgage Agreement

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/06/washington/06cnd-debt.html?em&ex=1197176400&en=1a51598debb6d78c&ei=5087%0A

WASHINGTON, Dec. 6 — President Bush announced an agreement with the mortgage industry today to freeze interest rates for up to five years for some of the two million homeowners who bought houses recently with subprime loans.

The president described the accord, hammered out after weeks of talks among Treasury Department officials, mortgage lenders and Wall Street firms, as a way to help deserving homeowners while keeping the housing slump from further affecting an economy that is basically sound.

But far from being a sweeping remedy, the agreement would help only some of the most strapped homeowners, and as homeowners become familiar with terms of the accord, many are bound to be disappointed.

“We should not bail out lenders, real estate speculators or those who made the reckless decision to buy a home they knew they could not afford,” Mr. Bush said at a White House appearance.

The president urged those homeowners distressed by rising mortgage payments to call a federal hot line for advice. The number is 1-888-995-HOPE.

The agreement would allow distressed borrowers who are current on their payments to keep their low introductory rates and escape an increase of 30 percent or more in their monthly payments when those rates expire.

“The housing market is moving through a period of change,” Mr. Bush said. “In recent years, innovative mortgage products have helped millions of Americans afford their own homes, and that’s good. Unfortunately, some of these products were used irresponsibly.”

“Some lenders made loans that borrowers did not understand, especially in the subprime sector,” Mr. Bush went on. “Some borrowers took out loans they knew they could not afford. And to compound the problem, many mortgages are packaged into securities and sold to investors around the world.”

As the terms of the agreement were becoming known this week, Democratic lawmakers and presidential contenders criticized it as too timid, and promoted more ambitious proposals of their own.

The agreement contains numerous limitations that would exclude many — if not most — subprime borrowers. It would apply to loans taken out between Jan. 1, 2005, and July 30, 2007, and scheduled to rise in 2008 and 2009. It would exclude those who are delinquent on their payments — about 22 percent of all subprime borrowers, according to First American LoanPerformance, an industry research firm.

Among those sure to be disappointed are borrowers whose introductory rates expire before Jan. 1. About $57 billion in subprime loans were scheduled to be reset at higher rates in the final three months of this year, according to estimates by First American LoanPerformance.

Mortgage companies could also exclude borrowers who they conclude are making enough money to afford higher monthly payments. Barclays Capital — extrapolating from a similar program recently unveiled in California — estimates that only about 12 percent of all subprime borrowers, or 240,000 homeowners, would get relief.

The plan is emerging as fallout from the mortgage crisis is seeping into the political sphere. Until recently, few candidates talked about subprime loans, and few bankers and traders on Wall Street paid much attention to mortgage-crisis declarations on the campaign trail. But with the meltdown growing worse, housing prices still plunging and many economists worrying about a recession, President Bush and his Democratic opponents are now racing to come up with answers.

Mr. Bush said the Justice Department “will continue to pursue wrongdoing in the banking and housing industries, so we can help ensure that those who defraud American consumers face justice.” He also prodded Congress to enact legislation to make more loan assistance available through the Federal Housing Administration.

Democratic presidential candidates have complained that the White House plan was overly narrow.

“It seems that President Bush is going to give struggling homeowners far less than they need,” Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York said in a statement on Monday. “With news accounts using terms like ‘whittled down’ and ‘limited’ to describe the scope of the Bush plan, it appears that the president is pushing a freeze for a very narrow group of borrowers.”

first meeting of EU and African leaders

EU host hails 'summit of equals'
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7133651.stm

There is a growing belief that Europe-Africa relations are changing

The host of the first meeting of EU and African leaders for seven years has described their gathering as a "summit of equals".

But Portuguese PM Jose Socrates said there would be no shying away from thorny issues like human rights.

Activists are urging more action to solve the Darfur crisis and confront Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe.

Mr Mugabe is banned from the EU, but was invited to the summit after African leaders threatened to stay away.

UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown, who is critical of Mr Mugabe's human rights record, is boycotting the summit in protest.

'Universal heritage'

Mr Socrates said there would be a frank and open dialogue with "no taboos".

We are equal in our human dignity... but also equal in terms of political responsibility Portuguese Prime Minister Jose Socrates Mugabe 'new era' dismissed EU-Africa: Key issues Q&A: Trade deal

"Human rights are a universal heritage of humanity which we have to preserve and defend.... We have put human rights at the centre of not only our agenda but our strategy," he said in an opening speech.

He acknowledged that Zimbabwe was a sticking point, but said dialogue would bring results.

"This summit is a summit of equals," he said. "We are equal in our human dignity... but also equal in terms of political responsibility."

Ghanaian President John Kufuor, who is also president of the African Union, said it was time to shake off the colonial past.

