Arnold Schwarzenegger has expanded his political lexicon into the time-honoured realm of bar-room vulgarity.

As an action hero, his catchphrases ranged from "hasta la vista" to "I'll be back". As a cigar-chomping legislator he branded "gutless" opponents "girlie men". Now Arnold Schwarzenegger has expanded his political lexicon into the time-honoured realm of bar-room vulgarity.
The California governor yesterday found himself attempting to play down the revelation that a blunt email he sent to one of San Francisco's Democratic Assemblymen contained what US news bulletins have somewhat prudishly described as an "X-rated rebuke".
At first sight, the message that Mr Schwarzenegger sent to Tom Ammiano, explaining why he'd vetoed a boring bill about financing the city's port, seems straightforward enough. It begins "for some time now", and concludes: "I believe it is unnecessary to sign this measure at this time." However, a vertical reading of the first left-hand letter in each of the seven lines of the main body of the email suggests that the former Kindergarten Cop actor, who is due to leave office next year, was passing on an altogether less statesmanlike message.

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The Governor's press secretary, Aaron McLear, insisted yesterday that it was simply a "weird coincidence" that the email had acrostically spelled out an obscenity. He claimed that the sheer volume of the vetoes that Mr Schwarzenegger has been forced to pass in recent years meant "something like this was bound to happen".
In recent months, Mr McLear noted, the left-hand margin of the Governor's veto emails has spelled out such harmless words as "poet" and "soap". That's as may be. But the claim met with a healthy dose of scepticism: the words cited by McLear are four letters long, a length relatively likely to crop up at random. The mathematical probability of the seven-letter phrase "fuck you" doing the same is 26 to the power of seven – or about 8,031,810,176 – to one.
Mr Schwarzenegger certainly has "form" for tasteless political gestures. This year, he sent a bronze statue of a pair of bull's testicles to California's Democratic senate leader, urging him to have the cojones to take tough budget choices.
Adding to suspicions that Mr Schwarzenegger was merely trying to goad Mr Ammiano is the fact that the duo recently enjoyed a very public falling-out. Earlier this month, they crossed swords when the Republican governor decided to show up, unannounced, at a Democratic party fundraiser that was being held at the Fairmont Hotel in San Francisco. Video footage of the event shows that Mr Ammiano began heckling about a string of budget cuts that had recently been passed in an effort to ease California's spiralling debt. He shouted "you lie!" before leaving the room hollering that Mr Schwarzenegger could "kiss my gay ass!"
Though Mr Schwarzenegger's obscenity caused much controversy on the airwaves, a spokesman for Mr Ammiano said that he was neither fazed nor offended by it. "Kudos to the governor for his creative use of coincidence," he said. "You certainly have to have a sense of humour in politics... We will call it even and start with a clean slate with the governor from here on out."

Sri Lankan-born billionaire is not the "ogre"

My coverage of Raj Rajaratnam, the Wall Street hedge fund manager accused of orchestrating a sophisticated insider trading ring with tipsters at firms such as IBM and Intel, has prompted an email from an acquaintance of the accused who says the Sri Lankan-born billionaire is not the "ogre" he is being made out to be.
Vijay Dandapani, chief executive of a budget hospitality company in Manhattan called Apple Core Hotels, writes to say that he was invited by Rajaratnam on a cricket trip a few years back and has since seen him "off and on" in New York.
"I do know Raj, though not well, and find it hard to believe that he is the ogre he is being made out to be," says Dandapani.
"All I can say with certainty is that I came away with the impression that he is a stellar individual on many counts, not least of it being probity on a personal level," he continues. "I do know others who know him far better who have recounted stories of his seemingly endless personal generosity while, at the same time, striving to keep his wealth and stature out of the social mix."
Rajaratanam was arrested alongside five others on October 16 and charged with 13 criminal counts of fraud and conspiracy, through alleged insider tips that produced profits of $20m for his Galleon Group hedge fund, which is winding down after an abrupt exodus of clients.In court papers, the department for justice said it swooped on Rajaratnam because the financier had become suspicious, correctly, that one of his associates was wearing a wire. The feds moved in as Rajaratnam was preparing to catch a flight out of New York's Kennedy airport to London, and then on to Switzerland.
The Rajaratnam camp argues that there was nothing fishy about this trip, and that he certainly wasn't fleeing justice. Those around him told Bloomberg News that he was heading to London to explore an AIM flotation of his hedge fund and to see a movie he had invested in, called "Today's Special", at the London Film Festival. His Swiss travel plans, according to sources close to Rajaratnam, were to meet investors in Geneva.
Rajaratnam, who is ranked by Forbes as the world's 551st richest man, is facing a litany of lawsuits. His business is liquidating and he has been accused by one group of litigants of channelling money to the Tamil Tigers in the country of his birth. We've not heard much of his side of the story yet. But this is proving to be an intriguing saga.

