The bank also said the alleged activity by trader from Ghana Kweku Adoboli was uncovered after UBS began making inquiries.

That prompted Mr Adoboli to admit the losses on Wednesday, UBS said. The trader was charged with fraud and false accounting at a London court on Friday.

The bank’s statement comes as UBS boss Oswald Gruebel insisted he would not resign over the incident.

“I’m responsible for everything that happens at the bank,” Mr Gruebel told Swiss Sunday newspaper, der Sonntag. “if you ask me whether I feel guilty, then I would say no.”
‘Fictitious’ hedges

Mr Adoboli has been remanded in custody until a committal hearing on 22 September.

According to the charges, the fraud took place between January and September this year.The charges add that Mr Adoboli filed false accounts between October 2008 and December 2009, and from January to September 2011.

However, UBS latest statement said the losses only related to trading positions taken on in the last three months.

The 31-year-old worked for UBS’s global synthetic equities division, buying and selling exchange traded funds, which track different types of stocks or commodities such as precious metals.

Prosecutors say Mr Adoboli “dishonestly abused that position intending thereby to make a gain for yourself, causing losses to UBS or to expose UBS to risk of loss”.

The UBS statement claimed Mr Adoboli had conducted legitimate derivative transactions, giving the bank heavy exposure to various stock market indexes.

But he had then entered “fictitious” hedges against these positions into UBS’ risk management system, while in reality he had no hedge in place and was breaching the risk limits that the bank required him to work within.

Stock markets have fallen 10%-20% in the past two months on growing fears of a renewed recession in the US and a disorderly debt default by Greece.

“Following inquiries directed to him by UBS control functions that were reviewing his positions, the trader revealed his unauthorized activity on September 14, 2011,” the UBS statement said.

The bank said it was now operating within normal risk limits, implying that the unauthorised positions had been hedged or unwound.

“The board of Bayern Munich and the board of Manchester City have agreed today on a transfer of Jerome Boateng,” the Bavarians said on their website (www.fcb.de).

Bayern said the Germany international would have a medical in the coming days before signing a contract until 2015.

The 22-year-old Boateng had long said he wanted to leave City after failing to win a regular place in central defence and said in June he had already agreed a deal with Bayern and was waiting for the green light from the Premier League club.

“These were tough negotiations and it took a while until we sealed the deal,” said Bayern CEO Karl-Heinz Rummenigge. “We got our wish granted for the central defence by signing Jerome.

The heart of Bayern’s defence has been a major source of concern in the past few seasons.

Reuters.

“Everyone at Chelsea wishes Michael well for his recovery,” Chelsea manager Andre Villas-Boas told the club’s website. “His team mates and all the staff and I look forward to helping him return to playing as soon as possible.”

Essien, 28, was sidelined for more than six months in 2008 with a similar injury.

Reuters.

Ghana struck two quickfire goals midway through the second half thanks to Isaac Vorsah and Prince Tagoe.

Matt Moussilou took advantage of a mistake by goalkeeper Richard Kingson to pull a goal back for Congo with 15 minutes left but Emmanuel Agyemang-Badu made it 3-1 to Ghana with a long-range shot.

Leaders Ghana have 10 points from four games in Group I followed by Sudan on seven. Second from bottom Congo, who have three points, can no longer qualify.

Sudan visit Swaziland on Sunday.

Reuters.

An ultrasonic meter that monitors oil export flows has not worked since before first oil in December last year. The failure has sparked concerns that Ghana could fail to capitalise fully on its crude production.

“(We) wish to assure the public that the measurement systems in place … are accurate,” Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) and UK-listed Tullow Oil, the Jubilee Field’s operator, said in a joint statement.

“We wish to assure the public also that the replacement ultrasonic meter is due to be installed in July to further enhance the measurement system,” it added.

Oil is expected to help drive Ghana’s economic growth into the double-digits this year, shoring up its transformation from an aid-reliant country to one on a par with mid-income nations like Egypt or Iran.

Ghana’s 2011 budget said it would earn around $400 million from oil revenues this year, although that figure is likely to be higher if oil prices remain high.

