Friday, April 20, 2012
Thursday, April 19, 2012
Taiwan Presentation
Submitted by Anna
Since there are some audio issues, Anna has submitted her script:
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
UK Bailout
Many people are wandering why the United Kingdom government decided to deposit nearly $ 90 billion into banks, while lending back $ 350 billion to the taxpayers. When it came time to make the final decision, the UK government realized they had no choice. Panic in the markets is at a steady increase, while banking shares have been at a steady downfall. British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, along with the help of Chancellor Alistair Darling, knew that something must be done immediately to bring back the confidence within the banking industry. Urgent action was agreed upon, and a bailout plan was put into action.
The UK government created a plan that consisted of funding the banks with over $ 90 billion, in exchange for shares, in hopes of reassuring the markets that the credit crunch would be survived. The loans received from the banks would total over $ 350 billion and would be used to stabilize the economy.Link (submitted by Will)
UK unemployment down
UK unemployment fell by 35,000 to 2.65 million in the three months to February, the first fall in almost a year, official figures have shown.
The jobless rate was 8.3%, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), down from a 12-year high of 8.4% in the previous three-month period.
The unemployment total for 16-24 year olds was down 9,000 to 1.03 million, taking the unemployment rate for that age group to 22.2%.Link (submitted by Will)
How much profit will Northern Rock and Bradford & Bingley make for the taxpayer?
UK Financial Investments, which looks after the bailed-out banks on behalf of taxpayers, has produced the first real analysis on how much money might be made on Northern Rock and Bradford & Bingley. It reckons that the "wholly owned" businesses will bring in between £95bn and £97bn – at least £33bn more than was put in.
As always there is a snag. It could take another 15 years for those sums of money to flow back to the exchequer.Link (submitted by Will)
Charity tax row: We will stick with policy, says Danny Alexander
The government will stick to its controversial plan to cap tax relief on charitable donations, the chief secretary to the Treasury has said.
Danny Alexander told the BBC there were "very good reasons" for the cap - to ensure the very wealthy were paying a slice of their income to the exchequer.
Charities say the cap will hit big donations and have urged a rethink.Link (submitted by Will)
British Airways and BMI deal puts 1,200 jobs at risk
British Airways owner IAG has said its deal to buy the BMI airline from Lufthansa for £172.5m could result in the loss of up to 1,200 jobs.
The announcement came as BA began consultations with unions on plans to integrate BMI into its operations.
IAG, which also owns Spain's Iberia, will gain 56 more slots at Heathrow airport as part of the deal.Link (submitted by Will)
Taiwan VP urges corporate social responsibility
Taipei, Dec. 22 (CNA) Vice President Vincent Siew called for members of Taiwan's business sector Thursday to care for the less-privileged, protect the environment and respect humanity and personal integrity while seeking prosperity.
Addressing an event hosted by the Taiwan Business Council for Sustainable Development, Siew said the world, including Taiwan, has witnessed unprecedented votality triggered by the global financial storm, the European debt crisis and other adversities over the past year.Link (submitted by Anna)
Taiwan’s attempt to defuse a trade row with America backfires
THOUSANDS of pig farmers throwing dung in the streets of Taipei. Demonstrators marching on America’s informal embassy wearing Uncle Sam hats and leering cow masks. Opposition lawmakers chanting slogans and occupying the speaker’s podium in parliament, disrupting the opening session and delaying the prime minister’s inaugural speech. These are all episodes in a growing row over meat imports into Taiwan that is pitting America, the island’s most important ally, against the vast mass of public opinion—and forcing the government of the recently re-elected president, Ma Ying-jeou, to manoeuvre frantically between the two.Link (submitted by Anna)
Swiss open embassy in “rising” power Qatar
Switzerland is preparing to open an embassy in Qatar, a country it sees as an increasingly important player in the region.
Ambassador Martin Aeschbacher tells swissinfo.ch that the small Gulf kingdom “is on the rise” economically.
Link (submitted by Leo)
Swiss make four-year commitment to demining
The government is to spend SFr16 million ($17.5 million) annually until 2015 in the fight against landmines, cluster bombs and other explosive remnants of war.
The announcement from the foreign ministry on the strategy for humanitarian demining comes on the occasion of the International Day for Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action.
