Standard Chartered begins fightback on Iran allegations

WASHINGTON/LONDON (Reuters) - Cowboy local regulator or the exposer of lax federal bureaucrats?

That's the key question being asked about New York banking regulator Benjamin Lawsky after his explosive charge that London's Standard Chartered bank abetted $250 billion of money-laundering transactions with Iran.

Standard Chartered won help Wednesday from Britain's central bank governor, who portrayed Lawsky as marching to his own tune, and marching out of step with federal regulators in Washington. "One regulator, but not the others, has gone public while the investigation is still going on," the Bank of England's Mervyn King said at a news conference in London.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Treasury Department, in a letter responding to a request for clarification from British authorities, said it takes sanctions violations seriously.

The British bank lost over a quarter of its market value in 24 hours after Lawsky, the head of New York State's Department of Financial Services, threatened Monday to cancel Standard Chartered's state banking license, which is critical for dealing in dollars. Lawsky called Standard Chartered a "rogue institution" for breaking U.S. sanctions against Iran.

Standard Chartered shares bounced 7.1 percent on Wednesday to close in London at 13.15 pounds, up from a three-year low of 10.92 hit on Tuesday. They were still down 18 percent since the regulator's threat, which Chief Executive Peters Sands said was "disproportionate" and came as a "complete surprise."

The bank's top executives, some like Sands scrambling back from summer vacations, worked on a defense strategy. So far, the executives have contested the regulator's figures and his interpretation of the law, but they have given little further detail. The bank says only a tiny proportion of its Iran-related deals - less than $14 million - was questionable under U.S. sanctions rules.

Sources told Reuters that federal banking regulators in Washington, who had been probing Standard Chartered's Iran-related deals for more than two years, were surprised by the timing of Lawsky's charges and the stridency of his language.

Lawsky's Department of Financial Services had come to the conclusion the case was getting old and that it wanted to move forward, a person with knowledge of the situation said. The department told other agencies at a meeting in April that it planned to move forward with the case, the person said.

Members of Lawsky's office met representatives of Standard Chartered around May but did not inform the bank it planned to issue an order against it, the person said.

"This is a case about Iran, money laundering, and national security," Lawsky said in a statement on Wednesday. "We will continue to work closely with our law enforcement partners, both federal and state, in this effort. No bank, big or small, foreign or domestic, is above the law."

In Washington, Adam Szubin, director of the Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control, said in a letter to British authorities that his office is investigating Standard Chartered for "potential Iran-related violations as well as a broader set of potential sanctions violations."

The letter, which was dated Wednesday and obtained by Reuters, came in response to a British request for clarification of U.S. sanctions laws. Although much of the letter focused on so-called U-turn transactions, which are at the center of New York's allegations, the letter said it was not a comment on Lawsky's action.

The alleged U-turn transactions refer to money moved for Iranian clients among banks in the United Kingdom and Middle East and cleared through Standard Chartered's New York branch, but which neither started nor ended in Iran.

In London, King drew unfavorable comparisons between the handling of this case and other U.S. actions against British banks, such as the investigation of interest rate manipulation at Barclays PLC.

In the Barclays case, he said, all regulators in Britain and the United States produced coordinated reports after the investigation was complete.

"I think all the UK authorities would ask is that the various regulatory bodies that are investigating the particular case try to work together and refrain from making too many public statements until the investigation is completed," King said.

Standard Chartered's Sands, in his first public comments since the crisis arose, offered no major new information on the allegations, which the bank has been reviewing with authorities for the past two years.

"(We) fundamentally reject the overall picture and believe there are no grounds for them to take this action," he told reporters. The threat to cancel the bank's license to operate in New York would be "wholly disproportionate," he said.

Although Standard Chartered's business is concentrated in emerging markets, which has helped insulate it from the global financial crisis, it needs to be able to operate in New York so it can offer dealings around the world in U.S. dollars.

Also on Wednesday, Deloitte LLP, which was accused in Lawsky's order of wrongdoing in its role as an outside consultant to Standard Chartered, denied any misconduct. Deloitte was hired by Standard Chartered after U.S. authorities reprimanded the bank for similar lapses on transactions in 2004.

"Deloitte had no knowledge of any alleged misconduct by any Standard Chartered Bank employees and categorically denies that it aided in any way any violation of law by the bank," the firm said in a statement.

Specifically, Deloitte said it "absolutely did not delete" references to transactions from a report, contrary to an allegation in Lawsky's order.

