Saturday 28 February 2009
In China, Speculators Need Not Pay to Play
Several Chinese state-owned companies lost huge sums through speculative financial trading, but only Chen Jiulin (CAO) went to jail.
Web of Silence Tied to Coal Mine Disaster
Authorities say reporters and officials conspired to conceal news of a Hebei Province explosion that killed dozens of coal miners.
A standoff over knockoffs in famed China market
Any tourist who has stepped foot in this city’s famous Silk Street Market can testify that it is home to some of the wiliest, most tenacious vendors who ever tried to pawn off a fake handbag on a naïve foreigner.
Officials Probe Deadly Game in Yunnan Jail
Prosecutors may file charges following the death of an inmate four days after a game of tag triggered a jailhouse scuffle.
Friday 27 February 2009
Two sites identified for Jackie Chan’s houses
Star says it will take a miracle to keep antiques in HK
Artefacts’ sale will do nothing to help Sino-French ties
The auction of the controversial Qing dynasty bronze figures in Paris on Wednesday will probably slow repairs to the tattered Sino-French relationship, say mainland analysts.
Beijing accuses Christie’s of regularly selling looted relics
Auction of bronzes sparks tougher checks on ‘illegal trade’
Christie’s punished for auction of relics
Beijing swiftly moved to punish auction house Christie’s with tightened customs rules Thursday after its protests failed to stop the sale of two imperial bronze sculptures taken from China nearly 150 years ago.
不在乎天长地久，只在乎曾经拥有
不在乎天长地久，只在乎曾经拥有
What matters is the love we have ever shared, we do not mind whether our love is everlasting.
What matters is the love we have ever shared, we do not mind whether our love is everlasting.
Beijing says foreign banks still welcome
Investors’ interest in stake sales of China banks points to sector’s strength
Regulator to put lid on bad loans
China aims to prevent a ‘massive rebound’ in non-performing loans, even as the world’s financial crisis deepens, the nation’s top banking regulator said.
Woes of grey market lenders
Business is good, but loan defaults are up and authorities are clamping down
Ferrari may be in race for new dealer
Hong Seh Motors, the local distributor for Ferrari sports cars, could face the loss of its 25-year franchise rights to the brand. Sources say that Ferrari is close to signing a new deal with tycoon Ong Beng Seng, who brought F1 to Singapore last year.
Traffic Police Hot Spot
Please take note of the new pricing from Traffic Police & the map of the Traffic Police where they usually hide their Mobile Speed Camera for your reference.
Thursday 26 February 2009
Weaker currencies no cure for Asia’s slump
Tumbling exports have prompted Taiwan and Thailand to push down their respective currencies, but an Asia-wide round of depreciation is unlikely because of fears it would hurt consumer spending and bring capital outflows.
China tightens control on Christie’s after auction
In response to an auction by Christie’s of two bronze sculptures taken from the Old Summer Palace in 1860, held despite China’s protests, the State Administration of Cultural Heritage (SACH) Thursday imposed limits on what the auction house can take in or out of China.
3 soldiers on graft charges
Ee Jin Liang (centre), Adrian Tan (left), and Ang Zi Heng (far left) could face up to five years in jail or a fine of up to $100,000, or both, for each corruption charge
Recognise this shamless mother fucker stinking cunt french trash: Pierre Berge
He's the one who sold the relics and asked China to free Tibet for the return of the stolen properties.
Get tough on Christie’s
China on Thursday vowed to place tougher checks on Christie’s as it accused the auction house of repeatedly selling smuggled Chinese relics.
Auction of Chinese relics ‘shameful’: Jackie Chan
Hong Kong, China: Kung Fu legend Jackie Chan said Thursday the auction of stolen Chinese bronzes was “shameful” and said he was working on a new movie about the theft of cultural relics.
“It was looting yesterday. It is still looting today.”
China condemns Christie’s auction
It has also warned Christie’s auction house of unspecified consequences.
Ngiam Tong Dow Speaks out
One of a handful of men who helped LYK build today’s Singapore; the retired bureaucrat feels perturbed enough to speak his mind publicly.
I think our leaders have to accept that Singapore is larger than the PAP.
View PDF
FibreChem auditors can’t finalise books
FibreChem Technologies said yesterday that Ernst & Young could not finalise an audit of its trade receivables and cash balances for the year ended Dec 31, 2008.
Desire for greatness led to downfall, writes jailed pension funds chief
One of the key figures in Shanghai’s pensions scandal has written about how his ambition to be “No 1 in the nation” turned into a destructive force that wrecked his life and damaged the reputation of his bureau.
