G20/Cairns Group sound warning note on Hong Kong talks
Hong Kong: The G20 and the Cairns Group, two powerful blocs made up of 27 nations and accounting for more than half of the world's population, called on the United States and the European Union on Friday to break a deadlock in the Hong Kong trade talks or risk "prolonging the impasse well into the future".

The two groups said that it was time for negotiations in Hong Kong to focus on removing the distortions in international agricultural trade. "Those most responsible for such distortions must now face the difficult political decisions necessary to move the (Doha trade) round forward," they said in a joint statement.

"Unless the negotiations take up the central issues of market access, domestic support and export subsidies, Hong Kong will be a lost opportunity."

The Hong Kong meeting, which opened on Tuesday and runs until Sunday, was initially intended to approve a draft trade treaty that would free up business in farm and industrial goods and services. That plan was abandoned because of differences between rich and poor countries. One of the biggest sticking points is the 25-nation EU's refusal to offer lower tariffs on imports of farm goods from developing countries without concessions from them on industrial goods and services.

"Market access continues to hold back progress in other areas, as the EU has yet to table an offer in line with the requirements of the Doha mandate," said the two groups, which include Australia, Brazil, China, India and South Africa. "Further steps in terms of cuts and disciplines are required in domestic support. We call for total elimination of all forms of export subsidies -- the most distorting form of support by no later than 2010," they added.
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Macquarie finally makes £1.5bn offer for the LSE
London: Australian bank Macquarie has finally tabled a takeover bid for the London Stock Exchange, less than a week after the LSE board rejected a "derisory" indicative bid from the bank of £1.48 billion.

Macquarie, which has set up MLX as its bid vehicle, launched a cash bid worth £1.5 billion for Europe's biggest stock market following talks with shareholders of the exchange.

Making its bid for just hours before a 5pm deadline fixed by Britain's takeover watchdog, the Office of Fair Trading, the Sydney-based bank said its 580p-a-share cash offer for the LSE represented "attractive value" because the exchange's value had been inflated by speculation over the bid.

The 307-year-old London market, which lists companies worth £1.6 trillion, declined to make an immediate comment.
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Intel and BMW in wide ranging partnership
San Francisco: Intel, the US semiconductor major, has announced a wide-ranging partnership with carmaker BMW, which ranges from support for its Formula One racing team to co-operation on standards for in-car equipment.

Since 2002, Advanced Micro Devices, Intel's biggest processor rival, has been a technology partner of Ferrari, a team that has since won three championships and 38 grand prix's. It is also a technology partner for world motorsport's governing body, the FIA, and the US's Nascar organisation.

Intel said its technology would be deployed throughout the BMW Group and its worldwide dealer network. BMW would convert its corporate notebooks to those based on Intel's Centrino processor and would work with Intel on an industry specification that would allow devices such as phones and portable media players to work with BMW vehicles.
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