Bernard Madoff's $65bn (£40bn) Ponzi scheme has died

A Florida billionaire who was a top beneficiary of Bernard Madoff's $65bn (£40bn) Ponzi scheme has died, apparently by drowning in the swimming pool of his mansion in the exclusive seaside enclave of Palm Beach.
Jeffry Picower, 67, was found by his wife and housekeeper shortly after midday on Sunday. Emergency services were unable to revive him and he was pronounced dead at the Good Samaritan medical centre.
An accountant turned wealthy investor, Picower was a friend of Madoff's and was named in court papers as the biggest beneficiary of returns from the Wall Street fraudster's corrupt investment empire.
Although Picower insisted he was unaware of any wrongdoing, bankruptcy trustees for Madoff's firm sued him for $7.2bn earlier this year, claiming that he "knew or should have known" that his phenomenal payouts were fraudulent and that, at a minimum, he had "failed to exercise reasonable due diligence".
A suit filed by lawyers for the trustee Irving Picard claimed that Picower was receiving even greater returns than other investors, topping 100% some years, and that the money ought to be refunded for distribution to the fraudster's victims.
Picower's abrupt death is yet another tragic twist to the saga surrounding Madoff's record-breaking fraud, which has been blamed for at least two suicides among victims.
Palm Beach police said Picower's wife, Barbara, told emergency dispatchers she had "just found her husband at the bottom of their swimming pool".
Don Taylor, acting battalion chief for Palm Beach's fire service, told the Palm Beach Post emergency workers had been unable to revive him.
"We had no pulse and he was not breathing on his own," said Taylor. "We worked on him to try to stabilise him as best we could."
Picower's wealth was estimated by Forbes magazine at $1bn, putting him among the 400 wealthiest people in the US. He used to head a charitable foundation that gave money to educational and health-related causes, although this shut down after losing its endowment in Madoff's fraud.
A lawyer for Picower's family, William Zabel, said the billionaire had suffered from Parkinson's disease and "heart-related issues".
Picower consistently said his charity and his own personal finances had suffered from Madoff's crimes. But his withdrawals from Madoff's fund were viewed with suspicion after the fraudster's unmasking.
The bankruptcy trustee sifting through the remnants of Madoff's firm has taken an aggressive approach towards "clawback" from those to whom Madoff paid out gains.
In August, Picower described efforts to force him to hand back money as a "paradigm of excess", and his lawyers have said he was "in no way complicit" in corruption.
Madoff, considered the biggest fraudster in Wall Street history, is serving a 150-year sentence for theft, fraud and money laundering at Butner prison in North Carolina.

capital boost of 300 billion yen

Japan Airlines Corporation (JAL) is likely to suffer record losses amounting up to 5.5 billion dollars this year, according to newspaper reports on Thursday. The major causes for the losses are believed to be the costs pertaining to a major overhaul of the company which included a great deal of pay cuts as well.
The Yomiuri has said that a report presented by a taskforce appointed by the government to oversee the restructuring shows that the company would have to bear potential losses of 500 billion yen leading up to March next year. The task force has asked for a capital boost of 300 billion yen and a debt relief of 250 billion yen by means of a debt-waiver and debt for equity exchange scheme.
The newly estimated loss figure of 500 million yen is more than eight times the 63 billion yen deficit predicted in May, as demand fell due to the global recession and fear of swine flu. In the April- June quarter itself, JAL had suffered losses greater than 1 billion dollars. If the situation remains the way it is now, JAL may need another government bailout to remain in business.
According to reports in the Nikkei economic daily, the Transport Minister Seiji Maehara would request Finance Minister Hirohisa Fujii to save the airline by pumping in public money. The decision on this bailout and to rescue the airline is likely to be taken in a few days.
JAL had announced plans to reduce 6800 jobs last month, in addition to a huge reduction in routes and tying up with a foreign airline. As of now, JAL is seeking new loans amounting to 350 billion yen from both public and private backs.

