■ United States
Bush wants new council
The Bush administration, hoping to fend off Demo-cratic attacks that it has failed to come to the aid of the country's ailing manu-facturing sector, is calling for the creation of a new presi-dential council to give US companies a greater voice in government decisions. Creation of the council is one of a number of recom-mendations detailed in a long-awaited administration report entitled Manufac-turing in America: A Comprehensive Strategy to Address the Challenges to U.S. Manufacturers. In a reversal of past administra-tion policy, the report calls for increased support for the Manufacturing Extension Partnership, a network of assistance centers around the country. The report also calls for the Treasury Department to study how to make tax laws less complex and costly for companies to comply with. And it urges the White House budget office to conduct a government-wide review of regulations with the aim of revising those that make US companies less competitive.
■ European Union
Euro launch flawed: Delors
Jacques Delors, the former president of the European Commission, has said he understands Britain's decision to stay out of the euro for now because its launch was flawed, The Times reported yesterday. Delors also predicted that Britain would stay out of the single European currency for years, not least because Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown was so "passionate about his contempt for Europe." Delors also said in an interview with The Times that the EU was in a "state of latent crisis" because of weak leadership. He blamed member state leaders for putting national interests before the common good, according to the British daily. Delors lamented that EU leaders had failed to heed his warning that monetary union must be matched with close co-ordination of economic policies, and argued that the euro was consequently less attractive than it could have been.
■ Banking
Shinsei to list shares
Shinsei Bank, Japan's first foreign-owned lender, will list its shares on the Tokyo Stock Exchange in the middle of next month, completing a tumultuous five-year turnaround. Shin-sei's shareholders, which include New York-based Ripplewood Holdings, Citigroup and Deutsche Bank, will sell 440 million shares, or about one-third of the outstanding common stock. About 55 percent of the shares will be sold in Japan and the remainder overseas. The bank has an option to sell an additional 36.3 million shares if demand is strong. The shares will be priced on Feb. 9 and listed on Feb. 19. Bloomberg News, quoting a banker, reported that the shares would be offered at &$165;435 (US$4.07) each. This would allow Shinsei's shareholders to raise ¥191.4 billion, a 58 percent premium on what they paid for their stake in 2000.
■ Razors
Gillette loses Quattro bid
A US federal judge denied Gillette's request for a preliminary injunction to block Schick-Wilkinson Sword from selling its new, four-bladed Quattro razor, and found no reasonable likelihood Gillette's patent case would succeed on one of its key claims. Quattro
hit shelves in September, but its prospects were clouded by Gillette's argument that the four-blade arrangement was too close to a three-bladed system patented by Gillette.
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