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Greece Should ‘Go Bankrupt', Leave Euro, Says Sulik
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Tuesday, 20 Sep 2011, 9:52am (3 hours 51 min ago)
Windows 8 Faster Than Windows 7 at Almost Everything
It looks like Windows 8 is going to play very well with upcoming Ultrabooks.
Our favorite tips and tricks website, Lifehacker, conducted a non-benchmark test of the highly anticipated Microsoft operating system and came up with some pretty fascinating figures.
Their test machine runs an Intel Core i7 (3.8GHz), 6GB RAM, 2TB HDD and an Nvidia Geforce 9800 GT.
The most interesting figure in the test was how Windows 8 dramatically improves boot-up times.
Windows 7 takes around 35 seconds from get from Windows screen to desktop, while Windows 8 takes less than half the amount of time, at 10 seconds -- from a regular hard disk no less.
Meanwhile at HardwareZone, we're also testing out a developer's preview on a laptop, and we'll make sure that you readers will be able to read our thoughts on it as soon as possible, so keep a lookout for it.
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BANDAR RAYA DEVELOPMENTS BERHAD
(BDRB, stock code: 1473)
Bandar Raya eyes RM4b new projects
Bandar Raya Developments Bhd (BRDB), which is upbeat on the property market, plans to introduce five new projects worth more than RM4 billion in the Klang Valley and Johor.
BRDB is looking to increase its work in hand and will venture for the first time into areas such as Seri Kembangan and Taman Dutas.
The company has been developing land in Bangsar for 45 years. It currently has a project in Johor called Permas Jaya, and one in Kuala Lumpur known as CapSquare.
Did you know?
BDRB is one of the country's first public listed property development companies renowned for creating Malaysia's most sought after development projects in Kuala Lumpur and Permas Jaya, Johor. BDRB is perhaps best known for its property development projects in Bangsar and the iconic Foster & Partners-designed The Troika.
Rationale
BDRB is highlighted this week based on the following points: -
Rising revenue trend since September 2003
Rising EPS trend since September 2005
Sold its CapSquare Tower to Germany's Union Investment Real Estate GmbH
(UIRE) in July 2011 for RM440 million.
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By using Fibonacci Retracement and Moving Average 500-days.
We can see that our FBM KLCI at support level of 1410 [50%].
Next support will be at 1366, 1312 or 1224.
For FBMS CAP already breach Moving Average 500-days with next support of retracement at 10877 [23.6%] or 10048
pharoah88 ( Date: 20-Sep-2011 13:29) Posted:
Here some technical outlook by me  with our FBM KLCI. By using Fibonacci Retracement and Moving Average 500-days.
We can see that our FBM KLCI at support level of 1410. Next support will be at 1366, 1312 or 1224.
For FBM KLCI already breach Moving Average 500-days with next support of retracement at 10877 or 10048. Maybe is a good time to revised your portfolio and fill up some good stock that already discount! 
Warmest Regards,
Nazirul Naim Rushdan
Investment Share Executive
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Here some technical outlook by me with our FBM KLCI. By using Fibonacci Retracement and Moving Average 500-days.
We can see that our FBM KLCI at support level of 1410. Next support will be at 1366, 1312 or 1224.
For FBM KLCI already breach Moving Average 500-days with next support of retracement at 10877 or 10048. Maybe is a good time to revised your portfolio and fill up some good stock that already discount!
Warmest Regards,
Nazirul Naim Rushdan
Investment Share Executive
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Part 1 is SHENG
Part 2 is SIONG
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ENLIGHTENMENT
jackphang ( Date: 17-Aug-2011 13:16) Posted:
Mah Sing is one of the stocks in my portfolio that remains for almost 6 years. I invested it since the market value was around MY200M to MYR500M, and now it is about MYR2.0Bn. The reasons why I invest it in long term is because of the few reasons that I state down below:- Ambitious Top Management - Tan Sri Dato Sri Leong leads the management team since he was in 20s. And now with the age of 50s, he is still able to lead the team for the next 10-20 years with his daughter now be his personal assistant and his nephew a project manager in his company.
- Highly Owned by a family - Tan Sri Dato Sri Leong owns about 3x% in Mah Sing Bhd. Hence, he is very cautious on the investment made to his company. As he is a very loyal man (He still owns the plastic division that doesn't give him much profit), I believe he treats his employees nice too.
http://www.jackphanginvestment.com
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UBS losses hidden by ‘fictitious’ trades
ZURICH
Mr Oswald Grubel, a veteran banker who was lured out of retirement to rescue UBS two years ago, told the Swiss weekly,
Explaining the events that led to Adoboli being charged with fraud and false accounting on Friday, less than 48 hours after being arrested by the police, UBS said the losses had been incurred in the past three months through “unauthorised speculative trading” in futures on stock indices — the S& P 500 in New York, Germany’s DAX and the Euro Stoxx.
