US dollar weak on growing risk appetite

Posted: 12 June 2009 0608 hrs

A euro coin and a US dollar bill.

NEW YORK: The US dollar weakened against other major currencies on Thursday as fresh data on American retail sales and jobless claims kept economic recovery hopes alive, pushing investors away from the safe-haven greenback.

The euro, viewed by the market as a riskier currency, rose to 1.4106 dollars in New York trading at around 2100 GMT from 1.3978 dollars on Wednesday.

The dollar also fell against the Japanese currency, to 97.60 yen from 98.12 yen.

Traders said appetite for risk increased amid growing signs the United States could recover late this year.

The US government said on Thursday that retail sales rose in May for the first time in three months and in line with market expectations while new claims for unemployment benefits fell last week for the fourth consecutive week.

The data came "on top of a number of recent economic releases that are reinforcing speculation that the worst of the global recession is over," said Andy Douglass of PNC Bank.

"Just as the safety of US Treasuries were sought and the US dollar was bought as the recession deepened, it is now being sold as investors are more willing to invest in 'riskier' assets," he said.

The biggest beneficiaries of the move out of US dollars on Thursday were the British, Canadian, Australian and New Zealand currencies, Douglass said.

Michael Woolfolk of the Bank of New York Mellon said dollar sentiment dampened on the back of mostly better than expected US economic data and a "successful" 30-year US Treasury auction on Thursday .

They "reduced risk aversion and bolstered carry trades away from the safe-haven greenback," he said.

Bond yields fell after the strong demand for the 30-year bonds but remain at relatively high levels that have pushed up home mortgage rates.

"Strong demand at the Treasury's auction of 30-year bonds Thursday is pushing yields lower, but a substantial further decline is needed to maintain the recent stabilization in home sales and further chances for economic recovery," said Ryan Sweet at Moody's Economy.com.

Boris Schlossberg, director of currency research at Global Forex Trading, cautioned against reading too much on the US retail sales data, saying the positive number was chalked up on the back of higher gasoline prices.

"In general, the takeaway from the retail sales number is that consumer demand appears to have stabilised but so far shows few signs of pick up," he said.

"Furthermore, the troubling rise in gasoline prices will no doubt affect disposable income going forward and could dampen demand in the months to come," he said. "Overall eco data was inconclusive."

The dollar also fell Thursday to 1.0701 Swiss francs from 1.0807 a day earlier.

The pound rose to 1.6588 dollars from 1.6360 dollars. - AFP/de

From ChannelNewsAsia.com; see the source article here.

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Yahoo! They are hiring again

by Esther Fung

Updated 08:47 AM Jun 10, 2009

Mr Ken Mandel, vice president and managing director of Yahoo! Southeast Asia. Photo Courtesy of Yahoo! Southeast Asia

UPBEAT about its prospects in South-east Asia including Singapore, American search engine firm Yahoo! is now hiring more staff here - a turnaround from the layoffs carried out last year.

"What we're doing now is hiring specific people for specific areas. Every company goes through a downsizing phase especially when the world economy is imploding," Mr Ken Mandel, vice-president and managing director of Yahoo South-east Asia, said on the sidelines of the ad:tech fair for digital marketers yesterday.

The firm is now looking to hire people in Singapore with competencies in performance marketing and business development.

Yahoo's website lists at least 23 available positions in the region, with over half of the openings in Singapore.

Media reports last year said that Yahoo's South-east Asia headquarters, based here, employs about 150 staff.

Mr Mandel declined to provide any employment figures and would only say that the company axed less than six per cent of its workforce in South-east Asia last year.

"We wanted to make sure our organisation was poised for growth because it was a matter of time before the economy sorted itself out, and we'd be back on the fast track of growth," Mr Mandel, who took on his current role in January last year, told Today.

Last year was about plugging gaps, but, the focus this year is to accelerate growth, he added.

In Singapore, Yahoo is targeting small and medium-sized enterprises (SME), especially "smaller players who just want to reach someone very specific," said Mr Mandel.

SME owners, after buying keywords related to their specific businesses, will have leads generated by the search engine.

