Flushing Meadows, NY, USA (GenevaLunch) – Juan Martin del Potro (bio) Monday evening in New York became only the second man to defeat Roger Federer in the finals of a grand slam tennis tournament, 3-6 7-6 (7-5) 4-6 7-6 (7-4) 6-2, at the US Open. Rafael Nadal is the other. Federer looked strong and put pressure on his 20-year-old opponent in the first set and well into the second, and then Del Potro came to life and took the second set in a tie break. Federer won the third set, but his service began to weaken.
Basel, Switzerland/Flushing Meadows, NY, USA (GenevaLunch) – It’s being called the “best point in tennis history” and thousands are flocking to a Eurosport Live clip on YouTube to see Roger Federer do it during the semi-finals of the US Open. From Federer’s web pages: “The most amazing moment of the semi-final was clearly Roger’s forehand hit between the legs which he swatted past an amazed Djokovic into the empty part of the court. ‘I practice them a lot actually but they never work,’ Roger said. ‘That’s why I guess it was the greatest shot I ever hit in my life.’ Having seen a TV replay himself, he commented ‘That’s unbelievable!’ His magical shot brought up a match point for Roger.”
The fall of New York investment bank Lehman Brothers in September 2008 will be remembered as the trigger moment that brought the world economy to its knees late last year. Media worldwide are using the anniversary to reflect on what happened, to interview the protagonists and, in the case of BBC2 TV, to air a docu-drama 9 September that recounts the story.
Lehman was so big in so many different markets that when the US government allowed it to go bankrupt, it caused a convulsion among its many counter-parties that caused the credit markets to seize up, and brought normal banking activity to a stop. One example: Reserve Primary Fund, a money market manager that put its investors’ money in safe, generally, low-yielding assets had to write down $785 million in Lehman debt that was worthless the day after it went bankrupt.
It was only the massive intervention by central banks and governments worldwide that calmed markets. There are still questions as to why other major investment banks were allowed to merge, or were given US government money to save them. The day after Lehman Brothers fell, the US Treasury, then still led by Henry Paulson, stumped up $85 billion to save US insurer American International Group. Bloomberg, MarketWatch, Vanity Fair (lengthy interview with former US Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson), Reuters (interview with Lehman ex-CEO Richard Fuld)
The price of gold went above $1,000 in futures trading in New York 7 September, its highest since February. The spot, or immediate delivery, price of gold reached $997. The gold price has risen about 14 percent since the beginning of 2009.
Investors’ concerns about the weakness of the dollar, the possibility of inflation due to the massive US budget deficit, and uncertainty about the general world economic situation are driving up the price of gold, analysts said. Bloomberg, Reuters
Flushing Meadows, New York (GenevaLunch) -The first round of the US Open resulted in a few scares, but no real upsets. Number one seed Roger Federer, in search of his sixth successive title in New York eased past 18 year-old American Devin Britton 6-1 6-3 7-5, dropping serve twice but coming back immediately each time. Andy Roddick, who lost an epic Wimbledon final against Federer this year beat Bjorn Phau 6-1 6-4 6-2.
Federer, who completed a career Grand Slam by winning the French Open in June and set a career record with his 15th Slam title at Wimbledon, became the first player to earn $50 million in career prize money with the victory.
Violent crime, including murder, rape, and armed robbery, is down sharply in most major US cities, the BBC reports. New York and Los Angeles are set to report crime rates later this year that were last seen in the 1960s. A combination of better police work, greater cooperation between law enforcement agencies, and improved technology has made cities like Washington DC, Boston and San Francisco safer, according to the British broadcast media. But some cities are still plagued by crime. Detroit, Michigan, once a major manufacturing centre, its population grown poorer over the years, was named most dangerous to live in by Forbes magazine. Other cities whose crime rates appear to be increasing, such as Stockton, California, may be on shipment routes for drugs from Mexico.