Foreign investors shift focus to retail segment
Foreign investment interest in the mainland property market is on the rise, but investors have shifted their focus from development sites to retail property because of the uncertain market outlook, analysts said.
Lawmakers draft rules to prevent officials accepting cigarette ‘bribes’
Mainland legislators are drafting bills to ban government officials from buying cigarettes using public funds or accepting them as gifts.
Outcry over delay in report on jail death
Yunnan authorities have delayed their promised release of the results of an investigation into the death in custody of a young man supposedly playing “hide-and-seek”, prompting another online outcry over official handling of the case.
Spring in Shanghai’s step after dark winter
Market revival seen as transactions increase 21pc amid hopes of more stimulus measures
Why Hillary Clinton’s China visit went off well
Hillary Clinton’s visit to China - the most important leg of her trip to Asia, which included Japan, Indonesia and South Korea - went off well, in part because the US Secretary of State had indicated publicly ahead of time that differences over human rights would not be allowed to inhibit progress on other matters. As a result, she was able to reach her objective, which was to demonstrate to China the seriousness of the Barack Obama administration’s intention to maintain good relations with China and to work together with Beijing to tackle global issues.
Wednesday 25 February 2009
US stimulus plan just a repeat of past mistakes
Former British prime minister Winston Churchill once famously said: ‘Those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it.’
Talk of accounting issues, margin calls hurts S-chips
China Hongxing, Fibrechem and China Zaino are among those hit
Swiss finance sector halved if bank secrecy dropped
Switzerland’s key financial services industry could be decimated if its trademark secrecy is given up as part of reforms to cope with the global economic crisis, a prominent Swiss private banker warned.
Group of rich Americans sues UBS to keep names secret in tax case
UBS was sued on Tuesday in a Swiss federal court by wealthy American clients seeking to prevent the disclosure of their identities as part of a tax-evasion investigation by the United States Justice Department.
Shocking allegations in Chen trial
Former Taiwanese president Chen Shui-bian made shocking allegations at his pretrial hearing yesterday against his predecessor, Lee Teng-hui, and Taiwan’s current leader, Ma Ying-jeou, alleging Mr. Ma had an intimate relationship with a black man.
Frail, defiant Chen pleads not guilty to corruption charges
Repent, at least you may have a remote chance to reincarnate as an animal.
Crisis Could Cost Singapore 99,000 Jobs – DBS
Singapore could lose a total of 99,000 jobs during the current recession, with more than half of the cuts in the key manufacturing sector, an analysis by local bank DBS said Wednesday.
Economist Warns Switzerland Could Go Broke
Economist Artur Schmidt says Switzerland could go broke because Swiss banks extended billions in credit to Eastern European countries which now can’t pay back the money.
Worst insult possible, says judge
Kangaroo T-shirts trio showed wilful, stubborn contempt for the courts
Court chides divorcee, 60: Live within your means
Her kids’ huge expenses also reflect badly on her, says judge
Citigroup’s road to nationalization
A push by the government to convert its stake into common stock could push Citi closer to nationalization. But what happens after will define the fate of the firm.
Bernanke’s Hide and Seek Delaying Tactics
The ever changing model of nationalization took another leap towards a resolution of sorts today. Bernanke’s new plan amounts to a game of hide and seek, hoping the mess resolves itself over time. Please consider U.S. Will Take Bank ‘Ownership’ Stakes Only as Losses Climb.
Stick to big cap stocks under current market condition
“There’re billions and billions of pounds of trapped illiquid capital, which can sink entire institutions,” Corsellis said. “We’ve only seen the tip of the iceberg.”
Cultural Collision Sends Carmakers Reeling
Four years after buying unionized Korean carmaker Ssangyong, China’s SAIC is happy to get out – and licking its wounds.
Is Buffett getting margin calls?
Rumours are popping up on the Street that Warren Buffett may have received margin calls related to derivative/option investments. Yes, these are the same type of investment that Buffett has termed, “financial weapons of mass destruction.”
FibreChem Technologies Announcement
The Board of Directors (“Board”) of FibreChem Technologies Limited (“the Company”) wishes to announce that certain difficulties have been encountered by the Company and its auditors, in respect of the finalization of the audit of the Group’s trade receivables and cash balances as at 31 December 2008.
Decoding the 1.6 Trillion Enigma
January’s extraordinary loan growth might have increased household savings and poured funds into the stock market.