Yahoo, which has 50 million unique users a month in South-east Asia out of a total of 100 million Internet users, sees potential growth in the online advertising space.

"Right now, we're looking at one or two per cent of total advertising spend in Singapore," said Mr Mandel. Through education, he hopes that online advertising spend would make up at least 10 per cent.

From TODAY, Business – Wednesday, 10-Jun-2009; see the source article here.

A new $600 million vaccine plant opens

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FOREIGN INVESTMENT

GlaxoSmithKline, EDB also pump $50m into fund for students

Updated 11:03 AM Jun 10, 2009

SINGAPORE’S hopes of exploiting the emerging health and wellness markets in Asia have just received a $30-million shot in the arm.

That is the amount that pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) will be contributing to an endowment fund to sponsor Singaporean students who want to study green chemistry or public health policy.

The endowment fund is part of a new 10-year roadmap that GSK has agreed with the Economic Development Board (EDB). Under it, GSK will build a stronger research and development presence in Singapore, and develop new capabilities in green manufacturing.

For its part, the EDB will add $20 million to the fund, making it a $50 million-programme, said Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong yesterday.

“With this roadmap, we can better support GSK to develop and exploit the emerging health and wellness markets in Asia,” Mr Lee said in a speech to mark the opening of GSK’s new $600-million vaccine plant in Singapore, its largest in Asia.

Mr Lee described the opening of the state-of-the-art facility as “the result of many years of hard work to lay the foundation for biologics manufacturing” here.

He noted that Singapore - which had a well-established track record in “traditional” chemical molecule drug manufacturing - decided to break into biologics manufacturing in 2000 because biologics drugs were increasingly driving global pharmaceutical market growth.

“... Besides this plant by GSK, five other biologics manufacturing plants have been announced and four are under construction,” Mr Lee said.

“Together, they will employ over 1,000 highly-skilled workers and make Singapore the key biologics manufacturing location in Asia for global pharmaceutical and biotech companies.”

Still, despite the promising outlook for the industry, Mr Lee cautioned that the road ahead will be difficult.

“First, we have to see through the global economic storm. Beyond that, we face a new world, with new market dynamics and tougher competition.”

Mr Lee said Singapore needs to find more niche areas for itself in order to prosper in the new world.

“Ours is a small island with no natural resources,” he added.

“We must therefore invest in knowledge and R&D, recruit and groom talent, and focus our efforts to excel in niche areas.

“Then, we can transcend the limitations of physical size and punch above our weight class among the global competition.”

GSK’s new vaccine plant - which also marks the company’s 50 years of operation here - sits on an 85,000-square metre site at the Tuas industrial area. It houses production buildings, quality control labs, a utility plant, a warehouse and other support buildings.

The plant aims to produce GSK’s pneumococcal conjugate vaccine from 2011. The vaccine protects infants and children under age of two from the bacterium streptococcus pneumoniae, which causes diseases like pneumonia, meningitis, bronchitis, acute sinusitis and inflammation of the inner layer of the heart or endocarditis. Such diseases kill nearly a million children worldwide each year, 90 per cent of them in developing countries.

GSK’s chief executive Andrew Witty, who was also present at the opening ceremony, said the global economic downturn has not significantly affected his company’s operations. “Vaccines are a particularly important, potential product line for the emerging markets and for Asia,” Mr Witty said. “With very strong growth in population, there is a tremendous need for high-quality vaccines, so that’s an area where I think we will see a lot of growth.” He said GSK will seek to grow organically in the region and add to its portfolio of drugs so that the company can address different income groups.

To date, GSK has invested $1.5 billion in Singapore, employing more than 1,000 people. CHANNEL NEWSASIA, AGENCIES

From TODAY, News – Wednesday, 10-Jun-2009

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CEO 101

What is the impact of the economic situation on your pro-family HR policies?

