EFCC gives bank debtors 2-week ultimatum

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, yesterday gave debtors of recently bailed-out banks two weeks to pay up or face another round of action.

Also, the anti-graft yesterday docked a former Ambassador to Spain, Ambassador Yusuf Yaro Mamman, before an Abuja High Court sitting in Lugbe, for allegedly spearheading the diversion of funds earmarked for the establishment of Aso Television station in Abuja.

The agency said it is focusing on Other Financial Institutions, OFIs, in its efforts to rid the country of money laundering and what it calls ‘terrorism financing’ .

Bank debtors get 2-wk ultimatum

The latest ultimatum to bank debtors is coming following reports from the affected banks that most of the debtors had reneged on their promise to pay up within a stipulated period.

According to the Head, Media and Publicity of the anti-graft agency, Mr. Femi Babafemi, yesterday, “It is worrisome that those that made part payments with a promise to pay up within a certain period following the intervention of the EFCC, have failed on their own terms.

“It is therefore necessary to remind them that the recent withdrawal of the EFCC operatives from the affected banks should not be misconstrued or taken advantage of.

“Since our investigation of the criminal flavor of these loans is still on-going, we therefore wish to warn those that have reneged on the repayment terms not to be taken by surprise at the end of the latest two weeks grace when the Commission shall again move decisively against defaulters.

“It is our wish to round off our operations in the affected banks by the end of the year so that the banks can run smoothly without any further interference from next year.

“As such, it is imperative that all concerned should make haste to fulfill their promises to enable the Commission concentrate fully on the prosecution of those already found culpable.”

Ex-Ambassador Mamman docked

Ambassador Mamman, who was hitherto the Chairman Board of Directors of Aso Radio and Television Abuja and one-time national chairman of the Alliance for Democracy, AD, was said to have conspired with three of his board members on February 5, this year, to dishonestly misappropriate about N300 million belonging to the establishment.

The other accused persons who were also arraigned yesterday by the EFCC over the fraud were Mr. Ahmed A. Ishaq, Mr. Ahmed Tafida and Mr Sani Ja’afaru.

The embattled former envoy and his board members however entered a plea of innocence to the entire 9-count criminal charges that were read to them by the court clerk.

They were granted bail in the sum of N5million each by trial Justice Olukayode Adegbola Adeniyi who adjourned further hearing in the matter till February 4, next year

Four of them were specifically alleged to have conspired to obtain credit facilities totaling about N25million, dishonestly siphoned about N130 million meant for the establishment of Aso TV and further shared amongst themselves another 22,280 Euros allegedly secured through an illegal transmission of ‘Aso Radio International’ radio station.

The EFCC, further alleged in the charge sheet that while about N1.5million was used by the accused persons to lodge in an Hotel in Abuja, that about N8.6 million was latter traced to a Zenith bank account, which they were said to have opened in the name of one Sunday Ibok.

Their act according to the anti-graft agency, contravened section 97(1) of the Penal Code Act, Cap 532 Laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (Abuja) 1990, Article 801 of the Financial Regulation and punishable under section 309 of the Penal Code Act.

EFCC probes other Financial Institutions

EFCC Chairman, Mrs. Farida Waziri, said yesterday that the agency will henceforth, focus attention on Other Financial Institutions, OFIs, in its efforts to rid the country of money laundering and what it calls ‘terrorism financing’.

The OFIs, which the EFCC Chairman said have become weak link in the war against money laundering in Nigeria include Discount Houses, Primary Mortgage Institutions and Micro-Finance Banks.

Mrs. Waziri who was represented by Emmanuel Akomaye, Secretary to the Commission, made the remark at the Anti-Money Laundering/Counter Terrorist Financing training/seminar, organised by the EFCC through the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit, NFIU, for other financial institutions.

“Focussing on the OFIs or strengthening AML/CFT measures within the OFIs sector will help us weed out unscrupulous operators who have brought disrepute to other sectors; enhance business transparency and promote legitimate private business growth; provide a fair and enabling environment for all OFI operators; increase investors confidence thereby attracting more investment and facilitate the prevention and detection of money laundering and all associated predicate offences,” Waziri said.

Budget row: Yar’Adua summons Mark, Bankole

President Umaru Yar’Adua has summoned the Senate President and Speaker of the House of Representatives — David Mark and Oladimeji Bankole — over the 2010 budget presentation row which has pitched the two legislative chambers against each other.