“The positions taken were within the normal business flow of a large global equity trading house as part of a properly hedged portfolio.
However, the true magnitude of the risk exposure was distorted because the positions had been offset in our systems with fictitious, forward-settling, cash exchange-traded-fund positions, allegedly executed by the trader.
“These fictitious trades concealed the fact that the index futures trades violated UBS’ risk limits,” the bank said.
— The chief executive of UBS is under fresh pressure after the Swiss bank on Sunday increased the amount of losses from the alleged rogue trading by Kweku Adoboli to US$2.3 billion (S$2.9 billion) from US$2 billion, and claimed his activities had been hidden by “fictitious” trades.Der Sonntag, that he had no intention of resigning despite calls to take responsibility for the alleged rogue trading.AGENCIES
pharoah88 ( Date: 20-Sep-2011 09:45) Posted:
whAt wIll ThE PrEsIdEnt and gIc dO nOw
tO mItIgAtE furthEr lOssEs at UBS ? ? ? ?
and prEvEnt OthEr lOssEs at gIc ? ? ? ? |
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Merkel loses Berlin vote over euro bailouts
BERLIN
The Social Democrats, the main opposition party nationally, extended their 10-year rule in the German capital after taking 28.3 per cent of the vote.
Mrs Merkel’s Christian Democrats took second place in Sunday’s election with 23.4 per cent, preliminary results showed.
The liberal Free Democrats, Mrs Merkel’s coalition partner, crashed out of a regional assembly for the fifth time this year, while the Pirate Party — which campaigned on open access to technology and Internet freedom — won its first seats.
The results in Berlin cap a year in which voters punished Mrs Merkel’s coalition over its handling of the debt crisis and add to her pressure as she struggles to balance domestic fatigue over shouldering euro region rescues with international calls that she do more to stem the contagion.
That is widening fissures in her government as the ruling coalition descends into open conflict over the euro’s future and financial aid for Greece.
“The issue now is how long the liberals hold onto the coalition, whether they break it off ahead of time,” said Mr Nils Diederich, a politics professor at Berlin’s Free University.
“The FDP are being pushed into the corner more and more, so you can’t rule out that they could pull off something like that to gain from it politically.
why shOuld BERLIN peOple sUffer fOr GREECE ? ? ? ? — German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s party was defeated in a Berlin state election and her coalition ally lost all its seats, after scepticism over euro-area bailouts turned into a campaign theme, stoking government infighting over the debt crisis.
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Data to be collected to improve healthcare
Tan Weizh en
weizhen@mediacorp.com.sg
SINGAPORE
A initiative by the new Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health at the National University of Singapore (NUS), simulations will be run on the data collected to show the effects of existing policies, which will help in fine-tuning them.
With data to be collected from the various races here, Singapore will be a good testbed, as the data can be mapped for the rest of Asia, said dean designate Professor Chia Kee Seng at the launch of the school yesterday.
Through house-to-house visits, a voluntary questionnaire will be put to the residents, covering topics such as lifestyle, perceptions towards health, and knowledge. — Over the next five years, some 50,000 Singaporeans will have their lifestyles and attitudes towards healthcare tracked, in a project to collect data to develop more effective, prevention-based healthcare.
The school — created from the existing Department of Epidemiology and Public Health in the School of Medicine — will also train future doctors and conduct research in four areas: Epidemiology, biostatistics, health services and policy research, and health behaviour and promotion.
At the launch, Health Minister Gan Kim Yong noted three challenges in the public health landscape:
The emergence of lifestyle-related diseases with an ageing population, the threat of infectious diseases, and the need to develop leaders in the area of public health.
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HSA suspends licence of Zerin 500mg paracetamol tablets
The Health Sciences Authority (HSA) has suspended the licence of Zerin 500mg tablets due to product defects in some tablets.
Although the health risk to consumers is low, the HSA said it is suspending the licence of the tablets — used for the relief of fever and pain — to “prevent the exposure of members of the public to a product that is not compliant to quality standards”.
Zerin contains paracetamol and is available as an over-the-counter medicine.
All sales and distribution of Zerin tablets have been discontinued from public healthcare institutions, private medical clinics and pharmacies.
Four reports of product defects have been investigated last month, where some tablets were found to contain small foreign particles.
