Subprime lending is a highly controversial financial transaction.
Opponents have alleged that the subprime lending companies engage in predatory lending practices such as deliberately lending to borrowers who could never meet the terms of their loans, thus leading to default, seizure of collateral, and foreclosure.
Proponents of the subprime lending maintain that the practice extends credit to people who would otherwise not have access to the credit market.
Research by the Centre for Responsible Lending has predicted that one in five of the sub-prime mortgages made in the past two years will end in foreclosure, resulting in the biggest crisis for the mortgage market in modern times.
The centre said 2.2m sub-prime home loans had already failed or would end in foreclosure and that the losses to homeowners could be as high as $164bn.
Although the turmoil in the sub-prime mortgage market is nothing new, the most recent signs of stress at investment bank Bear Stearns have increased speculation that the Fed may soon have to cut rates.
But most analysts say Mr Bernanke and his Fed colleagues will want to see real signs of economic damage before they respond with cheaper money. For now, they think, the main danger to the US economy remains inflation.
Friday, August 17, 2007
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
Social networking among fastest internet trends
Social networking has become one of the fastest-growing Internet trends of the past two years.
According to Internet metrics firm Comscore, Facebook saw users increase 270% from June last year to June this year. It now has more than 52 million users worldwide.
MySpace registered lower growth of 72% but still leads the market with 114 million users. Bebo, with a majority of users in Europe, grew 172% to more than 18 million users.
Now mobile phone companies are after the social networking sites.
The mobile phone companies reckon the people who are using sites like Facebook are exactly the sort of people likely to be interested in using the Internet on a mobile phone.
Revenues from putting user-generated content - i.e: content such as videos and blogs created by consumers rather than media organisations - onto mobile phones is expected to rise more than tenfold over the next five years, according to estimates by Juniper Research published yesterday.
According to Internet metrics firm Comscore, Facebook saw users increase 270% from June last year to June this year. It now has more than 52 million users worldwide.
MySpace registered lower growth of 72% but still leads the market with 114 million users. Bebo, with a majority of users in Europe, grew 172% to more than 18 million users.
Now mobile phone companies are after the social networking sites.
The mobile phone companies reckon the people who are using sites like Facebook are exactly the sort of people likely to be interested in using the Internet on a mobile phone.
Revenues from putting user-generated content - i.e: content such as videos and blogs created by consumers rather than media organisations - onto mobile phones is expected to rise more than tenfold over the next five years, according to estimates by Juniper Research published yesterday.
Monday, August 13, 2007
Indian film industry is evolving
Rakesh Roshan, a well-known independent film maker says independent producers will still be able to compete even if the Indian film industry moved towards a studio model.
While there is an increasing number of corporates entering the film industry, they face one disadvantage. They lack experience. Of course, as time goes by, it is something they can gain. Even after so many years in the industry, I am still learning. I still face dilemmas as to what will work and what will not, Rakesh said.
India is the largest producer of feature films in the world - about 1,000 films a year, most of them are made in India's main language Hindi. The term ‘Bollywood’ applies to the Mumbai-based Hindi language film industry in India, but the foreign usage implies the overall film industry of India.
India’s media and entertainment industry is one of the fastest growing industries in the world, according to a latest study by P ricewaterhouseCoopers, the world's largest accounting firm.
Content of the film industry is now aimed at different audience demographics. Now the success of a movie depends on - script and story, director’s vision, on screen talent, marketing and positioning and release date of the film - and only the star cast is dependent on studios.
While there is an increasing number of corporates entering the film industry, they face one disadvantage. They lack experience. Of course, as time goes by, it is something they can gain. Even after so many years in the industry, I am still learning. I still face dilemmas as to what will work and what will not, Rakesh said.
India is the largest producer of feature films in the world - about 1,000 films a year, most of them are made in India's main language Hindi. The term ‘Bollywood’ applies to the Mumbai-based Hindi language film industry in India, but the foreign usage implies the overall film industry of India.
India’s media and entertainment industry is one of the fastest growing industries in the world, according to a latest study by P ricewaterhouseCoopers, the world's largest accounting firm.
Content of the film industry is now aimed at different audience demographics. Now the success of a movie depends on - script and story, director’s vision, on screen talent, marketing and positioning and release date of the film - and only the star cast is dependent on studios.
Saturday, August 11, 2007
Stock markets plunge as investors panic
Global finacial markets are in turmoil. The Dow was down more than 212 points at its lows; closed at 13,239.54 on Friday.
We are all affected by stock market falls even if we have never owned a share or investment fund. The disruption affects us through our employers, our pension funds' holdings of financial assets or our mortgages.
The world's central banks have now injected $326bn on Thursday and Friday into the money markets to fend off the threat of a credit crunch, where the availability of loans dries up and interest rates soar.
Investors continue to worry that that the U.S. subprime loan problem might be turning into a full-fledged global financial panic.
The subprime woes, related to the fallout from losses on US mortgages for people with poor credit records, again took centre stage in US markets on Tuesday while related losses at Australia's top investment bank shows that the impact has global implications.
A few years back, most people in the world's financial markets believed in the old adage that when the US sneezed the rest of the world caught a cold. This no lnger holds true.
While the US economy may have softened, the rest of the world has stormed ahead, led chiefly by the emerging economies. For those countries with weak domestic consumer spending - apart from Japan, Germany is the other obvious example - the strength of emerging market demand has provided a welcome economic shot in the arm through higher exports.
The US is Japan's most important export destination. The Japanese worry about the implications of the US housing slowdown and the fallout from the sub-prime market.
We are all affected by stock market falls even if we have never owned a share or investment fund. The disruption affects us through our employers, our pension funds' holdings of financial assets or our mortgages.
The world's central banks have now injected $326bn on Thursday and Friday into the money markets to fend off the threat of a credit crunch, where the availability of loans dries up and interest rates soar.
Investors continue to worry that that the U.S. subprime loan problem might be turning into a full-fledged global financial panic.
The subprime woes, related to the fallout from losses on US mortgages for people with poor credit records, again took centre stage in US markets on Tuesday while related losses at Australia's top investment bank shows that the impact has global implications.
A few years back, most people in the world's financial markets believed in the old adage that when the US sneezed the rest of the world caught a cold. This no lnger holds true.
While the US economy may have softened, the rest of the world has stormed ahead, led chiefly by the emerging economies. For those countries with weak domestic consumer spending - apart from Japan, Germany is the other obvious example - the strength of emerging market demand has provided a welcome economic shot in the arm through higher exports.
The US is Japan's most important export destination. The Japanese worry about the implications of the US housing slowdown and the fallout from the sub-prime market.
Thursday, August 09, 2007
Future stars on dance floors : Dancing Robots
The robot in the picture copies the moves of a human dance teacher.Japanese researchers have created a dancing robot capable of imitating a routine at a moment’s notice, with no need for time-consuming and costly rehearsals.
Researchers at the University of Tokyo have used software allowing their robot HRP-2 to copy the moves of a human dance teacher through video motion capture technology.
HRP-2 then watched dance instructor Hisako Yamada performing a Japanese folk routine called Aizu-Bandaisan, before accurately reproducing her performance just minutes later.
Some dancers have commented that robot dancers will always have some human element missing. While that is true, there may be some humans who may prefer a robot dancer.
Monday, August 06, 2007
Concern over social networks
A social network is a social structure which generally comprises of individuals, groups or organizations that are tied by one or more specific types of relations, such as values, visions, ideas, friends, kinship, business, or even web links.
Research by a number academics has shown that social networks operate on many levels, from families up to the level of nations, and play a critical role in determining the way problems are solved, organizations are run, and the degree to which individuals succeed in achieving their goals.
Friendship networks tend to be larger in younger groups, but they have weaker ties with those they talk with. But as they get older, the networks are smaller and they have stronger ties.
Some experts worry that cellphones will replace face-to-face contact, said Scott Campbell, who teaches communication studies at the University of Michigan, USA.
But what was set up as a purely business strategy is having an unintentional social effect. It is dividing the people who share informal bonds and bringing together those who have formal networks of cellphone “friends.”
Maybe they should blame the cellphone carriers. The carriers, after all, set up plans that encourage subscribers to talk mainly to people in the same network. The companies say they are simply trying to recruit and retain customers.
Research by a number academics has shown that social networks operate on many levels, from families up to the level of nations, and play a critical role in determining the way problems are solved, organizations are run, and the degree to which individuals succeed in achieving their goals.
Friendship networks tend to be larger in younger groups, but they have weaker ties with those they talk with. But as they get older, the networks are smaller and they have stronger ties.
Some experts worry that cellphones will replace face-to-face contact, said Scott Campbell, who teaches communication studies at the University of Michigan, USA.
But what was set up as a purely business strategy is having an unintentional social effect. It is dividing the people who share informal bonds and bringing together those who have formal networks of cellphone “friends.”
Maybe they should blame the cellphone carriers. The carriers, after all, set up plans that encourage subscribers to talk mainly to people in the same network. The companies say they are simply trying to recruit and retain customers.
Saturday, August 04, 2007
Success secrets from India's top entreprenur Ambani
Mr. Dhirubhai Ambani, one of India's top entrepreneur, a rags-to-riches story, reveals on Rediff the secrets of how he built the Reliance Industries.
* True entrepreneurship comes only from risk-taking.
* Pursue your goal, even in the face of difficulties. Convert difficulties into opportunities. Keep your morale high, in spite of setbacks. At the end you are bound to succeed.
* My advice to young entrepreneurs is not to accept defeat in the face of odds. Challenge negative forces with hope, self-confidence and conviction. I believe that ambition and initiative will ultimately triumph. The success of the young entrepreneur will be the key to India's transformation in the new millennium.
* Dhirubhai will go one day. But Reliance's employees and shareholders will keep it afloat. Reliance is now a concept in which the Ambanis have become irrelevant.
* I have trusted people and they have put their trust in me. I have encouraged youth, and they have never let me down. I have asked my people to take initiative and to take risks. It has paid me rich dividends. I insist on excellence. This helps us to be leaders. Reliance is built on some of these principles.
* The secret of Reliance's success was to have ambition and to know the minds of men.
* Growth has no limit at Reliance. I keep revising my vision. Only when you dream it you can do it.
* True entrepreneurship comes only from risk-taking.
* Pursue your goal, even in the face of difficulties. Convert difficulties into opportunities. Keep your morale high, in spite of setbacks. At the end you are bound to succeed.
