China moved closer to its goal of 8 percent annual growth, as the nation recorded a record jump in foreign currency reserves.

China’s foreign exchange reserves hit a record $2.13 trillion at the end of June, according to the People’s Bank of China. The world’s largest holder of foreign cash — mostly U.S. treasury bills — China’s reserves grew by nearly $180 billion last quarter — $42.1 billion alone in the month of June, a $30 billion increase from same time period last year

Separately, the Chinese economy grew by 7.1 percent so far this year; the nation’s GDP grew 7.9 percent alone in the April to June quarter. That’s close to the government’s target rate of 8 percent — an auspicious number in Chinese culture.

“It doesn’t surprise me because it does have such a strong cultural significance and it was indeed a target they have set in the past in the 1990s,” said Frederic Neumann, senior Asia economist for HSBC. “Whenever the economy is in trouble then the government reiterates this as a particular growth goal. Remember confidence and perception plays a big role in macroeconomic management.”

Eight percent also is a key rate in order to preserve “social order” — which in China means jobs, economists say.

“Eight percent means job creation. And while the Chinese economy is in better shape than many other parts of the world, China doesn’t have a social safety net,” said Dong Tao, economist for Credit Suisse. “So job creation is absolutely critical. What China really needs is to create enough jobs to keep its society calm.”

Some analysts are worried the economy is being propped by its $585 billion stimulus package.

“If you look at very narrow indicators, it looks quite good. Real estate prices are going up, (the) stock market is shooting up,” said Peking University’s Michael Pettis, an expert on China’s financial markets. “Growth is much higher than expected but then when you try to figure out why all of that happened, you become very, very nervous.”

Particularly troubling for some is the record rate of lending in China, which some market watchers fear could fuel speculation and create asset bubbles. Lending for the first half of the year in China was 7.4 trillion yuan (US$1 trillion).

Editor’s Note: This is the fourth in a five-part series exploring Judge Sonia Sotomayor’s background and life with those who know her, revealing the experiences that might shape her views as a Supreme Court justice.

NEW YORK (CNN) — Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor graduated with honors from Ivy League schools. But she may have learned some of her most memorable lessons as a young prosecutor, following police into abandoned tenements and tracking down witnesses on the grimy streets of New York.

Sotomayor joined the Manhattan District Attorney’s office in 1979 during an epic crime wave. Muggings, burglaries and assaults were rampant; homicides topped 1,800 a year. She was recruited from Yale Law School by Robert M. Morganthau, Manhattan’s district attorney. She was 25, and her starting salary was $17,000.

The cases in Trial Bureau 50 seasoned the idealistic young lawyer and honed her trial skills. She could shred a witness on cross-examination and move a jury to tears, former colleagues recalled.

New York City was awash in heroin, street crime and gun violence. To prepare for trials, she followed police into tenement shooting galleries, scaled rickety staircases in dilapidated buildings and fought off the stench of squalor to talk to reluctant witnesses.

Sotomayor’s former colleagues and her legal foes describe her as intense, driven and politically astute.

As a prosecutor, she had a commanding presence and put in long hours, chugging several cans a day of the diet soft drink Tab and chain-smoking cigarettes. (She no longer smokes.)

Trial Bureau 50, with its crowded cubicles and walls painted the color of putty, has sent many lawyers onto distinguished careers in public service, including the late Robert F. Kennedy and John Kennedy Jr.

Sotomayor’s five years there, say Manhattan prosecutors past and present, make her uniquely qualified for the nation’s highest court. If confirmed, she would be the only justice who prosecuted criminal cases, presided over them and handled criminal appeals.

“If you can handle a felony case load in New York County, you can run a small country,” said Warren Murray, who ran the bureau when Sotomayor worked there, and still does.

“I think Sonia’s most interesting days were in the district attorney’s office,” said Hugh H. Mo, a former homicide prosecutor who supervised Sotomayor and tried cases with her. “You can grow up in the projects and still be very sheltered. She got her education on the streets of Harlem.”

