news blog from Shamika

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Students storm Goldman Sachs building in Milan

Students managed to break into the hall of the Goldman Sachs building in the heart of Milan's financial district, a few steps away from La Scala opera house, police said.The protests were quickly dispersed by police and security was restored to the elegant building, though red graffiti was daubed on its walls expressing anger at Italy's Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi and proclaiming "Give us money."Protesters in Italy's financial capital also hurled eggs at the headquarters of UniCredit , the country's biggest bank.As part of the global rally on Saturday, a demostration is scheduled to start at 1200 GMT in Rome, where peaceful protests in front of the Bank of Italy continued on Friday for a third straight day.

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UPDATE 1-Cathay Pacific says Sept cargo traffic down 10 pct

* Saw fall-off in passenger demand in late Sept (Adds details)By Alison LeungHONG KONG, Oct 14 (Reuters) - Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd , the world's largest air cargo carrier, said on Friday its cargo throughput fell in September, the sixth consecutive drop, and the passenger outlook was getting more uncertain.Paltry growth in Europe and the United States is damping demand for high-value exports from manufacturers in Asia, especially China, and pushed Cathay's September cargo and mail volume down by 10.1 percent from a year earlier."On the cargo side, there was no significant change from the situation in August, with the key Hong Kong and China markets both remaining soft, and demand to long-haul destinations, particularly Europe, below expectations," said James Woodrow, Cathay's general manager for cargo sales & marketing."There is no sign yet of the traditional year-end peak beginning," he added.Cathay is the dominant airline in Hong Kong, the world's busiest air cargo hub, and its cargo flow is a good indicator of export growth in Hong Kong and China, which just reported weaker than expected trade data on Wednesday.The carrier and subsidiary Dragonair moved a total of 131,443 tonnes of cargo and mail in September, it said.From January to September, tonnage dropped by 6.4 percent, compared with a capacity increase of 9.8 percent.However, intra-Asia traffic was holding up well, and flights from most destinations into Hong Kong had been relatively full, Woodrow said.September passenger numbers rose 3.5 percent to 2.26 million from the same month last year, but there was a fall-off in demand in the back end as expected after the summer peak, it said."Premium business held up well in September in terms of volume and yield, with currency movements working in our favour, but the outlook is getting more uncertain as companies begin to review their travel policies in light of the economic situation," said general manager of revenue management James Tong.Cathay carried 2.1 percent more passengers for the first nine months, while capacity was up by 9.1 percent.Its cargo and mail load factor was down 5 percentage points to 64.8 percent in September, and the passenger load factor fell by 2.1 percentage points to 79.7 percent last month.

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New Issue-EIB adds 325 mln SEK to 2020 bond

Borrower European Investment Bank (EIB)Issue Amount 325 million Swedish crownMaturity Date December 01, 2020Coupon 5.0 pctIssue price 115.50Payment Date October 21, 2011Lead Manager(s) JP MorganRatings Aaa (Moody's), AAA (S&P),AAA (Fitch)Listing LuxFull fees UndisclosedDenoms (K) 5Governing Law EnglishNotes The issue size will total 4.525 billionSwedish crown when fungibleISIN XS0219399275Security details and RIC, when available, will beonCustomers can right-click on the code forperformance analysis of this new issueFor ratings information, double click onFor all bonds data, double click onFor Top international bonds newsFor news about this issuer, double click on the issuer RIC,where assigned, and hit the newskey (F9 on Reuters terminals)Data supplied by International Insider.

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UPDATE 1-Australia's carbon tax plan passes biggest hurdle

* Opposition says will repeal carbon tax if elected* Initial carbon price set at A$23 a tonneBy James GrubelCANBERRA, Oct 12 (Reuters) - Australia's plan for a sweeping national carbon price passed its biggest political hurdle on Wednesday when the lower house of parliament voted in favour of the scheme -- a major victory for beleaguered Prime Minister Julia Gillard.Gillard, who is staring at electoral defeat according to opinion polls, has staked her minority government's future on the sweeping economic reform which will impose a carbon tax on around 500 of the country's biggest polluters from July 2012, before moving to a carbon trade scheme in 2015."Today is a significant day for Australians and the Australians of the future who want to see a better environment," Gillard said before the bills passed with 74 votes to 72 against in the House of Representatives.Australia, the world's biggest coal exporting nation, accounts for around 1.5 percent of global emissions, but it is the developed world's highest polluter per capital due to a reliance on coal for 80 percent of electricity generation.The carbon legislation and a bill for A$300 million in assistance for the steel industry must now pass the upper house Senate in a vote due in mid November. The government and Green senators have the numbers to ensure the bills will become law.The carbon plan, if passed by the Senate, would see Australia join the European Union and New Zealand with national emissions trade schemes, while the United States and Japan have smaller regional schemes.GOVERNMENT CELEBRATES CARBON VOTEGovernment lawmakers applauded when the lower house vote was taken while Gillard and her ministers hugged each other and waved to supporters in the public galleries.Two previous attempts to pass laws for a carbon price failed in 2009 and was partly responsible for the ruling Labor Party decision to dump then prime minister Kevin Rudd in favour of Gillard in June 2010.The carbon price is the central plank in the government's plan to cut carbon emissions, blamed for global warming, by 5 percent of year 2000 levels by 2020.The conservative opposition, currently ahead of Gillard's Labor in opinion polls and on track to win elections in two years, said it would dismantle the tax if victorious and replace it with an alternative that did not explicitly price carbon."We can repeal the tax, we will repeal the tax, we must repeal the tax. This is a pledge in blood. This tax will go," opposition leader Tony Abbott said.INITIAL A$23 A TONNE CARBON PRICEThe bills set an initial carbon price of A$23 a tonne, and guarantees billions of dollars of compensation for big business and households, which will face higher electricity prices.Export exposed industries such as aluminium smelters and steel makers, will receive up to 94.5 percent of carbon permits for free, while Liquefied Natural Gas projects will receive effective assistance for 50 percent of emissions.The scheme sets up a A$10 billion clean energy finance fund to leverage private investment into renewable energy, and sets aside A$1.3 billion to help coal mines reduce emissions.The plan also includes an extra A$300 million to help the steel industry, which is struggling with a high Australian dollar and higher costs for raw materials.The scheme will also allow the government to buy back up to 2,000 megawatts of electricity from Australia's dirtiest coal-fired power stations by 2020, encouraging new investment in renewable energy and gas-fired power plants.Agriculture is exempt from the carbon price, although farmers will be able to cash in on the market for carbon offsets.