"Credit Card Rating: Tips to Use your Credit Card Wisely"

Credit scores and credit card rating (or the APR, annual percentage rate, as we know it) are two financially related categories which can determine whether or not financial institutions will lend money to borrowers.


Before an individual can acquire funds from a bank, credit union or other type of lending institution, the lender will check the credit ratings and credit scores of the applicant in their determination of whether or not to lend money to that particular person.



You have to be fully-aware of the pros and cons of appropriately using credit card because if not, you may end up with a huge credit card debt that can make you have a bad credit rating.



A good credit rating will prepare for a happy future too. Choosing a credit card is sometimes a really difficult decision. The credit cards features such as the APR (annual percentage rate), annual fees, repayment requirements are important things to consider. But maybe it is more important to know about how to use properly a credit card. Perhaps you need some specific advice about that, subsequently I hope these tips can help you:



1 - Don’t recklessly and unnecessarily apply for Credit Cards: every time you apply for a new credit card, an inquiry is made on your credit report. The more inquiries which are made, the less likely it is that lenders will provide you with credit.



2- Keep Overall Spending on Credit Cards to a Minimum: this will keep the credit card debt on each individual card to a reasonable amount and it will make it more likely that you can pay off your credit cards in a timely manner.


3- Try to Decrease Credit Card Debt to 10% or below: doing so will show other lenders that you have a good enough credit card rating to be given a higher credit card limit yet you choose to keep your balance low by paying off current debt on a continual basis.


4- Don’t Close Unused Cards: try to resist the urge to spend any money using that particular credit card yet keep it open. Thus, the cardholder is establishing a credit and helping to increase their credit card rating in a favourable way.



Remember, we are living in a time of global economic crisis; so use wisely your credit card and ensure the good and safe future you deserve.

"Hungary & International Crisis"

Days before the leaders of the Group of 20 gathered to make decisions — or avoid them — that would directly affect Hungary, Sandor Csanyi, chairman of OTP, the country’s largest bank, could not conceal the stress, despite putting on a brave face.



Mr. Csanyi’s puffy red eyes showed the toll of the last seven months: the near default of Hungary on its foreign debt, the 90 percent plunge in his bank’s stock price as short sellers took aim at OTP, and, most recently, the surprise resignation of Hungary’s prime minister, which has raised questions about the government’s ability to carry out crucial economic reforms.



“Hungary is not Iceland,” he said, drinking a glass of red wine as the Danube rolled by a riverside restaurant here. “And OTP is not Citibank or RBS.” But OTP may be more similar to its western peers than Mr. Csanyi cares to admit. Short-sellers have laid siege to the bank, calculating that it has more sour loans on its books than it is willing to admit and that its cash cushion may prove insufficient.



Like Hungary itself, which thought it could borrow its way to prosperity in a post-cold war economy that seemed boundless, OTP relied on cheaply obtained foreign capital to finance its growth — a practice followed by many of its peers in Eastern Europe. But when the nation’s currency, the forint, collapsed last year, the foreign-denominated loans soared in value, making it extremely hard for domestic borrowers to repay their loans as the economy shrank.



This week, the bank received a $1.8 billion government loan backed by the International Monetary Fund in return for a commitment to increase domestic lending. As for Hungary, the $25 billion agreement it signed with the monetary fund last year has put it in an awful policy vise. Mandated to squeeze its budget deficit below 3 percent of gross domestic product, the government is in no position to stimulate an economy estimated to sink by as much as 6 percent this year.



“Hungary has an uphill struggle, but we know that,” Gordon Bajnai, the economy minister, said in an interview in late March. “We need a reform-minded government.” On Monday, Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsany, the former Communist who has led the country since 2004, appointed Mr. Bajnai, a 41-year-old former businessman, to lead that effort as his successor. But furious opposition from Hungary’s right wing — which has called for elections — may limit the scope of his ambitions.



Lajos Bokros, a former finance minister, says that the alternative to not meeting the monetary fund’s conditions is bankruptcy. He worries that the forint will fall even further amid the political uncertainty — a concern underscored by downgrades of Hungary’s credit rating by Standard & Poor’s and Moody’s this week. “Hungary is falling behind Europe,” he said. “This does not create much room for optimism.” It is popular here to explain the acrimonious state of Hungarian politics as a consequence of an immature democracy still torn by a long dispute between former Communists and their bitter enemies on the right.



