Παρασκευή 30 Νοεμβρίου 2012

Beyond 2012: Why the World Won't End.


Frequently Asked Questions

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11.13.12
Google +Beyond 2012: Google+ Hangout with NASA
Dec. 21, 2012, won't be the end of the world as we know, however, it will be another winter solstice.

 Contrary to some of the common beliefs out there, the claims behind the end of the world quickly unravel when pinned down to the 2012 timeline.

 Below, NASA Scientists answer questions on the following 2012 topics:

 Blue Marble - High-Res Image of the Earth› View larger
A 'Blue Marble' image of the Earth taken from the Visible/Infrared Imager Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) instrument aboard NASA's Suomi NPP satellite. This composite image uses a number of swaths of the Earth's surface taken on January 4, 2012. Credit: NASA/NOAA/GSFC/Suomi NPP/VIIRS/Norman Kuring
Question (Q): Are there any threats to the Earth in 2012? Many Internet websites say the world will end in December 2012.
 Answer (A):The world will not end in 2012. Our planet has been getting along just fine for more than 4 billion years, and credible scientists worldwide know of no threat associated with 2012.
Q: What is the origin of the prediction that the world will end in 2012?
 A: The story started with claims that Nibiru, a supposed planet discovered by the Sumerians, is headed toward Earth. This catastrophe was initially predicted for May 2003, but when nothing happened the doomsday date was moved forward to December 2012 and linked to the end of one of the cycles in the ancient Mayan calendar at the winter solstice in 2012 -- hence the predicted doomsday date of December 21, 2012.
Q: Does the Mayan calendar end in December 2012?
 A: Just as the calendar you have on your kitchen wall does not cease to exist after December 31, the Mayan calendar does not cease to exist on December 21, 2012. This date is the end of the Mayan long-count period but then -- just as your calendar begins again on January 1 -- another long-count period begins for the Mayan calendar.
Q: Is NASA predicting a "total blackout" of Earth on Dec. 23 to Dec. 25?
 A: Absolutely not. Neither NASA nor any other scientific organization is predicting such a blackout. The false reports on this issue claim that some sort of "alignment of the Universe" will cause a blackout. There is no such alignment (see next question). Some versions of this rumor cite an emergency preparedness message from NASA Administrator Charles Bolden. This is simply a message encouraging people to be prepared for emergencies, recorded as part of a wider government preparedness campaign. It never mentions a blackout.
›Watch the Video
Q: Could planets align in a way that impacts Earth?
 A: There are no planetary alignments in the next few decades and even if these alignments were to occur, their effects on the Earth would be negligible. One major alignment occurred in 1962, for example, and two others happened during 1982 and 2000. Each December the Earth and sun align with the approximate center of the Milky Way Galaxy but that is an annual event of no consequence.
› More about alignment