Like most rookies, Sotomayor started with misdemeanors, juggling 60 to 80 cases at a time, working 12-hour days in the 1930s-era building on the tip of Manhattan, and pulling an occasional shift in night court.

“Some of the judges liked to use the new assistants to clear their calendars,” Morganthau recalled. “She quickly established herself as somebody the judges couldn’t push around.”

On her second trial, Sotomayor met Dawn Cardi, a rookie Legal Aid lawyer who was trying her first case. They became best friends.

“We were both baby attorneys,” Cardi said. “She’s really, really smart and very well-prepared. She was an excellent trial attorney. She had a talent for it.”

Another defense attorney, Gerald Lefcourt, recalled Sotomayor as “a very zealous prosecutor,” adding, “She didn’t see gray. She only saw black and white.”

Sotomayor moved up quickly in the D.A.’s office. It wasn’t long before she was prosecuting murder cases.

To prepare for trials, she hit the streets, working junkies and street characters for information and comforting grieving families. The work was sometimes unnerving, but it could also provide an adrenalin rush.

“You could feel the violence. It was palpable,” said Mo, who with Sotomayor accompanied detectives of Harlem’s 28th precinct into top-floor apartments in six-story tenements to prepare for what became known as the “Tarzan Burglar” case.

“Normal people do not walk into these buildings,” he recalled. “They were hangouts for drug addicts.”

Robert M. Morganthau remembers Sotomayor for her role in both the Tarzan Burglar case and in winning the office’s first conviction under a rewritten child pornography law.

A family was destroyed after one of the siblings was killed by a bullet in the head, she said. “They scattered to the four winds, and only one brother remained in New York who could testify,” she said Tuesday.

The Tarzan case was Sotomayor’s rite of passage as a prosecutor. She sat second chair, meaning she assisted Mo, the lead prosecutor, at the murder trial of Richard Maddicks.

Maddicks earned his nickname by swinging from building to building with rope and cables, Mo said. Along his route, he burglarized top-floor apartments, robbed residents and shot people who got in his way.

Sotomayor convinced Maddicks’ girlfriend, Mabel Ivey, to testify, pointing out that she could shave years off her sentence in another case if she cooperated.

They linked the murder weapon to Maddicks through a neighbor who sold liquor after-hours through a hole cut in the door of his basement apartment. Sotomayor questioned the man, Charles “Wirdell” Brown, in court, Mo recalled. It was a high point in the colorful trial.

She had the jury in tears as she questioned the girlfriend of a man fatally shot by the Tarzan Burglar.

Sotomayor impressed Mo with her organizational skills and ability to boil a complicated case into the essential elements that resonate with jurors.

She helped write his opening statement for the five-week trial and — long before computers and PowerPoint — crafted People’s Exhibit One, a large poster-board chart illustrating the pattern linking the Tarzan Burglar to his crimes.

The chart somehow survived nearly three decades in Mo’s basement laundry room.

During the trial, Sotomayor handled the questioning of half the 40 witnesses.

Maddicks was convicted of murder, robbery and related crimes and sentenced to 62½ years to life in prison. He’s still serving time “upstate,” as Manhattan’s prosecutors say.

Even 30 years ago, it was obvious Sotomayor was going places.

“Did anybody think she was going to the Supreme Court? Of course not,” said Cardi. “But when you look back, you see she always stood out. She was always really a cut above.”

“She was very focused, very ambitious, very competent, very hardworking,” Mo recalled. What struck him most, he said, was her confidence.

“She wanted to reach the highest pinnacle of the profession and didn’t think that was far-fetched. You could see it. She wanted to make history,” Mo said.

David Beckham says he is still fully committed to the Los Angeles Galaxy but will not give up on his dream of playing for England in the 2010 World Cup finals in South Africa.