* My advice to young entrepreneurs is not to accept defeat in the face of odds. Challenge negative forces with hope, self-confidence and conviction. I believe that ambition and initiative will ultimately triumph. The success of the young entrepreneur will be the key to India's transformation in the new millennium.
* Dhirubhai will go one day. But Reliance's employees and shareholders will keep it afloat. Reliance is now a concept in which the Ambanis have become irrelevant.
* I have trusted people and they have put their trust in me. I have encouraged youth, and they have never let me down. I have asked my people to take initiative and to take risks. It has paid me rich dividends. I insist on excellence. This helps us to be leaders. Reliance is built on some of these principles.
* The secret of Reliance's success was to have ambition and to know the minds of men.
* Growth has no limit at Reliance. I keep revising my vision. Only when you dream it you can do it.
Friday, August 03, 2007
The wayward son of non-violence preaching Gandhi
A scene from Gandhi My Father, a new film that explores the turbulent relationship between Mahatma Gandhi and his first-born son. Photo- Telegraph UK.To Martin Luther King, he was "the little brown saint of India - the first person to lift the love ethic of Jesus above mere interaction". Lord Louis Mountbatten, the last viceroy of India, compared him to Buddha.
The world has heard a lot about Mahatma Gandhi’s non-violent movement that eventually gained independence for India from the British. But we know little about his family life.
A new film 'Gandhi My Father' depicts the Mahatma as a difficult patriarch whose ideals shaped a nation but hurt his family.
As one commentator points out: "He loved his son and family, but he loved the nation more." It's a distinction that makes for a compelling film.
The film traces the disintegrating relationship between the Mahatma or ‘Bapu’ (father) as he was fondly known, with the eldest of his four sons, Hiralal.
What emerges is the uneasy tensions in the family’s South African residence where Gandhi practised as a barrister up to 1915. The patriarch’s firm insistence that Hiralal abandon his education and wife Gulab in order to assist him in his fight against the inequitable apartheid system, leads to resentment by the young Hiralal.
Post 1915, the entire family relocates to India where resistance to British imperialism is gaining momentum. Hiralal tries to assert his own independence but he is thwarted by opportunists who use the Gandhi name to establish fraudulent companies and discredit the freedom movement. The Mahatma publicly disowns his wayward son and Hiralal sinks into alcoholic depression.
Supporters of Gandhi in India have tried to ban the film unsuccessfully as it portrays their revered hero in poor light. The contrast of human strength and weakness lies in the fact Gandhi almost single handedly with no military force at his disposal mobilised the masses through his non-violent means and won against the imperialistic British, but failed to help his own son with understanding, love and care when he needed most.
This is a gut-wrenching story that would have affected the man who carried a larger-than-life persona.
Thursday, August 02, 2007
Polluting printers
This printer in a Brisbane, Australia, office building contributed to higher particulate matter concentrations indoors than those outside near a freeway.Photo:Lidia Morawska.This study has appeared in the online edition of the American Chemical Society's Environmental Science & Technology (ES&T) journal, measured particulate output of 62 laser printers, including models from name brands such as Canon, Hewlett-Packard and Ricoh. Particle emissions, believed to be toner -- the finely-ground powder used to form images and characters on paper -- were measured in an open office floor plan, then ranked.
The research underscores the importance of printer emissions. Read more here.
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
Competing with the richest cricket organisation
The Board of Control for Cricket in India,or BCCI is among the richest sporting organizations in the world, and the richest cricketing body by far.
The immense popularity of the game in India as well as the continuous growth of the Indian economy have armed BCCI with some of the most lucrative TV and sponsorship contracts in world sports.
The global media rights for international cricket to be held in India between March 2006 and March 2010 were awarded to production house Nimbus for a mind-boggling sum of US$612 Million.
The BCCI's membership generally includes the State cricket associations, though some states have more than one association. Maharashtra state, for instance, has Maharashtra cricket association, Mumbai Cricket Association and Vidarbha cricket association and Gujarat state has Gujarat cricket association, Baroda cricket association and Saurashtra cricket association. Railways and Services are also members.
Now the richest league BCCI is under threat, following the disappointment of Indian cricket fans with the poor performance of their cricket team in the World cup and the South African tour prior to that.
Indian team's failure in World Cup has led to lower earnings to Cricket broadcasters, advertisers, cricket sponsors and; tour operators. These defeats also caused massive disappointment to India's millions of fanatical cricket fans.
A new private cricket league, the Indian Cricket League (ICL) has been formed that will run parallel to the existing cricket league managed by Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). The format of ICL will be Twenty20.
Australia's national cricket team captain, Ricky Ponting who is the highest ranked Test batsman and the highest ranked ODI batsman in the International Cricket Council, or ICC ratings has come out against the nascent ICL league.
"It's only a concern if there is huge money involved in it," Ponting said. "If this sort of stuff gets off the ground, these guys won't even be playing with their mates, they'll be thrown into made-up teams. You'll be out there by yourself and trying to win some money," he was quoted as saying by the Herald Sun.
Ponting's fear and apprehensions, while understandable is quite off the mark. Whether it is cricket or any other sport, it is the capitalist's big money that drives the game and motivates players. So having more competition cannot be bad for the game. If the ICI can poach contracted players of BCCI, it shows that ICCI is superior to BCCI. In a free market it bound to happen and it is part of the game.
The super star players who are under performing, yet having a cushy life are called to wake up.
The immense popularity of the game in India as well as the continuous growth of the Indian economy have armed BCCI with some of the most lucrative TV and sponsorship contracts in world sports.
The global media rights for international cricket to be held in India between March 2006 and March 2010 were awarded to production house Nimbus for a mind-boggling sum of US$612 Million.
The BCCI's membership generally includes the State cricket associations, though some states have more than one association. Maharashtra state, for instance, has Maharashtra cricket association, Mumbai Cricket Association and Vidarbha cricket association and Gujarat state has Gujarat cricket association, Baroda cricket association and Saurashtra cricket association. Railways and Services are also members.
Now the richest league BCCI is under threat, following the disappointment of Indian cricket fans with the poor performance of their cricket team in the World cup and the South African tour prior to that.
Indian team's failure in World Cup has led to lower earnings to Cricket broadcasters, advertisers, cricket sponsors and; tour operators. These defeats also caused massive disappointment to India's millions of fanatical cricket fans.
A new private cricket league, the Indian Cricket League (ICL) has been formed that will run parallel to the existing cricket league managed by Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). The format of ICL will be Twenty20.
Australia's national cricket team captain, Ricky Ponting who is the highest ranked Test batsman and the highest ranked ODI batsman in the International Cricket Council, or ICC ratings has come out against the nascent ICL league.
"It's only a concern if there is huge money involved in it," Ponting said. "If this sort of stuff gets off the ground, these guys won't even be playing with their mates, they'll be thrown into made-up teams. You'll be out there by yourself and trying to win some money," he was quoted as saying by the Herald Sun.
Ponting's fear and apprehensions, while understandable is quite off the mark. Whether it is cricket or any other sport, it is the capitalist's big money that drives the game and motivates players. So having more competition cannot be bad for the game. If the ICI can poach contracted players of BCCI, it shows that ICCI is superior to BCCI. In a free market it bound to happen and it is part of the game.
The super star players who are under performing, yet having a cushy life are called to wake up.
Monday, July 30, 2007
Malaysian bloggers warned: Don't go overboard
Malyasian government's policy of not intervening in the use of the Internet by people, including bloggers, who are free to use cyberspace is under pressure to change.
The Malaysian prime minister has issued a fresh warning to bloggers, as a key ruling party member described cyberspace as having "the law of the jungle," a report said yesterday.
"For postings that insult (religion and the King), there are laws that can be used against the culprits," said Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yasin, who is also Agriculture and Agro-Based Industry Minister, after launching the four-day Malaysia International Machinery Fair 2007 at the Putra World Trade Centre yesterday.
Paris-based Reporters Without Borders (RSF) said bloggers have managed to create an unprecedented space for free expression in Malaysia.
The Malaysian prime minister has issued a fresh warning to bloggers, as a key ruling party member described cyberspace as having "the law of the jungle," a report said yesterday.
"For postings that insult (religion and the King), there are laws that can be used against the culprits," said Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yasin, who is also Agriculture and Agro-Based Industry Minister, after launching the four-day Malaysia International Machinery Fair 2007 at the Putra World Trade Centre yesterday.
Paris-based Reporters Without Borders (RSF) said bloggers have managed to create an unprecedented space for free expression in Malaysia.
Sunday, July 29, 2007
Charging to save the environment
America is the world's largest polluter (China catching up fast) and one of America's biggest companies, the General Electric Company or GE is stepping forward to lend a helping hand to reduce greenhouse gases.
This is green capitalism. Instead of adopting lifestyle changing habits, GE has unveiled a credit card designed to offset the environmental impact of the very consumerism it promotes.
GE Money's (GE) Earth Rewards MasterCard (MA) takes 1 percent of all purchases and uses the money to invest in greenhouse gas reduction projects like capturing methane, planting trees and building wind and solar power plants.
The Earth Rewards site lists "3 Easy Steps toward Reducing Your Climate Impact: 1. Choose Reward. 2. Shop. 3. Offset."
The malaise of US consumerism is an area that needs to be addressed as well.
This is green capitalism. Instead of adopting lifestyle changing habits, GE has unveiled a credit card designed to offset the environmental impact of the very consumerism it promotes.
GE Money's (GE) Earth Rewards MasterCard (MA) takes 1 percent of all purchases and uses the money to invest in greenhouse gas reduction projects like capturing methane, planting trees and building wind and solar power plants.
The Earth Rewards site lists "3 Easy Steps toward Reducing Your Climate Impact: 1. Choose Reward. 2. Shop. 3. Offset."
The malaise of US consumerism is an area that needs to be addressed as well.
Saturday, July 28, 2007
Courage and fortitude overcome loss of sight
On May 25, 2001, Erik Weihenmayer became the only blind man in history to reach the summit of the world's highest peak - Mount Everest.
Though there were questions about the wisdom of mountain climbing for a blind person, Erik never gave up on his dreams despite turning blind at the age of 13.
He believed that he deserved to live his best life. He is a passionate athlete, a former middle school teacher and wrestling coach.
Erik has become an accomplished mountain climber, paraglider, and skier, who has never let his blindness interfere with his passion for an exhilarating and fulfilling life.
Erik is the author of two books and appeared on several TV shows, gaining recognition for his achievements.
