Mike Oxley, co-author of landmark US anti-fraud law, dies at 71

Former US Representative Mike Oxley, a 12-term Republican congressman from Ohio who co-sponsored a landmark 2002 law to fight corporate fraud, died on Friday at the age of 71, officials said.

PHOTO: REUTERS

JAN 2, 201611:19 AM

[CLEVELAND] Former US Representative Mike Oxley, a 12-term Republican congressman from Ohio who co-sponsored a landmark 2002 law to fight corporate fraud, died on Friday at the age of 71, officials said.

"Mike personified a true public servant who loved serving his constituents, Ohio, and the United States of America," Oxley's successor in Congress, Representative Bob Latta, said in a statement.

Oxley died while asleep at his home in McLean, Virginia, according to the Courier newspaper in Findlay, Ohio.

A one-time special agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, he retired from Congress in 2007 after a 25-year career representing Ohio's Fourth Congressional District. They included several years as chairman of the House Financial Services Committee.

He is best known for his role in the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, which was passed by Congress to improve corporate disclosure and guard against the fraud of the sort committed by companies including Enron Corp and WorldCom Inc.

Oxley was suffering from lung cancer before his death, according to media reports, and he had been serving as chairman of the board of the Lung Cancer Alliance (LCA).

The non-profit said he led efforts to bring the life-saving benefits of screening to those at risk and helped usher in significant increases in federal research funding. "At a time when our country has been seeking a hero, no one embodied these characteristics more than Mike. He exuded fairness, integrity, compassion and service to others," the LCA's president, Laurie Fenton Ambrose, said in a statement.

Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine said Oxley had been a national leader in reforming banking and finance laws. "And, in what can sometimes be a tough business, Mike Oxley was genuinely liked by people on both sides of the aisle," DeWine said in a statement.

The reform legislation that carries Oxley's name sets standards for all publicly traded company boards, management and public accounting firms in the United States.

It was a response to a series of accounting scandals at companies such as Houston-based energy firm Enron, where thousands of workers lost their jobs and retirement savings due to one of the biggest corporate frauds in US history.

Ohio Governor John Kasich remembered Oxley as a great public servant, and said he had lost a great friend and mentor.

After leaving Congress, Oxley joined the BakerHostetler law firm in Washington DC In an online biography, the law firm said he served as an FBI special agent in Washington, Boston, and New York before being elected to Congress in 1981.

In the House, the law firm said, he had backed "pro-business, low-tax, pro-competition, and free trade positions as the best policy atmosphere to support strong economic growth." The firm said he had also been consistent in his support for"the nation's law enforcement, intelligence agencies, and military in the fights against drugs, crime, and terrorism."

REUTERS

    
 

More GCB transactions in 2015

Last year's tally of at least 34 deals worth S$730m, amid softer prices, is the best showing since 2012

PRICE RETREAT: An option has been granted for this two-storey bungalow along Dalvey Road at S$26 million. The freehold property, which comes with five bedrooms and a swimming pool, was said to have had an asking price of at least S$30 million a year ago. 

PHOTO: ARTHUR LEE

JAN 2, 20165:50 AM

Singapore

GOOD Class Bungalows, the creme de la creme of the landed housing market, have turned out to be somewhat of a bright spot in 2015.

At least 34 transactions totalling S$730 million in Good Class Bungalow (GCB) Areas were sealed in 2015 - up from 28 deals adding up to S$626 million in 2014.

The latest tally is also the best showing since 2012, when 54 properties in GCB Areas changed hands for S$1.17 billion. The increase in sales last year was against the backdrop of softer prices.

Realstar Premier Group managing director William Wong estimates that GCB prices retreated 10 to 15 per cent in 2015. "A good GCB in a location such as Dalvey/

Holland which used to be able to sell at S$30-32 million a year ago will probably be able to fetch S$25-27 million at best now."

He attributes the price drop to generally weaker economic sentiment globally as well as in Singapore. "Also owners are more realistic in their pricing especially for those who have not been able to find a buyer after putting their property in the market for more than a year. Coupled with the fact that there are quite a few GCBs transacted below S$20 million, this has somehow brought the overall asking prices of GCBs a notch down."

Samuel Eyo, managing director of Singapore Christie's International Real Estate, too acknowledged that prices retreated around 10 per cent last year. Besides the deteriorating economic sentiment, higher interest rates were also to blame, he noted. Among those who are in the market to sell a GCB, said Mr Eyo, are those who bought these bungalows much earlier and are in the money and "looking to diversify their portfolio - for example, into overseas properties as well as other forms of investments".

Another source of GCBs for sale is seniors whose children have moved out and who wish to downsize to a smaller home as they no longer want to maintain a GCB.

On the other hand, Mr Eyo pointed out, some owners who bought their properties in 2010 and later may not be sitting on much gains, especially after factoring in any additional buyer's stamp duty they may have paid and their potential liability for seller's stamp duty if they were to divest now.