Miss Wee Hee Ling, Managing Director, CTC Holidays

“Accredited as a pro-family business, CTC Holidays has established various family-focused HR policies. However, the current economic climate and lower sales revenue have forced CTC Holidays to implement a range of cost-cutting measures. We are sending staff for Spur and TMIS training programmes during this period, as we hope to ensure continuous learning and retraining of staff. With our collective efforts, we strive to avoid retrenchments during this current economic depression. CTC Holidays is committed to making sure that every staff member is comfortable in accepting the new policies, and that they are not facing any financial issues with their families.”

From TODAY, Succeed – Monday, 08-Jun-2009

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‘China won’t be a superpower... yet’

by Esther Ng

05:55 AM Jun 09, 2009

Professor Wang Gungwu

HIS first love was literature, but if his professor had not returned to England, Wang Gungwu would not have become a historian, much less a distinguished one.

On Friday, Prof Wang, now 78 and the chairman of the East Asian Institute at the National University of Singapore, will receive an honorary doctorate of letters from Cambridge University for his contribution to Chinese history and culture.

As a historian, Prof Wang has seen it all - from the Second World War, the Cold War, 911, right up to the present. But never in his 78 years did he predict the 1949 takeover by the Communists in China, the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, nor China's present mercurial rise to the world stage.

"As historians, we learn from history - not predict it," he said.

Still, he dismissed the notion that China will replace the United States as a superpower in the foreseeable future, even as the financial crisis brings America to its knees while China's influence continues to grow through its trade ties, especially in places such as Africa.

"China has too many problems - the environment, social equity, justice - to deal with."

On criticism from human rights groups that China was fuelling the war in Darfur with its arms sales, Prof Wang said: "China's policy is not to interfere in another country's sovereignty. Yes, they do sell arms, but they sell to everybody. But so do the French, the Americans and everybody else."

Come Friday, Prof Wang will join Microsoft founder Bill Gates and Nobel Laureate Professor Amartya Sen in receiving their honorary doctorates.

From TODAY, World – Tuesday, 09-Jun-2009

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Is this what recovery looks like?

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Bullish DBS says Asia is rebounding in a 'V-shape'

by Esther Fung, updated 10:34 AM Jun 09, 2009

SOUNDING a bullish note that some of its peers did not completely agree with, DBS Group Research yesterday issued a report suggesting Asia is on its way to an economic recovery because the region's production is rebounding in a V-shaped fashion.

"Asia is perched on a recovery path at the moment," said DBS chief economist David Carbon. "Industrial production (in Asia) is 70- to 85-per-cent back to pre-crisis levels and exports have recovered about a third of their lost territory."

A key development is strong month-on-month industrial production data for April in Taiwan, Singapore, Korea and Thailand, he said.

"We believe that the drop in both industrial production and exports was due more to "one-off" and other temporary factors than to fundamental imbalances in Asia, and that the upturn is mainly a result of those factors fading from the picture," Mr Carbon said.

"As such, we do not expect a W-shaped path (another down leg) in the near term."

He said some of the temporary factors include the exports fall after the Olympics, the weakness in commodity prices and the shock from the financial meltdown in the fourth quarter of last year.

"Exports have come back, but in the past month or two, the rebound in production has been even sharper," he said. "Normally, producers wait before they produce until they are sure the demand is for real, and they draw down their inventories. In this case, production has come back very strongly.

"My sense is that it's probably meant to remain that way, to have a nice big surge there. They never walk hand-in-hand anyway."

While other analysts agree that the worst is over, they differ on whether the recovery is V-shaped.

The recent pick-up in production could be due to restocking depleted inventories instead of the result of actual demand, said Standard Chartered economist Alvin Liew, adding that the plunge in production in late 2008 and early 2009 was so sharp that slightly better data would make the profile a V-shape.

"Can the trajectory persist in that manner? I doubt it," said Mr Liew.

Mr David Cohen of Action Economics, too, said the sustainability of the recent pick-up was not conclusive yet.

A lot still depends on how robust the recovery in Europe and the United States. Analysts noted that the US unemployment rate rose to 9.4 per cent in May from 8.9 per cent in April, suggesting that even if the US economy recovers later this year, any growth could remain weak.

"There is some indication that demand has stabilised, but I'd be careful to say that we're on a V-shaped recovery as there is no compelling reason to say that demand from the advanced economies has picked up," said Forecast Singapore economist Vishnu Varathan.