Auditor General Calls for Political Reform
Liu Jiayi, China’s Auditor General, said business violations in 2008 were not standalone cases but rooted in common problems in China’s political system.
Is the cash really there?
Some companies are sitting on a huge pile of cash, but there’s still no sign of dividends.
Gone in half a minute
BUSTLING: Casino Alley bustling by day with gamblers as well as prostitutes, but the illegal business disappears when there’s a police presence.
Tuesday 24 February 2009
Excerpt from The Gloom, Boom and Doom Report
So, while I have great sympathy for my “deflationist” friends who believe that the ten-year Treasury note yield will decline to 1.5%, I regard being long Treasuries as a very risky proposition from a longer-term perspective.
Straits Asia Resources
Closed today with Harami Cross.
* Straits Asia FY08 net profit more than quadruples
* Straits Asia Resources posted on Tuesday a net profit of US$124.4 million for the full year ended Dec 31, 2008, on the back of ‘record coal production’ and ‘record coal sales’.
* This is more than four times that of the US$28.6 million earned a year ago.
* Sales revenue also jumped 133 per cent year-on-year to US$585.2 million.
* The company is recommending a final dividend of 2.18 US cents a share.
What ails free market economies?
China’s planned economy, with heavy government interference in markets, could be a key model for the world
1949: Only socialism can save China
1979: Only capitalism can save China
1989: Only China can save socialism
2009: Only China can save capitalism
1949: Only socialism can save China
1979: Only capitalism can save China
1989: Only China can save socialism
2009: Only China can save capitalism
GIC wants to keep preferred stock
A major Singaporean investor in Citigroup Inc. doesn’t currently plan to convert its preferred shares into common stock as part of a potential U.S. government effort to help the ailing bank, according to people familiar with the matter.
Top official fired over pyramids ‘study trip’
The government has sacked a senior official for misconduct after internet users uploaded a video of a delegation enjoying a tour of the pyramids in Egypt on a government-funded “study” trip, mainland media reported yesterday.
Relaxing residency rules will boost Shanghai economy
Nearly two in three Shanghai residents believe relaxing permanent residency requirements for skilled workers will boost the local economy, a newspaper survey shows.
Officials trained to tackle jobless unrest
Mainland authorities were training thousands of security officials to get them ready for possible social unrest as millions of rural workers are laid off amid a sharp economic slowdown, a government ministry said yesterday.
Wage defaults for fourth quarter hit 30 million yuan in Shenzhen
Defaults by Pearl River Delta firms on paying workers’ wages increased sharply in the fourth quarter of last year as the global financial meltdown began to bite, according to mainland media.
Sino-US ties on ‘fastest track’ under Obama
The speed with which Sino-US ties have been put on track and elevated to a higher level under the new administration is unprecedented and largely due to deepening global financial turmoil and fast-changing geopolitics, analysts say.
Barriers leave many outsiders with little sense of belonging in the city
Even though Bao Ruokui from Anhui province has a stable job and lives in her own Shanghai home with her husband and three-year-old son, she still feels little sense of belonging to the city because of barriers ranging from the dialect to government policy.
Allegation filmmaker died having sex with prostitute leads to suit
The family of late film director Xie Jin have lodged a libel suit against celebrity watchdog Song Zude over allegations the revered filmmaker died while having sex with a prostitute in a hotel.
AmEx Pays Some Cardholders $300 to Close Accounts
American Express Co., the largest U.S. credit-card company by purchases, is paying some cardholders $300 each to close accounts so the lender can reduce the risk of defaults as the recession deepens.
Goh Keng Swee
Our true economic benefactor, humble, private and almost forgotten - someone who managed to serve the nation without million dollars salary.
Sell into Rally
We would use weakness towards the bottom of the trading range to increase equity exposure. However, any rally off the November lows should be used to lighten up.
Yves Saint Laurent will trade historic artefacts for Tibet
The partner of late fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent said he will return two bronze animal heads that were looted from China - if the government agrees to grant freedom to Tibet.
I put a curse on any Chinese who buys YSL products from this moment. You will die of the most painful death. Your son will be raped to death in prison. Your daughter will prostitute herself and die of AIDS.
I put a curse on any Chinese who buys YSL products from this moment. You will die of the most painful death. Your son will be raped to death in prison. Your daughter will prostitute herself and die of AIDS.
Monday 23 February 2009
Cheap stocks spark debate over Dow index’s utility
There was a time when a tumble below $10 in the share price of a company in the Dow Jones industrial average meant ignominy.
