| Kenya: Realising the American Dream
When James Sang arrived in the US one November morning in 1991, he had one suitcase containing two pairs of trousers, four shirts, an extra pair of shoes, his documents and about $500 (Sh34,000) in cash. "I had sold everything I owned in Nairobi. This included a 21-inch colour TV, bed, sofa set, an iron box, some shoes, and a suit. Then I threw away or burnt everything else," Sang says. .
West Cumbria court team wins national excellence award
A team of court officials from the West Cumbria magistrates' court has won the top prize at Her Majesty's Courts Service National Awards ceremony in London today. The West Cumbria magistrates' court team was selected for the Lord Chancellor's Award as the overall winner from all award categories for their new way of working to deliver simple, speedy, summary justice. This is now a national initiative. West Cumbria have provided an excellent testing ground showing the benefits of partnership working and has provided an effective model for improving the way forward for other areas. Under the initiative cases were dealt with speedily and effectively with trials taking place sooner and offenders sentenced faster. The team, represented by Pauline Croall, Michael Gilbertson, Victoria Simonds and Jean Warwick, were elated by the news of winning the 'Innovation' award and the Lord Chancellor's Award.
Market meltdown spreads
Fallout from the ailing US mortgage market could keep the sharemarket on its wild roller-coaster ride for weeks. John Mangan and Peter Weekes report. WITH stocks tumbling 2 per cent on Wall Street on Friday, the Australian sharemarket is in for another turbulent week as the US credit crunch echoes around the world. Analysts expect the S&P/ASX 200 Index to open down 70-120 points tomorrow. "There will be no relief for local investors until the dust really settles on the (US) subprime mortgage mess and the weakness of the US housing sector," CommSec's chief equities economist Craig James said. He believes it could take more than a couple of weeks for the market's volatility to end. Meanwhile, the likelihood the Reserve Bank will raise interest rates at its meeting on Tuesday is now regarded as no better than a 50-50 bet, down from the 75-80 per cent probability estimated on Friday.
GM Reports Preliminary Second Quarter Financial Results
DETROIT, July 31 /PRNewswire/ -- General Motors Corp. (Nachrichten/Aktienkurs) today released its preliminary financial results for the 2007 second quarter, marked by record automotive revenue driven by strong sales in key growth markets, improved net income, and solid operating cash flow.
"We again saw improved results in sales, income and cash flow this quarter, driven by the continued successful implementation of our business strategies," said Rick Wagoner, GM chairman and chief executive officer. "In particular, our heavy commitment to key growth markets around the world really paid off in strong growth and earnings. In North America we continue to make progress with our focus on great new products, a disciplined sales and marketing strategy, and structural cost reduction, although profitability remains close to breakeven."
GM reported net income of $891 million, or $1.56 per diluted share, for the second quarter of 2007, an improvement of $4.3 billion compared with a reported net loss of $3.4 billion, or $5.98 per diluted share, in the year-ago quarter.
Velicka gone
HEARTS have begun a major overhaul of their first-team squad, headed by the departures of top goalscorer Andrius Velicka and club captain Craig Gordon. The Evening News can reveal that Velicka jetted out of Edinburgh yesterday as one of five Lithuanians with no future at Tynecastle. Midfielder Linas Pilibaitis and goalkeeper Eduardas Kurskis have already returned to FBK Kaunas, with Kestutis Ivaskevicius and Tomas Kancelskis certain to follow later this week. .
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