"For almost 500 years, the relationship between our two continents had not been a happy one. It is to correct this historic injustice and inhumanity that this new relationship between Africa and the European Union is now necessary," he said.

The BBC's Mark Doyle in Lisbon says there is an emerging realisation in Europe that its relationship with Africa is changing.

Poverty and issues around development aid are still dominant, but at the same time many countries in Africa are now democracies with growing economies and growing self-confidence, our correspondent says.

African trade with China is forcing Europe to take Africa more seriously and not just as a collection of former colonial possessions, he adds.

Mr Mugabe's attendance has overshadowed the summit

Human rights is one of five key topics that leaders are due to debate at the summit.

The others are trade, immigration, the environment, and peace and security.

Previous efforts to hold the meeting collapsed over the question of Mr Mugabe's attendance.

Britain and other EU countries have accused the Zimbabwean president of economic mismanagement, failure to curb corruption, and contempt for democracy.

'Riches'

Also on the eve of the summit, Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi - who has set up base in a tent outside Lisbon - called on Europe to compensate its former African colonies.

"The riches that were taken away must be given back somehow," Mr Gaddafi said in a speech at Lisbon University.

"If we don't face up to that truth, we'll have to pay the price one way or another - through terrorism, emigration or revenge."

The EU is hoping to draw up a number of new Economic Partnership Agreements with former African colonies and regional blocs. The World Trade Organization wants the current preferential trade deals to expire at the end of the year.

African representatives are concerned that the new agreements are unbalanced and that their countries will not be able to compete with subsidised European goods.

Some states, though, in East Africa, have already signed up to the new deals.

European countries are mindful of protecting their position in Africa amid rising competition from China, correspondents say

UN climate change talks in Bali.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7134060.stm

Mass demonstrations are taking place across the UK and worldwide to coincide with UN climate change talks in Bali.

Parallel eco-marches are planned in 50 cities globally, including London, Cardiff, Glasgow and Belfast.

A march in London will deliver a letter to Prime Minister Gordon Brown calling for strong UK climate change law.

The rallies come midway through the summit which is considering how to cut greenhouse gas emissions after current Kyoto Protocol targets expire in 2012.

Thousands of delegates from almost 200 nations are attending the two-week UN Framework Convention on Climate Change on the Indonesian island of Bali.

They are seeking progress towards a "Kyoto II" deal - a new global climate treaty. Talks will also focus on how to help poor nations cope in a warming world.

UK campaigners are urging ministers to agree a "clear roadmap" for a global low carbon economy.

Friends of the Earth director Tony Juniper said: "It is essential our politicians show the leadership required and ensure that the climate talks in Bali speed the world towards a low-carbon future and ensure the long-term security of generations to come."

He called for a strong climate change law that cuts UK emissions by 3% a year and includes emissions from international aviation and shipping, as well as annual milestones.

Milestones

Indonesian environment minister, Rachmat Witoelar, who is president of the conference, said he hoped the United States, which did not sign the 1997 Kyoto accord, would be brought on board.

Australia's trade minister, Simon Crean, has warned that both rich and poor nations must commit to slashing greenhouse gas emissions.

He said Australia would not sign any binding commitments until it has the results next year of a climate change report commissioned by new Prime Minister Kevin Rudd.

Mr Rudd signed papers leading to the ratification of the Kyoto Protocol as soon as he took office, reversing the policy of the previous conservative government.

The US opposes Kyoto because it does not include major polluters like China and India.

It is expected to resist pressure to agree binding emission targets, despite hopes among developing countries that emission cuts of 25-40% by 2020 for industrialised countries would be included in a final agreement when the conference ends.

The figures were agreed upon earlier this year by industrialised nations that signed the Kyoto Protocol.

It commits three dozen industrialized countries to cut their greenhouse gases an average of 5% below 1990 levels between next year and 2012, when it expires.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7120952.stm

Key climate summit opens in Bali

Governments at a key UN climate summit will discuss how to reduce greenhouse gas emissions after the current Kyoto Protocol targets expire in 2012.

Talks will centre on whether a further set of binding targets is needed.

It is the first such meeting since the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) warned that evidence for global warming was "unequivocal".

The two-week gathering in Bali, Indonesia, will also debate how to help poor nations cope in a warming world.

The annual high-level meeting, organised by the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), is under pressure to deliver a new global agreement on how to cut rising greenhouse gas emissions.

Rachmat Witoelar, the Indonesian environment minister who was named president of the conference, pledged to do his best to deliver a deal.

"Climate protection must form an integral part of sustainable economic development, and it is critical that we act and we act now," he said.

UNFCCC Executive Director Yvo de Boer urged the international community to use the summit to take "concrete steps" towards curbing climate change.

"We urgently need to take increased action, given climate change predictions and the corresponding global adaptation needs," he said in his welcome message to delegates.

