Edwin Too's Gallery

Asian markets down on euro woes

2011-09-19T12:30:00.002+08:00

KUALA LUMPUR: Asian bourses tumbled Monday as funds fled to safe-haven investments after euro-zone finance ministers decided last Friday to delay a second tranche of aid worth 109 billion euros to Greece.

The Tokyo Stock Exchange is closed for a holiday.

Gold, US Treasuries and the yen rose as investors exited the equity markets on fears that the escalating euro-zone sovereign debt crisis and the slow down in US economic growth would be a drag on global growth.

Spot gold jumped US$10.40 to US$1,821.78 per ounce while commodities declined as demand dropped. Oil for immediate delivery shed US$1.18 to US$86.78 per barrel.

US equity futures fell, with the S&P Index futures tumbling 1.64% while US Treasuries gained. The ringgit was quoted at 3.105 to the US dollar and 4.241 to the euro.

The local bourse's benchmark FBM KLCI shed 0.56% to 1,422.96 at 10.30am while Singapore's Straits Times Index fell nine-tenths of a percent to 2,764.38.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index lost 2.32% to 19,004.37 and Shanghai's A share index shed 1.20% to 2,452.55.

At Bursa Malaysia, advancers outpaced decliners 180 to 178 while 227 other counters were traded unchanged. There were 142.47 million shares traded with a total turnover of RM215 million.

Commodity-related counters led declines in the local bourse. Sime fell 23 sen to RM7.77, PPB was down 14 sen to RM16.76 and BLD Plantation shed 12 sen to RM6.28.

Among Petronas-related counters, Petronas Gas fell 86 sen to RM13.82, Petronas Dagangan was 14 sen lower at RM17.20 and MISC was down 12 sen to RM6.70.

DiGi lost 56 sen to RM31.40, Dutch Lady was 20 sen lower at RM19.50 and Amway shed 14 sen to RM8.85.

情人節日子好記‧16對新人天后宮結連理

2011-02-15T18:06:00.000+08:00

please see the http...... http://mykampung.sinchew.com.my/node/131722?tid=8

Iran forces on alert as economic 'surgery' begins

2010-12-20T08:23:00.001+08:00

TEHRAN, Iran: Security forces flooded Iran's capital in a warning against possible unrest as fuel prices surged 400 percent Sunday under plans to sharply cut government subsides and ease pressure on an economy struggling with international sanctions.

The so-called economic "surgery" has been planned for months, but was repeatedly delayed over worries of a repeat of gas riots in 2007 and serious political infighting during the standoff with the West over the Islamic Republic's nuclear program.

But the timing for the first painful steps - just after a first round of nuclear talks with international powers and a second planned for early next year - suggests one of the world's leading oil producers is feeling the sting of tightened sanctions. And it might open more room for possible compromises with world powers, including the United States, in exchange for easing the economic squeeze.

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad told Iranians in a nationally televised speech Saturday that it was finally time to begin trimming the state subsidies that lowered the costs of bread and cooking oil and gave Iran some of the cheapest fuel pump prices in the world. He also noted that he saw "positive points" in talks earlier this month with six nations that hold important sway over sanctions: the five permanent U.N. Security Council members plus Germany.

"Iran's top leadership is puzzled about the tightening sanctions and their long-term implications on Iran's economy. Ahmadinejad has labeled those sanctions a joke, but the Iranian people are not laughing," said Ehsan Ahrari, an analyst based in Alexandria, Virginia.

The overnight price rises - gas rising fourfold in some cases - follows upheaval in the heart of Ahmadinejad's government. Last week, he abruptly dismissed longtime foreign minister, Manouchehr Mottaki, while he was on a diplomatic mission to Africa in favor of interim replacement, nuclear chief Ali Akbar Salehi.

The move sends a message that Iran's leadership had tired of Mottaki's challenges to Ahmadinejad and sought a more unified government at a critical time. In his first public comment, Mottaki on Sunday called his blindside firing "un-Islamic, undiplomatic and offensive," according to the semiofficial Mehr news agency.

In Tehran, meanwhile, riot police took up posts around the major intersections as the subsidy cuts took effect. There were loud complaints by consumers, but no signs of the violence in 2007, when the government imposed limits on the purchase of subsidized gasoline.

Under the new system, each personal car receives 60 liters (16 gallons) of subsidized fuel a month costing 40 cents a liter ($1.50 a gallon) - up from the just 10 cents a liter. Further purchases of gas would run 70 cents a liter ($2.69 a gallon), up from just 40 cents.

Tehran says it is paying some $100 billion in subsidies annually, although experts believe the amount is far lower, closer to $30 billion. Iran had planned to slash subsidies before the latest round of sanctions took effect - Ahmadinejad and his allies have long insisted the country's oil-based economy could no longer afford the largesse.

But the latest rounds of sanctions have targeted the core of Iran's economy. Some top European and Asian companies have pulled out of the Iranian market. American embargoes also seek to block the import of pump-ready fuel to Iran - a weak point in a country with vast oil riches but a shortfall in refineries.

Angry taxi drivers complained as the price of fuel rose fourfold overnight.

"I don't know what to do," said one frustrated cab driver, who did not want to be identified for fear of retribution by authorities. "I am not allowed to increase price of my service while I am paying five times more than yesterday."

A truck driver, Mansour Abbasi, said he paid 10 times more on Sunday for natural gas to fuel his vehicle - and complained he could not compensate by hiking his own transport fees.

"If I raise my prices, people will not be able to afford it. Or they may report me," said Abbasi, 43.

Despite the grumbling, there were no reports of clashes in Tehran or other major cities such as Tabriz, Kermanshah, Bandar Abbas, Kerman and Ahvaz. One resident of Ahvaz said some taxi fares doubled.

Economists say the unpopular plan to slash subsidies could stoke inflation already estimated to be more than 20 percent.

One lawmaker said he had expected the extent of price rises overnight to happen gradually over five years.

"I am surprised. We do not know what happened," the lawmaker told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to comment. "The price of fuel was supposed to reach about international prices within the next five years and not this year."

Ahmadinejad also said his government was paying $4 billion in bread subsidies, which will also gradually be phased out.

Ahmad Bakhshayesh, a Tehran University professor of politics, said it was too soon to gauge the public reaction to the cuts, and popular unrest could still erupt.

"We have to wait and see how inflation will affect their lives," he told AP.

Opposition websites reported an economic analyst, Fariborz Raeis Dana, was detained after claiming the subsidy cuts were intended to allow Islamic leaders to spend more money on the military and security forces. The reports could not be independently confirmed.

After Ahmadinejad announced the cuts Saturday night - calling it the "biggest surgery" on Iran's economy in 50 years - long lines of cars formed at gas stations in Tehran as Iranians rushed to fill their tanks at subsidized prices before the new ones took effect at midnight. By Sunday, the lines were gone.

Economic analyst Saeed Laylaz said the cuts were in theory a positive move since they would reduce energy consumption, which is currently costing the country a quarter of its Gross National Product.

"However it is being implemented in an incomplete fashion because it's not accompanied by a greater liberalization of the economy," he said, adding that the cuts would probably not have much positive effect.

The government says it will return part of the money obtained from increased prices to the people through cash payments. It has already paid into accounts of some 20 million families as compensation ahead of the cuts.

Every family member will now receive $80 for to help them over the next two months. - AP

Latest business news from AP-Wire

Construction work on RM36bil project set to start in July

2010-12-19T09:43:00.000+08:00

KUALA LUMPUR: The Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) project, aimed at solving Greater KL/Klang Valley’s transportation woes, has been approved and will start rolling out in July. Its first line will be from Sungai Buloh to Kajang.

Covering some 60km and 35 stations, this is the first of several MRT lines that will criss-cross the heart of the nation where some 10 million people are expected to live by 2020.

The first line will run through the city centre and integrate with the KTM Komuter, and the Kelana Jaya and Ampang LRT lines. It will serve some 1.2 million commuters and run through areas such as Kota Damansara, Mutiara Damansara, Bandar Utama, Taman Tun Dr Ismail, Bukit Damansara, Cheras, Bandar Tun Hussein Onn and Balakong.

Calling it the largest infrastructure project ever undertaken by the country, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said the project, estimated to cost some RM36bil, will be Government-owned and not privatised to any company.

● Syarikat Prasarana Negara Bhd will own the MRT;

● MMC-Gamuda JV Sdn Bhd will only manage the project as Project Delivery Partner;

● A governance programme will monitor the project for cost and transparency; and

● All contract work packages will be awarded through open tender

North Korea shells South in fiercest attack in decades

2010-11-23T20:19:00.001+08:00

SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korea on Tuesday fired dozens of artillery shells at a South Korean island, killing two soldiers and setting dozens of houses ablaze, in one of the heaviest attacks on its neighbour since the Korean War ended in 1953.
South Koreans watch the news on television showing smoke rising from Yeonpyeong Island after it was hit by dozens of artillery shells fired by North Korea, at Seoul railway station November 23, 2010. (REUTERS/Truth Lee)

The attack comes as the reclusive state has been pressing regional powers to return to negotiations about its nuclear weapons programme and follows revelations at the weekend it is fast developing another source of material to make atomic bombs.

It also follows moves by iron leader Kim Jong-il to make his youngest son heir apparent to the family dynasty.

For decades, the Korean leadership has played a carefully calibrated game of provocations to win concessions from the international community and impress his own military. The risk is that the leadership transition has upset this balance and that events spin out of control.

South Korean President Lee Myung-bak, who has pursued a hard line with the reclusive North since taking office nearly three years ago, said a response had to be firm following the attack on Yeonpyeong island, just 120 km (75 miles) west of Seoul.

The two Koreas are still technically at war -- the Korean War ended only with a truce -- and tension rose sharply early this year after Seoul accused the North of torpedoing one of its navy vessels, killing 46 sailors.

"Houses and mountains are on fire and people are evacuating. You can't see very well because of plumes of smoke," a witness on the island told YTN Television before the shelling ended after about an hour.

China, the impoverished North's only powerful ally, was careful to avoid taking sides, calling on both Koreas to "do more to contribute to peace".

"China hopes that the relevant parties will do more to contribute to peace and stability in the region ... it is imperative now to resume the six-party talks," a spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, Hong Lei, told reporters.

Those talks on North Korea's nuclear weapons programme -- involving the two Koreas, China, Japan, Russia and the United States -- have long been on ice.

However, the reclusive North has more recently been pushing to resume the talks, which previously it has used to win massive aid in return for promises to end its weapons programme.

AT LEAST 200 SHELLS

YTN said at least 200 North Korean shells hit Yeonpyeong, which lies off the west coast of the divided peninsula near a disputed maritime border. Most landed on a military base there.

South Korea's military said two soldiers were killed in the attack, 17 were wounded and three civilians were also hurt. South Korean military returned the fire and sent a jet fighter to the area.

YTN showed pictures of plumes of smoke pouring from the island and quoted a witness as saying fires were burning out of control.

WON TUMBLES

News of the exchange of fire sent the won tumbling in offshore markets with the 1-month won down about four percent in NDF trading. U.S. 10-year Treasury futures rose and the Japanese yen fell.

It also rattled global markets, already unsettled by Ireland's debt problems and worries about riskier markets.

The South Korean central bank is holding an emergency meeting to assess the possible market impact of the shelling.

The attack comes just as a U.S. envoy is in Beijing on a tour of the region and is expected to ask China to use its influence to help tame North Korea.

Washington has branded the North a danger to the region and expressed concern Pyongyang would sell nuclear weapons technology to other states. It has said it was ready to return to talks but wants to see more commitment to denuclearisation by the North beforehand.

The White House condemned the attack, telling the North to halt its "belligerent action" and saying it was committed to defend the South.

It has about 28,000 troops in South Korea, their combined forces facing an estimated one million North Korean soldiers who make up one of the world's biggest standing armies.

"UNBELIEVABLE"

"It's unbelievable," said Zhu Feng, professor of international relations at Peking University. "Today's news proves that North Korea, under unprovoked conditions, shot these South Korean islands. It's reckless provocation. They want to make a big bang and force the negotiations back into their favour. It's the oldest trick."

The North depends heavily on China for economic and diplomatic support and its leader, Kim Jong-il, has visited China twice this year, in part to gain backing for the anointment of his son as heir.

Those ties have become a sore-point with Washington after reports that North Korea appears to have made big steps towards enriching uranium, possibly using technology that passed through or even originated in China. [ID:nLDE6AL11O]

China has urged returning to the nuclear disarmament negotiations but has also fended off calls from the U.S. and its regional allies to use its vital food and energy aid to North Korea as a lever.

FBM KLCI ends at a new high

2010-11-11T00:34:00.000+08:00

KUALA LUMPUR: Shares on Bursa Malaysia edged higher on Wednesday to lift the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KL Composite Index to a new all-time high for a third day in a row.

Earlier during the day, the Department of Statistics said the industrial production index rose 5.6% in September from a year ago, boosted by higher factory output.

As at 5pm, the benchmark index was up 1.48 points, or 0.1% higher at 1,528.01 points.

Rising stocks led losers 440 to 420, while 268 counters were unchanged. Total turnover was 1.74 billion shares worth an estimated RM2.27bil.

Other bourses around the region saw mixed performance.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 index jumped 1.4% higher to 9,830 points, while in Korea the main Kospi Index surged 1% to 1,967 points.

But stocks in Hong Kong dropped 0.85% with the Hang Seng index at 24,500 points, followed by Singapore’s Straits Times index 0.7% decline to 3,290 points.

In Indonesia, teh Jakarta Composite Index was up 0.5% to 3,752 points

納吉：通過回債集資4500億美元

2010-10-25T20:31:00.000+08:00

（吉隆坡25日訊）首相拿督斯里納吉說，我國將通過回教債券融資活動集資逾4500億美元，以在未來10年進行國家經濟轉型。

他說，相信在全球市場復甦的情況下，部分資金將可通過回教債券融資活動獲得。

也是財政部長的納吉今日在全球回教金融論壇上發表演講時說，回教金融的表現證明它在維持亞洲強勁的經濟增長方面，特別是亞洲國家龐大且長遠的資金需求上，是具競爭力及可行的選擇。

他指出，雖然今年全球發出的回教債券比去年同期下降約16%，不過，回教債券市場有助於提升全球債務市場的復甦情況。

Super typhoon hits Philippines; rice crop at risk

2010-10-18T20:41:00.000+08:00

MANILA (Reuters) - Super typhoon Megi slammed into the northern Philippines shortly before noon on Monday, cutting off power, forcing airlines to cancel flights and putting the region's rice crop at risk.
A military rescuer prepares life saving equipment as Typhoon Megi approaches in northern Philippines during a formation at Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City Metro Manila October 17, 2010. (REUTERS/Cheryl Ravelo)

Megi, the 10th and strongest typhoon to hit the Philippines this year, hit Isabela province at 11:25 a.m. (0325 GMT) and was heading west southwest across the north of the main island of Luzon with winds of 225 kph near the centre, forecasters said.

"We expect it to weaken and slow down after slamming into the mountains," Mario Palafox, a senior forecaster told reporters, saying the typhoon's eye had shrank to about 50 km but is expected to bring more rain and stronger winds.

Tropical Storm Risk (http://www.tropicalstormrisk.com) said Megi, known locally as Juan, was a category 5 super typhoon, the highest rating, with winds of more than 250 kph (155 mph).

Andrew Villacorta, regional executive director in the agriculture department, said Luzon's Cagayan valley accounted for 12 percent of national rice output, or about 1 million tonnes of unmilled rice, lower than earlier estimates from local officials.

"Isabela and Cagayan are expected to be hit hard," Villacorta said. "Our estimates showed about 159,000 metric tonnes will be lost from Isabela. About 88,000 hectares will be affected. In Cagayan province, about 43,000 hectares will be affected. The estimated loss will be around 63,000 metric tonnes."

He said just over one third of the crop had been harvested, while about 90 percent of the corn crop had been harvested.

Last year, the country lost 1.3 million tonnes of paddy rice following three strong typhoons in September and October, prompting it to go to the market early to boost its rice stocks.

"This could bring destruction to our crops," Val Perdido, a regional farm official, told reporters.

"It's the peak of harvest season now. More than 230,000 hectares of rice fields are still in their reproductive and maturing stages,"

Agricultural production makes up a fifth of the Southeast Asian country's GDP.

EVACUATIONS

Benito Ramos, head of the national disaster agency, said in a radio interview more than 3,000 people had been evacuated in Cagayan. Officials have warned of rough seas, and the risk of flash flooding, storm surges and landslides.

A change in direction of the typhoon saw the capital, Manila, placed on storm signal 1, the lowest level on the local typhoon alert scale, with the weather department saying there were risks of winds of up to 60 kph. Billboards in the city have been taken down as a precaution.

President Benigno Aquino's cabinet held a meeting at an army base in Manila to review disaster preparations, although Aquino did not attend.

Landslides blocked roads in Apayao province in Luzon while police said a farmer drowned in a swollen river in Cagayan province while pulling a water buffalo to safety.

On Monday, Economic Planning Secretary Cayetano Paderanga said the economy likely grew at a slower pace year-on-year in the third quarter from the previous three months, but growth over the course of 2010 could be above 5-6 percent.

($1 = 43.2 pesos)

恐怖死亡車禍又一宗‧2車撞出火‧2死1重傷

2010-10-17T23:49:00.000+08:00

（檳城‧北海16日訊）又一宗恐怖死亡車禍！

一對華裔情侶乘坐的客貨車和轎車猛撞，客貨車起火燃燒，釀成2死1重傷的慘劇。

你知道嗎？如果出門一星期，車子是放在家裡，會不會影響輪胎氣壓？

女子80%肌膚被灼傷

客貨車司機被燒死車內，他的女友彈出車外，全身有80%肌膚被灼傷，目前還在醫院搶救。駕駛汽車的印裔殘障司機（沒有右手掌）也當場死亡。

死亡的客貨車司機為林桂棠（25歲），他是大山腳日新獨立中學畢業生，與女傷者羅玉婷（25歲）屬情侶關係。兩人共同經營流動小販生意，在威省各地區市場售賣各種泰國產品，包括環保籃。

汽車司機是莫肯阿蘇肯（26歲），他是北賴工業區一間鑄模廠的管工，其右手掌是在10年前工作時被機械切斷，生前裝義肢。

據瞭解，莫肯阿蘇肯駕駛的是手排檔汽車。

清晨6時出門即肇禍

林桂棠是居住在北海峇眼拉浪住宅區，他和羅玉婷是在今天清晨6時左右出門，不久後就發生車禍。

羅玉婷是玻璃市州加基武吉人，林桂棠是因常到當地泰國邊境辦貨，認識對方，兩人已達到談婚論嫁的地步。

林桂棠是家中長子，有4名弟弟和一名妹妹。

林桂棠的好友吳榮發（35歲）受詢時說，他昨晚還到桂棠的住家閒談，約好今日一起到北賴才能園巴剎擺攤。

他說，今早7時左右，他尚未見桂棠到來開檔做生意，就致電給桂棠，但手機不能接通，女傷者的電話也無人接聽，最後才知道他倆發生車禍。

他說，男死者與女傷者非常友善，原本他們經打算在去年結婚，不過最後決定在購買房屋後才共結連理。

PM: Special payment of RM500 better for now

2010-10-17T23:44:00.001+08:00

KUALA LUMPUR: A special financial assistance of RM500 for each civil servant announced in the Budget 2011 is appropriate, said the Prime Minister.

Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, also the Finance Minister, said many quarters had lobbied him to announce a month’s bonus for the civil servants.

“A month’s bonus incurs an expenditure of RM3.1bil for the Government. Personally, I will want to give a bonus but as a responsible finance minister, I cannot expend more than the national revenue,” he told the inaugural 1Malaysia National Teachers Assembly yesterday.

When tabling Budget 2011 in the Dewan Rakyat on Friday, Najib announced a special financial assistance of RM500 for all civil servants from Grade 54 and below as well as contract officers and retirees to be paid in December.

The prime minister said the aid could help civil servants cope with schooling expenses for their children at the end of the year.

He also said the Government had proposed other incentives for civil servants, such as maternity leave of up to 90 days which would benefit women teachers, who made up almost 70% of the 400,000 teachers in the country

“The maternity leave is a gift for women. But they can opt not to take the 90 days. It is up to them.

“I understand teachers have also submitted a memorandum on improvements to schemes for teachers. I want to ask you for more time for the Government to study the financial implications. If we are able to, I will discuss with Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin (Education Minister) and we will make the announcement when the time comes,” he said.

Najib also indicated to teachers that of the RM212bil Budget, RM29.3bil and RM10.2bil had been allocated to the Education and Higher Education Ministries respectively

Both ministries combined received 22.8% of the allocations under 2011 Budget, which formed the largest portion.

He added that the 2011 Budget was another step forward towards transforming Malaysia into high-income economy country.

“The philosophy and direction is that we want to create a Malaysia where a person’s happiness is limited only by how much hard work we are willing to put in,” he added.

Najib also reminded that there was only a little more than nine years left to achieve Vision 2020.

“We have nine years 20 months and 17 days left to reach 2020. We cannot be lackadaisical any more because do not have much time left to achieve Vision 2020,” he said.

S’poreans fume over fuel ruling

2010-07-25T10:17:00.000+08:00

JOHOR BARU: Singaporeans are complaining that a ruling banning foreign-registered vehicles from filling up with RON 95 petrol is unfair to them.

They are also confused about

whether they are totally prohibited from buying petrol in Malaysia or if they are allowed to buy limited quantities of lower grade fuel.

For most Singaporeans, apparently, it is the cheaper fuel here that draws them to Malaysia and Johor in particular.

Singaporean civil servant Tok Eng Seng, 38, said the frequent changes in the petrol ruling were confusing.

“We spend a lot of money here and we should be allowed to fill up with whichever type of petrol we want,” he added.

Another Singaporean, property agent Eric Tan, 43, said the lower price of fuel was the only attraction that led to many Singaporeans coming to the state.

“I believe sales of products in Johor Baru will go down once the ruling is enforced,” he said, adding that the move was bad for Malaysia’s tourism.

Art, photography and design executive Alex Soh, 37, also felt that many Singaporeans would not come to Johor if the price of petrol was increased.

“Cheaper petrol is one of the major attractions,” he added.

Derrick Cheng, 53, said many Singaporeans were unclear about the issue.

“I heard people saying that the price of petrol would go up while others say that we (Singaporeans) can still buy the lower grade of petrol but are only allowed to purchase 20 litres,” he said.

“It is unfair to charge separate rates for foreigners because it doesn’t comply with the free trade system that is supposed to be practised by the Malaysian Government,” he added.

Salesman Ken Tan, 28, said there were traffic jams at the Causeway and because of that, many Singaporeans expected cheaper petrol when they return to their country.

Brandon Teh, 26, a Malaysian who drives a Singapore-registered car, is even more puzzled by the changes in petrol purchase.

“I am a Malaysian and I deserve to get subsidised fuel. But now, I’m stuck,” said the sales executive.

Busy Malaysian bachelors seek foreign wives via agencies

2010-07-25T10:14:00.000+08:00

PETALING JAYA: Work pressure is taking its toll on some single Malaysian men. With no time for courtship, these bachelors are turning to matchmaking agencies to seek life partners.

Some, including businessmen and professionals like engineers and company managers, have opted for “instant” brides from Vietnam, Indonesia or China and are willing to pay between RM10,000 and RM30,000 to matchmaking agencies to bring the women to Malaysia.

The amount covers processing and agency fees but not dowry or wedding expenses.

The matchmaking process is now more sophisticated as some local agencies link up with their foreign counterparts to “supply” the brides online.

The customers get to view the candidates and communicate with the agencies via e-mail. Once a selection is made, the woman is flown over for a trial meeting.

The agencies claim this is a legal operation as the women sign up for the service willingly, many with their parents’ support. Vietnamese brides are popular because many are perceived as still “pure and innocent”.

The potential bride is sent for a medical check-up to determine if she is free from sexually transmitted or other diseases and will even undergo a virginity test if a request is made by the groom-to-be.

If all goes well, the marriage takes place in less than a month, before the woman’s visa expires.

To overcome the language barrier, the brides attend classes so that they can communicate with the groom and his family members.

Although there have been reports of runaway brides, some marriages have turned out to be happy unions.

Malaysia needs to attract new avenues of FDI

2010-03-14T10:44:00.000+08:00

PETALING JAYA: Malaysia needs to look at attracting new avenues of foreign direct investment (FDI), especially in the services, oil and gas, and energy and environment-related sectors as they offer strong growth potential.

RAM Holdings Bhd chief economist Dr Yeah Kim Leng said renewable energy, such as solar and bio-fuel, was one big area that the country should leverage on.

Dr Yeah Kim Leng

“The ability to attract more solar energy or green technology players will be able to reverse the declining trend of FDI inflow into the country. These ventures are very capital intensive and we have ample raw material supply, low energy cost and land availability for such investments,” he told StarBizWeek yesterday.

Yeah said the entry of Hong Kong-based Sun Bear Solar Ltd, a global player in the solar energy industry, into the country was a good start.

Sun Bear will be investing RM5.2bil in a solar glass manufacturing plant in Kota Kinabalu Industrial Park, Sabah. The plant will be fully operational by the first quarter of 2012.

According to Yeah, global FDIs have contracted sharply due to the global financial crisis in 2008 and 2009.

“Malaysia’s share of inward FDI into the Asean economies was unchanged at 12% for the two previous five-year periods of 1999-2003 and 2004-2008. By contrast, Singapore captured 58% in the first period and 45% in the more recent period. Thailand, meanwhile, garnered 20% and 17% for the respective two periods. The stark reality is that Malaysia is now lagging behind our northern neighbour despite the latter being embroiled in political troubles.

“This should be taken as a wake-up call for Malaysia that it needs to do more to attract foreign investors,” Yeah added.

Last year, total manufacturing capital investment approved by the Malaysian Industrial Development Authority (Mida) fell 48% to RM32.6bil. Of the total amount approved in 2009, foreign investors accounted for 68% or RM22.1bil, a 52% drop from the previous year.

Likewise, domestic-owned investment approvals fell to RM10.5bil or a 37.1% decline from 2008.

Meanwhile, inward FDI which measures the flow of direct investment into the country fell from RM24.1bil in 2008 to RM5.7bil last year, a 76.5% decline.

Yeah said given that approved projects typically took between one to two years to reach implementation stage, “we expect the larger value of foreign-owned manufacturing capital investment approved in 2009 to translate into higher inward FDI flow this year as measured in the balance of payment account.”

Among the new ventures expected include that of Gulf Petroleum (M) Sdn Bhd and its consortium members which had last Wednesday formalised plans to invest some RM17bil on an integrated oil and gas complex in Port Dickson, Negri Sembilan.

The proposed development will include the setting up of a 150,000-barrels/day refinery, a petrochemical plant and storage facilities. Construction work is set to begin at the end of the year.

Another venture is for an aluminium smelter plant in Samalaju Industrial Park in Bintulu, Sarawak at the cost of US$1bil.

GIIG Holdings Sdn Bhd, a company controlled by billionaire Tan Sri Syed Mokhtar Al-Bukhary, has teamed up with Aluminium Corp of China Ltd (Chalco), the world’s second largest producer of alumina, for the project.

Construction of the plant will begin in the first quarter of next year for completion in 36 months.

With the gradual economic recovery, Yeah said trade and investment flows in the region were expected to normalise this year and pick up thereafter.

“With the Asian economies led by China and India expected to lead the global recovery amid the uneven and weak recovery in the advanced economies, capital investment flows intra-regionally as well as from the advanced economies are expected to increase in line with the better growth and investment outlook for the region,” he added.

Penang malls get set to welcome 2010 with big bang

2009-12-31T08:31:00.001+08:00

GEORGE TOWN: Some shopping malls in Penang will be splurging on fireworks tonight to welcome 2010, an indication of the improving economy.

One of them, Queensbay Mall, is promising a better show this time around.

Its advertising and promotions manager Wendy Wong said that business has been better this year.

“We will have a 10-minute musical fireworks,” Wong said.

At Sunway Carnival Mall, shoppers and revellers can expect some RM25,000 worth of pyrotechnic displays.

“We are looking to bring 2009 to a close and usher in a greater year with a seven-minute fireworks display beginning at midnight,” said its manager Chow Heng Wah.

He said the display was also a way of “thanking shoppers.”

“We are confident that 2010 will bring greater opportunities and positive prospects for all,” he said.

Chow added that the mall had also scheduled free performances by local artistes Tedd Chan and LELA.

At the Gurney Plaza alfresco area, 2,000 balloons will be released at the stroke of midnight.

The event is organised by the Penang Chinese Chamber of Commerce as part of the official launching of Visit Penang Year 2010-2012 cum New Year Countdown Party.

“The whole event costs about RM150,000 to organise.

“Despite the sluggish economy, we feel that events like these are important because we want to make Penang a popular New Year countdown venue.

“Colourful balloons will be given out to the public through a donation of any amount.

“They can write their names and wishes on these helium-filled balloons and then release them when the clock strikes 12,” said event organising chairman Oon Weng Boon who is also the chamber’s Young Entrepreneur section chairman.

Money collected from the event will be donated to the Eden Handicap Service Centre.

More than 100,000 revellers are expected to converge at the Esplanade for the New Year countdown and witness an attempt to create a Guinness World Record for the largest dance class.

The night will culminate in a spectacular fireworks display.

坏男人是女人制造的

2009-12-25T09:37:00.001+08:00

其实每个男孩，本来都是想做一个感情专一的好男人的。

其实每个男孩，本来看女孩子都是看脸而不是胸部的。其实
每个男孩，本来都是不会讲黄色笑话的。

其实每个男孩，本来都是渴望爱一个人直到永远的。

只是，没有任何女孩爱这样的男孩，她们觉得这样的男孩太
幼稚，太古板，没有情趣。

于是男孩开始改变，变成女孩喜欢的那种嘴角挂着坏坏的笑
，玩世不恭或者幽默。

开始学会说甜言蜜语而不是心里想说的话，开始学会假装关
心，学会给女孩送小饰物讨好她学会如何追求，如何把握爱情。或者看破红尘，游戏情场，成为女人恨恨的那种男人。

他们可以很容易俘获女孩子的心，但是他们也会在黑的夜里
叼着烟流泪。心里有爱的时候，没有女孩。有了女孩，却永
远没有了爱的感觉。在听到女人抱怨世上没有一个好男人时
候，他们不会再去努力做个好男人，只是微笑着擦肩而过。

Oil prices rise after OPEC decision

2009-12-23T08:34:00.001+08:00

NEW YORK: Oil prices rose after the world's biggest oil producers on Tuesday opted to leave production volumes unchanged, a decision that could mean short-term stability for energy prices after a volatile year.

Benchmark crude for February delivery rose 68 cents to settle at $74.40 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, after dropping to $72.72 earlier in the trading session.

OPEC negotiations in Africa can have a direct impact on consumers and what they must pay to heat their homes or fill up the car.

Crude prices peaked in late October and have been edging downward since.