Presidency sources disclosed in Abuja, yesterday, that the president decided to wade into the matter with a view to amicably resolving what has clearly been considered in many quarters as an unnecessary battle of ego in the federal legislature which prevented the president from presenting the budget to a joint session of the lawmakers last Thursday.
Senate President, Chief David Mark, who is the Chairman of the joint session had decided that the 2010 federal budget be presented to the joint session in the Senate Chambers but that decision was rejected by Speaker Bankole.

The argument of the House of Representatives leadership was that previous budgets were presented to joint sessions in the Chambers of the House of representatives, Chambers and that as such members of the House would not go to the Senate Chambers for the occasion.
Mark, Bankole and Yar'Adua

Mark, Bankole and Yar'Adua

Presidency sources said that the President had to call the two leaders of the two chambers to work out an amicable resolution of the rift in the interest of the nation.

It was learnt that although the constitutional requirement is for the president to cause the budget to be laid before the legislature and that as such it was not necessarily compulsory for him to physically present it nor even read the budget proposal before the legislators but that resolving the conflict was considered critical for an effective legislature .

“The requirement of the law is that the president should cause the budget to be laid before the legislature. What that means is that the president does not have to personally take the budget there. He can as well direct the Minister of Finance to present it.

But for how long can the two chambers work at cross purposes? What good can come out of such a situation? sources wondered.

President Yar’Adua, it was learnt, did not want to interfere in the matter but the sources said the presidency did not want the “supremacy struggle” in the legislature to degenerate into a situation that could undermine government’s efforts at an early budget for 2010.

It was learnt that the presidency had held several meetings with the leadership of the National Assembly on the need to work together to enable the legislature pass the 2010 Appropriation Bill next month and therefore does not want anything capable of disrupting the arrangement.

There have been claims and counter claims between the two chambers which have been locked in supremacy war since the Constitution Review Committee episode in Minna, Niger state capital, early this year, when the committee’s assignment was disrupted over the Co-Chairmanship issue.

Opinions have been divided over the venue of the Joint Session of the two chambers with most people berating the House of Representatives leadership for insisting that members were not junior to Senators.

Some have argued that since the Senate President is the Chairman of the Joint session, he reserves the right to decide the venue of the joint session and that only last week, when the Queen of England addressed the Joint Session of the British Parliament, the event took place in the House of Lords, with most members of the House of Commons standing throughout the session.

Those in support of Mark also argue that it was wrong for members of the House of Representatives to claim equality with the Senators, going by the size of their constituencies and the constitutional age qualification for the two chambers.

According to the Constitution, one must attain the age of 35 to be elected Senator, while a members of the House of Representatives must have attained the age of 30.

The position of the Office of the Speaker was that the leadership of the House was not consulted on the issue of the venue before the decision was taken by the Senate President.

Senators adamant

Meantime, President of the Senate, Chief David Mark, is under strong pressure from Senators not to succumb to pressure in the face-off with the House of Representatives over the venue for the joint session for the presentation of the 2010 budget by the President.

A resolution of the crisis was not possible at the weekend Vanguard learnt, because of the retreat by the House of Representatives committee on Constitution Review that ended in Calabar last weekend.

With the principal officials back in Abuja yesterday trouble shooting efforts, Vanguard learnt could crystallize into a solution of the unprecedented crisis.

However, supporters and foes of the Senate President within the Senate chambers were unanimous at the weekend in backing their presiding officer’s stance that any joint session with the House of Representatives should be held in the Senate chambers with some insisting that House members who do not find seats should stand for the period of the address.

Others were, however, calling for a strict adherence to the provisions of the constitution which require the President to separately lay his financial proposals before each chamber of the National Assembly.

The leadership of the Senate and the House of Representatives are meanwhile expected to meet one another at another reconciliatory meeting being hosted by the PDP today. Ahead of the meeting, Senators were at the weekend articulating their grievances against their fellow legislators in the House of Representatives with the alleged disrespectful attitude of the House of Representatives members at the top of the pack of the grievances.

One leading Senate official told Vanguard at the weekend that the face-off could be resolved today for to the presentation of the budget on Wednesday.

However, Senators are expressing strong opposition to any back down with some vowing not to go to the chambers of the House of Representatives.

“There is no way I can ever go there (House) and David Mark can well go but certainly not me,’’ one Senator speaking on the condition of anonymity told Vanguard at the weekend.

Mark chides AC

However, Senator David Mark has rebuffed the intervention of the Action Congress (AC) into the face off between the Senate and the House of Representatives.

