TOKYO: Senior Japanese lawmakers from the governing and opposition parties on Thursday called for a breakthrough by Monday to end the stalemate over the next governor of the Bank of Japan, hoping to avoid a monetary policy vacuum in the midst of an international credit market crisis.

“We have agreed that it is desirable to avoid a policy vacuum, even just for one day,” Kenji Yamaoka, parliamentary affairs chief for the main political opposition, the Democratic Party of Japan, told reporters after meeting his counterpart from the Liberal Democratic Party, Tadamori Oshima.

Toshihiko Fukui is scheduled to step down on Wednesday as governor of the central bank. The standoff over who will succeed him and his two deputies comes amid global market turmoil that sent Japanese shares down more than 3 percent and the yen to a 12-year high against the dollar Thursday.

The government on Thursday won a parliamentary vote in the lower house, which is controlled by the governing coalition, on its nominee for governor, Toshiro Muto, and its two candidates for deputy governors of the bank. But that outcome did nothing to clarify the situation because Muto has already been vetoed by the opposition in the upper house of Parliament.

A former Bank of Japan official, Masaaki Shirakawa, has been approved as a deputy governor by both houses after the upper house rejected Muto and the other deputy governor nominee, Takatoshi Ito, an academic. Shirakawa could serve as acting governor if the dispute is not resolved by Wednesday. Other options include extending Fukuis term or appointing someone else as acting governor.

Yamaoka said he had agreed with Oshima to request a new governor nominee, but Oshima and a government spokesman, Nobutaka Machimura, did not say whether they were thinking of offering a different choice.

While markets are focused on fears of a U.S. recession, traders said the political deadlock had hurt sentiment in Japanese stocks. “The yens gain and concerns about the Japanese economy and corporate earnings are pulling the Tokyo market down deeper than Wall Street,” said Yoshihiro Ito, a managing director at Okasan Capital Management. “Distrust in Japanese politics is also helping push down the market.”

The government must now either persuade the opposition parties to change their minds or offer a compromise candidate. “If the candidate cannot get approval, the government should come up with someone else, a Democratic Party official, Naoto Kan, said at a news conference. “I dont think there is any other way.”

Analysts say an acting governor might be unwilling to make important, long-term decisions, but they also point out that Japan, with interest rates at 0.5 percent, has little room to maneuver in monetary policy, regardless of who heads the Bank of Japan.

“The market has to some extent prepared for the risk of a vacuum at the BOJs top position,” Atsushi Ito, a Japanese government bonds strategist at Morgan Stanley. “Rather than who becomes BOJ governor, problems in the United States and Japans economic slowdown play a far more significant role in deciding the BOJs policy.”

Ichiro Ozawa, the Democratic Party leader, sat impassively at the back of the lower house chamber as the vote was held Thursday. Some analysts say that he holds the key to resolving the issue and that he will have to meet Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda to negotiate a deal. Ozawa has vowed to push the governing coalition into an early election.

Opposition lawmakers have consistently opposed Muto mainly because of his close ties to the government as a former top bureaucrat in the Ministry of Finance, a relationship they say would hurt the independence of the central bank.

THE number of people in work in Scotland has reached a record high, with women and immigrants the catalysts for economic prosperity.

New figures show the number of people in employment rose to 2.54 million over the quarter, an increase of 25,000. At 76 per cent, it is the highest employment rate on record, and exceeds that of the UK and almost all European Union countries.

Economists suggest the increasing number of women in the labour market and the introduction of flexible hours has had a significant impact on Scotland’s productivity and rate of employment.

Data released yesterday by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) also shows the number of unemployed people claiming jobseekers’ allowance in June fell by 1,700 on the previous month to 76,200 - close to its record low of 2.8 per cent.

Martin Ellis, chief economist with the Bank of Scotland, believes working women have boosted the economy, as family-friendly employers have allowed women to work part-time. He said: “Flexible working patterns make it easier for women to work. In the past, a lot of women were ruled out of a job once they had children.”