So have retail gasoline prices and other fuels that are derived from oil.

Energy in the past year have rebounded quickly overall.

The price of crude doubled after OPEC agreed to reduce output by a combined 4.2 million barrels each day in late 2008.

Yet as oil prices have climbed, some OPEC nations have begun to cheat on those production quotas, putting more oil than they had agreed to on the market to raise sorely needed revenue.

Compliance is with those quotes is believed to have dropped from 80 percent at the beginning of the year to 60 percent now.

Crude prices have fallen about $10 per barrel in two months.

Sticking to the production agreement was the focus of oil ministers meeting Tuesday in Angola, and also of investors who see that OPEC compliance has been sliding.

"OPEC's decision to hold production steady is bearish because we know production is going up," PFGBest analyst Phil Flynn said.

Still, prices appear well within the comfort level for the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries.

It's part of the reason that retail gasoline in the U.S. has remained steady for weeks at about $2.60 per gallon.

In other Nymex trading in January contracts, gasoline rose almost 2 cents to settle at $1.8880 per gallon and heating oil rose less than a penny to settle at $1.9486. Natural gas rose 4.6 cents to settle at $5.715 per 1,000 cubic feet.

In London, Brent crude for February delivery rose 47 cents to settle at $73.46 on the ICE Futures exchange. - AP

Latest NYSE, NASDAQ and other business news, from AP-Wire

For latest Bursa Malaysia indices, charts and other information click here

New York Stock Exchange:
http://www.nyse.com

Nasdaq Stock Market:
http://www.nasdaq.com

For Tokyo Stock Exchange click here

Apple countersues Nokia over phone patents

2009-12-12T17:18:00.000+08:00

NEW YORK (AP): Apple Inc. is suing cell phone maker Nokia Corp. for patent infringement, a countermove to Nokia's earlier suit against technologies used in Apple's iPhone.

Apple's lawsuit claims Nokia is infringing on 13 of Apple's patents, and says the Finland-based company chose to "copy the iPhone," especially its user interface, to make up for its declining share of the high-end phone market.

Nokia's lawsuit, filed in October, claims that Cupertino, California-based Apple infringes on 10 of its patents covering both phone calls and Wi-Fi access.

The patents Apple alleges Nokia is infringing deal with, among other things: connecting a phone to a computer, teleconferencing, menus on a touch screen, power conservation in chips, and "pattern and color abstraction in a graphical user interface."

The company also denies Nokia's claims of patent infringement.

In a statement, Nokia said it will review the claims and respond "in due course."

Apple said Nokia fell behind in the smart phone market because it chose to focus on old-fashioned cell phones with conventional user interfaces at a time when "smart" phones were growing increasingly popular.

Countersuits are a staple of patent litigation, which often ends in cross-licensing agreements.

Nokia said in October that 40 phone manufacturers - but not Apple - have licensed the patents in its lawsuit.

Both suits were filed in federal court in Delaware.

U.S.-traded shares of Nokia rose 35 cents, or 2.8 percent, to $12.91 in afternoon trading, and Apple's shares fell $2.14 to $194.29.

US stocks mixed

2009-10-28T09:46:00.001+08:00

NEW YORK: U.S. stocks mostly fell Tuesday as mixed reports on home prices and consumer confidence gave investors little incentive to step into the market.

A decision by IBM Corp. to double its stock-repurchase plan propped up the Dow Jones industrials, but the Nasdaq composite index slid after Baidu Inc., the Chinese Internet search company, warned its revenue could take a hit as it switches its advertising system.

Two stocks fell for every one that rose. Bond prices rose after strong demand at a government debt auction, signaling that investors are still seeking safety.

Stocks rose at the start of trading following a report that home prices in 20 major metropolitan markets increased for the third straight month in August.

The Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller home price index gained 1 percent in August from July.

However, the higher home prices weren't enough to offset worries that consumers might not be in a mood to spend this holiday season.

The Conference Board said its Consumer Confidence Index fell unexpectedly to 47.7 in October, its second-lowest reading since May. Analysts predicted a figure of 53.1.

Worries about consumers have been around for a while, but they took some of the sheen off corporate profit reports for the July-September quarter, which have been coming in ahead of expectations.

"When I look at the consumer, I think that is the next big test," said Dave Hinnenkamp, chief executive KDV Wealth Management in Minneapolis.

"We've passed a big test on the earnings front."

The Dow rose 14.21, or 0.1 percent, to 9,882.17.

The broader Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 3.54, or 0.3 percent, to 1,063.41, while Nasdaq fell 25.76, or 1.2 percent, to 2,116.09.

Volume at the New York Stock Exchange came to 1.4 billion shares, in line with Monday.

The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies slid 6.69, or 1.1 percent, to 586.99.

Bond prices rose after a Treasury Department auction of $44 billion in two-year notes drew robust demand. That pushed yields lower.

The yield on the two-year note rose fell to 0.94 percent from 1.04 percent late Monday.

The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note fell to 3.45 percent from 3.56 percent. Stocks have fallen for most of the past week on worries about the economy.

The Dow dropped 104 points Monday after a similar slide Friday. It was the first consecutive triple-digit loss for the Dow since mid-June.

The latest drops came as a strengthening dollar pushed the prices of commodities lower.

The dollar mostly rose again Tuesday but didn't dominate trading.

Analysts say the coming days could be choppy as traders look for fuel to extend the market's climb.

The down days are welcome by those who say the advance has been too quick.

The S&P 500 index is up 57.7 percent since March but down from the start of last week when it touched its highest level in more than a year.

Frank Ingarra Jr., co-portfolio manager at Hennessy Funds in Stamford, Connecticut, said the market is about where it should be but could stall if more companies can't show they will boost profits by bringing in more revenue and not just by slashing costs.

"We have a pretty good valuation here. To propel us to go forward we need to have good top-line growth and you're just not seeing it," he said.

The end of the month could also present hurdles for investors. For many mutual funds, the last trading day of their fiscal year is Friday.

Fund managers looking to minimize taxes for shareholders could sell some of their investments.

Investors are also looking to the government's first reading on economic output for the third quarter.

The report on gross domestic product is due Thursday and could signal an end to the recession that many analysts have said is over, at least officially.

Joe Battipaglia, market strategist for the private client group at Stifel Nicolaus & Co. in Yardley, Pennsylvania, said recent economic data don't support arguments for a fast recovery in the economy, nor do they suggest a rebound would be weak enough to push stocks back down to the levels of eight months ago.

"We are in what I would call purgatory right now where the U.S. economy is rather limp," he said.

Crude oil rose 87 cents to settle at $79.55 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Gold fell.

IBM, one of the 30 companies that make up the Dow, rose after it added $5 billion to its stock repurchase fund.

The total now stands at $9.2 billion.

The stock advanced 54 cents, or 0.5 percent, to $120.65.

Baidu's American Depositary shares slid $49.31, or 11.4 percent, to $383.66 after it its warning about revenue. - AP

Latest NYSE, NASDAQ and other business news, from AP-Wire

For latest Bursa Malaysia indices, charts and other information click here

New York Stock Exchange:
http://www.nyse.com

Nasdaq Stock Market:
http://www.nasdaq.com

Skip the moon and fly elsewhere, US panel tells NASA

2009-10-23T09:44:00.000+08:00

WASHINGTON: NASA needs to make a major detour on its grand plans to return astronauts to the moon, a special independent panel told the White House Thursday.

Under current plans, NASA has picked the wrong destination with the wrong rocket, the panel's chairman said.

A test-flight version of the rocket, the new Ares I, is on a launch pad at Cape Canaveral, awaiting liftoff later this month for its first experimental flight.

Instead, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration should be concentrating on bigger rockets and new places to explore, the panel members said, as they issued their final 155-page report.

The committee, created by the White House in May to look at NASA's troubled exploration, shuttle and space station programs, issued a summary of their findings last month, mostly urging more spending on space.

On Thursday in a news conference, panel Chairman Norman Augustine focused on fresh destinations for NASA, saying that it makes more sense to put astronauts on a nearby asteroid or one of the moons of Mars.

He said that could be done sooner than returning to the moon in 15 years as NASA has outlined.

The exploration plans now under fire were pushed by then-President George W. Bush after the 2003 Columbia space shuttle disaster.

The moon-Mars plan lacks enough money, thanks to budget diversions, the panel said in a 155-page report.

Starting in 2014, NASA needs an extra $3 billion a year if astronauts are going to travel beyond Earth's orbit, the panel said.

The Augustine commission wants NASA to extend the life of the space shuttle program and the International Space Station.

Space shuttles are due to retire Oct. 1, 2010, but should keep flying until sometime in 2011 because they won't get all their flights to the space station done by that date.

And the space station itself - only now nearing completion - should operate until at least 2020, allowing for more scientific experiments, part of its reason for existence. NASA's timetable calls for plunging it into the ocean in 2015.

However, the overall focus of the panel's report is on where U.S. space exploration should be headed.

The White House will review the panel's analysis "and then ultimately the president will be making the final decision," White House spokesman Nick Shapiro said in an e-mail comment.

The committee outlines eight options.

Three of those involve a "flexible path" to explore someplace other than the moon, eventually heading to a Mars landing far in the future.

The flexible path suggests no-landing flights around the moon and Mars.

Landing on the moon and then launching back to Earth would require a lot of fuel because of the moon's gravity.

Hauling fuel from Earth to the moon and then back costs money.

It would take less fuel to land and return from asteroids or comets that swing by Earth or even the Martian moons, Phobos and Deimos, Augustine said.

Eventually, Augustine said NASA could return to the moon, but as a training stepping stone, not a major destination, as the Bush plan envisioned.

Panel member Ed Crawley, a professor at MIT, said NASA should explore the inner solar system "to interest the American public in new destinations."

He noted that so many new asteroids and comets are being discovered each year that the potential first landing spot "is probably one we don't know about yet."

Augustine said landing astronauts on such a near-Earth object could occur in the early 2020s.

In a news conference to discuss their report, Crawley and Augustine said the current NASA plans were well conceived at the time, in 2005.

But when money got diverted and launch dates delayed, NASA's new Ares I rocket began to look like it lost one of its major purposes: ferrying astronauts to the space station.

Crawley said the panel liked the idea of a commercially operated, more basic rocket-taxi to get astronauts into the low-Earth orbit of the space station.

If NASA spent about $5 billion to help kick-start the embryonic commercial space business to do the people-carrying, then the space agency could concentrate on heavier rockets that do the real far-off exploring, he said.

Those commercial rockets should be ready in about six years, Crawley said.

NASA is slowly delaying some parts of the old moon program. It's rethinking its future annual $10 million spending on a still-unbuilt lunar lander as it awaits Obama's decision on the Augustine panel recommendations, said NASA spokesman Grey Hautaluoma.

George Washington University space scholar John Logsdon praised the report as "more comprehensive" than NASA's current program.

Syracuse University public policy professor Henry Lambright said he worries about changes that will cause a loss in momentum in NASA's exploration plans.

"You've got to make a decision and you've got to stick to it if you are ever going to get to Mars."

Senator Richard Shelby, a Republican, criticized the idea of using unproven commercial carriers instead of the Ares, which was designed in his state.

He said the report was "unsatisfactory and disappointing." - AP

Review of U.S. Human Space Flight Plans Committee:

http://www.nasa.gov/offices/hsf/home/index.html

M’sia to be world player in multimedia industry

2009-10-06T00:06:00.000+08:00

CANNES: Malaysia plans to develop further its creative multimedia industry which now generates an annual revenue of over US$200mil.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said the industry also created over 7,000 high-value-added creative jobs.

He said, to date, the MSC Malaysia creative multimedia content industry comprised about 200 companies that were mainly involved in post-production, animation, game development, e-learning as well as mobile and interactive content.

“We want to catalyse this industry to attain global recognition,” he said at the MIPCOM 2009 exhibition – the world’s audiovisual content market – here Monday.

Najib took a break from his working trip in Paris to fly here and give support to Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC) Malaysia companies taking part in the five-day event.

He spoke of Malaysia’s growing enthusiasm to become a major player in the media entertainment industry in response to the high-level of demand from the creative multimedia market.

“We believe that Malaysia can be a meaningful and substantive contributor via creating impactful contents for the world,” he said.

Najib said the Government intended to capture the industry’s economic benefits by tapping the large reserves of creative and innovative capabilities of Malaysians.

“The industry’s growth potential is virtually limitless in this digital age,” he noted.

He also touched on the funding for co-production opportunities for animation, games and visual effects development and the e-Content fund for the development of Malaysian IP creation.

“The MSC could finance, develop and produce almost 100 creative projects over the next five to 10 years, creating over 10,000 jobs,” he said, extending his invitation to industry players to look at what Malaysia has to offer.

In fact, firms from MSC Malaysia, with the assistance from Multimedia Development Corp (MDeC), were accelerating development and production deals in North America and Europe.

The first deal would kick off with a production called War of the Worlds: Goliath, a science fiction film set in the 19th century.

Najib, however, said the rise of mobility and the Internet, the downward spiral of DVD revenue and the advent of the global financial crisis had all seemingly created a perfect storm that hit the content industry.

“But all these setbacks should not deter us from exploring fresh opportunities, especially in new areas of the industry.

“After all, if necessity is the mother of invention, perhaps crisis is the mother of innovation,” he added.

又7死增218病例‧全國近3000宗．迄今56人死

2009-08-14T17:31:00.001+08:00

（吉隆坡）今日（週四，8月13日）再有7人死於A（H1N1）型流感，使到死亡病例增至51宗，而新增的病例有218宗，致使全國有2955宗A型流感病例。

衛生部長拿督斯里廖中萊說，7宗死亡病例屬高風險群，當中有高血壓、心疾、低免疫力及先天性疾病患者，死者年齡介於4個月至92歲。

他週四為馬來西亞肥胖研究協會研討會主持開幕時說，目前有51人在普通病房，29人則在加護病房接受深切治療。

“在加護病房，有16人屬高風險群，當中12人患有嚴重疾病，2人患有癡肥症，孕婦及剛生產的婦女各1人。”

他說，衛生部已進一步將A型流感的檢測工作擴大至私人醫院和私人診所，以便私人醫院和診所能夠為流感患者進行15分鐘的快速檢測。

“所有醫院必須即刻為有流感症狀的高風險群，及連續2日發燒高達攝氏38度的病人進行快速檢測，及提供抗病毒藥物。”

快速檢測儀15分鐘內確認

他說，快速檢測儀可以在15分鐘內分辨病人是患A型或是B型流感，若是A型流感就須進一步測試是否屬於H1N1。

不宣佈衛生緊急狀態
死亡率0.4%不比其他國家高

廖中萊說，國內的A型流感情況雖然嚴重，但仍不至於要頒佈全國進入衛生緊急狀態（Kesihatan Darurat）的地步。

他說，若是宣佈進入衛生緊急狀態，所有社區都必須隔離，同時政府必須管制所有人的流動。

他說，根據世界衛生組織的計算法，大馬的死亡率介於0.1%至0.4%，不會比其他國家高。

“有98%的A型流感病人接受治療後痊癒，而且以目前有51人在普通病房留醫的情況看來，這樣的人數並不多；因此，公眾無須恐慌。”

他說，只要民眾給予配合，每個人都負起責任，如感冒病人自動戴口罩，在家自我隔離和不出席人多的活動，A型流感就可以受到遏止。

若接教部指示
衛生部不阻提早放假

廖中萊說，若教育部認為有必要指示學校提早放假，衛生部不會阻攔。

他說，決定提早放假是教育部的權限，但目前情況是大多數的學校都處於考試期，或許考試過後可這麼做。

他說，對衛生部而言，學校可通過掃描和檢測把發燒和有流感症狀的學生分開，所以學校可以是個安全區，沒有感染A型流感或沒有流感症狀的學生，可以如常到學校上課。

詢及出席率低達多少巴仙，學校才可以關閉，廖中萊說，這交由學校自行決定。

【熱點新聞：A(H1N1)型流感恐慌】

A型流感再奪走5人性命

2009-08-14T17:26:00.000+08:00

（布城）A（H1N1）型流感今日（週五，8月14日）再奪走5人的性命，使到累積死亡病例增至56宗。

衛生總監丹斯里依斯邁週五發表文告，目前有72人還留醫，27人在加護病房，當中18人是高風險群，分別是慢性病（10人）、肥胖（4人）、孩童（2人），以及孕婦和產婦各一名。

他說，在5名死者當中，4人是高風險群，即肥胖、糖尿病及肺炎各一人，糖尿病一人，和兩名孩童。

他說，5人是分別於8月8日（1人）、11日（2人）和12日（2人）死亡。

【熱點新聞：A(H1N1)型流感恐慌】

Michael Jackson, Farrah Fawcett both die (Update 2)

2009-06-26T22:38:00.000+08:00

PETALING JAYA: The entertainment world suffered a double blow when it was reported early Friday morning (Malaysian time) that both pop giant Michael Jackson and 1970s TV star Farrah Fawcett had died in Los Angeles.

Jackson, the “King of Pop” who once moonwalked above the music world, died as he prepared for a comeback bid to vanquish nightmare years of sexual scandal and financial calamity. He was 50.

He died Thursday at UCLA Medical Centre after being stricken at his rented home in Holmby Hills. Paramedics tried to resuscitate him at his home for nearly three-quarters of an hour, then rushed him to the hospital, where doctors continued to work on him.

“It is believed he suffered cardiac arrest in his home. However, the cause of his death is unknown until results of the autopsy are known,” his brother Jermaine said. Police said they were investigating, standard procedure in high-profile cases.

In this Aug. 29, 1993 file photo, pop singer Michael Jackson performs during his "Dangerous" concert in National Stadium, Singapore. (AP Photo/C.F. Tham, file)

Jackson’s death brought a tragic end to a long, bizarre, sometimes farcical decline from his peak in the 1980s, when he was popular music’s premier all-around performer, a uniter of black and white music who shattered the race barrier on MTV, dominated the charts and dazzled even more on stage.

His 1982 album Thriller -- which included the blockbuster hits Beat It, Billie Jean and Thriller -- is the best-selling album of all time, with an estimated 50 million copies sold worldwide.

At the time of his death, Jackson was rehearsing hard for what was to be his greatest comeback: He was scheduled for an unprecedented 50 shows at a London arena, with the first set for July 13.

As word of his death spread, MTV switched its programming to play videos from Jackson’s heyday. Radio stations began playing marathons of his hits. Hundreds of people gathered outside the hospital.

In New York’s Times Square, a low groan went up in the crowd when a screen flashed that Jackson had died, and people began relaying the news to friends by cellphone.

“No joke. King of Pop is no more. Wow,” Michael Harris, 36, of New York City, read from a text message a friend had sent him. “It’s like when Kennedy was assassinated. I will always remember being in Times Square when Michael Jackson died.”

The public first knew him as a boy in the late 1960s, when he was the precocious, spinning lead singer of the Jackson 5, the singing group he formed with his four older brothers out of Gary, Indiana. Among their No 1 hits were I Want You Back, ABC and I’ll Be There.

Michael Jackson is seen in file pictures from top left, 1971, 1977, 1979, and bottom left, 1983, 1987, and 1990. Jackson has died in Los Angeles at age 50 on Thursday, June 25, 2009. (AP Photo)

He was perhaps the most exciting performer of his generation, known for his backward-gliding moonwalk, his feverish, crotch-grabbing dance moves and his high-pitched singing, punctuated with squeals and titters. His single sequined glove, tight, military-style jacket and aviator sunglasses were trademarks, as was his ever-changing, surgically altered appearance.

“For Michael to be taken away from us so suddenly at such a young age, I just don’t have the words,” said Quincy Jones, who produced Thriller.

“He was the consummate entertainer and his contributions and legacy will be felt upon the world forever. I’ve lost my little brother today, and part of my soul has gone with him.”

Jackson ranked alongside Elvis Presley and the Beatles as the biggest pop sensations of all time. He united two of music’s biggest names when he was briefly married to Presley’s daughter, Lisa Marie, and Jackson’s death immediately evoked comparisons to that of Presley himself, who died at age 42 in 1977.

As years went by, Jackson became an increasingly freakish figure -- a middle-aged man-child weirdly out of touch with grown-up life. His skin became lighter, his nose narrower, and he spoke in a breathy, girlish voice. He often wore a germ mask while traveling, kept a pet chimpanzee named Bubbles as one of his closest companions, and surrounded himself with children at his Neverland ranch, a storybook playland filled with toys, rides and animals.

The tabloids dubbed him “Wacko Jacko.”

“It seemed to me that his internal essence was at war with the norms of the world. It’s as if he was trying to defy gravity,” said Michael Levine, a Hollywood publicist who represented Jackson in the early 1990s. He called Jackson a “disciple of PT Barnum” and said the star appeared fragile at the time but was “much more cunning and shrewd about the industry than anyone knew.”

Jackson caused a furore in 2002 when he playfully dangled his infant son, Prince Michael II, over a hotel balcony in Berlin while a throng of fans watched from below.

In 2005, he was cleared of charges he molested a 13-year-old cancer survivor at Neverland in 2003. He had been accused of plying the boy with alcohol and groping him, and of engaging in strange and inappropriate behaviour with other children.

The case followed years of rumours about Jackson and young boys. In a TV documentary, he acknowledged sharing his bed with children, a practice he described as sweet and not at all sexual.

Police are seen outside UCLA Medical Center, where Michael Jackson was taken in Los Angeles Thursday, June 25, 2009. Michael Jackson died Thursday at age 50. (AP Photo/Reed Saxon)

Despite the acquittal, the lurid allegations that came out in court took a fearsome toll on his career and image, and he fell into serious financial trouble.

Michael Joseph Jackson was born Aug 29, 1958, in Gary. He was four years old when he began singing with his brothers -- Marlon, Jermaine, Jackie and Tito -- in the Jackson 5. After his early success with bubblegum soul, he struck out on his own, generating innovative, explosive, unstoppable music.

The album Thriller alone mixed the dark, serpentine bass and drums and synthesizer approach of Billie Jean, the grinding Eddie Van Halen solo on Beat It, and the hiccups and falsettos on Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’.

The peak may have come in 1983, when Motown celebrated its 25th anniversary with an all-star televised concert and Jackson moonwalked off with the show, joining his brothers for a medley of old hits and then leaving them behind with a pointing, crouching, high-kicking, splay-footed, crotch-grabbing run through Billie Jean.

The audience stood and roared. Jackson raised his fist.

By then he had cemented his place in pop culture. He got the plum Scarecrow role in the 1978 movie musical The Wiz, a pop-R&B version of The Wizard of Oz, that starred Diana Ross as Dorothy.

During production of a 1984 Pepsi commercial, Jackson’s scalp sustains burns when an explosion sets his hair on fire.

He had strong follow-up albums with 1987’s Bad and 1991’s Dangerous, but his career began to collapse in 1993 after he was accused of molesting a boy who often stayed at his home. The singer denied any wrongdoing, reached a settlement with the boy’s family, reported to be US$20mil, and criminal charges were never filed.

Jackson’s expressed anger over the allegations on the 1995 album HIStory, which sold more than 2.4 million copies, but by then, the popularity of Jackson’s music was clearly waning, even as public fascination with his increasingly erratic behaviour was growing.

Jackson married Lisa Marie Presley in 1994, and they divorced in 1996. Later that year, Jackson married Deborah Rowe, a former nurse for his dermatologist. They had two children together: Michael Joseph Jackson Jr, known as Prince Michael, and Paris Michael Katherine Jackson. Rowe filed for divorce in 1999.

Cardiac arrest is an abnormal heart rhythm that stops the heart from pumping blood to the body. It can occur after a heart attack or be caused by other heart problems.

Mike Trikilis, founder of Pro Arts in Medina, the company that produced the iconic Farrah Fawcett poster, holds an original poster in his apartment on Thursday, June 25, 2009 in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio. (AP Photo/Akron Beacon Journal, Mike Cardew)

Billboard magazine editorial director Bill Werde said Jackson’s star power was unmatched.

“The world just lost the biggest pop star in history, no matter how you cut it,” Werde said. “He’s literally the king of pop.”

Jackson’s 13 No 1 one hits on the Billboard charts put him behind only Presley, the Beatles and Mariah Carey, Werde said.

“He was on the eve of potentially redeeming his career a little bit,” he said. “People might have started to think of him again in a different light.”

Charlie’s sexiest Angel
Meanwhile Fawcett, the Charlie’s Angels star whose feathered blond hair and dazzling smile made her one of the biggest sex symbols of the 1970s, died Thursday after battling cancer. She was 62.

The pop culture icon, who in the 1980s set aside the fantasy girl image to tackle serious roles, died shortly before 9:30am in a Santa Monica hospital, spokesman Paul Bloch said.

Ryan O’Neal, the longtime companion who had reunited with Fawcett as she fought cancer, was at her side, along with close friend Alana Stewart, Bloch said.

“After a long and brave battle with cancer, our beloved Farrah has passed away,” O’Neal said. “Although this is an extremely difficult time for her family and friends, we take comfort in the beautiful times that we shared with Farrah over the years and the knowledge that her life brought joy to so many people around the world.”

Other Charlie’s Angels stars paid tribute to her.

“Farrah had courage, she had strength, and she had faith. And now she has peace as she rests with the real angels,” Jaclyn Smith said.

Said Cheryl Ladd: “She was incredibly brave, and God will be welcoming her with open arms.”

Fawcett burst on the scene in 1976 as one-third of the crime-fighting trio in TV’s Charlie’s Angels. A poster of her in a clingy swimsuit sold in the millions.

Her full, layered hairstyle became all the rage, with girls and women across America adopting the look.

She left the show after one season but had a flop on the big screen with Somebody Killed Her Husband. She turned to more serious roles in the 1980s and 1990s, winning praise playing an abused wife in The Burning Bed.

She had been diagnosed with cancer in 2006. As she underwent treatment, she enlisted the help of O’Neal, who was the father of her now 24-year-old son, Redmond.

This month, O’Neal said he asked Fawcett to marry him and she agreed, but they were unable to wed before she died.

Her struggle with painful treatments and dispiriting setbacks was recorded in a television documentary Farrah’s Story. Fawcett sought cures in Germany as well as the United States, battling the disease with iron determination even as her body weakened.

“Her big message to people is don’t give up, no matter what they say to you, keep fighting,” her friend Stewart said. NBC estimated the May 15, 2009, broadcast drew nearly nine million viewers.

In the documentary, Fawcett was seen shaving off most of her trademark locks before chemotherapy could claim them. Toward the end, she’s seen huddled in bed, barely responding to a visit from her son.

Fawcett, Kate Jackson and Smith made up the original Angels, the sexy, police-trained trio of martial arts experts who took their assignments from a rich, mysterious boss named Charlie (John Forsythe, who was never seen on camera but whose distinctive voice was heard on speaker phone.)

The programme made its debut in September 1976, the height of what some critics derisively referred to as television’s “jiggle show” era, and it gave each of the actresses ample opportunity to show off their figures as they disguised themselves in bathing suits and as hookers and strippers to solve crimes.

Backed by a clever publicity campaign, Fawcett -- then billed as Farrah Fawcett-Majors because of her marriage to The Six Million Dollar Man star Lee Majors -- quickly became the most popular Angel of all.

“She was an angel on Earth and now an angel forever,” Majors said Thursday.

Her face helped sell T-shirts, lunch boxes, shampoo, wigs and even a novelty plumbing device called Farrah’s faucet. Her flowing blond hair, pearly white smile and trim, shapely body made her a favourite with male viewers in particular.

A poster of her in a dampened red swimsuit sold millions of copies and became a ubiquitous wall decoration in teenagers’ rooms.

Thus the public and the show’s producer, Spelling-Goldberg, were shocked when she announced after the series’ first season that she was leaving television’s No 5-rated series to star in feature films. (Ladd became the new “Angel” on the series.)

But the movies turned out to be a platform where Fawcett was never able to duplicate her TV success. Her first star vehicle, the comedy-mystery Somebody Killed Her Husband, flopped and Hollywood cynics cracked that it should have been titled Somebody Killed Her Career.

The actress had also been in line to star in Foul Play for Columbia Pictures. But the studio opted for Goldie Hawn instead.

“Spelling-Goldberg warned all the studios that that they would be sued for damages if they employed me,” Fawcett told The Associated Press in 1979. “The studios wouldn’t touch me.”

She finally reached an agreement to appear in three episodes of Charlie’s Angels a season, an experience she called “painful.”

She returned to making movies, including the futuristic thriller Logan’s Run, the comedy-thriller Sunburn and the strange sci-fi tale Saturn 3, but none clicked with the public.

Fawcett fared better with television movies such as Murder in Texas, Poor Little Rich Girl and especially as an abused wife in 1984’s The Burning Bed. The last earned her an Emmy nomination and the long-denied admission from critics that she really could act.

As further proof of her acting credentials, Fawcett appeared off-Broadway in Extremities as a woman who is raped in her own home. She repeated the role in the 1986 film version.

Not content to continue playing victims, she switched type. She played a murderous mother in the 1989 true-crime story Small Sacrifices and a tough lawyer on the trail of a thief in 1992’s Criminal Behavior.

She also starred in biographies of Nazi-hunter Beate Klarsfeld and photographer Margaret Bourke-White.

“I felt that I was doing a disservice to ourselves by portraying only women as victims,” she commented in a 1992 interview.

In 1995, at age 50, Fawcett posed partly nude for Playboy magazine. The following year, she starred in a Playboy video, All of Me,” in which she was equally unclothed while she sculpted and painted.

She told an interviewer she considered the experience “a renaissance,” adding, “I no longer feel ... restrictions emotionally, artistically, creatively or in my everyday life. I don’t feel those borders anymore.”

Fawcett’s most unfortunate career moment may have been a 1997 appearance on David Letterman’s show, when her disjointed, rambling answers led many to speculate that she was on drugs. She denied that, blaming her strange behaviour on questionable advice from her mother to be playful and have a good time.

In September 2006, Fawcett, who at 59 still maintained a strict regimen of tennis and paddleball, began to feel strangely exhausted. She underwent two weeks of tests and was told the devastating news: She had anal cancer.

O’Neal, with whom she had a 17-year relationship, again became her constant companion, escorting her to the hospital for chemotherapy.

“She’s so strong,” the actor told a reporter. “I love her. I love her all over again.”

She struggled to maintain her privacy, but a UCLA Medical Centre employee pleaded guilty in late 2008 to violating federal medical privacy law for commercial purposes for selling records of Fawcett and other celebrities to the National Enquirer.

“It’s much easier to go through something and deal with it without being under a microscope,” she told the Los Angeles Times in an interview in which she also revealed that she helped set up a sting that led to the hospital worker’s arrest.

Her decision to tell her own story through the NBC documentary was meant as an inspiration to others, friends said. The segments showing her cancer treatment, including a trip to Germany for procedures there, were originally shot for a personal, family record, they said.

And although weak, she continued to show flashes of grit and good humour in the documentary.

“I do not want to die of this disease. So I say to God, ‘It is seriously time for a miracle’,” she said at one point.