Among the recent GCB transactions are: a 999-year leasehold bungalow along Yarwood Avenue which is believed to have been transacted at S$15.7 million or S$971 per square foot (psf) on land area of 16,163 square feet. The property has a built-up area of about 9,000 sq ft and has five en-suite bedrooms in addition to a guest room, maid's room, koi pond and a swimming pool.

Off Holland Road, a bungalow along Bukit Sedap Road has changed hands for S$20 million, which works out to S$1,004 psf on the freehold land area of 19,919 sq ft. Along Dalvey Road, within walking distance of the Botanic Gardens, an option has been granted for a two-storey freehold property at S$26 million. This works out to S$1,724 psf on the freehold land area of 15,081 sq ft. Located on an elevated plot opposite the Israeli Embassy, the bungalow comes with five bedrooms and a swimming pool.

It has a built-up area of about 8,700 sq ft and is part of The Glencaird Residences collection developed by a unit of Wharf Holdings.

Mr Eyo brokered the transaction but declined to comment on the buyer and seller.

BT understands the property is being sold by a company that is owned by a Singaporean couple who are currently living in Hong Kong. They are understood to have bought the property in April 1997 from Wharf for nearly S$13.9 million. The house was completed about 16 years ago, but is well maintained. It is currently leased out.

The buyer is Ng Han Whatt, who lodged the caveat for the purchase. He is a member of the Ng family of listed Pan-United Corporation.

When the lease on the Dalvey bungalow ends this year, Mr Ng is expected to do a major refurbishment of the property or tear it down for a complete redevelopment, market watchers suggest.

The Dalvey Road property was said to have had an asking price of at least S$30 million a year ago.

The Singaporean couple that is selling the property is said to have also bought two neighbouring bungalows, also part of Glencaird Residences, from Wharf in 1997; they divested both properties in 2007.

GCBs are the most prestigious type of landed housing in Singapore because of the planning constraints imposed by the Urban Redevelopment Authority, which has designated 39 locations in mainland Singapore as GCB Areas.

While GCB prices on the whole fell in 2015, the year saw two record price transactions - both in May. One was the S$91.7 million paid for 35 Ridout Road - which marked the biggest sale ever, on absolute quantum price basis, in a GCB Area. The other was a record psf of land price of S$2,190 psf in a GCB Area achieved for a luxuriously built and furnished bungalow in Bishopsgate. The three-year-old bungalow, which has two storeys and a basement, fetched S$33 million.

Mr Eyo of Christie's expects GCB prices to ease around 5 per cent this year if interest rates keep going up and the government does not relax the property cooling measures.

Realstar's Mr Wong expects GCB prices to continue trending down in the first half of this year in the absence of any positive stimulus - before stabilising in the second half. "I expect to see a 10 per cent increase in transaction volumes for the whole of 2016 amid a better matching of pricing expectations between buyers and sellers."

Buyers are going for bargain hunting and eyeing "desperate sales" to take advantage of the current buyers' market.

GCB owners, on their part, are either pricing their properties more realistically or switching to renting them out - to ride out the next couple of years.

"Some owners are receptive to having private events with wine/tapas to attract prospective buyers," Mr Wong added.

    
 

'Unforgettable' singer Natalie Cole dead at 65

      

Grammy-winning singer Natalie Cole, whose biggest hit came in a virtual duet with her late father, pop legend Nat King Cole, of his decades-old hit "Unforgettable,"has died at the age of 65, her family said on Friday. 

PHOTO: REUTERS

JAN 2, 20166:55 AM

[WASHINGTON] Grammy-winning singer Natalie Cole, whose biggest hit came in a virtual duet with her late father, pop legend Nat King Cole, of his decades-old hit "Unforgettable,"has died at the age of 65, her family said on Friday.

The family's statement said Cole died on Thursday night at Cedars-Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles from "ongoing health issues." Cole's career spanned five decades in the R&B, soul, jazz and pop genres. In 2015, she had cancelled appearances citing medical reasons.

"It is with heavy hearts that we bring to you all the news of our Mother and sister's passing," the Cole family statement said. "Natalie fought a fierce, courageous battle, dying how she lived - with dignity, strength and honor. Our beloved Mother and sister will be greatly [missed and remain UNFORGETTABLE in our hearts forever." The statement was signed by Cole's only child, Robert Yancey, and her twin sisters, Timolin and Casey Cole.

Tributes quickly poured in for Cole, with singer Tony Bennett saying on Instagram he was "deeply saddened to hear of the passing of Natalie Cole, as I have cherished the long friendship I had with her, her father Nat, and the family over the years." Bennett added: "Natalie was an exceptional jazz singer and it was an honor to have recorded and performed with her on several occasions."