"In the context of climate change, projections of economic growth and increases in energy demand over the next 20 years, especially in developing countries, point to the urgent need to green these trends."

Earlier this year, the IPCC published its Fourth Assessment Report (A4R), in which it projected that the world would warm by 1.8-4.0C (3.2-7.2F) over the next century.

Mr de Boer added that the IPCC's conclusion that climate change was "very likely" the result of human activity ended any doubt over the need to act.

Climate for consensus?

At the top of the conference's agenda is the need to reach a consensus on how to curb emissions beyond 2012.

This marks the end of the current phase of the Kyoto Protocol, which commits industrialised nations to cutting greenhouse gas emissions by an average of about 5% from 1990 levels.

Critics of the existing framework say binding targets do not work, and favour technological advances instead.

Recent studies show that levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere are rising faster than they were a decade ago.

Meanwhile, US President George Bush - who favours voluntary rather than mandatory targets - issued a statement saying that the nation's emissions had fallen by 1.5% in 2006 from levels in 2005.

Mr Bush used the reduction as an endorsement of his climate policy, saying: "Our guiding principle is clear: we must lead the world to produce fewer greenhouse gas emissions.

"We must do it in a way that does not undermine economic growth or prevent nations from delivering greater prosperity for their people."

However, the European Union backs the use of binding targets. The 27-nation bloc has already committed itself to cut emissions by 20% by 2020.

A number of observers believe the difference between the two economic powerhouses will result in the Bali conference failing to deliver a policy roadmap for "Kyoto II".

Softening the blow

The conference is also scheduled to consider how to fund projects that will help developing nations deal with the impact of climate change.

Ahead of the climate conference, another UN agency published a report criticising global efforts to date.

The UN Development Programme's annual Human Development Report said funding currently amounted to $26m (£13m), roughly the same amount as the UK spent on its flood defences in a week.

"Nobody wants to understate the very real long-term ecological challenges that climate change will bring to rich countries," said lead author Kevin Watkins.

"But the near-term vulnerabilities are not concentrated in lower Manhattan and London, but in flood-prone areas of Bangladesh and drought-prone parts of sub-Saharan Africa.

"Allowing the window of opportunity to close would represent a moral and political failure without precedent in human history."

RECESSION IN US

The recession - rather impending recession of USA - which is sending severe chill down the all finance ministers / economists of Global village - was only overdue. No economy - howsoever mighty it may be- can and should survive on most illogical policies / programmes . If one closely study one singular fact - the trade deficit of US economy - the whole picture becomes clearer. Factually USA has been in huge - almost up to 60% - trade deficit from last 30 years. No logic or theory can justify even the survival of such an economy. USA survived and has been surviving only because of its Politico-military hegemony. The very policies of World Bank/IMF - who are most lberally US's stooges have been towards docking of all other economies of the world so as to safeguard the US interests and continuation of its Economic hegemony ; have become self evident - be it be example of latin America or East Asia. There has been contineous and sustained strategy of US to create one or other crisis - IRAQ-North Korea-Phillistine- Iran so as to sustain its uncompetitive/ irrational/ illogical economic hegemony. So the CRISIS and resultant "RECESSION" was only very much expected.

Recession likely in US

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=a_TgRes4VjjU&refer=home

Dec. 3 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. corporate profits are in a recession, and the entire economy may not be far behind.

Slower sales and higher energy and labor costs are forcing companies from Bear Stearns Cos. to Pitney Bowes Inc. to reduce spending and hiring. Their efforts to keep earnings from eroding even further raise the risk that the economy, already weakened by the steepest housing slide since 1991, may shrink sometime next year.

``The earnings recession has already arrived,'' says David Rosenberg, North America economist for Merrill Lynch & Co. in New York. ``We are going to see an economic recession in '08.''

Corporate profits, as measured by the Commerce Department, fell at an annual rate of $19.3 billion in the third quarter from the second, as domestic earnings dropped by $41.2 billion. The drag from sagging U.S. sales and huge writedowns offset robust earnings abroad, fueled by the weak U.S dollar. The fourth quarter may be an even bigger bust.

``In the third quarter, the tide shifted, and for the worse,'' says Joseph Quinlan, chief market strategist for Bank of America Corp. in Charlotte, North Carolina. ``The domestic-profits squeeze is in its early stages and will be severe enough to overwhelm strong foreign earnings.''

Caterpillar Inc. of Peoria, Illinois, the world's largest maker of bulldozers and excavators, shocked investors in October when it said it expected the economy to be ``near to, or even in recession'' in 2008. At the time, Dearborn, Michigan-based Ford Motor Co., the second-largest U.S. automaker, was still ``optimistic,'' Chief Executive Officer Alan Mulally said Oct. 15. ``There's a lot to be positive about,'' he told reporters.

