Intel disclosed Friday it is the target of a federal probe involving allegations it improperly discouraged PC makers from using chips sold by its bitter rival, Sunnyvale-based Advanced Micro Devices.
The Santa Clara company - also facing similar investigations in Europe, Asia and New York - said Friday it received a subpoena from the Federal Trade Commission on Wednesday "related to Intel's business practices with respect to competition in the microprocessor market."
The FTC confirmed it is looking into the activities of Intel, the world's biggest chip maker. But it declined to provide other information about its probe.
"We can acknowledge the existence of the investigation, but that's all we can say at this point," said FTC spokesman Mitch Katz.
In a written statement, Intel said it has been working with the FTC since 2006 "on an informal inquiry into competition in the microprocessor market and has provided the commission staff with a considerable amount of information and thousands of documents."
The company, which reported a profit last year of nearly $7 billion, said it would cooperate with the federal investigation and emphasized it "believes its business practices are well within U.S. law." As evidence that the computer chip market is "fiercely competitive," the statement said microprocessor prices declined by 42.4 percent from 2000 to the end of 2007.
Several experts noted that by opening a formal investigation, the FTC will be
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able to get access to documents in AMD's three-year-old lawsuits against Intel, which until now have been kept confidential under a federal court's protective order.
Some of those documents will show Intel did nothing wrong, said Intel spokesman Tom Beermann.
"The commission will now have a more full and complete picture of Intel's business practices, which we believe are lawful," he said.
Executives at AMD - which lost more than $3 billion last year - said they also had received an FTC subpoena on Wednesday, seeking documents related to their claim that Intel had used its dominance in the semiconductor industry to persuade computer makers not to use AMD's chips.
"Intel must now answer to the Federal Trade Commission, which is the appropriate way to determine the impact of Intel practices on U.S. consumers and technology businesses," AMD said in its own statement. "In every country around the world where Intel's business practices have been investigated . . . antitrust regulators have taken action."
By launching an investigation, the FTC may have wanted to show that it "is not lagging behind authorities around the world in taking these issues seriously," added Thomas McCoy, AMD's executive vice president for legal affairs and its chief administrative officer.
If Intel is found to have violated the law, it could massive fines and be forced to change the way it sells its chips.
Intel's stock price dropped 97 cents or about 4 percent to $22.90 at the close of trading Friday. AMD's shares fell 35 cents or about 4.5 percent to $7.43.
Intel has been under increasing fire over its business practices.
On Wednesday, South Korean authorities fined the company about $25 million, claiming it deterred competition by offering illegal discounts to South Korean computer makers, such as Samsung Electronics, so they wouldn't buy chips from AMD. Intel's General Counsel Bruce Sewell has said the company probably will appeal that ruling.
In February, European Union regulators raided Intel's offices and computer retailers seeking evidence to bolster their previous charges that Intel engaged in below-cost pricing and other practices to discourage computer makers from using AMD chips.
And in January, New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo began his own formal probe of Intel, accusing the company of "potential anti-competitive conduct."
The Japanese Fair Trade Commission also has contended that Intel offered inappropriate rebates to computer makers. Intel settled those claims in 2005, while disagreeing with the findings.
Having the FTC conduct its own investigation "is a very important and significant development," said Edward Black, chief executive of the Computer and Communications Industry Association, which has AMD as a member, but not Intel.
Noting that Intel controls at least 80 percent of the computer-chip market, he said it's essential that competition be allowed to thrive in the industry to encourage technological innovation. As a result, Black added, "we think this is a positive development.
But some other experts cautioned that just because the FTC is investigating doesn't mean it will conclude there is any basis to take punitive action against Intel. They also pointed out that the federal inquiry could take years, just like the trial involving AMD's suit against Intel. On Thursday, that trial was postponed until February 2010 because the two sides were still exchanging relevant documents.
"All they are doing is asking questions," said John Peirce, an Washington D.C. antitrust specialist with the law firm Bryan Cave, commenting on the FTC investigation. "It's a small battle in a big war."
Doug Freedman, an analyst with investment firm American Technology Research, agreed.
"There clearly is no immediate impact" of the FTC investigation on either Intel or AMD, he said. "These things take forever."
Saturday, June 7, 2008
SpiceJet investors open to stake sale
Promoters and investors in SpiceJet, could be inclined to sell stake in case of an offer at a higher valuation of over Rs 1,000 crore from prospective buyers, possibly Anil Ambani-led Reliance ADAG or Jet Airways.
While officials concerned remained tight-lipped, sources in the know of the deal gave enough indication that talks were on with Reliance ADAG and Naresh Goyal-led Jet Airways.
The reports about a possible deal pushed up SpiceJet shares by over 14% during the day to close at Rs 35.95 raising the company's value at current stock price to Rs 865.14 crore.
The appreciation in the company's share prices comes on a day when industry leaders like Jet and Deccan (now owned by Vijay Mallaya promoted Kingfisher Airlines) lost up to three percent in a weak market.
Sources said as the airline is doing well and is on an expansion mode, different people have been approaching it with various proposals to buy out some promoters and investors.
While Rs 755 crore may not be the right price, but if the valuation goes up to Rs 1,000 crore and beyond, the investors or even promoters could be interested in exiting the airline, the sources added.
When contacted Ajay Singh, Director, SpiceJet, did not take any query on the issue, including whether he has also been approached by any prospective buyers.
In the meantime, Spicejet in a communication to stock exchanges said, "the company has till date not received any formal communication from any party" on reports that 'Anil Ambani is in race to buy out SpiceJet'.
Anil Ambani group eyeing SpiceJet
Mumbai: Anil Dhirubhai Ambani group (ADAG) has begun talks to buy low-cost carrier SpiceJet, the Mint daily reported on Friday, without attributing any source.
Kingfisher Airlines and Jet Airways are also in the race to buy SpiceJet, which is looking to raise funds, the newspaper said.
The diversified ADAG controls India's No. 2 mobile operator Reliance Communications, which is in talks with South Africa's MTN in a bid to create a global top-10 telecom firm.
"I am not meeting anybody and not thinking about diluting my stake," the Mint quoted SpiceJet's founder Bhupendra Kansagra as saying. "But who would not want to exit, if he is getting a right price for his stake." Officials at ADAG and SpiceJet could not be immediately reached.
The Tata group owns 6% and Dubai government investment agency Istithmar owns 13.4% of SpiceJet.
The Indian airline industry, estimated to have made losses of at least $1 billion in FY08, has resorted to stake sale and raised debt to stay afloat.