Crime statistics for the US are gathered annually by the FBI and published in the autumn, but the numbers as well as their use by private companies that rate cities is contentious. In June 2009 the FBI reported that preliminary crime figures for 2008 show a 2.5 percent drop in violent crimes nationwide compared to 2007 and a 1.6 percent drop in property crimes. in The US Conference of Mayors in 2007 began to work with the FBI and the US Justice Department to improve reporting and use of the statistics.
A helicopter and small Piper plane collided in mid-air over the Hudson River between Hoboken, New Jersey and Manhattan, New York, in the US Saturday, presumably killing all nine people aboard, although so far only two bodies have been found. Five Italian tourists were in the helicopter, touring the area. New York Times, Reuters
Nine US banks paid their employees bonuses that exceeded the banks’ net income in some cases, a report by New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo details. The banks all received government aid in 2008. The report says banks’ compensation policy “has become unmoored from their financial performance”. Cuomo writes that “when the banks did well, their employees were paid well. When the banks did poorly, their employees were paid well. And when the banks did very poorly, they were bailed out by taxpayers and their employees were still paid well.” The nine banks received $125 billion in bailout money under the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP). Most of the banks have paid the money back. NYT, Reuters
Kuwait financier, Hazem Khaled Al-Braika, 37, appears to have committed suicide with a gunshot to the head, just days after he and others were charged by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in New York, USA, with illegal earnings. Al-Braika’s company, Al Raya Investment, is 10 percent owned by Citigroup and he is a well-connected figure in the Gulf financial world. According to Reuters, his company “improperly earned millions of dollars from trades in two US firms, Harman International Industries Inc and Textron Inc.” Al Jazeera
Bernard Madoff has been sentenced to 150 years in prison in New York, USA. The judge called his crimes “extraordinarily evil” and handed him the sentence asked for by prosecutors, for fraud charges that grew out of his massive Ponzi scheme. Madoff pleaded guilty to the charges: securities fraud, mail fraud, wire fraud, investment adviser fraud, three counts of money laundering, false statements, perjury, false filings with the SEC, theft from an employee benefit plan. Bloomberg, New York Times
Greenland, next leg of the trip after Nova Scotia, Canada
Halifax, Canada (romandie/ats, Fre) – American Airlines flight 64 from New York’s JFK to Zurich Tuesday night 9 March was forced to land in Halifax after a fire started in the toilets. No one was injured. The fire appears to have been caused by a short-circuit in the toilet fan’s motor.
Swiss news weekly L’Hebdo magazine’s 2 June edition features on its cover the murder trial of Cécile Brossard, accused of killing her lover, wealthy French banker Edouard Stern, in 2007. GenevaLunch, a partner of l’Hebdo, brings you the English version in two parts, with an introduction by GL editor Ellen Wallace.
French version © 2009 l’Hebdo
English version © 2009 GenevaLunch (may not be reproduced in part or whole without written permission). Translation: Sean Ecker
Background: The trial of Cécile Brossard for murdering Edouard Stern opens in Geneva 10 June, and is expected to run to 19 June. With 30 journalists accredited, it will likely remain in the headlines for the length of the trial. She has admitted to murdering her lover, divorced banker Edouard Stern, one of France’s wealthiest men, who was 50 at the time of his death in February 2005. The killing – four gunshots at his luxurious apartment in central Geneva – sparked enormous media interest at the time. The story was a hot mix: money, world travel, an on-again off-again affair he had with a woman 16 years his junior who came from a middle-class small-town French background while he came from generations of banking wealth, and then there was the death scene, with the victim found dressed in a head to toe latex suit that was part of their sadomasochistic sexual games. And then tales of his manipulative behaviour began to eke out, while other observers questioned his killer’s words.
The trial adds to this two well-known lawyers and public curiosity about the woman who committed the crime. Swiss media have already warmed up for the trial: the Tribune de Genève writes of obscure plots, disinformation being spread and swissinfo (in French) relates a tale of passion, power and sex. Suisse Illustré asks, diabolical Mata Hari or fragile woman? TSR, which is putting three journalists on the story, has a video blog to follow the trial.