Born Feb 2, 1947, in Corpus Christi, Texas, she was named Mary Farrah Leni Fawcett by her mother, who said she added the Farrah because it sounded good with Fawcett. She was less than a month old when she underwent surgery to remove a digestive tract tumor with which she was born.

After attending Roman Catholic grade school and WB Ray High School, Fawcett enrolled at the University of Texas at Austin. Fellow students voted her one of the 10 most beautiful people on the campus and her photos were eventually spotted by movie publicist David Mirisch, who suggested she pursue a film career. After overcoming her parents’ objections, she agreed.

Soon she was appearing in such TV shows as That Girl, The Flying Nun, I Dream of Jeannie and The Partridge Family.

Majors became both her boyfriend and her adviser on career matters, and they married in 1973. She dropped his last name from hers after they divorced in 1982.

By then she had already begun her long relationship with O’Neal. Both Redmond and Ryan O’Neal have grappled with drug and legal problems in recent years. -- AP

Asia stocks up, Japanese stocks six-month high

2009-05-27T19:08:00.001+08:00

HONG KONG: Asian stock markets shot higher Wednesday after an upbeat reading of American consumer sentiment spurred more hopes of a rapid turnaround in the global economy.

Japanese stocks rose toward six-month highs Wednesday as signs the global recession is easing spread Wall Street's optimism to Asia.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 stock average rose 127.96 points, or 1.4 percent, to 9,438.77.

The broader Topix index gained 1 percent to 892.85.

The Nikkei has gained 11 percent in the last month and is up by more than a third since mid-March.

The rise followed a bullish Tuesday in New York, where the Dow Jones industrials jumped 2.4 percent after new data showed that consumer sentiment rose in May to the highest level since September.

Spending by individuals makes up more than two-thirds of U.S. economic activity, and is closely watched by major Japanese exporters whose fortunes are closely tied to the American consumer.

Investors also cheered Japan's April trade numbers, which offered more evidence that the worst of the recession may be over.

Exports in April fell 39.1 percent from a year earlier, slowing from the 45.6 percent decline posted in March, the Ministry of Finance said.

The improvement in exports, which likely bottomed in February, will be "both sustainable and profitable," said Kyohei Morita, chief Japan economist at Barclays Capital in Tokyo.

Financial issues, shipping lines and precision equipment makers led Wednesday's gains.

Nomura Holdings Inc., Japan's biggest securities firm, soared 4.7 percent to 719 yen, while smaller rival Daiwa Securities Group Inc. shot up 3.7 percent to 610 yen.

Camera maker Nikon Corp. jumped 3.5 percent to 1,396 yen after the company said Tuesday it will cut 1,000 jobs worldwide by March 2010 to try to save 8 billion yen ($84 million) in annual costs.

In currencies, the dollar bought 95.18 yen from 95.26 yen. The euro stood at $1.3953 from $1.3996.

In other parts of Asia, before the markets closed, the swing higher lifted most industries and markets, with Hong Kong shares up nearly 5 percent, following days of jittery trade amid concerns about the economy, debt ratings of Western countries and North Korea's nuclear test.

The dollar strengthened against the yen, while oil prices hovered above $62 a barrel.

Still, traders cautioned the market was being largely driven by hot money and starting to value equities far above what companies can actually earn unless worldwide economic activity picks up dramatically in the coming months.

"The recovery that we have seen in the market so far has surpassed expectations and it remains to be seen if this trend will continue," said John Mar, co-head of sales trading, Daiwa Securities SMBC Co. in Hong Kong.

"Finding investment ideas with lucrative upside is becoming far more difficult by the day. Current valuations are reflecting a very rapid global economic recovery and that seems unlikely," he said.

In early trade Hong Kong's Hang Seng surged 799.89, or 4.7 percent, to 17,791.45, while South Korea's Kospi - overshadowed by North Korea's increasingly aggressive posture - slipped 0.2 percent to 1,368.75.

Shanghai's index added 1.4 percent, Australia's benchmark was up 0.6 percent, Taiwan's stock measure gained 3.5 percent, and Singapore's index added 2.2 percent.

Overnight in the U.S., the Dow rose 196.17, or 2.4 percent, to 8,473.49.

The S&P 500 index rose 23.33, or 2.6 percent, to 910.33, and the Nasdaq rose 58.42, or 3.5 percent, to 1,750.43.

Stock futures pointed to a mixed open Wednesday on Wall Street.

Dow futures fell 17, or 0.2 percent, to 8,444 while S&P futures rose 0.6, or 0.1 percent, to 909.30.

Oil prices were steady in Asian trade, with benchmark crude for July delivery up 2 cents to $62.47 a barrel.

On Tuesday, the contract rose 78 cents to settle at $62.45. - AP

For Another perspective from The Daily Yomiuri, a partner of Asia News Network, click here

Latest NYSE, NASDAQ and other business news, from AP-Wire

For latest Bursa Malaysia indices, charts and other information click here

New York Stock Exchange:
http://www.nyse.com

Nasdaq Stock Market:
http://www.nasdaq.com

For Tokyo Stock Exchange click here

Hong Kong leads the pack in Asian stock market surge

2009-05-20T16:07:00.000+08:00

PETALING JAYA: Since the beginning of March this year, global equity markets have experienced what experts are still divided on whether to call a bear market rally or the start of a bull run.

Leading the pack in Asia, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index’s impressive 54% rise during the two-month period dwarfed the KL Composite Index’s (KLCI) 22% gain over the same period.

Citigroup, in an Asia ex-Japan strategy report dated May 18, said the “market had achieved in 10 weeks what normally takes 24 months”’ in terms of stock price recovery.

Such was the investors’ voracious appetite for Asian equities it was only matched by the intensity of the sell-off on the region’s stock markets last year.

But while the run-up over the past two months had made share prices neither cheap nor expensive compared to their historical average, pent-up demand for stock investment means there are still a lot of buyers coming in to take advantage of any slip.

“Coming off a depressed level in March, the global equity markets are enjoying an Indian summer,” MIDF Research head Zulkifli Hamzah said yesterday.

He added that there was still a lot of liquidity to prop up prices, but eventually market fundamentals would have to play catch up with share price advances.

On Bursa Malaysia yesterday, the KLCI shot up 11.48 points, or 1.3%, to 1,023.49 points. That was just below the eight-month high of 1,026 points hit on May 8.

Market turnover was a robust 1.75 billion shares worth RM1.6bil.

Blue chip stocks led the market higher, with 73 out of the 102 stocks that made up the KLCI closing in positive territory for the day.

Shares in Axiata Group Bhd, Telekom Malaysia Bhd’s international mobile company, rose 11 sen to RM2.32, ahead of its latest quarterly results released after trading hours yesterday.

In the broader market, rising stocks outnumbered losers 544 counters to 158, while 155 counters were unchanged.

The FTSE Bursa Malaysia Small Cap Index gained 3.5% yesterday, rebounding strongly after falling 7.6% over the past three days from a nine-month high.

The regional markets roared, with stocks in Hong Kong and Singapore surging by at least 3% to close at their highest levels since October last year.

In India, share prices moved in and out of positive territory after rising a record 17% on Monday following the Congress Party’s return to power with a bigger majority.

Apart from India’s domestic catalyst, most Asian markets were up yesterday propelled by growing optimism that the worst part of the global financial and economic crisis is already behind.

At current price levels, Citigroup says stocks in Asia ex-Japan are no longer a valuation call.

“It is a call on liquidity and on the psychology of the bear,” analysts Markus Rosgen and Elaine Chu wrote.

The analysts also have a bleaker assessment on the magnitude of a market correction compared to consensus forecast of 5% to 10% pullback.

“If a correction happens, we expect it will be 20%-30% with an increasingly unfavourable risk reward,” they said.

Latest NYSE, NASDAQ and other business news, from AP-Wire

Happy Birthday

2009-05-18T10:38:00.001+08:00

Happy Birthday to you
Happy Birthday to you
Happy Birthday to you
Happy Birthday to you

Cantonese
Juk Lei Sang Yat Fai Lok
Juk Lei Sang Yat Fai Lok
Juk Lei Sang Yat Fai Lok~
Juk Lei Sang Yat Fai Lok

Mandarin
Zhu Ni Sheng Ri Kuai Le
Zhu Ni Sheng Ri Kuai Le
Zhu Ni Sheng Ri Kuai Le
Zhu Ni Sheng Ri Kuai Le

Malay
Selamat Hari Jadi
Selamat Hari Jadi
Selamat Hari Jadi
Selamat Hari Jadi

Japanese
O TA N JO BI O M D TO
O TA N JO BI O M D TO
KYO WA TCHA N NO TA N JO BI
O TA N JO BI O M D TO

Korean
Sang-il Chookha-Hapneeda
Sang-il Chookha-Hapneeda
Jul Guh Woon Sang-il Ulh
Chookha-Hapneeda

Spanish
Cumpleanos Feliz
Cumpleanos Feliz
Cumpleanos Feliz
Cumpleanos Feliz

French
Bonne Fete A Toi
Bonne Fete A Toi
Bonne Fete A Toi
Bonne Fete A Toi

German
Zum Geburstag Viel Gluck
Zum Geburstag Viel Gluck
Zum Geburstag Viel Gluck
Zum Geburstag Viel Gluck

WHO raises alert to Phase Five

2009-05-01T11:40:00.001+08:00

GENEVA: The World Health Organisation has raised the alert for swine flu to Phase Five, which means that a pandemic is imminent.

It advised countries to take steps to be prepared for outbreaks and brace their populations for the disease.

In Malaysia, Health Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai said the Government was on “high alert”.

Border checks: A nurse screening foreign tourists at the Bukit Kayu Hitam CIQ checkpoint on the Malaysian-Thai border Thursday. — G.C. TAN / The Star

> Under the country’s National Influenza Pandemic Preparedness Plan, the ministry will go all out to raise awareness on the flu.

> Pharmacies across the nation are stocking up on face masks and flu medication.

> Experts warn that swine flu could be as big a killer as the 1918 Spanish flu if not properly contained.

> Mexico to partially shut down economy.

> Doubts over thermal scanners in swine flu fight.

> WHO changes swine flu name to ‘influenza A (H1N1)’

Najib names 28-member Cabinet (Update 6)

2009-04-09T20:14:00.000+08:00

PUTRAJAYA: Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak announced a 28-member Cabinet with 25 ministries that saw eight ministers dropped and seven new faces appointed.

Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, who won the Umno deputy presidency in last month’s party elections, was appointed Deputy Prime Minister and Education Minister.

Najib, who took his oath of office as the new prime minister on April 3, also retained the finance portfolio which he has held since Sept 19 last year following the portfolio swap between him and former premier Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi at that time.

Najib’s Cabinet is slightly smaller than his predecessor’s 32 ministers and 27 ministries.

Najib said that the new members of the administration were highly spirited and ready to serve.

“I am confident that all of them share the same commitment to spur the nation towards excellence.

“This is our lineup and our team which reflects Malaysia’s plural society,“ he said when announcing the list at the Prime Minister’s Department, carried live on national television.

The new Cabinet also a reflection of the slogan “One Malaysia. People First. Performance Now” adopted by Najib’s administration.

The eight dropped are Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar (Home), Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said (Tourism), Senator Tan Sri Muhammad Muhammad Taib (Rural and Regional Development), Senator Datuk Amirsham A. Aziz (Prime Minister’s Department), Datuk Seri Ong Ka Chuan (Housing and Local Government), Datuk Mohd Zin Mohamed (Works), Datuk Seri Zulhasnan Rafique (Federal Territories) and Datuk Shahrir Abdul Samad (Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs) who had resigned.

The new faces includes Gerakan president Tan Sri Dr Koh Tsu Koon who is appointed Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department in charge of Unity and Performance Management.

The functions of the Entrepreneur and Cooperative Development will be absorbed by other ministries -- for example, small and medium enterprise development will come under International Trade and Industry, while Mara and Tekun will be overseen by Rural and Regional Development.

Najib also announced that he would be forming a Council of Economic Advisers, consisting of between six and eight experts who will advise him directly on economic matters. The chairman of the Council will have ministerial rank but would not be part of the Cabinet.

Najib was at Istana Terengganu in Kuala Lumpur at about 10:57am where he had a 30-min audience with the Yang Di-Pertuan Agong Tuanku Mizan, before leaving for Putrajaya where he announced the new line-up at 3pm.

The premier had spent the last five days juggling names and positions to take into consideration the requests and views of various Barisan Nasional component parties.

The new ministers and deputy ministers will take their oath of office at Istana Negara at 9.30am Friday.

NEW CABINET LINE-UP:

Prime Minister and Finance Minister 1: Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak

Deputy PM and Education Minister: Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin

Ministers in Prime Minister’s Department
Unity and Performance Management: Tan Sri Dr Koh Tsu Koon
Law and Parliament: Datuk Seri Mohamed Nazri Aziz
Religious Affairs: Brig. Gen. (Rtd) Datuk Jamil Khir Baharum
Economic Planning Unit: Tan Sri Nor Mohamed Yakcop

Deputies: Datuk Liew Vui Keong, Senator Datuk Dr Mashitah Ibrahim, Datuk SK Devamany, Ahmad Maslan, Senator T. Murugiah

Finance
Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak
Finance Minister II: Datuk Ahmad Husni Hanadzlah
Deputies: Datuk Chor Chee Heung, Datuk Dr Awang Adek Hussein

Education
Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin
Deputies: Datuk Wee Ka Siong, Datuk Puad Zarkashi

Transport
Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat
Deputies: Datuk Abdul Rahim Bakri, Datuk Robert Lau

Home
Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein
Deputies: Datuk Wira Abu Seman Yusop, Jelaing Mersat

Information, Communications, Arts and Culture
Datuk Seri Dr Rais Yatim
Deputies: Datuk Joseph Salang Gandum, Senator Heng Seai Kie

Energy, Green Technology & Water
Datuk Peter Chin Fah Kui
Deputy: Noriah Kasnon

Plantation Industries and Commodities
Tan Sri Bernard Dompok
Deputy: Datuk Hamzah Zainuddin

Rural and Regional Development
Datuk Seri Shafie Apdal
Deputies: Datuk Hassan Malek, Datuk Joseph Entulu

Higher Education
Datuk Seri Khaled Nordin
Deputies: Dr Hou Kok Chung, Saifuddin Abdullah

International Trade and Industry
Datuk Mustapa Mohamed
Deputies: Datuk Muhkriz Mahathir, Datuk Jacob Dungau

Science, Technology and Innovation
Datuk Dr Maximus Ongkili
Deputy: Fadillah Yusof

Natural Resources and Environment
Datuk Douglas Uggah Embas
Deputy: Tan Sri Joseph Kurup

Tourism
Datuk Seri Dr Ng Yen Yen
Deputy: Datuk Seri Sulaiman Abdul Rahman Abdul Taib

Agriculture and Agro-based Industries
Datuk Noh Omar
Deputies: Johari Baharum, Rohani Abdul Karim

Defence
Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi
Deputy: Datuk Dr Abdul Latif

Works
Datuk Shaziman Abu Mansor
Deputy: Datuk Yong Khoon Seng

Health
Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai
Deputy: Datuk Rosnah Rashid Shilin

Youth and Sports
Datuk Ahmad Shabery Cheek
Deputies: Datuk Razali Ibrahim, Wee Jeck Seng

Human Resources
Datuk Dr S. Subramaniam
Deputy: Datuk Maznah Mazlan

Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs
Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri
Deputy: Datuk Tan Lian Hoe

Housing and Local Government
Datuk Kong Cho Ha
Deputy: Lajim Ukin

Women, Family and Community Development
Datuk Seri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil
Deputy: Datin Paduka Chew Mei Fun

Foreign Affairs
Datuk Anifah Aman
Deputies: Datuk Lee Chee Leong, Senator A. Kohilan Pillai

Federal Territories
Datuk Raja Nong Chik Zainal Abidin
Deputy: Datuk M. Saravanan

Related articles:

Tee Keat: MCA hopes to retain same number of posts

Umno may give up four posts

Najib continues to meet BN component party leaders

Thousands of jobs on offer at MCA fair on Thursday

2009-04-07T14:13:00.001+08:00

PETALING JAYA: Those seeking employment are urged to attend the MCA’s job fair on Thursday which will see thousands of jobs being offered by various employers and an online job matching provider.

MCA’s ICT Resource Centre (MIRC) chief executive officer Andrew Wong said they were expecting more than 5,000 job seekers at the fair which will open at 9.30am at Wisma MCA.

“We urge everyone seeking employment to come to this job fair as there will be onsite interviews, career talks, free training and job -matching sessions for job seekers all day long,” he said in a statement yesterday.

More than 70 exhibitors have confirmed participation at the one-day fair including top-notch companies from various industries.

MCA president and Transport Minister Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat will open the fair.

It is part of Project Revitalise announced previously by Deputy Finance Minister and MCA vice-president Datuk Kong Cho Ha.

The project is an employment programme aimed at providing online part-time job matching and training opportunities for job seekers and employers.

“It is to promote and educate companies to consider hiring workers on a part-time basis rather than retrenching, freeze hiring or downsizing.

“The MCA job fair will be the national launch platform for Project Revitalise that brings employers and job seekers together,” the statement said.

The event is a joint collaboration among MIRC, YourPartTime.com, xTrain and MCA Youth’s economic special task force. For details, log on to www.yourparttime.com/mcajobfair or contact MIRC at 1-300-88-MIRC.

International Branding: A Study on Branding for Small to Medium-sized Enterprises (SME)

2009-03-29T15:04:00.000+08:00

Dear Respondent,

This research is to fulfill my Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) (HONS) majoring in INternational Business study in the Faculty of Business and Law, Multimedia University (MMU).
The purpose of this research is to study on branding for Small to Medium-sized Enterprises (SME). This research will help to further our understanding on the enterprisers' opinion or views towards branding for Small to Medium-sized Enterprises.

Click here to do a Survey

If you need further clarification, please email me at jiajian_85@yahoo.com

Thank You.

Gold For Bread

2009-03-18T01:04:00.001+08:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ubJp6rmUYM

米呢

2009-03-12T19:24:00.002+08:00

您输入的三个汉字为：我再野

〖诗曰〗：一头猜可祭天地虽丧身亦算好处

〖签释〗：
猪，从来就是人类的朋友，产它一身是宝，实不为过。从古至今，人类在拜祭天地神灵，祖宗，菩萨的时候，都将猪头作为珍贵的祀品之一。牺牲一词，古代意指祭祀品。就这种意义而言，猪虽丧身却值得，有意义。这支签的主旨，就是说的这个道理：虽然有失，但天佑人助，终必有得。猪在十二生肖中排在最后，地支中的亥，就是属猪，亥字在古金文中的形象，与一头猪毫无区别。整整一头猪的经济价值不能算小，能奉献出来去祭祀天地，是善于理财的一种表现。这样做合乎规律和君子之道。所以钱财物物资，均视为身外之物，赐之于天，用之天，有何不可?钱财聚得多时，也要自觉减损，以免招嫌，如缴纳赋税，购习公俩，支援灾民等等都是这样一类正当之举。明白了这个理财之道，还一生不富么?

您输入的三个汉字为：谁还我

〖诗曰〗：珠玉走盘中田园定阜丰休言谋示遂此去便亨通

〖签释〗：
珠玉与肋，皆团圆之珍物，圆满而吉祥的征兆。预测田园土产必定丰足。阜，富足的意思。不要说目的不能达到，这回去了，一定能取得圆满成功。西冯方向，京都大邑，形胜之地，高亢之所，可望成就。秋，九，十月之交，戌亥年月日时，正是成功最佳时刻。饮食禁忌：荔枝，桂园(龙眼)等圆型果品，诸物之首，海鲜及肝，胆腰等下水。西北成名有望，大权可揽，宜入京师。吉祥色彩：大红，玄青色。若论婚姻，可成，大吉。

您输入的三个汉字为：享天福

〖诗曰〗：江海悠悠烟波下钩六鳌连获歌笑中流

〖签释〗：
成就这桩事情最重要的因素是水。水在五行中的关系是这样：水由金生，水能旺木，生木，却被土所克制。水所对应的方位是北方，旺地冬季，衰于辰髦焐戌月(即农历三月和九月。在周易里所对应的卦名叫坎，坎卦北方之神又叫玄武。你在北排好这桩事业，将在冬季里获得一连串的收获，令你异常高兴，欢歌笑语，神气悠然。在整个事业里，属猪和羊的朋友，将会给你决定性的帮助。而生肖为蛇的人，你却应当加以提防，不要让其过多介入，误了大事。同时你也要提防心脏方面的疾病，并且防范失盗的可能损失。

您输入的三个汉字为：柱大错

〖诗曰〗：鱼上钩丝纶弱收拾难力再着

〖签释〗：
鱼儿咬上钩。锋利的倒刺扎进了唇吻，这是一人严重的警告，危机来临，只有拼死逃命了。于是鱼迅疾的逃窜，翻跃，上下冲腾，左右迂回，心中只有一个信念：免除劫难。渔翁的心理何尝不是紧张万分?企盼中寄托着喜，喜又掺杂着几分担忧，担忧中又免不了几分不甘。手中的钓竿被丝牵制弯成了弓状，时而又被弹回来了。拉力不的丝纶，会不会经不住几个回合而崩断呢?渔翁的心理，激烈地跳动，都要堵嗓子眼了。不是鱼获，就是丝断，这是殊死的搏斗，对于渔翁，对于水中挣扎的鱼儿，都没罢手的余地，这种局面难以对付，难以收拾。渔夫受到了生平最大的艰难，最大的刺激。胜利往往潜藏在再坚持一会儿的努力之中。朋友你读过海明威的<<老人与海>>吗?这部成功力作获得诺贝尔奖，不是没有道理的。你不妨找来一读。

World Bank says global economy will shrink in 2009

2009-03-09T12:05:00.000+08:00

NEW YORK: The World Bank said Sunday that the global economy will shrink this year for the first time since World War II and that the global financial crisis will make it tougher for poor and developing nations to access needed financing.

Trade is forecast to fall to its lowest point in 80 years in 2009, as economic hardship ripples across the globe, the bank said.

The most drastic trade slowdowns are expected in East Asia, where growth had been robust, the bank said in a paper prepared for a meeting of finance ministers and central bank officials next week.

The impact on the poorest countries will be severe, the bank said, predicting that a group of 129 countries face a shortfall of $270 to $700 billion this year.

The bank, which offers low-interest loans and grants to developing nations, warned international financial institutions will not be able to cover even the low end of that estimate.

Only one-quarter of those vulnerable countries will be able to ease the economic downturn through job creation or "safety net" programs, the bank said.

The ramifications of the growing financial crisis on the world's poorest nations will likely remain for some time, the bank said.

Because richer nations are borrowing more, developing nations are being squeezed out and many financial organizations that have provided financing to lower-income countries "have virtually disappeared."

Developing countries that are still able to get credit will face higher borrowing costs and lower cash flow which will lead to weaker investment and slower growth, the bank said.

To ease the burden on developing nations, the bank urged cooperation from developed nations, global institutions and the private sector.

"We need to react in real time to a growing crisis that is hurting people in developing countries," World Bank Group President Robert B. Zoellick said.

"This global crisis needs a global solution and preventing an economic catastrophe in developing countries is important for global efforts to overcome this crisis. We need investments in safety nets, infrastructure, and small and medium size companies to create jobs and to avoid social and political unrest."

Developed countries should spend some of their billions in stimulus funds in poorer nations to ease the burden on those countries, World Bank Chief Economist and Senior Vice President Justin Yifu Lin said.

"Clearly, fiscal resources do have to be injected in rich countries that are at the epicenter of the crisis, but channeling infrastructure investment to the developing world where it can release bottlenecks to growth and quickly restore demand can have an even bigger bang for the buck and should be a key element to recovery," Lin said.

Latest NYSE, NASDAQ and other business news, from AP-Wire

Oil prices tumble after US rescue plan unveiled

2009-02-11T09:15:00.000+08:00

SIOUX FALLS, South Dakota: Oil prices fell alongside the broader markets Tuesday with few details released about a Treasury Department program to raise more than $1 trillion in public and private funds to free up credit markets.

The Dow Jones industrials lost 400 points after Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner announced the rescue plan, and light, sweet crude for March delivery tumbled $2.01 to settle at $37.55 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

It was the second day crude settled below $40, a price last seen three weeks ago.

President Barack Obama's $838 billion economic recovery plan, which was approved by the Senate on Tuesday, did little to reverse oil's downturn.

Phil Flynn, an analyst at Alaron Trading Corp., said investors appear concerned about the inflationary effects of massive government spending.

"People are running to gold as a reaction to the speech and are running away from the stock market. And of course that's pressuring the oil down," he said.

As the competing bills worked their way through the House and Senate, the markets initially appeared to rise with each hint of passage.

The downturn Tuesday could also be a case of "buy the rumor, sell the fact," Flynn said.

Crude prices have fallen from record highs near $150 per barrel over the summer with millions losing their jobs and manufacturers pulling back severely on production.

In its short-term outlook released Tuesday, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said the worsening global economy and a weak consumption means there is plenty of oil on the market, despite recent OPEC cuts.

The EIA said it expects global oil consumption to decline by 1.2 million barrels a day this year but rebound by the same number in 2010.

"OPEC is scheduled to meet in Vienna on March 15, which could lead to another production cut to mitigate some of the slack in the world oil market," the EIA said in its report.

"However, near-month oil prices will likely be driven primarily by the global economy."

The Treasury Department plan could free up credit markets that provide loans to consumers and businesses.

Funding for this effort would see a huge increase - from $20 billion up to $100 billion - according to administration officials.

If $100 billion in funding comes into play, it would be enough to support an additional $1 trillion in lending support through a Federal Reserve program.

That action is still pending, however, while the latest economic report from the government was as dour as it was concrete.

The Commerce department said Tuesday that wholesalers slashed inventories by the largest amount in 16 years.

Inventories plunged by 1.4 percent, nearly double analysts' expectations of 0.8 percent. It also was the fourth straight monthly decline.

Traders have focused on issues that affect spending, like the latest inventory report, rather than issues of supply, which have consistently failed to boost the market this year.

Traders largely brushed off comments Monday from OPEC Secretary General Abdalla el-Badri in London Monday that the group would postpone 35 of 150 new oil and gas projects after crude prices have collapsed from near $150 in July.

El-Badri also said the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, which accounts for about 40 percent of global crude supply, has completed about 80 percent of 4.2 million barrels per day of production cuts announced since September.

"The market realized the headlines regarding OPEC were like snow in Minnesota, i.e. they weren't news," analyst Stephen Schork wrote.

"As such, the market quickly corrected to the lowest level since Christmas Eve."

On Tuesday, Kuwait's new oil minister said he expects crude prices to tumble further in the coming weeks and perhaps beyond.

Sheik Ahmed Al Abdullah Al Sabah said it's too early for his country to decide whether to support another OPEC cut.

He expects demand to fall, but said he's waiting to see if the U.S. economic stimulus package will revive the economy and boost oil demand.

The government releases its next oil inventory report Wednesday and industry experts predict it will show demand continues to wane.

U.S. crude stocks have risen by 27 million barrels over the past month.

Crude inventories could grow by as much as 3.4 million barrels Wednesday, according to the average of estimates in a survey of analysts by Platts, the energy information arm of McGraw-Hill Cos.

In other Nymex trading, gasoline futures fell less than a penny to settle at $1.2439 a gallon.

Heating oil fell 5 cents to settle at $1.3014 a gallon and natural gas for March delivery fell 26.4 cents to settle at $4.543 per 1,000 cubic feet.

In London, the March Brent contract tumbled $1.41 cents to settle at $44.61 on the ICE Futures exchange. - AP

Latest NYSE, NASDAQ and other business news, from AP-Wire

Oil falls 4% on more bad economic news

2009-02-03T10:37:00.000+08:00

SIOUX FALLS, South Dakota: Oil prices tumbled nearly 4 percent Monday in a volatile trading day fraught with more bad economic news, including thousands of job cuts by Macy's department store.

Light, sweet crude for March delivery fell $1.60 to settle at $40.08 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange after tumbling at one point to $39.83.

Americans have cut spending on everything from clothes to gasoline, and those cuts are showing up in falling crude prices and tumbling sales for retailers.

Macy's Inc. said it would slash 7,000 jobs, or 4 percent of its work force, less than a month after announcing it would close 11 stores.

Stocks were mixed Monday morning after the Institute for Supply Management said U.S. manufacturing activity rose during January from a record low.

But after oil gave up its gains, the Dow fell more than 100 points in afternoon trading.

"Anytime you get any relatively positive data, it tends to react accordingly and you get a nice little bounce out of it," said Bob Yawger, vice president of energy futures for MF Global.

"Now we've retraced it over since then."

Gasoline futures had been one of the only commodities on the New York Mercantile Exchange to remain steady last week with some 24,000 refinery workers threatening to strike.

Negotiations were extended and workers showed up as usual Monday.

Gasoline futures tumbled more than 9 percent.

Still, retail gasoline has been rising for a month as refiners cut back production.

Phil Flynn, an analyst at Alaron Trading Corp., said most people believe there will be a deal reached with refinery workers.

"Obviously these talks can turn the other way. And if they do, the markets can turn the other way," Flynn said.

"But I think getting through the weekend without a strike was enough for the market to speculate that they'll probably get a deal done."

That aimed traders' eyes on the economy, and there was no shortage of bad news.

Consumer spending fell for a record sixth straight month in December as recession-battered households, worried about surging layoffs, boosted their savings rates to the highest level since May.

And the Commerce Department reported that total construction spending dropped by 1.4 percent in December, slightly worse than the 1.2 percent decline economists expected.

Analyst and trader Stephen Schork, writing in his Schork Report publication, said the "market's knee-jerk euphoria" with Friday's news that the U.S economy at the end of 2008 was less dead than originally feared was "misguided to say the least."

Private businesses increased their inventories by $6.2 billion in the fourth quarter, following two previous quarterly decreases, suggesting they won't need to replenish until the current glut is cleared.

That doesn't bode well for industrial commodities such as crude oil, he said.

There were signs that OPEC members were generally complying with significant output reductions, but it was unclear whether that had buoyed prices.

After a year when oil prices soared to a record $147 a barrel in July only to collapse to $33 in December, crude has traded in the low $40 range for the last week or so as investors eye weakening crude demand matching OPEC production cuts.

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries has promised to slash output by 4.2 million barrels and has suggested more production cuts may be on the way.

In other Nymex trading, gasoline futures tumbled 19 cents to settle at $1.1535 a gallon.

Heating oil slid 9.16 cents to settle at $1.3424 a gallon while natural gas for March delivery rose 14 cents to settle at $4.557 per 1,000 cubic feet.

In London, the March Brent contract slumped $2.06 to settle at $43.82 on the ICE Futures exchange.

More M’sians seek additional sources of income

2009-02-02T15:51:00.001+08:00

PETALING JAYA: Tay, 46, a sales manager at a local manufacturing company, has been forced to take unpaid leave for a week this month.