Consumers are advised to stop consuming the product, but those who have should not be alarmed as its defect poses low risk to their health.
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Improve our public transport system to reduce reliance on cars
Letter from Jose Raymond
Executive Director, Singapore Environment Council
WE REFER to the announcement “New dual four-lane road in Bukit Brown to ease heavy traffic” (Sept 13), about the planned construction of a new road by 2016 that will cut across Bukit Brown Cemetery.
According to the Land Transport Authority, there are heavy traffic jams along Lornie Road during morning and evening peak hours, with traffic expected to increase between 20 and 30 per cent by 2020.
To accommodate construction of the road and the proposed residential development, it is obvious the graves at the cemetery, where several Singapore pioneers such as Chew Boon Lay, Gan Eng Seng, Lee Hoon Leong, Lee Choo Neo and Tay Ho Swee, to name a few, will have to be exhumed over time.
The road construction will also put considerable stress on the area’s ecosystem.
For example, Bukit Brown Cemetery is home to the rare White-Bellied Woodpecker and Spotted Wood Owl, which are listed as threatened species in the Singapore Red Data Book 2008.
If alleviating traffic congestion is the aim of the new road, perhaps the authorities should examine and understand why Singaporeans are increasingly turning to car ownership and usage, leading to a greater demand of road space and, consequently, congestion.
More should be done to improve our public transport system, so that members of the public will be inclined to take public transport as opposed to driving.
While measures such as Electronic Road Pricing and road enhancement remain as options by the authorities, they must be accompanied by viable alternatives to draw people away from car usage.
For this, the public transport operators, bus and rail companies alike, must continue to find ways to improve their systems, networks and service levels so that commuters can get to their destinations quickly and in comfort.
This will encourage more people to trust public transport as a reliable, appealing alternative to driving and, eventually, could lead to a reduction of our national greenhouse gas emissions.
More importantly, green spaces like Bukit Brown Cemetery and its surroundings, which are rare and of historic value, can be saved for future generations to appreciate.
thIs Is lEttEr frOm a vEry ImpOrtAnt persOn }VIP{
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If vandals ... can easily break into the depots and vandalise the trains without getting spotted, it is a serious security breakdown.
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Train safety above all
Letter from Patrick Tan
SMRT chief executive Saw Phaik Hwa may be a woman of many talents who may spend her time inspecting toilets, as reported by T
But what is important to me and fellow Singaporeans is train safety. When my children take the train daily, I need to know they are safe. If vandals, who are not trained in stealth and infiltration operations, can easily break into the depots and vandalise the trains without getting spotted, it is a serious security breakdown.
If people can easily fall onto the tracks and get maimed, then our safety standards are not up to mark.
If I cannot board a train unless I am boarding at the first station, it means our trains are overcrowded and accidents are waiting to happen.
The only consolation is that Ms Saw acknowledged she had been a retail person and not a transport person.
Our MRT stations have become spanking, upmarket retail malls.
{Generating UNnecesary EXTRA TRAFFIC ? ? ? ?}
But how does that help commuters? oday on Sunday in “The art of moving people” (Sept 18).
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G-20 must get serious
G7 wAs alreAdy enOUgh nO nEEd fOr bIggEr pArtIEs
+G13 is jUst a TAG ALONG ? ? ? ?
Doomed to fail unless IMF made more independent
GORDON BROWN, FELIPE GONZÁLEZ AND ER NESTO ZED ILLO
The summer jitters, which brought memories from the panicky fall of 2008, have left little doubt about how fragile the recovery from the great crisis has been and how rocky the road ahead will continue to be.
This should not be entirely surprising given the magnitude of the shock endured in 2008-2009. But it is also in good measure due to the failure by leaders of the major economies to deliver on key commitments to pursue coordinated action.
The Group of 20 (G-20) was formed to undertake the collective responses deemed necessary to tackle the root causes of economic crises. At its summit meeting in November 2008, G-20 leaders themselves admitted that inconsistent and insufficiently coordinated policies propelled the catastrophe.
Then, and at two subsequent meetings, the leaders made concrete commitments to bring about that purported cooperation.
But reform of financial systems has proceeded unilaterally, not cooperatively.
The one cooperative effort, Basel III [#WHITE ELEPHANT#], which sets stricter capital reserve requirements for banks, is still full of holes. Transformation of the Bretton Woods institutions has not moved along significantly. The Doha Round is even more of a zombie than it was before the G-20 pledged to conclude it.
