Dalai Lama trip puts Ma on spot

Ma Ying-jeou faces one of the toughest decisions of his presidency after the pro-independence camp invited the Dalai Lama to visit Taiwan to comfort typhoon victims.

Gambling ‘whale’ says US$110m casino debts are really loans

A Japanese-American gambler who lost more than US$110 million in Las Vegas casinos is waging a Nevada court battle, the outcome of which could affect Hong Kong legal judgments against such high-rollers.

Apple in hot water in France

Half a dozen new cases of ‘exploding iPhones’ emerged in France on Wednesday, asApple faced an official inquiry and calls to come clean over possible risks linked to its wildly popular smartphone.

The Sky Has Fallen, So What Comes Next?

It was silly months ago to compare the global downturn to the 1930s depression. The recession has already turned the corner.

Boom and burst - Andy Xie

Don’t be fooled by false signs of economic recovery. It’s just the lull before the storm

A stock market bubble is a negative-sum game. It leads to distortion in resource allocation and, hence, net losses. The redistribution of the remainder, moreover, isn’t entirely random. The government, of course, always wins. It pockets stamp duty revenue and the proceeds of initial public offerings of state-owned enterprises in cash. And, the listed companies seldom pay dividends.

Appliance king defied the odds until stakes got too high

Rags-to-riches Gome billionaire profited from ‘grey areas’

Gome boss names names and stays in the game

Wong Kwong-yu, the billionaire businessman whose detention nine months ago triggered Guangdong’s biggest corruption scandal in years, may be languishing in police custody but his nine-month detention has not curbed his wheeling and dealing.

Free to make a killing

Camps to treat mainland Web addicts have sprung up, unregulated, with deadly results

Is the market always right?

Put differently, it’s best not to place too much faith in the dictum that the market is always right because sometimes, it isn’t.

China lists penalties for ‘small coffers’ offences

Officials guilty of having illegal special personal funds may be warned or sacked from party

Foreign audits may need local sign-off

Governance advisers post-IPO also part of SGX’s proposed regulatory changes

Hole in wall of Swiss banking secrecy

Treaty with US blurs distinction between tax fraud and tax evasion

Keep a hand on the tap

We need foreign talent, but let’s not change too much, too fast

More passport cheats nabbed

Real travel documents used to fake identity as forgery becomes harder

Super-rich hit a sobering wall

A 30-year period in which affluent Americans became both wealthier and more numerous may be ending, analysts say

SGX may force lifting of veil on pledged shares

Requirement is among several new rules under consideration in light of recent experience

Timely disclosure must be enforced

Any tardiness by listed firms in announcing share trades could hurt investor confidence

Why is the African continent poor?

“Africa is not poor,” President Johnson-Sirleaf added, “it is poorly managed.”

Raffles Education

Waiting for results tomorrow?

Ezion

On course towards 0.960?

Cosco

With a closing of 1.24 today, it's more apparent now that it was a false break down last week. All the MACD, Stochastic and ADX indicators showing a nice reversal.

Time to overhaul ratings firms that helped create this mess

It boggles the mind that the ratings companies are getting off so easy as the world tries to fix a broken financial system. This is one of the places where big changes could matter most, so we will regret it later if we waste this opportunity.

Understanding risk and setting your threshold

Many investors felt like they had nowhere to hide last year. Investment types that many thought might offer shelter in inclement weather for the stock market - such as bond funds and commodities - posted painful losses. Such blow-ups highlight the facts that investing comes with risks and that some investments are riskier than others. Identifying those risks, in addition to figuring out how much you are willing to tolerate, is one of the most important aspects of long-term planning.

Halcyon days of hiding money offshore are over

Many investors felt like they had nowhere to hide last year. Investment types that many thought might offer shelter in inclement weather for the stock market - such as bond funds and commodities - posted painful losses. Such blow-ups highlight the facts that investing comes with risks and that some investments are riskier than others. Identifying those risks, in addition to figuring out how much you are willing to tolerate, is one of the most important aspects of long-term planning.

Global brands turn to China’s young amid slump

“Many foreign brands are looking at China as a life vest,” said Mary Bergstrom, founder of Bergstrom Trends, a youth-trend research company in Shanghai.

CIA report has new details of prisoner abuse

CIA interrogators carried out mock executions and threatened an al Qaeda commander with a gun and an electric drill, according to an internal report that provides new details of abuses inside’s the agency’s secret prisons, two leading U.S. newspapers reported on Saturday.

SGX lines up plans to tighten governance

Initiatives include stipulation that CFOs, directors be appointed early

Big bucks

With more and more Singaporeans getting fat and rich, weight management services are booming despite the recession.

Raffles Education

A contribution from Tonlee. Using Pitchfork, Raffles Education has a potential to reach 0.800 after 0.700 is taken out.