But Peter Muller, a well-known playwright, said the problem was societal in post-Communist Hungary. “We had daydreams of capitalism during communism,” he said. “But then becoming rich became a religion.” Mr. Csanyi, 58, is certainly rich but he wears his wealth in a rough-hewn manner and is happiest when hunting wild boar in the countryside. Born poor in a small village southeast of Budapest, he spent years working in Hungary’s finance ministry before taking over OTP in 1992 when the bank was privatized.



Since then, he has overseen an ambitious expansion in central Europe, buying banks in Serbia, Bulgaria, Russia and Ukraine. When foreigners withdrew their capital in a rush last year, OTP’s stock collapsed, as short-sellers saw it as a proxy for central Europe’s financial maelstrom. Among the most persistent was George Soros, the Hungarian-born financier. His fund was fined $2 million by Hungarian regulators last week for having manipulated OTP’s stock price.



Mr. Csanyi’s response has been unconventional to say the least: OTP has spent $350 million buying back its stock in a bid to raise confidence in the bank. “I think now they are afraid,” he said, referring to short-sellers. Mr. Soros — who once tried to buy OTP — has apologized, but it is by no means clear that others who have shorted OTP in the past will turn tail now that the bank has become a buyer. Instead, with the bank’s loan book under pressure, Mr. Csanyi’s decision to deploy precious capital in such a way has raised as many questions as it has answered.



Two days after Mr. Gyurcsany’s resignation, Mr. Csanyi stood behind his desk in his office, his eyes fixed on a computer screen. OTP’s stock had had a strong opening for a change, despite the political news. With a grunt of satisfaction, he said, “1,800 forints — that is O.K.” But it was still a far cry from its high of 10,900. “Our loan portfolio is good,” he added. “There is no reason the stock price is so low.”



All the same, many investors have doubts. Morgan Stanley, in a recent research note, forecast that OTP’s nonperforming loans would reach 15 percent in the next two years and put a big dent in profits. OTP executives accept that nonperforming loans are on the rise, but they insist that the bank’s 15 percent capital cushion and an International Monetary Fund reserve fund provide a sufficient safety net.



OTP is also negotiating a subordinated loan from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, a multilateral institution with a mandate to aid eastern Europe. That process has been delayed by concerns that the deepening recession in Hungary would increase OTP’s burden of nonperforming loans.



But the cash is likely to come through. As the country’s largest bank and one of the most active in central Europe, OTP — like Citigroup and Royal Bank of Scotland, and indeed Hungary itself — is just too big to fail. Unfortunately, there may be no such reprieve for its customers.



In a small walk-up apartment on the outskirts of Budapest, George Ivanyi, a founder of the Association of Bank Loan Victims, does his best to cope with an unceasing flow of Hungarians who have come to seek advice because they can no longer pay their mortgages after the forint’s collapse. Volunteer law students sip Red Bull while they counsel couples, and amid the buzz of activity a perpetually ringing phone goes unanswered. "I feel the desperation of the people,” Mr. Ivanyi said. “The banks are responsible — but so is the government. They should not have approved these loans.”



One woman, he recounts, was so overwhelmed when the monthly mortgage bill on her Japanese yen-denominated loan from OTP suddenly soared 50 percent that she ingested a dose of rat poison and narrowly escaped death. OTP executives say they are doing all they can to help customers repay their debts, and the association says OTP has been cooperative in working to devise solutions.



With volunteers too busy to answer the phone, many of those looking for help come in person — like Istvan Rakitovszky, 46, a construction worker who was laid off last fall and can no longer pay his Swiss franc-denominated loan from Raiffeisen Bank, a large Austrian-based bank.



He and his wife bought a small apartment two years ago, but they can no longer keep up the payments. Last week they received a letter from a collection agency saying their house would be repossessed. “I am afraid,” said Mr. Rakitovszky, his face gaunt, his clothes shabby, his eyes far away. “We have two kids. Where will we live?”


Fuente: IHT/NYT

"Credit Repair: the Way to Get Financial Stability "

There are millions of Americans that have probably been turned down for a home loan, car loan, a credit card, a home mortgage, insurance, or even a job etc. What is the CAUSE? They have Bad Credit. But sometimes the scenario is worse: some of those credit reports have a lot of mistakes and other inaccurate information.



