Brown Shows He's No Blair as Leadership Is Commissioning Study

Dec. 17 -- Gordon Brown has an answer for every policy question his government is facing: Study it.

Since Brown succeeded Tony Blair as Britain's prime minister in June, his ministers have commissioned at least 49 reviews, an average of two a week, on topics ranging from a new national constitution to how advertisers target children. Schools Secretary Ed Balls alone announced four in a single speech last week.

The spate of reviews is subjecting Brown, who calls himself a ``conviction politician'' in the mold of Margaret Thatcher, to criticism that he puts off difficult decisions. Conservative Party leader David Cameron calls Brown a ``ditherer.'' The prime minister is ``petrified by indecision,'' says Vince Cable, the acting leader of the third party, the Liberal Democrats.

``Not everybody agreed with prime ministers like Blair and Thatcher, but they made decisions,'' says Tony Travers, a professor of politics at the London School of Economics. ``Brown faces a problem that he's seen as indecisive.''

While there are no official figures recording the number of reviews commissioned by past administrations, Brown has used the word ``review'' 49 times in the House of Commons in less than six months as prime minister, according to a search on Hansard, the publication that gives verbatim reports of speeches and debates.

Thatcher uttered it just seven times in the Commons in her first six months, none of them to announce new reviews, a search of the archives at the Margaret Thatcher Foundation indicates.

Nor was Blair a big fan of such studies, according to David Hencke, co-author of ``The Survivor: Tony Blair in War and Peace.''

`A Gut Politician'

``Blair certainly didn't order anything like that many in that time,'' Hencke said in a telephone interview. Blair, he said, was much more of ``a gut politician,'' with ``no interest'' in the bureaucratic mechanics of policy studies.

Brown's office defends his decision-making process, saying in a statement that it indicates a ``measure of the prime minister's determination to ensure that procedures are followed to the letter.''

Among the subjects under review are mortgage structures, the duties of citizens and sexual education in schools.

Some topics, such as special-needs education, have two reviews. One study, into the safety of Nimrod surveillance aircraft, was announced by Defense Secretary Des Browne as he reported the findings of another inquiry into the same subject.

Super-Casinos

In other cases, the results of the probes seem to be predictable. In the case of gambling policy, Brown, 56, took the precaution of saying he was opposed to building Las Vegas-style super-casinos as he announced an inquiry.

More recently, reviews have been set up in response to crises, with bigger issues getting more than one. Kieran Poynter, chairman of PriceWaterhouseCoopers, and Cabinet Secretary Gus O'Donnell, are writing separate reports following the loss by tax officials of disks carrying the private details of half the population of the country.

Those investigations run alongside a police inquiry and one by the Independent Police Complaints Commission, which has jurisdiction over tax offices. There is also a separate report due into the security of data by Mark Wallport, director of the Wellcome Trust, and by Information Commissioner Richard Thomas.

After Brown acknowledged his Labour Party unlawfully took donations channeled thorough intermediaries, two reports were ordered. They will complement a police investigation.

Working Style

All this work is the most tangible hallmark yet to emerge about Brown's working style and illustrates a break from the practices followed by Blair.

While Blair, 54, preferred to make decisions with a clutch of advisers gathered on sofas in his Downing Street office, Brown prefers to gather expert advice over a period of months.

Brown developed his habits during his decade at the Treasury as chancellor of the exchequer under Blair. There, he ordered 35 reviews between 1999 and 2007. The most important, by former National Westminster Bank Plc Chief Executive Derek Wanless, recommended the tax increase that Brown ordered in 2002.

``A major innovation of the Brown years at the Treasury, for good or bad, was trying to move policy forward by a plethora of reviews,'' says Professor Colin Thain of the University of Ulster, who is studying Brown's work as finance minister.

None of these studies have appeared to have any impact on Brown's popularity, which has sagged in recent months.

Slipping Support

The ruling party had the support of 32 percent of voters compared with 43 percent for the Conservatives, according to a YouGov Plc poll of 4,004 people conducted Nov. 26-29. The Conservatives' lead of 11 points compares with a Labour advantage of up to 13 points in September.

Supporters of Brown, concerned the government's agenda is being lost in the complexity of the issues it faces, urge the prime minister to spell out more clearly what Labour stands for.

While convincing voters of the government's competence is ``necessary,'' it ``isn't enough,'' says Sunder Katwala, a Brown ally who leads the Fabian Society, a Labour-supporting policy research group. ``Brown does know what his story is. The question is, Can he make the case that the party understands to the wider country?''

Wheat Price Rises Above $10 for First Time on Supply Concerns

Dec. 17 -- Wheat rose above $10 a bushel for the first time and soybean and corn prices surged, fueling inflation that's threatening to derail global growth.

Chicago wheat futures jumped by the exchange-imposed daily limit to $10.095 a bushel as dry weather threatened crops in Argentina, renewing concern that farmers may fail to supply enough to meet rising demand. Soybeans advanced to $11.9225 a bushel, the highest in 34 years, and corn rose to $4.4325 a bushel, a nine-month peak.

Food companies such as Kellogg Co. and General Mills Inc. have raised prices because of higher wheat costs, which are stoking inflation and making it more difficult for the world's central bankers to lower interest rates. Sara Lee Corp. said Dec. 13 it will increase bread prices for a second time since September to counter higher input costs.

