KOCHARIAN DISCUSSES REFORMS IN BANKING SECTOR
ARMENPRESS
Sept 27 2007
YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 27, ARMENPRESS: President Robert Kocharian had a
working meeting today with Central Bank governor Tigran Sarkisian.
Kocharian’s press office said the president and the governor discussed
the pace of reforms in the banking sector. Particularly, they spoke
about a set of issues regarding establishment of insurance system,
securities market and the reforms in the Central Bank.
MINISTRE-LEADER OF THE NKR GOVERNMENT’S STUFF
Azat Artsakh Tert, Nagorno Karabakh Republic
Sept 27 2007
Suren Grigorian Suren Grigorian was born in 1958, in Stepanakert. In
1975 he finished school number 7 of Stepanakert. In 1980 he graduated
from Erevan Polytechnical Institute. He began his working activity in
the electrotechnical factory, as an engineer-constructer. In 1980-1988
he worked at the bodies of Young Communists’ League. In 1988-1991 he
held resposible posts of provincial executive committee.
In 1992 he was the chief of the special department of the NKR Council
of Ministers. In 1994 he worked as a head clerk of the NKR Coucil of
Ministers and in 1995 – as a head clerk of the NKR Government. In 1998
he was appointed an assistant of the chairman of the NKR President’s
Stuff. In 1999 – chairman of the NKR Government’s Stuff.
>From 2002 he holds a post of Minister-leader of the NKR Government’s
Stuff. He was rewarded with "Mesrop Mashtots" order. He is married
and has 3 children.
FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ANNUAL AWARD CEREMONY TO BE HELD IN YEREVAN ON 28 SEPT
ARKA News Agency, Armenia
Sept 27 2007
YEREVAN, September 27. /ARKA/. The Freedom of Information Annual
Award Ceremony is to be held in Yerevan on 28 September.
The event is co-organized by the Freedom of Information Centre and
the OSCE Office in Yerevan to mark the International Right to Know
Day in Armenia and aims to encourage state institutions, journalists,
NGOs and citizens to better implement the freedom of information
legislation in Armenia
The positive and negative awards (golden keys and locks) will be
presented to the winners among state institutions, local NGOs,
journalists and ordinary citizens with the best or worst records in
providing information to the public and exercising the right to know.
MOSCOW REFUTED REPORTS ON THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A SECOND RUSSIAN MILITARY BASE IN THE TERRITORY OF ARMENIA.
TREND Information, Azerbaijan
Sept 27 2007
Azerbaijan, Baku / corr Trend S.Agayeva / Moscow refuted reports on
the establishment of a second Russian military base in the territory
of Armenia. Vasiliy Istratov, the Russian Ambassador to Azerbaijan,
told Trend on 17 September that these reports are not true.
Officials of the Russian Defense Ministry are on visit to Armenia.
According to media reports, they are holding meetings with officials
of the Defense Ministry and the Azerbaijan Government to discuss the
establishment of a second Russian military base in Armenia.
Russia currently has military base division 102 located in Armenia.
"Russia does not have plans to establish a second military base in
Armenia," the Ambassador stressed.
At the insistence of the Azerbaijani authorities, Soviet military
bases were liquidated even at the beginning of 1990s. The Russian
military forces will finally leave Georgia in 2008.
Azerbaijan seriously responded to reports on the establishment of a
new Russian military in Armenia.
"The establishment of a second Russian military base in Armenia will
become the next factor testifying Moscow’s support for our enemy
country," Ziyafat Asgarov, the Azerbaijani First Vice Premier and
the Chairman of the permanent parliamentary commission on defense
and security of the Milli Majlis (Azerbaijani Parliament), said in
talks with journalists on 27 September.
It throws a shadow on the objectivity and neutrality of Russia’s
mediation in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
The establishment of Russia’s second military base will complicate
the critical situation in the region," Ilgar Verdiyev, spokesman for
the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry, told Trend earlier.
Uzeyir Jafarov, a military expert and a retired Lieutenant Colonel,
said that the establishment of the second military base in Armenia
will cause protest by other countries in the region.
Russia regards the expansion and strengthening of the military base in
Gumri as its major task. The military expert regards the establishment
of the Russian base in Armenia to be dangerous.
"Actions by Russia will raise tensions in the region and considering
the unresolved state of the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict, one might
predict the seriousness of this tension," Jafarov added.