CURSING THE AMERICANS

On Monday, Lawsky had reproduced what he said were quotes from an unidentified Standard Chartered executive director in a conversation in 2006 that demonstrated the bank's "obvious contempt" for U.S. banking regulations.

"You f---ing Americans. Who are you to tell us, the rest of the world, that we're not going to deal with Iranians?" the quote was rendered in documents released by the regulators.

People familiar with the situation said the bank's group finance director, Richard Meddings, one of five executive directors at the time, was the unnamed man.

Ray Ferguson, a bank executive who attended that meeting, told Reuters that while Meddings had used the expletive in a heated exchange, he did not, to his recollection, say the second part of the quote attributed to him about U.S. sanctions.

Meddings did not respond to repeated requests for comment.

Asked for the bank's view on the quote, Sands said: "We don't believe it's accurate." He defended the ethics of the bank, which he has run for six years: "I don't think there is anything wrong with the culture at Standard Chartered,"

Calling the allegations "very damaging", he said he would address "mistakes" that had been "clearly wrong", but said: "There were no systematic attempts to circumvent sanctions."

The BoE's King said he did not share the view held by some that the move in New York was part of a concerted U.S. effort to undermine London as a financial center, following the Barclays probe and a U.S. Senate panel report that criticized HSBC Holding's efforts to police suspect transactions.

One British lawmaker, however, said the affair was part of a "political onslaught" in the United States against British banks.

"I think it's a concerted effort that's been organized at the top of the U.S. government. I think this is Washington trying to win a commercial battle to have trading from London shifted to New York," said John Mann, a member of parliament's finance committee, who also called for a parliamentary inquiry.

(Additional reporting by Nate Raymond, Patrick Temple-West, Sinead Cruise, Kelvin Soh, Anjuli Davies and Sarah White; Writing by Eddie Evans; Editing by Leslie Adler)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/standard-chartered-questions-york-action-011643915--sector.html

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Health Education and its Scope in Modern Era | Northland Health ...

H

Health Education Programs ? The primary goal of health education programs is to encourage students to maintain and improve their health and fitness in risk behaviors related to health.

Few of the health education courses are as follows -?
National Diabetes Education Program (NDEP)
National Kidney Disease Education Program (NKDEP)
Weight-control Information Network (WIN)
National Diabetes Information Clearinghouse (NDIC)
National Digestive Diseases Information Clearinghouse (NDDIC)
National Kidney and Urologic Diseases Information Clearinghouse (NKUDIC)
National Endocrine and Metabolic Diseases Information Service (NEMDIS)
National Hematologic Diseases Information Service (NHDIS)

Like all programs, is part of a degree in health education focused on teaching techniques and modern trends in education.

If a health educator working in an atmosphere of school or a company, he is still employed in the capacity of the teacher. Other subjects in a degree of health education including nutrition, fitness, substance abuse, obstetrics, HIV / AIDS and other important issues affecting public health.? health education degrees focusing on one or more areas, the student may have a specific career plan in place.

In today?s world, health schooling should be given one of the major importance due to the rise in the number of diseases. In order to give the knowledge to the people about their health, lots of specialists in health department are being asked for or in demand. Therefore the future of health schooling careers is bright. In the event you are of them who need to provide the the social order by humanizing public about their fitness, you will earn a diploma or degree in health schooling. You?ll have lots of health professions education in public and the private sector organization. After a degree in nursing, you will work as a nurse in public and private hospitals. You also have an option to work in your own private clinic. If you have a Bachelor of Social Work, you are working for NGOs by serving and educating people. If you have a medical education in all fields, you can become a doctor. If you earn a master?s or doctoral degree in health sciences, you can work as a health educator. This way, you have many career opportunities in health education.

Source: http://northlandconnection.net/health-education-and-its-scope-in-modern-era-2/

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NYC police subpoena Twitter over Broadway threats

NEW YORK (AP) ? New York City police say they have subpoenaed Twitter to try to identify someone who threatened a Broadway theater.

The NYPD is concerned about tweets that warned that people would be killed at boxer Mike Tyson's one-man show. One tweet referenced the shootings last month in Aurora, Colo., that left 12 dead in a movie theater.

NYPD spokesman Paul Browne said Tuesday that Twitter initially refused to disclose the source of the posts. He says the social media site has since turned over information in response to a subpoena, but he provided no further details.

A Twitter spokeswoman declined to comment.