“My salary has been reduced by about 25% as a result of the unpaid leave and benefits such as handphone, petrol and entertainment allowances have been cut by half,” he told StarBiz.

Nirmala Paramaswaran

Tay, who declined to give his full name, said that with demand not showing any signs of recovery in the near term, he was prepared to accept further pay cuts.

“My wife recently took a course and just started a part-time business offering nail art and treatment services from home. This additional income proves useful at times like these,” he added.

Like Tay’s wife, more Malaysians are seeking additional sources of income to cope with the current economic slowdown and higher cost of living.

Nirmala Paramaswaran, 27, a team leader at an IT outsourcing company in Cyberjaya, is selling food items such as nasi lemak and sandwiches.

“Demand from my colleagues has been great and the extra income is handy as daily necessities have become more expensive,” she told StarBiz.

Nirmala, who enjoys cooking, said the venture had also been a good learning experience as she was able to improve her culinary skills based on her customers’ feedback.

Many people are also drawn to seek a second income to sustain a comfortable standard of living.

Samantha Chin, 28, a technical support executive at an insurance company who aspires to buy an apartment for her family, earns up to RM1,000 a month providing Web page design services to small and medium-scale enterprises.

Leigh Howard

“The additional income has increased my savings considerably and would enable me to make my purchase much sooner than I had hoped for. However, orders have fallen slightly in recent times,” she said.

Meanwhile, Great Eastern Life Assurance (M) Bhd senior group sales manager Reginald Yoganathan Hunt said a good part-time insurance agent with more than five years of experience can make up to RM6,000 in recurring commission.

“The insurance business can yield lucrative income even on a part-time basis, provided the agent is commited,” he said, adding that he had 16 part-time agents in his group.

Talent2 International Ltd director for South Asia Leigh Howard said the current job market in Malaysia was definitely slowing.

“Several multinational corporations have blanket hiring freezes although they would continue hiring for specialist skills,” he said, adding that the manufacturing sector appeared to be having a tough time as retrenchments loomed, but they were still looking for higher-grade skills as well.

“The current economic climate may also see wages stalling while the cost of living continues to rise,” he added.

Howard said that it was possible for employees to seek a second income but they should first check their current employer’s policies.

G. Rajasekaran

“Specific permission may be required and potential conflict of interest declared. It depends on the situation. The rule is, make sure a second job would not jeopardise your current one,” he said.

On the downside, a part-time job could be tiring and leave one with less time to spend with family and friends, Howard said.

“Also, look out for hidden expenses such as transport costs,” he added.

Malaysian Trades Union Congress secretary-general G Rajasekaran said there was no restriction on workers pursuing part-time jobs except for certain key or high-risk employment positions.

“In fact, in view of the rising cost of living, it was recently announced that government staff would be allowed to take on part-time jobs, but for a limited number of hours per day,” he said.

17 NGOs come forward to support cops in Kugan case

2009-02-01T16:59:00.000+08:00

PETALING JAYA: At a time when the police have been heavily criticised by certain individuals and politicians over detainee A. Kugan’s death while in police custody, 17 non-govermental organisations (NGOs) have come forward to give their full support to the men in blue.

The NGOs, mainly from Puchong, have reiterated that they trust that the police would handle the case fairly and openly.

The NGOs’ legal adviser, Datuk Theng Book, said that the public should refrain from speculating on Kugan’s death as it could create unrest.

“Politicians also should stop exaggerating the issue as it may give the impression that crime suspects are above the law,” he said at the press conference.

Kugan, 22, who was held under a two-weeks remand order for investigations into several luxury car theft cases, collapsed and died at the Taipan police station in Subang Jaya on Tuesday.

Theng urged the public to be calm and respect the Attorney General Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail’s assurance that this case would be handled in a unbiased manner.

Another 45,000 hit by global slowdown

2009-01-20T01:05:00.001+08:00

KUALA LUMPUR: Some 45,000 employees in the manufacturing sector will go on leave soon as most factories will shut down for the Chinese New Year celebrations.

Human Resources Minister Datuk Dr S. Subramaniam said factories would stop operations for two to three weeks and employers would ask the workers to take either paid or unpaid leave.

“This (shutdown) is because of a drop in demand. And so, the factories have to temporarily terminate their workers,” he told reporters after opening the Agro Explosion 2009 Seminar & Workshop yesterday.

He said that as of Jan 12, some 14,000 people had been retrenched. However, there were also some 15,000 vacancies in various sectors registered at the ministry.

On the National Union of Bank Employees and Malaysian Trade Union Congress opposing the Government’s plan to have a pension scheme for private sector employees through the Employees Provident Fund, Dr Subramaniam said it was due to a misunderstanding.

“The ministry is thinking about senior citizens who can no longer work and have used up their EPF money. We need a system to help them,” he said.

Wall Street braces for 2009's first full week

2009-01-05T12:53:00.001+08:00

NEW YORK: Wall Street opens for trading Monday at a two-month high as investors have grown more optimistic that the worst of the market's rout might be over. But, analysts contend, the real test is still to come.

There will be no shortage of economic data and potential corporate news as traders get back to work after the holidays.

The real hope is that the market can build upon Friday's rally, when the Dow Jones industrial average snapped a four-week losing streak and closed above 9,000 for the first time since Nov. 5.

The past month has shown that the negative sentiment about things like corporate earnings and still-sluggish credit markets have already been factored into the market.

Analysts say the next few weeks will determine if investors are comfortable enough to return to the market - with their fears of missing out on a rally outweighing concerns of a renewed downturn.

"There's now an estimated $8.9 trillion sitting on the sidelines in cash and money markets,'' said Stephen Leeb, president of New York-based Leeb Capital Management.

"High cash levels and low stock prices historically go hand in hand. The current level as a percentage of the stock market's capitalization matches that at the market bottom in 1990.''

He said this huge amount of liquidity "has yet to include the massive amount of money that will be created as a result of the Federal Reserve's recent unprecedented actions to stimulate the economy and financial system.''

That also could help bolster markets in the coming months.

Leeb and other analysts do not discount that the market may retreat and retest lows seen in November.

In corporate news, technology stocks may be in the spotlight because of two major events - Macworld and the Consumer Electronics Show.

Apple Inc. will unveil some of its new products at Macworld in San Francisco on Monday and Tuesday, where investors will be looking for any signs into the health of Chief Executive Steve Jobs.

He is not expected to attend the event.

The Consumer Electronics Show will kick off in Las Vegas on Wednesday night.

The trade show gives tech companies an opportunity to present new products, and that often can send their shares higher.

Latest Financial Meltdown, NYSE, NASDAQ and other business news, pictures, videos, audios and charts from the AP-Wire

Wall Street enjoys upbeat start to 2009

2009-01-03T11:59:00.000+08:00

NEW YORK: Wall Street started the new year with a big rally Friday, as investors, brushing aside a disappointing report on manufacturing, sent the Dow Jones industrials up more than 250 points and to their first close above 9,000 in two months.

All the major indexes shot up more than six percent for the week.

The Institute for Supply Management said its manufacturing activity index fell to the lowest level in 28 years in December.

But the market held to its recent pattern of taking bad economic news in stride, a pattern that began to emerge after it touched multiyear lows on Nov. 20.

Investors tend to look anywhere from three to nine months into the future when they make their moves.

"Over the last month you've started to see a change in sentiment and this certainly advances that,'' said Carl Beck, partner at Harris Financial Group in Richmond, Virginia.

Economic data have been terrible for months and investors have shown little surprise even as some readings fell well short of economists' already low expectations.

During past recessions, the market has recovered ahead of the economy by growing numb to a stream of poor data and looking for signs that the downturn isn't worsening.

The ISM, a trade group of purchasing executives, said Friday its manufacturing index fell to 32.4 in December from 36.2 in November.

Economists polled by Thomson Reuters had expected a reading of 35.5; a figure below 50 indicates contraction.

Wall Street's move higher comes amid light trading after the New Year's holiday.

Modest volume can lend buoyancy to the market as upbeat buyers have reason to come out and those with less conviction stay home.

The final session of the week follows a terrible year for investors.

The Dow fell 33.8 percent in 2008, its worst performance since 1931.

Still, the market's move higher was welcome.

"We like to see the markets shrug off the bad news. That typically is a sign that we're forming a bottom,'' said Eric Thorne, an investment adviser at Bryn Mawr Trust.

The Dow rose 258.30, or 2.94 percent, to 9,034.69, finishing the week up 6.1 percent.

The blue chips last closed above 9,000 on Nov. 5, when they stood at 9,139.27.

Like the Dow, broader stock indicators also advanced for the third straight session.

The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 28.55 percent, or 3.16 percent, to 931.80, its highest close since Nov. 5.

The Nasdaq composite index rose 55.18, or 3.50 percent, to 1,632.21.

For the week, the S&P 500 finished up 6.8 percent, while the Nasdaq rose 6.7 percent. The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies rose 6.37, or 1.28 percent, to 505.82.

Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by about 5 to 1 on the New York Stock Exchange, where volume came to a light 1.04 billion shares.

Bond prices fell as investors took on riskier assets.

The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note, which moves opposite its price, rose to 2.40 percent from 2.22 percent late Wednesday.

The yield on the three-month T-bill, considered one of the safest investments, rose to 0.09 percent from 0.08 percent Wednesday.

Thorne contends 2009 could be a strong year for Wall Street because most investors are so shaken from the sell-off in 2008, which erased six years of gains in stocks.

Market bottoms often emerge because investors are so pessimistic or because stocks seem incapable of making any sustained recovery.

"A bottom isn't formed in one day or even in one month but probably over several months,'' he said.

"Expectations are extremely low for the economy, for corporate earnings and for the stock market itself.''

From Nov. 20 to the end of 2008, the Dow advanced 16.2 percent, while the S&P 500 rose 20 percent.

"We're very confident that the $9 trillion that is in cash right now will look to find a home in better-performing assets,'' he said, referring to the amount of money invested in conservative but low-yielding areas like money market funds.

Yields on safe investments like Treasurys have fallen to virtually nil as investors have clamored for safety and surrendered hopes of even earning a return on their money.

Todd Leone, managing director at Cowen & Co., cautioned against reading too much into Friday's advance and said the first full week of the new year should provide insight into investor sentiment for 2009.

"The first five days are usually very telling,'' Leone said. "I'm not sure we'll be up or down.''

He said an advance in stocks Friday wasn't a surprise as some investors start the year by wading into the market.

He said selling is more likely to occur next week.

Investors had little corporate news to go on Friday other than the completion this week of some major banking acquisitions.

Bank of America Corp. finalized its deal to acquire Merrill Lynch & Co. Wells Fargo & Co. closed its acquisition of Wachovia Corp., while PNC Financial Services Group Inc. bought National City Corp.

The dealmaking came after the mortgage and credit turmoil torpedoed bank's balance sheets and sent banks' stocks tumbling.

In some cases, banks grappling with liquidity shortages and rising loan losses were forced to make deals to remain in business.

Next week brings a flurry of economic readings and potentially early comments from companies on their 2008 results and 2009 forecasts.

A Labor Department report next Friday on December employment is expected to draw attention.

A month ago, Wall Street showed newfound resiliency in the face of a bad reading on what is typically the most important economic report of the month.

Stocks initially sagged but finished with big gains Dec. 5 after the government reported that employers slashed a larger-than-expected 533,000 jobs in November.

Investors were hoping the poor report would prompt Washington to take broader steps to shore up the economy.

"The employment numbers will almost undoubtedly be very ugly. What will be interesting to see is what the market's reaction will be to those numbers,'' said Thorne.

"We're also very interested to see what the corporate earnings reporting season will be like.''

Latest Financial Meltdown, NYSE, NASDAQ and other business news, pictures, videos, audios and charts from the AP-Wire

Toll concession deals available to public

2009-01-02T22:56:00.000+08:00

PETALING JAYA: The toll concession agreements can now be viewed at the library of the Works Ministry but the public is not allowed to make copies of the documents yet.

Highway Authority of Malaysia director-general Datuk Mohamad Razali Othman said copies can only be made because it needed the Order of the Yang di-Pertuan Agung under Section 3 of the Fees Act (1951) to be tabled in the Dewan Rakyat and gazetted.

Section 3 of the Act states that the Yang di-Pertuan Agung may charge and prescribe fees and payments to be leviable in courts and public offices.

In a statement, Razali said those who wished to view the documents had to fill in a form and were allowed access to the agreements for two hours at a time.

“This is to give a chance to other applicants to view the concession agreements while cutting down the waiting period.

“If they need more time to review agreements of other toll concessionaires or need more time on one document, the applicants need to fill in a new form and wait for their turn again,” he said.

On Oct 17 last year, the Cabinet agreed to declassify the concession agreements and the decision was accepted by all the concessionaires except for Maju Expressway Berhad.

Roti canai, teh tarik and fried chicken to cost 10 sen to 50 sen less

2008-12-30T09:30:00.000+08:00

KLANG: Restaurateurs have begun to reduce food prices of local favourites like the roti canai, teh tarik, fruit juices and fried chicken to lure customers.

The customers will now pay between 10 and 50 sen less for the items in most Indian restaurants.

Good news: Consumers can look forward to cheaper roti canai and fried chicken.

Roti canai is down to 90 sen from RM1.20, while teh tarik is RM1.40 now, compared to RM1.50 earlier.

Malaysian Indian Restaurant Owners Association president Datuk R. Ramalingam Pillai said prices of other dishes would also be reduced in the coming months.

“Our association, which has 1,300 members, decided to bring down the prices to cater to current times,” he said, adding that the reduction did not incur losses for the operators, but merely cut into their profits.

He said fruit juices had been reduced by 20 sen to RM3.80, and fried chicken from RM4.50 to RM4. Because of this, he said, many youngsters were returning to their restaurants.

“Fried chicken, teh tarik and roti canai are Malaysian favourites, especially for the yuppies,” said Ramalingam. He said while cooking oil prices had dropped, those of spices had gone up by 250%.

“We will have to consider all angles before announcing further price reductions.”

Selangor Consumer Welfare Association secretary Jeyakumar Varatharajoo said the association was pleased with the restaurateurs’ move and hoped prices of food such as veetu tosai, idli, spring hoppers and puttu (that used less oil) would also be reduced to encourage healthy eating habits.

Government Pensioners Association Klang branch president Bhagat Singh said the price reduction was good news as most senior citizens found it convenient to eat out. However, he urged restaurants to not reduce the portions when serving. “Most of the time, when prices are reduced, the roti canai becomes smaller and the teh tarik glass holds less tea.

“We call upon consumers to exert their right by not patronising restaurants that overcharge or reduce their servings.”

Police assurance on safety during by-election

2008-12-29T19:48:00.001+08:00

KUALA TERENGGANU: Deputy Home Minister Senator Datuk Wan Ahmad Farid Wan Salleh said the police have assured him that the voters of the Kuala Terengganu parliamentary constituency would be able to exercise their right without any fear in the upcoming by-election.

Wan Ahmad Farid, who is the Barisan Nasional (BN) candidate for the by-election scheduled for Jan 17, said the police were already putting up temporary kiosks in strategic areas of the constituency to monitor the situation to ensure there would be no untoward incidents.

He said he was briefed on the security aspect of the by-election at the Terengganu police headquarters recently, and that Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Musa Hassan was present.

“As such, we ask the voters to come out and exercise their rights on Jan 17,” he said after attending a function at the Pulau Rusa Mosque here on Monday.

Nomination is on Jan 6 for the by-election, necessitated by the death of Member of Parliament Datuk Razali Ismail, who was Deputy Education Minister, on Nov 28.

PAS has said it would announce its candidate on Jan 1.

In the last general election on March 8, Razali garnered 32,562 votes to beat Mohamad Sabu of PAS and independent candidate Maimun Yusof by a majority of 628 votes. -- Bernama

The night before Christmas

2008-12-24T10:26:00.000+08:00

The night before Christmas

The air is buzzing with excitement and despite the gloomy outlook economically, the spirit of Christmas is pretty much alive.

A night stroll in Kuala Lumpur will reveal intricately decked and creatively illuminated shopping complexes and clubs vying for attention.

The enchantment is irressistable and you cannot help but hum along to the classic Christmas tunes blaring from every mall.

Out of town, the Christmas scene at Genting Highlands with its white and blue theme is equally creative and beautiful.

StarMetro decided to capture the magic and present an interesting photoplay of some of the most amazing Christmas decorations.

Oil dips below US$40 Tuesday on fears of weaker crude demand

2008-12-23T20:21:00.000+08:00

SINGAPORE: Oil prices fell Tuesday in Asia, adding to a sharp drop overnight, as concern that energy demand is evaporating in the face of a severe global economic slowdown sent crude below $40 a barrel.

Light, sweet crude for February delivery fell 64 cents to $39.27 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange by midday in Singapore.

Prices have fallen 73 percent since July on investor fears that massive job layoffs and plummeting consumer spending in the U.S. are weakening global oil demand.

The January contract fell to nearly a five-year low at $33.87 a barrel before expiring on Friday.

"Fears of demand are dragging the price lower,'' said Toby Hassall, an analyst at investment firm Commodity Warrants Australia in Sydney, adding that it was hard to bet against a worried market.

"You don't want to get in the way of runaway train.''

Overnight, the February contract fell $2.45 to settle at $39.91 a barrel after Toyota Motor Corp. and drugstore operator Walgreen Co. reported dismal news.

Walgreen's said profit fell 10 percent in its fiscal first quarter, while Toyota slashed its earnings forecast for a second time, warning that it now expects to post an operating loss for the fiscal year through March for the first time in 70 years.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 0.7 percent Monday, the index's fourth straight day of losses.

Oil investors have looked to stock markets as a barometer of sentiment toward the economy.

"What we may have to see before oil prices really carve out a bottom is evidence that crude inventories have stopped rising or a sustained rally in equities,'' Hassall said.

"The focus of the market has been almost purely on the demand side.''

Hassall predicted prices could fall as low as $25 a barrel next year before rising to as high as $60 if the global economy recovers in the second half.

"Prices could dip into the 20s for a time, and then there will likely be fairly choppy, sideways action in the first quarter,'' Hassall said.

OPEC said last week it would slash production by 2.2 million barrels a day, its largest cutback ever, adding to a 1.5 million output quotas reduction in November in a bid to stem the rapid price decline.

Chakib Khelil, president of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, said Sunday the group was willing to cut production as much as necessary to stabilize oil prices.

Khelil also said the market needed time to absorb previous cuts.

"It will take time for output cuts to flow through, but there's some doubt about whether there will be full compliance,'' Hassall said.

"I wouldn't be surprised if OPEC cut again in January or February. There's been quite a significant demand side deterioration.''

In other Nymex trading, gasoline futures fell 0.62 cent to 88 cents a gallon.

Heating oil dropped 0.54 cent to $1.34 a gallon while natural gas for January delivery rose 5.8 cents to $5.35 per 1,000 cubic feet.

In London, February Brent crude fell 42 cents to $41.03 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange.

Group unhappy over Legoland Theme Park choice

2008-12-17T10:46:00.001+08:00

JOHOR BARU: The arrival of the Legoland Theme Park in Iskandar Malaysia comes as a disappointment as Legoland is a brand unfamiliar to locals.

Malaysian Tourist Guide Council president Jimmy Leong said after all the hype that had been made over proposed theme parks in Nusajaya, Legoland would not make a huge impact in the region.

“After all the talk about something big coming up in Nusajaya, I am disappointed.

Enchanting: Part of the attractions at Legoland Parks.

“Legoland is not a name familiar to people here in terms of a theme park.

“If you mention Legoland to people here, I don’t think many people are familiar with the brand,” he said, adding that industry players had been expecting world theme park icons like Disneyland.

Iskandar Investment Berhad, the investment arm of Iskandar Malaysia signed a deal with the Danish manufacturer of interlocking plastic bricks, Lego Group to set up the Legoland Theme Park on Dec 13.

Leong said that one of the factors against the RM750mil Legoland was its target audience, as it was restricted to children aged between two and 12-years-old.

“That itself means that it will not appeal to a wide target group,” he said.

Leong also pointed out that it would be hard to market Legoland to tourists and entice them to stay for more than a day as Singapore’s Integrated Resorts (IR) had stronger products to offer.

The attractions at the IR include Universal Studios Singapore, a casino and the Marine Life Park, which was expected to be the largest of its kind in the world.

“It covers entertainment for a wide range of people, from children to adults.

“Everyone has something to do at IR whereas Legoland targets a limited age group.

“Legoland cannot be compared to the IR across the causeway,” he said.

Leong also said tourists with only a few days to spend in the region would pick bigger and better-known brand theme parks to visit.

He said the tourism industry players would continue to promote Johor to tourists overseas but admitted it would be a huge challenge to market Legoland.

“We will promote whatever products we have, but the final choice and decision will be made by the tourists,” he said.

Legoland is expected to open to the public in 2013.

Petrol and diesel down 10 sen

2008-12-16T14:07:00.001+08:00

PETALING JAYA: Petrol and diesel prices have been slashed by another 10 sen effective today.

The price of RON97 petrol is now RM1.80, while RON92 is selling at RM1.70 a litre.

The pump price of diesel is now RM1.70 a litre.

In a statement, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said the reduction was in line with the drop in global crude oil prices.

The retail prices of petrol and diesel have been gradually lowered from their highs of RM2.70 and RM2.58 respectively in June.

Pan Malaysian Bus Operators Association president Datuk Ashfar Ali said the drop would hardly impact his operational costs.

“The damage is already done. The price of daily necessities and foodstuff have gone up and nobody will reduce their prices.

“Spare parts are still expensive – their prices have not gone down either. And the bulk of the diesel used for our operations is under the fleet card system, where it costs RM1.43 a litre.”

Ashfar suggested that the subsidised diesel enjoyed by bus operators could be reduced by a further 13 sen to RM1.30.

“With the lower global crude oil price, I feel the Government can afford it.”

Pan Malaysian Lorry Owners Association president Er Sui See said with cheaper diesel, lorry operators could consider maintaining transport prices.

“At RM1.70, I think we can sustain the price. Diesel accounts for 35% of our operational costs, and only about half of the operators benefit from the fleet card system.”

Penang to make public transport disabled-friendly by 2010

2008-12-11T13:39:00.001+08:00

GEORGE TOWN: Penang will be the first Malaysian state to conduct a full audit of its public transport facilities while it develops a comprehensive blueprint to improve the access and mobility of people with disabilities by 2010.

The initiative to boost the economic and social independence of those with disabilities, will be done through a two-year pilot project by the state’s Economic Planning Unit (UPEN) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNPD) to study how to create a barrier free public transportation in Penang.

UNPD Assistant Resident Representative James George Chacko said the ‘Transport for Persons with Disabilities - Support of the Development of Accessible Transport in Penang’ and its access audit on public buses, taxis, trains, ferries and airplanes as well as other infrastructures would lead to the development of a holistic transport improvement strategy that would in turn offer a framework for raising awareness levels in the general public.

“The audit will also look into pick-up points, road pavements and pathways emphasising on inter-connectivity. The findings of this audit will form the basis to develop an accessible public transport improvement master plan.

“The other initiatives to be undertaken in the coming months will include a demand responsive door-to-door transport service in Penang island; capacity building for disabled people in accessing public transportation; disability equality training for front line transport operators; training on access building requirements and universal design for contractors, architects and civil servants; designing a barrier-free bus stop model; and an awareness campaign,” he said at the launching ceremony of the UNPD-UPEN project at Dorsett Penang Hotel on Thursday.

Chacko also said the project was supported by the Women, Family and Community Development Ministry, and UNPD was confident with the project’s strong rationality, it would receive the necessary financial backing of the Federal Government.

“The project seeks to develop a ‘best practice’ model that we hope can be replicated nationwide,” he added.

State Local Government, Traffic Management and Environment Committee chairman Chow Kon Yeow, who launched the project, said the state government was also studying the possibility of drawing up a transport master plan and forming a state transport commission to serve as a one-stop agency responsible for planning, implementation and management if all transport issues in Penang.

“The necessary documents are currently being prepared for submission to the state executive council.

“We hope they will be ready by the end of the month or early next month before we start work on formulating the master plan, which we estimate will take one or two years to draw up and implemented,” he said. - Bernama

Survey: 70% of bosses okay salary rise and bonuses to staff

2008-12-10T12:51:00.000+08:00

PETALING JAYA: About 70% of the 202 companies which took part in the Malaysian Employers Federation (MEF) survey said there would be salary increases for staff next year despite the economic downturn.

In the survey carried out in October, they had forecast increases of 5.53% for executives and 5.59% for non-executives.

But in an earlier survey done in August before the economic slowdown became imminent, the forecast had been 5.78% for executives and 5.85% for non-executives.

MEF president Datuk Azman Shah Haron, who released the MEF Salary Survey for Executives and Non-Executives 2008 here yesterday, said:

Payscale yearbook: Azman Shah (left) and MEF executive director Shamsuddin holding up the press copies of the ‘MEF Salary Survey for For Executives and Non- Executives 2008’ here yesterday.

“It can be noted that the forecast salary increase for 2009 was reduced slightly in light of the global economic downturn.

“Generally, employers need to retain their talent and tighten their belts at the same time.”

Azman also presented the MEF Medical Benefits Survey 2008 and Analysis of Collective Agreements and Awards on Terms and Conditions of Employment 2007.

On year-end bonuses, Azman said that 72% of the companies forecast that bonuses would be paid to non-executives, while 60% said they would be granting bonuses to their executives next year.

On medical leave, he said that the 5.5 million Malaysian formal private sector employees took an average of 4.2 days of medical leave each a year, compared with less than a day (0.91) taken in Britain.

“Comparatively, Malaysians take a lot more medical leave. Employers feel that the employees are taking advantage in this area,” he said.

Oil steady near US$44 Tuesday as investors eye OPEC cuts

2008-12-09T22:55:00.000+08:00

SINGAPORE: Oil prices were steady near $44 a barrel Tuesday in Asia as investors anticipated that OPEC will announce a big production cut next week to stabilize crude prices that have fallen about 70 percent in five months.

Light, sweet crude for January delivery was up 19 cents to $43.90 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange by midday in Singapore.

The contract fell overnight $2.90 to settle at $43.71.

Prices fell last week to an intraday low of $40.50, the lowest since December 2004.

"Oil should find support around $40 a barrel and should form a bottom there,'' said Aaron Smith, who helps manage about $1.7 billion as managing director at Superfund Financial in Singapore.

Smith, who uses technical analysis to help guide his investment decisions, has recently reduced bets that the price of oil will go down, known as shorting.

"We've reduced the size of our short positions in oil dramatically over the last couple months,'' said Smith, who invests half his fund in commodity futures contracts.

"But if it breaches that $40-$41 level, it could really keep moving.''

Investors are watching for signs of how much the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries may reduce output quotas at the group's meeting next week in Algeria.

OPEC President Chakib Khelil said Saturday the group could announce a "severe'' production cut and suggested the cartel could seek to surprise the market with the size of the reduction in a bid to bolster prices.

OPEC, which controls about 40 percent of world crude supplies, announced a production cut of 1.5 million barrels a day in October and 500,000 barrels in September, moves investors brushed off as a global economic slowdown worsened.

OPEC will have to adhere to any promised output cut if it hopes to help reverse the fall in oil prices, said Victor Shum, an energy analyst with Purvin & Gertz in Singapore.

"I think OPEC will need to make a cut of at least 2 million barrels a day,'' Shum said.

"I think pricing going down to $40 last week will galvanize OPEC to make a substantial cut and comply better with their targets.''

"But you can announce all the cuts you want. Compliance is the key.''

Investors were also encouraged by news that President-elect Barack Obama plans to implement a major infrastructure program to help boost employment in the weakening U.S. economy.

"With all the stimulus packages and output cuts by OPEC, we may see the oil price stabilizing,'' Shum said.

In other Nymex trading, gasoline futures fell 0.41 cents to 96 cents. Heating oil gained 0.42 cents to $1.49 a gallon while natural gas for January delivery was steady at 5.56 per 1,000 cubic feet.

In London, January Brent crude rose 13 cents to $43.55 on the ICE Futures exchange.

Latest Financial Meltdown, NYSE, NASDAQ and other business news, pictures, videos, audios and charts from the AP-Wire

For latest MSEB indices, charts and other information click here

Food crisis sidelined

2008-12-09T10:11:00.000+08:00

Worldwide economic fallout diverts attention from persisting desperate plight.

IN THE widening financial turmoil, the food crisis that hogged the headlines earlier this year may be pushed to the back-burner.

Despite the initial reaction of world leaders to tackle the food crisis, the worldwide downward spiral of stock exchanges has diverted their attention. There is concern that resources allocated to address food shortages may be undercut by bailout packages for troubled corporations and the financial markets.

Rising food and transport costs kept Malaysia’s annual inflation high at 8.2% in September despite cuts in retail gasoline prices, according to government data released on Oct 24 this year.

In its latest policy brief, the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN-DESA) has warned that the crisis could be sidelined although it continues to pose a global humanitarian and development challenge even as food prices begin to fall.

It is generally concluded that the global food crisis is a culmination of factors: poor harvests due to drought, flooded rice fields, a decrease in agricultural land, the diversion of grains for biofuel production and escalating oil prices.

Although the price of petrol, which once pushed up the price of fertiliser and in turn the cost of food production and distribution, has dipped from its record high of US$200 (RM721) per barrel to US$50 (RM180) currently, the food crisis remains real, particularly for the poor.

In Malaysia, a group of concerned citizens has banded together to keep the spotlight on the crisis which it says affects the rural and marginalised communities most. The latter category involves vulnerable groups such as migrant workers, the disabled, elderly, single-parent families and indigenous people.

Forming the Joint Action Forum on Food Crisis (JAFFC), the group, spearheaded by social movement Aliran Kesedaran Negara (Aliran), hopes to inform parliamentarians of the effect of food crisis on their constituents, and suggests people-oriented solutions to the problem.

Recently, it held a one-day forum which gathered 120 participants, half of them grassroot communities and leaders. Stories of hunger, malnutrition and reduced purchasing power linked to rocketing food prices were shared.

A single mother with two children from Selayang, Selangor, told the forum that she can only afford the inferior quality rice and had been foregoing fish and chicken.

Youssouf Oomar: ‘The country’s high dependence on food imports has translated into higher food costs for a large proportion of the population.’

Another participant, a migrant worker from Bangladesh who is embroiled in a legal tussle over unpaid salary with his former employer and thus forbade from being employed by the law, said he skipped meals to lessen the burden on his fellow countrymen.

Opening the forum, UN acting resident coordinator for Malaysia Youssouf Oomar said Malaysia is not insulated from high global prices although it had benefited significantly from the surge in global commodity prices, in particular palm oil and rubber, since 2005.

“The country’s high dependence on food imports, for example, has translated into higher food costs for a large proportion of the population, particularly the urban poor and those in rural areas who are net purchasers of food.

“In the past, consumer price increases were offset by Government subsidies and price controls. The joint pressures of a food and energy price increase are already evident in costlier subsidies and import bills.”

