Vilified symbol of greed Madoff to hear prison term

By Grant McCool
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Bernard Madoff, who became a symbol of greed in the financial crisis for masterminding Wall Street`s biggest investment fraud, faces the rest of his life in prison in one of the stiffest punishments for white-collar crime when he is sentenced on Monday.
The courtroom drama will unfold with the swindler hearing angry defrauded investors speak of their financial ruin. As he makes what could be his final appearance in public, Madoff, 71, will read a statement before a judge hands down a decision.
"Mr. Madoff has been very stone-faced throughout the whole process. He doesn`t seem to have a lot of remorse," said Anthony Sabino, professor of law and business at St. John`s University in New York. "To date, he has refused to implicate anyone else."
More than six months after Madoff`s arrest, U.S. prosecutors remain uncertain how much was involved -- such was the complexity of the financial web he wove around the world to operate his Ponzi scheme.
In a Ponzi scheme early investors are paid with money from new clients.
About 1,341 account holders lost about $13 billion in the classic "cash in, cash out" fraud, according to court papers. They also say $170 billion flowed through Madoff`s principal account over decades and last November, Madoff claimed accounts held nearly $65 billion, when in fact he had never traded any securities, investigators said.
Madoff, a former nonexecutive chairman of the Nasdaq stock market, pleaded guilty in March to 11 charges, including securities fraud, money laundering and perjury that carry a combined maximum sentence of 150 years. The only other person charged so far is his outside accountant.
LIFE TERM SOUGHT
"It is unlikely that he will come back out," Jayne Barnard, a law professor at the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia, said, echoing the view of several legal experts on the likely sentence for an audacious scheme.
U.S. prosecutors argued in court papers on Friday that sentencing Judge Denny Chin should make sure Madoff spends the rest of his life in prison because of the "unique scope and duration" of his crimes.
"Madoff`s crimes were the product of a series of decisions made over the course of years, and it was within his power to stop his crimes at any point in time," the government said ahead of the 10 a.m. EDT proceeding in Manhattan federal court.
The arch thief and his wife of 45 years, Ruth Madoff, have been stripped of all their luxury homes and possessions. His wife is being allowed to keep $2.5 million in cash, according to an agreement with prosecutors.
Madoff`s lawyer Ira Lee Sorkin asked the judge to impose a sentence of less than life, suggesting a 12-year term or 15 to 20 years as sufficient.
Victims have sent more than 100 letters to the judge, most demanding the maximum punishment allowed. They describe entire savings lost for several generations of families, mortgages unpaid and elderly people unable to pay for medical coverage.
Madoff`s wife, two sons and his brother, who have all been the target of swindled investors` vitriol and suspicion, were not expected to attend the hearing. Since his arrest by the FBI in December, the gray-haired Madoff has made all of his court appearances alone, except for his lawyers.  Continued...
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Tata Motors launches Jaguar, Land Rover in India