Tullow said last week it was currently pumping over 70,000 barrels a day from the Jubilee field, with production due to hit 120,000 bpd by July.

The companies said oil stocks were being measured by highly accurate portable devices after being transferred to oil tankers, while meters on each production well and other parts of the production process also help in confirm volumes.

They said their procedures were industry standard.

“The reason we need the flow meters is to double-check the figures and also to enable the customs authority to assess and collect the taxes that are due the state,” said Mohammed Amin Adam of the Civil Society Platform for Oil and Gas.

“Nobody is accusing anybody of stealing oil or money, but it is a warning that we need to work on all these things to build the public confidence in all the processes involved in assessing and accounting for Ghana’s oil and revenues.”

Reuters.

Nana Konadu Agyeman-Rawlings resigned as an executive member of the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) on Wednesday in order to contest the July 8-10 primaries, the former first lady’s aide Kofi Adams told Reuters.

Konadu, 62, is married to John Jerry Rawlings who seized power in Ghana in successive coups, first in 1979 and then in 1981 and ruled the country until 2001.

Her move is a sign of cracks within the NDC, founded by her husband, ahead of a presidential poll planned for December 2012.

“(The resignation) was to enable her… to pick up nomination forms for the party’s primaries,” Adams said, confirming Konadu’s plan to challenge Mills.

It will be the first time that a sitting president in Ghana competes through the ballot box for the party’s nomination for a second term.

Ghana, the world’s second-biggest cocoa exporter which recently joined the club of West Africa oil producing nations, has been a haven of political stability in a region once known as the “coup belt”.

The country has successfully held free and fair elections and has seen three changes of leadership since 2001. Mills narrowly won hotly contested elections in 2008 for a four-year term and is eligible for a second term.

Reuters.

Ghana’s 20,000 fans, who had helped create a fantastic atmosphere, were sent absolutely delirious when Gyan’s goal cancelled out Andy Carroll’s late first-half strike for Fabio Capello’s much-changed England side.

Carroll, who moved from Newcastle United to Liverpool for 35 million pounds in January but has hardly played because of injury, produced a killer finish with a low left-foot bullet after 43 minutes for his first England goal on his second appearance.

But Gyan, who plays his club football in England with Sunderland, produced a brilliant finish as the match moved into injury time, jinking his way into space in the box, selling Joleon Lescott a dummy, then finishing with a precise left-foot shot that gave goalkeeper Joe Hart no chance.

“It was a fantastic game,” England coach Fabio Capello told ITV.

“I am happy because Ghana didn’t play it like a friendly. The two teams were really, really good, playing strongly with lots of tackles. I’m happy with the performance. The players played without fear and with confidence.”

Carroll said: “It’s great to be playing again and to have scored a goal. I enjoyed playing in the 4-3-3 formation. I’m here and ready to score goals if picked.”

A crowd of more than 80,000 included the largest number of visiting fans for an international since Wembley re-opened four years ago and they gave vociferous backing to last year’s World Cup quarter-finalists as England were made to work hard to stretch their unbeaten run against African opposition to 17 matches.

Ghana, who were playing an African Nations Cup match in Congo on Sunday before arriving in London on Monday, deserve huge credit for their positive approach.

SEVEN CHANGES

Capello made seven changes from the team that beat Wales 2-0 in a Euro 2012 qualifier on Saturday, and while there was some criticism of his selection before the match, his 4-3-3 formation acquitted itself well.

The breakthrough came after 43 minutes when Ashley Young and Stewart Downing combined before Downing allowed the ball to run on to Carroll who gave Richard Kingson no chance with a blistering finish.

Ghana had missed a great chance to take the lead in the seventh minute when Dominic Adiyiah, who scored on Sunday, fired straight at Hart.

The game fizzed along with attacks from both sides, before Young somehow contrived to hit the bar from two metres out.

Not even a flurry of second-half substitutions interrupted the flow but finally England, whose makeshift defence had done well, were unlocked.

Gyan, who will be forever remembered for missing the injury-time penalty that would have made Ghana the first African team to reach the World Cup semi-finals, now has a far more satisfying last-minute memory to look back upon.

Reuters.