Root cause

According to many social analysts, the food crisis is a product of unbridled globalisation policies that went awry.

In The Global Food Crisis: Hype and Reality, economist Rosario Bella Guzman says globalisation first came in the scheme of the Green Revolution in the 1970s where Third World countries were told to use high-yield varieties to increase productivity – which turned out to be “high-input varieties” since they increased the farmers’ usage of pesticides and fertilisers peddled by agro-chemical transnational corporations (TNCs).

The publication by the Pesticide Action Network Asia and the Pacific (PAN-AP) and People’s Coalition on Food Sovereignty (PCFS), further pointed out that productivity no doubt increased but it was at the expense of sustainability, with degraded soil fertility and a polluted environment due to heavy dependence on agro-chemicals that was the hallmark of the so-called revolution.

While profit of agro-chemical TNCs soared, farmers in developing countries were saddled with debts. To settle the debts, these countries were forced to open up the traditional sector to cheaper foreign agro-produce and capitals which favoured high-value or export crops that prioritised profits rather than local food needs.

Furthermore, while food shortages are happening in poor countries, giant agri-businesses and grain traders have increased their profits.

An important factor in the under-development of the agriculture sector in developing countries is linked to land ownership where landlessness remains prevalent and has worsened, with vast tracts of land still in the hands of landlords and corporations.

“According to the UN Hunger Task Force, 20% of the world’s hungry are direct agricultural producers who do not have their own land,” says Guzman, the executive editor of IBON Foundation Inc, an independent development institution based in the Philippines.

Over the last 40 years, 105 of 149 Third World countries have become net food importers, the number of rural poor (earning US$1 or RM3.60 a day) has remained at 2.6 billion and small farmers now comprise 80% of the world’s 845 million hungry, reports Guzman.

No protection

AS A son of a rice farmer in Kedah, the rice bowl of Malaysia, Aziz Man will be the first to tell you that there’s something not right with the country’s rice production.

A retired serviceman, the 59-year-old Kedahan said although rice was cultivated twice a year in the famed Kuala Muda plains, the largely agrarian society remains the fourth poorest in the country.

“Rice in the field is cheap but rice in the shop is expensive,” he said, pointing out the irony that while farmers do not get a good price for their harvest, their produce fetches a high price once gets to the shops.

The president of United Rural Citizens Association of Kedah said that over the years, the emphasis on food production has waned partly because of the authorities’ issuance of approved permits (APs) for the importing of rice.

“Rice production has been neglected,” he said. Aziz added that to supplement their income, padi farmers go to sea to fish. He reckoned the agriculture department could help boost food production and raise the living standard of the poor farmers if incentives are provided for the development of other economic activities like bee farming and freshwater fish cultivation that utilised submerged rice fields.

Another group of food producers, inshore fishermen, lament the lack of protection of fertile fishing grounds amid increasing focus on deep-sea fishing and aquaculture development.

Peninsular Inshore Fishermen Action Network (Jaring) president Jamaluddin Muhammad said traditional fisheries that had been sustainable all these years are collapsing around the country as the destruction of mangrove forests and uncontrolled trawling operations carried on unabated, threatening not only marine health and the livelihood of fishermen, but also a vital food security component – protein from sea produce.

Expect another round of massive floods

2008-12-05T00:25:00.001+08:00

KOTA BARU: The Department of Irrigation and Drainage (DID) has warned of the possibility of another round of massive floods here and in northern Johor and Malacca.

DID national hydrology and water resources division director Datuk Lim Chow Hock said that based on the Meteorological Department’s latest forecast, heavy rain is expected in the east coast states, including northern Johor and Malacca, starting Friday.

He said heavy rain is expected to continue on the weekend and by Sunday, some parts -- especially low-line areas -- could be flooded.

He warned the public to make early preparations and to listen to radio and television broadcasts for the latest updates.

They could also refer to the DID website.

Wall Street rebounds sharply after big drop

2008-12-03T11:14:00.000+08:00

NEW YORK (AP) - In a session that showed more indecision than conviction, the stock market rebounded Tuesday from the previous day's massive decline.

The Dow Jones industrials rose 270 points after fluctuating sharply, and all the major indexes rose more than 3 percent.

Investors wary about the economy drew solace from Ford Motor Co. Chief Executive Alan Mulally, who said the automaker has enough cash to make it through 2009 and might not need government help.

Rival General Motors Corp. said late in the day that it needs $12 billion in government loans to continue operating; the news briefly shook the market, but stocks rebounded before the close.

The market was also encouraged after General Electric Co. said it expects to pay a dividend despite projections that fourth-quarter results will near the low end of its previous guidance.

That raised some hopes that U.S. companies may fare better during the recession than the market has feared. Meanwhile, investors got an additional lift after the Federal Reserve said it will extend the life of key programs aimed at loosening the credit markets and restoring stability to the financial sector.

Still, that wasn't enough to completely calm investors who are weary after huge swings in the market the past few months - including the nearly 680-point slide in the Dow on Monday.

The blue chips were up more than 260 points during the afternoon Tuesday, then dipped to a loss before swinging higher.

Analysts said the volatility underscores how bear markets operate, and warned this kind of trading pattern isn't expected to change anytime soon.

"I don't know where the bottom to all this is,'' said Alexander Paris, economist and market analyst for Chicago-based Barrington Research.

"In these kind of markets, all you have to do is get enough confidence to hold your nose and ignore the bad news to send the market higher.''

The market remains uncertain about what might lie ahead, from how long the recession might last to more troubles in the struggling financial sector.

Wall Street this week is uneasy about a number of reports due to be released, primarily Friday's jobs report that is widely considered the most important economic reading of the month.

The Dow rose 270.00, or 3.31 percent, to 8,419.09, making back more than a third of Monday's plunge, which came on a string of bad economic news including lackluster retail sales during the Thanksgiving weekend.

Broader stock indexes also soared Tuesday. The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 32.60, or 3.99 percent, to 848.81, while the Nasdaq composite index gained 51.73, or 3.70 percent, to 1,449.80.

The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies rose 24.75, or 5.93 percent, to 441.82. The market's rise picks up from a five-day rally that was snapped on Monday.

Last week's streak for the Dow and the S&P 500 was the longest since July 2007, and the biggest point and percentage gain since 1932.

Advancing issues outpaced decliners by a 3 to 1 basis on the New York Stock Exchange, where volume came to 1.61 billion shares. Bond prices were mixed.

The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note, which moves opposite its price, fell to 2.68 percent from 2.76 percent late Monday.

The yield on the three-month T-bill, considered one of the safest investments, rose to 0.05 percent from 0.03 percent late Monday.

These kind of market movements are typical of periods marked by low economic growth, analysts said.

Some, however, are concerned that investors may have gotten carried away since the market completed its biggest rally since 1932 last week.

Ryan Detrick, senior technical strategist at Schaeffer's Investment Research, said there still might be too much optimism in the market, considering the five straight days of advances before Monday's drop.

He believes there was too much excitement on the part of investors that a bottom might have formed, and that sets the market up for disappointments.

"There's too much talk of valuations, people jumping in on the bullish side after a bounce,'' he said.

"And that's not how bottoms form, and that's not going to take this market continually higher.''

The U.S. automakers remained in focus through most of the session as Ford, General Motors and Chrysler LLC returned to Washington to submit plans for remaking themselves.

Lawmakers demanded those plans before considering whether to give the automakers $25 billion in government support.

And, investors remain wary as the automakers released their November sales figures Tuesday.

Ford said its sales tumbled 31 percent amid a continued slump in consumer spending and tight credit markets.

Toyota's sales fell 34 percent despite its extension of zero-percent financing on a dozen vehicles.

General Motors Corp. reported a 41 percent slide.

Ford shares rose 15 cents, or 5.9 percent, to $2.70. GM rose 26 cents, or 5.7 percent, to $4.85.

Meanwhile, Dow component General Electric rallied after the diversified industrial, finance and media conglomerate unveiled plans to reorganize its ailing GE Capital finance unit.

The changes are expected to save GE $2 billion next year, but will likely lead to job cuts.

Shares spiked $2.11, or 14 percent, to $17.61.

Financial firms bounced back despite a report that Goldman Sachs Group Inc. could face losses of about $2 billion in the fiscal fourth quarter.

According to a report in The Wall Street Journal citing industry insiders and analysts, the firm could post a loss of about $5 per share, well above the average analyst estimate of a loss of $1.06 per share.

Goldman Sachs dropped 76 cents to $65.00, while Bank of America Corp. rose $1.52, or 11.8 percent, to $14.37. JPMorgan Chase & Co. added $2.41, or 9.2 percent, to $28.53.

Latest Financial Meltdown, NYSE, NASDAQ and other business news, pictures, videos, audios and charts from the AP-Wire

For latest MSEB indices, charts and other information click here

New York Exchange: http://www.nyse.com

Nasdaq Stock Market: http://www.nasdaq.com

Hong Kong Stock Exchange

Japan's Tokyo Stock Exchange

Fuel prices down another 10sen

2008-12-02T21:15:00.000+08:00

PETALING JAYA: The retail price of petrol and diesel will go down another 10sen effective Wednesday.

The new price of RON97 petrol would be RM1.90 per litre down from RM2.00, while RON92 petrol and diesel would be down to RM1.80 from RM1.90 per litre, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said in a statement released at about 5pm on Tuesday.

“As the world fuel price has had a sharp decrease lately, the Government has decided to once again reduce the retail price for the public’s benefit,” he said.

This is the fifth time petrol and diesel prices had been reduced since Malaysian petrol retail prices hit a high of RM2.70 per litre in June.

Oil spikes 9% on another Wall Street bailout

2008-11-25T13:13:00.000+08:00

SIOUX FALLS, South Dakota: Oil prices jumped 9 percent Monday, pulled along by a surging Wall Street that reacted to news of a U.S. government bailout for Citigroup.

Phil Flynn, an analyst at Alaron Trading Corp., said oil initially seemed like it was heading downward, dropping to $48 overnight even amid talk about possible production cuts by OPEC.

OPEC President Chakib Khelil said Monday in Vienna, Austria, that if the organization met today, a cut of 1 million barrels would not be enough to support oil prices.

News that the U.S. government will take a $20 billion stake in Citigroup and guarantee hundreds of billions of dollars in risky assets gave both the stock market and oil market a boost, but Flynn said it's likely a short-term bump and he doesn't think investors are betting that the market has hit bottom.

"What we've seen in the past on these bailouts is it does give oil a boost for a while and energy a boost for a while,'' he said.

"But as time goes on, that stimulus sort of wears off and then we go back to focusing on supply and demand.''

Light, sweet crude for January delivery rose $4.57, to close at $54.50 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Prices hit $55.30 at one point.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose more than 350 points Monday afternoon.

Oil futures have followed stock markets recently, using equities as a proxy for economic outlook and investor sentiment.

"It's probably going to be after the first of the year before we begin to decouple and various commodities and financial instruments begin to march to the beat of their own drummer,'' said Jim Ritterbusch, president of energy consultants Ritterbusch and Associates.

Ritterbusch said it's premature to say oil prices have hit a bottom and it's important for investors not to read too much into two days of price action.

Oil prices have plunged from close to $150 at their peak over the summer.

"We've been forecasting $50,'' he said.

"We've achieved it, but it just doesn't have the feel of a market that's placed a bottom.''

Traders are also expressing confidence in President-elect Barack Obama's emerging economic team.

Obama on Monday named New York Federal Reserve Bank President Timothy Geithner as treasury secretary and Lawrence Summers as director of the National Economic Council.

Obama will be sworn in on January 20.

"The lack of clarity as to who exactly is in charge of steering the U.S. economy is really hurting the equity markets,'' said Victor Shum, an energy analyst with Purvin & Gertz in Singapore.

"So putting together the new team gives a bit of a reassurance to the market, even if Obama isn't president yet.''

Gas prices continued to drop overnight, with the national average price for regular dropping about 2 cents to $1.908 a gallon (50 cents a liter), according to according to auto club AAA, the Oil Price Information Service and Wright Express.

That is more than 80 cents gallon below what it was a month ago and more than $2 below where it was in July when prices peaked at $4.11 per gallon.

Investors are looking for signs the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, which accounts for 40 percent of global supply, may reduce output quotas.

Venezuelan Oil Minister Rafael Ramirez said Sunday that OPEC should cut oil production by 1 million barrels per day at an informal meeting Nov. 29 meeting in Cairo.

The group, which cut output by 1.5 million barrels a day last month, will hold its next official meeting on Dec. 17.

"It's still a big question mark whether OPEC will make an additional cut at the Cairo meeting,'' Shum said.

"Chances are better for a cut at the December meeting. Talk of a cut is providing some support for prices.''

Analyst Olivier Jakob of Petromatrix in Switzerland agreed, saying that only the timing of the new OPEC output reduction was uncertain, not the cut itself.

"We have the feeling that OPEC is keeping all its options not really as to whether they will cut further but as to when they will announce it,'' Jakob said in a market report.

In other Nymex trading, gasoline futures rose 7.8 cents to settle at $1.1425 a gallon.

Heating oil rose 8.48 cents to settle at $1.784 a gallon while natural gas for December delivery jumped 40.8 cents to settle at $6.888 per 1,000 cubic feet. - AP

Latest Financial Meltdown, NYSE, NASDAQ and other business news, pictures, videos, audios and charts from the AP-Wire

European stocks higher on Citigroup rescue

2008-11-24T23:49:00.001+08:00

LONDON (AP): European stock markets rose Monday after Friday's strong close on Wall Street and on relief that the U.S. government is providing a lifeline to ailing banking giant Citigroup.

The FTSE 100 index of leading British shares was up 174.98 points, or 4.6 percent, at 3,955.95, while Germany's DAX was 162.51, or 3.9 percent, higher at 4,289.92. The CAC-40 in France was up 140.36, or 4.9 percent, at 3,021.62.

"Equities have started the week with a significant bounce as traders look to exploit the Dow's 500 point gain on Friday and news that Citigroup will now be bailed out by the U.S. government may also have the potential to add some stability to the troubled banking sector on both sides of the Atlantic,'' said Matt Buckland, a dealer at CMC Markets.

The Dow surged more than 6 percent as U.S. President-elect Barack Obama appeared ready to tap the New York Federal Reserve chief Timothy Geithner as the next treasury secretary, an appointment which reassured investors.

Wall Street was not expected to continue its rally when it opens later. Dow futures were down 42 points, or 0.5 percent, at 7,994, while Standard & Poor's 500 futures were up 1 point, or 0.1 percent, at 793.

Earlier, the news that the U.S. government would take a $20 billion stake in Citigroup and guarantee hundreds of billions of dollars in risky assets helped several Asian markets pare early losses, but not by much. Japanese markets were closed due to a public holiday.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng index was down 210.26 points, or 1.6 percent, at 12,457.94, while Australia's key index recovered from morning losses to close 0.3 percent higher.

Investors were awaiting a slew of U.S. economic data this afternoon on the housing sector and consumer confidence to get a gauge on the current health of the world's largest economy.

Overall, markets appear relieved that the rescue plan for Citigroup removes the immediate risk of a potentially catastrophic banking collapse but conceded that by itself it doesn't resurrect the U.S. economy, which many analysts believe is sliding into its worst recession in decades.

For many investors, the bailout will do little to quickly restore confidence in the U.S. banking system or revive lending to consumers as the vital Christmas shopping season approaches.

Recession fears in Germany mounted Monday after a closely watched survey showed that Europe's biggest single economy is weakening at an alarming rate.

The Ifo Institute said its main business climate index fell to 85.8 points in November from 90.2 points in October. The last time it was that low was in February 1993.

Analysts said the data means that the recession in Germany, confirmed officially by government figures, will likely be deeper than many anticipate.

"With the rapid decline in business sentiment lately showing absolutely no sign of letting up, the European Central Bank will have become more concerned about the outlook for the real economy,'' said Jennifer McKeown, European economist at Capital Economics.

More and more economists now think that the European Central Bank may cut its benchmark interest rate next month from the current 3.25 percent by more than the half a percentage point it cut at its meeting in early November.

In Britain, all eyes will be on the government's pre-budget report. Finance minister Alistair Darling is expected to unveil a set of measures to stimulate the British economy, which declined by a quarterly rate of 0.5 percent during the third quarter.

Markets will be particularly focused on how the government plans to get out of the recession and how it plans to raise money in the coming years as borrowing heads up to around 8 percent of Britain's gross domestic product.

In Asia, South Korea's Kospi slid 3.4 percent to 970.14. Markets in Singapore, Thailand, India and Malaysia also fell. Japan was closed for a holiday.

In mainland China, stocks were down mostly in dismay that authorities did not announce an interest rate cut over the weekend as some investors had speculated. The Shanghai Composite index fell 3.7 percent to 1,897.06.

Oil prices fell in Asian trade, with light, sweet crude for January delivery down 27 cent to $49.66 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange by midmorning London time.

In currencies, the dollar weakened 0.6 percent to 95.28 yen, while the euro was up 0.6 percent at $1.2662.

Asian markets recover, KLCI off early lows

2008-11-21T16:57:00.001+08:00

KUALA LUMPUR: Major Asian markets staged a recovery in the late morning on Friday, with Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rising 4.5%, reversing from an earlier 3.9% loss, as an improved sentiment also helped the local stock market.

The Bank of Japan held its benchmark interest rate at 0.3% and said it would consider pumping more money into the financial system to prop up an economy, which entered into recession last quarter, according to a Bloomberg report.

At 12.30pm, the KL Composite Index was down 4.27 points to 861.05, off the early low of 853.

Turnover was 337.41 million shares valued at RM285.44mil. There were 119 gainers, 307 losers while 158 counters were unchanged.

The Hang Seng Index rose 553 points or 4.5% to 12,851 while the Nikkei 225 added 0.84% to 7,767.72 and Singapore’s Straits Times Index advanced 0.88% to 1,628.23 but Shanghai’s A Share Index skidded 4.28% to 1,994.68.

Light crude oil fell 37 cents to US$47.05 while the crude palm oil price futures declined RM44 to RM1,424. The ringgit was quoted at RM3.622 to the US dollar.

Kramat was 50 sen down to RM3.50, United Plantations fell 35 sen to RM9.95, Loh & Loh lost 30 sen to RM4.58 and Putrajaya Perdana 28 sen to RM4.52 and Shell 20 sen to RM9.10.

TMI fell 12 sen to RM3.86 and MISC foreign 10 sen to RM8.20.

DiGi rose 30 sen to RM20.20, Puncak added 11 sen to RM2.41, IJM seven sen to RM2.56 and Gamuda six sen to RM1.60.

Deflation fears grow, and Dow slips below 8,000

2008-11-20T17:11:00.000+08:00

WASHINGTON (AP): A growing fear of economic deflation helped take the air out of the U.S. stock market Wednesday, and another white-knuckle final hour on Wall Street pushed the Dow Jones industrials under 8,000 to their lowest close since the financial meltdown began.

Consumer prices in October took their biggest monthly plunge in the six decades that records have been kept _ a reprieve for shoppers but a danger sign for the economy because falling prices can make a mild recession spiral into something worse.

The drop illustrated once again how quickly the economic danger can shift in tumultuous times like these. The inflation fears that gripped the nation just a few months ago now seem like a distant memory.

"Consumer price inflation has suddenly screeched into reverse,'' said Brian Bethune, economist at IHS Global Insight. "The inflation threat has disappeared from the radar screen.''

Worried about the economic data, a gloomy outlook from the Federal Reserve and the fate of the Big Three automakers, investors yanked money out of the stock market. The Dow drifted lower for most of the day, then plummeted in a tumultuous final hour of trading.

It crossed under 8,000 in the last minutes before the closing bell and closed down 427 points, or about 5 percent, at 7,997 _ its lowest close since March 2003. The average has dipped below 8,000 on other days since the meltdown began in mid-September but had not closed there.

The Standard & Poor's 500, a broader snapshot of the stock market, slipped more than 6 percent. The financial crisis has already wiped out $6.7 trillion of value from the S&P 500 since its October 2007 high. In the same period, the Dow has lost more than 6,000 points.

"I don't know what the catalyst is going to be where we turn the corner and people start buying stocks wholeheartedly again,'' said Jon Biele, head of capital markets at Cowen & Co. "People got out of the way. The financial situation hasn't changed.''

The Federal Reserve sharply lowered its economic projections and signaled that further interest-rate cuts might be necessary to ease the economy's worst crisis since the Great Depression.

Documents from the Fed's most recent closed-door deliberations on interest rate policy showed a worry about "significant weakness'' in the economy and a worsening job market.

After those deliberations, on Oct. 29, the Fed lowered the benchmark interest rate to 1 percent, a level seen once before in the past half-century. Many economists think the Fed will go even lower when it meets again Dec. 16.

At the same time, though, the documents showed the Fed was worried about the effectiveness of previous rate cuts and had doubts about whether more cuts would help much.

Falling prices might sound like a gift at first. But a prolonged, widespread decline would do serious economic damage, dragging down incomes, clobbering home prices even more and shrinking corporate profits.

The consumer price index, the country's most closely watched inflation barometer, dropped 1 percent in October, the biggest monthly decline since the government started keeping records in 1947. Many analysts expect another drop for November.

That's a stunning reversal from as recently as June, when consumer prices spiked 1.1 percent, the second-fastest pace in a quarter-century. Galloping prices for gasoline, food and other items were socking people's wallets and touched off widespread fears about inflation.

Worries ran so high then that the Federal Reserve in late June halted its rate-cutting campaign to shore up the ailing economy. Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke and his colleagues fretted that lowering rates further would worsen inflation.

The Fed stayed on the sidelines until Oct. 8, when it joined other major central banks and slashed interest rates in a global effort to limit the damage from the staggering financial system.

Even with October's price reprieve, Americans are in no mood for a shopping spree. They have cut back sharply on spending amid mounting strains from job losses, shrinking nest eggs and falling home prices.

The consumer pullback helped jolt the economy into reverse in the third quarter.

More economic contraction in this quarter would meet the classic definition of a recession _ two straight quarters of negative growth.

And falling prices might not help even on the shopping side.

"Consumers would wait to buy because they would keep waiting for prices to go lower,'' said Rebecca Braeu, economist at John Hancock Financial Services. "That would curtail consumer spending.''

Japan was gripped with a period of deflation during the 1990s, and it took a decade for that country to overcome those problems.

America's last serious case of deflation was during the Depression in the 1930s. Most economists think the chances are slim that the country will tip into such a spiral, but they aren't ruling it out.

"I am worried that the situation in the United States could turn into a deflationary period in this country if trends continue,'' said Sung Won Sohn, chief economist at the Martin Smith School of Business at California State University. "With economic conditions getting worse and not better, the risk of deflation is there.''

Other analysts said deflation was a remote threat.

Another report Wednesday showed that the housing market remains in a deep funk.

Builders slashed home construction by 4.5 percent last month, driving it down to the lowest level on records dating to 1959.

The government announced more borrowers can qualify for a new $300 billion program that lets troubled homeowners swap risky loans for more affordable ones. The program, called Hope for Homeowners, had just 111 applications in October, its first month.

Meanwhile, leaders of the nation's struggling auto companies returned to Capitol Hill to plead for financial aid. Top Senate Democrats suggested a bill to rescue Detroit's Big Three was stalled, and they challenged the Bush administration to act to save the industry if congressional efforts falter. The White House rebuffed the suggestion.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid sought to lower expectations of reaching a deal on the $25 billion proposal before Congress quits for the year. Banking Committee Chairman Chris Dodd called the possibility of reaching agreement "remote.''

Elsewhere, the governors of Connecticut, New York and New Jersey asked the federal government for a $48 million emergency grant to help thousands of financial industry workers who are losing their jobs.

The governors say preliminary estimates show that 82,000 financial services jobs in the New York City metro area will be lost by the end of next year because of the global economic downturn.

The governors say the emergency grant would allow the states to give each laid-off worker $12,500 to help them find jobs and relocate, and provide them with other services.

Government not paying petrol subsidies

2008-11-19T10:09:00.000+08:00

KUALA LUMPUR: The Government has stopped paying petrol subsidies since the beginning of this month due to lower global oil prices, Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister Datuk Shahrir Abdul Samad said.

“The savings on petrol subsidies next year is expected to be more than RM10bil if oil prices remain stable,” he told reporters at the Parliament lobby yesterday.

Shahrir said that at US$65 (RM235) per barrel the Government would not be paying subsidies and that the focus now would be on deciding whether to set a floor price or figuring out a way for the Government to get some income from the sale of petrol.

“Even with petrol retailing at RM2 per litre, we are not paying any subsidy. We have actually arrived at a time when the price can return to RM1.92,” he said.

“In that context, we hope to be able to set a policy to address this when the National Economic Council meets next. There must be a decision made on what the floor price should be.”

Shahrir said that for six months from September 2001 to February 2002 the Government had collected taxes from the retail sale of petrol but had stopped that practice since then.

“Earlier announcements of how much the subsidies cost us, even as recent as 2005 or 2006, always included how much we had foregone in terms of taxes.

“We have stopped doing this, however, and just focused on how much subsidy we are paying,” Shahrir said, adding that the Government was now enjoying some revenue due to the difference in the ex-refinery price and the price oil companies sold petrol to station operators.

He added that the revenue being taken now was a form of tax that could max out at 60 sen per litre.

Shahrir also released information on the amount of fuel subsidies paid so far, which have amounted to RM15.57bil as at the end of October.

Fuel subsidies last year cost the Government RM16.18bil.

The fuel subsidies in October amounted to RM610mil, compared with RM2.99bil in May when oil prices peaked at over US$120 (RM432) per barrel.

Fuel down by 15sen (updated)

2008-11-17T22:24:00.000+08:00

KUALA LUMPUR: Petrol and diesel will be sold 15sen cheaper per litre from Tuesday onwards following the Government’s decision to lower fuel prices in tandem with the downward trend of global oil prices.

The pump price of RON97 petrol will be RM2 a litre from RM2.15 while the retail price of RON92 petrol and diesel is RM1.90 a litre, Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said in a statement on Monday.

The new prices are effective from midnight Monday.

He said this is the fifth downward revision since August in honouring the Government’s promise to the people to lower fuel prices if oil prices dwindled in the world market.

Najib hoped traders would also lower prices of goods and services following the reduction in fuel prices to enable the people to reap the full benefits of cheaper fuel.

The people should continue to use petrol and diesel sparingly despite the lower price in line with the government’s efficient energy consumption plan, said Najib, who is also Finance Minister.

Fuel prices were last reduced on Nov 1. - Bernama

AirAsia does away with fuel fees on all flights

2008-11-12T10:25:00.001+08:00

KUALA LUMPUR: Passengers on AirAsia and AirAsia X flights will no longer have to pay a fuel surcharge for both local and international flights.

AirAsia Bhd group chief executive officer Datuk Seri Tony Fernandes said with the move – effective midnight yesterday – passengers need only pay the fare, airport tax and administrative fee.

AirAsia becomes the first airline in the world to do away with the fuel surcharge for all its flights.

Previously, passengers paid an average of RM47.

Fernandes, however, added that he could not guarantee that the airline would not reimpose the surcharge should world fuel prices skyrocket again.

“I would be crazy to say I’ll never impose a fuel surcharge. But we will resist for as long as we can.”

The check-in baggage handling fee, however, would remain. “We imposed that (in April) for three reasons – fuel prices, to limit luggage, and to be more environmentally friendly.

The lighter the plane, the less emissions there will be,” he said.

Fernandes also announced that beginning today, the airline would be offering 500,000 free seats covering all its destinations.

The booking period is until Sunday, and the travel period is from June 22 to Oct 24 next year.

“There are two ways to deal with a slow economy. You’ve got to give more value, and you’ve got to stimulate people to travel. That’s what we’re doing now,” he said.

Asked how the he planned to deal with the impact of the fuel surcharge removal, he replied:

“Higher load factor and newer initiatives to increase our revenue will help cover it. We’re keeping our 76% load factor, while adding 20% more seats. We’ll also look at other ways of increasing revenue.”

Also present at the announcement was Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister Datuk Shahrir Abdul Samad, who applauded AirAsia’s move.

In an immediate reaction, Malaysia Airlines (MAS) senior general manager (sales) Datuk Bernard Francis said MAS had already reduced its fuel surcharge by 50%-73%.

“Our sales surged by 400%. We are looking at reducing the surcharge further to give customers what they want – low fare plus five-star products and services,” he said in a statement.

He added that what was special about its promotion was that passengers could travel almost immediately.

Obama gets cracking early

2008-11-08T13:44:00.001+08:00

CHICAGO: Incoming US president Barack Obama discussed the financial crisis and other problems with top world leaders yesterday ahead of his first public comments since his election triumph.

After making the first key appointment to his administration, Obama spoke by telephone with the leaders of Australia, Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Israel, Japan, Mexico and South Korea, hastening the shift in political gravity away from President George W. Bush.

The financial crisis, the Afghanistan war, climate change and the North Korean and Iranian nuclear crises dominated the talks, according to accounts from the various capitals.

Obama and South Korean President Lee Myung-bak agreed to work together to tackle North Korea’s nuclear disarmament and the financial turmoil, said Lee’s spokesman in Seoul.

Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said that he and Obama discussed “our resolve to act together on dealing on the global financial crisis and also working closely together on the great challenge of climate change.”

Obama and German Chancellor Angela Merkel agreed to work “closely” on Iran’s disputed nuclear programme, Afghanistan, climate change and the financial crisis, her government said.

Reforming the financial system also featured strongly in Obama’s talks with President Nicolas Sarkozy of France, Prime Minister Gordon Brown of Britain and a 10-minute telephone conversation with Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso, their spokesmen said.

Aso also raised Afghanistan, climate change and North Korea, the Japanese foreign ministry said.

Mexican President Felipe Calderon and the US president-elect discussed immigration and drug smuggling on the restive southern border, the Mexican foreign ministry.

Most of the world leaders will attend the emergency summit on the economic crisis in Washington on Nov 15, but Obama has not yet announced whether he will take a role in the event.

Even some of the US’s traditional arch foes have welcomed Obama’s election such as Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad who issued a message of congratulation on Thursday.

Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe, branded a dictator by Bush after staging a one-man election in June, also extended an olive branch to Obama yesterday by saying he “cherish(ed) the hope of working with your administration.”

Obama was to convene his economic advisers later yesterday before his first press conference since his triumph in Tuesday’s election against Republican John McCain.

Several names mentioned as potential Treasury overseers to command a US$700bil (RM2.4tril) bank bailout were to attend the meeting, including former treasury secretary Larry Summers, ex-Federal Reserve chief Paul Volcker and Laura Tyson, chairwoman of the National Economic Council under President Bill Clinton.

Ahead of a White House meeting with Bush on Monday, Obama appointed Illinois congressman Rahm Emanuel as his chief of staff, the first senior official to join the next administration.

Emanuel, 48, is a veteran of Clinton’s White House credited with masterminding the Democratic takeover of the House of Representatives in 2006.

