Indonesia’s SMART says Unilever resumes palm oil buys
Major palm oil consumers such as Unilever, Nestle
and Burger King stopped buying from SMART because of
environmental concerns.The palm oil firm said in February it would work with the
government and a non-profit body, and Golden Agri then developed
a Forest Conservation Policy (FCP) in collaboration with The
Forest Trust (TFT), a non-profit organisation that seeks to
promote green business methods.”SMART has received a purchase order from Unilever today, a
decision which SMART views as an acknowledgement of its
sustainability commitments including Roundtable on Sustainable
Palm Oil (RSPO) certification,” the firm said in a statement.The RSPO is an industry body of consumers, green groups and
plantation firms that aims to promote use of sustainable palm
oil products.This month, Nestle, the world’s biggest food group, also
resumed palm oil purchases from SMART.The palm oil industry has come under increasing pressure to
improve practices and halt deforestation blamed for speeding up
climate change, ruining watersheds and destroying wildlife.A moratorium on new permits to clear forests in Indonesia,
the world’s top palm oil producer, came into force in May for an
initial two years.Late last month however, the Indonesian Palm Oil Association
(Gapki) withdrew its membership from the RSPO, instead giving
its full backing to an Indonesian sustainability scheme.Many major European palm oil buyers say the RSPO will remain
the international sustainability marker.SMART President Director Daud Dharsono also said the firm
was supportive of the RSPO and would also continue to work with
Gapki.
UPDATE 2-Boeing sees more Dreamliner cancellations, still upbeat
* Boeing China: order book strong, no sign of more
cancellationsBy Jack Kim and Fang YanSEOUL/BEIJING, Oct 18 (Reuters) - U.S. plane maker Boeing Co
on Tuesday predicted more sales cancellations for its
delayed Dreamliner 787, after a Chinese airline scrapped 24
orders, but said the overall order book for the new long-range
aircraft remained strong.A day after news of China Eastern’s
cancellations, a Boeing executive said some orders would fall
through as it adjusted delivery dates and that the pace of
production of the fuel-efficient aircraft would pick up.”Frankly as we look forward, we expect to see the Dreamliner
order base increase, we expect to see more orders, we expect to
see more cancellations, especially as we go through mitigation
with our customers,” Boeing marketing vice president Randy
Tinseth told a briefing in Seoul.China Eastern said in a filing to the Hong Kong stock
exchange it would instead spend $3.3 billion to buy 45 new
Boeing 737 aircraft, more of a regional jet than the Dreamliner,
and also buy 15 Airbus EADS A330s worth $2.5 billion.Analysts said other Chinese airlines might also now decide
to cancel Dreamliners as they re-assess the long-haul market.China Eastern’s purchase of Airbus A330s, a
competitor to the Dreamliner, could add even more pressure on
Boeing to ramp up production of the 787s, now three years behind
original schedule. Each plane has a list price of $185 million.”There is a good chance that other Chinese airlines will
also cancel their 787 orders because most of the time they will
act together,” said Kelvin Lau, an analyst at Daiwa Securities.”This indicates that China Eastern is taking a bearish view
on long-haul and believes the recovery in the United States and
Europe won’t come soon, so they don’t want to invest so much on
big planes for long-haul.”RISK TO 787 BACKLOGAlex Hamilton, managing director of EarlyBirdCapital, also
suspected Boeing’s arch-rival, Airbus , was using the
Dreamliner delays to push keenly priced sales of its own jets.”All this highlights the risk to the 787 backlog, especially
if they can’t get to 10 per month,” Hamilton said, referring to
Boeing’s 787 production target.Boeing’s Tinseth told reporters the company was producing
two 787s a month, and would “slowly but consistently increase
the rate until the end of 2013 we’ll be building 10-a-month”.Other aviation analysts said Chinese airlines were more
likely to reconsider their Dreamliner orders than many rivals
elsewhere, because they had a more aggressive growth profile and
were more sensitive to any downgrade to global growth.Australia’s Qantas Airways , struggling to revive
profitability on its long-haul network, said on Tuesday that it
remained fully committed to its 50 Dreamliner orders. Air New
Zealand also said it was not reconsidering its orders.Korean Air Lines also said it would introduce 10
787-9 Dreamliners from 2016 “as planned”.In Beijing, Boeing China said there was no sign of further
cancellations of Chinese orders.”The other committed Chinese airlines remain committed to
the 787,” Boeing said in a statement. “The 787 is the right
choice for these airlines’ international expansion for a number
of reasons, including unmatched passenger experience, fuel
efficiency and environmental performance.”Among Chinese airlines, China Southern has 10
Dreamliners on order, Air China 15, Hainan Airlines
10 and Xiamen Air six. Hong Kong Airlines had in
March signed an preliminary deal to buy 32 of the aircraft.Boeing said the 24 787s cancelled by China Eastern were part
of a deal with China’s government for the purchase of 60 787s.