 "There apparently is a great deal of interest in celestial bodies, and their locations and trajectories at the end of the calendar year 2012. Now, I for one love a good book or movie as much as the next guy. But the stuff flying around through cyberspace, TV and the movies is not based on science. There is even a fake NASA news release out there..."
- Don Yeomans, NASA senior research scientist
Q: Is there a planet or brown dwarf called Nibiru or Planet X or Eris that is approaching the Earth and threatening our planet with widespread destruction?
 A: Nibiru and other stories about wayward planets are an Internet hoax. There is no factual basis for these claims. If Nibiru or Planet X were real and headed for an encounter with the Earth in 2012, astronomers would have been tracking it for at least the past decade, and it would be visible by now to the naked eye. Obviously, it does not exist. Eris is real, but it is a dwarf planet similar to Pluto that will remain in the outer solar system; the closest it can come to Earth is about 4 billion miles.
Q: What is the polar shift theory? Is it true that the Earth's crust does a 180-degree rotation around the core in a matter of days if not hours?
 A: A reversal in the rotation of Earth is impossible. There are slow movements of the continents (for example Antarctica was near the equator hundreds of millions of years ago), but that is irrelevant to claims of reversal of the rotational poles. However, many of the disaster websites pull a bait-and-switch to fool people. They claim a relationship between the rotation and the magnetic polarity of Earth, which does change irregularly, with a magnetic reversal taking place every 400,000 years on average. As far as we know, such a magnetic reversal doesn’t cause any harm to life on Earth. Scientists believe a magnetic reversal is very unlikely to happen in the next few millennia.
› More about polar shift
Q: Is the Earth in danger of being hit by a meteor in 2012?
 A: The Earth has always been subject to impacts by comets and asteroids, although big hits are very rare. The last big impact was 65 million years ago, and that led to the extinction of the dinosaurs. Today NASA astronomers are carrying out a survey called the Spaceguard Survey to find any large near-Earth asteroids long before they hit. We have already determined that there are no threatening asteroids as large as the one that killed the dinosaurs. All this work is done openly with the discoveries posted every day on the NASA Near-Earth Object Program Office website, so you can see for yourself that nothing is predicted to hit in 2012.
Q: How do NASA scientists feel about claims of the world ending in 2012?
 A: For any claims of disaster or dramatic changes in 2012, where is the science? Where is the evidence? There is none, and for all the fictional assertions, whether they are made in books, movies, documentaries or over the Internet, we cannot change that simple fact. There is no credible evidence for any of the assertions made in support of unusual events taking place in December 2012.
› Why you need not fear a supernova
› About super volcanoes
Q: Is there a danger from giant solar storms predicted for 2012?
 A: Solar activity has a regular cycle, with peaks approximately every 11 years. Near these activity peaks, solar flares can cause some interruption of satellite communications, although engineers are learning how to build electronics that are protected against most solar storms. But there is no special risk associated with 2012. The next solar maximum will occur in the 2012-2014 time frame and is predicted to be an average solar cycle, no different than previous cycles throughout history.
› Video: Solar Storms
› More about solar storms

Addition information concerning 2012 is available on the Web, at:
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Το πλήρες κείμενο του προσχεδίου για το νέο ποινολόγιο της εφορίας φέρνει στη δημοσιότητα το Capital.gr. Πρόκειται για τις 22 σελίδες του προσχεδίου του νομοθετήματος με το οποίο το υπουργείο Οικονομικών επιχειρεί να μειώσει σημαντικά τα πρόστιμα για φορολογικές παραβάσεις και φοροδιαφυγή. Από την επεξεργασία των διατάξεων οι οποίες αναμένεται να οριστικοποιηθούν και κατατεθούν σύντομα στη Βουλή προκύπτει πρόθεση της ηγεσίας του ΥΠΟΙΚ να κάνει πιο ήπιες τις «ποινές» για όσους συλλαμβάνονται να έχουν υποπέσει ακόμη και σε πολύ σοβαρές φορολογικές παραβάσεις (π.χ. έκδοση πλαστών φορολογικών στοιχείων) ενώ σαφής είναι και η πρόθεση να πέφτουν στα μαλακά και οι λήπτες εικονικών τιμολογίων όταν η εικονικότητα ανάγεται στο πρόσωπο του εκδότη. Επίσης, μειώνεται σημαντικά και το ποσό που θα δεσμεύει η εφορία για τη διασφάλιση των συμφερόντων του δημοσίου από τους τραπεζικούς λογαριασμούς των μεγαλοφοροφυγάδων. Ειδικότερα, το νέο ποινολόγιο, μεταξύ άλλων, προβλέπει τα εξής:

1. Αλλάζει ο τρόπος υπολογισμού των πρόσθετων φόρων για υποβολή εκπρόθεσμης, ανακριβούς ή μη υποβολής δήλωσης. Ενώ με το σημερινό ποινολόγιο ο πρόσθετος φόρος κυμαίνεται από 1% έως 2,5% για κάθε μήνα καθυστέρησης επί του οφειλόμενου με τη δήλωση φόρου, με το νέο ποινολόγιο ορίζεται ότι ο πρόσθετος φόρος ισούται με το εκάστοτε επιτόκιο των τρίμηνων εντόκων γραμματίων του δημοσίου. Να σημειωθεί ότι στην τελευταία έκδοση των τρίμηνων εντόκων το ελληνικό δημόσιο δανείστηκε με επιτόκιο 4,2%. Αυτό θα ήταν και το ποσοστό του πρόσθετου φόρου.