" Azerbaijan should raise the issue at the OSCE. Russia, as member
of the OSCE Minsk Group undertook a responsibility to help resolve
the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict," he said.
Armenia has occupied 20% of Azerbaijani land, including the
Nagorno-Karabakh region and its seven surrounding districts. Since
1992, these territories have been under the occupation of the Armenian
Forces. In 1994, Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a ceasefire agreement
at which time the active hostilities ended.
SWEDISH AZERIS PRESS FOR CONSIDERATION OF KARABAKH PROBLEM IN PARLIAMENT
PanARMENIAN.Net
25.09.2007 14:27 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ This year the Azerbaijani Federation of Sweden
requested the parliament to discuss the Nagorno Karabakh issue,
Federation head Mamedrza Agapur said.
"Talks are underway. I think we will achieve our goal in coming
months," he said, Novosti Azerbaijan reports.
EXECUTIVE SUITE: YOU CAN BET ON MGM MIRAGE’S LANNI
By Edward Iwata, USA Today
USA Today
Sept 24 2007
LAS VEGAS – In the late 1970s, a baby-faced executive named Terrence
Lanni had a tough time persuading banks to lend millions of dollars
to build hotels and casinos in this fabled gambling mecca.
Few lenders dared to finance projects in the gaming industry,
which was still young then and troubled by federal investigations,
organized-crime influence and corruption in the old Teamsters union.
CORPORATE PULSE: Executive Suite index
"It was very difficult to get a loan back then," says Lanni, who was
the young chief financial officer of Caesars World at the time. "It’s
a lot easier now, I can tell you that."
Today, the 64-year-old Lanni is CEO of MGM Mirage (MGM), the No. 2
gaming-industry company in the USA, and lenders line up for his
business. The stigma of the old Sin City is long gone, and Lanni and
other corporate visionaries hope to usher in a new economic era for
Las Vegas as a world-class destination city in the same league as
Paris and London.
FIND MORE STORIES IN: Las Vegas | CEO | MGM | Las Vegas Strip | MGM
Grand | MGM Mirage | Bellagio | Kirk Kerkorian | Mirage | Mirage
Resorts | Project Citycenter MGM Mirage dominates the Las Vegas
Strip. It owns and runs many of the most-famed hotel-casinos here,
including the ritzy Bellagio, the vast MGM Grand, the tropical-themed
Mandalay Bay, the pyramid-shaped Luxor, the Mirage and its spewing
volcano and New York-New York with its huge roller coaster.
Under Lanni, MGM Mirage also is going global with Middle Eastern and
Chinese investment partners in hotel, casino and residential projects
in the USA and abroad.
The MGM Mirage’s crown jewel: Project CityCenter, a $7 billion
urban development on the Strip that’s billed as the largest private
project in Las Vegas history. Opening in 2009, CityCenter will feature
high-rise housing, a 4,000-room hotel-casino, a convention center,
upscale restaurants and a retail-entertainment center.
Throughout its history, Las Vegas has seen its share of legendary
tycoons, from Howard Hughes to Steve Wynn. The low-profile Lanni
flies under the public’s radar, but he’s one of the most-respected
and influential forces in the $90 billion gaming industry.
"I’ve dealt with a few CEOs, and I’d have to rate Terry up there at
the top," says Kirk Kerkorian, the 90-year-old owner of Tracinda,
which held 56% of MGM Mirage’s stock as of June. "I’ve always liked
this company. We’ve got a hell of a team there."
In a recent interview at his spacious, art-adorned office at the
Bellagio hotel, Lanni reeled through the turning points of his life
and career as if they were a board-meeting agenda.
If Lanni had not joined the gaming industry, he would have pursued his
first love: politics. The son of a Los Angeles Times executive and a
schoolteacher, Lanni grew up in Beverly Hills and attended Chaminade,
a Jesuit school, where he was student-body president and aced his
civics and debate classes.
After earning an MBA from the University of Southern California, then
toiling in financial services, Lanni worked as a campaign advance
man for President Ford in the 1976 election that Ford narrowly lost
to Jimmy Carter.
For Lanni, planning campaign events was a baptism under fire and
good business training. He had to think fast, manage people, juggle
logistics – even battle the Secret Service over how many public
appearances Ford and running mate Bob Dole could make.
Over the years, power brokers have floated Lanni’s name as a candidate
and tried to persuade the moderate Republican to run for Nevada
governor or the Senate.