Last year Jet Airways bought unlisted rival Sahara Airlines and UB group, which runs Kingfisher Airlines, bought a controlling stake in Deccan Aviation. (-Reuters)
While officials concerned remained tight-lipped, sources in the know of the deal gave enough indication that talks were on with Reliance ADAG and Naresh Goyal-led Jet Airways.
The reports about a possible deal pushed up SpiceJet shares by over 14% during the day to close at Rs 35.95 raising the company's value at current stock price to Rs 865.14 crore.
The appreciation in the company's share prices comes on a day when industry leaders like Jet and Deccan (now owned by Vijay Mallaya promoted Kingfisher Airlines) lost up to three percent in a weak market.
Sources said as the airline is doing well and is on an expansion mode, different people have been approaching it with various proposals to buy out some promoters and investors.
While Rs 755 crore may not be the right price, but if the valuation goes up to Rs 1,000 crore and beyond, the investors or even promoters could be interested in exiting the airline, the sources added.
When contacted Ajay Singh, Director, SpiceJet, did not take any query on the issue, including whether he has also been approached by any prospective buyers.
In the meantime, Spicejet in a communication to stock exchanges said, "the company has till date not received any formal communication from any party" on reports that 'Anil Ambani is in race to buy out SpiceJet'.
Anil Ambani group eyeing SpiceJet
Mumbai: Anil Dhirubhai Ambani group (ADAG) has begun talks to buy low-cost carrier SpiceJet, the Mint daily reported on Friday, without attributing any source.
Kingfisher Airlines and Jet Airways are also in the race to buy SpiceJet, which is looking to raise funds, the newspaper said.
The diversified ADAG controls India's No. 2 mobile operator Reliance Communications, which is in talks with South Africa's MTN in a bid to create a global top-10 telecom firm.
"I am not meeting anybody and not thinking about diluting my stake," the Mint quoted SpiceJet's founder Bhupendra Kansagra as saying. "But who would not want to exit, if he is getting a right price for his stake." Officials at ADAG and SpiceJet could not be immediately reached.
The Tata group owns 6% and Dubai government investment agency Istithmar owns 13.4% of SpiceJet.
The Indian airline industry, estimated to have made losses of at least $1 billion in FY08, has resorted to stake sale and raised debt to stay afloat.
Last year Jet Airways bought unlisted rival Sahara Airlines and UB group, which runs Kingfisher Airlines, bought a controlling stake in Deccan Aviation. (-Reuters)
Icahn has no credible plan: Yahoo
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New York: Reiterating that the company is open to any transaction including a sale to Microsoft, Yahoo! has said billionaire investor Carl Icahn does not have credible plan for operating the internet major.
The latest response comes in the awake of Icahn's letter on Friday, urging Yahoo! to sell itself to Microsoft and also do away with the employee retention plan, which he termed as a "poison pill."
"Leaving aside Mr Icahn's inaccurate interpretation of our retention plan, we again note that he has no credible plan to operate Yahoo!," the internet major said in a statement on Friday.
Yahoo! also pointed out that cancelling the employee retention plan would have a destabilising impact on the firm and would not be in the best interests of the shareholders.
Responding to Icahn's suggestion that Yahoo! should sell itself to the software giant, the internet major noted that the firm is open to any transaction which would be beneficial for the shareholders.
"As we have stated numerous times publicly and privately, we are open to any transaction, including a sale to Microsoft, if it is in the best interests of shareholders," the statement said.
Earlier, on Friday, Icahn asked the internet major to sell itself to Microsoft at a price of $34.375 per share. "In my opinion, Microsoft does not believe you will ever sell the entire company on a friendly basis. So, why don't you stop dancing around the subject and publicly offer to sell the company to Microsoft for $34.375 per share and promise to co-operate completely?," Icahn wrote to Yahoo! chairman Roy Bostock.
Updated at 0800 hrs: Carl Icahn on Friday told Yahoo Inc that it should offer to sell the company to Microsoft Corp for $34.375 a share, as the financier fired another volley in an acrimonious war of words.
In Icahn's latest letter to Yahoo, he said if Microsoft doesn't accept the offer "in a friendly and cooperative transaction," he would push the Internet company to do a deal with Google Inc if he wins control of Yahoo's board.
Icahn, who is running a slate of directors to replace Yahoo's board at its Aug. 1 annual meeting, hadn't previously named a price at which he believes Yahoo should agree to sell.
Microsoft on May 3 walked away after making a verbal $33-per-share offer, with Yahoo demanding $37 a share. A straight cash offer of $34.375 would value Yahoo at about $48 billion. Yahoo shares closed up 8 cents at $26.44 on Friday.
Icahn, a billionaire and veteran of activist shareholder campaigns, renewed his attack on Yahoo and its co-founder and CEO, Jerry Yang, accusing him of "sabotaging" the possibility of a Microsoft deal. Investment funds controlled by Icahn hold about 59 million shares and options, or 4.28 percent of Yahoo.
"When the public owns shares, management can no longer treat the company as their plaything and fiefdom," Icahn said in an interview.
Icahn reiterated his previous demand that Yahoo cancel a "change of control" severance plan that awards accelerated benefits to all of Yahoo's staff in the event of a takeover.
He cited a recent shareholder lawsuit against Yahoo, where the company estimated the plan's value at $2.4 billion, which he said was "a major obstacle" to any Microsoft acquisition.
"They keep telling us that they have done this severance plan in order to aid the employees," said Icahn. "But just the opposite is true," he said, labeling it a "poison-pill severance plan."
Yahoo, in response, said Icahn has an "inaccurate interpretation" of its employee retention plan. "Mr. Icahn's suggestion that we cancel our retention plan would have a destabilizing impact on Yahoo," the company said.
It reiterated its view that Icahn has no "credible plan to operate Yahoo" if he wins his proxy campaign.
Microsoft declined to comment.
In an e-mail to employees, Yang said the proxy contest with Icahn had begun in earnest and asked them not to be distracted as the war of words intensifies ahead of the annual meeting.
"In my opinion, Microsoft does not believe you will ever sell the entire company on a friendly basis," Icahn said in his letter. "So why don't you stop dancing around the subject and publicly offer to sell the company to Microsoft for $34.375 per share and promise to cooperate completely?"
Icahn declined to say whether he has held discussions with Microsoft or Google.
Yahoo repeated that it is "open to any transaction including a sale to Microsoft if it is in the best interests of shareholders," but it would be "ill advised" to name a price.
ICAHN'S GAME PLAN
Icahn's jawboning over price is designed to prod Microsoft and Yahoo back into negotiations on an outright merger, said Canaccord Adams analyst Colin Gillis: "As a holder of Yahoo, Icahn keeps walking up the price. We have gone from the original Microsoft offer of $31, to $33 to now $34.375."