2. Στη φορολογία μεταβίβασης ακινήτων  και στο Φόρο Μεγάλης Ακίνητης Περιουσίας δεν θεωρείται η δήλωση ανακριβής όταν η διαφορά μεταξύ της δηλωθείσας αξίας των ακινήτων και αυτής που προσδιορίστηκε με βάση τα «συγκριτικά στοιχεία» μεταβίβασης ομοειδών ακινήτων δεν υπερβαίνει το 50%. Το ποσοστό που ισχύει σήμερα είναι 20% οπότε με την παρέμβαση αυτή γλιτώνουν από πρόσθετους φόρους περισσότεροι φορολογούμενοι που απέκτησαν ή κληρονόμησαν ακίνητο εκτός του συστήματος των αντικειμενικών τιμών.

3. Τα ποσοστά του πρόσθετου φόρου δεν μπορούν σε καμιά περίπτωση να υπερβαίνουν το 50% για την υποβολή εκπρόθεσμης δήλωσης και το 100% για την υποβολή ανακριβούς δήλωσης ή μη υποβολής δήλωσης. Επέρχεται μείωση των σχετικών ποσοστών καθώς σήμερα ισχύουν ποσοστά 60% και 120% αντίστοιχα.

4. Σε περίπτωση επίλυσης της διαφοράς με δικαστικό συμβιβασμό ή διοικητική επίλυση ο πρόσθετος φόρος περιορίζεται στο 1/3 (έκπτωση 66%) αντί για τα 3/5 (έκπτωση 40%) που προβλέπει το υφιστάμενο ποινολόγιο.

5. Αλλάζει ο τρόπος υπολογισμού των προστίμων. Ορίζεται ότι για τις περιπτώσεις ανακριβών και μη υποβληθεισών δηλώσεων το πρόστιμο ανέρχεται σε 10% επί του οφειλόμενου φόρου με ελάχιστο τα 150 ευρώ. Στο υφιστάμενο ποινολόγιο ορίζεται ότι το ελάχιστο πρόστιμο ανέρχεται σε 117 ευρώ και φθάνει έως τα 1.170 ευρώ. Για τις εκπρόθεσμες δηλώσεις το πρόστιμο ορίζεται σε 150 ευρώ. Να σημειωθεί ότι με το νέο ποινολόγιο τα παραπάνω πρόστιμα επιβάλλονται και στις περιπτώσεις που προκύπτει πρόσθετος φόρος ή ποσό φόρου για καταβολή. Με το υφιστάμενο ποινολόγιο επιβάλλονταν όταν δεν προβλεπόταν η επιβολή πρόσθετου φόρου ή όταν δεν προέκυπτε φόρος για καταβολή.

6. Επέρχεται σημαντική μείωση των προστίμων για τις παραβάσεις έκδοσης πλαστών , νοθευμένων φορολογικών και άλλων στοιχείων.

7. Επέρχεται σημαντική μείωση των ειδικών προστίμων για τη λήψη εικονικών τιμολογίων. Το πρόστιμο μειώνεται από το 200% στο 20% του ΦΠΑ που γλίτωσε ο λήπτης. Επιπλέον όταν η εικονικότητα ανάγεται στο πρόσωπο του εκδότη του εικονικού τιμολογίου και ο λήπτης αποδεικνύει ότι έχει καταβάλει το ποσό του ΦΠΑ στον εκδότη τότε δεν επιβάλλεται πρόστιμο.

8. Δίνεται η δυνατότητα σε όσους έχουν υποθέσεις προστίμων με βάση το υφιστάμενο ποινολόγιο οι οποίες εκκρεμούν ενώπιον των διοικητικών δικαστηρίων και του Συμβουλίου της Επικρατείας να υποβάλουν αίτηση εντός 60 ημερών από τη δημοσίευση του νόμου για το νέο ποινολόγιο προκειμένου να επαναϋπολογισθούν τα πρόστιμα με βάση τις νέες ευνοϊκότερες διατάξεις. Η διαφορά που προκύπτει μετά τον επανϋπολογισμό των προστίμων και αφού αφαιρεθούν τυχόν ποσά που έχε καταβάλει ο φορολογούμενος μπορεί να εξοφληθεί είτε εφάπαξ με έκπτωση 60% είτε σε 10 μηνιαίες δόσεις με έκπτωση 40%.