So, first at all, remember: mistakes and other inaccurate information on your credit report aren't your fault! And in a perfect world, wouldn't affect you, but our world is not perfect, however, and while you may not be responsible for some or all of the questionable items on your credit report, you are probably being held accountable for them.



Stop being blamed for things that aren't your fault. Check your credit report, and make note of any misleading, inaccurate or outdated information. There are two acts, the Fair Credit Reporting Act and the Fair Debts Collections Practices Act, that were set up to protect your credit rights. Use them to fix credit!



The law allows you to ask for an investigation of information in your file that you dispute as inaccurate or incomplete. That is a useful tool to repair credit. Remember the whole key to the credit repair procedure is that if the credit bureaus cannot verify information on your credit report they must remove it. For instance, if a credit bureau cannot contact a collection agency which is reporting a collection on your report, they cannot verify the information, and the credit bureau must delete the entry.



Some people have no idea about how to deal with all this legal stuff, so they decide to hire a company to investigate on their behalf. That is a great option, because professional financial advice always is welcomed. A professional can help you to dispute these items and ultimately get them removed from your report.



So what are you waiting for? Get your credit repair right now!

"Ganando el Juicio (Raising the Bar): Serie de Tv de Mark-Paul Gosselaar en el Mundo Judicial"

En breve se iniciará en España la emisión de “Ganando el juicio” (Raising the Bar). Esta serie, que tiene como escenario los juzgados, muestra casos en los que no existe un claro veredicto y ahonda en las relaciones personales de un grupo de jóvenes que estudiaron Derecho juntos y que ahora se tienen que ver las caras desde bandos opuestos: abogados de oficio y fiscales del distrito. Lejos de ser una serie centrada únicamente en el mundo judicial, este título profundiza también en las vidas de los protagonistas y de aquellos que se sientan en el banquillo de los acusados.



El debut de “Ganando el juicio” en EEUU reunió a más de 7 millones y medio de espectadores, convirtiendo a esta serie en el mejor estreno de la televisión por cable. Este título, que es una de las grandes apuestas de la temporada, sigue cosechando éxitos semana tras semana.



“Ganando el jucio” supone el regreso al género y a la pequeña pantalla de uno de los mayores genios televisivos de la década de los ochenta y noventa: Steven Bochco. Este productor, que estará siempre ligado a títulos tan míticos como “Canción triste de Hill Street” y “La ley de Los Ángeles”, toma de nuevo como escenario el enrevesado mundo judicial para narrar la vida de los profesionales de bandos opuestos: por un lado, los abogados de oficio y, por el otro, la oficina del fiscal del distrito.



Sobre este nuevo título, del que se han grabado ya los 10 episodios que componen la primera temporada y se ha firmado una segunda entrega, Steven Bochco comenta: “Esta serie no se decanta por ninguno de los dos bandos, sino que intentamos darle el mismo tiempo a ambos puntos de vista, con la intención de demostrar en qué puntos el sistema no acaba de funcionar del todo”.



Uno de los personajes más conocidos que engrosan el reparto de “Ganando el juicio” es Mark-Paul Gosselaar. Conocido por su papel de Zack Morris en “Salvados por la campana”, en este título interpreta a Jerry Kellerman, un abogado de oficio idealista que no se para ante nadie para ayudar a aquellos que están indefensos ante la ley.








Rosalind “Roz” Whitman interpreta a la apasionada Gloria Reuben, jefa y protectora de Jerry. En su equipo también se encuentra la actriz Natalia Cigliuti, dando vida a Roberta “Bobbi” Gilardi, un nuevo miembro del equipo que muestra su competencia con rapidez ante los oponentes más duros de los tribunales. Por su parte, Teddy Sears, en el papel de Richard Patrick Woolsley IV, es un joven que abandona un chollo en la empresa de su padre para trabajar en la oficina de la defensa pública.








En el lado opuesto se encuentra Melissa Sageniller, dando vida a Michelle Ernhardt, una abogada de la oficina del fiscal del distrito que lucha por encontrar el equilibrio entre la necesidad de ganar casos y el deseo de que se haga justicia. Trabaja para la ayudante del fiscal Nick Balco, interpretado por Curlie Graham, cuyo profundo conocimiento de las leyes es tan extenso como las manipulaciones que puede hacer de ellas.