"Is he showing some anxiety here?" wondered Global Crown Capital analyst Martin Pyykkonen. "A lot of investors assumed that Icahn had some sort of a nod from Microsoft, even if he hadn't actually huddled with them," he said. "But so far it seems that Microsoft is playing hard to get."
Without an existing offer from Microsoft, Icahn's own slate would be in a weak negotiating position were it to win control of Yahoo and resume talks with Microsoft, both analysts said.
"Icahn's board clearly has a mandate to deliver this company to Microsoft," Gillis said. "Voting in this board without a deal on the table doesn't seem to make sense because Icahn's leverage with Microsoft would disappear."
Wall Street debated the significance of Icahn naming a price of $34 with 0.375, or 3/8 of $1, tacked on the end. One analyst joked "Icahn must have some vacation planned and he has to get that extra 3/8 of a dollar to pay for it."
Another explanation may be negotiating strategy designed to ensure Yahoo gets at least $34, he said.
The answer may be as simple as Icahn liking the number. His successful role late last year in forcing business software
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New York: Reiterating that the company is open to any transaction including a sale to Microsoft, Yahoo! has said billionaire investor Carl Icahn does not have credible plan for operating the internet major.
The latest response comes in the awake of Icahn's letter on Friday, urging Yahoo! to sell itself to Microsoft and also do away with the employee retention plan, which he termed as a "poison pill."
"Leaving aside Mr Icahn's inaccurate interpretation of our retention plan, we again note that he has no credible plan to operate Yahoo!," the internet major said in a statement on Friday.
Yahoo! also pointed out that cancelling the employee retention plan would have a destabilising impact on the firm and would not be in the best interests of the shareholders.
Responding to Icahn's suggestion that Yahoo! should sell itself to the software giant, the internet major noted that the firm is open to any transaction which would be beneficial for the shareholders.
"As we have stated numerous times publicly and privately, we are open to any transaction, including a sale to Microsoft, if it is in the best interests of shareholders," the statement said.
Earlier, on Friday, Icahn asked the internet major to sell itself to Microsoft at a price of $34.375 per share. "In my opinion, Microsoft does not believe you will ever sell the entire company on a friendly basis. So, why don't you stop dancing around the subject and publicly offer to sell the company to Microsoft for $34.375 per share and promise to co-operate completely?," Icahn wrote to Yahoo! chairman Roy Bostock.
Updated at 0800 hrs: Carl Icahn on Friday told Yahoo Inc that it should offer to sell the company to Microsoft Corp for $34.375 a share, as the financier fired another volley in an acrimonious war of words.
In Icahn's latest letter to Yahoo, he said if Microsoft doesn't accept the offer "in a friendly and cooperative transaction," he would push the Internet company to do a deal with Google Inc if he wins control of Yahoo's board.
Icahn, who is running a slate of directors to replace Yahoo's board at its Aug. 1 annual meeting, hadn't previously named a price at which he believes Yahoo should agree to sell.
Microsoft on May 3 walked away after making a verbal $33-per-share offer, with Yahoo demanding $37 a share. A straight cash offer of $34.375 would value Yahoo at about $48 billion. Yahoo shares closed up 8 cents at $26.44 on Friday.
Icahn, a billionaire and veteran of activist shareholder campaigns, renewed his attack on Yahoo and its co-founder and CEO, Jerry Yang, accusing him of "sabotaging" the possibility of a Microsoft deal. Investment funds controlled by Icahn hold about 59 million shares and options, or 4.28 percent of Yahoo.
"When the public owns shares, management can no longer treat the company as their plaything and fiefdom," Icahn said in an interview.
Icahn reiterated his previous demand that Yahoo cancel a "change of control" severance plan that awards accelerated benefits to all of Yahoo's staff in the event of a takeover.
He cited a recent shareholder lawsuit against Yahoo, where the company estimated the plan's value at $2.4 billion, which he said was "a major obstacle" to any Microsoft acquisition.
"They keep telling us that they have done this severance plan in order to aid the employees," said Icahn. "But just the opposite is true," he said, labeling it a "poison-pill severance plan."
Yahoo, in response, said Icahn has an "inaccurate interpretation" of its employee retention plan. "Mr. Icahn's suggestion that we cancel our retention plan would have a destabilizing impact on Yahoo," the company said.
It reiterated its view that Icahn has no "credible plan to operate Yahoo" if he wins his proxy campaign.
Microsoft declined to comment.
In an e-mail to employees, Yang said the proxy contest with Icahn had begun in earnest and asked them not to be distracted as the war of words intensifies ahead of the annual meeting.
"In my opinion, Microsoft does not believe you will ever sell the entire company on a friendly basis," Icahn said in his letter. "So why don't you stop dancing around the subject and publicly offer to sell the company to Microsoft for $34.375 per share and promise to cooperate completely?"
Icahn declined to say whether he has held discussions with Microsoft or Google.
Yahoo repeated that it is "open to any transaction including a sale to Microsoft if it is in the best interests of shareholders," but it would be "ill advised" to name a price.
ICAHN'S GAME PLAN
Icahn's jawboning over price is designed to prod Microsoft and Yahoo back into negotiations on an outright merger, said Canaccord Adams analyst Colin Gillis: "As a holder of Yahoo, Icahn keeps walking up the price. We have gone from the original Microsoft offer of $31, to $33 to now $34.375."
"Is he showing some anxiety here?" wondered Global Crown Capital analyst Martin Pyykkonen. "A lot of investors assumed that Icahn had some sort of a nod from Microsoft, even if he hadn't actually huddled with them," he said. "But so far it seems that Microsoft is playing hard to get."
Without an existing offer from Microsoft, Icahn's own slate would be in a weak negotiating position were it to win control of Yahoo and resume talks with Microsoft, both analysts said.
"Icahn's board clearly has a mandate to deliver this company to Microsoft," Gillis said. "Voting in this board without a deal on the table doesn't seem to make sense because Icahn's leverage with Microsoft would disappear."
Wall Street debated the significance of Icahn naming a price of $34 with 0.375, or 3/8 of $1, tacked on the end. One analyst joked "Icahn must have some vacation planned and he has to get that extra 3/8 of a dollar to pay for it."
Another explanation may be negotiating strategy designed to ensure Yahoo gets at least $34, he said.
The answer may be as simple as Icahn liking the number. His successful role late last year in forcing business software
Friday, June 6, 2008
India and Malaysia Risk Voters’ Wrath by Raising Fuel Prices
With no end in sight to high world oil prices, India and Malaysia on Wednesday became the latest Asian countries to risk the wrath of voters by raising the price of subsidized fuel, a highly unpopular measure that could further weaken the governments of both countries made fragile by recent electoral setbacks.