Police recently beefed up security at the Long Acre Theater in midtown Manhattan as a precaution.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/nyc-police-subpoena-twitter-over-broadway-threats-203847224.html

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Heineken to continue pursuit of Tiger beer

AMSTERDAM (AP) ? Dutch brewer Heineken NV says it will keep fighting to buy the shares it doesn't already own of Tiger beer owner Asia Pacific Breweries of Singapore, despite efforts to upset the deal by a Thai group.

Last week Fraser and Neave agreed to sell its 39.7 percent stake in APB to Heineken for $4.23 billion. The offer was a 45 percent premium to APB's share price at the time, and would give Heineken 82 percent of APB.

On Aug. 7, Thai Beverage, which already owns 8 percent of APB, offered Neave 55 Singapore dollars per share for a 7.3 percent stake in APB. Though that offer is 10 percent higher than Heineken's share offer, the Dutch brewer insisted Wednesday that its offer is better because it covers Neave's whole stake.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/heineken-continue-pursuit-tiger-beer-083850984--finance.html

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FREE HR ADVICE HOTLINE CAN HELP - Charlotte Business ...

HR Advice Hotline

Employee and human resources headaches can drain the life out of your business. The solution could be a phone call away.

The Employer?s Association (TEA), a local non-profit organization, has been providing a full range of human resources, training and benefits services to Charlotte area businesses for over fifty years. One of their most popular services is the HR Advice Hotline, where their seasoned HR experts answer an average of 50 calls a day.

Recently TEA helped a client who had an administrative employee who was not performing to expectations. She had made billing errors on more than one occasion, was late for work a few times, and had been rude to coworkers. Although the owner had several conversations with the employee pointing out the deficiencies, no notes were taken to document the conversations and as a result, they were unsure if they could terminate.

With a quick call to TEA?s HR Hotline, the business was able to quickly put into place appropriate action steps to help them avoid further problems. TEA?s HR expert asked several questions to determine what risks existed so that he could provide the best advice to protect the employer. TEA suggested that the company NOT terminate the employee just yet. Why? Because the company had no supporting documentation. The employee was also a 55 year-old female employee, so there was potential for claims of age and sex discrimination. Instead, TEA recommended that the business owner have a formal discussion with the employee to reprimand her and document four main points:

1. Outline the details of specific incidents of the performance and work habit issues (the repeated billing errors, tardiness, etc.).

2. Cite the approximate dates of the previous oral conversations that took place where the owner let her know he was unhappy with her performance.

3. Be specific with the employee that, if another incident occurred, she would be terminated.

4. And most importantly, have the employee sign it!

The Bottom Line:

When faced with a situation like this, be sure to tell the employee the problems in writing with specifics (dates, times, examples of non-performance). Except for certain major violations that might warrant immediate termination, give the employee a chance to fix the problem and share the consequences of not fixing it. If you do these things, you?re probably going to be fine if you need to terminate the employee in the future.

Avoiding HR Migrains

Small business owners need a reliable HR source that they can turn to to help avoid pitfalls and litigation. Save your business from HR migrains and get your most pressing HR question answered. And, while you?re at it, learn more about the Employer?s Association and how they can help you be successful.

Special Offer

One of TEA?s most popular member benefits is the HR Advice Hotline, where seasoned in-house HR experts answer an average of 50 calls a day. All prospective TEA members can enjoy one sample HR Advice Hotline call by calling Lauren Ansley at 704-522-8011.

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Source: http://www.charlottebusinessresources.com/2012/08/employee-headaches-free-hr-advice-hotline-can-help/

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Robo-copters to the rescue? Army wants 'em

13 hrs.

When soldiers are wounded on the battlefield, commanders have to weigh whether it's worth it to risk more lives by sending in a rescue chopper. One way to save lives by reducing secondary casualties? Send in a robot with rotor blades instead.

In a recently posted solicitation to small businesses, the Army lists best candidates?for the airframe, Wired notes, including current unmanned aircraft such as the Kaman K-Max and copters such as the?Sikorsky Blackhawk, which can be modified for remote control.

The K-Max looks particularly promising since it is already flying resupply missions in Afghanistan.?

Perhaps the biggest obstacle to the use of robotic helicopters for medical evacuations is trust, according to Wired. ?

One potential solution under development by Urban Aeronautics is to remotely pipe in the voice of a medic to help soothe a panicked patient. The company is behind the AirMule, a vertical takeoff and landing aircraft that?s also on the Army?s solicitation list.