Responding to a statement by the AC National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed where he was quoted as saying that Mark had now seen the light, Mark described the AC publicity scribe as a noisemaker who thrives in castigating public officers even when he can never win a councillorship election.

Senator Mark in the statement authored by his Special Adviser (Media) Kola Ologondinyan said, “At times like this , many interest groups and political jobbers find a window to make comments rightly or wrongly. Everyone is entitled to his opinion though. However, the AC statement through its national publicity secretary, Lai Mohammed is amusing and clearly off the mark.

“He alleged that the President of the Senate, David Mark has seen the light because he now realised that “the Peoples Democratic Party, (PDP) is the problem with Nigeria ”.

“That is not correct. The Senate President is a product of the PDP and he remains committed, faithful and loyal to the party.

“He merely pointed out the fact that Elders of the party should not sit down and fold their arms when some members flagrantly flout the rules especially the constitution. He insisted that the constitution is supreme and should not in any way be compromised if Nigeria is to make progress.”

“If Lai Mohammed is not abreast with facts and realities, he should not wake-up from the wrong side of his bed to throw mud at people, especially the distinguished President of the Senate who has paid his dues in all ramifications.
Vanguardngr

Gani’s chamber riles CBN on IBB golf sponsorship

The law Chambers of the late Gani Fawehinmi, yesterday condemned the alleged sponsorship of the Central Bank of Nigeria Governor’s Golf tournament by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), describing the gesture as “regrettable and show of rascallism.”

In an open letter to Nigerians signed by Mr Mohammed Fawehinmi, a copy of which was made available to Saturday Vanguard, the chambers said that the efforts by the CBN through its Governor, Mallam Sanusi Lamido to advert in the dailies and sponsor the said golf tournament was a show of rascalism and recklessness by the CBN and its Governor, especially when the fortune of the country and its citizenry were nothing to write home about.

The statement read : “ It is regrettable that a man who should be occupied and concerned with salvaging the dwindling economic fortunes of Nigeria and the unstable financial system has the time to think, let alone collaborate with the IBB International Golf & Country Club to organize a golf tournament in honour of a self_styled military president whom so many conscientious Nigerians have condemned.

“What is more painful is that he (CBN Governor) had the effrontery to use our funds (Nigerians) to sponsor this advert in the name and on behalf of the Central Bank of Nigeria.

All these show of rascallism on the part of Mallam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi justifies my questioning of his competence as the Governor of Central bank of Nigeria – who is at the helm of affairs of the Central Bank of Nigeria as an institution which is saddled with the responsibility of controlling and supervising other financial institutions and on whose hand the economy of Nigeria revolves.”

He condemned the nonchalant attitude of the government to the plights of Nigerians and the financial system that is still struggling to get out of the woods and the sheer waste of the country’s resources by the Central Bank of Nigeria Governor.

He said with the steps the CBN Governor is taking, “the financial and banking sector of this country will suffer from the policies Mallam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi will enact and set in motion as the man at the helm of affairs of the Central Bank of Nigeria which will further impoverish Nigerians.”

Terim eyes for Amodu’s job

Former Turkey coach, Fatih Terim is ‘open’ to the idea of coming in as Technical Adviser for the Nigeria national team, as the country looks for support for current coach, Shaibu Amodu. Other names under consideration are Russia coach, Guus Hiddink and Republic of Ireland coach, Giovanni Trappatoni.

The last two are contingent on their respective countries failing to secure a spot in South Africa after the conclusion of the UEFA qualifying playoffs this Wednesday.

The Super Eagles qualified for the 2010 World Cup last Saturday, but Head Coach Amodu, who has a two and half year contract, has not enjoyed the support of the local media or the fans, and has been under fire for most of the qualifying campaign.
The situation led to the Nigerian government setting up a Presidential Task Force to help deliver the World Cup ticket.

With that is in the bag, it is understood that the Nigerian Football Federation (NFF) have now been given a directive ‘from above’ to ensure that a ‘Technical Adviser’ is in place by December at the very latest.
The former AC Milan, Galatasaray and Fiorentina coach, is not only interested in the job, but has been suggested to the top hierarchy of Nigerian sports.
Terim boasts of an impressive CV in European football. The only black mark in his managerial career being his five-month stint at AC Milan.

In 1996, he qualified Turkey for the European championships for the first time in the country’s history.
Following Euro 96, where Turkey failed to win any game, he joined Galatasaray, and led them to four consecutive league titles, two Turkish Cup titles and the UEFA Cup in 2000.