[## MONTHLY TOURS & PARTIES WASTING OTHER PEOPLE's MONEY##]
{## STOP the EXUBERANT TRAVEL ##}
]## USE SKYPE VIDEO CONFERENCING##[
In retrospect, the framework announced at Pittsburgh in 2009 was doomed to fail, given the way the leaders called for it to be implemented. They opted for a mutual assessment process, relegating the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to a purely advisory and secretariat role. Thus, the content of the framework was at once made hostage to a complex and possibly unsolvable negotiation among the key players.
It should have been obvious at the outset that the largest contributors to the global macroeconomic imbalances — such as the United States, China and Germany — would try all along the way to influence the process in order to minimise their respective share of correcting those imbalances which are standing in the way of sustained growth. Given this approach, it took more than a year-and-a-half just to agree on a general methodology to assess the sustainability of national economic policies, and the outcome is overly prescriptive on some aspects and ambiguous on others.
Considering that the pending task — identifying the causes of imbalances and agreeing on the policies to fix them — is much harder than agreeing on basic methodological questions, it is highly doubtful that an action plan can be agreed at the Cannes summit in early November.
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A little inflation can be a dangerous thing
In all the commentary about Mr Ben Bernanke’s recent speech in Wyoming, little attention has been paid to six crucial words:
“In a context of price stability”.
Those words concluded a discussion by Mr Bernanke, the United States Federal Reserve chairman, of what tools the Central Bank could consider appropriate to promote a stronger economic recovery.
Ordinarily, a central banker affirming the importance of price stability is not headline news. But consider the setting. There is great and understandable disappointment about high unemployment and the absence of a robust economy, and even concern about the possibility of a renewed downturn. There is also a sense of desperation that both monetary and fiscal policies have almost exhausted their potential, given the size of the fiscal deficits and the already extremely low level of interest rates.
So now we are beginning to hear murmurings about the possible invigorating effects of “just a little inflation”.
Perhaps 4 per cent or 5 per cent a year would be just the thing to deal with the overhang of debt and encourage the “animal spirits” of business, or so the argument goes.
It is not yet a full-throated chorus.
But remarkably, at least one member of the Fed’s policy making committee recently departed from the price-stability script.
The siren song is both alluring and predictable.
Economic circumstances and the limitations on orthodox policies are indeed frustrating. After all, if 1 or 2 per cent inflation is okay and has not raised inflationary expectations — as the Fed and most Central Banks believe — why not 3 or 4 or even more?
Let us try to get business to jump the gun and invest now in the expectation of higher prices later, and raise housing prices (presumably commodities and gold, too) and maybe wages will follow. If the dollar is weakened, that is a good thing it might even help close the trade deficit. And of course, as soon as the economy expands sufficiently, we will promptly return to price stability.
Well, good luck.
Some mathematical models spawned in academic seminars might support this scenario. But all of our economic history says it would not work that way.
I thought we learned that lesson in the 1970s.
That was when the word stagflation was invented to describe a truly ugly combination of rising inflation and stunted growth.
My point is not that we are on the edge today of serious inflation, which is unlikely if the Fed remains vigilant.
Rather, the danger is if, in desperation, we turn to deliberately seeking inflation to solve real problems — our economic imbalances, sluggish productivity, and excessive leverage — we would soon find a little inflation does not work.
Then the instinct will be to do a little more — a seemingly temporary and “reasonable” 4 per cent becomes 5 per cent, and then 6 per cent and so on.
#### SINGAPORE is INSTINCTIVELY at 5+% INFLATION nOw and on the wAy tO the fUtUre STAGFLATION TROUBLE ####
What we know, or should know, from the past is that once inflation becomes anticipated and ingrained — as it eventually would — then the stimulating effects are lost.
Once an independent Central Bank does not simply tolerate a low level of inflation as consistent with “stability”, but invokes inflation as a policy, it becomes very difficult to eliminate.
It is precisely the common experience with this inflation dynamic that has led central banks around the world to place prime importance on price stability. They do so not at the expense of a strong productive economy. They do it because experience confirms that price stability — and the expectation of that stability — is a key element in keeping interest rates low and sustaining a strong, expanding, fully employed economy.
At a time when foreign countries own trillions of our dollars, when we are dependent on borrowing still more abroad, and when the whole world counts on the dollar maintaining its purchasing power, taking on the risks of deliberately promoting inflation would be simply irresponsible.
It is that conviction that underlines Mr Bernanke’s six words. Let us not forget them.
President Obama has now set out new proposals to support economic growth. I hope he will be able to work with a responsible Congress to find the common ground that is urgently needed to deal with the economic challenges before us, restoring a healthy economy “in a context of price stability”.