``Global supply is really tight at this time,'' Tobin Gorey, a commodity strategist at Commonwealth Bank of Australia, said from Sydney. ``Saying there's a near-term top in the price is a very dangerous thing to do.''

Dry, warm weather may hurt yields in Argentina, the world's fourth-largest wheat exporter, after a freeze last month damaged plants in Buenos Aires, the nation's largest wheat-producing state, forecaster Meteorlogix LLC said Dec. 14. A smaller crop may reduce global inventories that the U.S. government says will drop 11 percent by May 31 to 110.1 million metric tons.

`Fear Factor'

``People need to eat and that's part of the fear factor in this environment,'' Brett Cooper, senior client adviser, commodities, with broker MF Global Australia Ltd., said from Sydney. Prices may extend gains, he said.

Wheat for March delivery, the most-active contract, traded at $10.07 a bushel, up 2.8 percent, in after-hours electronic trading on the Chicago Board of Trade at 2:09 p.m. Sydney time. The price has more than doubled in the past year as adverse weather reduced output from Australia to the U.S. and Canada.

``There's people saying potentially $11 or even $13,'' Cooper said. ``All things certainly point to a crack at $11 in the short-term. These things tend to move very quickly, so if the momentum is there, it could be some time this week.''

Soybean futures for March delivery rose as much as 17.25 cents, or 1.5 percent, to $11.9225 a bushel on the Chicago Board of Trade and were at $11.85 at 2:08 p.m. Sydney time. Prices have gained 73 percent this year after U.S. farmers planted the fewest acres in 12 years in favor of corn.

Corn for March delivery rose as much as 5 cents, or 1.1 percent, to $4.4325 a bushel in Chicago and were at $4.415 in after-hours trading at 2:10 p.m. in Sydney. Corn is up 13 percent this year.

U.S. consumer prices rose the most in more than two years last month, reinforcing the Federal Reserve's concern that inflation will erode confidence in the economy. The consumer price index increased 0.8 percent in November, up from 0.3 percent the previous month, the Labor Department said Dec. 14.

Inflation in Europe last month rose at its fastest annual pace since May 2001, increasing by 3.1 percent as food costs soared.

Asian Stocks Fall for Fourth Day; BHP Billiton Leads Decline

Dec. 17 -- Asian stocks fell for a fourth day, led by BHP Billiton Ltd. and National Australia Bank Ltd., on concern accelerating inflation in the U.S. and Europe will curb spending and limit further interest-rate cuts.

BHP dropped to a three-week low after halting a planned share buyback and on speculation demand for commodities will wane. A report on Dec. 14 showed U.S. consumer prices rose the most since September 2005 last month, leaving the Federal Reserve less leeway to reduce rates to boost growth. Centro Properties Group plunged 70 percent in Sydney after the owner of U.S. shopping malls cut its forecast as subprime-mortgage losses dent spending.

``Higher inflation in the U.S. will have the direct effect of reducing consumer purchasing power,'' said Angus Gluskie, who helps manage the equivalent of $500 million at White Funds Management in Sydney. ``Investors are recognizing that they're not going to get the saving grace from the U.S. subprime situation that they've been looking for.''

The MSCI Asia Pacific Index lost 2 percent to 154.94 as of 12 p.m. in Tokyo, adding to a three-day, 5.1 percent drop. The measure is set for its longest losing streak since the four days ended Nov. 13. Nine of the index's 10 industry groups dropped. Benchmarks declined in all Asian markets open for trading.

Japan's Nikkei 225 Stock Average fell 0.2 percent to 15,482.15. Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. led banks lower after Nomura Holdings Inc. said the country's three largest lenders were being asked to contribute too much to a subprime- asset bailout fund.

Accelerating Inflation

U.S. stocks fell on Dec. 14, pushing the Standard & Poor's 500 Index down 1.4 percent. U.S. consumer price index increased 0.8 percent in November, the Labor Department said Dec. 14. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg News had expected a rise of 0.6 percent.

Meanwhile, European inflation accelerated last month to 3.1 percent, the fastest pace since May 2001, preventing the European Central Bank from cutting interest rates to counter slowing economic growth.

BHP, the world's No. 1 mining company, slipped 2.9 percent to A$40.82, headed for its lowest close since Nov. 23. Rio Tinto Group, the third-biggest, slid 3.8 percent to A$132.02. National Australia Bank, the nation's largest lender, lost 1.7 percent to A$37.78.

BHP also suspended a plan to buy back $10 billion of its shares traded on the London Stock Exchange amid a proposal to acquire rival Rio Tinto.

Centro Properties, a Melbourne-based owner of almost 700 U.S. shopping malls, slumped 70 percent to A$1.725, its steepest decline on record. Westfield Group, owner of 59 malls in the U.S., declined 4.6 percent to A$19.82.

Centro reduced its earnings forecast because the fallout from U.S. subprime mortgage defaults pushed up international borrowing costs. Its dividends are expected to be 40.6 Australian cents in the year to June 30, 2008, down from 47 cents in a previous forecast, Centro said. The company won't pay a dividend in the first half.