The story according to L’Hebdo:
Basel, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – The 40th Basel Art Fair, the world’s largest contemporary art fair, opens Wednesday 10 June to an economic backdrop that is sharply different from that of the 2008 fair, a fact reflected in a public panel discussion on the economy. The art fair welcomes some 60,000 visitors each year and with a record 1,100 applications for the 300 slots for galleries to show and sell their ware, this year promises to be equally busy despite the economy.
Lausanne, Switzerland (TSR, Fre) – A Vaud woman who flew back from New York to Geneva Tuesday has been hospitalized and diagnosed with A/H1N1 (swine flu). Her husband, who was on the same flight and came down with the same symptoms, is being tested. Their young child and the woman’s mother, as well as the husband, are in isolation for seven days. Passengers who were on the flight with the couple are being alerted by public health authorities.
Ed. note: in Britain, a student at Eton College was diagnosed with A/H1N1 and the school has decided to close until 10 June as a result. Princes Harry and William went to Eton. Details: Times
Bernard Madoff’s court-appointed trustee in New York, USA, is suing the largest feeder fund for his investment scheme: according to the trustee, the Fairfield Greenwich Group knew in 2005 he was under investigation and ignored several signs that he was involved in fraud, reports Reuters. The trustee is suing for $3.5 billion, money the trustee says was paid by Madoff on the part of his clients.
Alinghi into the water, Lausanne April 2009 (image, Carlo Borlenghi)
New York, NY, USA (GenevaLunch) - Conflicting reports are surfacing about what exactly a New York Supreme Court judge ordered 14 May, in the legal case linked to sailing’s America’s Cup , but it appears that Justice Shirley Kornreich upheld an earlier decision that Alinghi and BMW Oracle must race against each other by February 2010 at the latest. AFP wire service reports that Kornreich insists the two must have what will amount to a rare battle between two boats in the America’s Cup, but the story sheds little light on where this race fits into the planned Cup races that include several other teams.
The White House and US military authorities flew an official presidential jumbo jet, accompanied by an Air Force military jet, low over the Statue of Liberty, not far from the World Trade Center site, for a photo opportunity Monday, startling and frightening thousands of people who took to the streets. Memories of 11 September 2001 are still fresh in the city’s memory and city officials, who were not all given advance warning, were angry that they were left unprepared. Reuters
ACM's new offices, Zurich, Switzerland
Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – ACM, the world’s largest currency trader, based in Geneva, Monday announced that is opening a new office in Zurich. The announcement comes on the heels of confirmation last week that it has applied for a banking license. The company told GenevaLunch in October 2008 that it would be applying for a license, partly as a result of changes in Swiss law covering online transactions, but that it intends to maintain currency trading as its principle business.
Police visit more fuss than trouble
New York’s attorney general, Andrew Cuomo, says that he now hopes to recover about $80 million, or half of the money paid out in bonuses to AIG insurer’s managers, to return to US taxpayers. Fifteen of the 20 individuals who received the largest bonuses have agreed to repay them in full, he says, and negotiations are continuing with the others. Financial Times. Meanwhile, Reuters reports that an AIG spokesperson said late Monday that a handful of top executives in the Financial Products unit at the company have resigned.
Natasha Richardson, wife of Liam Neeson, died in a New York hospital after sustaining head injuries from a ski accident in Quebec’s Mont Tremblant Resort in Canada. Richardson, 45, fell during a supervised lesson on a beginner slope and initially showed no signs of injury. She was not wearing a helmet at the time of the fall. The exact cause of her death has not been released. BBC, CBC (CNN article on head injuries)
Bernard Madoff, charged in New York with 11 counts of fraud, has pleaded guilty and has been sent to jail at the 12-story Metropolitan Correctional Center in Manhattan, what Bloomberg calls a “horrendous” jail, while he awaits trial. The extent of the fraud and where the money went remains unclear, but Madoff said he acted alone, sparking angry skepticism, reports the Financial Times. Madoff told the court that he turned to fraud in the early 1990s, when his investment business was not doing well, because ““I felt compelled to satisfy my clients’ expectations at any cost.” Bloomberg, NPR
A Continental Airlines connecting flight operated by Colgan Air, flying from Newark, New Jersey to Buffalo, New York, crashed into a house five miles short of the runway, killing one person on the ground and all 48 aboard the plane. The cause of the crash is not yet known but several witnesses said they saw flames before the crash, reports Reuters.
