HARRY McGEE, Political Correspondent and SIMON CARSWELL, Finance Correspondent
TWO OFFICIAL reports on the €3.6 billion discrepancy in the Government’s debt figures have concluded there was duplication of effort between agencies, failures in communications and reporting, as well as lack of resources for key statistical work.
An internal Government report prepared for the Department of Finance and an external review carried out by consultants Deloitte and Touche have both concluded the responsibility for compiling the statistics should rest with one agency, the Central Statistics Office, rather than it being shared with the Department of Finance.
The double accounting first occurred in 2007 for three years of accounts dating back to 2004, the internal review found.
A Department of Finance spokesman said last night they would make no comment on the reports in advance of their publication tomorrow when the recently-appointed secretary general of the department John Moran would appear before the Public Accounts Committee for the first time.
The error initially arose in statistics prepared in late 2007 and led to a situation where €3.6 billion of Housing Finance Agency funds were “double counted”, resulting in the total of the general Government debt being overstated.
The discrepancy arose because there was a change of status for the housing agency’s borrowings. While the National Treasury Management Agency referred to the change in covering letters, the internal report said a key issue was whether or not the references were “sufficiently detailed” to be picked up the statistics unit of the Department of Finance.
The internal report concluded that emails and communications sent by the NTMA in 2010 and 2011 should have prompted the Department of Finance statistics unit to reconsider its figures, allowing it to identify the discrepancy.
It was also critical of the delays that occurred in communicating the error to senior management in the Department of Finance and also to the Minister for Finance, when the error was discovered. The discovery was made on October 19th but the Minister was not informed until November 1st.
“The statistician informed the review team that his primary intention was to confirm without any doubt that there was a discrepancy,” states the report.
“Furthermore, the statistician told the review team that, at the time, he did not appreciate or anticipate the attention that such an error would attract either from the media or from the Committee of Public Accounts, particularly given that the error was a ‘positive’ one and did not have a detrimental impact on the GGDebt [general government debt] figures.”
Both reports have found the work involved was very complex but that responsibility lay with a very small number of individuals, and resources was an issue. The Deloitte report states: “The current systems carry a significant risk of errors or omissions occurring and this has increased considerably in recent years.”
Deloitte found the calculation of the general government debt was complex and that regular clarification was required on the items that should be included in the reporting of the debt figures.
The accountants said that given the significance of the general government debt calculations and the reporting of those figures, a greater awareness among all government departments, agencies and local authorities was required and this should form part of future budgetary reform processes.
The secretary general of the department when the accounting error occurred, Kevin Cardiff, was rejected for the post of European Court of Auditors by a budgetary committee of the European Parliament by one vote in November last year. The European Parliament later overturned the recommendation by the budget committee to nominate Mr Cardiff to the post which carries a salary of €276,000 per year.
Forex Flash: Today's strategy for EUR/USD – Commerzbank, Danske Bank and UBS - FXStreet.com
FOREX-Euro hits 1-week high as bears trim bets ahead of G7 call - Reuters UK
* Euro hits 1-week high vs USD, above tenkan line
* Euro rebound may lose steam if no concrete steps from G7
* Some speculate ECB might act on Wed
* Aussie gains after 25 bp cut, market expects more cuts
* Short-term dlr/yen call options in favour on intervention fears
TOKYO, June 5 (Reuters) - The euro extended gains to a one-week high on Tuesday as some sellers pared back their huge bets against the currency ahead of a conference call by the Group of Seven financial policy makers on the European debt crisis.
Although market players remain sceptical of a major breakthrough given a lack of consensus within Europe on how to save Spanish banks and on other matters, there was caution in case the meeting leads to some kind of policy agreement, given record short positions on the euro.
"It will take a long time to resolve the debt crisis. I don't expect European policy makers to come to an agreement soon. I am ready to sell the euro around $1.2550," said a trader at a Japanese bank.