I also hope they will reach agreement early next year on a strong programme to deal responsibly with our huge budget deficit over the years ahead.
THE NEW YOR K TIMES
Paul A Volcker was chairman of the Federal Reserve from 1979 to 1987.
PAULA VOLCKER
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‘Najib could face hardliner resistance to ISA repeal’
From the people behind Tony Blair, a
‘cool’ Malaysian Prime Minister Najib
KUALA LUMPUR
As part of the Najib team’s big push, it is understood that multimillion-ringgit funding has also been worked out for a new website and to hire hundreds of people to promote ‘Brand Najib’ and ‘Brand BN’ on social media and other websites.
— In the last few weeks, a group of political strategists that includes members of the team behind Mr Tony Blair’s “New Labour” campaign have started work to reinvent Prime Minister Najib Razak (picture) as a moderate reformist to appeal to voters, as he prepares to lead his Barisan Nasional (BN) for the first time into elections.
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From a runaway to becoming President, S R Nathan tells his story
ESTHER NG
estherng@mediacorp.com.sg
SINGAPORE
“His journey from a runaway sleeping in alleys to the President of the Republic is an inspiring one. Although not everyone can be President, all of us can achieve our potential here, because ours is a meritocratic society,” said Mr Lee.
Yesterday, the Prime Minister launched Mr Nathan’s memoirs, — In the words of Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, the life of former President S R Nathan, 87, “exemplifies the Singapore story”.An Unexpected Journey, at an event attended by about 200 guests, including politicians, foreign dignitaries, academics and business leaders. At the event, Mr Lee also launched the S R Nathan Education Upliftment Fund for youth from disadvantaged homes. All proceeds from the sale of his memoirs will go towards the fund. To date, more than S$8 million has been raised.
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O V E R H E A D :
wIld lIvEs fEEdbAck
1) wIld lIvEs fEAr ghOsts
2) wIld lIvEs hAtE ghOsts
3) wIld lIvEs dO nOt bElIvE In ghOsts
4) ? ? ? ?
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By Channel NewsAsia, Updated: 19/09/2011
Halloween Horrors to be held in Tampines?
Singapore Polytechnic students spent seven months organising " Halloween Horrors"
SINGAPORE: Member of Parliament (MP) for Tampines Group Representation Constituency (GRC) Baey Yam Keng has offered alternative sites to Singapore Polytechnic students affected by the cancellation of the Halloween event at the Night Safari.
In his Facebook posting, Mr Baey said they could either use the Sun Plaza Park or the Eco Green Park at Tampines.
Wildlife Reserves Singapore had cancelled its signature Halloween Horrors just two weeks shy of the event.
Students from Singapore Polytechnic had spent seven months working with the Night Safari to put together Halloween Horrors as part of their final year project.
In a statement issued through its principal Tan Hang Cheong, the school said it is encouraged by the " interest shown by several organisations who called up to explore opportunities for engaging" its students in their project.
The school added it has met with the students and have assured them that their grades will not be affected as a result of the cancellation.
It added that the students are naturally " devastated" by the decision to cancel the event, after many months of hard work and sacrifice, but they have learnt much from the process.
Their plight has prompted at least one MP to offer a solution.
" When I first heard about the cancellation, my heart goes out to the students because they’ve spent a lot of months preparing for it," Mr Baey said.
The Tampines Eco Green Park located at Tampines North is one of the possible venues suggested by Mr Baey for the Singapore Polytechnic students to hold their Halloween event.
Many netizens supported the idea of having it there because of the huge area and the park’s low lighting conditions.
Netizens also raised the issue of who’s going to bear the cost of the event if it is to be held in Tampines.
" Certainly the community would not have the kind of resources like a commercial company. So probably, we might have to downscale the project," Mr Baey said.
" But I think we will have to find ways to find the finances (and) I’m happy that North East CDC Mayor Teo Ser luck called me over the weekend to say that he thinks it’s a good idea and if indeed we are going to bring the event to Tampines north, the CDC will come in with some support."
However, there is no word on whether the offer will be taken up.
A spokesperson told Channel NewsAsia that the " rights" to the Holloween Horrors do not reside with the school and therefore it cannot put up a similar show.
Meanwhile, Wildlife Reserves Singapore CEO Isabella Loh said the decision to cancel the Halloween Horrors event, while a difficult call to make, was " made with the best interests of the park and its many visitors in mind" .
In a statement, Ms Loh said over the years, the event has not contributed to a noticeable increase in visitors in the month in which it takes place.
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