Beckham has been criticized in the United States for going out on loan to AC Milan, missing the start of the MLS season, but on the eve of his return to action with Galaxy took the opportunity to put the record straight.

“I was given chance to play for one of the biggest clubs in the world (AC Milan) and still be contracted to my club,” he said.

“If you ask any player in the world if they were given a chance to finish the season with one of the biggest clubs in the world, they would not turn it down.”

Beckham, who has a deal with Galaxy until 2012, said that he had every intention of honoring his contract.

“I’m an honest person, if I didn’t want to be be here I wouldn’t. I’ve always been committed to every contract I’ve had as a soccer player at Manchester United, Real Madrid and the Galaxy,” he added.

But the 34-year-old midfielder could not hide his desire to be part of Fabio Capello’s England revolution with his national team on the brink of qualification for next year’s finals.

And he again left the possibility of a return to a Premier League club on loan if he did not return to Serie A with Milan.

“At the moment my priority is with Galaxy for the rest of the season and playing and keeping in every squad for England and representing my country.

“Leading up to the World Cup, the England manager (Capello) has made it clear to me that I need to be playing at European club level, so I will do everything possible to make it happen.”

Beckham, who will return for the Galaxy in Thursday night’s game against New York Red Bulls, also said he had made his peace with teammate Landon Donovan who had publicly questioned his commitment to the MLS.

“We sat down, went through everything, went through everything that had been said,” Beckham said

“Landon apologized, and I told him my view on things, and it’s forgotten about.”

Five-time champion Tom Watson turned back the clock with an immaculate display of links golf on the Ailsa Course at Turnberry to claim the early clubhouse lead in the British Open.

The 59-year-old American carded a five-under 65 in perfect conditions, rolling home a testing par putt on the 18th to cap a superb round.

It gave him a six-shot lead over world number one and pre-tournament favorite Tiger Woods who struggled to a one-over 71.

Watson, who emerged the winner in the famous ‘duel in the sun’ with fellow legend Jack Nicklaus in the 1977 British Open at Turnberry, was off to a fast start with birdies at the first and third holes.

He added two more at the 10th and 12th as his match started to attract a larger gallery.

Two fine hits to the edge of the par-five 17th and then an excellent chip and a putt took him to five-under and into the outright lead.

Watson had a birdie opportunity on the final hole but it rolled six-foot past and to a roar from the gallery kept his nerve to make sure his round did not include a bogey.

“I played very well in the practice rounds and felt I had a chance to do very well this week,” Watson told BBC Sport.

“The golf course was defenceless without the wind and as a result you will see a lot of scores under par.”

Watson was not the only former winner to make an early impression as 49-year-old Mark Calcavecchia, who won at Troon in 1989, was the first man in the clubhouse with a three-under 67 and he was joined on that mark by fellow American veteran Mark O’Meara.

But 54-year-old Australian Greg Norman, who led going into the final round at Royal Birkdale last year, could not recapture that magic as he toiled to a seven-over 77.

Woods, who was also an early starter, could not take advantage of benign conditions with a wayward display from tee to green which cost him four bogeys.

Bangladesh have the chance to secure only their second series win in nine years as a Test-playing nation when they meet West Indies on Friday.

A draw will be good enough for the Tigers in Grenada after they won the first Test by 95 runs.

But captain Mashrafe Mortaza may miss the game because of a knee injury.

West Indies, who will again be forced to field a weakened side because their first-choice squad is still on strike, have called up all-rounder Ryan Hinds.

The 28-year-old, who won the last of his 14 Test caps against England earlier this year, is likely to replace Nikita Miller and will add some much-needed experience to the team.

A series defeat would be a profound embarrassment for Caribbean cricket, but the dispute between the players’ association, Wipa, and the West Indies Cricket Board shows no sign of nearing a resolution.

Wipa have asked Bharat Jagdeo, chairman of the Caricom heads of government, to intervene in the matter.