The euro rose to as high as $1.25429, its highest in a week, extending its rebound from a two-year low of $1.2288 reached on Friday. It last stood at $1.2520, up 0.2 percent from late U.S. levels.
On the daily Ichimoku chart, the euro rose substantially above the tenkan line for the first time in about a month and if it closes above that level, at $1.24565 on Tuesday, it could herald further recovery in the battered currency.
Immediate resistance for the euro lies at $1.2545, the 76.4 percent Fibonacci retracement of its decline last week and above that there is resistance at $1.2570, the 23.6 percent retracement of its longer term decline from a February high of $1.34869.
Against the yen, the single currency rose 0.3 percent to 98.22 yen, moving off Friday's 11-year low of 95.59 yen. It hit a fresh one-month high against the British pound at 81.405 pence.
News that finance chiefs from the Group of Seven leading industrialised powers will hold emergency talks on the euro zone prompted some market players to speculate that the European Central Bank could yield to additional pressure.
"They may put pressure on the ECB to do something," said Eiji Kinouchi, chief technical analyst at Daiwa Securities.
Some market players said ECB President Mario Draghi may embark on pre-emptive moves and surprise markets, as he did last year just after he took over the helm at the bank. They added that the ECB could implement a rate cut or a massive injection of funds.
RBA CUTS
Financial markets are anxious about the risks from a Spanish banking crisis and fret a Greek election on June 17 could lead Athens to leave the single currency and precipitate yet more economic turbulence.
France and the European Commission signaled their support on Monday for an ambitious plan to directly use the euro zone's permanent bailout fund to rescue stricken banks.
But Germany, the euro zone's biggest economy and the biggest contributor to the European Stability Mechanism, has so far opposed any use of bailout funds without a country having to submit to a politically humiliating austerity programme imposed by international lenders.
In a sign of increasing concern about the impact of the euro zone debt crisis, the Reserve Bank of Australia cut interest rates by 25 basis points but the cut was less than some had expected, sending the Australian dollar higher .
Local money markets had been pricing in a rate cut of at least 25 basis points, with some players looking to a deeper 50 basis point cut.
The Australian dollar rose close to 0.7 percent to $0.9784 , extending its recovery from an eight-month trough of $0.9581 hit on Friday.
Still, some market players see the Aussie trapped in a downtrend as they expect the Australian central bank to cut rates further in coming months.
The Japanese yen moved little against the U.S. dollar at 78.33 yen, off Friday's 3 1/2-month low of 77.652 yen, helped by wariness about Japanese yen-selling intervention as Japanese Finance Minister Jun Azumi has stepped up his rhetoric against the yen's rise.
Some market players are buying short-term dollar/yen calls to bet on, or hedge against intervention, pushing the one-week risk reversal spread to its highest level in favour of dollar calls in six months. (Additional reporting by Antoni Slodkowski; Editing by Edwina Gibbs)
Finance: Budget affects tax deductions - Wairarapa Times-Age
Industry heads and other experts have been downplaying the impact to changes in this year's Budget that will affect owners of holiday homes, boats and private planes.
While those who own private planes may perhaps not be overly concerned with tax breaks, a lot of people who have baches they rent out a couple of nights a week are set to lose the ability to claim tax deductions.
This is a case where the less often you rent a holiday home out, the more you will be affected.
Previously, holiday home owners have been able to claim tax deductions of up to 90 per cent of the general losses they incurred in the running of those homes.
That's things like loan interest, maintenance costs, and so on.
Now, how much they can claim will depend on how often the property is rented.
It will be worked out as a formula: The number of rented nights divided by the total number of nights the property is used gives the proportion that can be claimed as a tax deduction.
That means if you own a holiday home, stay there yourself 30 days a year and rent it out for 30 nights, you will only be able to claim a 50 per cent deduction, not the 90 per cent you could have claimed previously.
Similarly you won't be able to say you run a loss-making business renting your boat out a couple of weekends a year if, in fact, most of the time your boat is used for your own fishing trips.