"A lot depends on whether the US consumer will continue spending."

From TODAY, Business – Tuesday, 09-Jun-2009

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Pagoda collapse: A bad omen for junta?

Updated 10:20 AM Jun 09, 2009

BANGKOK - A 2,300-year-old gold-domed pagoda collapsed just three weeks after the wife of the Myanmar junta's top general had helped reconsecrate it with a diamond orb and a sacred golden umbrella.

There is no country in Asia more superstitious than Myanmar, and the collapse is widely seen as portentous. It comes as the junta has put on trial pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi. The superstitious generals may be consulting astrologers as they decide how to proceed, which is not unusual.

Currency denominations, traffic rules have been changed, the nation's capital has been moved and the timing of events has been selected with astrological dictates in mind. "Astrology has as significant a role in policies, leadership and decision-making as rational calculations, geopolitics and resource economics," said Zarni, a Burmese exile analyst and researcher.

The Danok pagoda was blessed last month in the presence of the wife of the country's supreme leader, Senior General Than Shwe. The government-controlled press was silent when the temple crashed last Saturday. But the news spread fast.

Many saw it as the latest of a series of bad omens for the junta that included a devastating cyclone last year. Its sacred umbrella tumbled to the ground and its diamond orb was lost in the rubble, according to reports.

"The fact that the umbrella did not stay was a sign that more bad things are to come, according to astrologers," said Ms Ingrid Jordt, a Myanmar specialist and anthropology professor at the University of Wisconsin. "In a sense, the pagoda repudiated Than Shwe's right to remain ruler." THE NEW YORK TIMES

From TODAY, World – Tuesday, 09-Jun-2009

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Is education the key?

Malaysia, Thailand take new tack in ending insurgency

Updated 10:21 AM Jun 09, 2009

Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razzak (L) shakes hands with his Thai counterpart, Abhisit Vejjajiva (R), during their meeting in Malaysia's administrative capital of Putrajaya. AFP

PUTRAJAYA - Malaysia pledged yesterday to help young Muslims in neighbouring Thailand to secure a better education and employment to ease violence sparked by an Islamic separatist movement.

Leaders of both countries discussed measures to bring economic progress to southern Thailand, including Malaysia's role of providing scholarships for Thai Muslim students and helping revamp the syllabus of Islamic schools in the Thai provinces that border northern Malaysia.

Thailand's Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva was on his first official visit to Malaysia, where he met his Malaysian counterpart, Mr Najib Razak. Both leaders planned to visit a religious school in Thailand's Muslim-dominated south in order to talk to the people. The visit is still unscheduled.

Mr Abhisit said his government was shifting emphasis in the troubled southern region to economic development. His comments came shortly after Islamic insurgents shot dead a villager and then detonated a car bomb as a crowd gathered, killing one person and wounding 19 others.

In spite of the killings, Mr Najib said both leaders remained optimistic of the situation in the south. "We remain optimistic that things will get a lot better if we continue to emphasise on economic development and giving them a better future. As a result of this new policy towards the south, things have improved," said Mr Najib.

An Islamic insurgency launched in 2004 has killed more than 3,400 in Thailand's southern provinces. The area was the former Islamic sultanate of Pattani, conquered by Thailand over 200 years ago. AGENCIES

From TODAY, World – Tuesday, 09-Jun-2009

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Cautious optimism

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Just 7% of firms may cut headcount, from 50% in Q2

by Lin Yan Qin 05:55 AM Jun 09, 2009

THE news appears hopeful: Fewer Singapore employers are expecting to cut headcount in the next few months, and more are thinking of raising it.

But jobseekers should not celebrate yet - companies will remain wary of taking on new employees until there are concrete signs of a true economic recovery, say analysts.

Employers are "cautiously optimistic" about hiring in the third quarter, according to the latest quarterly survey by human resources consultancy Manpower Singapore.

The proportion expecting to lower headcount dropped sharply to 7 per cent from 50 per cent in the previous quarter; while those expecting to increase headcount climbed slightly to 12 per cent from 7 per cent.