In their letter, the association stated: “We at Wipa are fully conscious of the importance of cricket to the economy and unity of the region, and the psyche of its peoples - matters in which you and other heads of government are continuously and intrinsically involved.

606: DEBATE Do you think Bangladesh will win the series?

“Our players are deeply mindful of this responsibility they shoulder on behalf of this important group of stakeholders.”

None of that is likely to affect Bangladesh, whose only previous series win came against Zimbabwe in early 2005.

Their victory in the first Test in St Vincent, secured despite trailing by 69 runs on first innings, prompted street celebrations in the Bangladeshi capital Dhaka.

The absence of Mortaza, their man strike bowler, could force the tourists to rely even more heavily on spinners Mahmadullah and Shakib Al Hasan, although Nazmul Hossain has joined the squad as cover.

---

West Indies (from): Floyd Reifer (captain), Darren Sammy, Ryan Austin, David Bernard Jr, Tino Best, Travis Dowlin, Ryan Hinds, Kevin McClean, Nikita Miller, Nelon Pascal, Omar Phillips, Dale Richards, Kemar Roach, Chadwick Walton.

Bangladesh (from): Mashrafe Mortaza (captain), Shakib Al Hasan, Enamul Haque Jr, Imrul Kayes, Junaid Siddique, Mahbubul Alam, Mahmudullah, Mehrab Hossain Jr, Mohammad Ashraful, Mushfiqur Rahim, Nazmul Hossain, Raquibul Hossain, Rubel Hossain, Saghir Hossain, Shahadat Hossain, Tamim Iqbal.

Umpires: Asoka de Silva (Sri), Rudi Koertzen (SA)

Match referee: Andy Pycroft (Zim)

Worldwide personal computer shipments between April and June were down 5% from a year earlier, a report has said.

Global shipments in the second quarter totalled 68.1 million units, said the report by computer research group Gartner, down from 71.7 million.

The decline was less than the 9.8% dip Gartner said it had expected. As a result, it said there were now “small signs” the market was recovering.

Hewlett-Packard kept its top position, with 19.6% of world PC shipments.

This was a rise on its 18.1% share a year earlier. Gartner said the firm had benefited from “aggressive” price cuts.

By contrast, rival Dell saw its second-quarter market share decline to 13.6% from 15.6% a year ago, with Gartner saying the company had decided to “protect its margins” rather than extensively reduce prices.

However, Dell kept its number two position, just ahead of Acer. Lenovo was in fourth place, followed by Toshiba.

Garner said mini-notebooks - the very smallest laptops - remained the big growth area, with shipments rising 20% from a year earlier.

The microblogging service Twitter is taking legal advice after hundreds of documents were hacked into and published by a number of blogs.

TechCrunch has made public some of the 310 bits of material it was sent.

It posted information about Twitter’s financial projections and products.

“We are in touch with our legal counsel about what this theft means for Twitter, the hacker and anyone who accepts…or publishes these stolen documents, ” said Twitter’s Biz Stone.

In a blog posting he wrote that “About a month ago, an administrative employee here at Twitter was targeted and her personal email account was hacked.

“From the personal account, we believe the hacker was able to gain information which allowed access to this employee’s Google Apps account which contained Docs, Calendars and other Google Apps Twitter relies on for sharing notes, spreadsheets, ideas, financial details and more within the company.”

Mr Stone, Twitter’s co-founder, went on to stress that “the attack had nothing to do with any vulnerability in Google Apps”.

Beyond the issue of journalistic ethics, the whole incident also raises interesting questions about the security of cloud computing Rory Cellan-Jones Read Rory’s blog in full

He said this was more to do with “Twitter being in enough of a spotlight that folks who work here can be a target”.

In his blog post, Mr Stone underlined the need for increased online security within the company and for staff to ensure their passwords are robust.

