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Tax deals may cost Swiss 248 bln Sfr assets -study

* Western European assets seen down at 623 bln Sfr by 2014

* Switzerland to remain world's biggest offshore centre, for now

* Singapore, Hong Kong could overtake Swiss in 15-20 years

* Banks need to cut 15,500 jobs to stay profitable

By Emma Thomasson

ZURICH, May 31 (Reuters) - Swiss banks could see assets from western European clients fall 28 percent because of deals to tax undeclared accounts, potentially forcing the industry to cut up to 15,500 jobs to stay profitable, the Boston Consulting Group said.

The BCG predicted in its annual global wealth report on Thursday that western European assets booked in Switzerland could fall 248 billion Swiss francs ($256 billion) to 623 billion by 2014.

"We see a shock in terms of assets from western Europe," Matthias Naumann, BCG Switzerland chief executive, told a news conference. "The Swiss banking landscape is facing its biggest transformation in 250 years."

After mounting criticism of its tradition of bank secrecy, Switzerland has agreed to clamp down on foreign tax evaders who have stashed their wealth in Swiss accounts.

It has signed deals with Austria, Britain and Germany, to levy punitive taxes on undeclared assets held in its banks and a withholding tax on future client income that are due to come into force in 2013. Similar agreements with Greece, Italy and other European countries could follow.

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Tax deals may cost Swiss 248 bln Sfr assets -study

Zimplats' bank freeze lifted

Zimbabwe's central bank lifted Wednesday a ban on the local unit of South Africa's Impala Platinum using local banking services over accusations it used offshore accounts, a company official said.

The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) imposed the ban on Zimplats last week saying the company continued to put money in offshore accounts.

Zimplats is the local unit of the world's second-largest platinum producer Impala Platinum.

"We confirm that the RBZ has issued a directive permitting Zimplats to access local banking services," Zimplats spokeswoman Busi Chindove said in an email responding to AFP questions.

Zimbabwe directed in March that foreign banks and mining companies should keep their funds in local accounts instead of offshore.

"We are pleased that the RBZ has issued a directive to normalise our access to local banking services and to allow us to export," said Chindove, adding that firm "did not have significant funds offshore" as it is funding expansion projects at its plant.

The government earlier this year threatened to take Zimplats over after it failed to submit a plan to distribute 51 percent of its shares to locals under the country's indigenisation laws.

The company later struck a deal with the government offering to give 10 percent shares to its workers, another 10 percent to a community trust near its mine and 31 percent to the government's Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Fund.

Under the controversial local ownership law championed by President Robert Mugabe, the government must pay for the shares it receives - something the cash-strapped treasury has not budgeted for this year.

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Zimplats' bank freeze lifted

Andy Warhol’s Rare Queen Elizabeth II Portrait Copy Up for Sale

A proof copy of Andy Warhol's 1985 portrait of Queen Elizabeth II is set for auction at Bonhams' Print Sale in London on 11 July. The rare copy is estimated to fetch between 40,000-60,000.

Warhol, an American artist, is known for creating exploratory works on celebrity culture, artistic exploration and advertisement. The artist is regarded as one of the leading figures in the visual art movement known as pop art. Some of his famous works include The Last Supper, Soup Cans and Death and Disaster.Although Warhol is best remembered for his paintings of Campbell's soup cans, he also created hundreds of other works, including commercial advertisements and films.

The signed and numbered print of Queen Elizabeth II is from the Reigning Queens series, which also includes the Queens of Denmark, the Netherlands and Swaziland. It was his last print-portrait before his untimely death in 1987.

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It is based on a portrait of Queen Elizabeth painted in 1977 to mark her Silver Jubilee. Given Warhol's fascination with transvestites, of whom he painted a series in the 1970s called Drag Queens or Ladies and Gentleman, the Reigning Queens title is clearly intended as a pun on Raging Queens.

According to Bonhams' website, the two series also share the same bright, almost garish palettes. As always with Warhol, however, the flippancy masks a more serious point about the nature of celebrity and image in the modern world.

"Warhol was, of course, a commercial artist working in design, fashion and advertising for many years before he crossed over into the world of fine art. It is in his portraits above all that Warhol combined these two aesthetic domains, deploying all his graphic skill, his eye for engaging line and colour, his 'creative director' talents to make images that would not only appeal to his immediate clients, but also to absolute strangers in the years to come," wrote art critic and journalist Adrian Dannatt on the painter and his work.

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Andy Warhol’s Rare Queen Elizabeth II Portrait Copy Up for Sale

SAIC to Webcast Presentation at Stephens Spring Investment Conference

MCLEAN, Va., May 31, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) (SAI) announced today it was will present at the Stephens Inc. Spring Investment Conference at The New York Palace Hotel in New York City on Wednesday, June 6, 2012 commencing at 10:00 am ET. SAIC chief financial officer Mark Sopp and controller John Hartley will discuss business developments, current trends, and growth opportunities, which will be audio webcast live from 10:00 to 10:25 a.m., ET on June 6, 2012. The audio webcast can be accessed at the SAIC Investor site and will be available for 30 days.

About SAICSAIC is a FORTUNE 500 scientific, engineering, and technology applications company that uses its deep domain knowledge to solve problems of vital importance to the nation and the world, in national security, energy and the environment, critical infrastructure, and health. The Company's approximately 41,000 employees serve customers in the U.S. Department of Defense, the intelligence community, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, other U.S. Government civil agencies and selected commercial markets. Headquartered in McLean, Va., SAIC had annual revenues of approximately $10.6 billion for its fiscal year ended January 31, 2012. For more information, visit http://www.saic.com/. SAIC: From Science to Solutions

Statements in this announcement, other than historical data and information, constitute forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. A number of factors could cause our actual results, performance, achievements, or industry results to be very different from the results, performance, or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Some of these factors include, but are not limited to, the risk factors set forth in SAIC's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the period ended January 31, 2012, and other such filings that SAIC makes with the SEC from time to time. Due to such uncertainties and risks, readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date hereof.

Investor Contact:

Paul Levi

(703) 676-2283

levip@saic.com

Media Contact:

Melissa Koskovich

(703) 676-6762

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SAIC to Webcast Presentation at Stephens Spring Investment Conference

PINK DOT 2012: SOMEDAY – Video

29-05-2012 21:57 Find out what are some of the realities of being lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) in Singapore, and the yearnings for a more enlightened future. Visit Notes Positive representations of LGBT people are disallowed or heavily restricted in newspapers, magazines, radio,...

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