In the past century there has been a seismic shift in Britain’s labour market, with women currently making up almost half the workforce, compared with less than a third in 1911. Four out of five clerical jobs were taken by men at that time, but today that position is almost reversed.

The ageing population has also played its part, with more people of pensionable age choosing to keep working.

Mr Ellis pointed to immigration as another key factor explaining Scotland’s renewed prosperity, especially with the influx of “new Scots” from eastern Europe.

He said: “The number of households is increasing, and part of that is down to immigration. We’ve seen the expansion of the European Union, with Poland and, more recently, Romania. Immigration boosts the pool of people we can draw upon for employment in Scotland.”

Although Scotland has suffered a sharp decline in heavy industries, demand for products manufactured here is at its highest level for 40 years, according to figures from the Scottish Industrial Trends Survey.

Fraser McLean, a business manager with the employment agency Manpower, said Scotland’s highly skilled labour force and its ability to adapt quickly to a changing market had been crucial for long-term growth.

“Scotland has always been quick to diversify. OK, we’ve lost heavy industries like shipbuilding but we’ve diversified into other areas. Scotland has a very strong financial services sector, construction is booming and call centres are a massive growth area,” he said.

Call centres have become an increasingly important source of employment. Scottish Enterprise says the industry employs about 18,000 people in Glasgow alone, and it is estimated 105,000 people in Scotland work in call centres, an industry that is worth 2.2 billion a year.

Commenting on the labour market statistics, Ian Brinkley, chief economist at the Work Foundation, said: “At last, we can start to see some evidence of a recovery in the labour market as the economic growth feeds into jobs. The private sector seems finally to be rediscovering a role it had previously abandoned - that of creating jobs.”

TYPICAL EMPLOYEE 50 YEARS AGO

FIFTY years ago Scotland’s economic landscape was very different from today.

Heavy industries such as shipbuilding and mining were the male-dominated core, with generations of men following their fathers into the same jobs.

In the immediate postwar boom, British shipyards expanded, and employment in the industry rose to 300,000 workers.

However, the steady decline in heavy industries gradually began to take hold.

While working patterns had changed little since the turn of the century, the Scottish working man would soon see a huge shift in employment in the key areas of shipbuilding and mining.

In the early twentieth century the Clyde was the main centre of shipbuilding in the world.

But employment in both shipbuilding and total manufacturing began to shrink dramatically from the 1950s, a shift that was also reflected in Scotland’s declining population as many left Scotland to work abroad.

By the early 1970s there were around 8,500 men working in only five shipyards on the river organised into the Lower and Upper Clyde Shipbuilders. Shipbuilding became the symbol of British industrial decline in the 20th century.

CHANGING SHAPE OF SCOTTISH ECONOMY

SCOTLAND’S workforce has re-invented itself in recent years, with a move away from heavy industries. There has been a remarkable shift towards a technology and services-based economy.

The 1980s saw an economic boom in the Silicon Glen corridor between Glasgow and Edinburgh, with many large technology firms relocating to Scotland. But boom turned to bust, and by the start of this century little of it was left.

By 1996, the shipbuilding industry employed just 10,100 people, accounting for 4 per cent of manufacturing employment in Scotland. Thousands of Scots have now found employment in the new boom industries of banking and financial services, education, entertainment and biotechnology.

Figures from the Institute for Employment Research show that in 1981 490,000 people in Scotland, nearly a quarter of the workforce, worked in manufacturing. By 1999, employment in the area fell to 320,000.

The services sector, including banking and professional services such as lawyers and accountants, has seen huge growth. In 1981, it is estimates that the sector accounted for 300,000 jobs. By 1999, that had risen to 480,000 jobs.

By the numbers - where we work and what we produce

2.2 billion

Call centres are a booming industry, with about 300 centres across Scotland generating an estimated 2.2 billion a year to the economy. Scottish Enterprise estimates that the industry employs about 18,000 people in Glasgow alone.

500

Caf society is a massive phenomenon in Britain which has transformed the high streets. One of the bigger chains, Starbucks, now employs more than 6,000 stores across the globe, 500 of which are in the UK and Ireland.