The moves follow similar price increases in Indonesia, Pakistan and Sri Lanka and are a recognition by governments that they can no longer shelter their populations from the spike in energy prices.
In India the increase was quickly condemned by political parties from all sides: the Communist Party promised a week of demonstrations, including blockades of roads and trains, that were due to start Wednesday, while the conservative Bharatiya Janata Party said its members would also take to the streets. Raising fuel prices was the equivalent of “economic terrorism,” said Rajiv Pratap Rudy, a B.J.P. spokesman, who added that the move would drive the “last nail in the coffin for the common man.”
Among economists and policy makers, the decision was described as painful but necessary. Fuel subsidies in Malaysia alone would have amounted to $17 billion this year, four times more than the combined amount the government pays for national defense, education and health care.
Malaysia is raising gasoline prices by 40 percent and plans on further increases in the future, according to Shahrir Abdul Samad, the domestic trade and consumer affairs minister.
Gasoline prices vary across India, but the announcement Wednesday amounted to an increase of around 10 percent for gasoline and diesel.
Consumers will pay about 50 rupees a liter for gasoline, or about $4.45 a gallon, well above the average $3.79 a gallon average that drivers in the United States are paying, according to the most recent figures from the Department of Energy.
The fuel price increase is expected to drive inflation up in India from 8.1 percent to as high as 10 percent, when knock-on effects are felt in manufacturing and other industries.
Chandra Prakash, a gas-pump repairman in Delhi, said that because of the price increases, he might be forced to abandon his scooter altogether and start walking from job to job. Already, he said, he is barely surviving. “It is difficult to cut back expenses any more,” he said, adding that it was the government’s job to “keep prices in check.”
The Indian minister of petroleum, Murli Deora, said Tuesday that the price increases were an “absolute necessity” due to the increase in world oil prices. But the price increase could further weaken the Congress Party government, which has been losing ground in state elections in recent months. Most recently, the state of Karnataka voted for the B.J.P. in May.
In Malaysia, the governing coalition of Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi was weakened after losing in 5 of the country’s 13 states in March elections, and Abdullah has been pressured by some senior members of his party to step down. Yet if he can hold his coalition together, cutting subsidies may benefit Abdullah and his allies in the long run.
“They will have a lot more cash to play with,” said Ibrahim Suffian, director of the Merdeka Center, an independent polling agency. The government will able to use the savings for social programs and infrastructure, moves that would please both voters and members of the governing party, the United Malays National Organization, which has been able to remain united in the past by doling out contracts.
To cushion the blow for consumers, the Malaysian government plans to offer a yearly cash rebate to owners of small cars and motorcycles. Cars with engines smaller than two liters will receive an annual payout of $200. Motorcycle owners will be given about one-fifth that amount, according to the Malaysian news Web site, Malaysiakini.
Anwar Ibrahim, the head of the largest opposition party and a former finance minister, said he feared that the billions of dollars the government will save by cutting subsidies would be wasted.
In the past, he said, Malaysia’s oil revenues were “disbursed for megaprojects and projects that benefit the rich and the cronies.”
The moves follow similar price increases in Indonesia, Pakistan and Sri Lanka and are a recognition by governments that they can no longer shelter their populations from the spike in energy prices.
In India the increase was quickly condemned by political parties from all sides: the Communist Party promised a week of demonstrations, including blockades of roads and trains, that were due to start Wednesday, while the conservative Bharatiya Janata Party said its members would also take to the streets. Raising fuel prices was the equivalent of “economic terrorism,” said Rajiv Pratap Rudy, a B.J.P. spokesman, who added that the move would drive the “last nail in the coffin for the common man.”
Among economists and policy makers, the decision was described as painful but necessary. Fuel subsidies in Malaysia alone would have amounted to $17 billion this year, four times more than the combined amount the government pays for national defense, education and health care.
Malaysia is raising gasoline prices by 40 percent and plans on further increases in the future, according to Shahrir Abdul Samad, the domestic trade and consumer affairs minister.
Gasoline prices vary across India, but the announcement Wednesday amounted to an increase of around 10 percent for gasoline and diesel.
Consumers will pay about 50 rupees a liter for gasoline, or about $4.45 a gallon, well above the average $3.79 a gallon average that drivers in the United States are paying, according to the most recent figures from the Department of Energy.
The fuel price increase is expected to drive inflation up in India from 8.1 percent to as high as 10 percent, when knock-on effects are felt in manufacturing and other industries.
Chandra Prakash, a gas-pump repairman in Delhi, said that because of the price increases, he might be forced to abandon his scooter altogether and start walking from job to job. Already, he said, he is barely surviving. “It is difficult to cut back expenses any more,” he said, adding that it was the government’s job to “keep prices in check.”
The Indian minister of petroleum, Murli Deora, said Tuesday that the price increases were an “absolute necessity” due to the increase in world oil prices. But the price increase could further weaken the Congress Party government, which has been losing ground in state elections in recent months. Most recently, the state of Karnataka voted for the B.J.P. in May.
In Malaysia, the governing coalition of Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi was weakened after losing in 5 of the country’s 13 states in March elections, and Abdullah has been pressured by some senior members of his party to step down. Yet if he can hold his coalition together, cutting subsidies may benefit Abdullah and his allies in the long run.
“They will have a lot more cash to play with,” said Ibrahim Suffian, director of the Merdeka Center, an independent polling agency. The government will able to use the savings for social programs and infrastructure, moves that would please both voters and members of the governing party, the United Malays National Organization, which has been able to remain united in the past by doling out contracts.
To cushion the blow for consumers, the Malaysian government plans to offer a yearly cash rebate to owners of small cars and motorcycles. Cars with engines smaller than two liters will receive an annual payout of $200. Motorcycle owners will be given about one-fifth that amount, according to the Malaysian news Web site, Malaysiakini.
Anwar Ibrahim, the head of the largest opposition party and a former finance minister, said he feared that the billions of dollars the government will save by cutting subsidies would be wasted.
In the past, he said, Malaysia’s oil revenues were “disbursed for megaprojects and projects that benefit the rich and the cronies.”
Indians Find U.S. at Fault in Food Cost
Instead of blaming India and other developing nations for the rise in food prices, Americans should rethink their energy policy — and go on a diet.
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The purchases and disposal of food by typical American shoppers have tongues wagging bitterly at Indian research institutes.
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Managing Globalization: Indian-American Namecalling
That has been the response, basically, of a growing number of politicians, economists and academics in this country, who are angry at statements by top United States officials that India’s rising prosperity is to blame for food inflation.