Los tribunales en los que se enfrentan a diario pertenecen a la juez Truddy Kessler, interpretada por Jane Kaczmarek. Es autoritaria y domina los juzgados como si fueran su campo de batalla. Utiliza este trabajo para dar el salto a la política, ya que pretende ser la próxima fiscal del distrito. Esta reconocida actriz es famosa por su papel en la serie “Malcolm in the Middle” y ha sido nominada a los Emmy durante 7 años consecutivos y también a los Globos de Oro. Ganó el premio de comedia americana y el premio de críticos de televisión durante dos años seguidos, convirtiéndose en la primera mujer en recibir este honor. Ha participado en otras series como “Felicity”, “Cinco en familia”, “Canción triste de Hill Street” y “Fraiser”.



Personalmente creo que es una serie bastante interesante, aunque claro, yo soy un absoluto fan de las series jurídicas… Mi objetividad es cuestionable al respecto. No obstante, garantizo que no decepcionará a los que les gusten las batallas jurídicas.

"El Efecto Mariposa 3: Revelación - Película de Entretenimiento y sin Muchas Pretensiones"

Tras ver la tercera parte de la saga “El Efecto Mariposa” debo decir que ha sido infinitamente superior a la segunda película (que fue patética), pero muy lejos del nivel de calidad de la primera, en la que Ashton Kutcher ofrecía una interpretación magnífica, en un film con un argumento muy interesante: personas que pueden “viajar en el tiempo” mentalmente, a una época de su pasado, de forma que haciendo las oportunas modificaciones en esa época pretérita, se acabe alterando el futuro, eliminando del mismo alguna consecuencia indeseada.



Como se mostraba en todas las películas de la saga, esas “pequeñas modificaciones en el pasado”, acababan generando consecuencias imprevisibles en el presente. De ahí el nombre de “Efecto Mariposa” (por la famosa frase de que el viento que levanta el aleteo de una mariposa en la Amazonia puede causar un tifón en Asia).



En esta tercera película, nos encontramos a un protagonista (Sam Reide ) que es consciente de estas limitaciones ( lo ha aprendido por una vía muy dolorosa), y por tanto solamente hace uso de su poder para viajar al pasado, al momento y lugar en que un crimen es cometido, y una vez allí, sin intervenir, y ejerciendo exclusivamente de observador, identifica al criminal. Posteriormente procede a comunicárselo a un policía amigo suyo.



Poco a poco, nuestro protagonista ha ido resolviendo muchísimos crímenes. Pero un día, una extraña mujer trata de contratarle para que investigue el asesinato de su hermana, pues se está a punto de ejecutar a un delincuente erróneamente. Y es aquí donde surgen todos los problemas, ya que la mujer asesinada había sido la novia de nuestro protagonista.



De forma que cada vez que viaja en el tiempo para intentar capturar al asesino verdadero, la consecuencia no deseada es que se produce otro asesinato más, pasándose así de un único asesinato, a la creación de un asesino en serie, que siempre consigue escaparse.



La verdad es que se trata de una película bastante normalita, que poco aporta respecto a lo ya exhibido en la primera. No obstante, para pasar una tarde medio entretenida de cine, puede ser una buena opción.



PD: para los que no hayan visto ninguna de las películas de El Efecto Mariposa, les aconsejo que se vean solo la primera y la tercera. La segunda parte de la saga es la cosa más nefasta que he visto en mucho tiempo.

"Australia Bloked China´s Acquisitions: the Rising Protectionist Tendencies "

Citing national security, Australia on Friday blocked one of several acquisitions China was seeking in the country’s vast natural resources sector, a move that could stoke concerns about rising protectionist tendencies around the globe.



The decision to block the purchase of Oz Minerals, a mining company, by the state-owned China Minmetals, coincides with a heated debate concerning a much larger investment that another Chinese metals company, Chinalco, is planning to make in the Anglo-Australian mining group Rio Tinto. It also comes two weeks after the Chinese antitrust authorities blocked a move by Coca-Cola to take over Huiyuan Juice Group, a Chinese juice manufacturer, for $2.4 billion — a decision that caused widespread concern about China’s attitude toward foreign takeovers of local companies.