629,000

The UK’s five biggest supermarkets - Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury’s, Safeway and Morrisons - employ a total of 629,000 people.

These “one-stop shops” - 2,050 are run by the market leaders - have overtaken many small traditional bakers, butchers and fishmongers once at the heart of local communities. However, many customers faced with longer working hours value the 24-hour supermarket culture and free parking.

A number of supermarkets also have own-label clothing brands and petrol stations.

3,548

The nation’s love of quick “food on the hoof” has driven demand for the 3,548 fast-food outlets run by the UK’s 11 largest chains. While previous generations may have enjoyed an occasional fish supper or hot pie, nowadays the range is endless, from kebabs to sushi. But fast-food outlets have come in for criticism for contributing to obesity and creating a litter problem as customers discard cartons and wrappings in the street.

1.9 million

While traditional betting shops are still popular - there are around 8,000 in the nation’s high streets - the way we place a bet is being rapidly overtaken by online gambling.

However, 1.9 million people are employed in more than 180,000 gambling establishments across the UK. The sector is booming and is becoming popular with women who may have once been reluctant to enter a betting shop. Under-age online gambling is an increasing concern.

40,000

At least 40,000 Poles now work in Scotland as migrant employees, according to Aleksander Dietkow, Poland’s consul-general in Edinburgh.

Officials say that as many as 8,000 of them face harassment, discrimination and unlawful employment practice at their place of work.

572,900

The public sector employs 572,900 people in Scotland, part of a contingent of 5.85 million people across the UK.

According to the latest figures released last year, the fastest-growing area is the NHS. Other areas which are expanding include health and social work, public administration and education.

Graduates entering the public sector are earning more than those starting work in the private sector for the first time, according research by the management consultancy Hay Group. It said university leavers taking jobs in the civil service or the NHS are expected to earn average salaries of 21,445 - 1,100 more than the overall average.

2 billion

Scotland has 20,000 farmers who, with crofters and small producers, contribute more than 2 billion to the economy. If whisky is included, this figure rises to 2.4 billion. In total, farming provides employment for more than 70,000 people north of the Border - making it the country’s third-largest employer after the service and public sectors.

18.4

There has been an 18.4 per cent increase in Scottish Executive staff since 1999.

NEW YORK: Time Warner Incs AOL Internet division said on Thursday it will buy social network Bebo for $850 million (417 million pounds) in cash, bolstering its consumer Internet offerings even as the media conglomerate mulls splitting off the business.

Bebo, which claims a global membership of about 40 million users, is the top social network in Britain, Ireland and New Zealand, it said. It is No. 3 in the United States behind News Corps MySpace and Facebook.

“AOL, at its core, is a way for people to connect,” AOL President Ron Grant said in a phone interview. “We need to get back to our roots.”

The two companies had spent the last six months hashing out the deal, executives said in an interview with Reuters. Grant said Bebos heavy focus on media and international interest attracted AOL to Bebo.

The purchase comes amid a wholesale transformation of AOL from a dial-up Internet provider to an online advertising powerhouse.

It has spent nearly $1 billion to create one of the biggest third party display ad units, Platform-A. AOL aims to gird against the prospect of bigger rivals as Microsoft Corp pursues a deal to buy Yahoo Inc and following the closing of Google Incs purchase of DoubleClick.

AOL said Bebo will help round out its personal communications offerings, now comprised of AOL Instant Messenger and ICQ, two wildly popular services that let users send quick text, video and audio correspondence.

Despite its global popularity AOL has not had much success turning that into a business.

AOL said its advertising system is well positioned to turn social networks into a thriving business despite difficulties its rivals face. Google, which is the search advertising provider for MySpace, expressed difficulties in “monetizing” MySpaces traffic.

Bebo President Joanna Shields will continue to run Bebo and will report to Grant after the transaction closes.

Banc of America Securities LLC and Deutsche Bank Securities Inc. advised AOL. Allen Co advised Bebo.

(Reporting by Kenneth Li; Editing by Derek Caney and Dave Zimmerman)