The majority of the 697 employers surveyed indicated no change in headcount. Overall, the net employment outlook climbed to 5 per cent - from an abysmal minus-43 per cent in the second quarter.

Said Manpower Singapore country manager Philippe Capsie: "With the recent signs of stability in the global market, employers in industries such as transportation and utilities are expressing much more confidence compared to the previous quarter."

This sector, along with wholesale trade and retail trade, were the most positive about hiring, expecting a 7 per cent increase in headcount.

But chemicals firm Clariant (Singapore) country president Walter Mohr said the market optimism so far has yet to show up on order books. "I would be reluctant to say (our hiring outlook) is improving as we don't see demand picking up," he said.

Still, he felt the "most difficult period" had passed and the economy has stabilised. "Perhaps we will see a pick-up at the end of the year, though probably not in the next three months."

DBS economist Irvin Seah agreed that there has been improvement in the "fundamentals of the economy" which accounted for employers' optimism, but cautioned that there were still flaws waiting to be addressed.

"Until that happens, employers will be in no hurry to increase headcount," he said. "And when they do, it will happen very gradually ... it takes time to create new jobs."

Forecast Singapore economist Vishnu Varathan also pointed out that the current increase in demand was due more to companies restocking their inventory rather than real demand in consumption. "(The job market) will depend on whether the momentum continues, and we will see this when companies have stocked up and what level real demand is actually at," he said.

In the meantime, Mr Capsie warned that "despite improving employer confidence, employees and job seekers should still remain prepared for the second wave of retrenchment as the economy could continue to contract in the months ahead".

From TODAY, News – Tuesday, 09-Jun-2009

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Call to ride the dragon

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Singapore companies should seek out opportunities for business in China: PM

by Glenda Chong, glendac@mediacorp.com.sg

Updated 09:55 AM Jun 08, 2009

-----------------------

Travelling on the Hangzhou Bay Bridge from Ningbo to Shanghai yesterday, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong had a first-hand look at how China is pushing ahead with concerted efforts to stimulate growth in its second-tier cities.

And he wrapped up his four-day visit to China with a call to Singapore companies to tap into China's growth and to seek out business opportunities in its outlying provinces.

At 36km, the Hangzhou Bay Bridge, which opened last May, is the world's longest trans-oceanic bridge. Besides cutting the travelling distance between the business hub of Shanghai and the port city of Ningbo in Zhejiang by 120km, it is also seen as a reflection of China's commitment to infrastructure development to grow its economy.

Prime Minister Lee said that with a strong Singapore brand, Singaporean companies can tap into China's growth with more confidence.

Speaking to the Singapore media, Mr Lee said: "I think the private sector is playing a much wider role now. There are many projects which the private sector have taken up, taken the ball and (run with it) ... I think the scope has broadened - we are in more places and our business people are more confident."

At the same time, Mr Lee highlighted that the Singapore Government is cultivating relationships with several of the provinces where there is greater potential.

He said: "If you have a good relationship with the officials, it helps a great deal to open doors and open up opportunities for our business people."

While in Shanghai, Mr Lee met with Party Secretary Yu Zhengsheng, where they exchanged views on how both sides can set a new direction for long-term economic sustainability.

Mr Yu also invited Mr Lee to visit Shanghai next year during the World Expo.

Before leaving for home, Mr Lee officiated a ceremony to mark the commencement of work on the Singapore Pavilion for World Expo 2010 - which will mark the island's largest undertaking at a world exposition.

China is Singapore's third-largest trading partner and top investment destination. Both countries signed the Singapore-China Free Trade Agreement last year, laying the foundation for further growth in bilateral trade and investments. Channel NewsAsia

From TODAY, News – Monday, 08-Jun-2009

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Oil price closes above US$70

Posted: 10 June 2009 0535 hrs

A worker turns a wheel-tap at the Tawke oil field in Iraq

NEW YORK: New York oil prices closed on Tuesday above 70 dollars per barrel for the first time since November amid hopes of an economic recovery and US dollar weakness.