Cole broke out in 1975 with the hit "This Will Be," which won the Grammy for best R&B female performance and also earned her the Grammy for best new artist. Critics compared her to Diana Ross and Aretha Franklin but her career floundered in the 1980s when she ran into problems with heroin.

She bounced back, and her career reached the superstar level in 1991 when she recorded "Unforgettable ... With Love." The album contained songs associated with her father, the silky-voiced baritone who was one of the most popular performers of the 1940s and '50s but died before his daughter began her solo career.

Using technology that was cutting edge at the time, studio engineers merged her voice with her father's in the song"Unforgettable," which had been a hit for Nat King Cole in 1951. The result was a moving, sentimental No. 1 hit 40 years later, that actually sounded as if the two were singing a duet.

The song and the album it came from earned Cole three Grammy Awards. "I thank my dad for leaving me such a wonderful, wonderful heritage," Cole said in accepting her awards.

Cole's other hits included "Everlasting," "Sophisticated Lady," "I've Got love on My Mind," and "Good to Be Back." In all, she won nine Grammys.

The success of "Unforgettable" capped her comeback after a dark period of heroin, crack and alcohol abuse. In "Angel on My Shoulder," her 2000 memoir, Cole said she turned to drugs because of unresolved issues in her life, including being molested as a child and her father's death when she was 15.

She spent six months in a rehabilitation program at the Hazelden Clinic in Minnesota and told CBS in 2006 that "those people gave me my life back one day at a time." Cole was diagnosed with hepatitis in 2008 from sharing needles with drug addicts, and underwent kidney transplant surgery in 2009. This past autumn, she canceled several concerts scheduled for November and December, citing a recent medical procedure.

Her 2008 album of pop standards, "Still Unforgettable," included another duet with her father, "Walkin' My Baby Back Home." Her most recent work was 2013's "Natalie Cole en Espanol." Cole was only 11 when she first sang professionally, with her father. But she went to the University of Massachusetts in Amherst with no plans of an entertainment career. While in college, she performed with bands and set aside plans for being a child psychologist.

Cole's mother, Maria Cole, also had been a singer with the Duke Ellington and Count Basie bands.

Cole portrayed herself in "Livin' for Love: The Natalie Cole Story," a 2000 television movie that depicted her drug addiction. She was married three times. "We've lost a wonderful, highly cherished artist and our heartfelt condolences go out to Natalie's family, friends, her many collaborators, as well as to all who have been entertained by her exceptional talent," Neil Portnow, president of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences.

Singer Patti LaBelle tweeted "Sending prayers and condolences to all the loved ones of my friend #NatalieCole! She will be truly missed but her light will shine forever!" Singer Lenny Kravitz posted on Instagram: "As the new year was ushered in, an angelic instrument moved on. Natalie Cole's voice was perfection. And what a lady... You will be missed my dear. Love." (

REUTERS

      

 

Global markets end 2015 with a whimper

World stock markets on Thursday ended 2015 with a whimper after sharp volatility sparked by China's slowdown, eurozone stimulus, the Greek crisis, rising US rates and a commodities rout. 

PHOTO: AFP

JAN 1, 20167:24 AM

[LONDON] World stock markets on Thursday ended 2015 with a whimper after sharp volatility sparked by China's slowdown, eurozone stimulus, the Greek crisis, rising US rates and a commodities rout.

"After a year that began so promisingly the markets are wrapping up 2015 in the limpest way possible, a collective sigh instead of any attempt at New Year's Eve fireworks," said Spreadex analyst Connor Campbell.

Asian equities limped across the finish line after a tumultuous 2015 that also witnessed a summer meltdown on the battered Chinese stock exchange.

European and US markets had enjoyed a record-breaking run at the start of the year, boosted by the expectation and then delivery of European Central Bank's quantitative easing (QE) stimulus.

Investors fretted on uncertainty over the Federal Reserve's first interest rate hike in almost a decade, but the bank eventually hiked borrowing costs in December amid growing confidence in the US economic recovery.

China's economic slowdown also plagued trading floors in 2015 and sent commodities reeling because the Asian giant is a top consumer of many raw materials.

Oil prices collapsed on global oversupply and demand fears, culminating in an 11-year low for Brent crude last week.

"There have been two distinct periods to the markets this year; the first third ... of 2015 saw the European and US markets all surge to fresh all-time highs, prompted by the promise, and delivery, of (ECB chief) Mario Draghi's long awaited quantitative easing plan," Mr Campbell told AFP.

"Yet as the year went on, the euphoric trading atmosphere began to sour, the Greek saga that played havoc with the European indices compounded by the dual pressures of August's dramatic Chinese crash and the impending US rate hike.

"Even as the Greek issue was resolved, jitters about the world's two biggest economies" persisted in the second half of 2015.