If such a helicopter is?put in place on the battlefield?? winning planning proposals will receive two years and up to $1 million to develop a working prototype ? the same robots could also?be put to work in civilian environments (think rescues during a natural disaster or terrorist attack).

Such widespread use, in turn, could help shape public perception on the safety robotic transport and open the door to a future where we are all driven around by robot chauffeurs ? to work, soccer practice and the bar, as well as the emergency room.

??via The Verge and Wired ?

John Roach is a contributing writer for NBC News Digital. To learn more about him, check out his website. For more of our Future of Technology series, watch the featured video below.

Source: http://www.futureoftech.msnbc.msn.com/technology/futureoftech/robo-copters-rescue-army-wants-em-926956

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XPO Logistics enters Canada with Kelron buy

(Reuters) - Transport services company XPO Logistics Inc reported a smaller-than-expected quarterly loss and said it acquired truck broker Kelron Logistics to expand into Canada.

XPO paid $8 million for Kelron, which generated trailing 12 months revenue of about $100 million as of June.

The Kelron acquisition will add to earnings from 2013, XPO Chief Executive Brad Jacobs told Reuters.

Jacobs also said XPO was on track to add about $250 million revenue from acquisitions this year.

XPO posted a second-quarter net loss attributable to shareholders of $5.9 million, or 34 cents per share, compared with a net income of $914,000, or 11 cents per share, a year earlier.

Excluding items, XPO lost 17 cents per share.

Revenue rose 24 percent to $54.5 million.

Analysts expected a loss of 21 cents per share on revenue of $55.0 million, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Shares of the company closed at $13 on Monday on the New York Stock Exchange.

(This August 6 story has been corrected to say analysts expected a loss of 21 cents per share, not profit)

(Reporting by A. Ananthalakshmi in Bangalore; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/xpo-logistics-enters-canada-kelron-buy-095204064--sector.html

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'The Bachelor' Host Chris Harrison Officiates Real Wedding!

Chris Harrison is best known for hosting The Bachelor and The Bachelorette and presiding over many rose ceremonies for that matter, but when it comes to tying the knot, he's now an officiant!

OK! NEWS: THE BACHELOR HOST CHRIS HARRISON BUMMED ABOUT EMMY SNUB BUT EXCITED FOR BETTY WHITE

Yesterday, the TV personality married two of the show producers in Malibu, Peter Scalettar and Cassie Lambert.

How cute it that? Apparently they met on the job in 2008 and got engaged last December.?

OK! NEWS: THE BACHELOR HOST CHRIS HARRISON SPLITS FROM WIFE OF 18 YEARS

According to RadarOnline, Chris became an ordained minister for the occasion to make their vows official. He tweeted, "Honored to be a small part of this big day."

And in case you're wondering, roses were not part of the wedding ceremony.

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Source: http://www.okmagazine.com/news/bachelor-host-chris-harrison-officiates-real-wedding

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EA sues Zynga claiming copyright infringement

(AP) ? Electronic Arts Inc. has sued online game maker Zynga saying that its new game "The Ville" infringes its own game, "The Sims Social."

EA said Friday that "The Ville" is "unmistakable" in its similarity to "The Sims Social," which launched more than a year earlier. EA says the games are "largely indistinguishable" to a casual observer.

"The similarities go well beyond any superficial resemblance. Zynga's design choices, animations, visual arrangements and character motions and actions have been directly lifted from The Sims Social," said Lucy Bradshaw, general manager of EA's Maxis Label, which developed the game, in a blog post Friday.

The games are both played on Facebook. Players create characters who live, work and interact with each other in virtual neighborhoods.

In response, Zynga says that EA doesn't understand copyright principles, and that it plans to defend its rights.

"It's also ironic that EA brings this suit shortly after launching SimCity Social which bears an uncanny resemblance to Zynga's CityVille game," said Reggie Davis, Zynga's general counsel, in a statement.

The lawsuit was filed Friday in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.

Shares of EA, which is based in Redwood City, Calif., rose 56 cents, or 5 percent, to $11.93 amid a broader market rally. The stock has traded in the 52-week range of $10.77 and $26.13.

San Francisco-based Zynga's stock rose 9 cents, or 3.3 percent, to 2.79 in afternoon trading. The stock is down 72 percent from its $10 initial public stock offering price. The company went public in December.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/495d344a0d10421e9baa8ee77029cfbd/Article_2012-08-03-EA-Zynga/id-f2864667d93f43d0bfcb46f77e781a3b

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