Globally for 2011, Boeing has reported 26 net cancellations for
the Dreamliner, excluding China Eastern’s decision.The Dreamliner is about three years behind its original
schedule because of kinks in the sprawling global supply chain.Boeing still has more than 800 orders for the lightweight,
carbon-composite aircraft on its books. It made first delivery
of the Dreamliner to All Nippon Airways last month.
Cherokee certify new chief for first time in 12 years
Baker, 59, received just under 54 percent of the vote, final returns showed. The incumbent, 60-year-old Chad “Corntassel” Smith, who had led the tribe for 12 years, has until October 24 to file an appeal with the Cherokee supreme court to challenge the results.The Cherokee election has been unusual from the start. The initial election on June 25 featured four recounts with differing results. After the tribe’s supreme court ordered a new vote on September 24, it ruled that about 2,800 African-American members were expelled and could not vote.The so-called African American freedmen supported the challenger because of Chief Smith’s efforts to ban the descendants of Cherokee-held slaves from citizenship.The freedmen believe they are guaranteed tribal citizenship by the Treaty of 1866 with the U.S. government. Smith and some other Cherokee believe members should have an ancestral Indian blood link.The freedmen eventually regained their voting rights with the help of the federal government, which withheld funds from the tribe to pressure it into an out-of-court settlement. But the issue of the status of the freedmen is expected to remain an issue in the courts.Baker said the freedmen vote “didn’t play a big role” in his election because of his margin of victory.”But I appreciate every vote I got,” he said. “It’s a wonderful day and a long time coming.”The election commission said the final total showed Baker with 10,703 votes and Smith with 9,128.
Cherokee certify new chief for first time in 12 years
Baker, 59, received just under 54 percent of the vote, final returns showed. The incumbent, 60-year-old Chad “Corntassel” Smith, who had led the tribe for 12 years, has until October 24 to file an appeal with the Cherokee supreme court to challenge the results.The Cherokee election has been unusual from the start. The initial election on June 25 featured four recounts with differing results. After the tribe’s supreme court ordered a new vote on September 24, it ruled that about 2,800 African-American members were expelled and could not vote.The so-called African American freedmen supported the challenger because of Chief Smith’s efforts to ban the descendants of Cherokee-held slaves from citizenship.The freedmen believe they are guaranteed tribal citizenship by the Treaty of 1866 with the U.S. government. Smith and some other Cherokee believe members should have an ancestral Indian blood link.The freedmen eventually regained their voting rights with the help of the federal government, which withheld funds from the tribe to pressure it into an out-of-court settlement. But the issue of the status of the freedmen is expected to remain an issue in the courts.Baker said the freedmen vote “didn’t play a big role” in his election because of his margin of victory.”But I appreciate every vote I got,” he said. “It’s a wonderful day and a long time coming.”The election commission said the final total showed Baker with 10,703 votes and Smith with 9,128.
US STOCKS SNAPSHOT-Wall St rises 1 pct on Slovakia deal
Parties in the Slovakian government reached a deal with a
leftist opposition leader. Slovakia is the only European Union
member that has not ratified the plan to increase the fund’s
powers and fight the spreading debt crisis.