"Terry’s been pretty clear that family and business come first,
but he’s still very interested in politics," says Frank Fahrenkopf,
former chairman of the Republican Party and now CEO of the American
Gaming Association trade group.
Lanni lobbies for the gaming industry, and he’s served on a
congressionally created national committee that studied gambling.
He’s also co-chair of Sen. John McCain’s national finance committee
for the Arizona Republican’s presidential campaign.
"Politics has always appealed to me, but then I see the abuse that
people heap on politicians," Lanni says, chuckling. "I’d sooner run
for the hills than run for office."
After Ford’s campaign, Lanni was persuaded by recruiters to check out
a chief financial officer job at Caesars World. The gaming industry
was on the verge of dramatic growth in the late 1970s, so an intrigued
Lanni accepted the offer.
Lanni was exactly what the gaming industry needed then to gain
credibility on Wall Street, says former Caesars World CEO Bill
McElnea. Lanni was a well-spoken, well-dressed, business-school
graduate with the financial smarts to impress bankers and investors.
"We were building a company, and we needed the respect of people back
East," McElnea says. "Business people had confidence in Terry. He
opened things up."
After Caesars World was sold to ITT in 1995 and Lanni left, he was
quickly courted by Kerkorian and Wynn. Kerkorian won, and Lanni joined
the old MGM Grand as CEO.
"Steve Wynn is a brilliant visionary, but I thought Kirk would be a
little more hands-off and give me more independence," Lanni says.
"He’s a man of few words and many big-picture ideas."
Lanni and multibillionaire investor Kerkorian make a potent duo.
Kerkorian, the son of Armenian raisin farmers from Fresno, Calif.,
made his fortune in airlines, Hollywood and Las Vegas. He’s also
notoriously media shy, while Lanni enjoys public speaking and chatting
with analysts and reporters.
"They seem to have a good relationship," says analyst Sumit Desai at
investment research firm Morningstar. "And they’re always focused on
creating new value for the market."
Vegas’ next act
Every generation or so, Las Vegas leaps to its next economic stage.
In the 1940s, gangster Bugsy Siegel and the Fabulous Flamingo hotel
brought fame and notoriety to the city. In the 1960s, Frank Sinatra’s
Rat Pack caught the public’s imagination. And since the 1990s,
flashy resorts and entertainment spectaculars have drawn hundreds of
millions of tourists. Last year, visitor spending hit a record $39
billion,according to the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority.
Now Las Vegas is evolving into an era of megaprojects. Some call the
Strip the busiest development corridor in the USA with commercial
real estate going for $30 million to $40 million an acre.
Baby boomers, wealthy global travelers and young consumers are
flooding into fast-growing Las Vegas. That’s creating demand for
upscale town houses and condominiums on the Strip, even with the
nationwide housing slump.
"It’s the Manhattanization of Las Vegas," says Bill Eadington, an
economics professor at the University of Nevada, Reno. "The older,
obsolete casinos are being replaced by world-class residential centers,
shopping, entertainment and restaurants."
The building boom of multibillion-dollar projects includes CityCenter,
Boyd Gaming’s Echelon Place, (BYD) the Cosmopolitan hotel-casino
by developer Ian Bruce Eichner, the Fontainebleau Las Vegas by
Fontainebleau Resorts, the Encore hotel-casino by Wynn Resorts (WYNN)
and residential high-rises by Donald Trump. (TRMP)
Will the real estate downturn and a recession hurt Las Vegas?
It would slow but not cripple the economy, Eadington says. Las Vegas
outperforms other destination cities with 90%-plus hotel occupancy
rates and a glittery reputation as "a place to see and be seen,"
he says.
Managing director Larry Klatzkin at Jefferies & Co. (JEF) says Las
Vegas will easily absorb the 16,000 hotel rooms and condos coming to
the Strip from now to 2009.
Under Lanni’s helm, MGM Mirage appears well-positioned to ride
the boom.
"The general trends in Vegas are strong for all of the players,
and MGM is widely considered one of the best operators," Desai says.
Formerly known as the MGM Grand, the company acquired Wynn’s Mirage
Resorts and Mandalay Resort Group a few years ago. The mergers
created a corporate giant with $7.2 billion in annual revenue and
64,000 employees.