Mr Roubini - like many other economists

Nouriel Roubini told the BBC that he is concerned about the growing gap between the "bubbly and frothy" stock markets and the real economy.
Over the last six months, the Dow Jones Industrial Average has risen about 45%.
But Mr Roubini says he sees an economy where consumers are "shopped out" and "debt burdened".
'Crisis not over'
Based on the run up in share prices in recent months, investors appear to be betting that good times are around the corner. A view not shared by Mr Roubini.
"The crisis is not yet over," the New York University professor said.
I think that there is a growing gap between what is the asset prices and the real economy
Nouriel Roubini
"I see an economy where the consumers are shopped out, debt burdened, they have to cut back consumption and save more.
"The financial system is damaged... and for the corporate sector I don't see a lot of capital spending because there is a glut of capacity."
Mr Roubini believes US house prices have further to fall, straining America's fragile recovery.
'Frothy markets'
Property prices have already declined sharply. According to the National Association of Realtors, the national median has dropped almost 13% from a year ago to $177,700 (£110,100).
Many believe the crises in the residential market could spread to the commercial real estate market causing more headaches for the banks.
So where does the "froth" in the markets come from?
Mr Roubini - like many other economists - believes it is engineered by the Federal Reserve and the government which has been pumping cash into the economy to dampen the pain of the recession.
"There is a wall of liquidity chasing assets," he said. "But I think that there is a growing gap between what is the asset prices and the real economy."
Although he thinks there will be a correction, he believes some of the mistakes of the past can be avoided if reforms are implemented .

Finance Minister Hirohisa Fujii made the remarks last week

The BOJ had been expected to say when it would begin withdrawing measures such as buying corporate bonds and offering low-interest loans.
It upgraded its view of the economy, saying it "had started to pick up".
There has been some pressure from the government to keep the stimulus going because the economy is still unstable.
'Too risky'
Finance Minister Hirohisa Fujii made the remarks last week, although he later stressed that it was up to the BOJ to decide what to do.
Comments from ministers "revealed the gap in views between the government and the Bank of Japan on corporate financing conditions," said Hirokato Kusaba, senior economist at Mizuho Research Institute.
"After that, the BOJ probably judged it was too risky to announce an end to corporate fund support now."
The current strength of the yen against the US dollar may also have encouraged the BOJ to delay its decision.
The stimulus measures had been expected to start being wound down at the end of the year, but some analysts have said they could now continue until March.

UK too is coming out of recession

The Office for National Statistics figures showed manufacturing fell 0.1% in the second quarter, which was half the amount previously estimated.
The rate of decline in construction was 0.8% instead of 2.2%, the ONS said.
Savings rise
ONS data also showed that people are saving more of their incomes than at any time in the past five years.
The household savings rate rose to 5.6% in the second quarter from 3.9% from the previous three months, its highest since 2003.
ANALYSIS

Stephanie Flanders, BBC economics editor
Coupled with other, more recent evidence, the GDP data adds to the view that the economy started growing again in the summer.
But the end of the recession does not necessarily spell a strong recovery. In fact, it reminds us that the economy could be battling headwinds for some time to come.
The rise in the household saving rate is a necessary - and welcome - adjustment. But obviously, that extra saving is money that isn't being spent in the shops.
There are also still only limited signs that the Bank of England's £175bn quantitative easing policy is reaching the broader economy. The Bank's preferred measure of the money supply rose by just 0.2% in August.
Mortgage approvals dip in August
The BBC's economics editor Stephanie Flanders said that although this was a necessary and welcome adjustment, given the levels of personal debt seen in recent years, it could affect the strength of any recovery.
"Obviously, that extra saving is money that isn't being spent in the shops," she said.
Recovery hopes
Several other countries, including Germany and Japan, emerged from recession in the second quarter.
Chancellor Alistair Darling suggested this week that the UK was approaching the end of its recession.
"Germany, France and Japan are showing signs of growth. Many independent forecasters now believe the UK too is coming out of recession," Mr Darling said on Monday.
"I think it is too early to say so with total confidence. But I stick with my Budget prediction that, as long as we continue to support the economy, recovery will be underway in the UK by the turn of the year," he said at the Labour Party conference in Brighton.
The year-on-year decline in GDP remained at 5.5%. It was revised from a fall of 5.6% last month.
Economists had expected the annual rate of decline to rise to a 5.4% contraction.
'Slow recovery'
"There is some good news in the mass of UK data released today, but generally the figures highlight the fragility of the economic recovery," said Vicky Redwood, an economist at Capital Economics.
"It still looks likely to be a long, slow recovery."
Separately, the CBI employers' body said in its distributive trades survey that UK retail sales rose unexpectedly in September.
The survey's respondents were also optimistic that sales would continue to increase next month.
QE progress
The official data comes as the Bank of England met economists from the City to discuss its policy of adding money into the economy is working - known as quantitative easing (QE).
The Bank initially had the authority to create up to £150bn on the balance sheet and surprised many by increasing the amount by another £25bn in August.
"I think it's great that the Bank is doing this," said Colin Ellis, a former senior economist at the Bank who attended the meeting, told the BBC.
Mr Ellis declined to discuss the details of the meeting.
"There are massive uncertainties over QE still, but it was very useful for me to understand the Bank's thinking on this."
"I went in quite sceptical about QE, and that view hasn't changed," he added.