He has a reputation for being a bare-knuckle operative and a fierce Democratic partisan who has the nickname of “Rahmbo.”

The appointment stirred the first post-election attacks from the demoralized Republican Party.

”This is an ironic choice for a president-elect who has promised to change Washington, make politics more civil, and govern from the centre,” said John Boehner, the Republican minority leader in the House.

Bush said he had directed “unprecedented” cooperation between the White House and Obama before the Democrat is inaugurated on Jan 20, in the first presidential handover since the Sept 11 attacks of 2001.

”In the coming weeks, we will ask administration officials to brief the Obama team on ongoing policy issues ranging from the financial markets to the war in Iraq,” Bush said at the White House.

Obama said in a statement that he looked forward to meeting Bush, whom he lambasted on an almost hourly basis on the campaign trail.

”I thank him for reaching out in the spirit of bipartisanship that will be required to meet the many challenges we face as a nation,” he said.

Aside from the listing US economy, one of Obama’s most urgent priorities will be to wind down Bush’s war in Iraq and redirect the military focus to hunting down Al-Qaeda and the Taliban in Afghanistan.

The president-elect, who has spent the past two days catching up with his young family and thanking his campaign staff in Chicago, is already receiving classified CIA intelligence as he prepares to take over.

Obama received his first national security briefing from Mike McCon–nell, director of national intelligence, at the FBI building here on Thursday.— AFP

Malaysians in recession-hit Singapore face retrenchment

2008-10-22T17:48:00.000+08:00

JOHOR BARU: Tens of thousands of Malaysian workers from the services and manufacturing sectors in Singapore will be retrenched when employers, hit by the recession, start downsizing in the island republic.

Though the recession has not translated to retrenchment, Malay-sian workers in Singapore are starting to feel jittery over the prospect of losing their jobs if the country’s economy takes a turn for the worse.

At the same time, Johor is taking early steps, including playing job matchmaker, to ensure those retren-ched can quickly be matched with jobs available locally.

For many Malaysians working in Singapore, the main concern is how to continue supporting their families if they are retrenched. Some said they were willing to take a pay cut and return to Malaysia. Others were even prepared take up two jobs back home to supplement their income.

Single mother Karen Lee is worried she may not be able to support her only daughter through college if she loses her job.

“My daughter is taking her SPM this year and plans to further her studies in Taiwan,” said the factory operator, adding that she was willing to take up a job in Malaysia at a lower salary if she were retrenched.

Lee, who earns S$1,500 (RM3,600) a month, stays in a rented room in Woodlands, Singapore while her daughter lives with her mother in Johor Baru.

Technician N. Soomu, 34, who was retrenched in 2002, said the experience was a nightmare.

This time around, he is taking steps to safeguard his job including taking up a technical course.

Soomu has been working in Singapore for the past 10 years and earns about S$1,200. He travels daily to Singapore from Johor Baru as it is cheaper to live in Johor.

Johor Unity, Human Resource, Science, Technology and Innovation committee chairman M. Asojan said there were many job opportunities within Iskandar Malaysia.

“We need 4,000 people for the oil and gas sector alone,” he said.

Johor Labour Department deputy director Ruzita Bahari advised locals to visit its website at jobsmalaysia.gov.my or contact the department at 07-2275080 for job opportunities.

According to Human Resources Minister Datuk Dr S. Subramaniam, some 300,000 Malaysians are working in Singapore.

Gas prices fall in US

2008-10-19T21:29:00.001+08:00

NEW YORK (AP): Gut-wrenching declines in the stock market, a financial panic that some have compared to the Great Depression and the realization that the United States may be headed to its worst recession in over a generation have trumped what should otherwise be good news: The return of $3-a-gallon gas.

Better yet, with retirement account statements arriving in the mail and families worried about keeping their homes, has anyone even noticed?

A gallon (3.8 liters) of regular gasoline fell .049 cents overnight to a new national average of $2.991, according to auto club AAA, the Oil Price Information Service and Wright Express. Prices have not been below $3 nationally since Feb. 16.

Saturday's price is slightly above the national average price of $2.81 a year ago, but 27 percent lower than the all-time high of $4.114 reached July 17. Before Saturday, gas prices already were below $3 in 23 states, according to AAA.

According to the survey, gas was the least expensive in Oklahoma, with a gallon of regular at $2.58. Other cheap states were Missouri and Kansas, while the most expensive was Alaska, with a gallon at nearly $3.92. Hawaii and California also ranked high.

Oil prices, meanwhile, are down $75 _ or 51 percent _ since catapulting to a record high of $147.27 on July 11.

"The amount of wealth that has been lost exceeds drops in other costs,'' said Ben Brockwell, director of data pricing and information servicing for the Oil Price Information Service.

Stock prices, already in a bear market, collapsed as credit markets froze, hitting multiyear lows this month. About $2.4 trillion in shareholder wealth was lost just last week alone.

The economy, which has shed 760,000 jobs this year through September as the unemployment rate has risen to 6.1 percent, figures to be in a recession as severe as the country has seen since the early 1980s.

The stunning collapse in gas prices comes a month after prices hit $5 a gallon and gas lines formed in some parts of the country after hurricanes Gustav and Ike shut down a big hunk of the nation's refinery capacity along the Gulf of Mexico.

As refinery capacity has come back online, prices began dropping dramatically and now are approaching levels where they were a year ago. In Ohio, for example, prices averaged $2.80 Friday, down nearly 4 cents from a year ago.

Gas prices likely will fall further, and figure to hit $2.50 to $2.60 a gallon if oil goes down to $50 a barrel as some analysts suspect it will.

While motorists welcome the decline in prices, they are wary given the huge fluctuations over the past couple of years, said Kit Yarrow, a consumer psychologist at San Francisco's Golden Gate University who has studied how high oil prices have affected Americans' buying behavior.

"People have learned that they can't trust gas prices to stay low,'' she said.

She said she doubts motorists _ who cut fuel consumption as prices rose _ will return to their old gas-guzzling ways even as prices have come down.

"Everywhere you go, be it the store, the diner, whatever, you hear people talking about their gas costs and how they need to cut back,'' David Robinson, 67, of Lakewood, New Jersey, said recently as he was getting coffee at a convenience store. "You still hear it, even though gas keeps dropping.'' Others are not so sure.

"Gas prices are crazy, crazy, crazy,'' said Zena Newson as she prepared to fill up her Dodge Caravan at a gas station near downtown Chicago recently.

Newson, who spends up to $240 a week on gas, said between being a single parent and running a catering business, she can't afford to change her driving habits _ high gas prices or no high gas prices.

Asian markets up in cautious trade

2008-10-17T11:51:00.000+08:00

KUALA LUMPUR: Asian markets rose in early trade on Friday, aided by the mild recovery on Wall Street, but gains were relatively limited as investors’ sentiment was still fragile after the recent selldown.

At 9.30am, the KL Composite Index was up 3.24 points to 923.30. Turnover was 70 million shares valued at RM103.4mil. There were 126 gainers, 87 losers and 112 counters unchanged.

Asian markets rose, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 adding 1.25% to 8,564.37, Singapore’s Straits Times Index gained 0.78% to 1,966.46 while Shanghai’s A Share opened 1.53% higher at 2,036.87.

Light crude oil rose US$2.93 to US$72.78.

MPI led the gainers, up 30 sen to RM6.65 while Tanjong added 20 sen to RM11.30, DiGi and Bursa advanced 10 sen each to RM22.190 and RM5.75 while IOI Corp gained eight sen to RM3.10.

IJM, which proposed a special interim dividend of 25 sen per share for the financial year ending March 31, 2009, rose 12 sen to RM4.22.

Tanjung Offshore-WB which were listed today, jumped 24.5 sen to 25 sen.

KNM, which had recently come under heavy selling pressure before staging a recovery on Thursday, was the most active with 26 million shares. It felll 4.5 sen to 64 sen.

Tenaga was flat at RM6.60 after reporting a net loss of RM283mil for the fourth quarter.

Shell was the top loser, down 15 sen to RM9.85 while Lion Forest fell 13 sen to 63.5 sen, JT International 10 sen to RM4.30.

Khong Guan, Khian Guan biscuits have high level of melamine (updated)

2008-10-16T13:35:00.000+08:00

PUTRAJAYA: Khong Guan and Khian Guan brand biscuits have been found to contain excessive levels of melamine.

Health Minister Datuk Liow Tiong Lai said 18 out of the 47 products produced by the two manufacturers contained more than the permissible level of malamine, which is 2.5mg/kg or 2.5 parts per million (ppm).

He said the manufacturers had been instructed to recall all 18 biscuit products from the market.

“We have also requested that they voluntarily recall the rest of the products (the remaining 29),” he said.

Asked if they had agreed to do so, Liow said: “Yes, they are very responsive. They are responsible companies.”

Liow said the ministry had traced the source of the melamine to ammonium bicarbonate, the levelling agent used.

He said the ammonium bicarbonate used by both manufacturers was from China.

As such, Liow had banned the import of ammonium bicarbonate from China, placing the substance under Level 6 Examination (Auto Rejection), while ammonium bicarbonate from other countries is placed under Level 4 Examination (Surveillance Examination).

Excessive melamine was first linked to contaminated dairy products, but Liow said the ministry would now be more alert and test more products other than those with dairy content due to the ammonium bicarbonate findings.

On Oct 6, White Rabbit Creamy Candy was found to contain more than 50 times the permitted level of melamine and was banned by the ministry.

Fuel price cut will have ‘little impact’

2008-10-15T10:10:00.001+08:00

PETALING JAYA: It will provide some relief but will not have much impact — that sums up the sentiments of the public on the fuel price reduction yesterday.

City folk were definitely happy but many doubt that prices of basic necessities would go down in tandem with the reduction.

Bus and lorry operators said it did not really benefit them as prices of other goods had gone up.

Pan Malaysian Bus Operators Association president Datuk Ashfar Ali said the reduction in fuel prices would not affect bus operators.

“For us, it’s still the same. We are still paying the subsidised rate of RM1.43 per litre for diesel,” he said.

He added that bus operators had also not felt the benefit of lower fuel prices as the cost of other products were still high.

“When the fuel prices shot up early this year, the price of everything else — batteries, lubricating oil and tyres — went up. Now, even though fuel prices are down, the price of these items are not coming down,” he said.

Pan Malaysian Lorry Owners Association president Er Sui See said that while he was happy with the reduced diesel prices, lorry owners still would not be able to absorb the escalating transport charges.

“Only a quarter of the diesel we use is subsidised, so yes it’s good that diesel prices are down.

“But all the other costs that have gone up are still going up. We can’t absorb the cost,” he said.

He gave the example of tyres, which would cost 15% more from Nov 1.

Tutor Tan Chin Swee, 48, said: “The sudden jump in petrol price a few months ago resulted in a spiral effect which pushed up the price of many daily necessities. I doubt that the reduction can undo the inflationary impact that an ordinary person is now facing.”

“Recession and inflation are inherent in any economy and are things that we have to live with,’’ Tan added.

Manager Gobal Rajee, 46, said he was happy with the reduction but felt that there would be little effect.

“We hope the prices of other goods will go down as well, otherwise it really makes no difference,’’ he said.

Civil servant Karim Jaabar, 37, said it was nothing to rejoice about if the prices of goods remain the same.

Administrative executive Theresa Heng, 49, said it was better than nothing.

Petrol prices reduced

2008-10-14T20:21:00.001+08:00

KUALA LUMPUR: Petrol prices will be reduced by a further 10sen to 20sen from Wednesday.

RON 97 petrol is reduced by 15sen to RM2.30; RON 92 petrol is reduced by 10sen to RM2.20; and diesel is reduced by 20sen to RM2.20.

A post on the Prime Minister's Office website (wwww.pmo.gov.my) said the decision was made following the marked drop in the global oil price of late.

"The lowering of the fuel prices is also made to speed up the reduction of retail prices so that the people will be able to enjoy the benefits sooner," the post added.

The statement was signed by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.

The previous two reductions were on Aug 23 and Sept 24.

Prepare to lose jobs in Singapore

2008-10-14T12:37:00.001+08:00

SINGAPORE: The 300,000 Malaysians employed in the island republic have been advised to gear up for retrenchment if the country continues to slide into a recession.

Human Resources Minister Datuk Dr S. Subramaniam said that although the technical recession experienced by Singapore has not yet translated into unemployment, it was better for Malaysians to be prepared.

“If there is unemployment due to a recession, our workers will be hit,” he told The Star here yesterday.

“They need to work on retraining and acquiring new skills to ensure they have jobs during such times.”

He said that Malaysians accounted for about 30% of the foreign workforce in Singapore.

Dr Subramaniam said that many of the Malaysian workers in Singapore were unskilled and employed in the manufacturing sector.

Asked about whether the ministry had a contingency plan for such a situation in Malaysia, he said that Malaysia would have excess job vacancies as work presently being done by foreigners could be offered to locals instead.

According to economic data released by Singapore’s Ministry of Trade and Industry, the island republic will be the first Asian economy to fall into a technical recession.

A technical recession is generally defined as two consecutive quarters of contraction in economic output.

Dr Subramaniam, after an hour-long meeting with his Singapore counterpart Gan Kim Yong, said they had discussed various issues.

On instances of Malaysian workers being cheated in Singapore, he said that the Malaysian High Commission had received 1,250 complaints within the first nine months of this year.

Dr Subramaniam added that there was something wrong with the recruitment mechanism and the ministry would have to check on the matter.

Wall Street plunges, continuing devastating losses

2008-10-10T22:53:00.000+08:00

NEW YORK: The devastating selling continues on Wall Street, with investors again dumping stocks in early trading. The Dow Jones industrials, already down 2,271 points in seven sessions, are down more than 300 after dropping as much as 696.

The major indexes are fluctuating sharply as some computer-driven "buy" orders kick in, but investors are selling heavily as markets around the world panic because credit markets remain frozen and pose a threat to the global economy.

The Dow is off 317 at the 8,261 level. The Standard & Poor's 500 index is down more than 4%, and the Nasdaq composite is down nearly 3%.

In Asia and Europe, stock prices careened lower Friday, extending a stampede of selling that began in on Wall Street a day earlier, deepening a global financial crisis that has defied all efforts to stop it.

This week's coordinated interest rate cuts by the world's central banks to thaw frozen credit markets and boost investor confidence have fallen flat as markets remain gripped by fears about the scale and depth of the likely global recession.

Wall Street headed lower Friday with the Dow Jones industrials dropping 600 points in early trading. President Bush was expected to make a statement on the financial crisis Friday morning.

The Wall Street Journal reported that government officials are considering temporarily guaranteeing all U.S. bank deposits and billions of dollars of bank debt, in addition to possibly buying stakes in individual banks. The New York Times also said officials are reviewing a British proposal that also includes repayment guarantees for certain types of loans.

Administration officials told The Associated Press that several financial rescue plans are being reviewed, but no announcements are likely before finance ministers from the seven biggest industrial nations meet Friday in Washington.

The $700 billion federal bailout legislation enacted on Oct. 3 cleared the way for the government insurance limit for bank deposits to be temporarily raised from $100,000 to $250,000 in cases where bank or savings and loans fail. That guarantee covered $5.2 trillion of deposits, but another $1.8 trillion is not presently covered, according to the Wall Street Journal.

But a Treasury Department official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of market conditions, said covering all deposits is not now being considered. "We raised the limit one week ago and have no plans to remove the limit," the official said.

A spokesman for the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., however, didn't appear to rule out the possibility that such a plan might be considered.

The Treasury had earlier requested from Congress authority for the FDIC to change deposit insurance limits to respond to disruptions in the banking system, in addition to the increase to $250,000 that was part of the bailout legislation, FDIC spokesman Andrew Gray noted in a statement.

"We believe that we have significant latitude, in consultation with Congress, under the systemic risk exception - which carries the threshold of approval of the Federal Reserve and Treasury Secretary in consultation with the president - to protect depositors and adopt other measures to support the banking system," Gray said.

Thursday's anniversary of the U.S. stock market peak turned into one of the worst days in Wall Street history, with the Dow Jones industrials loosing a breathtaking 679 points, or 7.3 percent.

Asian markets followed Wall Street's cue, as key market gauges dropped 9.6 percent in Japan, 8 percent in India and 7.2 percent in Hong Kong. European stocks slumped by midday with key market barometers losing 7.3 percent in London, 7.7 percent in Germany and 7.5 percent in Paris.

A stream of selling forced exchanges in Austria, Russia and Indonesia to suspend trading, and the rout in Australian markets caused traders to call it "Black Friday."

"Overall it's the fact that despite the huge firefighting efforts of central banks worldwide we still haven't seen any thawing of interbank lending that is going to be causing the most concern now," said Matt Buckled, a dealer at CMC Markets in London.

The late burst of selling Thursday on Wall Street sent the Dow Jones industrials down to 8,579, crashing through the 9,000 level for the first time in five years and wiping out $872 billion of investment value.

As bad as the day was, even worse was the cumulative effect of a historic run of declines: The Dow suffered a triple-digit loss for the sixth day in a row, a first, and the average dropped for the seventh day in a row, a losing streak not seen since 2002.

"Right now the market is just panicked," said David Whys, chief economist at Standard & Poor's in New York. "Nobody wants to take on any risk. Everybody just wants to get their money and put it under the mattress."

Thursday's sell-off on Wall Street took place one year to the day after the Dow closed at its record high of 14,164. Since that day, frozen credit, record foreclosures, cascading job losses and outright fear have seized the market and sapped 39 percent of its value.

Paper losses for the year add up to an staggering $8.3 trillion, according to preliminary figures measured by the Dow Jones Wiltshire 5000 Composite Index, which tracks 5,000 U.S.-based companies representing almost all stocks traded in America.

It was the second straight day that Wall Street was rocked by a final-hour sell-off, but this one was particularly shocking.

Most of the day was relatively calm, and the trading floor was quieter than usual because of the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur. Wall Street awoke to news the federal government was brandishing a new weapon against the financial crisis - considering seeking an equity stake in major U.S. banks in order to stabilize them.

But that step appeared to be as ineffectual as the others Washington has rolled out in recent weeks, including a $700 billion bailout of the financial industry, a coordinated interest rate cut by central banks around the world and direct lending by the Federal Reserve to private companies to provide them with short-term cash.

Acquiring a stake in the banks would be yet another startling intervention by the government in the free market, but economists said Bush was left with little choice because of the credit markets, where tight lending has choked off the everyday cash that is the lifeblood of the economy.

"In normal times, this would be out of the question, but in the present dire situation, I think the government should be employing all the powers that it can," said Sung Won Shone, an economics professor at California State University, Channel Islands.

Wall Street has been teetering on the brink of panic for a month now, vulnerable to any bad news. Thursday's sell-off was triggered when a major credit rating agency put General Motors Corp. and its finance affiliate under review to determine whether it should be downgraded.

Stock in GM, one of the 30 components of the Dow Jones industrials, lost 31 percent of its value and closed at $4.76 - its lowest level since the Korean War began more than a half century ago.

For the Dow, it has been nothing short of a free fall:

-The average is down 2,338 points, or 21 percent, in the last four weeks, since the Lehman Brothers bankruptcy escalated a long-running credit crunch into a full-fledged crisis.

-The point decline Thursday was the third-worst in Dow history. The worst, 778 points, came less than two weeks ago.

-Of the last 19 trading days, there have been 11 triple-digit losses - including the unprecedented six straight. The six gains have all been triple-digits, and only one of them was enough to make up the losses of the day before.

-The Dow now stands only about 1,300 points above its lowest close of the bear market that followed 9/11. In a market as volatile as this, that gap can be closed in a couple of trading days, or less.

In fact, triple-digit declines can happen almost in an instant.

On Thursday, the Dow was above 9,200 after 1:30 p.m. and still above 9,000 after 3 p.m. The pressure to sell was so intense that the Dow kept dropping precipitously for 10 minutes after the 4 p.m. closing bell as the day's losses were tabulated.

In percentage terms, the drop in the Dow exceeded the day the markets reopened after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. It was not close to the 22.6-percent decline on Black Monday in 1987, the last stock market crash.

Still, it is becoming increasingly clear that Washington has ever fewer places to reach in its toolbox to stop, or perhaps even slow, the crisis. Among the options still left are buying up foreclosed properties and making direct loans to homeowners, both of them hard for free-market supporters to swallow.

Meanwhile, the credit markets remained stubbornly locked-up. The benchmark rate that banks charge each other for loans, known as Libor, rose to 4.75 percent from 4.52 percent a day earlier, signaling banks are still afraid to make loans because they worry they won't be paid back. - AP

PM: Focus on renewable palm biofuel

2008-10-07T11:54:00.001+08:00

KUALA LUMPUR: The country’s biotechnology industry could take advantage of the global concern over food and energy security by focusing on developing new and economically viable renewable fuel from palm oil.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said the industry should leverage on Malaysia’s natural strengths like focusing on the palm oil industry.

“Innovative bio-refineries is a strategic area which will be looked at,” he told reporters at the third meeting of the Biotech International Advisory Panel here yesterday.

Abdullah said the meeting impressed the point that the world was different now compared with three years ago when the biotech initiative was first started.

To a question, he said Malaysia’s biotech industry was presently valued at RM1.3bil, with an expected annual growth of 22%, largely driven by the palm oil industry.

On the commercial availability of biofuel in the country, Abdullah said the necessary infrastructure must be developed first.

He also pointed out that it would be more profitable to convert palm oil to biofuel when the price of the commodity drops.

“When the price is down, they can choose biofuel. Then biofuel will have added value and the price will be higher,” he said.

Vehicles jam up roads

2008-10-06T10:31:00.001+08:00

PETALING JAYA: With the Hari Raya holidays over, major highways leading to the Klang Valley were congested with vehicles as people made their way home.

Checks on the North-South Expressway, Kuala Lumpur-Karak Highway and East Coast Expressway revealed that traffic was reduced to a crawl by yesterday afternoon.

Many road users also called The Star complaining about being stuck in jams for as long as three hours on the KL-Karak Highway. An official manning the North-South Expressway’s helpline said traffic flow between the Senawang interchange and the Seremban rest area was congested from 3pm.

In the northern portion of the expressway, traffic started building up from 1pm and was bumper-to-bumper from Gopeng to Slim River.

Now, a long crawl home: Vehicles inching their way back to Kuala Lumpur from the east coast states on the Kuala Lumpur-Karak Highway at the Bentong toll plaza in Pahang Sunday. Traffic was also heavy on the North-South Expressway with people heading back to the Klang Valley after the Hari Raya break.

The volume of vehicles from the north began dropping after 9.45pm, the official said.

“The traffic flow could have been better if users had followed our travel-time advisory,” the official said.

He said that unlike the balik kampung rush at the start of the Hari Raya festive season which was spread out, many travellers decided to return to the Klang Valley at the last minute causing major congestion.

An MTD Primeline helpline official said a 10km crawl back to the Klang Valley along the Kuala Lumpur-Karak Highway started at 6pm from Bentong.

Britain gives thumbs-up to actions against visa abuse

2008-10-05T10:35:00.000+08:00

KUALA LUMPUR: So far so good. Three months after Malaysia was told that its visa-exempt status may be revoked by the end of the year due to abuses, the British authorities are giving the thumbs-up to corrective measures taken to date.

What is at stake is a privilege Malaysians currently enjoy: visa-free stay in Britain for up to six months.

Britain’s “strong case” for implementing a visa regime against Malaysia is softening halfway through the six-month grace period for the Government to act and plug the loopholes.

The UK Border Agency, a shadow agency of the British Home Office, and the British High Commission are happy with the measures taken by the Malaysian authorities so far.

A UK Border Agency official, who is being based here to evaluate the compliance and security improvements being carried out, is said to be satisfied with the collaboration received.

The agency was formed in April to improve Britain’s security through stronger border protection while welcoming legitimate travellers and trade.

Britain had in July given Malaysia until December to prevent illegal immigration and improve passport security, crime and anti-terrorism measures and cooperate in deporting Malaysians who overstayed.

If the British Home Office remains dissatisfied at the end of the grace period, Malaysia could lose its visa-exempt status from early next year.

US Senate approves US$700b rescue plan

2008-10-02T11:38:00.000+08:00

WASHINGTON: After one spectacular failure, the US$700bil financial industry bailout found a second life on Wednesday, winning lopsided passage in the Senate and gaining ground in the House, where Republicans opposition softened.

Senators loaded the economic rescue bill with tax breaks and sweeteners designed to make the legislation more palatable to voters before passing it by a wide margin, 74-25, a month before the presidential and congressional elections.

In the House, leaders were working feverishly to convert enough opponents of the bill to push it through by Friday, just days after lawmakers there stunningly rejected an earlier version and sent markets plunging around the globe.

The measure didn’t cause the same uproar in the Senate, where both parties’ presidential candidates, Republican John McCain and Democrat Barack Obama, made rare appearances to cast votes in favour of the legislation.

The rescue package lets the government spend billions of dollars to buy bad mortgage-related securities and other devalued assets held by troubled financial institutions. If successful, advocates say, that would allow frozen credit to begin flowing again and prevent a deep recession.

Even as the Senate voted, House leaders were hunting for the 12 votes they would need to turn around Monday’s 228-205 defeat. They were especially targeting the 133 Republicans who voted “no.’’

Their opposition appeared to be easing after the Senate added US$110bil in tax breaks for businesses and the middle class, plus a provision to raise, from US$100,000 to US$250,000, the cap on federal deposit insurance.

They were also cheering a decision Tuesday by the Securities and Exchange Commission to ease rules that force companies to devalue assets on their balance sheets to reflect the price they can get on the market.

There were worries, though, that the tax breaks would cause some conservative-leaning Democrats who voted for the rescue Monday to abandon it because it would swell the federal deficit.

”I’m concerned about that,’’ said Rep. Steny Hoyer, a Democrat and the majority leader.

As revised by the Senate, the package extends several tax breaks popular with businesses. It would keep the alternative minimum tax from hitting 20 million middle-income Americans and provide US$8bil in tax relief for those hit by natural disasters in the Midwest, Texas and Louisiana.

It doesn’t designate a way to pay for many of the tax cuts, though, angering the House’s band of conservative Democrats.

Leaders in both parties, as well as private economic chiefs everywhere, said Congress must quickly approve some version of the bailout measure to start loans flowing and stave off a potential national economic disaster.

”This is what we need to do right now to prevent the possibility of a crisis turning into a catastrophe,’’ Obama said on the Senate floor. In Missouri, before flying to Washington to vote, McCain said, “If we fail to act, the gears of our economy will grind to a halt.’’

Critics on the right and left assailed the rescue plan, which has been panned by their constituents as a giveaway for Wall Street, and has little obvious direct benefit for ordinary Americans.

Sen. Jim DeMint, a leading Republican conservative, said the step was “leading us into the pit of socialism.’’

Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, an independent who’s a self-described socialist, said the rescue was fundamentally unfair.

”The masters of the universe, those brilliant Wall Street insiders who have made more money than the average American can even dream of, have brought our financial system to the brink of collapse,’’ Sanders said, and are demanding that the middle class “pick up the pieces that they broke.’’

Still, proponents argued that the financial sector’s woes were already being felt by ordinary people in the form of unaffordable credit and underperforming retirement savings and without the bailout would soon translate into even more economic pain for working Americans, including more job losses.

”There will be no balloons or bunting or parades,’’ when the rescue becomes law, said Sen. Chris Dodd, the Democrat who heads the Banking Committee chairman. But lawmakers will have “the knowledge that at one of our nation’s moments of maximum economic peril, we acted _ not for the benefit of a particular few, but for all Americans.’’

The Senate specialises in high-stakes legislating by enticement, and the long list of sweeteners it added was designed to attract votes from various constituencies.

Tax cuts new and old are favorites for most House Republicans, the main target of intense lobbying to gain support for the measure.

Increasing the deposit insurance cap was a bid to reassure individuals and small businesses that their money would be safe in the event their banks collapsed. It was particularly geared toward small banks that fear customers will pull their money and park it in larger institutions seen as less likely to fold.

The FDIC would be allowed to borrow unlimited money from the Treasury Department through the end of next year as a way to cover the increased insurance limit. If used, it would be the first time the agency has tapped Treasury for a loan since the early 1990s.

Raising the limit _ along with the SEC’s decision to ease accounting rules on valuing assets _ helped House Republicans claim credit for some substantive changes.

And with constituent feedback changing dramatically since Monday’s shocking House defeat and the corresponding market plunge, lawmakers’ comfort level with the package increased markedly. - AP

KLCI falls 29% in first nine months

2008-10-01T12:40:00.000+08:00

PETALING JAYA: The local stock market almost ended the first nine months with a spectacular drop yesterday but closed off the lows of the morning session.

The day before, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) fell 7%, the biggest single day drop since Oct 19, 1987 when the index plunged 22%.

The drop yesterday erased US$1.3 trillion from the US stock market, almost double the bungled bailout package of US$700bil.

Over here, the KL Composite Index (CI) fell 29% in the first nine months this year.

Total market value fell by RM286bil from RM1.06 trillion in January to RM771bil on Sept 29, according to EquitiesTracker.com.

Top gainers for the nine months to Sept 30 were companies that received proposals of general offers (GOs) or other privatisation routes.

That showed prices were depressed unless there was a GO and many major shareholders took advantage of cheap share prices to take their companies private.

These stocks include Putrajaya Perdana Bhd, Loh & Loh Corp Bhd, PacificMas Bhd, Sindora Bhd, VADS Bhd, UBG Bhd, Ramunia Holdings Bhd, Ye Chiu Metal Smelting Bhd, Saujana Consolidated Bhd and Pharmaniaga Bhd. Ramunia was also the top gainer for the second board.

The plantation sector provided most of the stocks that were top losers ranked by price. These include Kuala Lumpur Kepong Bhd and Sime Darby Bhd, both of which fell heavily in terms of both price and percentage.

Two of the largest construction stocks - Gamuda Bhd and IJM Corp Bhd - were among the top losers.

The Mesdaq market was the worst performer during this period, with only 11 gainers out of a total 136 stocks listed, with many of these stocks losing 50% or more of their value.

Meanwhile, K.M Lee reports that the local market took a turn for the worse in the wake of fresh selling pressure yesterday. It had earlier rebounded some 77.56 points from the recent low of 963.29 on Sept 18 to a high of 1,040.85 on Sept 22 and spending the subsequent five trading days undergoing a constructive consolidation below the short-term 14-day simple moving average (SMA).

Market sentiment was decisively frail in early deals, with the bellwether CI gaping down 24.6 points, or 2.4% at 995.12 at the opening bell, as investors reacted negatively to a huge sell-off in overnight Wall Street.

The US market was spooked by an unexpected US House of Representatives’ rejection of a US$700bil bailout plan for troubled banks.

Fortunately, the local bourse was able to arrive at a calm shortly and later pared losses significantly to settle a shade below the flat line, ending 1.04 points lower at 1,018.68.

This was due to institutional investors indulging in “deep sea” fishing and perhaps, third quarter “window dressing” activity and short-covering action.