Wayne Swan, the Australian treasurer, said Friday that he decided to block the Oz Minerals transaction because the company’s Prominent Hill gold and copper mine, its core asset, is situated near a sensitive defense facility. ‘‘The government has determined that Minmetals’ proposal for Oz Minerals cannot be approved if it includes Prominent Hill,’’ Mr. Swan said.



He added that discussions were continuing ‘‘in relation to Oz Minerals’ other businesses and assets, and the government is willing to consider alternative proposals relating to those other assets and businesses.’’ Andrew Michelmore, the Oz Minerals chief executive, said the company was in discussions with Minmetals about potential changes to the transaction and would make an announcement ‘‘as soon as possible.’’



Battered by falling earnings as the prices of raw materials have plunged, Oz Minerals and Rio urgently need the cash injections that the Chinese companies’ investments represent. Oz Minerals is due to repay more than $900 million in debt next week and must now renegotiate the deal or obtain a loan extension.



Analysts on Friday said it was unclear whether Minmetals would proceed with a deal without Oz Minerals’ core asset. In a statement issued in Australia, Minmetals said Friday that it wanted to continue talks. Whatever happens, the announcement Friday will fuel the intense debate about a rise in global protectionism, even if Canberra says its rejection was due to security concerns rather than business protectionism.



A recent flurry of bids for some of Australia’s most prized natural resource assets has caused public and political unease in the country, as well as, in the case of the proposed Chinalco transaction with Rio, angry protests from shareholders. At the same time, however, China is the main buyer of the natural resources that form the bedrock of the Australian economy, making the approval of such deals politically sensitive.



Chinalco, or Aluminum Corp. of China, as it is officially known, last month proposed investing $19.5 billion in Rio Tinto. That deal, being evaluated by the Australian antitrust authorities, would be Australia’s biggest foreign investment to date by a Chinese company and increase China’s leverage in pricing negotiations for iron ore from Rio’s mines.



The attempted Oz Minerals takeover, and a separate bid by the Chinese steel manufacturer Hunan Valin Iron for a 17.5 percent stake in Fortescue Metals Group, another Australian company, are much smaller — $1.7 billion, in the case of Oz Minerals. But all three transactions, each announced in the past few months, reveal China’s desire to take advantage of the recent drop in commodities prices to secure its hold over natural resources.


Fuente: IHT

"Estafas por Internet: las Conversaciones del Messenger"

Con la excusa de poder leer las conversaciones de Messenger de otros piden que se ingrese la propia dirección de correo electrónico y la clave secreta. Así acceden luego a datos privados del incauto.



Como ocurre en el mundo material, los modos de engañar a través de Internet se renuevan en forma permanente. Ahora circulan correos electrónicos que ofrecen acceder a las conversaciones privadas de chat de amigos y conocidos. Sin embargo, la propuesta no es otra cosa que un intento de adueñarse de la dirección y la contraseña de e-mail de quien, tentado en su curiosidad, acepta la oferta.



Todo comienza con un mensaje (en apariencia puede provenir de un conocido) que propone: "Descúbrelo todo viendo los historiales de conversación de tus amigos de MSN". El servicio se ofrece como gratis, "100% seguro" y fácil de usar. El e-mail incluye un link a un sitio. Si se sigue ese enlace se llega a una página que pide -para proporcionar lo prometido- que se ingrese la dirección de correo electrónico y la contraseña propias. Sin embargo, las conversaciones privadas anunciadas nunca aparecerán; en su lugar, se acusa algún desperfecto momentáneo. Y el engaño está consumado: los datos ingresados ya fueron a parar a manos de los que gestaron el ardid.


¿Y para se usa la información recolectada?



Es sencillo: Lo que se suele hacer es revisar los mensajes de la víctima en busca claves de acceso a sitios de bancos, o cualquier otra información que conduzca a la obtención de un beneficio económico. También se toman datos personales para luego enviar otros correos engañosos más creíbles.



Además, se recogen todas las direcciones de los contactos de la casilla invadida para alimentar bases de datos que servirán luego para enviar correo basura (spam).

"Family Emergency? Payday One Can Get you a Cash Advance or a Loan"

Family emergencies happen to everyone at one time or another! Things like school expenses, dental work, hospital fees, medicines, funeral costs or flying to nurse sick relatives in other parts of the world always crop up when you least expect or can afford them.