Erik's award winning film, Farther Than the Eye Can See, shot in the same stunning quality HDTV format as the 'Star Wars' prequels, was ranked in the top twenty adventure films of all time by Men's Journal.
Erik doesn't see himself as a reckless risk taker, he tries to do what he can possibly do, always trying to push himself to a higher level.
Erik's has become a motivational speaker who inspires people around the world, from Hong Kong to Switzerland, from Thailand to the 2005 APEC Summit in Chile.
He speaks to audiences on harnessing the power of adversity, the importance of teamwork and the daily struggle to pursue your dreams. Clearly, Erik's accomplishments show that one does not have to have perfect eyesight to have extraordinary vision.
Thursday, July 26, 2007
Lohan spiralling down on addiction
Within one year she has done two trips to rehab for treatment of achohol abuse, now this 21-year old Hollywood party girl, model and actress is upto her neck with legal troubles. While her supporters sympathise with her, others feel that she should go to jail to learn her lesson and come to back to sobriety through treatment.
Lindsay Lohan was arrested early on Tuesday in Santa Monica, California, and released on bail for investigation of misdemeanour driving under the influence and with a suspended license, and felony cocaine possession.
“I am innocent... did not do drugs they’re not mine. I was almost hit by my assistant Tarin’s mom I appreciate everyone giving me my privacy,” Lohan wrote in an e-mail to Access Hollywood host Billy Bush, the show reported on its web site on Tuesday night.
Lindsay Lohan has joined a long list of young Hollywood celebrities who have battled alchohol and substance abuse. Many have recoverd through rehab and are enjoying sucessful careers while others died young feeding a deadly addiction.
Lohan's second DUI(driving under influence) has comes about while awaiting a conviction for her first charge of drunk driving. Again she is charged with drunk driving and carrying cocaine in her pocket.
David Deitch, an addiction specialist for more than 40 years and director of Phoenix House, a national nonprofit provider of substance-abuse treatments, said the glitter and glamour of Hollywood could be partly to blame. “That life is all about the excitement, drama and peak performance followed by a letdown that gets medicated with entertainment and medication,” he said.
Lindsay Lohan was arrested early on Tuesday in Santa Monica, California, and released on bail for investigation of misdemeanour driving under the influence and with a suspended license, and felony cocaine possession.
“I am innocent... did not do drugs they’re not mine. I was almost hit by my assistant Tarin’s mom I appreciate everyone giving me my privacy,” Lohan wrote in an e-mail to Access Hollywood host Billy Bush, the show reported on its web site on Tuesday night.
Lindsay Lohan has joined a long list of young Hollywood celebrities who have battled alchohol and substance abuse. Many have recoverd through rehab and are enjoying sucessful careers while others died young feeding a deadly addiction.
Lohan's second DUI(driving under influence) has comes about while awaiting a conviction for her first charge of drunk driving. Again she is charged with drunk driving and carrying cocaine in her pocket.
David Deitch, an addiction specialist for more than 40 years and director of Phoenix House, a national nonprofit provider of substance-abuse treatments, said the glitter and glamour of Hollywood could be partly to blame. “That life is all about the excitement, drama and peak performance followed by a letdown that gets medicated with entertainment and medication,” he said.
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
Soft drinks are a health risk
Research has found that soft drinks is health risk- just one soft drink a day — whether diet or regular — may boost your risk of getting heart disease, the study shows.
That is because a soda habit increases the risk of developing a condition called metabolic syndrome, according to the new research, and that in turn boosts the chance of getting both heart disease and diabetes.
Metabolic syndrome is a cluster of symptoms that includes excessive abdominal fat, high blood-glucose levels, high blood pressure, high blood triglycerides and low levels of high-density lipoprotein, the "good" cholesterol.
People with three or more of these symptoms have double the normal risk of heart disease and diabetes.
That is because a soda habit increases the risk of developing a condition called metabolic syndrome, according to the new research, and that in turn boosts the chance of getting both heart disease and diabetes.
Metabolic syndrome is a cluster of symptoms that includes excessive abdominal fat, high blood-glucose levels, high blood pressure, high blood triglycerides and low levels of high-density lipoprotein, the "good" cholesterol.
People with three or more of these symptoms have double the normal risk of heart disease and diabetes.
Monday, July 23, 2007
Clinton visits Zambia
Former US president Bill Clinton assessed the health care facilties in rural Zambia on his first visit to the country last Saturday. During the visit he toured a new drug distribution warehouse in Lusaka financed by his charitable foundation.
Since leaving office in 2001, Clinton has negotiated lower prices on AIDS drugs for poor countries in Africa and Asia, helping to extend tens of thousands of lives. The effort, however, is still hampered by overstretched facilities, stigma and an acute lack of skilled staff.
Zambia has put more than 93,000 HIV-positive people on anti-retroviral treatment over the last few years with help from the United States and other partners. But about 16 percent of the population is HIV-positive, and the country has a serious shortage of health care workers.
Clinton's first visit to Zambia was the third stop on an African tour that also took him to South Africa and Malawi. He was to fly to Tanzania on Sunday.
Since leaving office in 2001, Clinton has negotiated lower prices on AIDS drugs for poor countries in Africa and Asia, helping to extend tens of thousands of lives. The effort, however, is still hampered by overstretched facilities, stigma and an acute lack of skilled staff.
Zambia has put more than 93,000 HIV-positive people on anti-retroviral treatment over the last few years with help from the United States and other partners. But about 16 percent of the population is HIV-positive, and the country has a serious shortage of health care workers.
Clinton's first visit to Zambia was the third stop on an African tour that also took him to South Africa and Malawi. He was to fly to Tanzania on Sunday.
YouTube debates setting new trend
Presidential debates is a long tried ritual in the United States of America, the world's trend setting democracy.
It is no longer a guy in a suit who mostly asks predictable questions of other suits in a carefully choreographed studio. The voter is a fixture in the audience, motionless until he or she gets to address the candidate, briefly and respectfully. It a is well designed PR stunt.
Now technology has come forward and is helping to change this old tradition. The debates still continue but the old world methods and the new world tactics have begun to overlap each other. In the new world, a kid in jeans and a T-shirt is asking questions, less reverentially, more pointedly and using powerful visual images to underscore the point.
The current presidential debates are about to enter the world of YouTube, the anything-goes home-video-sharing Web site that puts the power in the hands of the camera holder.
YouTube, which is owned by Google, and CNN are co-sponsoring a debate among the eight Democratic presidential candidates on July 23 in South Carolina, an event that could define the next phase of what has already been called the YouTube election, a visual realm beyond Web sites and blogs.
This proves that it is good for democracy when the people are empowered. Politicians often find that the people whose vote they need to come into office are much smarter than the political consultants and the men in grey suits( also known as spin doctors)- whether it is about Iraq war or global warming.
It is no longer a guy in a suit who mostly asks predictable questions of other suits in a carefully choreographed studio. The voter is a fixture in the audience, motionless until he or she gets to address the candidate, briefly and respectfully. It a is well designed PR stunt.
Now technology has come forward and is helping to change this old tradition. The debates still continue but the old world methods and the new world tactics have begun to overlap each other. In the new world, a kid in jeans and a T-shirt is asking questions, less reverentially, more pointedly and using powerful visual images to underscore the point.
The current presidential debates are about to enter the world of YouTube, the anything-goes home-video-sharing Web site that puts the power in the hands of the camera holder.
YouTube, which is owned by Google, and CNN are co-sponsoring a debate among the eight Democratic presidential candidates on July 23 in South Carolina, an event that could define the next phase of what has already been called the YouTube election, a visual realm beyond Web sites and blogs.
This proves that it is good for democracy when the people are empowered. Politicians often find that the people whose vote they need to come into office are much smarter than the political consultants and the men in grey suits( also known as spin doctors)- whether it is about Iraq war or global warming.
Friday, July 20, 2007
Internet destroying the reading culture!!!!
A review of Andrew Keen's 'The Cult of the Amateur' on Amazon by Jonathan Last, Online Editor, The Weekly Standard reads the following .
"In today's self-broadcasting culture, where amateurism is celebrated and anyone with an opinion, however ill-informed, can publish a blog, post a video on YouTube, or change an entry on Wikipedia, the distinction between trained expert and uninformed amateur becomes dangerously blurred.
When anonymous bloggers and videographers, unconstrained by professional standards or editorial filters, can alter the public debate and manipulate public opinion, truth becomes a commodity to be bought, sold, packaged, and reinvented."
The celebrated Web 2.0 interactive technology has now made media amateur experts out of anyone who can put out an opinion. In his view, Web 2.0 is changing the cultural landscape and not for the better.
Mr. Keen's pronouncement is strange for the present citizen journalism cannot be reversed. It is definitely a change for the better.
Mr. Keen says today's bloggers can't read and the Internet amateurs are destroying the reading culture. The truth is today's Internet generation reads differently, it can't be a bad thing. Only thing is the bloggers don't have to go through the gate keepers or the editorial boards of the mainstream news organisations. Bloggers don't have to satisfy news company bosses who sometimes twist and turn the truth before it gets published. Whatever content that is put out by the bloggers can be left for the readers to make their own decisions.
Thursday, July 19, 2007
A media mogul wins the crown jewel
How will The Wall Street Journal, one of the world's leading business publications fare when, as seems highly likely, Rupert Murdoch, chairman of the world's third-largest media conglomerate, News Corporation, succeeds in his US$5 billion unsolicited bid for the newspaper's parent company, Dow Jones?
Even before the deal is done, the American regulatory authority, the Securities Exchange Commission, SEC and the Justice Department have launched an investigation. As a wave of companies merge or seek to gain access to the public markets, SEC wants to ensure that trades are not done based on secret information.
SEC notified David Li, a Hong Kong banking magnate and Dow Jones board member, that it plans to recommend filing civil insider trading charges against him. These charges have come just as the merger entered its final phase.
Dow Jones' board has determined it will recommend to its stockholders, including the Bancroft family which holds shares representing a majority of Dow Jones' voting power, News Corp's proposal to acquire all of the outstanding shares of Dow Jones' stock for 60 usd per share cash, or a combination of cash and News Corp stock.
Critics of Murdoch- and he has as many bashers as supporters- argue that over half-century of his career as a journalist and businessman shows that his newspapers and other media outlets have made news coverage decisions that advanced the interests of his sprawling media conglomerate, News Corp.
In the process, Mr Murdoch has blurred a line that exists at many other US media companies between business and news sides — a line intended to keep the business and political interests of owners from influencing the presentation of news.