Despite that, Bursa Malaysia still is at risk of re-testing the recent bottom of 963.29 going forward, due to prevailing external uncertainty and the deteriorating technical reading of the daily, weekly as well as the monthly moving average convergence/divergence indicators.

At best, Bursa Malaysia may fluctuate within a moderate band in the intermediate term and investors are advised to trade cautiously as we enter October, the most difficult month for stock trading going by past records.

As for the downside, a clear violation of the crucial support floor may trigger a fresh bout of liquidation action in the market, tearing the key index to the 920.92 points level, which is the 61.8% Fibonacci retracement of the previous massive rally.

To the upside, the CI will encounter a strong challenge at the 14-day SMA and 21-day SMA, now resting at 1,022 points and 1,040 points respectively, and still falling.

Barisan leaders to Gerakan chief: Make a stand!

2008-09-29T20:10:00.000+08:00

GEORGE TOWN: Penang Barisan Nasional leaders want Gerakan acting president Tan Sri Dr Koh Tsu Koon to make a stand on the party’s position in the coalition.

Penang Umno liaison committee deputy chairman Datuk Abdul Rashid Abdullah said the former chief minister must determine the direction of his party.

“As a leader, he must be responsible to the coalition. He needs to set the course for Gerakan and make his position clear. After all, a fish rots from the head down.

“I regret that we have parti perosak (party spoilers) within Barisan. These factions can leave if they want to,” he said.

On Sunday, Dr Koh said among the options being considered by the party was to join Pakatan Rakyat; to stay with the ruling coalition; or to leave Barisan and become independent.

He said based on party sentiment, more than 60% wanted to leave Barisan but the party was still assessing the situation.

State MCA deputy chief Datuk Lau Chiek Tuan said Dr Koh should disclose his personal stand.

“Don’t hide behind members’ opinions. Tell us what you want - you are the party’s acting president,” he said.

Penang Gerakan Youth chief Oh Tong Keong thinks the party should give Barisan “one or two years” before deciding.

Oh, who is gunning for the party’s number two post in the national Youth wing, said such an important decision cannot be made in a “hot political” climate.

“All Barisan component parties are going through trying times. Let’s wait for the Umno leadership transition to see if the relationship between coalition parties can improve.

“The next general election would probably be in 2012. We can always call for an emergency general meeting in one or two years time if we want to pull out of Barisan - it’s not too late,” he said, adding that party members should not be hasty.

Balik Kampung exodus

2008-09-29T20:06:00.000+08:00

Penang: Rising crime, No 1 in crime-busting

2008-09-28T23:54:00.000+08:00

GEORGE TOWN: Penang has seen a 0.9% rise in crime but the state is still number one in the country when it comes to solving cases.

State chief police officer Deputy Comm Datuk Wira Ayub Yaakob said Penang recorded 13,114 crime cases from Jan 1 to Sept 24 this year, a slight increase from last year’s 12,991.

“There were 2,507 violent crimes and 10,484 property crimes last year. This year, the number of violent crimes reported has decreased by 148, but property crimes have gone up to 10,755,” he said.

Penang is still the leading state when it comes to solving cases, with a rate of 53.1%.

“The national target is just 45% while Interpol is at 20%,” he said during a Community Policing Forum organised by the State Security and Public Safety Consultative Council on Sunday.

The forum was attended by Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng, state executive councillors, assemblymen, Penang municipal councillors, members of the police force, NGOs and politicians.

DCP Ayub said the state was recording up to 50 cases a day but was aiming to reduce the number to fewer than 45.

“We are targeting a rise of no more than 5% for now. Eventually, we hope to reach zero rise in crime,” he said, but admitted that the figures could not reflect the people’s true feelings about public security and their perception of the police.

He said the police force would improve the police delivery system and its officers’ administration, communication and crime handling skills, but the people needed to understand the function of the police and cooperate with them in crime prevention and reduction.

“For community policing to be effective, there has to be accessibility, sustainable solutions and involvement of the public, governmental bodies, NGOs, residents associations and rukun tetangga (neighbourhood watches),” he said.

He said the police had placed its officers in communities to work closely with the people and to represent the Force in residents association, rukun tetangga and Village Security and Development Committee (JKKK) meetings to address security and safety matters.

DCP Ayub also recommended that entertainment outlets be located in one area for easier surveillance, enforcement and crime prevention efforts by the police.

“It will be a long-term move to curb crime. Some outlets create traffic congestion and are a public nuisance. Some of them are operating without licences.

“In this matter we need to get the state government to crack down on the illegal outlets. That will help us eradicate these places that could even be meeting places for criminals,” he said.

He said he would submit such a proposal to the state government in the coming state security council meeting.

Among the issues raised at the forum included citizen arrests, metal theft, detainees harassed while in police custody, waiving charges for Rakan Cop SMSes, errant motorists, and traffic congestion.

A mere RM4.50 a day for meals

2008-09-24T02:17:00.001+08:00

KUALA LUMPUR: A Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department was shocked to learn that only RM4.50 per day is allocated for food to each detainee in the lock-up.

T. Murugiah said this was ridiculous, especially with the increase in the price of rice, petrol and other items.

The RM4.50 covers breakfast (60 sen), lunch (RM2) and dinner (RM1.90).

Murugiah said the allocation should be raised so that detainees could get decent food.

“A normal human being living in the city spends at least RM10 on meals a day,” he said after visiting the Travers police station here yesterday.

He visited the police station following complaints by Seputeh MP Teresa Kok about the food she was served during her detention under the Internal Security Act (ISA).

“Detainees should be treated with respect and given proper food,” said Murugiah.

He said he would ask the Prime Minister and Home Minister to revise the amount allocated per detainee.

“It is high time we increase the amount as I believe that it has been some time since the Government revised it,” he said, adding that foreign and local detainees should be treated fairly.

Murugiah, who is also the Public Complaints Bureau head, said he had investigated the matter and would leave it to the higher authorities to remedy the situation.

Murugiah had earlier met Kok for about an hour in her office at the state secretariat building in Shah Alam.

The meeting was to discuss the type of food Kok was served during her week-long detention.

Kok pointed out that she was wrongly quoted about the food served. She said she was served food which was slightly better than dog food and not that she was served food that was like dog food as published in a Malay newspaper.

“I am happy to see the initiative taken by the Deputy Minister in looking into this matter and I hope that conditions will improve.”

US Fed allows biggest Wall Street restructuring since Great Depression

2008-09-22T14:34:00.000+08:00

WASHINGTON: The Federal Reserve said Sunday it had granted a request by the last two major U.S. investment banks - Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley - to change their status to bank holding companies.

The Fed announced that it had approved the request of the two investment banks. The change in status will allow them to create commercial banks that will be able to take deposits, bolstering the resources of both institutions.

The change continued the biggest restructuring on Wall Street since the Great Depression.

The request for the change to bank holding companies was granted by a unanimous vote of the Fed's board of governors during a late Sunday meeting in Washington.

The change of status means both companies will come under the direct regulation of the Federal Reserve, which regulates the nation's bank holding companies.

The banking subsidiaries of the two institutions will face the stricter regulations that commercial banks are required to meet.

Previously, the primary regulator for Goldman and Morgan Stanley was the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Shares of both institutions had come under pressure ever since the bankruptcy filing last week by investment bank Lehman Brothers and the forced sale of investment bank Merrill Lynch to Bank of America.

Investors feared that the last remaining independent investment banks would not be able to survive in their current form.

There had been speculation that both institutions would be acquired by commercial banks, whose ability to take deposits would give them a stable source of funding.

The decision by the two giants of finance to get approval from the Fed to change their own status represented another dramatic development in one of the most turbulent periods in Wall Street history.

In the surprise announcement late Sunday, the central bank said that to provide increase funding support to the two institutions during the transition period, they would be allowed to get short-term loans from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York against various types of collateral.

The Fed said its action would take final effect after a five-day waiting period required under law.

The decision means that the Goldman and Morgan Stanley will be able not only to set up commercial bank subsidiaries to take deposits, giving them a major resource base, but they will also have the same access as other commercial banks to the Fed's emergency loan program.

After the collapse of Bear Stearns and its forced sale to JP Morgan Chase last March, the Fed used powers it had been granted during the Great Depression to extend its emergency loans to investment banks as well as commercial banks.

However, that extension was granted on a temporary basis.

But as commercial banks, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley will have permanent access to emergency loans from the Fed, the same privilege that other commercial banks enjoy.

The action by the Fed's board of governors in Washington came on a day when the Bush administration continued to campaign for quick congressional approval of its request for authority to use $700 billion to purchase a mountain of bad mortgage debt held by financial companies.

The effort represented the boldest action yet aimed at stabilizing chaotic financial markets.

Democrats in Congress said they would demand provisions in the bailout measure to protect people in danger of losing their homes as well as seeking to cap executive compensation at firms who get to unload their bad mortgages debt onto the government.

But the proposal was expected to win quick congressional passage because both parties are concerned about the adverse reaction in financial markets should the measure look like it was being delayed.

Sen. Richard Shelby, the top Republican on the Senate Banking Committee, said the government's efforts would be the "mother of all bailouts'' that could well cost $1 trillion when the cost of the government takeovers of Fannie, Freddie and AIG were included.

Earlier report

WASHINGTON: The Federal Reserve said Sunday it had granted a request by the last two major U.S. investment banks - Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley - to change their status to bank holding companies.

The Fed announced that it had approved the request of the two investment banks.

The change in status will allow them to create commercial banks that will be able to take deposits, bolstering the resources of both institutions.

The change continued the biggest restructuring on Wall Street since the Great Depression.

Investors feared that the last remaining independent investment banks would not be able to survive in their current form.

There had been speculation that both institutions would be acquired by commercial banks, whose ability to take deposits would give them a stable source of funding.

The decision by the two giants of finance to get approval from the Fed to change their own status represented another dramatic development in one of the most turbulent periods in Wall Street history.

It's the economy, stupid

2008-09-20T23:27:00.001+08:00

First World or Free World, it is still bread and butter issues that dictate the phenomenal race to Washington. Pollsters are holding out for the candidate who finds his voice for the people in these days of economic troubles, especially after the stunning fall of Lehman Brothers.

DUSK was settling in but the mood at Columbia University was bright as the campus awaited for America’s two most watched men.

The Ivy League school was playing host to a forum for the ServiceNation Summit on Sept 11; Barack Obama and John McCain would discuss volunteerism and national service.

Youthful enthusiasm: Students at Columbia University awaiting the simulcast of a presidential forum in New York on Sept 11.

A large screen was erected near Low Library. The crowd of students began to swell long before the simulcast of the forum began.

One female undergraduate posed with a life-size cut-out of the Democratic contender. Others clapped whenever Obama’s name was mentioned by a speaker.

The mood was infectious; there was hardly a poker-face in sight.

“It’s predominantly for Obama,” Tara Machen, a final year Arts undergraduate, said of the campus population.

But, she assured, there had been no fights between Obama and McCain supporters among the students. “We enjoyed the diversity of views,” she maintained.

Youthful enthusiasm aside, the mood of the country remains negative.

Neil Newhouse, a co-founder of Public Opinion Strategies, said their latest survey found that at least 67% of Americans felt that their great nation was on the wrong track and George W. Bush was getting the thumbs down as President.

As a pollster, Newhouse has done research in countries such as Bulgaria, Jamaica and Venezuela “but I have not had numbers that are as negative as what we are seeing currently.”

The economy is the priority of the American electorate now, he said, instead of Iraq which was once the burning issue at hand.

In a sense, the Democrat Party has an edge over its rivals.

“The biggest doubt about McCain is that he will continue Bush’s policies,” said Stan Greenberg, CEO of Greenberg Quinlan Rosner, who has served as pollster for leaders like Bill Clinton, Al Gore, Tony Blair and Nelson Mandela.

Look to the 2006 US midterm elections, he said, as a backdrop. “It was like an earthquake then when the Republicans lost control of the House Representatives and the Senate.”

Prior to Monday’s collapse of Lehman Brothers, Greenberg said Obama had a mere three point advantage over McCain.

“Obama has energised the young people but I believe that economic issues are not his passion,” he said.

Hillary Clinton, for comparison’s sake, had eyed more the blue-collar workers.

Both Newhouse and Greenberg were at a discussion on “Post-Convention, Pre-Debates: A Look at the Race to the White House in Key Battleground States” organised by the Washington Foreign Press Centre on Tuesday.

The Republican camp, according to Newhouse, had been hit by “Palin mania”.

“I can’t tell you how excited they are. She is getting numbers that comes to almost unanimous in terms of polling,” he said.

Sarah Palin, McCain’s running mate, has the highest positive rating for a vice-president contender since Al Gore in 1992. But the question remains: Will the numbers stay strong for her?

“So, the vice-presidential debate on Oct 2 between Joe Biden and Sarah Palin will be a lot of fun,” he remarked.

The last couple of weeks revealed “a clear sense that McCain has the wind at his back,” he said.

Polls conducted during the first week of the month showed that he was gaining ground more than Obama.

But neither Obama nor McCain was particularly strong on the economy.

“The first one who finds a voice on this (the fall of Lehman) in the next 72 hours will have an advantage,” Newhouse said.

In a way, both candidates “even each other out,” he added. According to him, Obama has his biggest edge €“ vote for change €“ but the Democrat’s main weakness, his inexperience, is McCain’s biggest strength.

Still, Newhouse refused to read the tea leaves for the outcome of the battle for America’s highest office.

“It is still up for grabs. This is an extraordinary election with more twists and turns to come. Issues have zig-zagged. This is not a campaign that goes on a straight and narrow path,” he said, “so I don’t even dare to predict it.”

US Government bails out AIG with US$85bil loan

2008-09-17T19:38:00.001+08:00

WASHINGTON:For the second time this month, the US government intervened to bail out a private financial company, saying the failure of the huge insurer American International Group Inc. would further disrupt markets and threaten the already fragile economy.

The Federal Reserve said Tuesday it would provide up to US$85bil in an emergency, two-year loan to rescue AIG, which teetered on the edge of failure because of stresses caused by the collapse of the subprime mortgage market and the credit crunch that ensued.

In return, the government will get a 79.9% stake in AIG and the right to remove senior management.

The move was similar to the government's seizure on Sept 7 of mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, where the Treasury Department said it was prepared to put up as much as US$100bil over time in each of the companies if needed to keep them from going broke.

Both moves were bound to raise questions about the use of taxpayer money to bail out private firms.

The Fed said it determined that a disorderly failure of AIG could hurt the already delicate financial markets and the economy.

Although little known off Wall Street, AIG does business with almost every financial institution in the world and insures US$88bil worth of assets including mortgages and corporate loans. Its failure could also "lead to substantially higher borrowing costs, reduced household wealth and materially weaker economic performance,'' the Fed said in a statement.

The decision to help AIG marked a reversal from the government's move over the weekend, when it refused to use taxpayer money to bail out Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc.

Lehman, which filed for bankruptcy protection Monday, collapsed under the weight of mounting losses related to its real estate holdings.

The White House said it backed the Fed's decision Tuesday.

"These steps are taken in the interest of promoting stability in financial markets and limiting damage to the broader economy,'' White House spokesman Tony Fratto said.

After meeting with Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke in a late-night briefing on Capitol Hill, Congressional leaders said they understood the need for the bailout.

"The administration is approaching an unprecedented step, but unfortunately we are living in unprecedented times.'' said Sen. Charles Schumer, a New York Democrat. "Hearing of these plans, you have to stop to catch your breath. But upon reflection, the alternatives are much worse.''

New York officials said the deal helps stave off a fiscal crisis for the state. "Policy holders will be protected, jobs will be saved,'' New York Gov. David Paterson said Tuesday night.

The Fed's move was part of a concerted push to help calm jittery markets and investors around the world.

On Tuesday, the Fed decided to keep its key interest rate steady at 2%, but acknowledged stresses in financial markets have grown and hinted it stood ready to lower rates if needed.

The central bank also pumped US$70bil into the nation's financial system to help ease credit stresses.

In emergency sessions over the weekend, the Fed expanded its loan programs to Wall Street firms, part of an ongoing effort to get credit flowing more freely.

The stock market, which Monday had its worst session since the Sept. 11 attacks, recovered Tuesday after the Fed's decision on interest rates. The Dow Jones industrials rose 141 points after losing 500 points on Monday.

AIG's shares swung violently, though, as rumors of potential deals involving the government or private parties emerged and were dashed.

By late Tuesday, its shares had closed down 20% and another 45% after hours.

The problems at AIG stemmed from its insurance of mortgage-backed securities and other risky debt against default.

If AIG could not make good on its promise to pay back soured debt, investors feared the consequences would pose a greater threat to the U.S. financial system than this week's collapse of the investment bank Lehman Brothers.

The worries were heightened Monday after Moody's Investor Service and Standard and Poor's lowered AIG's credit ratings, forcing AIG to seek more money for collateral against its insurance contracts.

Without that money, AIG would have defaulted on its obligations and the buyers of its insurance -- such as banks and other financial companies -- would have found themselves without protection against losses on the debt they hold.

"It might not just bring down other financial institutions in the U.S. It could bring down overseas financial institutions,'' said Timothy Canova, a professor of international economic law at Chapman University School of Law.

"If Lehman Brother's failure could help trigger AIG's going down, who knows who AIG's failure could trigger next.''

New York-based AIG operates insurance and financial services businesses ranging from property, casualty, auto and life insurance to annuity and investment services.

Those traditional insurance operations are considered healthy and the National Association of Insurance Commissioners said "they are solvent and have the capability to pay claims.'' -- AP

Hurricane Ike sparks biggest Texas rescue

2008-09-15T14:23:00.000+08:00

HOUSTON (Reuters) - Rescue teams scoured rubble and searched flooded homes on Sunday in a huge rescue effort after Hurricane Ike cut a swathe of destruction through Texas, knocking out power for millions of people.

Boats and debris are piled up up after Hurricane Ike hit Galveston, Texas, September 13, 2008. (REUTERS/David J. Phillip/Pool)

State and local officials urged the federal government to speed relief efforts, complaining that crucial supplies like ice and water were arriving too slowly. Some 2 million people fled the region ahead of the storm while about 2,000 were rescued from flooded areas.

"We expect FEMA to deliver these supplies, and we will hold them accountable," a visibly frustrated Houston Mayor Bill White told a televised news conference, referring to the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Ike plowed a destructive path through the state after slamming into the Texas coast early on Saturday, shredding the island city of Galveston and moving inland to pound Houston, the heart of the U.S. oil industry.

Reuters energy correspondent Erwin Seba reported that 12 of the 15 Texas oil refineries shut as a precaution showed no visible signs of flooding or damage -- a sign fuel production could resume more quickly than initially thought. However power outages could still hinder their resumption.

Clean-up operations continued in the debris-strewn streets of Houston but there was no chance that the city, a bustling energy center, would be back to business as usual on Monday. The two major airports servicing the city were to reopen on a limited basis after closing on Friday.

Over 4 million people, several refineries and many businesses remained without power while most gas stations in the area were shut. Restoration, relief and rescue efforts were hampered by downed trees and other damage but flood waters were receding in some areas.

At least three bodies were found in the island city of Galveston which sustained some of the worst damage of the storm. The scale of destruction became apparent as authorities allowed more people to return.

The downtown area, containing the few buildings that survived a hurricane in 1900 that killed thousands, was under a layer of foul smelling mud and sewage.

'LIKE A WAR ZONE'

"It looks like a war zone. Everything is gone. It's heartbreaking," said Susan Rybick, a retiree driving the sea front with her husband John.

The hurricane swamped Galveston as it crashed ashore on Saturday and hammered Houston, 50 miles (85 km) inland, shattering skyscraper windows, showering streets with debris, tearing up trees and damaging buildings.

"It's pretty obvious there was substantial and long-term damage done to Galveston Island," Texas Gov. Rick Perry said after flying over the historic coastal community.

The sea wall protecting Galveston was piled high with wreckage. The hurricane's winds lifted houses off their foundations and pushed boats and cars around the island.

"Do not come back to Galveston, you cannot live here at this time," Lyda Ann Thomas, told reporters. The city has no water, no power and no gasoline, she said.

As people complained about the lack of food, water and ice in the sweltering humidity, a rift emerged between federal and local officials over delays in aid.

U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff acknowledged a delay in distribution but said 80 trucks carrying food and ice would arrive Sunday night.

Local media reported that many relief distribution centers were expected to be up and running on Monday morning.

The Bush administration came under heavy fire for its botched relief efforts in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

President George W. Bush, who will visit his home state on Tuesday, said it was too early to determine the damage to U.S. energy infrastructure. The storm also halted crude oil production in the Gulf of Mexico, representing a quarter of U.S. output.

The U.S. Coast Guard said the storm damaged some offshore oil production facilities but did not yet know the extent.

Authorities in Houston, the fourth most populous U.S. city, ordered a weeklong dusk to dawn curfew because of flooding and downed power lines. Power outages could last for weeks.

Damage assessment has barely begun but early estimates suggest the bill could rise to $18 billion.

Ike triggered the biggest disruption to U.S. energy supplies in three years and sent gas prices higher. But U.S. crude oil futures dropped more than $1.59 to as low as $99.59 a barrel on Sunday as traders shrugged off supply concerns.

(Additional reporting by Tim Gaynor on Galveston, Erwin Seba in Port Arthur, James Vicini in Washington and Eileen O'Grady, Chris Baltimore and Bruce Nichols in Houston)

Lucky break allowed dinosaurs to rule Earth - study

2008-09-12T22:50:00.000+08:00

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Thanks to a big stroke of luck 200 million years ago, dinosaurs beat out a fearsome group of creatures competing for the right to rule the Earth, scientists said on Thursday.

Children look at a dinosaur exhibit erected by the Royal Ontario Museum at Pearson International Airport in Toronto August 6, 2008. (REUTERS/Fred Thornhill)

Dinosaurs appeared about 230 million years ago, during the Triassic Period, and competed for 30 million years with a group of reptiles called crurotarsans, cousins of today's crocodiles that grew to huge sizes and looked a lot like dinosaurs.

Many scientists believed dinosaurs were simply superior to crurotarsans and fared better because the earliest dinosaurs walked on two legs, not four, and because they may have been warm-blooded.

But scientists led by Steve Brusatte of Columbia University and American Museum of Natural History in New York conducted an extensive review of fossils and found that the two groups were evolving at roughly the same pace and the crurotarsans actually had a larger range of body types, diets and lifestyles.

The dinosaurs won out, Brusatte concluded, because some type of planetary calamity 200 million years ago -- dramatic climate change or maybe a large meteorite impact -- nearly wiped out the crurotarsans while sparing the dinosaurs.

"The fundamental question is why were the dinosaurs able to become so dominant," Brusatte, whose study is in the journal Science, said in a telephone interview. "Evolution on a big scale oftentimes is a matter of luck."

The event that toppled the crurotarsans 200 million years ago enabled dinosaurs to become the reigning form of land animals for a long time, until their luck ran out too. An asteroid struck Earth 65 million years ago and doomed the dinosaurs.

The crurotarsans were a fabulous bunch of monsters.

Some called phytosaurs looked and lived a lot like today's crocodiles, staying submerged in rivers or lakes until attacking a victim. The North American phytosaur Smilosuchus grew to 39 feet (12 meters) long.

Others called rauisuchians were land predators with four powerful legs, massive skulls and flesh-tearing teeth. South America's Fasolasuchus grew to 33 feet (10 meters) long.

Both were far more impressive than the typical dinosaur predator of the time like Coelophysis, a relatively lightly built, two-legged hunter about 10 feet (3 meters) long.

The dinosaur plant eaters of the time like Plateosaurus were getting big, but were less varied than the plant-eating crurotarsans such as the heavily armored aetosaurs.

"If we were standing around in the late Triassic period 210 million years ago and were asked what group is going to go on and take over the world, I think a reasonable gambler would say the crurotarsans. It's not that the dinosaurs weren't doing well. The crurotarsans were doing more," Brusatte said.

Election Court quashes Pensiangan result (update 4)

2008-09-08T19:37:00.000+08:00

KOTA KINABALU: Deputy Rural Development Minister Tan Sri Joseph Kurup has lost his Pensiangan parliament seat in an election petition case.

Kurup said he has instructed his lawyers to file a stay of execution on Monday’s election petition declaring his Pensiangan parliamentary seat vacant.

The Parti Bersatu Rakyat Sabah chief said his lawyers would also be filing an appeal against the decision of the Election Court decision on the seat he won uncontested at the Feb 24 nomination day.

“I’ve asked my lawyers to file for a stay of execution as soon as possible, even by today,” said Kurup.

Under recently amended election laws, appeals are allowed against decisions of Election Courts which were previously final.

Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Musa Aman, the state Barisan Nasional chairman, said he accepted and respected the court’s decision and was confident that the coalition would win the seat in the event of a by-election.

Earlier Monday, High Court judge Justice David Wong Dak Wah sitting as Election Court judge ruled that Returning Officer Bubudan OT Majalu had no right to overturn a directive of the Election Commission that PKR candidate Danny Andipai’s nomination papers be accepted after the filing of 10am on the Feb 24 nomination day.

The judge also ruled that the objections against Andipai’s nomination forms were invalid on the grounds that they were not signed and improper forms were used.

Kurup was not in court and his lawyer said he would be consulting his client on whether to appeal.

Lawyer Ansari Abdullah who represented Andipai said that the judgment was “water tight” and saw little grounds for appeal but they were prepared.

Ansari, the Sabah PKR chief, said the the ruling meant “one down, 29 more to go” in referring to the 30 seats required by Pakatan Rakyat leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim for him to keep his promise of bringing down the Barisan Nasional government on Sept 16, which is also Malaysia Day.

Kurup has 14 days from Monday to file an appeal at the Federal Court against the Kota Kinabalu High Court’s decision to declare the election for the Pensiangan parliamentary seat as null and void.

Speaking in PUTRAJAYA, Election Commission chairman Tan Sri Abdul Rashid Abdul Rahman said the appeals court would have to dispose of the case within six months from the date of appeal.

“If he does not appeal or loses the appeal later, a by-election should be held as there would be a vacancy for the Pensiangan seat to be filled,” he said here on Monday.

On Kurup’s position as deputy minister, Abdul Rashid said that would have to be determined by the Government after the case is concluded.

Chinese died defending country, says Ka Chuan

2008-09-07T15:47:00.000+08:00

IPOH: The Chinese gained citizenship by sacrificing their lives for the country, said MCA secretary-general Datuk Seri Ong Ka Chuan.

Some 300,000 Chinese died defending the country during the Japanese Occupation in the 1940s, he said.

“That was about 20% of the population then. They had joined the Anti-Japanese Army to fight the invasion when the British left us helpless.

“And this was what made the British give us citizenship. It wasn’t gained without any sacrifice or contribution on our part.

“Our citizenship had been exchanged with our courage, blood, sweat and tears for the country,” he said after opening the Perak Wanita MCA convention here yesterday.

Ong was responding to remarks made by Bukit Bendara Umno division head Datuk Ahmad Ismail on the Chinese during the Permatang Pauh by-election.

Calling Ahmad irresponsible and naïve for making the remarks, Ong said the issue should be put to a rest for the sake of racial harmony and unity among the people.

“We are all Malaysians. We need to stand united instead of being suspicious of one another,” he said.

On Ahmad’s demand that Gerakan acting president Tan Sri Dr Koh Tsu Koon and Chinese community leaders apologise to him, Ong said:

“It is not about who should apologise or who should withdraw from Barisan Nasional but about respecting each other’s rights.”

Selangor Wanita MCA chief Datin Paduka Chew Mei Fun said Ahmad’s remark damaged racial relationships and the MCA would have to review its ties in Barisan.

Outgoing Perak Youth chief Datuk Tan Chin Meng proposed that the MCA leave Barisan if Ahmad refused to apologise for his statements.

“The younger generation of Malaysians are born here. What Ahmad said was degrading to the younger generation,” he added.

Dr M: Why must Malay leaders say sorry?

2008-09-06T10:13:00.000+08:00

PETALING JAYA: Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad has questioned why Malay leaders were apologising over a remark deemed as racist by an Umno leader.

He said non-Malay leaders never apologised when similar racist remarks were made by members of their community.

The former prime minister said in his blog (www.chedet.com) the Malays were so scared of being labelled racist that they even wrote in Malay papers that the Malays were not racists.

He was referring to the apology by Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak made on behalf of Umno over a racist statement by Bukit Bendera Umno division chief Datuk Ahmad Ismail.

He cited the case of the Hindu Right Action Front, he said so many allegations including Islamist extremism and ethnic cleansing were hurled against the Malays.

However, no one demanded apologies from leaders of the non-Malay community.

He also cited the case of Wee Meng Chee who made parody of the Negaraku and poking fun at the call for prayers but there was no apology from leaders of the community over Wee’s actions.

Google's idea of a more polished browser

2008-09-05T09:31:00.001+08:00

KUALA LUMPUR: News of Google’s web browser has hit the Internet and just like most products the company releases, the browser shows promise.

The browser, called Google Chrome, has some nifty features, according to a 38-page comic book explaining its features, which is online at http://blogoscoped.com/google-chrome.

First off, Chrome offers tabbed browsing — nothing new to Firefox and Internet Explorer users. But with Google’s browser, each tab functions independently; meaning that if a fatal error occurs in one tab, for example, only that tab needs to be closed.

With the other browsers, such an error would result in the user having to close all the tabs and restart the browser.

Google has also gone back to the drawingboard with Chrome. It is introducing its own Javascript virtual machine developed by a company called V8, from Denmark.

It claims its product is much faster and more capable at handling the increasingly larger web programs that run in browsers nowadays. This would help boost surfing speeds.

The king of Internet search was supposed to have had a near-simultaneous launch of Chrome worldwide on Thursday, but the appearance of the comic book on the Web resulted in a change of plan. Its regional launch in Singapore was brought forward one day.

Petrol prices may drop in October

2008-09-04T19:00:00.000+08:00

PUTRAJAYA: Petrol pump prices may see another drop when Oct 1 comes around.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said if world market prices for fuel remained stable at US$109 for the rest of the year, Malaysians might even enjoy a 15 sen drop below the current rate of RM2.55.

"We will have to wait until the pump prices are revised come Oct 1 or by the middle of that month under our calculation formula.

"If world prices remain at US$109 per barrel until the end of the year, we can reduce prices by another 15 sen.

"So, please pray that the fuel prices won't climb again or better yet, for it to drop further," he told reporters Thursday after chairing the first National Finance Council meeting of the year at his office here.

Abdullah said petrol pump prices were revised last on Aug 22 in order to give the rakyat "the best deal" for fuel.

"At that time, the trend of fuel prices was going up again and the rakyat would not get anything by the end of the month if this continued.

"So, I thought that this was the best opportunity to get the best deal for the rakyat. If we revised the petrol pump prices on Sept 1, as decided originally, it would now have cost RM2.57 per litre as compared to RM2.55 per litre," he pointed out.