It is believed a French hacker who goes by the moniker “Hacker Croll” illegally accessed the files online by guessing staff members’ passwords.

“News value”

A number of technology blogs were offered the documents for publication in what is now being dubbed “Twittergate” in some online forums.

TechCrunch, one of the most respected blogs in Silicon Valley, has set off a firestorm of criticism and debate over its decision to post some of the material.

Sensitive documents were hacked

It started things off with what it called a “softball” and published details about a reality TV show involving Twitter. Details of such a programme were made public in May.

That was followed by documents relating to an internal Twitter financial forecast that the company said is no longer accurate.

“There is clearly an ethical line here that we don’t want to cross, and the vast majority of these documents aren’t going to be published, at least by us.

“But a few of the documents have so much news value that we think it’s appropriate to publish them,” wrote TechCrunch Editor and founder Michael Arrington

Mr Arrington noted the site received a deluge of comments on the issue and said “many users say this is “stolen” information and therefore shouldn’t be published. We disagree.

“We publish confidential information almost every day on TechCrunch. This is stuff that is also “stolen,” usually leaked by an employee or someone else close to the company.”

The TechCrunch founder cited examples of stories it has covered in the past that involved information it had acquired and also those covered by newspapers like the Wall Street Journal that had done a similar thing.

Mr Arrington said that he has also consulted lawyers about the laws that cover trade secrets and the receipt of stolen goods.

“Embarrassing”

Many in the technology industry said this latest episode points to the potent reminder of how much information is stored in the cloud and the vulnerability or otherwise of that data.

The hacker has claimed to have wanted to teach people to be more careful and in a message to the French blog Korben, wrote that his attack could make internet users “conscious that no one is protected on the net.”

Twitter needs to force users to wise up, said one analyst

“The security breach exploited “an easy-to-guess password and recovery question, which is one of the simplest ways to make a username and password combination really insecure,” said Phil Wainewright of ZDNet.com

“Unfortunately, users won’t wise up until the cloud providers force them to.”

In a study last year the security firm Sophos found that 40% of internet users use the same password for every website they access.

The affair has put Google on the defensive because the information was stored in Google Apps, an online package of productivity software that includes email, spreadsheets and calendars.

The company issued a blog post. While it highlighted the need for strong security, it said it could not discuss individual uses or customers.

Twitter’s Mr Stone tried to play down the importance of the information being touted around the web.

“Obviously, these docs are not polished or ready for prime time and they’re certainly not revealing some big, secret plan for taking over the world.

“This is “akin to having your underwear drawer rifled: Embarrassing, but no one’s really going to be surprised about what’s in there.” That is an apt apology,” Mr Stone said.

At the social media blog Mashable, Adam Ostrow agreed.

“It’s another embarrassing moment in Twitter’s torrid growth, but nothing that’s likely to bring the house down.”

Scientists have decoded the genetic blueprint of two parasitic flatworms responsible for thousands of deaths worldwide every year.

Schistosoma mansoni and Schistosoma japonicum both cause the debilitating disease schistosomiasis, otherwise known as Bilharzia.

The work has already uncovered targets for new treatments for the disease, which causes fever and fatigue.

The international study features in the journal Nature.

Schistosomiasis cases top 200 million every year, with 20 million people are seriously disabled by severe anaemia, chronic diarrhoea, internal bleeding and organ damage caused by the worms and their eggs, or the immune system reactions they provoke.

In sub-Saharan Africa alone it kills 280,000 people each year.

SCHISTOSOMIASIS People become infected with Schistosoma when they wade or bathe in water inhabited by tiny snails that host the parasites The parasites are released into the water, and use fork tails to burrow into the skin They travel to blood vessels that supply urinary and intestinal organs, including the liver, where they mature Female worms, which live inside the thicker males, release many thousands of eggs each day Eggs shed in urine and faeces may make their way into snail-inhabited water, where they hatch to release parasites that seek out snails to begin the cycle again

Dr Anthony Fauci, director of the US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said: “Chronic infection with Schistosoma parasites makes life miserable for millions of people in tropical countries around the globe, and can lead to death.