If you are fortunate enough to have friends and family, who can help you out financially in these situations, you are very lucky. Most people do not have a safety net when they get to financial trouble. Others think that when the family is involved, you don’t need the extra stress of worrying about where to find money.



They believe that when your family needs you, a cash advance or loans can help you, help them without your finances getting in the way. For all those kind of emergency situations, financial products like Payday Loans are there to help you.



There are personal loans that can provide and nearly instantaneous loan to help you through a sticky situation. The loans are usually reasonably straightforward, with little paperwork, and available at reasonable rates of interest. These loans will let you save money on high interest loans, while at the same time giving you the cash you need for any reason at all.



When you are looking for your “perfect loan”, you must to check all the terms and conditions. Remember, a good financial institution (like Payday One) should offer you some basics like:



- Great Rate Guarantee.


- Secure online loan application.


- No faxing or waiting in lines.


- Apply 24/7 from home or work.


- Low credit scores should be no problems.


Getting a loan approved quickly can be quite difficult, as lenders who are usually big institutions and have set procedures that take a lot of time to go through. But there are other types of loans that can be approved quickly and can provide and nearly instantaneous loan to help you through a sticky situation. Payday Loans is a perfect example of that.



Besides that, you should be sure that you get a loan from a trustworthy financial institution: it should be based and licensed in the United States. I ´m sure that you know that there are a lot of offshore payday lending companies that promise you a lot…



But remember, when you are doing serious business, trust is basic. And I’m sure that you can trust the American Institutions, but, could you trust institutions from Bahamas, Gibraltar, Liechtenstein etc?



In conclusion, if you are having a family emergency and you need some professional help to solve it, take some minutes of your time, and visit the PayDay One website. Maybe they could help you. Remember, thousands of Americans have solved their financial problems using the Payday One help.


Look this example





Now, the decision is yours.

"Musulmanes Chiítas y la Estabilidad de Arabia Saudí"

El 24 de febrero, se produjeron enfrentamientos violentos entre peregrinos chiítas y las fuerzas policiales y de seguridad religiosas sauditas a la entrada de la Mezquita del Profeta Mahoma en Medina. El momento y el lugar de los enfrentamientos pueden tener serias repercusiones para la seguridad interna, si no para el propio régimen.



Unos 2.000 peregrinos chiítas se reunieron en las cercanías de la mezquita que alberga la tumba del Profeta para la conmemoración de la muerte de Mahoma, un acto de oración que la gobernante secta saudita wahabí considera hereje e idolátrico. Así, la Mutawa'ah, la policía religiosa del Comité para la Preservación de la Virtud y la Prohibición del Vicio, armada con palos y secundada por disparos policiales al aire, intentó dispersar a los peregrinos. Los peregrinos se resistieron. Tres peregrinos murieron y cientos resultaron heridos en la estampida posterior. Una gran cantidad de peregrinos permanecieron detenidos, entre ellos 15 jóvenes adolescentes.



Poco después, representantes de la comunidad chiíta de Arabia Saudita solicitaron una reunión con el rey Abdullah en un esfuerzo por liberar a los detenidos. El diálogo parecía una estrategia alentadora: apenas diez días antes, Abdullah había anunciado una agenda de reforma prometedora para el país. Pero el rey se negó a reunirse con la delegación chiíta.



La violencia afuera de la mezquita de Medina llevó a manifestaciones sin precedentes frente a las embajadas sauditas en Londres, Berlín y La Haya, donde manifestantes exigían la independencia del estado saudita.



Estas manifestaciones, por supuesto, son ilegales en Arabia Saudita. Pero la represión interna solo sirvió para exportar y expandir el problema. Y ahora, las políticas de represión, discriminación y antagonismo del régimen dirigidas a los chiítas y a otros grupos políticamente marginados cada vez amenazan más al estado saudita con la desintegración.



Los chiítas son un caso especial, ya que constituyen el 75% de la población en la Provincia del Este, la principal región productora de petróleo del reino, y se identifican mucho más estrechamente con los chiítas del otro lado de la frontera en Irak que con el estado saudita. Por cierto, los poderes concedidos a los chiítas de Irak, reprimidos durante tanto tiempo, generaron expectativas entre los chiítas de Arabia Saudita de que ellos también podrían llegar a obtener una condición de primera clase.