On the lessening of the value of the ringgit against the US dollar, Abdullah said the Government would not intervene. "The value has dropped but not to a level that is too drastic or worrying. We don't want the people to start panicking over this.

"There have been calls before to intervene when the ringgit's value was raising but the Government is very cautious on matters relating to the management of currency exchange," he said.

Abdullah said the Government had taken into consideration the lower value of the ringgit when tabling its Budget last Friday, including the bigger than usual 4.8% fiscal deficit.

"It won't be made a feature of all our budgets in the future. In fact, all the measures and plans announced under the recent Budget wouldn't have been possible if we had not taken the effort to reduce our fiscal deficits in the past.

"This is the time for us to focus on spending for the necessary things," he said.

On criticisms that the operating expenditure of RM154.2bil was huge, Abdullah said this was because the Government had to spend more on providing financial assistance for the people and enlarging its social safety net due to the current food and fuel crises.

"We feel we need to fork out more due to the extraordinary situation that has developed by giving a reasonable amount to the people so that they have more disposable income," he said.

Abdullah said while the expenses for the Prime Minister's Office and Department had increased, it was true for the other ministries as well.

Eye on Malaysia to be relocated to Malacca

2008-09-02T17:42:00.001+08:00

Photos by BRIAN MOH

IF YOU visit Taman Tasik Titiwangsa in Kuala Lumpur at night from now on, you will be sure to feel a sense of emptiness. Why?

New base: The Eye on Malaysia will be relocated to Malacca soon.

There is a vacuum there now that the lights of the iconic Eye on Malaysia at the lake garden are switched off following the final day of its operation there on Merdeka Day.

The 60m-high Ferris wheel had been operating at the Taman Titiwangsa since January last year, but it will be dismantled and relocated to Malacca this week.

According to Widyanty Yusope, the executive director of MST AD Suria Sdn Bhd, the operator of the Eye on Malaysia, the structure was originally put up in conjunction of the Visit Malaysia Year 2007 (VMY’07), but its operation was extended to Aug 31 this year, following popular demand.

“With the conclusion of the VMY’07, our contract has also come to an end,” Widyanty said.

Starting on Thursday: Cross explaining the dismantling process of the Ferris wheel.

“We are sad to leave Lake Titiwangsa,” MST AD Suria events marketing executive Rahyu Waris said..

Throughout the 20 months at Lake Titiwangsa, the Ferris wheel with 42 gondolas had attracted nearly 1.8 million visitors.

The once quiet Taman Titiwangsa was bustling with activities following the setting up of the tourist attraction, which took visitors up in the air to view the breathtaking Kuala Lumpur skyline during the 12-minute ride.

Widyanty: The Eye on Malaysia will be opened to public in October in Malacca.

Next to the wheel, there was an Eye Cafe for visitors to enjoy a cuppa beside the scenic lake.

The dismantling work will start on Thursday, led by four engineers from the German-Swiss manufacturer and assisted by 16 local workers.

“Only the manufacturer’s engineers and technicians know how to dismantle each part of the giant wheel and how to specially load the parts into the containers,” operations manager Graeme Cross said.

The first few steps of the dismantling process involve clearing up the walkway where visitors queued up to get on to the Ferris wheel, and taking down the fencing and entrance roof.

“After clearing the loading base, the gondolas will be taken off, followed by the storm bars, rim beams, spokes, globes and finally the axle,” Cross said.

“Given the optimum conditions, including fair weather, the work will be completed within six days. All the parts will be transported to Malacca, while the steel pins currently holding the parts together will be replaced with new ones,” he said.

In the historical city, the structure will be permanently installed at Kota Laksamana at the Malacca River mouth, close to the Straits of Malacca.

“It will be a 1.6ha leisure park equipped with a water screen, two restaurants and a space exhibition. We will develop it in three phases,” Widyanty said.

The structures at the park, according to her, will be a combination of modern and traditional buildings.

“It will be opened to the public in October and we target to have 700,000 visitors for the first year there,” Widyanty said.

Govt to review fuel prices every 15 days

2008-08-24T11:15:00.000+08:00

KUALA LUMPUR: The Government has agreed to review fuel prices every 15 days instead of every month, said Housing and Local Government Minister Datuk Seri Ong Ka Chuan.

He said with this, the Government would be able to further reduce fuel prices if global oil prices continued to drop.

Ka Chuan, who said he proposed the review period, said the decision was made during a Cabinet meeting on Friday.

“If this down trend of oil prices continue, we want to be able to make sure we can ease the burden of the rakyat by lowering fuel prices,” he told a press conference after attending the Utar Seventh Convocation ceremony, where he presented some 500 graduates with their accolades.

He said the mechanism, however, would take into consideration oil prices within a 15-day period and then only determine whether any reduction was viable.

Ka Chuan said it did not necessarily mean that fuel prices would drop if global oil prices went down.

He said global oil prices could fluctuate significantly within the 15-day period, making it hard to make a “guarantee” to reduce fuel prices.

He said the Government would have to take into consideration the extent of the drop or increase in prices before making a decision.

“Rest assured, however, petrol prices would never exceed RM2.70 a litre if global oil prices increase again,” he said.

Ka Chuan, who is also MCA secretary-general also stressed that the 15-sen reduction in fuel prices was not made to woo voters in the Permatang Pauh by-election on Aug 26.

He said the move was made after considering fuel prices between Aug 1 and Aug 21.

Earlier stories:
Government decides to bring forward ‘floating’ price mechanism
Najib: No more fuel rebates if you don't appreciate them

Government decides to bring forward ‘floating’ price mechanism

2008-08-23T10:34:00.000+08:00

Shahrir: Fuel prices reduction not political gimmick

KUALA LUMPUR: The prices of diesel and petrol have been reduced by between eight and 22 sen a litre from today, 10 days earlier than expected.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said RON97 petrol now costs RM2.55 a litre, a drop of 15 sen from RM2.70 a litre while the price of RON92 went down by 22 sen to RM2.40 a litre.

Diesel will cost eight sen less at RM2.50 a litre.

Abdullah said in a statement yesterday the Cabinet decided to bring forward the “floating” price mechanism for fuel after considering the drop in global oil prices over the past few weeks as well as higher inflation in July.

He hoped the reduced fuel prices would lighten the people’s burden and ease the inflationary pressure on the lower and middle-income groups.

The new prices were set after considering fuel prices between Aug 1 and Aug 21, and in view of the Government’s decision to set the subsidy at 30 sen a litre for RON97 and RON92, and 50 sen a litre for diesel.

On June 4, the Government announced a 78-sen increase in petrol to RM2.70 a litre and a RM1 increase in diesel to RM2.58 a litre, stating that it could no longer continue to subsidise fuel.

On Aug 1, Abdullah said the petrol price would be reviewed monthly from Sept 1 based on the average global market price and the subsidy will be fixed at 30 sen a litre.

He gave an assurance that the petrol price would not exceed RM2.70 a litre for this year, even if the global market price went up.

In Bachok later, Abdullah said the decision to lower the retail petrol and diesel prices was made as the Government wanted the people to benefit from the current global market depreciation of crude oil prices.

Apart from that, the Government also wanted to rein in inflation as the Consumer Price Index (CPI) shot up to 8.5% last month compared to a year ago.

“There is a possibility that the prices may go up so it would be a waste if we do not lower our prices now. This is to take advantage of the current lower global prices,” he said after opening a kenaf plant centre.

Abdullah said if there was a need to increase the fuel price again this year, the Government would cap it at RM2.70.

“We did it for the entire country and not just for the folks in Permatang Pauh,” he said.

Abdullah also expects the prices of goods to fall.

In PUTRAJAYA, Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister Datuk Shahrir Samad said the Government’s decision to lower fuel prices earlier than expected was due to the rising inflation rate and not because it wanted to win the votes of the Permatang Pauh constituents.

“Permatang Pauh is not going to change the Government but reviewing the prices is something that we had planned earlier,” he told a press conference.

“It is a strong indicator of the burden that the rakyat is forced to bear. There is nothing wrong for us to pass the benefit of lower fuel prices to the consumers and it is the duty of a responsible government to do so,” Shahrir added.

MP 'explains' his presence at Bar Council forum protest

2008-08-18T19:31:00.000+08:00

KULIM: Kulim-Bandar Baharu MP Zulkifli Noordin said his presence at a protest against the Bar Council forum on Aug 10 was in his capacity as an exco member of Pertubuhan Peguam Pembela Islam (Organisation of Lawyers Defending Islam) as not as a PKR MP.

Zulkifli, who had been missing since the controversial forum, appeared in the Dewan Rakyat Monday.

Breaking his silence on the issue, he said he had been away attending to"personal matters".

It was reported last week that PKR was expected to discuss action to be taken against Zulkifli for his behaviour during the protest.

Party deputy president Dr Syed Husin Ali said PKR condemned the “rough action” of a small band of the demonstrators who “shouted rude and uncivilised language” against the organisers and forum participants on Saturday.

“We regret that unfortunately the ‘fiercest’ among them was someone known to be a lawyer and Member of Parliament,” Dr Syed Husin said in a statement.

Dr Syed Husin told reporters later that he had spoken to Zulkifli for his side of the story.

“We accept his right to demonstrate but not the distasteful language used and storming the venue.

"In principle, it is wrong to assert your rights by denying others theirs and doing it forcefully.

"It should have been done outside the hall peacefully.

“He was exercising his rights but I don’t agree with the way he did it,” he had said.

Russia says it will start pulling troops from Georgia

2008-08-17T23:58:00.000+08:00

GORI, Georgia (Reuters) - Russia announced to the West it would begin withdrawing forces from Georgia on Monday after a war that dealt a humiliating blow to the Black Sea state and raised fears for energy supplies to Europe.

A Russian tank rolls along a street destroyed by a Georgian strike in the South Ossetian capital of Tshinvali, August 16, 2008. (REUTERS/Denis Sinyakov)

French President Nicolas Sarkozy said on Sunday that Russian President Dmitry Medvedev had told him by telephone that forces would begin leaving around midday on Monday.

Sarkozy, representing the European Union, said failure to pull out under a ceasefire deal would have "serious consequences" for ties with the EU.

Sunday saw no evidence of fighting, but Russian troops continued to man a checkpoint into Gori, albeit with a reduced presence -- two armoured personnel carriers.

Major-General Vyacheslav Borisov, frontline commander around Gori, which lies 30 km beyond South Ossetia, told Reuters troops were already on the move. "You must understand there are a large amount of troops," he said.

Borisov said his soldiers were maintaining positions around Gori, a city controlling the approach to South Ossetia and the main east-west highway, to protect Russia's military pullout.

Months of tension between Georgia and its former Soviet master erupted on Aug. 7, when Tbilisi launched an assault to seize back control of the Russian-backed breakaway South Ossetia region. Russia said 1,600 civilians, many of them Russian citizens, were killed in the Georgian bombardment.

Russian troops fanned out beyond the boundaries of South Ossetia into the Georgian heartland, taking control of major centres including the strategically placed city of Gori in fierce fighting that lasted over five days. Both sides raised accusations of atrocities.

The Kremlin confirmed Sarkozy's announcement, made in Paris a day after Georgia and Russia sealed a ceasefire deal.

"From tomorrow, Russia will begin the withdrawal of the military contingent which was moved to reinforce Russian peacekeepers after the Georgian aggression against South Ossetia," it said in a statement.

FIRST IN, LAST OUT

Russia has made it clear it sees no prospect in the foreseeable future of South Ossetia, which broke with Tbilisi in 1992, being reintegrated into Georgia.

Talks are under way to establish international agreement on a peacekeeping force for South Ossetia.

South Ossetia and Georgia's other breakaway region, Abkhazia, enjoy the political backing of Russia. But Georgia has allied itself with the West, and has angered Moscow by pushing for membership of NATO.

The 10-day confrontation brought about the deaths of around 200 Georgians, dealt a crushing blow to the Georgian military, damaged the country's economy and drew criticism in the West of President Mikheil Saakashvili's handling of the crisis.

The Russian action rattled the West, which draws oil and gas through pipelines across Georgian territory from the Caspian region; a route favoured because it bypasses Russia. Some saw dark portents in Russia launching its first invasion of a former Soviet state since the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union.

Russia argued it was justified in intervening to protect South Ossetians, but Moscow also suffered losses, both human and economic. The campaign sent Russian stocks tumbling to their lowest in nearly two years and worried foreign investors.

Major-General Borisov, now a familiar figure touring the area of his command around Gori in his Georgian four-wheel- drive, could not say when he would be moving out. His president has also given no deadline for completion of the withdrawal, suggesting only that this depends on calm returning to the region.

"We were the first in, so we'll be the last out," said Borisov.

(Additional reporting by James Kilner in Tbilisi)

Mahathir slams Bar Council for holding forum

2008-08-14T13:33:00.001+08:00

PETALING JAYA: Former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad harshly criticised the Bar Council for holding its forum on conversion to Islam.

He said sensitive issues should only be discussed behind closed doors and its conclusions passed to the Government and not openly announced and disseminated.

He slammed the Bar Council for forgetting the agreement between the founding fathers of the parties representing the three main communities not to openly discuss sensitive issues, one of them being Islam as the official religion of the country.

“The leaders and races have respected this understanding when Tun Abdul Razak, Tun Hussein Onn and myself were Prime Minister,” he wrote yesterday in his blog www.chedet.com.

He said there should not be any misgivings about the level of democracy enjoyed in this country and that of certain developed nations.

“What is good for them is not necessarily good for us,” he said.

The former prime minister said certain restrictions that ensure peace and security of the country should be accepted.

He blamed the Government for the Bar Council's “arrogant attitude” and recent forum on conversion to Islam, adding that the Government should have prevented the forum instead of turning their back on the past understanding.

Dr Mahathir said during past premierships including when he was a premier, every race and their respective leaders had respected the special understanding although there were some challenges, which they overcame.

Sued over email with sexy pictures, offensive content

2008-08-13T11:25:00.000+08:00

KUALA LUMPUR: A consultant is suing a public listed company, its subsidiary and three of its workers for RM30mil over alleged defamation, sexual harassment and abuse of power.

Datuk Baharruddin Hamzah, 33, has named Petroliam Nasional Bhd, Petronas Carigali Sdn Bhd (PC),PC engineer Mohd Arshad Ahmad Nawawi, 37, PC receiving officer Alinah Ahmad Shah, 41, PC officer Nasrum Mohamad, 29, as defendants in his civil suit.

He filed the suit at the High Court (civil) registry under the law firm of Shaari Nor & Co with the presence of his lawyers at about 3pm on Tuesday.

He had also stated his company, Abyssina Builders (M) Sdn Bhd, a contractor involved in the oil and gas industry, as another plaintiff.

In the statement of claim, he said that Mohd Arshad had sent two e-mail messages containing an article and three photographs of half-naked women to his wife, who is his company's chief executive officer, using Petroliam Nasional Bhd's domain on July 29, last year.

He said Mohd Arshad had sent another e-mail on the same date that contained "offensive wordings."

He claimed that he came to know about the circulation of such indecent material and article on the same date when he was holidaying in Malacca with his children.

He further claimed that he was shocked and that the act had resulted him having a fight with his wife who later left their matrimonial home and divorced him on Sept 11 last year.

The divorce had resulted in his 12-year-old daughter coming under the custody of his wife, while he retained custody of his two sons aged seven and 11.

He claimed that such e-mail had caused his children to suffer emotional disturbance, loss of love, depression, the companionship of his parents and had affected their education.

He claimed that he suffered public scandal, loss of reputation, ridicule, odium and contempt.

Among others, Baharruddin said Alinah had purposely sent an e-mail on Aug 1 last year to his wife containing four indecent photographs.

The plaintiffs said his company continued to receive such e-mail for several days from June 11 this year.

He said the actions of the Mohd Arshad and Alinah showed abuse of power given by PC to send such e-mail using the official e-mail domain of Petroliam Nasional Bhd.

He said a police report on the name of his company over the matter had been lodged at Bukit Aman on Aug 8.

Speaking to reporters, Baharruddin said he decided to file the suit as "it is a question over ethics".

"It is a cheap e-mail being circulated around by the company's staff. My children had seen the photographs and it is really embarrassing.

"I decided to put a stop to this. It is also a sort of punishment," he said after his two sons held posters condemning the act of sending such e-mail after the filing of the suit at the court premises here.

He is seeking to get RM10mil each for alleged abuse of power, defamation and sexual harassment.

He is also seeking for a declaration that the public listed company and its subsidiary was responsible for their staff's actions and others costs deemed fit by the court.

Bush tells Russia to reverse course in Georgia

2008-08-12T07:48:00.001+08:00

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President George W. Bush told Russia on Monday to end its military action in Georgia and said it appeared Moscow was trying to overthrow the elected government of Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili.

U.S. President George W. Bush makes remarks in the Rose Garden at the White House in Washington August 11, 2008. (REUTERS/Jim Young)

Bush warned that a "dramatic and brutal escalation" of Moscow's push into the smaller country would jeopardize its relations with the West.

"Russia has invaded a sovereign neighboring state and threatens a democratic government elected by its people. Such an action is unacceptable in the 21st century," Bush told reporters at the White House.

Shortly after Bush spoke, Saakashvili said Moscow should know Georgia will not quit.

"Georgia will never surrender," he said on CNN when asked what he would say to Russian officials if they were watching. "They should know Georgia will never surrender."

The crisis began on Thursday when Georgia sent forces to retake South Ossetia, a pro-Russian area that broke from Georgia in the 1990s. Moscow, which supports South Ossetia's independence, responded by sending its troops into Georgia.

The conflict escalated quickly and, by Monday, Georgia appealed for international help and said its military had retreated to defend its capital city, Tbilisi.

Foreign ministers from the world's leading industrial nations urged Russia on Monday to agree to an immediate cease-fire. Washington also sent a special envoy, senior State Department official Matt Bryza, to Tbilisi to join international mediation efforts.

Moscow snubbed the plea for a cease-fire and criticized Washington's support for Georgia, saying the West had manipulated the truth about the war to present Georgians as victims rather than aggressors.

'GRIM OUTLOOK'

"The Russian government must reverse the course that it appears to be on and accept this peace agreement as a first step toward resolving this conflict," Bush said.

"Russia's actions this week have raised serious questions about its intentions in Georgia and the region. These actions have substantially damaged Russia's standing in the world," he said. "And these actions jeopardize Russia's relations with the United States and Europe."

A senior U.S. official, who spoke on condition he not be named, said the outlook was "grim" and that Russia had planned its moves in Georgia for some time.

"Their accounting is so distorted it recalls the phrase the 'big lie'," the official told reporters in a conference call.

"This appears to be a full invasion of Georgia with an end result uncertain and an objective that is not clear but appears to be aggressive in nature," the official said. "Words like invasion should not be used lightly but this is an invasion."

The senior official said Russia "will find itself increasingly isolated in the world if it continues as it has."

Bush cited reports that Russian troops had moved beyond the separatist areas and into Georgia proper. He also said there was evidence Russian forces would soon begin bombing the civilian airport in the Georgian capital.

"If these reports are accurate, these Russian actions would represent a dramatic and brutal escalation of the conflict in Georgia," Bush said after returning from a trip to China for the Olympic Games.

(Additional reporting by Susan Cornwell)

Georgia says Russia bombs again, Bush lashes Moscow

2008-08-11T13:43:00.000+08:00

TBILISI (Reuters) - Georgia said Russian warplanes attacked more targets near its capital, Tbilisi, early on Monday while U.S. President George W. Bush condemned Moscow's "disproportionate response" to the South Ossetian crisis.

A Russian military column drives through the township of Alagir to Georgian breakaway province South Ossetia August 10, 2008. Georgia offered Russia a ceasefire and peace talks on Sunday after pulling troops back from rebel South Ossetia's capital, and mediators began a mission to end the internationally condemned fighting. (REUTERS/Vasily Fedosenko)

Russian planes bombed a military base and radar installation, the interior ministry said, shortly after France's foreign minister arrived in Georgia on a mediation mission.

"There were two bombings. One at the Kojori military base and another on Mt. Makhata. As far as I know there are no casualties," Interior Ministry spokesman Shota Utiashvili told Reuters.

It was unclear if Kouchner was still in Tbilisi at the time of the bombing.

Earlier on Sunday, Georgia offered Russia a ceasefire and peace talks, and pulled its troops back from the Russian-backed separatist region of South Ossetia in the face of military muscle from Moscow.

Russia, whose forces now control the South Ossetian capital of Tskhinvali, is demanding an unconditional Georgian withdrawal.

The early morning attacks by Russian planes caused explosions heard in Tbilisi's city centre.

On Saturday Russian planes bombed a military airfield and Tbilisi says Russian air attacks have badly damaged its Black sea port of Poti, an important oil shipment facility

The new crisis in the unruly Caucasus has triggered alarm in the West, which gets much of its oil from a pipeline running through Georgia, and led to Cold War-style clashes at the United Nations.

On his final day at the Beijing Olympics, Bush, who has been a big supporter of Georgia's pro-Western leader, said he had spoken firmly to Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin about the crisis.

"I was very firm with Vladimir Putin ... I expressed my grave concern about the disproportionate response of Russia," Bush told NBC Sports. "We strongly condemn bombing outside of South Ossetia."

Late on Sunday, French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner arrived for talks with President Mikheil Saakashvili in a top level diplomatic mission to try to end the four-day-old war.

The entourage was due to move on to Moscow on Monday.

After meeting the pro-Western Saakashvili, Kouchner said a "controlled withdrawal of the troops" was his main priority.

"Coming back to the table, negotiations, peace talks, a political solution. That's it. Easy to say, very difficult to do," Kouchner told journalists in Tbilisi.

"HUMANITARIAN CATASTROPHE"

Russian troops and tanks took control of Tskhinvali, the region's devastated capital, on Sunday after a three-day battle. Moscow said 2,000 civilians were killed and thousands made homeless in a "humanitarian catastrophe".

There has been no independent confirmation of the number of dead and wounded throughout the region.

The simmering conflict between Russia and its small, former Soviet neighbour erupted on Thursday when Georgia sent forces into South Ossetia, a pro-Russian province that threw off Georgian rule in the 1990s.

The West views Georgia as a valuable, if volatile, ally because of its strategic location on the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline carrying oil from the Caspian to Europe.

Relations between Russia and Georgia have been at a low ebb because of Saakashvili's pro-western policies and his drive to take his country into the NATO alliance -- anathema to Moscow.

At the U.N., U.S. ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad suggested Russia was seeking "regime change" by saying Saakashvili should leave office. Russian envoy Vitaly Churkin obliquely suggested some leaders became "obstacles" to their people.

"SURREAL" CRISIS

Saakashvili appeared smiling but dishevelled to meet Kouchner on Sunday night, before showing him the night-time view of Tbilisi from a hillside.

"It is the most surreal world crisis I could ever imagine," the Georgian leader told reporters.

A Reuters photographer entering Tskhinvali with Russian troops on Sunday saw dead Georgian soldiers lying in the streets and the ruins of buildings devastated in the fighting.

State-controlled Russian television repeatedly spoke of a "humanitarian catastrophe" in South Ossetia after the Georgian attack, with more than 2,000 dead and thousands homeless.

A Georgian government source said on Sunday 130 Georgian civilians and military personnel had been killed and 1,165 wounded, many because of Russian bombing inside Georgia. Russia denies hitting civilian targets.

(For special coverage see http://www.reuters.com/news/globalcoverage/georgiaconflict)

Johor MB: Singapore has no right!

2008-08-10T13:24:00.000+08:00

JOHOR BARU: Singapore has no right to expand the area around the lighthouse on Pulau Pisang as an agreement signed more than 100 years ago had clearly stated how much space was allocated for the building.

Johor Mentri Besar Datuk Abdul Ghani Othman said the agreement stated that only 0.809ha of land was to be used for the lighthouse, 0.404ha for the road leading to the lighthouse and 17 poles for the jetty.

He said the agreement was signed between the late Sultan Ibrahim Abu Bakar and Straits Settlements Governor on Oct 6, 1900.

Abdul Ghani said there were clauses in the agreement which stated that Malaysia shall take over operations of the lighthouse from Singapore if the latter stopped or failed to manage or maintain it.

“Action can be taken against Singapore if allegations that the republic is expanding the demarcation area around the lighthouse were true,” Abdul Ghani told reporters at the launch of the Johor small and medium-sized enterprises exhibition at Plaza Angsana yesterday.

Two weeks ago, a local private TV station interviewed one of the orchard owners on the island and he claimed that the Singapore Port Authority which manages the lighthouse had expanded its land area around the structure.

On Friday, Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Dr Rais Yatim said the Johor Government must draw up a plan to develop Pulau Pisang to ensure Johor did not lose the island in the same manner as Batu Puteh.

The minister said Pulau Pisang should not be left idle by Johor and the state must be proactive in developing the island for the sake of future generations.

“The rightful ownership of Pulau Pisang and its clusters namely Pulau Kemudi, Pulau Sauh and Pulau Kunda should not arise as they clearly belong to Johor,” Abdul Ghani said.

He said locals were given the permission to open up orchards by the state government under the Surat Akuan Dusun 1897.

Presently, there are 87 rightful owners of the orchard land, 15 houses belonged to local Malays including seven which are inhabited and four transit houses.

Pulau Pisang and the other three islands with a total acreage of 145.68ha were gazetted as part of Mukim Pontian on Jan 1, 1985 and under the administration of Pontian District Council on May 9, 2008.

Abdul Ghani said the state government had received several proposals to develop Pulau Pisang but had yet to decide on it.

China opens Olympics with pageantry, pyrotechnics

2008-08-09T00:08:00.000+08:00

BEIJING (AP) -- Once-reclusive China commandeered the world stage Friday, celebrating its first-time role as Olympic host with a stunning display of pageantry and pyrotechnics to open a Summer Games unrivaled for its mix of problems and promise.

Now ascendant as a global power, China welcomed scores of world leaders to an opening ceremony watched by 91,000 people at the eye-catching National Stadium and a potential audience of 4 billion worldwide. It was depicted as the largest, costliest extravaganza in Olympic history, bookended by barrages of some 30,000 fireworks.

To the beat of sparkling explosions, the crowd counted down the final seconds before the show began. A sea of drummers - 2,008 in all - pounded out rhythms with their hands, then acrobats on wires drifted down into the stadium as rockets shot up into the night sky from its rim.

Three hours later, the parade of athletes concluded with the entry of the 639-strong Chinese team, led by flag-bearer and basketball idol Yao Ming alongside a 9-year-old schoolboy who survived May's devastating earthquake in Sichuan province. The welcome - by a frenzied, chanting, flag-waving crowd that sought to cool itself with paper fans in the stifling heat - was thunderous. And moments later, the crowd erupted again when President Hu Jintao declared the games formally open.

President Bush and Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin were among the glittering roster of notables who watched China make this bold declaration that it had arrived. Bush, rebuked by China after he raised human-rights concerns this week, is the first U.S. president to attend an Olympics on foreign soil.

Already an economic juggernaut, China is given a good chance of overtaking the U.S. atop the gold-medal standings with its legions of athletes trained intensely since childhood. One dramatic showdown will be in women's gymnastics, where the U.S. and Chinese teams are co-favorites; in the pool, Chinese divers and U.S. swimmers are expected to dominate.

The run-up to the games had epic story lines - China investing $40 billion to build the needed infrastructure, reeling from the catastrophic earthquake in May, struggling right up to Friday to diminish Beijing's stubborn smog. China's detentions of political activists, its crackdown on uprisings in Tibet and its economic ties to Sudan - home of the war-torn Darfur region - fueled relentless criticisms from human rights groups and calls for an Olympic boycott.

Second-guessed for awarding the games to Beijing, the International Olympic Committee stood firmly by its decision. It was time, the committee said, to bring the games to the homeland of 1.3 billion people, a fifth of humanity.

"For a long time, China has dreamed of opening its doors and inviting the world's athletes to Beijing for the Olympic Games," IOC President Jacques Rogge said in his speech. "Tonight, that dream comes true."

Rogge mentioned the Sichuan earthquake, saying the world was moved "by the great courage and solidarity of the Chinese people." And he exhorted the assembled athletes, as role models for the world's youth, to "reject doping and cheating."

The story presented in Friday's pageantry sought to distill 5,000 years of Chinese history - featuring everything from the Great Wall to opera puppets to astronauts, and highlighting achievements in art, music and science. Roughly 15,000 people were in the cast, all under the direction of Zhang Yimou, whose early films often often ran afoul of government censors for their blunt portrayals of China's problems.

He produced some majestic and ethereal imagery - at one point a huge, translucent globe emerged from the stadium floor, and acrobats floated magically around it to the accompaniment of the games' theme song, "One World, One Dream."

The show's script steered clear of modern politics - there were no references to Chairman Mao and the class struggle, nor to the more recent conflicts and controversies. The ceremony was taped for broadcast 12 hours later in the United States.

A record 204 delegations paraded their athletes through the stadium - superstars such as tennis great Roger Federer and basketball's Kobe Bryant, as well as plucky underdogs from Iraq, Afghanistan and other embattled lands. The nations were marching not in the traditional alphabetical order but in a sequence based on the number of strokes it takes to write their names in Chinese. The exceptions were Greece, birthplace of the Olympics, which was given its traditional place at the start, and the Chinese team, which lined up last.

Athletes from Japan, an old foe and current economic rival of China, were greeted coolly by the crowd even though they waved tiny Chinese flags. But cheers erupted for the next delegation, Taiwan, which China considers a breakaway province that should reunite with the mainland.

The U.S. team - second-largest after China's with nearly 600 members - was welcomed loudly, with many in crowd recognizing the basketball stars who brought up the rear. Bush rose from his VIP seat to wave at the athletes, nattily dressed in white trousers, blue blazers, red-white-and-blue-striped ties and white caps.

The American flag-bearer was 1500-meter runner Lopez Lomong, one of the Lost Boys of Sudan, who spent a decade of his youth in a refugee camp in Kenya. He's a member of the Team Darfur coalition, representing athletes opposed to China's support for Sudan. On Friday he avoided any criticism and said the Chinese "have been great putting all these things together."

Abroad, human rights activists were less generous.

"The Chinese government and the International Olympic Committee have wasted a historic opportunity to use the Beijing Games to make real progress on human rights in China," said Sophie Richardson of Human Rights Watch.

For Chinese dissidents who have dared to challenge the Communist Party's monopoly on power, the start of the Olympics meant tighter surveillance and restrictions.

"It's not my Olympic Games," said Jiang Tianyong, a human rights lawyer. "It's not the games for the ordinary people."

By all indications, however, most Chinese have embraced the games, buying up tickets at a record pace, volunteering by the thousands for Olympic duties, nursing expectations of triumphs by their home team.

To their eyes, the omens were good. The ceremony began at 8 p.m. on the eighth day of the eighth month of 2008 - auspicious in a country where eight is the luckiest number.

"It not easy to meet with such a date," said Wang Wei, secretary general of Beijing Organizing Committee. "Hopefully this lucky day will bring luck."