“New drugs and other interventions are badly needed to reduce the impact of a disease that lowers quality of life and slows economic development.”

Since the 1980s, a cheap drug, praziquantel has been widely distributed to areas where the disease is common.

However, although the drug is effective, it does not prevent a person becoming re-infected. There is also a risk that the parasites will become resistant to it.

Therefore, developing new drug targets is important.

Enzyme targets

Researchers working on the genetic blueprint of S. masoni, the most widespread of the schistosomiasis parasites, found that it was made up of 11,809 genes - about 10 times the size of the malaria parasite genome.

In particular, they identified a large number of genes which produce enzymes that break down proteins, giving the parasite its ability bore through tissue.

Subsequent analysis revealed 120 enzymes that could potentially be targeted with drugs to disrupt the worm’s metabolism.

The researchers also identified 66 drugs already on the market which might also be effective against schistosomiasis.

The analysis also found that S. mansoni lacks a key enzyme needed to make essential fats, and must rely on its host to provide these - revealing a potential Achilles’ heel that could be exploited for drug development.

Researcher Dr Matthew Berriman, of the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, said: “This genome sequence catapults schistosomiasis research into a new era.

“It provides a foundation for understanding aspects of the parasite’s complex biology as well as a vehicle to immediately identify new targets for drug treatment.”

Fellow researcher Dr Najib El-Sayed, of the University of Maryland, said: “The genome sequence has given us, for the first time, a comprehensive view of the engines that drive the parasite, the strategies that allow it to survive in us, its human host.

“It is a catalogue of opportunities.”

In a separate study, scientists discovered that S. japonicum, which is largely confined to Asia, had even more genes.

US President Barack Obama has described the Senate health committee’s vote to approve a healthcare reform bill as a “major milestone”.

And he urged Congress to pass a health reform bill by the beginning of August.

The committee’s bill would expand coverage to 97% of Americans, at a cost of some $600bn (£365bn).

With its vote on Wednesday, the panel became the first congressional committee to pass a bill. Four other panels are also working on bills.

‘Urgency’

Three House of Representatives committees announced a joint proposal on Tuesday, and will begin voting on it on Thursday.

The Senate Finance Committee is also expected to vote on its bill soon.

Eventually, a combined bill will be put before both chambers for approval.

HEALTHCARE IN THE US 46 million uninsured, 25 million under-insured Healthcare costs represent 16% of GDP, almost twice OECD average Reform plans would require all Americans to get insurance Some propose public insurance option to compete with private insurers

Speaking alongside members of the American Nurses Association, Mr Obama praised the House committee’s joint proposal, and the bill approved by the Senate Health, Education, Labour and Pensions (Help) Committee.

“Yesterday, the House introduced its health reform proposal. And today… the Senate Help Committee reached a major milestone by passing a similarly strong proposal for health reform,” he said.

“This progress should make us hopeful,” he added.

“But it shouldn’t make us complacent. It should instead provide the urgency for both the House and the Senate to finish their critical work on health reform before the August recess.”

The Senate health committee’s bill would expand healthcare by requiring all Americans to take out health insurance, and providing subsidies to poorer families to help them pay for their coverage.

It is estimated that some 46 million Americans do not have health insurance, and a further 25 million are thought to have inadequate insurance.

‘Public option’

The healthcare plans currently being considered in Congress are all attempting to expand coverage, while also reforming the system to prevent spiralling costs.

Healthcare in the US costs $2.2tn a year, or 16% of the country’s GDP - nearly double the OECD average.

All of the plans under consideration would require Americans to take out insurance, and would bar insurance companies from denying coverage to people with pre-existing conditions.

The House committees’ joint bill and the Senate health committee bills would also create a new, publicly run health plan, which they hope would compete with private insurers and drive down prices.