The debate has sometimes devolved into what sounded like petty playground taunts over who are the real gluttons devouring the world’s resources.
For instance, Pradeep S. Mehta, secretary general of the center for international trade, economics and the environment of CUTS International, an independent research institute based here, said that if Americans slimmed down to the weight of middle-class Indians, “many hungry people in sub-Saharan Africa would find food on their plates.”
He added, archly, that the money spent in the United States on liposuction to get rid of fat from excess consumption could be funneled to feed famine victims.
Mr. Mehta’s comments may sound like the macroeconomic equivalent of “so’s your old man,” but they reflect genuine outrage — and ballooning criticism — toward the United States in particular, over recent remarks by President Bush.
After a news conference in Missouri on May 2, he was quoted as saying of India’s burgeoning middle class, “When you start getting wealth, you start demanding better nutrition and better food, and so demand is high, and that causes the price to go up.”
The comments, widely reported in the developing world, followed a statement on the subject by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice that had upset many Indians.
In response to the president’s remarks, a ranking official in the commerce ministry, Jairam Ramesh, told the Press Trust of India, “George Bush has never been known for his knowledge of economics,” and the remarks proved again how “comprehensively wrong” he is.
The Asian Age, a newspaper based here, argued in an editorial last week that Mr. Bush’s “ignorance on most matters is widely known and openly acknowledged by his own countrymen,” and that he must not be allowed to “get away” with an effort to “divert global attention from the truth by passing the buck on to India.”
The developing nations, and in particular China and India, are being blamed for global problems, including the rising cost of commodities and the increase in greenhouse gas emissions, because they are consuming more goods and fuel than ever before. But Indians from the prime minister’s office on down frequently point out that per capita, India uses far lower quantities of commodities and pollutes far less than nations in the West, particularly the United States.
Explaining the food price increases, Indian politicians and academics cite consumption in the United States; the West’s diversion of arable land into the production of ethanol and other biofuels; agricultural subsidies and trade barriers from Washington and the European Union; and finally the decline in the exchange rate of the dollar.
There may be some foundation to Indians’ accusations of hypocrisy by the West. The United States uses — or throws away — 3,770 calories a person each day, according to data from the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization collected in 2001-3, compared with 2,440 calories per person in India. Americans are also the largest per capita consumers in any major economy of the most energy-intensive common food source, beef, the Agriculture Department says.
And the United States and Canada lead the world in oil consumption per person, according to the Energy Information Administration, an Energy Department agency.
When it comes to trade, Western farming subsidies undercut agricultural production in fertile areas of Africa, India’s commerce minister, Kamal Nath, said in a telephone interview, repeating the point that Americans waste more food than people in many other countries.
The United States is responsible “many times more” than India for the world food crisis, said Ramesh Chand, an economist with the Indian Council of Agricultural Research, which advises the government on farm policy.
The Bush administration has called for a truce. President Bush is a “great friend and admirer” of India, the United States ambassador here, David C. Mulford, said last week. He added that “this is a time for increased cooperation among nations to solve this problem and that hostile political commentary is not productive.”
A White House spokesman, Scott Stanzel, said, “We think it is a good thing countries are developing, that more and more people have higher standards of living.”
Some economists argue that blaming India’s growth is not only unfair, but makes little sense.
Food prices have not been rising continually as developing nations grew, said Ramgopal Agarwala, a former World Bank economist and senior adviser at RIS, a research institute in New Delhi. “They were static until 2006, then in 2007 and 2008 there was a sudden spark,” he said. But India has been growing for the last decade. This is “not last year’s phenomena,” he said.
“I don’t know who advised the president” on his recent comments, Mr. Agarwala added, but his analysis is “subprime.”
Mr. Mehta of the research institute conceded that his remarks on liposuction were meant to be tongue in cheek, but that “politically incorrect” attitudes like President Bush’s and Ms. Rice’s needed to be challenged. Rather than blaming India, Mr. Mehta said, the West should be adjusting to a changing world.
“If the developing world is going to develop, demand is going to go up and there are going to be new political paradigms,” he said.
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The purchases and disposal of food by typical American shoppers have tongues wagging bitterly at Indian research institutes.
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Managing Globalization: Indian-American Namecalling
That has been the response, basically, of a growing number of politicians, economists and academics in this country, who are angry at statements by top United States officials that India’s rising prosperity is to blame for food inflation.
The debate has sometimes devolved into what sounded like petty playground taunts over who are the real gluttons devouring the world’s resources.
For instance, Pradeep S. Mehta, secretary general of the center for international trade, economics and the environment of CUTS International, an independent research institute based here, said that if Americans slimmed down to the weight of middle-class Indians, “many hungry people in sub-Saharan Africa would find food on their plates.”
He added, archly, that the money spent in the United States on liposuction to get rid of fat from excess consumption could be funneled to feed famine victims.
Mr. Mehta’s comments may sound like the macroeconomic equivalent of “so’s your old man,” but they reflect genuine outrage — and ballooning criticism — toward the United States in particular, over recent remarks by President Bush.
After a news conference in Missouri on May 2, he was quoted as saying of India’s burgeoning middle class, “When you start getting wealth, you start demanding better nutrition and better food, and so demand is high, and that causes the price to go up.”
The comments, widely reported in the developing world, followed a statement on the subject by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice that had upset many Indians.
In response to the president’s remarks, a ranking official in the commerce ministry, Jairam Ramesh, told the Press Trust of India, “George Bush has never been known for his knowledge of economics,” and the remarks proved again how “comprehensively wrong” he is.
The Asian Age, a newspaper based here, argued in an editorial last week that Mr. Bush’s “ignorance on most matters is widely known and openly acknowledged by his own countrymen,” and that he must not be allowed to “get away” with an effort to “divert global attention from the truth by passing the buck on to India.”
The developing nations, and in particular China and India, are being blamed for global problems, including the rising cost of commodities and the increase in greenhouse gas emissions, because they are consuming more goods and fuel than ever before. But Indians from the prime minister’s office on down frequently point out that per capita, India uses far lower quantities of commodities and pollutes far less than nations in the West, particularly the United States.
Explaining the food price increases, Indian politicians and academics cite consumption in the United States; the West’s diversion of arable land into the production of ethanol and other biofuels; agricultural subsidies and trade barriers from Washington and the European Union; and finally the decline in the exchange rate of the dollar.
There may be some foundation to Indians’ accusations of hypocrisy by the West. The United States uses — or throws away — 3,770 calories a person each day, according to data from the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization collected in 2001-3, compared with 2,440 calories per person in India. Americans are also the largest per capita consumers in any major economy of the most energy-intensive common food source, beef, the Agriculture Department says.