New York's main futures contract, light sweet crude for delivery in July, ended at 70.01 dollars, up 1.92 dollars from Monday and the highest closing price since November 4.

London Brent North Sea crude for July delivery gained 1.74 dollars to 69.62 dollars.

Analysts said renewed weakness in the dollar amid concerns over staggering US debt and higher US Treasury bond yields - which could spark higher interest rates - pushed oil prices higher.

It was "clearly the acceleration and the decline of the value of the dollar, a renewed and remarkable phenomenon," said John Kilduff of MF Global, citing the reason for the higher oil prices despite falling demand.

A weak US currency makes dollar-priced crude cheaper for buyers holding stronger currencies. In turn, that tends to stimulate demand and push the market higher.

The US Energy Information Administration (EIA), the Energy Department's analytical and statistics wing, on Tuesday said global oil demand was expected to fall two percent to 83.7 million barrels a day.

"Instead of blaming speculators or saying that there is no fundamental reason for oil to be where it is, many are finally starting to understand what has been diving oil," said Phil Flynn of Alaron Trading.

"Oil has been driven by the credit crisis. Oil has been driven by the dollar. Oil has been driven by the stimulative and inflationary effects of quantitative easing and record budget and trade deficits," he said.

The United States is using unconventional measures such as mopping up bonds from the market to prevent interest rates from rising, after bringing down federal fund rates to virtually zero percent to stimulate economic recovery.

Data indicating that the worst may be over for the recession-battered US economy, the biggest in the world, are stoking hopes of a rebound for energy demand.

"The bounce in commodity prices is likely to be sustained while... expectations of recovery continue to build," London-based consultancy Capital Economics said in a note.

It cautioned however that "disappointment at the strength of the economic expansion should take the heat out of the latest rally."

"It is a simple story: weak dollar, strong market, plus flow of funds from commodities investors," added Deutsche Bank analyst Adam Sieminski.

After plunging from record highs above 147 dollars last July on supply concerns, oil prices touched multi-year lows in December, at one point nearing 32 dollars a barrel, as the economic slowdown crushed demand for energy. - AFP/de

From ChannelNewsAsia.com; see the source article here.

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Carbon offsets: A small price to pay

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ROBERT H FRANK

05:55 AM Jun 05, 2009

They are intended to reduce the environmental impact of consumption. Travelling by plane, for example, causes carbon dioxide to be emitted into the atmosphere, so travellers can pay a specialist to offset those emissions some other way - perhaps by planting vegetation or installing renewable-energy technologies. It all sounds reasonable.

Yet carbon offsets have drawn sharp criticism, even ridicule. A British website called Cheat Neutral (www.cheatneutral.com) parodies the concept - by offering a service under which someone who wants to cheat on his partner can pay someone else who will refrain from committing an act of infidelity. The site's founders say they wanted to use humour to demonstrate why the market for carbon offsets is a moral travesty.

But the criticism is misguided. If our goal is to reduce carbon emissions as efficiently as possible, offsets make perfect economic sense.

Consider someone who wonders whether it's okay to eat foods grown far from home. A New Yorker may worry, for example, that the diesel fuel burned to ship California-grown tomatoes to him in winter will accelerate global warming.

But suppose he would be happy to pay US$10 ($14.40) more than the cost of shipping those tomatoes rather than eat locally-grown root vegetables nine months a year. That would buy more than enough carbon offsets to neutralise the greenhouse gases emitted by shipping the tomatoes. So it would be much better, for him and the planet, if he bought offsets and ate winter tomatoes.

Of course, carbon offsets alone won't eliminate global warming. People also need stronger incentives to take into account the environmental consequences of their actions.

President Barack Obama has proposed attacking the problem with a carbon cap-and-trade system. The government would first set a limit on annual carbon emissions, then auction emission permits to the highest bidders. Companies could still use processes or sell products that emit carbon, but only by first buying a permit for each unit of carbon released. If the government wanted to limit carbon emissions to 5 billion tonnes a year, for example, it would auction that many tonnes of annual carbon permits.