9. Γίνεται πιο ελαστική η νομοθεσία για τη δέσμευση καταθέσεων στις περιπτώσεις που διαπιστώνεται φοροδιαφυγή άνω των 150.000 ευρώ. Ενώ με το σημερινό ποινολόγιο επιβάλλεται δέσμευση του 50% των καταθέσεών του, με το νέο ποινολόγιο δεσμεύεται το 70% του κατά την προεκτίμηση των ελεγκτών μη αποδοθέντων φόρων. Αυτή η διάταξη ευνοεί σημαντικά μεγαλοφοροφυγάδες. Για παράδειγμα, αν ένας μεγαλοφοροφυγάς που εντοπίσθηκε να μην έχει πληρώσει φόρο 200.000 ευρώ διέθετε σε τραπεζικούς λογαριασμούς 1 εκατ., ευρώ αντιμετώπιζε δέσμευση των 500.000 ευρώ από τις φορολογικές αρχές. Με το νέο ποινολόγιο θα του δεσμευτεί το 70% της προεκτίμησης του φόρου που δεν αποδόθηκε, δηλαδή θα του δεσμευτούν 140.000 ευρώ.

10. Μειώνεται από τις 235.000 στις 50.000 ευρώ το όριο της αξίας έκδοσης πλαστών ή εικονικών τιμολογίων πάνω από το οποίο επιβάλλεται η ποινή του «λουκέτου» για ένα μήνα στην επιχείρηση του παραβάτη. Από τη συγκεκριμένη ποινή απαλλάσσεται με το νέο ποινολόγιο ο λήπτης τιμολογίου του οποίου η εικονικότητα ανάγεται στο πρόσωπο του εκδότη


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Glencore




From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Glencore International plc
TypePublic limited company
Traded asLSE: GLEN, SEHK: 0805
IndustryCommodities
Metals and Mining
Founded1974
Founder(s)Marc Rich
HeadquartersBaar, Switzerland
(Head office)
Saint Helier, Jersey
(Registered office)
Area servedWorldwide
Key peopleIvan Glasenberg (CEO)
Simon Murray (Chairman)
ProductsMetals and minerals, energy products, agriculture products other raw materials
RevenueIncrease US$ 186.2 billion (2011)[1]
Operating incomeIncrease US$ 4.851 billion (2011)[1]
Net incomeIncrease US$ 4.268 billion (2011)[1]
Total assetsIncrease US$ 86.16 billion (2011)[1]
Total equityIncrease US$ 32.33 billion (2011)[1]
Employees57,656 (2011)
Websitewww.glencore.com
Glencore International plc is an Anglo–Swiss multinational commodity trading and mining company headquartered in 
Baar,Switzerland and with its registered office in Saint Helier, Jersey. It is the world's largest commodities trading company, 
with a 2010 global market share of 60 percent in the internationally tradeable zinc market, 50 percent in the internationally 
tradeable copper market, 9 percent in the internationally tradeable grain market and 3 percent in the internationally 
tradeable oil market.[2][3][4]
Glencore has a number of production facilities all around the world and supplies metals, minerals, crude oil, oil products,
 coal, natural gas and agricultural products to international customers in the automotive, power generation, steel 
production and food processing industries.[3] The company was formed in 1974 by a management buyout 
of Marc Rich & Co AG.[3]
Glencore listed on the London Stock Exchange in May 2011 and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index.[5][6]
 It has a secondary listing on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.[7]

Contents

  [hide] 

[edit]History

[edit]1974 to 2000

According to an Australian Public Radio report, "Glencore's history reads like a spy novel".[8] The company was founded
as Marc Rich & Co. AG in 1974 by now-billionaire commodity trader Marc Rich, who was charged with tax evasion 
and illegal business dealings with Iran in the U.S., but pardoned by President Bill Clinton in 2001.[9] He was never brought
 before U.S. justice before his pardoning, therefore there was never a verdict on these charges.
In 1993 commodity trading and marketing company Trafigura was "split off from" Marc Rich's group of companies.[10] 
As physical commodities traders, along with Trafigura, Glencore's main rivals in 2011 were identified as Vitol and Cargill,[11]
 amongst a number of others.[12]
In 1993 and 1994, after failing to control the zinc market, losing $172 million and nearly bankrupting the company, Rich was 
forced[9][11] to sell his majority share in Marc Rich & Co. AG back to the company.[13] The enterprise, 
renamed Glencore, is now owned and run by Marc Rich's secretive inner-circle of "lieutenants", including founding Glencore
 CEOWilly Strothotte and present CEO Ivan Glasenberg.