Now MGM Mirage is challenging Harrah’s Entertainment (HET) for
supremacy in the U.S. gaming industry. Harrah’s, a Las Vegas icon
founded in 1937, enjoys $10.3 billion in yearly revenue and employs
85,000 people.
But MGM Mirage may have more momentum, as it morphs into a "non-gaming,
diversified holding company" with current and potential investments
in the USA and overseas, analyst Klatzkin says. Most of MGM Mirage’s
revenue already comes from non-gambling sources, including hotels,
restaurants, stores and entertainment, according to Klatzkin.
One of MGM Mirage’s biggest cross-border projects is a joint venture
with Dubai World, the holding company of the Persian Gulf state, with
Dubai World investing $5.1 billion in MGM and CityCenter. Another
global project: the MGM Grand Macau, a hotel-casino opening later
this year in Macau, the former Portuguese colony and gambling capital
of China. Analysts say the deals work because of Lanni’s contacts
in China and the Middle East, plus MGM Mirage’s strong management
team, including President James Murren, a former managing director
at Deutsche Bank, (DB) and Chief Administrative Officer Aldo Manzini,
a former Walt Disney (DIS) executive.
"This company is well-structured and well-managed, and it keeps
creating value with each project," analyst Desai says.
Calm and collaborative
Lanni’s management style? Calm, not crazed. Collaborative, not
command-and-control. He insists that everyone call him Terry, and he
spreads credit to others while downplaying his role.
In talking about the origins of CityCenter, he praises Murren and
Robert Baldwin, the former head of Mirage Resorts who stayed on after
MGM Grand bought the company.
"I hire people who are brighter than I am, and I give them authority
and responsibility," Lanni says. "I want them to be loyal to the
company, not to me."
Lanni’s also big on diversity. About 45% of MGM Mirage’s managers are
women, and 32% are minorities. Last year, MGM Mirage used more than
100 suppliers owned by minorities and women and minority and female
contractors on its projects.
He also has solid ties with labor. Recently, MGM Mirage and Unite
Here, a union of 50,000 hotel and casino workers in Nevada, agreed
to a five-year contract with annual raises, health benefits and the
right to form unions in future MGM Mirage joint ventures.
Unite Here President John Wilhelm, a Democrat, has known Lanni for
21 years. Despite their political differences, they’ve found common
ground on business-related issues such as tax policies, immigration
reform and economic growth.
After the Iraq war broke out, Lanni drew praise when he said that 100
MGM Mirage employees serving in the military in Iraq and Afghanistan
would receive full salaries, benefits and whatever tips they would
have earned.
"A lot of business leaders use their ideology when it comes to unions
or other issues," Wilhelm says. "Terry never does that. He approaches
business pragmatically, finding what’s best for shareholders, the
company and employees."
Lanni seems to be a good bargain for shareholders in an era of
overpaid, poor-performing CEOs.
Last year, he earned $9.7 million in total compensation while MGM
Mirage earned a 56% investment return – beating the 16% return on the
Standard & Poor’s 500, according to compensation expert and Bloomberg
News columnist Graef Crystal.
When Lanni isn’t in the boardroom, he’s advising his two sons, in their
early 20s, on their budding business careers. Or attending fundraisers
with his wife, Debbie, who runs in Los Angeles philanthropic circles
with Nancy Reagan. He also owns racehorses, including Sinister
Minister, a 2006 Kentucky Derby entrant.
While Lanni’s business act may be as highflying as a Cirque du Soleil
stunt, his philosophy of life and work is pretty down to Earth.
"I learned from my father that whatever you do, you must be passionate
about it," Lanni says. "After 31 years in the gaming business, I can
still say I love what I’m doing."
ies/management/2007-09-23-profile-lanni_N.htm
VTB TO FINANCE ARMENIAN AIRLINE’S DEAL WITH SUKHOI
RosBusinessConsulting Database
September 14, 2007 Friday
Russia
VTB and the Armavia airline are working out the details of a $55m-$60m
deal to finance the purchase of two Sukhoi SuperJet-100 (SSJ-100)
aircraft as part of a cooperation agreement between the two parties
aimed at a long-term partnership in the renewal and modernization
of Armavia’s fleet, VTB said in a statement. Both the bank and the
airline will consider the possibility of signing a joint deal to
purchase the planes from Sukhoi Civil Aircraft. Under the agreement,
VTB Bank would also provide comprehensive banking services to Armavia,
as well as participate in financing current and prospective projects,
including assistance in raising funds abroad if necessary.