Even before the deal is done, the American regulatory authority, the Securities Exchange Commission, SEC and the Justice Department have launched an investigation. As a wave of companies merge or seek to gain access to the public markets, SEC wants to ensure that trades are not done based on secret information.
SEC notified David Li, a Hong Kong banking magnate and Dow Jones board member, that it plans to recommend filing civil insider trading charges against him. These charges have come just as the merger entered its final phase.
Dow Jones' board has determined it will recommend to its stockholders, including the Bancroft family which holds shares representing a majority of Dow Jones' voting power, News Corp's proposal to acquire all of the outstanding shares of Dow Jones' stock for 60 usd per share cash, or a combination of cash and News Corp stock.
Critics of Murdoch- and he has as many bashers as supporters- argue that over half-century of his career as a journalist and businessman shows that his newspapers and other media outlets have made news coverage decisions that advanced the interests of his sprawling media conglomerate, News Corp.
In the process, Mr Murdoch has blurred a line that exists at many other US media companies between business and news sides — a line intended to keep the business and political interests of owners from influencing the presentation of news.
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
Brazil's soccer losing the samba
Brazil has won the Copa America by defeating arch rivals Argentina 3-0 on Sunday's final played in the searing heat of Venezuela.
The Brazilians have won four of the last five Copa titles -- the exception was when Colombia won at home in 2001 -- and eight in all.
Argentina, the favourites to win had its top players and appeared unstoppable throughout most of the tournament. Brazil was missing the stars Ronaldinho and Kaka. The Brazilians edged Uruguay by 5-4 on penalty kicks in the semifinals after a 2-2 tie.
Brazil played the final with ruthless efficiency, the European concept that emphasizes the economics of efficiency to score goals.
Brazil's soccer is a spectacle of beautiful passing and flawless rhythm that resonates with the drum beat of the samba music famous in Brazil. This year Brazil has won the championship, but the beautiful game was missing.
The samba boys have won with a shrewd strategy. Brazil's coach Dunga, a defensive midfielder when he captained Brazil to World Cup glory in 1994, changed the system to employ three players in the holding role. The decision was controversial for a country used to the attack, attack, attack philosophy.
To Dunga what matters is the trophy. If this style continues, the beautiful game that has made Brazil so famous- even when they lose- will become a thing of the past.
The Brazilians have won four of the last five Copa titles -- the exception was when Colombia won at home in 2001 -- and eight in all.
Argentina, the favourites to win had its top players and appeared unstoppable throughout most of the tournament. Brazil was missing the stars Ronaldinho and Kaka. The Brazilians edged Uruguay by 5-4 on penalty kicks in the semifinals after a 2-2 tie.
Brazil played the final with ruthless efficiency, the European concept that emphasizes the economics of efficiency to score goals.
Brazil's soccer is a spectacle of beautiful passing and flawless rhythm that resonates with the drum beat of the samba music famous in Brazil. This year Brazil has won the championship, but the beautiful game was missing.
The samba boys have won with a shrewd strategy. Brazil's coach Dunga, a defensive midfielder when he captained Brazil to World Cup glory in 1994, changed the system to employ three players in the holding role. The decision was controversial for a country used to the attack, attack, attack philosophy.
To Dunga what matters is the trophy. If this style continues, the beautiful game that has made Brazil so famous- even when they lose- will become a thing of the past.
Monday, July 16, 2007
The red hot debate over the raging bulls
How far can this bull market run before the bubble burst?
Many observers of global markets are asking this question.
The best is yet to come says Jim Rogers, George Soros' former right-hand man. "This bull market's got another 10 to 15 years to go."
A BBC article gives the results of a credit splurge, hard to ignore.
(1) UK house prices have doubled in the past 10 years.
(2) China's main stock index has quadrupled in value since the start of 2006.
(3) The UK's FTSE 100 and US S&P 500 stock indexes are at levels not seen in almost seven years.
(4) Commodity prices have been buoyed by strong global demand, pushing some such as copper to records.
(5) Merger and acquisition activity has taken off, and private equity firms are now in control of some of the world's biggest brands.
Financial pundits are gazing into crystal balls to determine the future trend of the raging bulls. Some speculate that oil price may be a determining factor. The US led campaign in Iraq, the pressure to pull out of Iraq and the tensions over Iran are factors closely being watched.
The red hot global economy is under nervous scrutiny.
Sunday, July 15, 2007
Reverse mortgage becomes a reward for US seniors
America has an estimated 77 million baby boomers about to reach their golden years. In the bastion of capitalism it is quite interesting to see how the capitalists are doing good business in the form of providing reverse mortgages.
Looking at the aging population, reverse mortgage is a huge business and the lending community is eager to provide this special type of loan.
Though less than 2% of seniors have decided to turn the equity in their homes into cash by taking out a mortgage that pays them instead of the other way around, half of those reverse loans were written in the last two years.
Reverse mortgages, also known as home-equity conversion loans, enable homeowners age 62 or older to convert their equity into tax-free proceeds. The amount you can receive is based on the age of the youngest owner, the value and location of your home and current interest rates. Generally, the older you are, the more you can get.
For the US, the boomers are coming and they can get their houses to start paying them back.
Looking at the aging population, reverse mortgage is a huge business and the lending community is eager to provide this special type of loan.
Though less than 2% of seniors have decided to turn the equity in their homes into cash by taking out a mortgage that pays them instead of the other way around, half of those reverse loans were written in the last two years.
Reverse mortgages, also known as home-equity conversion loans, enable homeowners age 62 or older to convert their equity into tax-free proceeds. The amount you can receive is based on the age of the youngest owner, the value and location of your home and current interest rates. Generally, the older you are, the more you can get.
For the US, the boomers are coming and they can get their houses to start paying them back.
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
Steve Prefontaine - America's greatest running legend
Over his short running career, Steve Profontaine ran 153 races, of which he won 120, or 78 percent of his races.
One of Prefontaine's most famous quotes given below is still vibrant in runners today.
One of Prefontaine's most famous quotes given below is still vibrant in runners today.
Monday, July 09, 2007
Environmental call in global glitz
Microsoft's MSN reached a landmark global audience of over 10 million for the webcast of this weekend's multi-venue Live Earth concerts to combat the threat of global warming.
The promoter of this global extravaganza Al Gore, former US vice president hopes to spread awareness about our ailing planet. As international music stars lit up stages across the seven continents, international broadcasters of the 24-hour concert series was expected to reach 2 billion.
This global party is a desperately need act to wake up many still in slumber about the alarming damage to our environment caused by greenhouse gases and what action can be taken to reduce them.
Live Earth is a project of the SOS campaign , which is using a powerful multimedia platform - films, television, radio, Internet, books, wireless and others - to move people to combat the climate crisis.
Live Earth urged everyone to support a seven point initiative to reduce greenhouse gases.
(1) To demand United States join an international treaty within the next 2 years that cuts global warming pollution by 90% in developed countries and by more than half worldwide in time for the next generation to inherit a healthy earth;
(2) To take personal action to help solve the climate crisis by reducing my own CO2 pollution as much as I can and offsetting the rest to become 'carbon neutral;'
(3) To fight for a moratorium on the construction of any new generating facility that burns coal without the capacity to safely trap and store the CO2;
(4) To work for a dramatic increase in the energy efficiency of my home, workplace, school, place of worship, and means of transportation;
(5) To fight for laws and policies that expand the use of renewable energy sources and reduce dependence on oil and coal;
(6) To plant new trees and to join with others in preserving and protecting forests; and,
(7) To buy from businesses and support leaders who share my commitment to solving the climate crisis and building a sustainable, just, and prosperous world for the 21st century.
The promoter of this global extravaganza Al Gore, former US vice president hopes to spread awareness about our ailing planet. As international music stars lit up stages across the seven continents, international broadcasters of the 24-hour concert series was expected to reach 2 billion.
This global party is a desperately need act to wake up many still in slumber about the alarming damage to our environment caused by greenhouse gases and what action can be taken to reduce them.
Live Earth is a project of the SOS campaign , which is using a powerful multimedia platform - films, television, radio, Internet, books, wireless and others - to move people to combat the climate crisis.
Live Earth urged everyone to support a seven point initiative to reduce greenhouse gases.
(1) To demand United States join an international treaty within the next 2 years that cuts global warming pollution by 90% in developed countries and by more than half worldwide in time for the next generation to inherit a healthy earth;
(2) To take personal action to help solve the climate crisis by reducing my own CO2 pollution as much as I can and offsetting the rest to become 'carbon neutral;'
(3) To fight for a moratorium on the construction of any new generating facility that burns coal without the capacity to safely trap and store the CO2;
(4) To work for a dramatic increase in the energy efficiency of my home, workplace, school, place of worship, and means of transportation;
(5) To fight for laws and policies that expand the use of renewable energy sources and reduce dependence on oil and coal;
(6) To plant new trees and to join with others in preserving and protecting forests; and,
(7) To buy from businesses and support leaders who share my commitment to solving the climate crisis and building a sustainable, just, and prosperous world for the 21st century.
Friday, July 06, 2007
South African fruit picker faces British retail Giant
Tesco, Britain's largest retailer of grocery and general merchandising is far removed from the world that Ms. Gertruida Baartman lives in South Africa. Baartman as a friut picker in South Africa is at the bottom of Tesco's lengthy supply chain.
At the annual general meeting this year, while those at the top of the business are trying to persuade shareholders that Tesco chief executive Sir Terry Leahy should receive an extra £11m if its venture into the US succeeds, the 39-year-old single mother of three often does not have enough money to feed her children, let alone afford the prices that Tesco charges UK consumers for the fruit she picks.
Ms Baartman came to the company's annual meeting, thanks to ActionAid, an international anti-poverty agency, to plead with the board to pay her and her co-workers a living wage.
"Tesco should ensure that we have enough to live on. We are not asking for luxuries, just to be able to live without borrowing, and to respect the rights of women because we really work hard, they must give us what we deserve," she said yesterday.
The farm where she works supplies one of South Africa's largest fruit exporters, Capespan, which last year saw a 122% increase in profits after tax.
At Tesco's AGM this year, shareholders have been asked to support a resolution demanding that Tesco takes measures - to be independently audited - to ensure that workers "are guaranteed decent working conditions, a living wage, job security, freedom of association and of collective bargaining including ... the right to join a trade union of their choice".