By Janaki Krishnan
MUMBAI (Reuters) - Tata Motors Ltd (TAMO.BO), India`s largest vehicles maker, on Sunday announced the launch in India of Jaguar and Land Rover vehicles, the marquee brands it bought from Ford Motors (F.N) last year.
Saying it was a momentous occasion for the company, chairman Ratan Tata said, "This is in keeping with our desire to extend the penetration of the brands in India."
The automobile firm, which controls about 60 percent of the world`s fifth-biggest truck and bus market, will soon also be rolling out the Nano, billed as the world`s cheapest car.
Jaguar is launching the XF amd XK range of luxury coupes and convertibles in India starting at a price tag of 6.3 million rupees ($130,977) and going up to 9 million rupees.
Land Rover will initially be launching three vehicles including the Range Rover Sport and Land Rover Discovery 3, with prices also starting at 6.3 million rupees but going beyond 9 million.
"The luxury car market in India is very small, but there is a huge opportunity there. It is growing fast and we expect it to grow fast over the next 5 to 10 years," said David Smith, chief executive of Jaguar Land Rover.
"India is an important part of our plans for the future," said Mike Driscoll, managing director of Jaguar.
The luxury car segment in India is less than 1 percent of the total car market there.
On Friday Tata Motors posted its first loss in eight years at $520 million for the year to March 2009, with its Jaguar Land Rover unit reporting a loss of 306 million pounds ($504 million) in the 10 months of the fiscal year to March 2009, as a brutal global recession crippled car sales.
On the issue of loan guarantees for JLR, Tata said, "we are in discussions with the U.K. government on the loan guarantees and hopefully we will find a solution for it ... and our funding plan for JLR will progress."
The company is seeking guarantees for the 340 million pounds loan sanctioned by the European Investment Bank and other loans from U.K.-based commercial banks. It is seeking these funds to develop new and more fuel efficient cars for improving its competitive position.
"Sustaining the downturn is important for us ... and finding a solution (for the loan guarantees) is extremely important to us," Tata said.
He also said that if there was a large financial package from the U.K. government for Jaguar and Land Rover then, "there should be commensurate level of representation from them," which had to be negotiated and worked out.
($1=48.1 rupees)
(Editing by Jerry Norton)
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Kumho Asiana to sell Daewoo Engineering

By Cheon Jong-woo
SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korea`s Kumho Asiana Group said on Sunday it had decided to put Daewoo Engineering & Construction Co (047040.KS) up for a sale to ease investors worries about its liquidity.
Kumho Asiana may consider various ways to unload Daewoo including a sale of a 39 percent stake held by financial investors with management rights, a sale of a 50 percent stake plus one share, or a sale of a 72 percent stake owned by the group and financial investors.
The group has a stake of about 33 percent in Daewoo with financial investors holding 39 percent and the rest free-floating shares. It bought Daewoo for about 6.4 trillion won ($5.01 billion) in 2006.
"The size of the sale will be decided after talks with the main creditor and advisers to minimise the group`s losses from the sale of Daewoo and to reduce buyer`s acquisition burdens," Kumho Asiana said in a statement.
Kumho Asiana plans to consider a tender offer or a sale to a private equity fund of the state-run Korea Development Bank (KDB), its main creditor, the group added.
The group said it had talks with plural investors at home and abroad but failed to reach a final agreement as their proposal may boost the group`s debt.
Kumho Asiana has been haunted by worries about its liquidity after buying two coveted assets -- Daewoo and Korea Express (000120.KS) in the past few years.
The concerns deepened as the global financial crisis delayed its announced plans to raise 4.55 trillion won by selling non-core assets.
The construction and airline-focused group may be liable to pay substantial sums due to a put-back option agreement with investors in its 2006 takeover of Daewoo as its stocks have remained far below a pre-set price for the option.
Kumho Asiana offered an option to buy back Daewoo shares at 32,000 won each by the end of this year, local media said, while shares in Daewoo ended at 12,850 won on Friday. Officials at the group were not available for comments on the option price.
Earlier this month, Kumho said the KDB had agreed to the proposal to attract new financial sponsorship for Daewoo by the end of July -- a move to replace the existing investors in Daewoo, who have the option.
($1=1278.3 won)
(Editing by Jerry Norton)
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Stocks eye jobs, other data in July 4th week