ARMENIANS WON NO MEDAL
A1+
[09:16 pm] 21 September, 2007
The Armenian free-style wrestlers were unable to demonstrate their
abilities at the Baku World Wrestling Championship. They will return
to Armenia empty-handed in comparison with the Greco-Roman style
wrestlers who won a bronze medal and two Olympiad tickets.
Turkey’s representative Hakan Kokhin won over Armenian Edgar Enokyan
at the 96-kg category.
Another Armenian Ruslan Basiev (120 kg) won over his Indian rival
at the 1/16th semifinals and was beaten by Kazakh Mutalimov at the
1/8th semifinals.
PanARMENIAN.Net
Vafa Guluzade: Turkey had better deploy a couple of divisions in
Nakhichevan and aim them at Armenia 19.09.2007 19:22 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Azeri political scientist Vafa Guluzade supposes
that during the UN General Assembly 62nd session Azerbaijan should
openly report Russia’s interference in the Karabakh conflict. `Moscow
has never dissembled its intentions to annex Azerbaijan and is ready
for any kind of provocation. In my opinion, Moscow is plotting a
recurrent adventure at the hands of Armenians. In order to foil their
plans our leadership should immediately inform the international
community. I think it’s high time for us to announce that Russia is
directing the conflict,’ he said when commenting on the coming
discussion of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict in the UN General
Assembly.
`It would be advisable if Turkey deployed a couple of divisions in
Nakhichevan and aimed them at Yerevan and the Russian bases in
Gyumri. The situation becomes more complicated day by day and our
leaders should take action. We should hurry to seal agreements with
NATO, Turkey and U.S. before it’s too late,’ Vafa Guluzade stressed,
Caucasian Knot reports.
Editorial: What do we lose by leaving the Anti-Defamation League?
GateHouse News Service
Thu Sep 20, 2007, 06:00 AM EDT
Lexington –
This Friday, Lexington’s No Place for Hate steering committee will
host its first official meeting since August, when Watertown severed
its ties with No Place for Hate, a program sponsored by the
Anti-Defamation League (ADL), over the league’s ambiguous position on
the World War I-era massacre of 1.5 million Armenians in present-day
Turkey.
Since then Arlington, Belmont, and other Massachusetts communities
have suspended or nullified their involvement in the No Place for Hate
program.
The Lexington committee will meet this week with representatives of
Lexington’s Armenian population, who have asked the town also cut its
ties with the ADL. While there are benefits to the association with
the ADL, it doesn’t need that association to be effective.
The No Place for Hate committee is most effective on the local,
grassroots level. It can continue that without the troubling
association with the ADL.
Lexington’s No Place for Hate group started eight years ago. Its
steering committee is a dynamic mix of lay leaders, clergy, elected
officials and residents. Lexington was one of the first communities to
participate in the program, according to Jill Smilow, chairman of
Lexington’s No Place for Hate committee.
It has helped secure about $7,000 in grants for diversity training
workshops, civil discourse training and programs recognizing Martin
Luther King Jr. Day. Each year, the Lexington steering committee
participates in a regional conference of No Place for Hate groups,
allowing it to hear about regional issues.
Smilow said its agenda is to be sure everyone has a voice. It has held
study circles to address challenges and issues specific to Lexington
and its ability to foster and promote dialogue within town is
paramount to its value here. It also provides a somewhat intimate
forum for people from all walks of life – a police chief, a minister,
a selectman, a housewife – to share ideas and talk about the issues of
the day.
It is in this local role that No Place for Hate serves the town best.
Its inclusive, non-partisan forum fills a communication hole left when
regular folks are too busy or too timid to bring social issues to the
forefront of Lexington’s larger committees, or Board of Selectmen, or
Town Meeting. It has a more active role in promoting tolerance than
other groups handling the myriad issues expected of government.
Speaking just for herself, Smilow said the fact there was genocide is
"unequivocal." But Smilow, an active member of the regional ADL, says
there is value in remaining with the ADL’s network and the best way to
affect change is to remain within its ranks.
Lexington’s very lucky to have her working to achieve that. It does
not, however, need the entire committee to remain with the group in
order to accomplish this. By not suspending its involvement or cutting
it completely, the No Place for Hate committee could promote the type
of rift in town it is supposed to prevent.
Source: 62979