Soros sees no bottom for world financial ‘collapse’
Renowned investor George Soros said on Friday the world financial system has effectively disintegrated, adding that there is yet no prospect of a near-term resolution to the crisis.
China Eyes Upstream Oil Market in Russia
A partially floating interest rate was adopted in the latest oil loan deal between China and Russia. Further cooperation may be negotiated later this year.
Ebbs and flows
Beijing could face huge losses on its foreign-currency holdings when the global economy recovers
Holiday video exposes officials’ graft
Mainland authorities have sacked a senior official for misconduct after internet users uploaded a video of a government delegation enjoying a tour of the Pyramids in Egypt on a public-funded “study” trip, local media said on Monday.
Public probe into prison death faulted and praised
Yunnan propaganda authorities have hailed the work of a netizens’ “independent investigation” into the mysterious death of a man in detention as a breakthrough in transparency. But legal experts say the move raises concerns about interventions in the justice system.
Beijing has little choice but to keep investing in US Treasury bonds
Rumour has it that a list detailing the offshore bank deposits of mainland officials and their relatives is being compiled in the US for release if Beijing rethinks its purchases of US Treasury notes.
China Property sector next to get stimulus shot
Beijing will issue its tenth industry-specific stimulus plan for the property sector instead of the energy sector, a former vice-chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress said.
State-backed firms told to slow buying sprees
Overseas assets expected to get cheaper amid global crisis
October’s market storm warning is still in force
As a result, October’s warning still stands: stocks might appear attractive at current prices, but they could easily fall further over the coming months.
Property sellers find buyers hard to come by as price gap proves hurdle
Sharp differences are emerging between buyers and sellers over the outlook for property in Hong Kong and the mainland, and the resulting big gap between their price expectations has applied the brakes to deals, say analysts.
China flexes diplomatic muscle to reclaim relics
It is stepping up pressure to stop Paris auction of two Qing sculptures
China fears tremors as migrants flock from coast
Tan Tianying might not look like a troublemaker, but she and millions of other workers like her have government leaders fretting about the country’s stability.
An object lesson in frugality from shell-shocked Japanese
Even after years of economic recovery, they fear to splurge
Gen Y modifying job expectations
Security now takes priority above work-life balance and training: survey
China urged to keep buying US Treasuries
The US has to incur more debt in order to boost the economy: Clinton
Has Wall Street capitulated yet?
Selling into strength is still very much the best way to preserve capital and for many more months, forget about buying and holding, at least until Wall St crashes.
60% of Singapore-listed firms yield positive 10-year returns
Looking at three categories of companies - those with a market cap of $1 billion or more, those in the $100 million-$1 billion range, and those in the sub-$100 million bracket - the biggest have consistently done better over the past one, three, five and 10 years.
China’s stimulus spending may add up to a whopping 30t yuan: analysts
The total amount of fiscal stimulus planned by provincial governments in China to counter the global economic slump may have been vastly underestimated and could amount to as much as 30 trillion yuan (S$6.7 trillion) or more than seven times the four trillion yuan figure that has been announced publicly by the Chinese central government, experts have told The Business Times.
China’s stimulus spending may add up to a whopping 30t yuan
The total amount of fiscal stimulus planned by provincial governments in China to counter the global economic slump may have been vastly underestimated and could amount to as much as 30 trillion yuan (S$6.7 trillion) or more than seven times the four trillion yuan figure that has been announced publicly by the Chinese central government, experts have told The Business Times.
Naming clients will break Swiss laws: UBS
US lawsuit seeks to expose execs to jail terms, say lawyers
Managed futures bear fruit in barren marketplace
While many investors have given up on the market after watching their portfolios ravaged by volatility, an alternative investment product called managed futures funds is proving that there may be hope for them yet.
Blame flimsy regulation for many fund scams
Hedge fund managers often argue against too much disclosure, because they say it makes it difficult to execute specialised strategies. That may be, but transparency also makes it much tougher to perpetrate scams.
China stagnating again this quarter: Morgan
For the second quarter in a row, China will record little or no growth between January and March compared with the preceding three-month period, Stephen Roach, chairman of Morgan Stanley Asia, said yesterday.
Will the real GDP please stand up?
So, the size of the US economy could be a figment of statisticians’ imagination. So could China’s. It’s no longer clear what to believe. Making sense of the world is getting harder by the day.
Not a market for the naive, or for the savvy
Clearly, this is not a market for the naive. Come to think of it, it may not even be suitable for the savvy. But it’s the naive who are probably the most vulnerable, although judging by the atrocious volume every day, not many players - naive or savvy - are actually taking part.
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