This approach was first used in the United States to address acid rain, when the Clean Air Act established a market for permits to emit sulfur dioxide. Compared with more traditional regulatory measures, the auction method substantially reduced the cost of achieving the law's air-quality target.

As people learn more about such an approach, they seem less likely to oppose it.

Although several environmental groups once bitterly opposed pollution permit auctions, they now endorse them enthusiastically.

A carbon cap-and-trade system is functionally similar to a carbon tax. Both approaches would raise the cost of activities that generate carbon dioxide emissions, giving people a powerful incentive to reduce their carbon footprints.

Carbon offsets are no substitute for the stronger incentives inherent in carbon taxes or cap-and-trade, but they can reinforce their effects. Both carbon taxes and permit auctions would also generate revenue that could be used to buy additional carbon offsets.

Dozens of companies, non-profit and for-profit, sell carbon offsets, and some critics question how their work can be verified. But with various certification programmes now in place - including the Gold Standard and Green-e Climate, to name two - there is no reason that fraud should be harder to curb in carbon-offset markets than in other domains.

At last count, Cheat Neutral, the British infidelity neutralisation website, said it had offset 65,768 cheats, and had recruited a roster of "9,002 faithful people ready to neutralize your misdemeanours." The website draws out the parallel this way: "When you cheat on your partner you add to the heartbreak, pain, and jealousy in the atmosphere". Cheat Neutral claims that its plan "neutralises the pain and unhappy emotion and leaves you with a clear conscience".

Actually, no.

Only you will know whether your conscience is clear, but it is certain that higher rates of marital fidelity in London do nothing to eliminate the anguish caused by straying spouses in Manchester. In contrast, one person's reduction in carbon dioxide emissions anywhere on the planet fully offsets anyone else's contribution to the total.

Carbon offsets, though much maligned, are an excellent idea. If you want to help reduce carbon emissions, consider buying some.

The New York Times

From TODAY, World – Friday, 05-Jun-2009; see the source article here.

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Aristotle on education

Image via Wikipedia

06/07/2009 | 08:35 PM

"It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it." - Aristotle

From GMANews.tv

Chinese regulators may block purchase of Hummer

Much hope, almost, for GM… to the drain?

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Posted: 06 June 2009 0016 hrs

A Hummer vehicle

SHANGHAI: A little-known Chinese machinery maker's plan to buy the Hummer brand from General Motors could face objections from Chinese regulators, media reports said Friday.

Struggling US auto giant General Motors announced this week it had reached a tentative deal to sell the brand to privately-held Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machinery Co, a day after filing for bankruptcy.

"Government agencies are unlikely to agree," the official Shanghai Securities News reported, citing an unnamed source.

"This overseas acquisition is not in line with the state's auto industry policy. In principle, domestic auto companies are not encouraged to make outbound acquisitions at the moment," the source told the newspaper.

The deal, expected to be closed by the end of the third quarter, will need nods from several government agencies, including the Ministry of Commerce and the National Development and Reform Commission, a powerful economic planner.

There are also concerns over whether Tengzhong is capable of funding the deal to help revive sales of the gas-guzzling sports utility vehicle, against Beijing's policy to encourage fuel-efficient vehicles.

The Chinese company and General Motors did not disclose any financial details of the deal but analysts expect Tengzhong could pay up to 500 million dollars for the Hummer brand.

Tengzhong, based in Chengdu city in southwestern Sichuan province, manufactures heavy machinery equipment for use in road and bridge construction, and in the energy industry.

Officials at Tengzhong declined to disclose the company's financial performance when contacted by AFP.

Reports in Shanghai Securities News and other domestic media said the company was indirectly controlled by 46-year-old mining tycoon Li Yan, who is also the chairman of mining company Lumena Resources Corp.

Lumena, preparing to list shares on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, plans to raise up to 1.48 billion Hong Kong dollars (190 million US dollars) from the initial public offering, the reports said.

- AFP /ls

From ChannelNewsAsia.com; see the source article here.

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UN to study security threat of climate change

A move to save the Earth – and its inhabitants. Have any thought on how to do this?