Desde el punto de vista del régimen, en cambio, el Irán chiíta hoy es la amenaza de seguridad más importante. Las autoridades sauditas percibieron las manifestaciones chiítas como una reivindicación de la política de Irán, ya que coincidieron precisamente con la celebración iraní del 30 aniversario de su Revolución Islámica. La represión de los chiítas es, por ende, parte de la estrategia del reinado para contrarrestar la apuesta de Irán a la hegemonía regional.



Sin embargo, este pensamiento es absolutamente corto de miras. Sólo si transforma la identidad nacional saudita/wahabí actualmente monolítica de Arabia Saudita en una identidad más integradora el reino se convertirá en un modelo que resulte atractivo a sus minorías. Hoy, los chiítas marginados se ven obligados a buscar conexiones políticas y respaldo en los movimientos políticos chiítas más amplios de la región para compensar la discriminación que enfrentan fronteras adentro.



De manera que la opción para los gobernantes sauditas es extrema: integrar a los chiítas dentro del sistema o ver cómo incrementan su poder a través de alianzas externas. La amenaza que esto representaría no es abstracta: las fronteras del reino son muy porosas.



Hasta ahora, el rey Abdullah no ha demostrado ninguna señal de inclinarse por una política de inclusión -ni siquiera un gesto simbólico, como un ministro chiíta. Es más, Abdullah es incapaz incluso de impedir que los canales de televisión satelital wahabíes denuncien a los "herejes" chiítas, o de frenar a los cientos de sitios web wahabíes que llaman a la eliminación absoluta de los chiítas.



No obstante, los sauditas que no son wahabíes, principalmente los chiítas, siguen resistiéndose al dogma estatal. Hasta comienzos de este año, no han formado movimientos opositores significativos o abiertos, debido a un temor históricamente arraigado a la represión. El malestar chiíta se remonta al establecimiento del reinado en 1932, y los enfrentamientos violetos con el estado saudita comenzaron con la revolución chiíta en el vecino Irán.



La revolución iraní motivó un levantamiento chiíta en la Provincia del Este en noviembre de 1979. Los chiítas de Arabia Saudita, una comunidad económica y políticamente marginada, montó una intifada sin precedentes en las ciudades de Qatif, Saihat, Safwa y Awamiyya. Decenas de miles de hombres y mujeres exigieron el fin de la política de discriminación contra los chiítas.



Si bien las fuerzas de seguridad sauditas, la Guardia Nacional, y los marines reprimieron la rebelión, las tensiones internas que la alimentaron siguen en pie. Y el ayatollah Khomeini desafió el monopolio ideológico de Al Saud y el control de Meca y Medina. Khomeini desafió el concepto mismo de monarquía en el Islam al declarar que "aquellos con autoridad" no son reyes sino académicos religiosos.



El establishment religioso saudita ha estado en alerta durante mucho tiempo ante esta entidad rival y amenazadora. Sefr al Hawali, un prominente clérigo wahabí saudita, advirtió sobre los peligros del "arco chiíta" después de la intifada chiíta en Irak en 1991. Pero, desde la guerra en Irak en 2003 y los poderes que fueron adquiriendo los chiítas en toda la región, el régimen saudita enfrenta a poblaciones chiítas de volumen considerable, alborotadas y políticamente ambiciosas en los países vecinos del Golfo, especialmente Kuwait y Bahrain, así como en el Líbano.



Las manifestaciones en Medina demuestran que los chiítas sauditas hoy están envalentonados. De hecho, formaron un movimiento de oposición llamado Khalas (Salvación), destinado a movilizar a la nueva generación de chiítas en la Provincia del Este. A la luz de hendiduras regionales y políticas más amplias, los enfrentamientos como el que ocurrió en la sagrada mezquita del Profeta podrían crecer en frecuencia, dimensión y violencia.

"IBM Wants to Buy Sun Microsystems for $6.5B"

International Business Machines Corp. is in talks to buy Sun Microsystems Inc., people familiar with the matter said, a combination that would bolster IBM's heft on the Internet, in software and in finance and telecommunications markets.



The two companies have a common interest in that both make computer systems for corporate customers that aren't reliant on Microsoft Corp.'s Windows software, and their product lines are less dependant than rivals' on Intel Corp.'s microprocessor technologies. The two companies are also strong supporters of open-source Linux and Java software.