This is a case of ethical trade in action. “Ethical trade” is an umbrella term for all types of business practices that promote more socially and/or environmentally responsible trade.
Tesco is a member of the ETI (Ethical Trading Initiative). Founded in 1998, the ETI aims to improve working conditions within a retailer's suppliers, through guidelines which members must incorporate into their codes of conduct. But the code is voluntary and members can be suspended or expelled only for non-compliance.
At the annual general meeting this year, while those at the top of the business are trying to persuade shareholders that Tesco chief executive Sir Terry Leahy should receive an extra £11m if its venture into the US succeeds, the 39-year-old single mother of three often does not have enough money to feed her children, let alone afford the prices that Tesco charges UK consumers for the fruit she picks.
Ms Baartman came to the company's annual meeting, thanks to ActionAid, an international anti-poverty agency, to plead with the board to pay her and her co-workers a living wage.
"Tesco should ensure that we have enough to live on. We are not asking for luxuries, just to be able to live without borrowing, and to respect the rights of women because we really work hard, they must give us what we deserve," she said yesterday.
The farm where she works supplies one of South Africa's largest fruit exporters, Capespan, which last year saw a 122% increase in profits after tax.
At Tesco's AGM this year, shareholders have been asked to support a resolution demanding that Tesco takes measures - to be independently audited - to ensure that workers "are guaranteed decent working conditions, a living wage, job security, freedom of association and of collective bargaining including ... the right to join a trade union of their choice".
This is a case of ethical trade in action. “Ethical trade” is an umbrella term for all types of business practices that promote more socially and/or environmentally responsible trade.
Tesco is a member of the ETI (Ethical Trading Initiative). Founded in 1998, the ETI aims to improve working conditions within a retailer's suppliers, through guidelines which members must incorporate into their codes of conduct. But the code is voluntary and members can be suspended or expelled only for non-compliance.
Wednesday, July 04, 2007
Blackstone buys Hilton
In recent years the private equity giant Blackstone Group has made significant investments in the hotel and commercial real estate industries by buying and taking private several large publicly-traded corporations.
Blackstone's latest purchase is the Hilton Hotels Corp for about $US26 billion .
Under the terms of the agreement, Blackstone will acquire all the outstanding common stock of Hilton for $US47.50 dollars a share.
The price represents a premium of 40 per cent over Monday's closing stock price.
Hilton Hotels stock closed up 6.44 per cent yesterday on the New York Stock Exchange at $US36.05.
Hilton's board of directors approved the transaction. It would be completed sometime during the fourth quarter of 2007, subject to the approval of Hilton's shareholders, the corporation said in a statement.
The proposed transaction "will deliver substantial value creation for our shareholders. In addition, a majority of the equity will be owned by Canadians", Blackstone chairman Richard Currie said.
Hilton is a company that took 40 years to be reunited as a single entity, following the $6bn merger of Hilton Hotels Corporation with its UK sister, Hilton Inter- national in 2005.
For the family of Conrad Hilton, the deal represents the culmination of a hotel empire growth story that has lasted nearly 90 years.
Blackstone's step into the public limelight marked a sea change for an industry that had closely guarded its secrecy. Blackstone was previously a wholly private partnership and as such under US laws not subject to the same scrutiny as public corporations.
Blackstone's IPO launch and the deal with Hilton Hotels mark a heady year for Blackstone.
Blackstone's latest purchase is the Hilton Hotels Corp for about $US26 billion .
Under the terms of the agreement, Blackstone will acquire all the outstanding common stock of Hilton for $US47.50 dollars a share.
The price represents a premium of 40 per cent over Monday's closing stock price.
Hilton Hotels stock closed up 6.44 per cent yesterday on the New York Stock Exchange at $US36.05.
Hilton's board of directors approved the transaction. It would be completed sometime during the fourth quarter of 2007, subject to the approval of Hilton's shareholders, the corporation said in a statement.
The proposed transaction "will deliver substantial value creation for our shareholders. In addition, a majority of the equity will be owned by Canadians", Blackstone chairman Richard Currie said.
Hilton is a company that took 40 years to be reunited as a single entity, following the $6bn merger of Hilton Hotels Corporation with its UK sister, Hilton Inter- national in 2005.
For the family of Conrad Hilton, the deal represents the culmination of a hotel empire growth story that has lasted nearly 90 years.
Blackstone's step into the public limelight marked a sea change for an industry that had closely guarded its secrecy. Blackstone was previously a wholly private partnership and as such under US laws not subject to the same scrutiny as public corporations.
Blackstone's IPO launch and the deal with Hilton Hotels mark a heady year for Blackstone.
Monday, July 02, 2007
Revisiting the Asian financial crisis
It is January 15 1998. The photo on the right of Indonesia's president Suharto signing away his power to an IMF bail out package of $ 33 billion is a powerful image; one that was witnessed by a stern-faced Michel Camdessus, the IMF managing director and a anxious nation watching on national television.
This July marks the 10th anniversary of East Asia's financial crisis. In July 1997, the Thai baht plummeted. Soon after, financial panic spread to Indonesia and South Korea, then to Malaysia. In a little more than a year, the Asian financial crisis became a global financial crisis, with the crash of Russia's ruble and Brazil's real.
Mr Suharto of Indonesia had no choice but to agree to severe austerity measures. In the space of less than a year, annual per-capita income has fallen from $1,200 to $300 and stock market values from $118 billion to $17 billion. Only 22 of Indonesia's 286 publicly listed companies are considered solvent.
According to official estimates, nearly two million Indonesians lost their jobs, including about 500,000 workers in the textile industry. The state-run labor union has estimated that the unemployment rate could reach 11 percent of the country's estimated work force of more than 90 million. Many more will be underemployed.
Public anger and frustration that followed, soon saw a violent end to Suharto's iron-fisted regin of 31 years.
Then, the IMF and the US Treasury blamed the crisis on a lack of transparency in financial markets.
But when developing countries pointed their fingers at secret bank accounts and hedge funds, IMF and US enthusiasm for greater transparency diminished. Since then, hedge funds have grown in importance, and secret bank accounts have flourished.
Some similarities exist between the situation then and today. Before the 1997 crisis, there had been rapid increases in capital flows from developed to developing countries -- a six-fold increase in six years. Afterward, capital flows to developing countries stagnated.
Before the crisis, some thought risk premia for developing countries were irrationally low. These observers proved right: The crisis was marked by soaring risk premia. Today, the global surfeit of liquidity has once again resulted in comparably low risk premia and a resurgence of capital flows, despite a broad consensus that the world faces enormous risks (including the risks posed by a return of risk premia to more normal levels.)
It seems in the very nature of capitalism there will be ups and downs in the markets; therefore some crises is bound to lurk around the corner. The ability to always anticipate change, religiously follow market trends and be ever ready to react would be the order of success in this financial game.
Saturday, June 30, 2007
Americans worry about outsourcing of jobs
Top United States Democratic Presidential contenders, including Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, have acknowledged that outsourcing was an issue for Americans and favoured measures to retain jobs, including ending tax breaks for outsourcing.
They took questions from anxious voters who faced the party contenders for the Presidential ticket in 2008 at a debate at Howard University in Washington.
Even if this is considered as political protectionist rhetoric, it also underlines growing unease of the middle class workers who are losing their jobs to more cheaper destinations.
This is the reality of the globalised economy of free trade where nations and corporations trade without barriers and tariffs. This is a fundamental shift in thinking from the old concept of providing jobs to communities on the basis of locations.
Voters are angry today that in the past decades US manufacturing jobs left America for cheaper shores.
Blue-collar workers, long wary of outsourcing, have now been joined by programmers, engineers and office workers — a group with much greater political clout. And the media is covering the story more than ever before. The media also has begun campaigning against companies that it accuses of ‘exporting America’ by ‘either sending American jobs overseas, or choosing to employ cheap overseas labour, instead of American workers.’
During the campaign season the voices of the dissatisfied workers who lost their jobs to destinations with cheaper cost advantages are growing louder.
They took questions from anxious voters who faced the party contenders for the Presidential ticket in 2008 at a debate at Howard University in Washington.
Even if this is considered as political protectionist rhetoric, it also underlines growing unease of the middle class workers who are losing their jobs to more cheaper destinations.
This is the reality of the globalised economy of free trade where nations and corporations trade without barriers and tariffs. This is a fundamental shift in thinking from the old concept of providing jobs to communities on the basis of locations.
Voters are angry today that in the past decades US manufacturing jobs left America for cheaper shores.
Blue-collar workers, long wary of outsourcing, have now been joined by programmers, engineers and office workers — a group with much greater political clout. And the media is covering the story more than ever before. The media also has begun campaigning against companies that it accuses of ‘exporting America’ by ‘either sending American jobs overseas, or choosing to employ cheap overseas labour, instead of American workers.’
During the campaign season the voices of the dissatisfied workers who lost their jobs to destinations with cheaper cost advantages are growing louder.
Thursday, June 28, 2007
The quiet changing of power in Britain
Former Treasury chief Gordon Brown became British prime minister Wednesday, promising "a new government with new priorities," after Tony Blair left office with a legacy of economic prosperity overshadowed by the deeply divisive Iraq war.
Yesterday was a historical day when power changed hands traditionally and quietly behind closed doors in Buckingham Palace. The constitutional monarch discharged one the most important responsibility of the traditions of the parliamentary form of government.
First Tony Blair first called on Queen Elizabeth II to submit his resignation to end a decade in power, and Gordon Brown arrived soon after to be invited to form the next government as the new prime minister.
Tony Blair's last day as the prime minister of the United Kingdom was an emotional one. In his last sitting in the revered chamber as prime minister, Tony Blair was cheered out of the Commons with a standing ovation that broke all the rules.
Earlier, his double bed, running machine and exercise bike were removed from the front door of No 10 in the full glare of the television cameras.
When Gordon Brown returned to Downing Street confirmed as prime minister, his greeting was a low-key affair, a deliberate contrast with the flag-waving crowds of "ordinary people" who lined Downing Street when Mr Blair took office 10 years ago. (It turned out that most were hand-picked Labour Party members - a metaphor for the PR of the Blair era.)
Brown set to work immediately, addressing the troops. "I don't want to be called anything other than Gordon," Britain's new Prime Minister said, going further than his predecessor's "call me Tony" edict to his Cabinet in 1997, which did not apply to staff.
Blair and Brown are friends-turned-rivals and on this day their paths took a diversion when Blair carried his own overnight bag at King's Cross as he boarded a train for Darlington.