By Ellis Mnyandu
NEW YORK (Reuters) - For stock investors, June`s job report could be a make-or-break factor next week in determining whether the recent rally has legs or not.
The monthly non-farm payrolls data will come out on Thursday, instead of the usual Friday. U.S. markets will be closed on Friday, July 3rd, for the long Fourth of July, or Independence Day, holiday weekend.
Investors will pick apart the job figures and reams of other economic data released during this four-day week to assess if recent signs of stabilization point to a sustainable economic recovery. Consumer confidence, the Institute for Supply Management`s June index on U.S. manufacturing activity, and domestic car sales are among the major indicators on tap.
Although the U.S. economy has been mired in a recession since December 2007, investors` optimism has increased since early March amid growing signs that the extent of the economic slump is moderating.
That optimism has provided a crucial underpinning to stocks since the Standard & Poor`s 500 Index .SPX hit a 12-year closing low on March 9. This spring, the S&P 500 climbed as much as 40 percent from that low; at Friday`s close, it was still up 35.8 percent.
While unpleasant surprises may trigger a long-awaited correction, analysts said evidence of further economic stabilization would make the bulls grow bolder and help stocks break out of their recent consolidation range.
"It is going to depend a lot on where the surprise is," said Peter Jankovskis, co-chief investment officer at OakBrook Investments LLC in Lisle, Illinois, referring to the non-farm payrolls data.
"In the last report, people looked at the fact that the decline in payrolls was not nearly as large as expected, but the unemployment rate jumped tremendously. At the end of the day, that jump trumped things."
JOBLESS RATE NEAR 10 PERCENT
U.S. non-farm payrolls are forecast to lose 355,000 jobs in June versus May`s slide of 345,000, according to economists polled by Reuters.
The U.S. unemployment rate is projected to jump to 9.6 percent in June from 9.4 percent in May.
"We think that a spike in the rate of unemployment could actually be a positive, as it may signal that discouraged workers are coming in from the sidelines and starting to look for work again," said Phil Orlando, chief equity market strategist at Federated Investors in New York.
"There may be something else that plays out next week, a sort of portfolio window dressing effect. There`s still a ton of cash sitting on the sidelines right now."
At Friday`s close, the three major U.S. stock indexes finished the week mixed. The blue-chip Dow Jones industrial average .DJI slipped 1.2 percent, while the S&P 500 dipped 0.3 percent, and the Nasdaq .IXIC gained 0.6 percent.
Holiday-shortened weeks tend to be volatile.  Continued...
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JPMorgan CEO warns against too many regulators

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Too many regulators will only increase costs and reduce credit opportunities for consumers, JPMorgan Chase & Co Chief Executive Jamie Dimon warned in a column he wrote in Saturday`s Wall Street Journal.
While praising President Barack Obama`s efforts to reform the U.S. financial system, Dimon said the emphasis should be on strengthening existing regulators over creating new ones.
"Any regulatory overhaul should ensure that governmental oversight of the financial system is efficient," wrote Dimon, who is widely regarded as the top banker to have been least tarnished by the financial crisis. "We should avoid the temptation to have multiple regulators just for the sake of having them.
"Three or four different regulators all looking at (and fighting over) the same issue is not a wise use of taxpayer money," he said. "Companies can`t operate that way. Neither should the government."
Obama last week unveiled a sweeping package of reforms to rewrite the rules for banks and capital markets in response to a severe financial crisis that has dragged down economies worldwide for more than a year.
Dimon said he supports the creation of a single bank regulator, a move he said was long overdue.
Another major Obama goal is to do more to protect consumers by transferring consumer protection dealing with mortgages, credit cards, payday loans and other financial products out of 10 agencies and into a new agency.
Dimon agreed with the need to boost consumer protection but warned regulators must be careful.
"Before creating an entirely new federal bureaucracy, policy makers should first examine ways to strengthen and refocus the authority of existing regulators," he wrote. "Creating duplicative and overlapping functions could increase costs and reduce credit opportunities for the consumers we are trying to protect."
A key catalyst for the financial crisis has been the enormous amount of debt shouldered by Americans during a real estate bubble fueled by subprime mortgages that many borrowers could not afford or understand.
As defaults and foreclosures rose last year, exotic financial instruments backed by shaky mortgages broke down and the capital markets froze for a time amid uncertainty about the condition of banks` balance sheets.
The combined effects helped drag the United States into recession.
Dimon said financial institutions need to clean up their act and earn back the public`s trust.
"Company leadership must foster a culture within their institutions that focuses on integrity, strong execution, quality products, long-term value creation and doing the right thing," he wrote.
"Golden parachutes, special contracts, and unreasonable perks must disappear."
(Reporting by Ben Klayman; Editing by Bill Trott)
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