`Dicey Territory'

Little more than a month later, in a Nov. 19 interview, Ellen Hughes-Cromwick, Ford's chief economist, said the economy was ``in some dicey territory,'' though would likely ``edge by'' without a recession.

Profits for the Standard & Poor's 500 companies fell almost 25 percent on a per-share basis in the third quarter, the biggest year-over-year decline in almost five years. David Wyss, S&P's chief economist, expects their earnings to fall as much as 30 percent in the fourth quarter as companies take more writedowns for bad investments. Excluding such extraordinary items, operating profits may fall as well, he says.

Consensus estimates compiled by Bloomberg indicate S&P 500 operating profits may rise just 1.1 percent in the current quarter.

Reduced Expectations

That's down from the 8.8 percent increase analysts foresaw a month ago. Operating profits fell 2.5 percent in the third quarter, the first drop in more than five years.

Even if profits have peaked, that doesn't mean the economy is about to turn down, says Steven Wieting, managing director of economic and market analysis at Citigroup Global Markets Inc. in New York. In the last expansion, profit margins began contracting in late 1997; there was no recession until March 2001.

What's troubling this time is that much of last quarter's damage came in the financial sector, where operating earnings fell 25 percent, as banks and brokers were hurt by losses from subprime mortgages and related investments. Analysts' estimates compiled by Bloomberg indicate the industry's profits this quarter may decline more than 25 percent.

The plunge in financial profits is a triple whammy for the economy as banks and other institutions pare payrolls, cut capital spending and become stingier with loans.

Job Cuts

Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase & Co., Bear Stearns, Citigroup Inc., Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. and Morgan Stanley have announced some 25,000 job cuts so far this year. Gustavo Dolfino, president of New York executive-search firm Whiterock Group LLC, said in a Nov. 20 interview he expects them to fire thousands more.

Claims for unemployment benefits jumped to a nine-month high in the week ended Nov. 24. Economists polled by Bloomberg forecast that data to be released Dec. 7 will show payroll growth slowed to 70,000 in October from 166,000 in September, while the jobless rate rose.

``We see a significant slowdown in the growth of jobs and equipment spending in 2008,'' says Allen Sinai, chief global economist for Decision Economics in New York.

Orders for non-defense capital goods excluding aircraft, a proxy for future business investment, fell 2.3 percent in October, the most since February, according to Commerce Department figures.

Disappointed Investors

Weaker business spending held back sales at Cisco Systems Inc., the world's biggest maker of networking equipment. That disappointed investors, who have pushed the San Jose, California- based company's shares down more than 17 percent since Nov. 6. Chief Executive Officer John Chambers said orders have slowed from Cisco's top 25 U.S. customers, which include eight financial- services companies.

Stamford, Connecticut-based Pitney Bowes blamed weakness in the financial-services market for a 14 percent drop in its quarterly net income. The company, the world's largest maker of postal meters, also announced plans to fire 1,500 workers.

The biggest hit to the economy from fading financial profits may come from tighter lending standards. The Federal Reserve reported last month that banks were making it harder for businesses and consumers to borrow. Analysts including Sinai expect terms to tighten further.

Advanta Corp., a Spring House, Pennsylvania-based provider of corporate credit cards, cut its 2007 earnings forecast Nov. 27 and withdrew its 2008 estimate as late payments rose.

``Higher delinquency rates will continue for some time,'' Chief Executive Officer Dennis Alter told analysts. ``What is not clear is where the economy and consumer behavior is headed.''

Sinking Boat Sales

Scarce credit could make things even tougher for companies such as Brunswick Corp. of Lake Forest, Illinois, maker of Bayliner boats. The firm is cutting 170 jobs as it struggles with what Chief Executive Officer Dustan McCoy suggested might be the weakest U.S. boat market since 1965.

Foreign companies are starting to feel the fallout from weakness in the U.S. -- a reversal of the recent trend, in which American firms benefited from strength overseas.

Stockholm-based Ericsson AB, the world's biggest maker of wireless networks, said Nov. 20 that fourth-quarter sales may be at the lower end of a forecast it gave a month earlier as demand falters in North America and Europe.

Shares in Morgan Crucible Company Plc, a U.K. ceramics maker for the steel industry, plunged the most in nine years today after saying a weaker dollar and a slowdown in the U.S. construction and automotive markets will almost erase revenue growth.

Wolseley Plc said Nov. 28 it will cut 1,300 jobs in the U.S. after the decline in homebuilding led to a 15 percent fall in profits at the world's biggest distributor of plumbing and heating equipment.

``Looking out over the next 12 months, the U.S. is going to be very challenging,'' Chip Hornsby, chief executive officer of the Reading, England-based company, said on a conference call.