Yesterday was a historical day when power changed hands traditionally and quietly behind closed doors in Buckingham Palace. The constitutional monarch discharged one the most important responsibility of the traditions of the parliamentary form of government.
First Tony Blair first called on Queen Elizabeth II to submit his resignation to end a decade in power, and Gordon Brown arrived soon after to be invited to form the next government as the new prime minister.
Tony Blair's last day as the prime minister of the United Kingdom was an emotional one. In his last sitting in the revered chamber as prime minister, Tony Blair was cheered out of the Commons with a standing ovation that broke all the rules.
Earlier, his double bed, running machine and exercise bike were removed from the front door of No 10 in the full glare of the television cameras.
When Gordon Brown returned to Downing Street confirmed as prime minister, his greeting was a low-key affair, a deliberate contrast with the flag-waving crowds of "ordinary people" who lined Downing Street when Mr Blair took office 10 years ago. (It turned out that most were hand-picked Labour Party members - a metaphor for the PR of the Blair era.)
Brown set to work immediately, addressing the troops. "I don't want to be called anything other than Gordon," Britain's new Prime Minister said, going further than his predecessor's "call me Tony" edict to his Cabinet in 1997, which did not apply to staff.
Blair and Brown are friends-turned-rivals and on this day their paths took a diversion when Blair carried his own overnight bag at King's Cross as he boarded a train for Darlington.
Tuesday, June 26, 2007
Malaysia rebukes EU envoy comments
Europe's top diplomat in Malaysia, Mr.Thierry Rommel has been summoned by the Malaysian foreign ministry to discuss criticisms he made about policies favouring ethnic Malays.
Malaysia has accused the European Union envoy of meddling in its affairs after he said on Thursday Malaysia should roll back its 37-year-old New Economic Policy (NEP), which gives privileges in businesses, jobs and education to Malays.
Rommel said it was discriminatory and amounted to protectionism. Malays form just over half of Malaysia's 26 million people, with ethnic Chinese and Indians forming sizeable minorities.
Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak hit back at Rommel, saying he had overstepped diplomatic boundaries.
A veteran leader of Malaysia's parliamentary opposition, Lim Kit Siang, said that the government should justify giving state aid according to race, rather than accusing Mr Rommel of not having the facts right.
Malaysia has accused the European Union envoy of meddling in its affairs after he said on Thursday Malaysia should roll back its 37-year-old New Economic Policy (NEP), which gives privileges in businesses, jobs and education to Malays.
Rommel said it was discriminatory and amounted to protectionism. Malays form just over half of Malaysia's 26 million people, with ethnic Chinese and Indians forming sizeable minorities.
Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak hit back at Rommel, saying he had overstepped diplomatic boundaries.
A veteran leader of Malaysia's parliamentary opposition, Lim Kit Siang, said that the government should justify giving state aid according to race, rather than accusing Mr Rommel of not having the facts right.
Monday, June 25, 2007
Innovate in order to compete
The Singapore government is now focused into high-tech research in areas like the biomedical sciences. It has also ensured that intellectual property is protected while managing political and economic risks as well as maintaining top quality living standards.
Speaking to about 300 delegates from 26 countries at the World Economic Forum(WEF) meeting held in Singapore, Mr. Lim Siong Guanin, Chairman of the Economic Development Board said competition was a "reality of life, so we have to watch out as to what things are happening and what advantage to take".
With the cost of labour and land more expensive compared with its neighbours, the natural resources-starved nation had to think of ways to be competitive in attracting foreign investment, he told the forum.
Mr. Lim urged the Asian countries, particularly those in Southeast Asia, to focus on collaborating in areas where they are weak and to remain competitive in innovation.
Singapore wants to be at the top end of the market, but the costs of doing business are going up. Businesses will want to be in markets where they can innovate and make money, Lim said.
"We take that as a reality of life. Some of the biggest projects we've lost are to developed countries such as Germany and the United States. So we try to link up with (countries such as) Vietnam and Indonesia so investors can do their high-end work in Singapore and low-end work in Vietnam or Indonesia," he said.
Speaking to about 300 delegates from 26 countries at the World Economic Forum(WEF) meeting held in Singapore, Mr. Lim Siong Guanin, Chairman of the Economic Development Board said competition was a "reality of life, so we have to watch out as to what things are happening and what advantage to take".
With the cost of labour and land more expensive compared with its neighbours, the natural resources-starved nation had to think of ways to be competitive in attracting foreign investment, he told the forum.
Mr. Lim urged the Asian countries, particularly those in Southeast Asia, to focus on collaborating in areas where they are weak and to remain competitive in innovation.
Singapore wants to be at the top end of the market, but the costs of doing business are going up. Businesses will want to be in markets where they can innovate and make money, Lim said.
"We take that as a reality of life. Some of the biggest projects we've lost are to developed countries such as Germany and the United States. So we try to link up with (countries such as) Vietnam and Indonesia so investors can do their high-end work in Singapore and low-end work in Vietnam or Indonesia," he said.
Sunday, June 24, 2007
Private equity is spreading wings
Private equity companies are causing quite a stir in the United Kingdom and the United States.
Big money shares are hitting the stock markets.
Shares of Blackstone Group, private equity that is the second-largest buyout fund in the United States, soared Friday in its trading debut in the biggest U.S. initial public offering in five years.
The stock jumped 16 per cent on the New York Stock Exchange to $35.91 (U.S.), after being priced yesterday at $31 a share. More than 97 million shares changed hands, with the stock rising as high as 45 per cent earlier in the day.
New York-based Blackstone is making the $4.13-billion initial public offering amid unexpectedly heavy demand from overseas investors. Demand for the 133 million shares ran at seven times the number available, analysts said yesterday.
"We like it short term, certainly," Peter Hodson, senior portfolio manager at Sprott Asset Management told Business News Network Friday. "They've got the direct access to privatizations in China ... and the connections are everything in that country."
Trade unions protecting labour rights have been at odds with the private equity companies who have been criticised for running in, axing jobs, creaming off the profit and then leaving.
The private equity companies get the very best tax breaks that they can and are always seen to put profit before people. This is what happens in the real world of private equity.
Private equity is in the business not to make products or service people, but they are out there only to make money.
Regulators are taking notice of deep public disquiet about the impact they have on the stock market.
Success and greater media attention are generating a rising tide of criticism, skepticism, and plain old sour grapes. These include both overpaying (and underpaying) in taking companies private, over-leveraging target companies, pulling out capital from investments too early, and doing nothing more than what can be replicated by public company managers.
Big money shares are hitting the stock markets.
Shares of Blackstone Group, private equity that is the second-largest buyout fund in the United States, soared Friday in its trading debut in the biggest U.S. initial public offering in five years.
The stock jumped 16 per cent on the New York Stock Exchange to $35.91 (U.S.), after being priced yesterday at $31 a share. More than 97 million shares changed hands, with the stock rising as high as 45 per cent earlier in the day.
New York-based Blackstone is making the $4.13-billion initial public offering amid unexpectedly heavy demand from overseas investors. Demand for the 133 million shares ran at seven times the number available, analysts said yesterday.
"We like it short term, certainly," Peter Hodson, senior portfolio manager at Sprott Asset Management told Business News Network Friday. "They've got the direct access to privatizations in China ... and the connections are everything in that country."
Trade unions protecting labour rights have been at odds with the private equity companies who have been criticised for running in, axing jobs, creaming off the profit and then leaving.
The private equity companies get the very best tax breaks that they can and are always seen to put profit before people. This is what happens in the real world of private equity.
Private equity is in the business not to make products or service people, but they are out there only to make money.
Regulators are taking notice of deep public disquiet about the impact they have on the stock market.
Success and greater media attention are generating a rising tide of criticism, skepticism, and plain old sour grapes. These include both overpaying (and underpaying) in taking companies private, over-leveraging target companies, pulling out capital from investments too early, and doing nothing more than what can be replicated by public company managers.
Friday, June 22, 2007
Pop-culture woos voters
It's the campaign season for the next presidential election of the United States of America. Candidates vying for the top post from both the Republican and Democratic party are getting in to the swing of establishing their positions to connect with the voters.
Increasingly, both parties are infusing pop-culture into politics to attract the voters especially the younger generation.
In the past, a galaxy of celebrities — from Bruce Springsteen to P. Diddy, Leonardo diCaprio to Ashton Kutcher, Whoopi Goldberg to Martin Sheen, Jon Bon Jovi to Michael Moore — tried to communicate the idea that it was ultracool for young Americans to be politically engaged.
In the current campaign Hilary Clinton is using Celine Dion's song 'You and I', to drum up her audience.
There are other candidates who have appeared on YouTube.
What is emerging is a trend that glorifies style over substance of the issues. The messenger is seen more important than the message.
One of the contentious debates that divides the nation is on how to deal with illegal aliens in America; by some estimates 12 million, a staggering figure that has continued to grow over the years.
These are serious issues, requires tough choices to be made; perhaps with far reaching consequences than the pop-cultre that is dominating the campaign trail.
Increasingly, both parties are infusing pop-culture into politics to attract the voters especially the younger generation.
In the past, a galaxy of celebrities — from Bruce Springsteen to P. Diddy, Leonardo diCaprio to Ashton Kutcher, Whoopi Goldberg to Martin Sheen, Jon Bon Jovi to Michael Moore — tried to communicate the idea that it was ultracool for young Americans to be politically engaged.
In the current campaign Hilary Clinton is using Celine Dion's song 'You and I', to drum up her audience.
There are other candidates who have appeared on YouTube.
What is emerging is a trend that glorifies style over substance of the issues. The messenger is seen more important than the message.
One of the contentious debates that divides the nation is on how to deal with illegal aliens in America; by some estimates 12 million, a staggering figure that has continued to grow over the years.
These are serious issues, requires tough choices to be made; perhaps with far reaching consequences than the pop-cultre that is dominating the campaign trail.
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
France's first Socialist couple breakup
The French tolerate presidential infidelity more than Americans probably because of the trickle-down effect of centuries of adulterous monarchs and most of their past presidents.
When the French do cheat, they handle it differently from Americans. The French are apt to think of infidelity as one of the predictable pitfalls of marriage. The French are far less troubled by a few discreet lies to protect a spouse from unpleasant information.
American public life can be dominated by tales of soiled dresses or leaked text messages (eg. the impeachment of President Clinton over a sex scandal) for weeks on end, while the French seem to be pretty casual about the sexual adventures of their elected leaders.
