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“And now we’re going to move on,” Bush said in a White House news conference.

The president had initially said he would fire anyone in his administration found to have publicly disclosed the identity of Valerie Plame, the wife of former Ambassador Joseph Wilson and a CIA operative. Wilson is an outspoken Iraq war critic.

Ten days ago, Bush commuted the 30-month sentence given to I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby by a federal judge in connection with the case.

Iran wants yen-based transactions “for any/all of your forthcoming Iranian crude oil liftings,” according to a letter sent to Japanese refiners that was signed by Ali A. Arshi, general manager of crude oil marketing and exports in Tehran at the National Iranian Oil Co. The request is for all shipments “effective immediately,” according to the letter, dated July 10 and obtained by Bloomberg News.

At stake are payments from Japanese refiners to Iran that rose 12 percent last year to 1.24 trillion yen ($10.1 billion), according to the finance ministry in Tokyo. Iran is Japan’s third- largest oil supplier, behind Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

Gold for August delivery gained $6.80, or 1%, at $668.90 an ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
“The reliable combination of a rise in energy prices plus a renewed decline in the U.S. dollar sent gold prices right back to the top of their recent trading range early on Thursday,” said Jon Nadler, analyst at Kitco Bullion Dealers, in a research note.

On the currency markets, the dollar fell to a new record low against the euro and a 26-year trough against the British pound Thursday, continuing its recent slide on fears over the U.S. subprime-mortgage market and potential economic weakness.

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The Popular Revolutionary Army, or EPR for its initials in Spanish, said Tuesday’s explosion and two similar attacks on Pemex pipelines in Guanajuato state last week marked the beginning of a “national campaign of harassment against the interests of the oligarchy and this illegitimate government.”

President Felipe Calderón’s office issued a statement saying security was being reinforced at “strategic installations.”

The robbery, of $282 million from the Dar Es Salaam bank, a private financial institution, raised more questions than it answered, and officials were tight-lipped about the crime. The local police said two guards engineered the robbery, but an official at the Interior Ministry said three guards were involved.

Both confirmed that the stolen money was in American dollars, not Iraqi dinars. It was unclear why the bank had that much money on hand in dollars, or how the robbers managed to move such a large amount without being detected.

Helen Clark spent Wednesday afternoon surveying the storm-affected area by helicopter, and says she saw a lot of pasture under water, and the area of Kaeo where the river burst its banks, flooding houses and businesses.

She says she is making sure the civil defence agency is able to carry out its job and assessing the damage, and will later look at how the Government can assist financially.

Miss Clark says the country is experiencing more adverse weather events, which are throwing up serious issues for councils.

She was joined on the helicopter flight by the Civil Defence Minister, Rick Barker, and the Far North Mayor, Yvonne Sharpe.

Mr Barker says the damage is extensive. He says it is extraordinary that this is the second storm in the area in only four months, and says the Far North has taken a real battering. Mr Barker says the upside is that people are well-practised in dealing with these events.

Up to 250mm of rain fell in the Far North on Tuesday – the average for the entire month of July. Ms Sharpe says about 700 people were evacuated from their homes because of flooding or the threat of flooding.

The Interior Department said it would take measures to protect “strategic installations” across Mexico after an explosion Tuesday at a pipeline run by the state-owned Petroleos Mexicanos, or Pemex, and two other blasts that rocked gas ducts on Thursday.

“The Mexican government categorically condemns the attacks against Pemex facilities. This criminal conduct aims to weaken democratic institutions, the patrimony of Mexicans and the safety of their families,” the statement said.

Both the opening and closing sessions featured tough-talking bond fund managers who pulled no punches about the state of the subprime mortgage market and about who was to blame for the mess.

“It’s an unmitigated disaster,” Jeffrey Gundlach, chief investment officer at TCW Group, said during the conference’s opening address. “And it’s only going to get worse.”

Gundlach said that he expects to see more delinquencies in loans made to borrowers with poor credit histories and that the subprime mortgage market’s woes would lead the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates.

The fund manager said he doesn’t believe many of his peers hold debt backed by subprime mortgages. Nevertheless, the rising number of bad loans could have a broad effect on the credit markets because so many banks are exposed to it.

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Robert Rodriquez, chief executive officer of First Pacific Advisors, was even more blunt. “We haven’t seen much of a problem in the subprime area [but only] because the pricing is a fraud; the ratings are bullshit,” said the two-time recipient of Morningstar’s Fund Manager of the Year.

“I don’t buy these prices, but as long as someone can provide capital to keep the finger in the dike, the charade will go on.”

Rodriguez concurs with Gundlach that rising subprime mortgage delinquencies are a problem not just for hedge funds but also for major banks and other financial institutions.

“It is estimated that U.S. banks have invested 10% of their assets in collateralized debt obligations,” he said. “And 40% of the CDOs are in subprime mortgages. I’m trying to get details on the components and I can’t get any. This is setting up the next catastrophe.”?

Rodriguez co-manages the FPA New Income fund (FPNIZ), which gained 4.8% last year and is up 2.13% year to date. It also carries a two-star rating from Morningstar.

Rodriguez anticipates a huge drop in the prices of both long-term and high-yield debt and avoids both in his portfolio; as a result, it currently has about 41% of assets in cash. This cautious approach may temper gains, but it also reduces volatility: The fund hasn’t suffered a calendar-year loss since Rodriquez took charge in 1984, according to Morningstar.

Stephen Walsh, the deputy chief investment officer for Western Asset Management, voiced similar concerns. “There’s been a complacency among investors,” he said. “I read that 50% of the (subprime mortgage) loans were low- or no-documentation loans, just state your income without any proof. ”

Walsh said he didn’t understand how anyone could analyze the risk in holding loans when borrowers have little or no equity in the property and there is no way to verify their ability to make payments. However, he said he stayed away from these securities not because of a “doomsday scenario” but rather because of a lack of faith in the analysis.

A Senate appropriations panel chaired by Democratic Sen. Richard Durbin refused to fund $4.8 million in the vice president’s budget until Cheney’s office complies with parts of an executive order governing its handling of classified information.

At issue is a requirement that executive branch offices provide data on how much material they classify and declassify. That information is to be provided to the Information Security Oversight Office at The National Archives.

Cheney’s office, with backing from the White House, argues that the offices of the president and vice president are exempt from the order because they are not executive branch “agencies.”