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WTO talks: EU and developing countries accuse each other of bad faith
Geneva: Talks aimed at a global trade deal ended in failure on Wednesday, with trade representatives from the European Union and Brazil accusing each other of negotiating in bad faith.

The European Union trade representative, Peter Mandelson, accused developing countries, including Brazil, of undermining efforts in two days of talks at the World Trade Organization to lay the groundwork for a blueprint agreement before a mid-December summit meeting in Hong Kong.

Almost immediately the foreign minister of Brazil, Celso Amorim responded, accusing Mandelson of being disingenuous and saying that developing countries had offered concrete proposals.

Negotiators from the United States, the EU, Brazil and India all have scaled back expectations for reaching a blueprint for a deal at the Hong Kong meeting, emphasizing instead the need for forward momentum to reach a deal before 2007, when the authority of the U.S. government to negotiate a new accord expires.

The last ministerial meeting held by the World Trade Organization at Cancún, Mexico, two years ago collapsed amid deep disagreement between poorer and richer nations over agricultural subsidies.

The United States, by already proposing farm cuts, so far has avoided the cross fire that the EU is facing from developing countries.

But U.S. officials are in a sticky position because they still have to convince skeptical legislators and a powerful farm lobby at home that agricultural cuts will be matched by greater access to overseas markets for a wide range of American products. Adding to the pressure on the U.S. delegation is the fact that their mandate to negotiate a new treaty expires in 2007 and, given the political sensitivity of trade, there is a strong chance it may not be renewed immediately.

Trade officials in Geneva said Wednesday that talks on agriculture could resume on Friday, although they gave no further details.
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North Sea oil narrows UK deficit
London: Increased production from the North Sea helped narrow Britain's trade deficit in goods in September but imports still outstripped exports for the third quarter as a whole.

The trade deficit in goods was GBP5.4bn in September compared with GBP5.9bn in August. The overall trade deficit which includes services, stood at GBP3.9bn. The statistics office also said that Britain had imported GBP1.2bn of goods and services from China in September, while only exporting GBP256mn.

In spite of oil coming back on line in September from the North Sea after maintenance operations in August, some foreign oil was still needed to meet demand. There was a net deficit of GBP201mn.

The trade in oil represents around 7½pc of the economy.

Economists have said that weak demand for British goods in Europe would affect growth in the third quarter, and that the deficit could wipe off 0.2 to 0.3 percentage points from GDP.
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Ukraine out in the cold as EU goes "cautious" on further enlargement
Brussels: The European Commission has in a new strategy paper responded to wary public opinion about enlargement by stating the EU should be "cautious" about further expansion - with serious possible consequences for states like Ukraine.

Enlargement commissioner Olli Rehn on Wednesday said while presenting Brussels´ 2005 enlargement strategy paper: "We need to consolidate our enlargement agenda but be cautious with new commitments."

The report defines the current agenda as "the Balkans and Turkey", clearly leaving out other countries knocking on the EU door like the Ukraine.

A high-ranked commission official said he "did not object" to the analysis that the commission strategy paper represents bad news for Kiev´s EU aspirations. Commissioner Rehn said that the EU should "avoid overstretch," adding that the current enlargement agenda is already very heavy.

Brussels recently got a clear signal of concern over further enlargement prospects from general public scepticism on expansion, with the unnamed EU official saying "We have to listen to citizens´ concerns."
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Big Oil defends profits in Senate hearing
Washington D.C., USA: At a US Senate hearing, top executives of five major oil companies, who earned US$32.8bn during the last quarter, provided little explanation beyond what the industry has been saying for weeks, namely that their profits are huge because the industry is huge.

They also reiterated that the companies are ready to invest billions of dollars to get more oil, and if the Congress tries to punish them by imposing a windfall profits tax, it will only lead to fewer such investments.

Oil executives also blamed gas station owners for wildly fluctuating prices at the pump and blamed OPEC for the high cost of oil.

From July through September, ExxonMobil made nearly US$10bn, Shell earned US$9bn, B.P. US$6.5bn, and Conoco-Phillips and Chevron, more than US$3bn each. The cumulative amount, of approximately US$33bn, works out to US$110 for every man, woman and child in the United States.

The oil executives found little sympathy from senators, who said their constituents are suffering from high energy prices while Big Oil made big profits. There is a "growing suspicion that oil companies are taking unfair advantage," said Pete Domenici, R-N.M. "The oil companies owe the American people an explanation."

Talking to reporters after the executives were dismissed, Domenici praised them for answering all the questions but added, "The question of gouging still remains" a mystery.
Lee Raymond, chairman of ExxonMobil Corp., the world's largest publicly traded oil company, acknowledged the high gasoline and home heating prices "have put a strain on Americans' household budgets," but he defended his company's profits. Petroleum earnings "go up and down" from year to year and are in line with other industries when compared with the industry's enormous revenues.

Oil company heads also warned a tax on their windfall profits could hurt the oil supply, and rejected an idea of voluntarily giving money to help poor people heat their homes this winter.
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Mittal profits drop by 63 per cent
London: Rising costs and a drop in demand has led to a 64% third-quarter fall in profit for Mittal, the world's largest steel producer.

Mittal, which took over the top spot after acquiring International Steel Group in the Americas in April, said profit for the three months ending September 30 was US$478mn, down from US$1.33bn a year ago. Revenue rose 12% to US$7bn as the company continued to impose production cuts to reduce its inventory levels in response to price drops caused by cuts in demand from big markets such as China.

Total steel shipments for the quarter were 13mn tons, up from 12.2mn tons for the previous quarter and from 11mn tons a year ago. The cost of goods sold by ton over the quarter rose 24% from a year ago because of a steep increase in the costs of raw materials.

The company, which operates plants in 14 countries and employs 160,000 people after its US$4.5bn acquisition of ISG, said that shipments and selling prices were expected to be slightly higher in the fourth quarter.

Mittal, which is 88% owned by the Mittal family, is seeking acquisitions to increase its share of global steelmaking capacity as demand from China and India rises. Yesterday Davinder Chugh, chief executive of its South African arm, said it was considering buying the 79% stake in Highveld being sold by Anglo American.

Highveld is the second-largest steel maker in South Africa behind Mittal.
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