With Fiorentina, he reached the Final of the Coppa Italia, eliminating AC Milan in the process and in his unhappy stint at Milan, he won the TIM Cup.
He returned to the Turkey job in 2005 and qualified them again for the Euros, this time, reaching the semifinal of Euro 2008.
But he was forced to resign when Turkey failed to even make it to the playoffs of the 2010 World Cup qualifier, finishing third, 15 points behind group winners, Spain and 4 points behind second-place Bosnia and Herzegovina.


Sun News

UK stocks surge in global rally

World stocks have risen on optimism about a global economic recovery, with UK shares reaching a 14-month high.

The Standard and Poor's 500 index was at a 13-month high, with stocks in Europe and through Asia also higher.

Stocks were buoyed after US retail sales rebounded sharply in October, while oil prices surged more than 3%.

In the UK, miners such as Rio Tinto and Xstrata surged as other commodity prices such as copper rose, and gold prices touched a new record.

The UK's benchmark FTSE 100 index closed up 1.6%, or 86.29, to 5,382.67.

Rising confidence

In the US, all three indexes were higher.

The Dow Jones industrial average gained 1.3% and the Standard & Poor's 500 Index rose 1.6%, while the Nasdaq index was also higher.

Crude oil rose by $2.55 to $78.90 a barrel in New York, sending US energy stocks higher.

The world's biggest non-state-owned oil company, Exxon Mobil, surged 2.9%.

American Express added to the optimism. Its shares gained 3.5% after it said loan defaults fell for a sixth straight month.

The Commerce Department said retail sales rose 1.4%, rebounding strongly after September's fall of 2.3%, spurring gains in US retailers like Saks.
BBC News

Deregulation: We’ll ground Nigeria - NLC, TUC

Nigerians had better brace up for yet another mother-of-all-strike by the organized labour if the federal government goes ahead with its planned deregulation of the downstream oil sector. To be led by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC), the labour unions have dared the government to totally remove the subsidy on petroleum products and risk grounding the country.

This followed the collapse of talks between both parties.
The unions vowed that they will deploy industrial action as a means to make the government realize its folly in the pursuit of the total deregulation policy.
The NLC president, Comrade Abdulwaheed Omar, in a telephone interview, however said the congress would use strike action as a last resort.

“We cannot rule out industrial action because everybody, government and labour so far have gone back to their respective positions,” he said.
Omar however said the congress’ position would be conveyed to Nigerians when its recently inaugurated l0-man committee finalizes its work.
He noted that the NLC does not consider the meeting with the government as deadlocked and that there was still room for dialogue.
“As far as NLC is concerned, we have decided to have another look at our position. That is why we decided to set up the committee whose report will guide us subsequently,” he stated.

The NLC president however explained that the congress had always been guided by well-articulated reasons and would only see reason with the government if things were put in proper perspective.
“We have always advanced that the refineries should work, there must be a system of mass transportation, good roads and some other things that will cushion the effects on the Nigerian masses. Provided these are in order, government cannot find an ally in labour,” he warned further.

The Trade Union Congress (TUC) president general, Comrade Peter Esele, on his part, said the senior workers association had called its three major organs - National Administrative Council (NAC), National Executive Council (NEC) and Central Working committee (CWC) - to a meeting this week to deliberate on the issue.
“I would not like to pre-empt my national organs but when we meet next week, we will take a decisive position on the issue of deregulation,” he said.

Esele however said although he would not be pre-empting the government, he believes the agitation would follow the usual trend.
“I still see this government doing what they used to do in the past, which will be met by Aluta. Then we will meet all the parties at the negotiation table,” he said.
The National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), an affiliate of the NLC, likewise promised to support the congress in making the strike effective anytime it is called.
The union said it would withdraw the vehicles of its member from the roads.

FG courting trouble – David-West
Former Minister of Petroleum, Prof Tam David-West, advised President Umaru Yar’Adua to resist the temptation of deregulating the downstream oil sector to avoid jeopardising the stability of the present administration.
Speaking with Sunday Sun in a telephone interview, David-West warned of dire consequences if Yar’Adua allows his advisers to mislead him with cooked books and false reasons about the desirability of the move.
He dismissed the arguments of those who are pro-deregulation, describing them as fraudulent, deceitful and self-serving.
According to him, it is the mafia and their cronies who mismanaged the oil industry and sabotaged the local refineries to justify fuel importation that were behind the clamour for deregulation in order to fleece helpless Nigerians.
“There is a limit to which people can endure suffering. There comes a time when people will say to live is like dying. So, we prefer to die.

