TPT January 2007

From the AMERICAS

justice arising from a sexual scandal. In January 1999, after a 21- day trial, the Republican-driven effort to remove Mr Clinton from office failed when a Senate vote fell short of the two-thirds majority required for conviction under the Constitution.

Election Day USA

Some early indications for the 110 th Congress On 7 November, the US electorate ensured the return of two-party government when the Democrats become a majority in the House of Representatives at the New Year. On 8 November, before it was known that Democrats also won control of the Senate, Rhonda Schwartz of ABC News in New York gathered the views of ‘top Democratic staff’ as to some early moves to be expected in the House under the leadership of its new speaker, California Democrat Nancy Pelosi. Time will tell whether Congresswoman Pelosi initiates any probes into what one Capitol Hill staffer termed ‘uninvestigated scandals’ in the Republican ranks. But Ms Schwartz of the TV network’s online opinion site ‘The Blotter’ provided a look at three Democrats in line for the most powerful House committee chairmanships, and the investigations they would be likely to pursue. ( ‘Payback time: who the Democrats will target,’ 8 November). Henry Waxman (California) : Described as ‘a pit bull with a fantastic staff’, Representative Waxman is in place to take over as chairman of the powerful House Government Reform Committee. Insiders look for this to become the powerhouse investigating committee. Expect Rep Waxman to start by issuing subpoenas for top Halliburton and KBR executives (allegations of waste, fraud, and other abuses and irregularities have been lodged against Halliburton Energy Services (Houston, Texas) and its KBR construction unit with regard to their operations in Iraq). Other issues will include broader Iraq war contracting and rebuilding of the US Gulf Coast after Hurricane Katrina, widely considered to have been mishandled by the Republican Administration of President George W Bush. Jane Harman (California) : A possibility for chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, Representative Harman is eager to pursue ties between a convicted former congressman and defence contractors. Regardless of who is chairman, issues taken up by the committee are likely to include faulty pre-Iraq war intelligence, notably the question of who forged the now-discredited Niger Documents that misled many Americans into believing Iraq had tried to purchase nuclear materials for use in weapons of mass destruction. John Conyers (Michigan) : Representative Conyers, considered the dean of the Congressional Black Caucus, is in line to take over the Judiciary Committee. While one top Hill staffer noted that ‘his appetite for true investigation is untested’, Mr Conyers has been sharply critical of President Bush on Iraq and on secret prisons. He is the sponsor of legislation offering lawmakers authority to define and regulate the use of military tribunals. He also introduced the Federal Bureau of Investigation Reform Act of 2002, to address organisational problems in the FBI and to protect so-called whistle- blowers on wrongdoing in the agency. As to the prospect of Representative Conyers as head of the Judiciary Committee, on 8 November Ms Schwartz of ABC News observed, ‘Internet blogs are hyperventilating about possible impeachment hearings’ on actions taken by President Bush. In December 1998, then-President Bill Clinton, a Democrat, was impeached by the House on charges of perjury and obstruction of

Metals A Russian-Swiss aluminium giant would overtake Alcoa of the US

Amerger to create a new global leader in aluminium was announced on 9 October by two Russian companies and a Swiss commodity trader. In its enlarged version Russian Aluminum , or Rusal , will produce about 4 million tons a year of aluminium. Pittsburgh-based Alcoa made 3.5 million tons in 2005. The new company will also eclipse Alcan of Canada, the current No 2. Under the deal Rusal, already Russia’s largest aluminium company, would take over its smaller domestic rival, Sual , as well as mining assets owned by Glencore , of Switzerland. The merged company will have an estimated value of $25 to $30 billion and be controlled by Rusal’s owner, Oleg V Deripaska. Sual is also majority-owned by one person, Viktor Vekselberg. Glencore was founded by Marc Rich, the American commodities trader who fled the United States to avoid facing charges of tax evasion, racketeering, and fraud, and was pardoned by Bill Clinton in his last days as president of the US Glencore is now owned by its employees. Rusal would own 66 per cent, Sual 22 per cent, and Glencore 12 per cent of the combined company, whose annual revenue is projected at $10bn. The new Rusal would have 110,000 employees, operate in 17 countries on five continents, and produce 11 million tons of alumina – the basic constituent of aluminium – each year. It intends to place shares on the London Stock Exchange within 18 months, executives said in October. The new No 1 will start out with one very considerable advantage over Alcoa, which has been hampered by the rising price of electricity, a major factor in the production of aluminium. Rusal plants run on some of the world’s cheapest electricity, produced by hydropower dams on Siberian rivers. The deal, which company executives said should close by 1 April, would need regulatory clearance in Russia, the European Union, and possibly the United States; also Jamaica, Ireland, and other countries where bauxite mines are located. • If Alcoa must surrender its position as the world’s largest aluminium producer, its most recent profit statement was some consolation. On the day after the Rusal merger was announced, Alcoa reported that its third-quarter 2006 profit jumped 86 per cent on higher prices and increased demand. Net income rose to $537 million from $289 million a year earlier. Revenue was up 19 per cent, to $7.63 billion. It is some measure of the health of the aluminium industry that even these spectacular results fell short of analysts’ forecasts. Jim Southwood, president of Commodity Metals Management (Wexford, Pennsylvania), told Bloomberg News (11 October),

78

J ANUARY /F EBRUARY 2007