And the United States and Canada lead the world in oil consumption per person, according to the Energy Information Administration, an Energy Department agency.
When it comes to trade, Western farming subsidies undercut agricultural production in fertile areas of Africa, India’s commerce minister, Kamal Nath, said in a telephone interview, repeating the point that Americans waste more food than people in many other countries.
The United States is responsible “many times more” than India for the world food crisis, said Ramesh Chand, an economist with the Indian Council of Agricultural Research, which advises the government on farm policy.
The Bush administration has called for a truce. President Bush is a “great friend and admirer” of India, the United States ambassador here, David C. Mulford, said last week. He added that “this is a time for increased cooperation among nations to solve this problem and that hostile political commentary is not productive.”
A White House spokesman, Scott Stanzel, said, “We think it is a good thing countries are developing, that more and more people have higher standards of living.”
Some economists argue that blaming India’s growth is not only unfair, but makes little sense.
Food prices have not been rising continually as developing nations grew, said Ramgopal Agarwala, a former World Bank economist and senior adviser at RIS, a research institute in New Delhi. “They were static until 2006, then in 2007 and 2008 there was a sudden spark,” he said. But India has been growing for the last decade. This is “not last year’s phenomena,” he said.
“I don’t know who advised the president” on his recent comments, Mr. Agarwala added, but his analysis is “subprime.”
Mr. Mehta of the research institute conceded that his remarks on liposuction were meant to be tongue in cheek, but that “politically incorrect” attitudes like President Bush’s and Ms. Rice’s needed to be challenged. Rather than blaming India, Mr. Mehta said, the West should be adjusting to a changing world.
“If the developing world is going to develop, demand is going to go up and there are going to be new political paradigms,” he said.
As Ills Persist, Afghan Leader Is Losing Luster
After six years in which Hamid Karzai has been the darling of the United States and its allies, his luster may be fading.
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President Hamid Karzai, at a NATO ceremony in Kabul on Tuesday, has been criticized for failing to arrest powerful drug lords.
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Times Topics: Hamid KarzaiNext week, Mr. Karzai, the Afghan president, is to arrive in Paris for a donors conference with attendees from 80 countries and organizations. He will ask for $50 billion to finance a five-year development plan intended to revive Afghanistan’s decrepit farming sector, promote economic development and diversify the economy away from its heavy reliance on opium.
But there is a growing concern in Europe, the United Nations and even the Bush administration that Mr. Karzai, while well-spoken, colorful and often larger than life, is not up to addressing Afghanistan’s many troubles.
A senior State Department official questioned whether Mr. Karzai had the “trust and the backbone” for the job.
“Of course he’s a good guy, and therefore as long as he’s president we’ll support him,” said the official, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the delicacy of the issue. “But there’s a lot of talk inside the administration saying maybe there’s a need for some tough love to push him to do the right thing.”
One European diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity under normal diplomatic rules, said, “We’ve got the standard administration problem of fascination with a flawed figure.” The diplomat likined the support for Mr. Karzai to American backing for President Pervez Musharraf of Pakistan.
American officials expressed particular frustration over the Afghan president’s refusal to arrest drug lords who are running the country’s opium trade, which many international observers believe the Taliban have used to fuel their comeback. At both the State Department and the Pentagon, some officials are saying that President Bush should use the financial leverage of American aid to Afghanistan to demand that Mr. Karzai do more to crack down on corruption.
One senior Bush administration official said that Mr. Bush remained enamored of Mr. Karzai. Others questioned whether the White House would endorse a tougher line against him at a time when international forces in Afghanistan are continuing to face a resurgent Taliban, and when there are no obvious pro-American alternatives to Mr. Karzai among Afghan leaders.
Still, Mr. Bush has sought to address some of the complaints. Two months ago he began holding twice-monthly video conference calls with his Afghan counterpart that are similar to his regular sessions with Nuri Kamal al-Maliki, the Iraqi prime minister.
Asked to comment about Mr. Karzai, a White House spokesman, Gordon D. Johndroe, said, “President Bush appreciates the work that he’s doing in Afghanistan, but we all know that there is more to be done.”
Afghanistan’s ambassador to the United States, Said T. Jawad, defended Mr. Karzai’s leadership and warned against pointing fingers at a fledgling government. “It’s totally unnecessary to start a blame game,” Mr. Jawad said.
According to American and European diplomats, recent tension has flared around an episode that received little attention outside Afghanistan and that involved Mr. Karzai’s refusal to arrest a notorious Uzbek warlord, Gen. Abdul Rashid Dostum.
General Dostum is said to have attacked a rival warlord with a beer bottle this year, almost killing him, and Afghan law enforcement officials sought to arrest him. But Mr. Karzai’s government balked, according to Western diplomats and Afghan officials.
The diplomats — American and European, who spoke on condition of anonymity — said that they urged Mr. Karzai to have General Dostum arrested but that he told them he did not want to pick a fight with General Dostum for fear of alienating his backers.
Richard C. Holbrooke, a former United States ambassador to the United Nations, said he confronted Mr. Karzai shortly after the Dostum dustup while on a trip to Afghanistan. Mr. Holbrooke said he had asked Mr. Karzai how he could “let the thugs back you down over a murderous warlord” Mr. Karzai, he said, responded with a shrug.
A senior Afghan official said that Mr. Karzai wanted to arrest General Dostum but decided not to do so because of the strength of forces loyal to General Dostum in northern Afghanistan and because of uneasiness among NATO officials in Afghanistan.
In an interview, Mr. Holbrooke said he saw the episode as “a metaphor for a government that’s perceived as increasingly weak, but whose effectiveness is key to success in Afghanistan.” He added, “I don’t believe the Taliban can win in Afghanistan, because people remember what they really stand for, but the government as it currently functions can’t win, either.”
Administration officials said the recent sessions between Mr. Bush and Mr. Karzai had been constructive but had yet to produce any tangible steps against corruption.
The Afghan president operates from a heavily fortified presidential palace, and has not arrested any drug lords or warlords, while resisting international pressure for a strong coordinator to monitor the political, economic and military effort in Afghanistan. Mr. Karzai has insisted that Afghanistan’s fledgling government should handle the bulk of the job of deciding how to spend international aid.
Bush administration officials and their British counterparts are still fuming over Mr. Karzai’s rejection this year of the British diplomat Paddy Ashdown as a special envoy. The West had pushed him as it searched for a strong international figure, à la George C. Marshall, to help coordinate the reconstruction of Afghanistan.
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Seltan Mohammad/European Pressphoto Agency
President Hamid Karzai, at a NATO ceremony in Kabul on Tuesday, has been criticized for failing to arrest powerful drug lords.