The Senate finance committee bill is not expected to include a “public option”, but would instead set up non-profit medical co-operatives to compete with private insurers.

The health committee voted along party lines, with 13 Democrats in favour and 10 Republicans opposed.

The chairman of the health committee, Senator Edward Kennedy, was not present for the vote, because he is being treated for brain cancer.

Democrat Chris Dodd is acting as committee chairman in his absence.

“This time we’ve produced legislation that by and large I think the American people want,” he said.

On a party-line vote, Ted Kennedy’s committee gave him his health care reform bill, the first concrete step toward a goal for which Kennedy has fought for nearly four decades… As the process goes forward, the shape of the legislation is certain to change. For starters, it will have to be merged with a more conservative measure being worked on by the Senate Finance Committee… If this turns out to be the year in which health reform finally happens, it is fitting that Kennedy’s committee should be the one to put its stamp on it.

Time magazine’s Karen Tumulty takes a look at a Democratic veteran’s role in delivering healthcare reform.

Obama’s health care proposal is, in effect, the repeal of the Medicare program as we know it. The elderly will go from being the group with the most access to free medical care to the one with the least access.

Dick Morris tries out a new line of attack on the president’s proposals.

It is, as I’ve written before, not a perfect bill but a good one. And it creates a marker by which the bill from Senate Finance, still to come, will be judged. In the end, of course, the two bills must be combined into one, [both] before reform reaches the Senate floor and during the floor debate itself. Either way, though, the HELP bill makes it more likely that final package is one liberals can embrace enthusiastically.

The New Republic’s Jonathan Cohn thinks the Help bill is the opening bid in a high-stakes negotiation.

When the… committee took up health care reform this morning, it drew the opposition of all 10 Republicans… That wasn’t surprising, and it wasn’t even bothersome - opposition parties are expected to oppose the majority’s policy agenda. But it was nevertheless a reminder that the parties are approaching this issue in very different ways, and making reform conditional on support from Republicans is not a recipe for success (or even good policymaking).
Steve Benen, blogging at the Washington Monthly,

welcomes the new, less bipartisan, tone from the Democrats.

Star Wars creator George Lucas is Hollywood’s highest-paid man after earning an estimated $170m (£104m) in a year, business website Forbes.com says.

He beat director Steven Spielberg into second place in the list of 15. Spielberg made an estimated $150m (£91.6m) between June 2008-June 2009.

Lucas’s fourth Indiana Jones movie - directed by Spielberg - was out in that same year and took $786m (£480.1m).

Simon Cowell was joint sixth in the list, earning about $75m (£45.8m).

Syndication fees

The website talked to “managers, agents and other Hollywood insiders” to come up with the estimated earnings.

Forbes.com said: “In Hollywood, the stars get their pictures on the covers of magazines and designers ply them with free clothes, but producers earn the big bucks.”

It said that, in its list, “half made the cut mostly for their production work not their star quality”.

Simon Cowell has set up a company with retail billionaire Sir Philip Green

“As a group, they earned $1.2bn (£730m),” it added.

Executive producer of the three CSI TV programmes and producer of the Pirates of the Caribbean films, Jerry Bruckheimer, was third in the list with an estimated $100m (£61.1m).

Comedian Jerry Seinfeld was fourth, with an estimated $85m (£51.9m). Forbes.com said his earning power was largely thanks to “hefty syndication fees” for his sitcom Seinfeld, which went off air in 1998.

The top five was rounded out by TV psychologist Dr Phil McGraw - with $80m (£48.8m) - who began his career in the media on The Oprah Winfrey Show and now appears in his own shows.

Cowell was joint sixth alongside filmmaker Tyler Perry and Dick Wolf, creator of hit US TV show Law and Order and subsequent spin-offs.

Others on the list include rock star Bruce Springsteen and Indiana Jones actor Harrison Ford.