Defeated French Socialist presidential candidate Segolene Royal said on Sunday she has split from her partner, party leader Francois Hollande, after having denied of such rumours during her campaign. She has now accused him infidelity.
"I have asked Francois Hollande to leave our home, to pursue his love interest which is now laid out in books and newspapers and I wish him happiness," Royal said in an interview for the book to be published on Wednesday.
Ms Royal, 53, and Mr Hollande, 52, had been together (but not married) for more than 25 years and have four children: Thomas, Clemence, Julien and Flora, aged 14 to 22.
Royal has set her eyes to challenge for the party top-seat, and the two are likely to clash then, or even earlier if the Socialists decide to call an early congress.
This breakup it may be evidence of a bigger trend of openness in the internet age.
When the French do cheat, they handle it differently from Americans. The French are apt to think of infidelity as one of the predictable pitfalls of marriage. The French are far less troubled by a few discreet lies to protect a spouse from unpleasant information.
American public life can be dominated by tales of soiled dresses or leaked text messages (eg. the impeachment of President Clinton over a sex scandal) for weeks on end, while the French seem to be pretty casual about the sexual adventures of their elected leaders.
Defeated French Socialist presidential candidate Segolene Royal said on Sunday she has split from her partner, party leader Francois Hollande, after having denied of such rumours during her campaign. She has now accused him infidelity.
"I have asked Francois Hollande to leave our home, to pursue his love interest which is now laid out in books and newspapers and I wish him happiness," Royal said in an interview for the book to be published on Wednesday.
Ms Royal, 53, and Mr Hollande, 52, had been together (but not married) for more than 25 years and have four children: Thomas, Clemence, Julien and Flora, aged 14 to 22.
Royal has set her eyes to challenge for the party top-seat, and the two are likely to clash then, or even earlier if the Socialists decide to call an early congress.
This breakup it may be evidence of a bigger trend of openness in the internet age.
Sunday, June 17, 2007
Ian Botham, the charity walker knighted
England's legendary cricket all rounder has been knighted by the Queen in her Birthday Honours.
Congratulations Sir Botham.
Botham has joined another cricketing great, Sir Viv Richards of West Indies; both close friends and they dominated the golden era of cricket.
After he retired from playing cricket, Botham has also been a prominent fundraiser for charity undertaking a total of 11 long-distance charity walks. His first, in 1985, was a 900-mile trek from John O'Groats to Land's End.
His efforts ere inspired after a visit to a Taunton hospital for treatment on a broken toe. He stumbled into a children's ward and was shocked to learn that some of the children had only weeks to live. He has since raised more than ten million pounds.
Saturday, June 16, 2007
The perils of success
Lifestyle guru Martha Stewart hit the billion dollar mark behind bars but lost a fortune soon after when her shares plunged 40 per cent / Photo AFPMartha Stewart born on August 3, 1941 is an American business icon, author, and rose to fame after she started a catering business. She is also a former stockbroker and fashion model.
Over the last two decades Stewart has held a prominent position in the American publishing industry; as the author of several books, hundreds of articles on the domestic arts, editor of a national homekeeping magazine, host for two popular daytime television programs, and commercial spokeswoman for K-Mart.
In 2001 she was named the third most powerful woman in America by Ladies Home Journal.
In 2004, a panel of eight women and four men found Martha Stewart guilty on all four counts of obstructing justice and lying to investigators about a well-timed stock sale, and she was sentenced to jail. She was barred from serving on a public company Board of Directors and from serving in certain executive capacities for five years.
The damning verdict was reflected in the words of David Kelley, U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, who spoke outside the courthouse.
"The word is -- beware -- and don't engage in this type of conduct because it will not be tolerated."
One of the jurors said, "This is a victory for the little guys. No one is above the law."
Martha Stewart was already in prison when she became a billionaire. Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia soared 90% during her five-month stint for obstruction of justice, and she hit the $US1 billion mark behind bars. Soon after she left, her shares dropped 40%. Today she is worth only about $US550 million.
Breaking the law doesn’t always leave you richer. Former Enron chairman Kenneth Lay lost more than $US400 million in 2001 as Enron collapsed in one of the greatest corporate falls in history. But he wasn’t even the biggest loser in the Enron debacle.
Thursday, June 14, 2007
The rising super-rich class---private equity kings
Blackstone Group is a prominent private equity and investment management firm founded in 1985 by Peter G. Peterson and Stephen A. Schwarzman.
Blackstone started with $400,000 and now manages funds of $88billion. These funds are used to buy companies, take them away from the glare of the stock market and restructure them. The firms are often returned to the public markets by being sold several years later
The company is based in New York City, in River House on Park Avenue at Fifty-first Street, with offices in Atlanta, Boston, London, Hamburg, Paris, Mumbai, and Hong Kong.
Under pressure to reveal the compensation of CEO, Blackstone has declared its chief executive, Stephen Schwarzman, enjoyed personal earnings of $398m last year. When Blackstone goes public, he will receive a windfall of at least $449m and he will retain a stake in the business worth $7.7bn.
Mr Peterson, Blackstone co-founder, took home $212m last year and will get $1.88bn by selling shares on Blackstone's flotation. A third senior executive, Hamilton James, enjoyed annual income of a $97m and stands to receive $147m.
The sheer scale of the wealth amassed by private equity has alarmed the trade unions in Britain. Britain's Trade Union Congress' general secretary, Brendan Barber, last month warned that the rise of a super-rich class in the industry threatened to "fundamentally change" the nature of British and European capitalism.
In the US, the Service Employees' International Union has hit out at the "extraordinary riches" for a handful of individuals at the top of the industry. It says the money should be shared with workers in businesses acquired by private equity who contribute to the industry's huge returns.
Blackstone started with $400,000 and now manages funds of $88billion. These funds are used to buy companies, take them away from the glare of the stock market and restructure them. The firms are often returned to the public markets by being sold several years later
The company is based in New York City, in River House on Park Avenue at Fifty-first Street, with offices in Atlanta, Boston, London, Hamburg, Paris, Mumbai, and Hong Kong.
Under pressure to reveal the compensation of CEO, Blackstone has declared its chief executive, Stephen Schwarzman, enjoyed personal earnings of $398m last year. When Blackstone goes public, he will receive a windfall of at least $449m and he will retain a stake in the business worth $7.7bn.
Mr Peterson, Blackstone co-founder, took home $212m last year and will get $1.88bn by selling shares on Blackstone's flotation. A third senior executive, Hamilton James, enjoyed annual income of a $97m and stands to receive $147m.
The sheer scale of the wealth amassed by private equity has alarmed the trade unions in Britain. Britain's Trade Union Congress' general secretary, Brendan Barber, last month warned that the rise of a super-rich class in the industry threatened to "fundamentally change" the nature of British and European capitalism.
In the US, the Service Employees' International Union has hit out at the "extraordinary riches" for a handful of individuals at the top of the industry. It says the money should be shared with workers in businesses acquired by private equity who contribute to the industry's huge returns.
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
Paris has found God in jail
In a celebrity obssessed world, we can't go too far without hitting this topic. But this time Paris Hilton is appearing in my post because she claims to have found God in jail.
The girl who was screaming and calling for her mum when a judge ordered her to serve jail term, has become a changed person almost overnight.
For atheists, Paris has shown a route to salvation.
In her own words, 'she is going to stop acting dumb.'
In a phone interview with the famed Barbara Walters, Paris said that God has given her a new chance and she wants to do charity work, maybe even open a Paris Hilton playhouse for sick children, when she gets out of jail.
"I know now that I can make a difference, that I have the power to do that. I have been thinking that I want to do different things when I am out of here. I have become much more spiritual. God has given me this new chance."
Paris Hilton made a very revealing confession which I thought is very interesting.
"I used to act dumb, it was an act and that act is no longer cute. It is not who I am, nor do I want to be that person for the young girls who looked up to me."
For anyone who looked upto her as a role model, please take note of this point.
Paris Hilton attributed her transformation to a spiritual adviser who told her: "My spirit or soul did not like the way I was being seen and that is why I was sent to jail." But redemption was at hand. "God has released me. I feel that the purpose of my life is to be where I am."
The girl who was screaming and calling for her mum when a judge ordered her to serve jail term, has become a changed person almost overnight.
For atheists, Paris has shown a route to salvation.
In her own words, 'she is going to stop acting dumb.'
In a phone interview with the famed Barbara Walters, Paris said that God has given her a new chance and she wants to do charity work, maybe even open a Paris Hilton playhouse for sick children, when she gets out of jail.
"I know now that I can make a difference, that I have the power to do that. I have been thinking that I want to do different things when I am out of here. I have become much more spiritual. God has given me this new chance."
Paris Hilton made a very revealing confession which I thought is very interesting.
"I used to act dumb, it was an act and that act is no longer cute. It is not who I am, nor do I want to be that person for the young girls who looked up to me."
For anyone who looked upto her as a role model, please take note of this point.
Paris Hilton attributed her transformation to a spiritual adviser who told her: "My spirit or soul did not like the way I was being seen and that is why I was sent to jail." But redemption was at hand. "God has released me. I feel that the purpose of my life is to be where I am."
Monday, June 11, 2007
What's the worry about 'private equity'
Private equity is a broad term that commonly refers to any type of equity investment in an asset in which the equity is not freely tradeable on a public stock market. More accurately, private equity refers to the manner in which the funds have been raised, namely on the private markets, as opposed to the public markets.
Private equity is medium to long-term finance provided in return for an equity stake in potentially high growth unquoted companies.
An article on Economist.com paints a dark side to private equity.
"Aware that in Asia small, entrepreneurial companies often lack the access to debt and equity markets enjoyed by their Western counterparts, they resolved to play the part of matchmaker.
The result is a growing market in which hedge funds, buy-out groups and investment banks, club together to finance private deals for firms that are too small for initial public offerings, or are growing so fast that they would rather wait."
I get the feeling that if private equity firms are not required to comply with disclosure requirements in the public interest, then it is a case of Murphy's law waiting to happen.
Private equity is medium to long-term finance provided in return for an equity stake in potentially high growth unquoted companies.
An article on Economist.com paints a dark side to private equity.
"Aware that in Asia small, entrepreneurial companies often lack the access to debt and equity markets enjoyed by their Western counterparts, they resolved to play the part of matchmaker.
The result is a growing market in which hedge funds, buy-out groups and investment banks, club together to finance private deals for firms that are too small for initial public offerings, or are growing so fast that they would rather wait."