Reach of War
Go to Complete Coverage »
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Times Topics: Hamid KarzaiNext week, Mr. Karzai, the Afghan president, is to arrive in Paris for a donors conference with attendees from 80 countries and organizations. He will ask for $50 billion to finance a five-year development plan intended to revive Afghanistan’s decrepit farming sector, promote economic development and diversify the economy away from its heavy reliance on opium.
But there is a growing concern in Europe, the United Nations and even the Bush administration that Mr. Karzai, while well-spoken, colorful and often larger than life, is not up to addressing Afghanistan’s many troubles.
A senior State Department official questioned whether Mr. Karzai had the “trust and the backbone” for the job.
“Of course he’s a good guy, and therefore as long as he’s president we’ll support him,” said the official, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the delicacy of the issue. “But there’s a lot of talk inside the administration saying maybe there’s a need for some tough love to push him to do the right thing.”
One European diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity under normal diplomatic rules, said, “We’ve got the standard administration problem of fascination with a flawed figure.” The diplomat likined the support for Mr. Karzai to American backing for President Pervez Musharraf of Pakistan.
American officials expressed particular frustration over the Afghan president’s refusal to arrest drug lords who are running the country’s opium trade, which many international observers believe the Taliban have used to fuel their comeback. At both the State Department and the Pentagon, some officials are saying that President Bush should use the financial leverage of American aid to Afghanistan to demand that Mr. Karzai do more to crack down on corruption.
One senior Bush administration official said that Mr. Bush remained enamored of Mr. Karzai. Others questioned whether the White House would endorse a tougher line against him at a time when international forces in Afghanistan are continuing to face a resurgent Taliban, and when there are no obvious pro-American alternatives to Mr. Karzai among Afghan leaders.
Still, Mr. Bush has sought to address some of the complaints. Two months ago he began holding twice-monthly video conference calls with his Afghan counterpart that are similar to his regular sessions with Nuri Kamal al-Maliki, the Iraqi prime minister.
Asked to comment about Mr. Karzai, a White House spokesman, Gordon D. Johndroe, said, “President Bush appreciates the work that he’s doing in Afghanistan, but we all know that there is more to be done.”
Afghanistan’s ambassador to the United States, Said T. Jawad, defended Mr. Karzai’s leadership and warned against pointing fingers at a fledgling government. “It’s totally unnecessary to start a blame game,” Mr. Jawad said.
According to American and European diplomats, recent tension has flared around an episode that received little attention outside Afghanistan and that involved Mr. Karzai’s refusal to arrest a notorious Uzbek warlord, Gen. Abdul Rashid Dostum.
General Dostum is said to have attacked a rival warlord with a beer bottle this year, almost killing him, and Afghan law enforcement officials sought to arrest him. But Mr. Karzai’s government balked, according to Western diplomats and Afghan officials.
The diplomats — American and European, who spoke on condition of anonymity — said that they urged Mr. Karzai to have General Dostum arrested but that he told them he did not want to pick a fight with General Dostum for fear of alienating his backers.
Richard C. Holbrooke, a former United States ambassador to the United Nations, said he confronted Mr. Karzai shortly after the Dostum dustup while on a trip to Afghanistan. Mr. Holbrooke said he had asked Mr. Karzai how he could “let the thugs back you down over a murderous warlord” Mr. Karzai, he said, responded with a shrug.
A senior Afghan official said that Mr. Karzai wanted to arrest General Dostum but decided not to do so because of the strength of forces loyal to General Dostum in northern Afghanistan and because of uneasiness among NATO officials in Afghanistan.
In an interview, Mr. Holbrooke said he saw the episode as “a metaphor for a government that’s perceived as increasingly weak, but whose effectiveness is key to success in Afghanistan.” He added, “I don’t believe the Taliban can win in Afghanistan, because people remember what they really stand for, but the government as it currently functions can’t win, either.”
Administration officials said the recent sessions between Mr. Bush and Mr. Karzai had been constructive but had yet to produce any tangible steps against corruption.
The Afghan president operates from a heavily fortified presidential palace, and has not arrested any drug lords or warlords, while resisting international pressure for a strong coordinator to monitor the political, economic and military effort in Afghanistan. Mr. Karzai has insisted that Afghanistan’s fledgling government should handle the bulk of the job of deciding how to spend international aid.
Bush administration officials and their British counterparts are still fuming over Mr. Karzai’s rejection this year of the British diplomat Paddy Ashdown as a special envoy. The West had pushed him as it searched for a strong international figure, à la George C. Marshall, to help coordinate the reconstruction of Afghanistan.
Obama Claims Nomination; First Black Candidate to Lead a Major Party Ticket
Senator Barack Obama claimed the Democratic presidential nomination on Tuesday night, prevailing through an epic battle with Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton in a primary campaign that inspired millions of voters from every corner of America to demand change in Washington.
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News Analysis: Next on Agenda Is Clinton’s Role (June 4, 2008)
Man in the News: Calm in the Swirl of History (June 4, 2008)
The Caucus: The Superdelegate Tally (June 3, 2008)
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Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton with her daughter, Chelsea, and husband, Bill, in New York on Tuesday night.
A last-minute rush of Democratic superdelegates, as well as split results from the final primaries in Montana and South Dakota, pushed Mr. Obama over the threshold of 2,118 delegates needed to be nominated at the party’s convention in Denver in August. The victory for Mr. Obama, the son of a black Kenyan father and white Kansan mother, broke racial barriers and represented a remarkable rise for a man who just four years ago served in the Illinois State Senate.
“You chose to listen not to your doubts or your fears, but to your greatest hopes and highest aspirations,” Mr. Obama told supporters at a rally in St. Paul. “Tonight, we mark the end of one historic journey with the beginning of another — a journey that will bring a new and better day to America. Because of you, tonight, I can stand before you and say that I will be the Democratic nominee for president of the United States.”
Mrs. Clinton paid tribute to Mr. Obama, but she did not leave the race. “This has been a long campaign and I will be making no decisions tonight," Mrs. Clinton told supporters in New York. She said she would be speaking with party officials about her next move.
In a combative speech, she again presented her case that she was the stronger candidate and argued that she had won the popular vote, a notion disputed by the Obama campaign.
“I want the 18 million Americans who voted for me to be respected,” she said in New York to loud cheers.
But she paid homage to Mr. Obama’s accomplishments, saying, “It has been an honor to contest the primaries with him, just as it has been an honor to call him my friend.”