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06/04/2009 | 09:24 AM

UNITED NATIONS — With glaciers melting and oceans rising, the UN General Assembly on Wednesday expressed deep concern at the adverse impact of climate change and urged U.N. bodies to consider the possible security implications for all countries.

The nonbinding resolution, adopted by consensus, was the first ever sponsored by the 12-nation group of Pacific Small Island Developing States whose homelands are threatened by rising sea levels, and the first to raise the possible security threat from global warming.

It calls for a report by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon next year "on the possible security implications of climate change," based on the views of the 192 UN member states and regional and international organizations.

For the Pacific island nations, the implications are clear.

"The Pacific Ocean in which we have lived for centuries will eventually leave little of our homelands behind if urgent action is not taken," Ambassador Marlene Moses of Nauru, the world's smallest island nation covering only 21 square kilometers, warned the assembly.

Speaking on behalf of the group, she said, small islands are already grappling with the inundation of coastal areas where the majority of their population live, the submergence of islands, the loss of fresh water supplies, salt water intrusion, flooding, drought and damaged crops.

"In many cases, these impacts will ultimately render Pacific island nations uninhabitable, destroying our unique and ancient cultures," Moses said.

"As the rest of the world continues to debate the security implications of climate change, for our peoples the problem is astoundingly real," she said. "Communities on drowning islands throughout the Pacific are faced with a looming homelessness crisis due to rising sea levels. For some, the only viable option is to migrate. While many have already relocated, more are expected to follow as more of our islands eventually submerge."

Moses told the assembly before the resolution was adopted that the adverse effects of climate change could lead to the disappearance of many UN member states for the first time in the organization's history.

"The adoption of the resolution will not only prove that we are seriously concerned about the global environment but more importantly that we are seriously concerned about the survival of whole populations and the existence of their lands, from which they derive their sense of belonging and identity," she said.

Palau's deputy UN ambassador Joan Yang stressed that for the Pacific islands and other countries, climate change is a security threat.

"When we are told by scientists to prepare for humanitarian crises, including exodus, in our lifetimes, how can it be different from preparing for a threat like war?," she asked. "When we face the potential for economic and political disruption on a scale not seen since World War II, we must move to action."

The Pacific island states "are among those nations least responsible" for the harmful greenhouse gases, blamed for global warming, "yet will be among the first to disappear," Yang said.

She urged the UN Security Council to address the security threat posed by climate change and chart the way forward.

Ambassador Phillip Muller of the Marshall Islands said there is "a very small window for urgent international action, perhaps as little as 10 years, to best avoid irreversible and abrupt climate impacts."

"The people of the Marshall Islands pray that we shall not reach this point of no return," he said. - AP

From GMANews.tv; see the source article here.

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Patriotism comes from within

Now this is hitting the point right at home! Anyway, let me say it here, this is my opinion: Always referring to 'talent' means that our subconscious predilection is inclined towards the 'utilitarian' ethics – the teaching that we only 'accommodate' what is useful, or can be useful, to our existence. It shows all over our life – the way we live, our interaction with the people, the culture. And rightly so! Answer this question: Who brought up Singapore? History from long time ago will tell. Early settlers and the prevailing culture simply rubbed off to the then 'locals of the land'. Then it is passed down from one generation to the next. A spitting image indeed!

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Letter from Jasmine Hong

05:55 AM Jun 04, 2009

I REFER to "The perils of dual citizenship" (June 3).

While I do agree with Mr M Lukshumayeh on being stringent with the dual citizenship law, I reckon Member of Parliament Cedric Foo's suggestion on this matter is not about luring top foreign talent to Singapore, but also about bringing local talent home.

As a matter of course, may I ask why do we keep emphasising on "talent"? We should lure anyone who feels (or still feels) "Singaporean" and wants to contribute to society here.

I would not say dual citizenship gives people the luxury of choice as Mr Lukshumayeh put it. Rather, dual citizenship gives people more choices and the freedom to choose.

Patriotism, commitment and responsibility to one's motherland goes beyond rules and regulations - these have to come from within one's self. These feelings can be nurtured but never dictated into being.

From TODAYOnline.com; see the source article here.

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