Real estate industry experts are saying the Budget changes won't affect coastal property prices because people think of the tax breaks as a benefit, not the reason for buying a property.
Reinz chief executive Helen O'Sullivan says it's not something that affects property owners enough to really make a difference.
She points out that those who run their holiday homes as true investment properties will probably not be affected because their properties will be rented enough that the tax deductions will still apply.
The only concern will be that they may need to structure their own use to avoid the busy periods when properties will be easier to rent.
While it may indeed be the case that true investors won't be affected and everyone else just sees tax deductions as a benefit, for those who arestill deliberating on the decision of whether to buy a bach, this may be the move that changes their minds against it.
Coastal property prices are still high, international travel is as cheap as ever, and the luxury of regular weekends away is out of touch of a lot of people's busy lifestyles.
If you own an investment property, a boat that you sometimes rent out, or even private plane, talk to your accountant about how the changes might affect you.
FOREX.com Named Best Arabic FX Platform 2012 at Saudi Money Expo - Zawya.com
Dubai, United Arab Emirates, 5 June, 2012 - FOREX.com, the retail division of GAIN Capital (NYSE: GCAP), a global provider of online trading services, was awarded "Best Arabic FX Platform 2012" at the recent Saudi Money Expo held in Jeddah.
FOREX.com was given the prestigious accolade based on voting by investors and industry experts ranking the top FX brokers and educators in the region.
"We are delighted to receive this award, which recognizes our commitment to tailor and improve our services for our customers in the Middle East," said GAIN's Chief Product Officer Muhammad Rasoul. Mr. Rasoul added, "Trading volume from the region grew over 150% last year and, in anticipation of continued growth in the region, we recently launched an enhanced Arabic version of our FOREXTrader PRO platform, featuring Arabic language news and research, along with fully localized trading tools."
FOREX.com offers trading in more than 70 markets, including currencies, gold & silver, oil, natural gas, agricultural commodities, and global equity indices. In addition to the FOREXTrader Pro platform, FOREX.com also supports the popular MetaTrader (MT4) platform in Arabic, for traders who want to run automated strategies while enjoying the competitive pricing, stability, and service of a global market leader.
FOREX.com's Arabic service is regulated by the UK's Financial Services Authority, which provides clients with a robust regulatory framework and segregated funds protection.
"Traders today want a robust service that operates with strong regulatory oversight," added Mr. Rasoul. "Our FSA regulated service, along with our transparency as a U.S. public company, provides traders with a lot of confidence in choosing FOREX.com as their trading provider. Looking ahead, our goal is to expand our products and services for traders in the Middle East. This includes delivering new, innovative tools, expanding the trading markets we offer and, of course, continuing to provide superior customer service and trading execution."
For more information or to open up a complimentary 30-day practice account, traders should visit www.forex.com or www.forex.com/ar.
*Foreign exchange and CFD trading involves significant risk of loss, and is not suitable for all investors.
About GAIN Capital
GAIN Capital Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:GCAP) is a global provider of online trading services. GAIN's innovative trading technology provides market access and highly automated trade execution services across multiple asset classes, including foreign exchange (forex or FX), contracts for difference (CFDs) and exchange-based products, to a diverse client base of retail and institutional investors.
A pioneer in online forex trading, GAIN Capital operates FOREX.com®, one of the largest and best-known brands in the retail forex industry. GAIN's other businesses include GAIN GTX, a fully independent FX ECN for hedge funds and institutions, and GAIN Securities, Inc. (member FINRA/SIPC) a licensed U.S. broker-dealer.
GAIN Capital and its affiliates have offices in New York City; Bedminster, New Jersey; London; Sydney; Hong Kong; Tokyo; Singapore; Beijing and Seoul.
For company information, visit www.gaincapital.com.
© Press Release 2012
Finance and Administration Manager--Nigeria - Reliefweb.int
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