“St Augustine said, rebellion against bad government has the support of the gods. Edmund Burke said government is a contrivance of human wisdom. Men have a right to expect that this wisdom will also meet their many demands,” he added.
The Professor of Virology called on the labour unions to mobilise Nigerians in protest against deregulation.
“If labour cannot go on strike now, they are useless and should shut up forever. No time is better than now to go on strike on this issue,” he insisted.

The former Minister wondered why the common man should be allowed to suffer the failure of successive administrations to address the problem of the oil sector.
“I am advising Yar’Adua not to do anything that will put more pain on the masses of this country. Already, the system is mostly unjust to the ordinary people, most asymmetrically immoral against the ordinary man.
“We have a system in which a Senator who hardly contributes in parliament earns N3million a month and that same system cannot give N7,000 to a hardworking labourer as monthly pay.
“My position is that if your refineries are working, you will have no need to import refined products.”

It’s shameful FG can’t fix refineries – Igini
Condemning the proposal, social commentator, Mr Mike Igini, said the government’s move to deregulate the sector was a result of incompetence to manage the nation’s four oil refineries.
He contended that since 1978 when the whole idea of deregulation started, the government’s argument has always been the same.
“I have said it over and over again that government’s deregulation is a result of incompetence. Since 1978 when the whole idea of deregulation started, government’s argument has always been the same. But it has consistently broken its promises in terms of the usage of the proceeds from the removal of oil subsidy. Forty-eight years after the country’s independence, there is no infrastructure to justify the removal of subsidy,” he lamented.

Speaking further he said, “I think the whole idea of deregulation is not bad. Deregulation means that government is pulling out all the things that are making it difficult for private businessmen to thrive in the oil industry.”
But he took a swipe at those who compare the oil sector with the telecommunication industry.
“Deregulation in the oil industry is not the same with the telecommunication industry. It was easy for MTN and ECONET to bring in their machines and start operation but it will take at least six years to build a refinery,” the social critic stressed.
For Igini, deregulation is coming up at this time because of government’s failure to manage the country’s four oil refineries. “It is importation deregulation,” he said.

On the economic implication of deregulation, Igini said: “The move will cause untold inflation because the multiplier effect of N100 per litre of petrol will jerk up prices of cassava, yam, vegetables as well as gari. It will affect all the stakeholders in the country because prices of essential commodities will be twice what they used to be before deregulation.”

Protest ‘ll be worse than ASUU strike - CLO
Chairman of the Lagos chapter of the Civil Liberties Organisation (CLO), Comrade Eneruvie Enakoko, called on Nigerians to resist the planned deregulation of the downstream sector.
Speaking in an interview with Sunday Sun, the CLO leader said politics and the economy of the Nigeria has been too volatile on the masses to be able to handle the pressure of deregulation.
Urging Nigerians to prepare to sustain a strong resistance through strikes and demonstrations, Eneruvie said if the government remains adamant about deregulation, the CLO along with labour unions, other civil society groups as well as every Nigerian would take to the streets in protest.

“It will be worse than the ASSU strike because not only are we going to protest, we are going to sustain the protest. Freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor to the oppressed. It must be demanded by the oppressed. The privileged groups who oppress the people must be confronted by the people.”
Describing our leaders as wicked and insensitive to the plight of the common man, he advised that government instead should regulate the downstream sector, while embarking on massive repair and installation of basic infrastructure.
His words: “What government should embark on is proper regulation of the downstream sector. While repairing the refineries, government should also take steps to provide petroleum products at a cheap price. When fuel price went up internationally, government did nothing and it went up in Nigeria too. When it came down, nothing was also done apart from bringing it down by N5. That is wickedness to a people in their own property.”



Sun News

Jose Mourinho ready to return to the Premier League

Former Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho has alerted his potential suitors in England by admitting he would welcome a return to the Premier League with a club where he can found a lasting legacy.

Jose Mourinho

GettyImages

Jose Mourinho was dubbed 'The Special One' upon arriving at Chelsea

Mourinho, currently managing Italian club Inter Milan, has been sorely missed in England since he departed Stamford Bridge in September 2007 having won back-to-back Premier League titles as well as the FA Cup and two Carling Cups.

His charisma and wit won him many admirers during his three-and-a-half years in the country and in Italy he has only built on his reputation by winning Serie A at the first attempt last season.