Meanwhile the Swiss-run International Committee of the Red Cross is calling for increased action to end the suffering caused by mines, cluster munitions and other explosives.Link (submitted by Leo)
Russian billionaire to invest $1 bn in development projects
MOSCOW: Open Investment (OPIN) development group, owned by billionaire presidential candidate Mikhail Prokhorov, will invest about $1 billion in several development projects in Russia in the next few years.
According to an OPIN statement, the group intends to build three multi-apartment residential compounds of elite, business and economy categories with a total floorspace of over 600,000 square metres.
It also has plans to build three cottage communities in an area of over 500 hectares and two large shopping malls with over 40,000 square metres.Link (submitted by Sun Jin)
Russia: Inflation at only 0.5 percent in January
The trend to a lower inflation continues in Russia. Inflation was only 0.5 percent in January 2012. In the same month last year, the average was at 2.4 percent. The federal statistics service Rosstat informed about that in a statement on Monday.
Food prices increased by 0.8 percent on average, while prices for non-food products rose by 0.4 percent. Services cost 0.2 percent more than in December.Link (submitted by Sun Jin)
Business Climate: Brazil Remains Laggard
RIO DE JANEIRO – Despite its success at attracting foreign direct investment, Brazil remains a laggard when it comes to overall business climate.Link (submitted by Kara)
The country’s economy last year grew by 7.5 percent, its best result in 24 years and a strong enough result to replace Italy as the seventh-largest economy in the world. Meanwhile, FDI reached a record $48.5 billion last year, an 86.8 percent increase from 2009.
Monday, April 16, 2012
Tuesday, April 3, 2012
$3-B investments in sewerage projects seen
The Philippines is set to get about $3 billion in investments in water sewerage projects alone and is keen on public-private partnership projects for new water sources besides Angat Dam.
This was disclosed by Ramon Alikpala, chair of the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System, during the Japan External Trade Organization workshop on private-public partnership (PPP) projects organized in cooperation with the PPP Center.
Metro Manila’s water services concessionaires Manila Water Co. Inc. and Maynilad Water Services Inc. will invest the $3 billion under their current concession programs, Alikpala said. Asked whether the government would still consider developing the Laiban dam project in Rizal, for which San Miguel Corp. had submitted an unsolicited proposal, Alikpala said it was still one of the options but the scale might be different.Link (submitted by Quirino)
BSP boosts microfinance lending
MANILA, Philippines - The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) has further eased its guidelines on microfinance lending to allow banks to disburse more funds in the countryside particularly for the agriculture and agrarian reform sectors.
The central bank issued Circular 748 covering the new rules on the Micro-Agri Loans and liberalizing the initial Micro-Agri Circular 680.
The new rules reiterate the possibility of using the microfinance technology and methodology to effectively deliver other types of financial services including credit for small farming activities.Link (submitted by Quirino)
Gov't urged to settle open-pit mining ban
MANILA, Philippines - The Chamber of Mines of the Philippines (COMP) is calling on the government to end the conflict between provincial ordinances banning open-pit mining which contradict national law and to grant the critical environmental permit for the Tampakan project so as not to discourage investments in the mining sector.
The COMP said in a statement yesterday that the ban on open pit mining in the province of South Cotabato was publicly acknowledged by the government to be contrary to the Philippine Mining Act of 1995.Link (submitted by Quirino)
Social media yet to conquer all
When it comes to using social media for marketing, it's a fair guess that technology companies are in there boots and all.
Yet a survey of 150 New Zealand high-tech outfits suggests they're not all great believers in the marketing power of social media.Link (submitted by Trent)
Over-65s crowd teens out of market
Employers opting for more experience as 40,000 youngsters get squeezed out
Old people have displaced more than 40,000 teenagers from jobs in the past five years as more choose to stay on in the workforce and employers shun youth for experience.Link (submitted by Trent)
HK kids’ lack of creativity blamed on parents
As I was waiting for my wife to finish her kindergarten class, I observed that her school campus is also surrounded by smaller tutorial schools. Each of them specializes in developing certain talents such as playing musical instruments, painting and drawing, or public speaking. Surely, exposing kids to these types of training will help them discover their talents.