A bird appears to have downed a US Airways flight from New York’s La Guardia Airport to Charlotte, North Carolina, when it tangled with the plane as it took off Thursday wth 150 people on board. Initial reports are that passengers and crew are safe, despite the plane going down in the Hudson River. CNN
Some of these stories, like that of the Russian woman who killed her drunken husband by closing their folding couch, do make it to the front pages:
A woman who returned three hours later to check on her unusually quiet husband discovered that she had in fact killed him when, angered by his drunken state, she closed their Murphy bed sofa into the wall with the man inside. Reuters
Dubai is cancelling New Year’s celebrations in solidarity with Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, bombarded by Israeli forces. International Herald Tribune
Facebook is having a bad week in terms of pleasing the public, with Italians upset at the growing number of Mafia bosses’ pages fans, reports the New York Times based on an article in Italy’s La Republicca, while in the US but also elsewhere there is growing anger at the social network’s decision to remove some breastfeeding images, saying they don’t meed decency standards. Independent, UK
Nasa, the US space agency, has issued its final report on Columbia, the space shuttle that exploded in February 2003, killing the seven astronauts aboard, noting that they knew for about 40 seconds that they had lost control. CNN
A theft victim in New York offered to take his robber out to dinner in a new twist on giving the shirt off your own back to someone poorer. NPR
Hey, it’s 2009 in New Zealand as we hit the “publish” button here in Switzerland. New Year’s Eve is a very short night in New Zealand – check out the balmy weather there and forget about Swiss snow for a minute. New Zealand Herald
The man who will name the successor to Hillary Clinton’s seat as US senator from New York, Governor David Patterson, confirmed Monday that Caroline Kennedy is interested in being appointed to the position. She is the 51-year-old daughter of former US President John F Kennedy and has, until now, steered clear of political jobs. Clinton leaves the post vacant to become US Secretary of State. CNN
Bernard Madoff, 70, former chairman of the Nasdaq stock exchange in New York, has been arrested on suspicion of running a Ponzi, or pyramid scheme with losses of $50b in what Reuters is saying “may rank among the biggest fraud cases ever.” The SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission), which is filing separate civil charges, said it appears assets have for the most part disappeared. Madoff was released on $10 million bail, a bond secured with his New York apartment. SEC press release
Update July 2009 New York, NY, USA (GenevaLunch) - The Challenger of the Record for the 33rd America’s Cup sailing race is now the GGYC (Golden Gate Yachting Club) in San Francisco, following a ruling by a judge in New York Tuesday that disqualified the Valencia-based Club Náutico Español de Vela (CNEV).
Photo, Ivo Rivero 2007, Alinghi, Dubai November 2007. Reprinted with permission.
The Spanish club had been named as the Challenger of the Record by Alinghi, the Swiss-based team that won the 32nd race in July 2007, and Valencia was selected as the home for the next race. The America’s Cup is the top event in the sailing world.
Today’s ruling is based on a technicality, that the CNEV had not held its annual regatta before becoming the Challenger of Record, Michel Hodara, chief operating officer of ACM (America’s Cup Management), which oversees the races, told GenevaLunch. Alinghi’s choice was hotly contested from the start by BMW Oracle, which was not the challenger for the 2007 race.
Emirates Team New Zealand was the Challenger of Record in July 2007, having won the Louis Vuitton race series against several other competitors. Alinghi defeated Emirates 5-2 in a very close set of races.
The judge’s decision is a blow to the Société Nautique de Genève (SNG), the yacht club that is home to Alinghi. The SNG was taken to court in August by BMW Oracle, whose home is the GGYC in California.