Reports continue to link Mourinho with a possible role at Manchester United when Sir Alex Ferguson finally retires and the Portuguese has made it very clear that he feels England is the best environment for him to try and emulate the Scot by achieving sustained excellence over an extended period at one club.

"Clearly it is unrealistic to expect to stay at a club as long as Sir Alex, but I am ready for the next phase of my career," Mourinho told the Times. "I want to work with a different perspective.

"At Porto, my objective was to win to earn the right to go abroad. At Chelsea, my ambition was to create a bit of history. But I always knew Chelsea lacked the normal English culture of stability.

"I was never under any illusions. I understood the personality of Roman and the culture of the people around him and knew it was not a job for ten years. My role was to give this man what he wanted - victory - knowing that, sooner or later, my time would finish, because there were too many things going on around me.

"In Italy, I was coming to the motherland of tactics, the country of catenaccio and defensive football. The objective was to win not only in a third different league but a place where they say foreign coaches have had little success. But the time will come for stability.

"I love Inter and would love to build for the future here. In fact, I am doing it now, because I am not a selfish coach and I'm thinking about the future in terms of youth development and the age structure of my first team - but Italy is not the country for this. England is the country. And my football is English football."

Eurozone emerges from recession

The eurozone economy has emerged from recession after growing between July and September, figures have shown.

The 16 nations that use the euro collectively grew 0.4%, after shrinking by 0.2% between April and June.

The French and German economies both grew for a second consecutive quarter, confirming the eurozone's two largest economies are out of recession.

However, both France and Germany grew by less than expected, a sign of how tentative signs of recovery remain.

The European Union as a whole - which includes non-eurozone countries such as the UK and Sweden - also emerged from recession, growing 0.2% in the third quarter.

Germany's economy grew by 0.7% in the quarter, while France grew by 0.3%. Both economies and Japan ended year-long contractions in the second quarter of the year, while the US has since joined them after its economy grew in the third quarter.

However, the UK remains in recession, having contracted by 0.4% between July and September.

The UK, Europe's second largest economy, has now contracted for six consecutive quarters, the first time this has happened since quarterly figures were first recorded in 1955.

Faster recovery


ANALYSIS
Nigel Cassidy
Nigel Cassidy, business reporter, Brussels

Every recovery is different and the slow crawl out of recession in the eurozone countries is no exception.

This time it's continental European exporters who are responsible for most of the new growth - and that in spite of an uncomfortably strong euro, without which firms would have undoubtedly sold even more goods to faster growing markets overseas.

In the main, consumers have not changed their behaviour - retail sales have risen slightly but unemployment is still rising, and will do for many months to come.

Economists are quick to point out that a great deal of the growth is thanks to economic stimulus packages which are bolstering European economies.

Germany alone is currently lending 85bn euros of its taxpayers' money.

Nobody can even guess what will happen to growth when national governments stop pumping credit into the system - as the European Commission is urging them to do within two years.

Why is UK still in recession?

Economists had expected Germany to grow by 0.8% in the third quarter, and France's growth was only half what had been predicted.

Germany's Desatis statistics office also revised upwards its estimate for growth in the second quarter, to 0.4% from 0.3%.

Though the data on Friday was weaker than expected, few analysts had even predicted at the start of the year Germany and France would start to recover so soon.

"The German economy has emerged from the deep recession earlier and faster than many had thought," ING economist Carsten Brzeski said.

French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde told Europe 1 radio that while the country's economy would have contracted during 2009 overall, it would enter next year "with elan".

France and Germany may have been less hard hit than the UK by the global economic slowdown because their financial sectors, which were at the heart of the crisis, account for a smaller proportion of their economies.

Stronger exports and consumer spending, as well as government stimulus packages, have contributed to the growth in the eurozone's largest economies.

The data released on Friday showed that Italy, Austria and Slovakia had also emerged from recession in the third quarter.

However, Spain's troubled economy contracted further in the quarter.
BBC News

European PC shipments see decline

Personal computer (PC) shipments in Western Europe between July and September fell slightly compared with a year earlier, a report has said.

But compared with the previous quarter, shipments increased by almost a third, reflecting "seasonal growth" patterns, computer research group Gartner said.

Acer held on to the top spot, with 28.3% market share, followed by Hewlett-Packard, with a 21.5% share.

PC shipments totalled 16.7 million during the three months.

Germany and France saw shipments increase, while the UK saw shipments decline, but at a slower rate.

BBC News