[edit]2000 to present

In 2005, proceeds from an oil sale to Glencore were seized as fraudulent, in an investigation into corruption in the
 Republic of Congo.[14]
In a 2011 survey of Glencore, Reuters reviewed an example of its opportunistic, contrarian, well-funded investment
 approach—focusing on equity participation, controlling interest, and working upstream from trading relationships:[11]
The acquisition was the culmination of 18 months of deal-making in Congo... [including fighting off a counterbid by]
former England cricketer Phil Edmonds.... [Starting i]n June 2007, Glencore and partner Dan Gertler, an Israeli
mining magnate, paid GB£300 million for a quarter-stake in mining company Nikanor, which was seeking to revive
derelict copper mines next to Katanga Mining's properties. That deal gave Glencore exclusive rights to sell all
ikanor's output -- an "offtake" agreement.... [Then, o]n Christmas Eve 2008, ... [having] lost 97 percent of its market
value over the previous six months ... in the depths of the global financial crisis and ... running out of cash,
Katanga accepted a lifeline it could not refuse. [Glencore] wanted control. For about US$500 million in a convertible
loan and rights issue, Katanga agreed to issue more than a billion new shares and hand what would become a stake
of 74 percent to Glencore. ... [By early 2011], with copper prices regularly setting records above US$10,000 a ton,
Katanga's stock market value [had reached] nearly US$3.2 billion.... [Since the Glencore acquisition], Katanga ...
is reaping the benefit of the surging markets and its wealthy, powerful owner. After losing US$108 million in 2009,
it posted an annual profit of US$265 million in 2010.
In the course of the Congo events, Nikanor was merged into Katanga in late 2007 in a transaction valued at US$3.3 billion.
[15]
In May 2009, Glencore announced it would manage Brazilian bankrupted agricultural products company Agrenco.[16]
In early 2011, the Reuters report included speculation that, after an Initial Public Offering (IPO), Glencore could develop 
an interest in London/Kazakh Eurasian Natural Resources Corporation.[11] In May 2011 the company launched an IPO 
valuing the business at US$61 billion[17] and creating five new billionaires.[18] Trading was limited to institutional investors
 for the first week and private investors were only allowed to buy the shares from 24 May 2011.[19]
In February 2012, Glencore International Plc, agreed to buy Xstrata Plc for GB£39.1 billion (US$62 billion) in shares. 
Glencore offered 2.8 new shares for each Xstrata share in agreed all-share "merger of equal". It is the biggest mining
 takeover and after approval for the plan would create an entity with 2012 sales of US$209 billion.[20] In June 2012,
 Glencore and Xstrata began to reconsider the proposed retention package for their merger, following shareholder opposition
 to a huge payout for executives. In total, 73 key executives stood to receive over GBP 170 million under the initial retention 
package. [21] In July 2012, Xstrata PLC announced that the Court Meeting originally scheduled for July 12, 2012 to approve 
the details of the merger between Xstrata and Glencore had been adjourned to September 7, 2012.[22]

[edit]Operations

As of 2006 (updated 2011), assets fully or partly controlled by Glencore included:[23]