People familiar with the matter cautioned that, while talks are under way, a transaction might not occur and that the talks could fall apart. Ian Colley, a spokesman for IBM, declined comment on questions about any talks with Sun. A spokesman for Sun didn't return calls requesting comment.



If the deal does go through, which could happen as early as this week, IBM is likely to pay at least $6.5 billion in cash to acquire Sun, the people said. That would translate into a premium of more than 100% over Sun's closing price Tuesday.



A combination would require melding companies with distinct, dissimilar cultures. IBM, an East Coast stalwart that helped invent the computer industry, grew up with a button-down style and a philosophy of delivering what customers want. Sun, which grew up in the go-go environment of the 1980s in Silicon Valley, is an engineering-driven maverick with a record of major innovations that has lately struggled to profit from them.



Once the quintessential highflying startup under Scott McNealy, one of the tech sector's most outspoken chief executives, the company started in computer workstations and morphed into a major seller of server systems during the Internet boom.



But the company has struggled since the dot-com bust, jumping late on the trend of low-cost servers that use chips from Intel and Advanced Micro Devices Inc. Mr. McNealy's pony-tailed successor, Jonathan Schwartz, has driven the company to focus more on innovations in software and data storage. But Sun shares have plummeted over the past year, battered by its reliance on sales of high-end machines and customers in the financial sector, which experienced the economic slump earlier than other parts of the economy.



In recent months, Sun has approached a number of large tech companies in the hopes of being acquired, said people familiar with the matter. The world's largest tech company, Hewlett-Packard Co., declined the offer, said a person briefed on the matter. A spokesman for Dell Inc., the world's third-largest server maker, declined to comment.



Any transaction would strengthen IBM's position against rival H-P. It could be the largest acquisition in IBM's history, surpassing the acquisition of Cognos Inc. last year. The deal would mark a sharp break from IBM's recent past. It has been buying software companies and a few service companies in recent years. But it has been selling off hardware operations such as its personal-computer business. IBM gets more than half its revenue from services, and services and software provide the bulk of its profits. Acquiring Sun would make hardware close to one third of its revenue.



IBM has worked hard in recent years to boost its profit margins, and its profits exceed those of the larger H-P. But buying Sun, which reported a $209 million loss for the second quarter ended in December, would hurt IBM's profitability. It would have to slash the combined companies' cost base sharply to gain a favorable reception for the deal from investors.



Acquiring Sun would bolster IBM as it takes on a new rival, Cisco Systems Inc., the networking company, which this week announced that it would start selling a server of its own. On Monday Cisco chief executive John Chambers said that Cisco would continue to work with IBM despite the fact that the companies would be competing head-to-head on servers. A Cisco spokesperson declined to comment on a potential acquisition of Sun by IBM.



The deal furthers a recent pattern of consolidation in the tech industry around the services, hardware and software used to run data centers, the big computing rooms that store and process information. H-P over the past few years has acquired software companies to expand its offerings for managing data centers. And last year H-P bought services giant Electronic Data Systems Inc. for more than $13 billion, putting it into direct competition with IBM on IT outsourcing services.



Along with companies like IBM and Cisco, Dell, which specializes in selling low-priced servers, has been expanding its portfolio. It now offers its own data-center software and some services. By making a bid for Sun, IBM may be acknowledging the necessity of competing in hardware, despite its slim profit margins. In recent years, Dell and H-P have been pushing server prices down, and servers, like PCs, have increasingly become commodities.



The deal would strengthen IBM's position as the world's largest server maker. According to the research firm IDC, IBM had 31.4% of the market last year; H-P was second with 29.5%, and Dell third with 11.6%. Sun ranked fourth, at 10.6%.



In recent years, the market for servers has shifted from the huge, custom-built "mainframes" that IBM dominates to vast numbers of standardized computers. By pushing standardized servers, H-P has made inroads on IBM. In the meantime, Sun has suffered, as its strategy of using its own operating system on standardized software has failed to propel new growth.



The deal could face regulatory hurdles. IBM and Sun make many overlapping products, and the two of them have dominant market shares in servers that run the Unix operating system. The two companies also have overlapping products in areas that include software and tape storage systems.



President Barack Obama's choice to be the next anti-trust chief at the Department of Justice, Christine Varney, has said that she would take a different approach than the previous administration, which was widely viewed as more open to such mergers.