| Brentaal_Trade_News | Date: Sunday, 18 Dec 2011, 1:08 PM | Message # 1 |
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Xenophobic "Sluis Sector News" Racially Slanders Brentaal Merchants
The "Sluis Sector News" in an article this week amplified the voices of a small number of xenophobic residents of the planet Praesitlyn who have criticized the presence of merchants from Brentaal prospecting the world for resources. Praesitlyn, a neighbor of Sluis Van known for its vast unclaimed tracts of land, has a small population of Sluissi squatters and a "Governor" deriving his power from the so called "Khedive," or ruler, of the Sluis Sector—a ruler that neither Brentaal nor the Empire sees as legitimate.
Criticism of the prospectors is widely considered to be racially-motivated, and the honorable Senator Sir Reuke ur'Tsyne Cambrist of Brentaal has called upon Senator Domon of Sluis Van to be a "moderating influence" on the Sluissi residents of Praesitlyn. "These prospectors are doing nothing unlawful on Praesitlyn, and Brentaal supports them fully," Senator Cambrist told the Trade News, "They are doing what generations of hard working and industrious men have done—staking a claim and working the land." He confirmed that the prospectors had submitted claims for tracts of land on Praesitlyn to the Imperial Bureau of Resources, which the government of Brentaal supports.
As of press time, the prospectors are reported to be seeking mining companies as partners in the extraction of carbon and timber resources from Praesitlyn.
Brentaal Considers Surcharges on Minerals from Anobis
The Commerce Department of Brentaal will consider next week whether to impose a 15% surcharge on duralium and 24% charge on lanthanide from Anobis sold on Brentaal or transported through its heavily-traveled space, after entreaties from the government Brentaal to the government of Anobis to preferentially reduce the price of these minerals have gone (thus far) unanswered. "King Riada [of Anobis] needs to decide whether his silence on this issue is worth the hurt it's going to cause to miners on his world," said Lars Tanfelt, a Trade News analyst, "We can only hope he does what's in the best interest of his people, so he does not discover just how much better it is to have Brentaal as a trading friend than foe."
Sluis Van Posts Lower-than-Expected Profit in Quarterly Report
Investors are sure to be disappointed in the figures released this week in the Sluis Van shipyard's quarterly report. The mere 6% increase in profits was lower than some investors had hoped, driven by the plummeting popularity of Sluis Van's Calix-class space stations and its strange forays into "fetish engineering" that the Trade News reported on last week.
While Sluis Van put as positive a spin on the numbers as it could, it also acknowledged that a dearth of military contracts had hit the shipyard's bottom line hard. "Sadly, this is what happens when you damage the credibility of your brand," Lars Tanfelt, Trade News analyst, explained, "You end up catering to custom contracts with Senator Tu'rot or Senator Fitzgerald for a few thousand credits while governments with big contracts, like Empress Teta, look elsewhere." Indeed, Sluis Van was not mentioned as a potential supplier of ships for Empress Teta's new security fleet in debate on the subject last week.
"The figures speak for themselves," our analyst explained, "While Sluis Van has posted a profit of 6%, Druckenwell, a comparably-sized shipyard, is announcing 60% increases in sales."
Government Program Supports Local Merchants
The government of Brentaal, which has offered a program to its merchants to provide start-up loans and security for new businesses established abroad in exchange for preferred stock options, has called the program "an instant success." Under the program, capitalists interested in establishing operations outside of Brentaal, particularly on the Outer Rim, are provided with generous loans and logistical assistance from the Commerce Department of Brentaal and security services too, if needed. The program is meant "to encourage enterprising individuals on Brentaal to do what they've done for tens of thousands of years—go forth to the stars and make a living and a name for themselves and their motherworld."
The government of Brentaal, in exchange, gains tax revenue and retains lucrative stock options.
Correction
Last week's issue of the Brentaal Trade News mistakenly referred to analyst Lars Tanfelt as "Logan" Tanfelt. This has been corrected in this and future editions. "I didn't mind it so much," Mr. Tanfelt said, "but my mother wasn't happy."
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Message edited by Brentaal_Trade_News - Sunday, 18 Dec 2011, 1:19 PM |
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