Over the course of the year, Frankfurt - closed Thursday - and Paris have won almost ten per cent in value. London's commodities-heavy shares index was however down 5.0 per cent.

In light holiday trade on Thursday, the British capital's FTSE 100 finished 0.51 per cent lower. The French CAC 40 ended down 0.9 per cent.

In New York, the Dow Jones Industrial Average also dropped on Thursday, with analysts describing trading volume as light and saying investors were fixated on sinking oil prices as well as an increase in jobless claims to a nearly six-month high.

In March, the ECB launched a 1.1-trillion-euro (S$1.7 trillion) stimulus to help lift consumer prices. It said this month that the QE programme to buy sovereign bonds would be extended to September 2017 or beyond, from an initial September 2016 timeframe.

Markets were rocked this year by Greece's financial crisis. In July, Athens accepted a three-year, 86-billion-euro EU bailout that saved it from crashing out of the eurozone.

The ECB meanwhile delivered an interest rate cut in early December and expanded stimulus measures, but the moves were not as bold as investors had hoped.

Germany's DAX 30 index had its final trading session on Wednesday, ending with a loss of 1.1 per cent in holiday-shortened deals.

However, the DAX finished 2015 with an impressive annual gain of 9.56 percent.

Frankfurt could have risen even more sharply if it had not been for German carmaker Volkswagen, hurt by a pollution-cheating scandal, dealers said.

Looking ahead, China remains central to the outlook for global markets, according to VTB Capital economist Neil MacKinnon.

"China remains key to the outlook for the global economy and global financial markets," he told AFP.

"In spite of tentative signs that the Chinese economy might be stabilising there are still challenges posed by very high levels of credit and debt.

"Commodity prices are also key. A further decline in the oil price (to perhaps US$20 per barrel) could present additional problems."

The slowdown in China's growth, and fears about Beijing's ability to manage it, sent shudders through global markets in the summer, slicing trillions off valuations. The Shanghai index, which had soared 150 per cent in 12 months crashed more than 40 per cent, with profit-taking and concerns about high valuations also stoking worries.

On Thursday, Hong Kong stocks ended up 0.2 per cent, but lost more than seven percent over the year.

Shanghai closed down 0.9 per cent, drawing to a close one of the most painful years in its 25-year history but still ending it 9.4 per cent higher. Tokyo and Seoul were closed.

AFP

    
 

US: Dow, S&P 500 in red for 2015, worst year since 2008

The Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 racked up their worst annual performance in seven years on Thursday after a sell-off in the final Wall Street session of 2015. 

PHOTO: AFP

JAN 1, 20166:52 AM

[NEW YORK] The Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 racked up their worst annual performance in seven years on Thursday after a sell-off in the final Wall Street session of 2015.

The S&P 500 fell 0.9 per cent to 2,043.94, leaving the broad-based gauge of US stocks down 0.7 per cent for the year, its first loss since 2011.

The blue-chip Dow dropped 1.0 per cent in the session to 17,425.03, taking its annual loss to 2.2 per cent.

But the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index proved a bright spot, ending 2015 with a gain of 5.7 per cent despite dropping 1.2 per cent to 5,007.41 in the last day of trade.

Analysts said the declines in Thursday's session should be taken with a grain of salt due to light trading volume ahead of the market's closure Friday for the New Year holiday and the incentive to sell stocks at the end of the year to book losses for tax purposes.

But the closing of the books on the worst year for the Dow and S&P 500 since 2008, after both repeatedly had punched through record highs during the year, left a sense of an end to the seven-year bull run since the financial crisis.

Jack Ablin, chief investment officer at BMO Global Asset Management, said he was "hopeful" about 2016, but listed a litany of possible problems, ranging from low commodity prices to still-high equity valuations and the Federal Reserve's move to lift interest rates.

"There are risks out there and the problem is the market isn't cheap, so it's going to take bad news hard if we get it," he said.

Wall Street appeared heading for another year of gains through August when a stretch of turbulence in Chinese equity markets ignited a global sell-off, pushing the S&P 500 below 1,900.

Stocks subsequently steadied, but trade was choppy in December, with weakness in oil prices often spurring equity selling.

Energy stocks were by far the laggard among industrial sectors, falling nearly 24 per cent for the year, according to preliminary figures from S&P Capital IQ.

Sectors with gains included consumer discretionary, up 8.4 per cent, and health care, up 5.2 per cent after a wave of merger announcements, it said.

The flashiest gains came from technology companies like Netflix and Amazon, with respective jumps of 134 per cent and 118 per cent as they posted strong growth. That contrasted sharply with older companies like Procter & Gamble, Caterpillar and Macy's that saw revenues drop.

"2015 was a year where revenues were evasive and investors were attracted to companies that were able to grow their top line," Ablin said.

"That's the problem: for every Amazon, there's probably a half dozen Macy's that are down dramatically."

AFP