Mr. Obama’s victory moved the presidential campaign to a new phase as he tangled with Senator John McCain of Arizona in televised addresses Tuesday night over Mr. Obama’s assertion that Mr. McCain would continue President Bush’s policies. Mr. McCain vigorously rebuffed that criticism in a speech in Kenner, La., in which he distanced himself from the outgoing president while contrasting his own breadth of experience with Mr. Obama’s record.
“The American people didn’t get to know me yesterday, as they are just getting to know Senator Obama,” Mr. McCain told supporters. Mr. Obama’s victory capped a marathon nominating contest that broke records on several fronts: the number of voters who participated, the amount of money raised and spent, and the sheer length of a grueling battle. The campaign, infused by tensions over race and sex, provided unexpected twists to the bitter end as Mr. Obama ultimately prevailed over Mrs. Clinton, who just a year ago appeared headed toward becoming the first woman to be nominated by a major party. The last two contests reflected the party’s continuing divisions, as Mrs. Clinton won the South Dakota primary and Mr. Obama won Montana.
The race drew to its final hours with a burst of announcements — delegate-by-delegate — of Democrats stepping forward to declare their support for Mr. Obama. The Democratic establishment, from former President Jimmy Carter to rank-and-file local officials who make up the ranks of the party’s superdelegates, rallied behind Mr. Obama as the day wore on.
When the day began, Mr. Obama needed 41 delegates to effectively claim the nomination. Just as the polls began to close in Montana and South Dakota, Mr. Obama secured the delegates he needed to end his duel with Mrs. Clinton, which wound through every state and territory in an unprecedented 57 contests over five months.
Every time a new endorsement was announced at the Obama headquarters in Chicago, campaign workers interrupted with a booming round of applause. They are members of Mr. Obama’s team — a political start up — that is responsible for defeating one of the most tried and tested operations in Democratic politics.
While the Democratic race may have ended, a new chapter began in the complicated tensions that have defined the relationship with Mr. Obama and Mrs. Clinton.
On a conference call with members of the New York Congressional delegation on Tuesday, Mrs. Clinton was asked whether she would be open to joining a ticket with Mr. Obama. She replied that she would do whatever she could — including a vice presidential bid — to help Democrats win the White House.
In his speech on Tuesday evening, Mr. Obama paid respect to his rival.
“Our party and our country are better off because of her,” Mr. Obama said, “and I am a better candidate for having had the honor to compete with Hillary Rodham Clinton
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Polling Place Photo Project
Capture, post and share photographs of the primaries in Montana and South Dakota.
Post a Photo »Multimedia
Graphic
On Day of Last Primary, Obama's Superdelegate Surge
Related
News Analysis: Next on Agenda Is Clinton’s Role (June 4, 2008)
Man in the News: Calm in the Swirl of History (June 4, 2008)
The Caucus: The Superdelegate Tally (June 3, 2008)
Blog
The Caucus
The latest political news from around the nation. Join the discussion.
Election GuideMore Politics News
Enlarge This Image
James Estrin/The New York Times
Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton with her daughter, Chelsea, and husband, Bill, in New York on Tuesday night.
A last-minute rush of Democratic superdelegates, as well as split results from the final primaries in Montana and South Dakota, pushed Mr. Obama over the threshold of 2,118 delegates needed to be nominated at the party’s convention in Denver in August. The victory for Mr. Obama, the son of a black Kenyan father and white Kansan mother, broke racial barriers and represented a remarkable rise for a man who just four years ago served in the Illinois State Senate.
“You chose to listen not to your doubts or your fears, but to your greatest hopes and highest aspirations,” Mr. Obama told supporters at a rally in St. Paul. “Tonight, we mark the end of one historic journey with the beginning of another — a journey that will bring a new and better day to America. Because of you, tonight, I can stand before you and say that I will be the Democratic nominee for president of the United States.”
Mrs. Clinton paid tribute to Mr. Obama, but she did not leave the race. “This has been a long campaign and I will be making no decisions tonight," Mrs. Clinton told supporters in New York. She said she would be speaking with party officials about her next move.
In a combative speech, she again presented her case that she was the stronger candidate and argued that she had won the popular vote, a notion disputed by the Obama campaign.
“I want the 18 million Americans who voted for me to be respected,” she said in New York to loud cheers.
But she paid homage to Mr. Obama’s accomplishments, saying, “It has been an honor to contest the primaries with him, just as it has been an honor to call him my friend.”
Mr. Obama’s victory moved the presidential campaign to a new phase as he tangled with Senator John McCain of Arizona in televised addresses Tuesday night over Mr. Obama’s assertion that Mr. McCain would continue President Bush’s policies. Mr. McCain vigorously rebuffed that criticism in a speech in Kenner, La., in which he distanced himself from the outgoing president while contrasting his own breadth of experience with Mr. Obama’s record.
“The American people didn’t get to know me yesterday, as they are just getting to know Senator Obama,” Mr. McCain told supporters. Mr. Obama’s victory capped a marathon nominating contest that broke records on several fronts: the number of voters who participated, the amount of money raised and spent, and the sheer length of a grueling battle. The campaign, infused by tensions over race and sex, provided unexpected twists to the bitter end as Mr. Obama ultimately prevailed over Mrs. Clinton, who just a year ago appeared headed toward becoming the first woman to be nominated by a major party. The last two contests reflected the party’s continuing divisions, as Mrs. Clinton won the South Dakota primary and Mr. Obama won Montana.
The race drew to its final hours with a burst of announcements — delegate-by-delegate — of Democrats stepping forward to declare their support for Mr. Obama. The Democratic establishment, from former President Jimmy Carter to rank-and-file local officials who make up the ranks of the party’s superdelegates, rallied behind Mr. Obama as the day wore on.
When the day began, Mr. Obama needed 41 delegates to effectively claim the nomination. Just as the polls began to close in Montana and South Dakota, Mr. Obama secured the delegates he needed to end his duel with Mrs. Clinton, which wound through every state and territory in an unprecedented 57 contests over five months.
Every time a new endorsement was announced at the Obama headquarters in Chicago, campaign workers interrupted with a booming round of applause. They are members of Mr. Obama’s team — a political start up — that is responsible for defeating one of the most tried and tested operations in Democratic politics.
While the Democratic race may have ended, a new chapter began in the complicated tensions that have defined the relationship with Mr. Obama and Mrs. Clinton.
On a conference call with members of the New York Congressional delegation on Tuesday, Mrs. Clinton was asked whether she would be open to joining a ticket with Mr. Obama. She replied that she would do whatever she could — including a vice presidential bid — to help Democrats win the White House.
In his speech on Tuesday evening, Mr. Obama paid respect to his rival.
“Our party and our country are better off because of her,” Mr. Obama said, “and I am a better candidate for having had the honor to compete with Hillary Rodham Clinton
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