But as kids toil for the sake of discovering their gifts, giving up quality time to frolic in the playground or watch their favorite cartoon characters on television, parents appear to lack appreciation for the accomplishments of their children. A study carried out by the Chinese YMCA of Hong Kong last September indicated that among the 830 children they interviewed, about a third said their parents ignored their creative work they proudly showed to them. This group of kids went on to say that their families were “full of blame and oppression”. That’s sad for a group of youngsters looking for affirmation from their parents.Link (submitted by Johannes)
Israel, Germany Sign Submarine Contract
Israel's Ministry of Defense says it has signed the contract for a sixth Dolphin-type military submarine from Germany.
Ehud Barak's office said the minister signed the contract Wednesday in Berlin at a ceremony held at the Israeli ambassador's home.
Germany's Parliament approved the purchase in November and agreed to pay some €135 million ($180 million) of the costs — about 1/3 of the submarine's price.Link (submitted by Japhet)
German job market stays buoyant
The outlook for jobs in Germany is buoyant, despite a struggling economy, new statistics revealed Thursday show. The number of Germans in work rose once again in February.
"The German economy is currently experiencing a period of weakness, but the labour market remains unfazed by this," the head of the Federal Labour Agency, Frank Weise, said.
Recent data showed that the German economy, the biggest in Europe, contracted by 0.2 percent in the fourth quarter of 2011 and the latest output and orders data suggest little improvement can be expected in the first quarter, Weise said.Link (submitted by Japhet)
Report finds 118,000 retail jobs to go
The latest research into the retail sector reveals that 118,000 jobs will be lost across the sector in the next three years.
ABC1's 7.30 has obtained the figures from a six-month inquiry led by accounting giant Ernst and Young for the National Retail Association.
The research shows many of the sales will be lost to online retailers and 33,000 of the job losses will come from the Federal Government's refusal to close a GST loophole for imported goods bought online.Link (submitted by Jason)
CSIRO wins legal battle over wi-fi patent
The Federal Government has described a multi-million-dollar legal settlement over CSIRO's wi-fi technology as a major boost for the organisation.
The settlement secures more than $220 million for CSIRO, which invented the technology in the 1990s.
Wi-fi technology is used in more than 3 billion electronic devices worldwide, including personal computers, video games and mobile phones.Link (submitted by Jason)
The case to slow down the mining boom
Innovative thinking is not only in short supply in Australia's businesses - as our weak productivity performance attests - it's also hard to find in the economic debate.
You could count on one hand the economists who do some lateral thinking and throw into the debate some new way of viewing a problem and overcoming the familiar difficulties.
But one economist who does come up with new ideas to think about is Dr Richard Denniss, director of the Australia Institute. He observes that while everyone's been debating whether the mining boom's a good thing or a bad thing, no one's focused on the obvious question: what rate of growth of the mining industry is consistent with the national interest?
Link (submitted by Jason)
60% of Irish inmates below literacy level
Almost two-thirds of prisoners are unable to write or do sums properly, a report revealed.
The Prison Service needs to take action to better deliver education and skills, inspectors said.
Chief inspector Michael Maguire urged the Executive to help make improvements.Link (submitted by Lauren)
Trade surplus narrows in December
The trade surplus narrowed by 23 per cent in December as exports fell and imports climbed by 8 per cent.
Figures from the Central Statistics Office showed exports declined to €7.5 billion, a 9 per cent fall compared with November, as a number of high value products came of patent.
Imports, meanwhile, rise 8 per cent to just over €4 billion, bringing the seasonally adjusted trade surplus to €3.484 billion for December.Link (submitted by Lauren)
PayPal to team up with Russian Post
Global electronic payment system PayPal plans to extend its services in Russia by teaming up with the county’s state-run postal operator to provide prepaid cards for the system’s electronic accounts.
PayPal views Russian Post as a “strategic partner” thanks to its extensive network of branches across the country and its ability to identify clients, PayPal Vice President Lauren Le Mole told the Kommersant daily in an article published Monday.Link (submitted by Sun Jin)
Russia raises $7 billion in eurobonds
Russia raised $7 billion in eurobond offering Wednesday that drew strong demand from investors due to increased market confidence and a strong oil price.Link (submitted by Sun Jin)
The placement, Russia’s first international offering in two years, was the largest emerging market sovereign offering since 2000.
The government placed $3 billion in 30-year bonds, $2 billion 10-year bonds and $2 billion in five-year bonds, fully covering its foreign borrowing plan for 2012.
Swiss seek to limit urban sprawl
After a decision earlier this month to limit the spread of holiday homes, Switzerland is looking to limit rampant construction in the countryside.