[edit]Production facilities

AreaFacilityProductLocation

Employees ('06)Glencore ownership ('11)
North AmericaEvergreen AluminumAluminiumWashington, USA10 (plant idle)No interest indicated
Columbia Falls Aluminum Co.Montana, USA145No interest indicated
Century Aluminum CompanyHQ: Monterey, USA44% economic interest (39% voting)
WindalcoJamaica1,200No interest indicated
Alpart1,300No interest indicated
Sherwin AluminaTexas, USA550 ('11)100%
South AmericaProdecoCoalSanta Marta (port) and Calenturitas (mine), Colombia256100% 1
Carbones de La Jagua (formerly Caribe)La Jagua, Colombia350No interest indicated
Los QuenualesZinc, leadYauliyacu, Peru1,99897%
Iscaycruz, Peru1,27197%
PerubarRosaura, Peru444No interest indicated
Sinchi WayraZinc, lead, tin5 mines, Oruro and Potosi regions, Bolivia3,427100%
Aguilar mine/AR Zinc GroupZinc, lead,sulphuric acidNorth west of Argentina1,725100%
MorenoSunflower oil and mealCrushing plants: Necochea, Daireaux, Villegas andGrainer; Argentina575100%
EuropePortovesmeZinc, leadSardinia, Italy773100%
EuralluminaAluminium575No interest indicated
Kubikenborg Aluminium AB (Kubal)Sundsvall, Sweden470No interest indicated
Aughinish AluminaAluminaIreland472No interest indicated
AfricaMopani Copper MineCopperZambia8,84873%
Katanga MiningCopper, CobaltDemocratic Republic of the Congo6,400 ('11)74.4%
Mutanda MineCopper, CobaltDemocratic Republic of the Congo930 (2010)40%
ShandukaCoalSouth Africa1,500 ('11)70%
EurasiaOAO RussneftOilOil fields across Russia10,00040-49% in joint interests w/OAO
Rostov on Don grain export elevator and wheat flour millCerealsRostov on Don, Russia470No interest indicated
KazzincZincKazakhstan21,00050.7%
AsiaPASARCopperThe Philippines1,047[2]
AustraliaMurrin Murrin Joint VentureNickel, cobaltWestern Australia67182.3% (effective)
Cobar Copper MineCopperCobar, Central Western NSW, Australia267100%
1 The Prodeco stake has been sold to XStrata as part of XStrata's 2009 rights issue. Glencore retains a 100% re-purchase
 option, it is expected to exercise this option in 2010;[24]100%-owned by Glencore, per link in chart, April, 2011.

[edit]Other subsidiaries, participations and joint ventures

NameActivityLocationGlencore ownershipNotes
Xstrata plcMiningHQ: Zug, Switzerlandca. 14%, controlling 40%[25] 34.5%See also text above.
Minara Resources LtdHQ: Perth, Australia70.5%Operates the Murrin Murrin project.
CerrejónCoal miningGuajira department,Colombia33.3% up until Q2/2006BHP Billiton plc, Anglo American plc and Xstrata plc each own 33.3%. In 2006, Xstrata acquired Glencore's share.[26] See also text above.
RusalAluminium, aluminaRussia8.8%Announced merger / joint venture with RUSAL (66%) and SUAL Group (22%). World's largest aluminum and alumina producer with 110,000 employees in 17 countries.[27]
Katanga Mining LimitedCopper and cobaltDemocratic Republic of Congo74.4%See also text above.
ChemoilMarine fuels and clean fuelsWorldwide51.5%

[edit]Controversies

[edit]Financial and accounting manipulations

Five non-government organisations have filed a complaint to the OECD against a subsidiary of Glencore over allegations 
that a mine it owns in Zambia may not be paying enough tax on its profits. The cause for the complaint lies in the financial 
and accounting manipulations performed by the two companies’ subsidiary, Mopani Copper Mines Plc (MCM), in order to
 evade taxation in Zambia.[28][29] In 2011 Grant Thornton found that tax avoidance by Glencore in Zambia cost the Zambian
 Government hundreds of millions of dollars in lost revenue. The avoidance was facilitated through mechanisms such as
 transfer pricing and inflating costs at Glencore’s Mopani Copper Mine. The Mopani mines are controlled through the
 British Virgin Islands, a recognised tax haven.[30]

[edit]Dealings with "rogue states"

ABC Radio reported that Glencore "has been accused of illegal dealings with rogue states: apartheid South Africa, USSR,
 Iran, and Iraq under Saddam Hussein", and has a "history of busting UN embargoes to profit from corrupt or despotic 
regimes".[8] Specifically, Glencore was reported to have been named by the CIA to have paid $3,222,780 in illegalkickbacks 
to obtain oil in the course of the UN oil-for-food programme for Iraq. The company denied these charges, according to the
 CIA report quoted by ABC.[8][25]

[edit]Investments in Colombia

Moreover, Swiss public television (TSR) reported in 2006 that allegations of corruption and severe human rights violations 
were being raised against Glencore on account of the alleged conduct of its Colombian Cerrejón mining subsidiary. Local 
union president Francisco Ramirez was reported to have accused Cerrejón of forced expropriations and evacuations of entire
 villages in order to enable mine expansion, in complicity with Colombian authorities. According to TSR, a representative of 
the local Wayuu Indians also accused Colombian paramilitary and military units, including those charged with Cerrejón 
mining security, of forcibly driving the Wayuu off their land, in what she described as a "massacre".[31]
Glencore/Xtrata's "huge coal operation in Colombia, Prodeco, was fined a total of nearly $700,000 in 2009 for several 
environmental violations [running in earlier years], including waste disposal without a permit and producing coal without
 an environmental management plan."[11]
A BBC investigation in 2012 uncovered sale documents showing the company had paid the associates of paramilitary 
killers in Colombia. In 2011, a Colombian court had been told by former paramilitaries that they had stolen the land so they
 could sell it on to Glencore subsidiary Prodeco, to start an open-cast coal mine; the court accepted their evidence and
 concluded that coal was the motive for the massacre.[32]

[edit]Investments in Bolivia

Through its Bolivian subsidiary, Sinchi Wayra (which it acquired in 2005), Glencore operates six businesses in Bolivia that
 mine and process tin, silver, gold and zinc.;[33][34] notable among these has been Empresa Metalurgica Vinto, reportedly
 the world's largest privately-run smelter complex, located in the department of Oruro, which was seized and nationalized 
by Bolivian President Evo Morales on February 9, 2007. At the time of the seizure there were no plans to compensate 
Glencore.[35]

[edit]Investments in Ecuador

"In Ecuador, the current government has tried to reduce the role played by middle men such as Glencore with state oil 
company Petroecuador" due to questions about transparency and follow-through, according to Fernando Villavicencio,
 a Quito-based oil sector analyst.[11]

[edit]Investments in Zambia

"[O]fficials in Zambia believe pollution from Glencore's Mopani mines is causing acid rain and health problems in an 
area where 5 million people live."[11]

[edit]Investments in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

The company's Luilu copper refinery uses acid to extract the copper. For three years after taking over the mine it continued
 to allow the waste acid to flow into a river. The chief executive, Ivan Glasenberg, was interviewed for Panorama by 
John Sweeney and said 'It was impossible to remedy any way faster'[36]
They have also come under scrutiny for acquiring illicit "conflict minerals"[37]
Glencore has acquired stakes in the Kansuki mine in Congo’s southern Katanga Province: Congo’s government transferred 
a 75 per cent stake in Kansuki mine in secret and at vastly undervalued prices in July 2010 to a company in which Dan Gertler,
 who is a close friend of President Joseph Kabila, has an interest. Just a month later in August 2010, Glencore took half the 
shares of the company that acquired that 75 per cent stake, becoming the operator of the mine. Glencore is financing the 
entire development of the Kansuki mine, thereby carrying the costs for its other partner companies which are associated 
with Mr Gertler.[38]
Glencore has a 50 per cent share in SAMREF Congo SPRL, a Congolese registered company holding 80% of the Mutanda mine. SMREF Congo SPRL recommended on 1 March 2011 that Congo’s state-run company Gecamines, holding the other 20% share in the Mutanda Mine, sell this share to Rowny Assets Limited, an entity associated again with Dan Gertler. The state-owned share was sold in secret and undervaluated. Glencore has been designated operator of the Mutanda Mine.[38]