Parliament has agreed a change to the law aimed at reducing the land area that can be developed. It comes in response to a people’s initiative demanding a 20-year building freeze.Link (submitted by Leo)
Census finds population growing (Ireland)
The 2011 census results shows the number of Irish residents who were born outside the country has reached a new high of just over 750,000, a 25 per cent increase since 2006.
Whilst it was thought that many immigrants left Ireland in recent years, the number of non-Irish nationals increased by 124,604 between 2006 and 2011, with the Polish, Indian, Romanian and Brazilian populations doubling in size.
Overall, Ireland's population has continued to grow strongly with the population reaching 4.58 million, the highest in 150 years.Link (submitted by Lauren)
Sources Say McDonald's Russia Will Now Franchise
McDonald's is looking for Russian business partners for the first time in its 20-year presence in the country, as it hopes to expand into Siberia, RBK reported Tuesday.
The fast-food giant intends to open restaurants in Novosibirsk, Tomsk and Barnaul, using the franchise business model that is the basis for 80 percent of its restaurants worldwide but has not been used in Russia yet, according to RBK.
The move was taken in part due to the expansion of Burger King and Wendy's, who work with franchisees, two unidentified Moscow restaurateurs told RBK.Link (submitted by Sun Jin)
World Bank Finds Economic Comeback Weak
Russia's recovery from the 2008 crisis is weak relative to its international peers and slower than after the financial crash of 1998, the World Bank said Wednesday as it lowered its 2012 growth forecast.
There are 20 percentage points between projections on the eve of the 2008 crisis for Russia's gross domestic product in 2012 and today's reality — compared to 7 percentage points for high-income OSCE countries and 15 points for developing European Union economies, according to the World Bank's latest Russian Economic Report.
After the 1998 financial shock, the country's GDP took seven quarters to recover to its former levels, the World Bank said. After 2008's contraction, it took 14 quarters. And although growth was 4.3 percent last year, it has not come close to pre-2008 highs of above 7 percent.Link (submitted by Sun Jin)
Is it Time for Investors to Show Russia Some Love?
Politics dominate now, but long-term draws include middle-class and infrastructure growth
Russia's rising middle class is a great investing story. But does that mean U.S. investors can safely play a role in this plot anytime soon?
Reports of widespread corruption and political infighting have long been good reasons for U.S. investors to tread carefully when it comes to throwing money Russia's way. Volatility is also tied to a strong reliance on commodity revenues -- as gas and oil go, so goes Russia.Link (submitted by Sun Jin)
Child beggars “should be seen as victims”
Roma children who beg and steal in Switzerland are not offenders but rather victims of human trafficking who need better protection, says a report.
Putting these recommendations into practice, Bern has rid its streets of underage foreign beggars and now other Swiss cities are looking into following the capital’s example.Link (submitted by Leo)
Europe's hottest startup capitals: Stockholm
Four times a year, a hundred or so entrepreneurs and a handful of venture capitalists meet at a secret location in Stockholm to play poker. "It's a closed group and only by invitation," says Kristofer Arwin, the founder of PriceRunner and TestFreaks, who started the event out of his office four years ago. "We were 20 entrepreneurs. Now there are about 160 in the network." At the most recent event, Spotify's chief product officer Gustav Söderström rubbed shoulders with boo. com founder Enrst Malmsten and Lea Bajc, a hyperactive venture capitalist. "You become friends with these guys," says Arwin. "All these people have got to know each other and have started new businesses, and become investors in other businesses, pretty much because they got to know each other in these circumstances."Link (submitted by Richard)
Swedes' perceived rudeness 'isn't racially motivated'
UK native Suhail Din sparked a heated debate among The Local's readers with his reflections on why Swedes refused to talk to him and his family during a recent visit to Stockholm. Contributor Ruben Brunsveld examines why.
On August 15th, The Local published an opinion article called: ‘We never had a single conversation with a Swede’.
Two weeks later the article has received more than 300 comments and has been shared on Facebook almost 600 times. So now that the dust has settled it is time for a more nuanced look at why this contribution sparked so many emotional reactions.Link (submitted by Richard)
Signs indicate Beijing may be shifting on next HK leader
HONG KONG (AP) — Just days before Hong Kong’s elite chooses the southern Chinese financial hub’s next leader, there are signs that Beijing wants to dump its first choice for the winner as it tries to keep pace with public opinion.