[edit]Associations with mining companies

Glencore is also noted for its association with the publicly traded Xstrata mining group, also headquartered in the low-tax
[11] Canton of Zug, Switzerland. Glencore is reported to serve as a marketing partner for Xstrata.[25][39] As of 2006, Glencore 
leaders Willy Strothotte and Ivan Glasenberg are on the board of Xstrata, which Strothotte chairs.[40] According to
 The Sunday Times in 2005, Glencore controlled 40% of Xstrata stock and has appointed the Xstrata CEO, Mick Davis.
[25][41] In 2011, Reuters put the ownership stake at 34.4%, and said that the Glencore IPO would facilitate a full merger
 between the two companies. Alternatively, if a merger were not consummated, "a messy competitive battle" between the
 affiliated companies could ensue, the report speculated.[11] On 10 September 2012, Glencore offered 3.05 of its shares for
 each share of Xstrata in pursuit of a merger deal.[42]This remained below the 3.25 shares demanded by Qatar Holding, 
the sovereign wealth fund which has a 12 per cent stake in Xstrata.[43] Relationships also exist with Century Aluminum Co.
 (CENX; 44% economic ownership interest)[44]) in the U.S.; Glencore partial subsidiary Minara Resources Ltd (AU:MRE),
 a 70.5% stake in one of Australia’s top three nickel producers[44]);[45] and 8.8% in United Company Rusal (HK:486),
 the Russian aluminum giant that went public in 2010.[44]
In mid-2011, Century was called "one of the most harrowing stocks of the past few years" but identified as a risky but
 potentially profitable investment going forward.[46]

[edit]References

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  2. ^ "Glencore: Taking over the world?". Aljazeera - Counting the Cost. 2011-05-29. Retrieved 2011-05-31.
  3. ^ a b c Pidd, Helen; Glaister, Dan; Smith, David; Cobain, Ian (19 May 2011). "The rise of Glencore, the biggest company you've never heard of". London: The Guardian. Retrieved 25 May 2011.
  4. ^ "Glencore's share of global commodity markets". London: The Telegraph. 15 April 2011. Retrieved 31 May 2011.
  5. ^ "Glencore's shares flat on first conditional trading day". BBC News. 19 May 2011. Retrieved 25 May 2011.
  6. ^ "Glencore jumps into FTSE 100". The Independent. 25 May 2011. Retrieved 25 May 2011.
  7. ^ Thomas, Denny (25 May 2011). "Glencore's Hong Kong shares down 2.8 pct on trading debut". Reuters. Retrieved 24 May 
  8. 2011.
  9. ^ a b c "Swiss link undermines Xstrata's bid for WMC". ABC Radio. February 11, 2005. Retrieved 2006-10-22.
  10. ^ a b Ammann, Daniel (2009). The King of Oil: The Secret Lives of Marc Rich. New York:St. Martin‘s Press.
  11.  ISBN 0-312-57074-0.
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  13. The Guardian. Retrieved 2009-09-17.
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  26. Retrieved 17 June 2011.
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  28. ^ "Glencore, Xstrata to Reconsider Retention Deal". BrightWire.
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  33.  Operations page is here [1]; all operations are in chart.
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  36. Retrieved 2006-10-22.
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  39. Retrieved 2006-10-23.
  40. ^ "Tax evasion in Zambia: Five NGOs file an OECD complaint against Glencore International AG and First Quantum Minerals for violation of OECD guidelines". Retrieved 25 September 2011.
  41. ^ Ford, Liz (15 April 2011). "Mining firm under fire over tax payments in Zambia". London: Guardian.
  42.  Retrieved 25 September 2011.
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  47. ^ Mineweb.com - The world's premier mining and mining investment website HOMEPAGE[dead link]
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  49. ^ "Glencore linked to acid waterfall in DR Congo". BBC News. April 16, 2012. Retrieved 2012-04-16.
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  55. Wayback Machine
  56. ^ See also www.xstrata.com, Investor disclosure, accessed 22 October 2006
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  58. ^ "Qatar Holds Out on Glencore as Davis Heads for Exit - Bloomberg".bloomberg.com. 2012 [last update].
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  60. ^ a b c Lesova, Polya, "Commodities giant Glencore readies landmark IPO: Listing may value firm at $60 billion, give it cash for acquisitions", MarketWatch, April 13, 2011 9:35 a.m. EDT. Retrieved 2011-04-13.
  61. ^ "Glencore ist größtes Privatunternehmen Europas" (in German). Handelsblatt. 16 August 2005. Retrieved 2006-10-22.
  62. ^ Spain, William, "5 risky stocks with big potential payoffs", MarketWatch,
  63.  May 27, 2011, 12:01 a.m. EDT. Retrieved 2011-05-31.

[edit]Further reading

[edit]External links

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