On Sunday, a 1,193-person committee will vote on the semi-autonomous region’s next chief executive, while the rest of Hong Kong’s 7.1 million residents have no vote. The committee is made up of business leaders and other elites, most of whom are expected to vote according to Beijing’s wishes.Link (submitted by Johannes)
Irish Economy grew by 0.7% in 2011
The Irish economy returned to growth since 2007, but a slowdown in the final two quarters of the year meant the country was technically back in recession.
New data from the Central Statistics Office showed gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 0.7 per cent.
However, falling exports and reduced Government spending saw GDP decline 0.2 per cent from the third quarter.
Gross national product, which excludes multinational firms, fell by 2.5 per cent over the year, and 2.2 per cent compared with the previous quarter.Link (submitted by Lauren)
Taiwan Bonds Drop, Currency Strengthens on US Recovery Signs
Taiwan’s government bonds dropped
and the local dollar advanced as signs the U.S. economic
recovery is gaining momentum brightened the outlook for exports
and fueled demand for higher-yielding assets.
Global funds bought $378 million more of the island’sLink (submitted by Anna)
stocks than they sold yesterday, the highest net purchases in a
month, according to exchange data. Taiwan’s overseas sales
gained 10.3 percent in February from a year earlier after
slumping 16.8 percent the previous month, official data show.
The central bank, which left its benchmark interest rate at
1.875 percent in December, will next review monetary policy on
March 22. The Ministry of Finance will release its second-
quarter bond auction plan the next day.
Russian LDP leader urges greater cooperation with Taiwan
Moscow, March 21 (CNA) Vladimir Zhirinovsky, leader of the opposition Liberal Democratic Party of Russia (LDPR), called Wednesday for closer cooperation and exchanges between Taiwan and Russia.
During an interview in Moscow with CNA, Zhirinovsky said he looks forward to long-term bilateral collaboration on various fronts such as sports, politics, and economics, through the establishment of bilateral associations in a variety of fields.
Turning to U.S. influence in the region, Zhirinovsky also warned that although the U.S. might seem on the surface to support Taiwan, its real motive is to maximize its own economic interests.Link (submitted by Anna)
Slum Dwellers Are Defying Brazil’s Grand Design for Olympics
RIO DE JANEIRO — It was supposed to be a triumphant moment for Brazil.
Gearing up for the 2016 Olympic Games to be held here, officials celebrated plans for a futuristic “Olympic Park,” replete with a waterside park and athlete villages, promoting it as “a new piece of the city.”
There was just one problem: the 4,000 people who already live in that part of Rio de Janeiro, in a decades-old squatter settlement that the city wants to tear down. Refusing to go quietly and taking their fight to the courts and the streets, they have been a thorn in the side of the government for months.Link (submitted by Kara)
Brazil Bars Oil Workers From Leaving After Spill
RIO DE JANEIRO — A Brazilian court has ordered 17 employees from two American companies, the oil giant Chevron and the rig operator Transocean, to surrender their passports, barring them from leaving Brazil as authorities prepare to file criminal charges in days in connection with an offshore oil spill involving the companies.
The ruling by Judge Vlamir Costa Magalhães, issued late Friday night, adds to Chevron’s woes in Brazil, which began last November when oil was found to be leaking from an offshore field controlled by Chevron. Prosecutors have already filed a civil lawsuit seeking damages of 20 billion reais, or about $11.2 billion, from the company.Link (submitted by Kara)
Germany wants EU control of Greek budget
Greece has rejected a German proposal to appoint a European Union commissioner with the power to veto Greek budgets.
German officials suggested the commissioner, appointed by the other eurozone finance ministers, would ensure Greek government revenue was spent on paying off the country's huge debts.Link (submitted by Japhet)
Hotels must pay royalties, court rules
THE IRISH Hotels Federation has described as “outrageous” yesterday’s ruling from the European Court of Justice that hotels should pay royalties for the broadcast of recordings on TVs and radios in hotel bedrooms. It would result in extra costs being imposed where many premises are already struggling to survive, the federation said in a statement.
EU law provides for remuneration for those who produce recordings for commercial purposes, but allows for exemptions for “private use”. The court considered whether such broadcasts in hotel bedrooms were private or public use.Link (submitted by Lauren)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)