I get the feeling that if private equity firms are not required to comply with disclosure requirements in the public interest, then it is a case of Murphy's law waiting to happen.
Sunday, June 10, 2007
America's fascination of Paris Hilton
Paris Hilton, in photo made available by the L.A. County Sheriff's Department, was sent home under house arrest Thursday by a sympathetic County Sheriff, a move that has sparked a furor. The judge ordered her back to the court and sent her back to jail on Friday to serve out her time.
(Photo :Los Angeles County Sheriff/Associated Press)
A tearful Paris Hilton sent back to jail is not a gleeful story. I do not enjoy the misfortune of Paris Hilton or anyone else but I'm curious to know why this story is headline news on the front page of all mainstream media in the United States as well the tabloids in the United Kingdom.
Paris Hilton, is sent to jail for violating her parole following a 2006 drunk driving incident. She claimed that she didn't know of her driving suspension. Now she has the opportunity to learn the hard way, that she should never be a danger to herself or anyone else by reckless drunk-driving.
She is an attractive woman. She is an heiress to a share of the Hilton Hotel fortune, as well as to the real estate fortune of her father Richard Hilton. At 26, she is the party girl who rose to fame when a home-made sex video of her surfaced onto the Internet in late 2003.
In a celebrity-driven culture, her court saga and jail term is a closely watched spectacle. To many people it is equal justice that she does her time in jail, without any preferential treatment on account of her wealth and fame. Her supporters feel that she been handed a disproportionate sentence to the crime she committed. They claim the court is sending a strong statement on her back to the public: Don't drink and drive, there will be no second chance as Paris Hilton has painfully learned in jail.
Saturday, June 09, 2007
Brian Lara's greatness on display
Brian Lara who has retired from international cricket is not missed during the tour of his country to England this summer.
A fascinating new exhibition shows off the memorabilia that contributed to his unforgettable career. Click here to see more pictures showcased at a Museum at Lord's hosting a special exhibition celebrating the life and career of the great West Indies batsman Brian Lara.
Talking to a distinguished English cricketer Angus Fraser about his favourite collections, Lara said one of his prized possessions is a jacket signed by Nelson Mandela.
He said, " I was lucky enough to go and see him and I could not leave without getting something signed. I did not have anything so I took off the suit jacket I was wearing and asked him if he would sign it. I did not mind not being able to wear my Hugo Boss suit again."
Friday, June 08, 2007
A court ruling that sends a wrong signal
According to Associated Press, a United States federal appeals court said a new federal policy against accidentally aired profanities on TV and radio was invalid, noting that vulgar language had become so common that even President Bush has been heard using expletives.
The court tossed out an indecency ruling against Rupert Murdoch's Fox television network yesterday and broadly questioned whether the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has the right to police the airwaves for offensive language.
The ruling is a rebuke to the FCC and a victory for television networks, which in recent years have pushed back against the FCC's crackdown on indecency.
The court agreed with the networks' defense, in part, that if George Bush and Dick Cheney can get away with saying no-no words, then why shouldn't Cher, Nicole Richie, and the rest of us?
Said the court: Similarly, as NBC illustrates in its brief, in recent times even the top leaders of our government have used variants of these expletives in a manner that no reasonable person would believe referenced "sexual or excretory organs or activities." . . . (citing President Bush's remark to British Prime Minister Tony Blair that the United Nations needed to "get Syria to get Hezbollah to stop doing this shit" and Vice President Cheney's widely-reported "Fuck yourself" comment to Senator Patrick Leahy on the floor of the U.S. Senate).
The court ruling is a win for the American First Amendment to the United States Constitution that prohibits any laws by the federal legislature from infringing on the freedom of speech and freedom of press. So this is a clear win for freedom.
It, however, sets a bad example to fringe groups within society who think that it is OK to use vulgar language. It also makes it more difficult for the FCC to impose fines for the use of indecent language.
The court tossed out an indecency ruling against Rupert Murdoch's Fox television network yesterday and broadly questioned whether the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has the right to police the airwaves for offensive language.
The ruling is a rebuke to the FCC and a victory for television networks, which in recent years have pushed back against the FCC's crackdown on indecency.
The court agreed with the networks' defense, in part, that if George Bush and Dick Cheney can get away with saying no-no words, then why shouldn't Cher, Nicole Richie, and the rest of us?
Said the court: Similarly, as NBC illustrates in its brief, in recent times even the top leaders of our government have used variants of these expletives in a manner that no reasonable person would believe referenced "sexual or excretory organs or activities." . . . (citing President Bush's remark to British Prime Minister Tony Blair that the United Nations needed to "get Syria to get Hezbollah to stop doing this shit" and Vice President Cheney's widely-reported "Fuck yourself" comment to Senator Patrick Leahy on the floor of the U.S. Senate).
The court ruling is a win for the American First Amendment to the United States Constitution that prohibits any laws by the federal legislature from infringing on the freedom of speech and freedom of press. So this is a clear win for freedom.
It, however, sets a bad example to fringe groups within society who think that it is OK to use vulgar language. It also makes it more difficult for the FCC to impose fines for the use of indecent language.
Wednesday, June 06, 2007
A user interface that will change our computing
Several recent developments point to a coming revolution in computer interfaces, from performing simple operations to working with large amounts of information.
Jeff Han gives an intriguing demonstration below.
Jeff Han gives an intriguing demonstration below.
Tuesday, June 05, 2007
Silicon Valley and bubble spotting
The name Silicon Valley brings to memory afresh the dot-com bubble which started in the mid-1990s. That was the time when the entrepreneurial spirit of the Valley made instant young millionaires and many went broke went the bubble burst.
Silicon Valley is the southern part of the San Francisco Bay Area in Northern California in the United States.
The valley has transformed from silicon chip innovators and manufacturers to a geekdom that is gaining momentum like the old days again.
Once bitten, twice shy and now every entrepreneur is on the lookout for the bubble.
“There’s such a heightened sense of bubble awareness in Silicon Valley that people confuse any expression of enthusiasm for a bubble,” said Paul Kedrosky, the executive director of the William J. von Liebig Center for Entrepreneurism and Technology Advancement at the University of California, San Diego.
Silicon Valley's dynamism is generally attributed to entrepreneurial spinoffs due the use of innovation and new technologies. Companies that seize such opportunities reap handsome rewards while those that do not keep with a rapidly changing market pay a revenue penalty.
Silicon Valley is the southern part of the San Francisco Bay Area in Northern California in the United States.
The valley has transformed from silicon chip innovators and manufacturers to a geekdom that is gaining momentum like the old days again.
Once bitten, twice shy and now every entrepreneur is on the lookout for the bubble.
“There’s such a heightened sense of bubble awareness in Silicon Valley that people confuse any expression of enthusiasm for a bubble,” said Paul Kedrosky, the executive director of the William J. von Liebig Center for Entrepreneurism and Technology Advancement at the University of California, San Diego.
Silicon Valley's dynamism is generally attributed to entrepreneurial spinoffs due the use of innovation and new technologies. Companies that seize such opportunities reap handsome rewards while those that do not keep with a rapidly changing market pay a revenue penalty.
Monday, June 04, 2007
Apple launching revolutionary iphone
Apple has finally said that it will start selling its iPhone on June 29.
The Internet-ready iPhone will use the Apple OS X operating system and allow users to watch movies, download songs and store photos, as well as offering email, calendar and contacts software found in rival products such as the Blackberry.
The iPhone will cost $500 or $600, depending on the amount of memory included.
The Internet-ready iPhone will use the Apple OS X operating system and allow users to watch movies, download songs and store photos, as well as offering email, calendar and contacts software found in rival products such as the Blackberry.
The iPhone will cost $500 or $600, depending on the amount of memory included.
Sunday, June 03, 2007
Outsourcing to work a 4-hour workweek
Here an interesting book by Join Tim Ferriss, popular guest lecturer in entrepreneurship at Princeton University.
Here is what his book promises to give. The book is available on Amazon.
1)How to outsource your life and do whatever you want for a year, only to return to a bank account 50% larger than before you left
2)How blue-chip escape artists travel the world without quitting their jobs
3)How to eliminate 50% of your work in 48 hours using the principles of little-known European economists
4)How to train your boss to value performance over presence, or kill your job (or company) if it's beyond repair
5)How to trade a long-haul career for short work bursts and frequent “mini-retirements”
6)What automated cash-flow "muses" are and how to create one in 2-4 weeks
7)How to cultivate selective ignorance—and create time—with a low-information diet
8)Management secrets of Remote Control CEOs
9)The crucial difference between absolute and relative income
10)How to get free housing worldwide and airfare at 50-80% off
11)How to fill the void and creating meaning after removing work and the office
Here's an interview with Timothy Ferriss.
Here is what his book promises to give. The book is available on Amazon.
1)How to outsource your life and do whatever you want for a year, only to return to a bank account 50% larger than before you left
2)How blue-chip escape artists travel the world without quitting their jobs
3)How to eliminate 50% of your work in 48 hours using the principles of little-known European economists
4)How to train your boss to value performance over presence, or kill your job (or company) if it's beyond repair
5)How to trade a long-haul career for short work bursts and frequent “mini-retirements”
6)What automated cash-flow "muses" are and how to create one in 2-4 weeks
7)How to cultivate selective ignorance—and create time—with a low-information diet
8)Management secrets of Remote Control CEOs
9)The crucial difference between absolute and relative income
10)How to get free housing worldwide and airfare at 50-80% off
11)How to fill the void and creating meaning after removing work and the office
Here's an interview with Timothy Ferriss.
Listen now (15 Meg MP3, 42:28 minutes)
Saturday, June 02, 2007
The ethics of killing a monster pig
Jamison Stone, 11, (in the AP photo above) shot the huge hog during what he and his father described as a three-hour chase. They said it was more than 1,000 pounds and 9 feet long; if anything, it looked even bigger in a now-famous photo of the hunter and the hunted. See the photos on monsterpig.com.
Now it turns out the huge hog that became known as "Monster Pig" had another name: Fred. The not-so-wild pig had been raised on an Alabama farm and was sold to the Lost Creek Plantation just four days before it was shot there in a 150-acre fenced area, the animal's former owner said.
Phil Blissitt told The Anniston Star in a story Friday that he bought the 6-week-old pig in December 2004 as a Christmas gift for his wife, Rhonda, and that they sold it after deciding to get rid of all the pigs at their farm.
"I just wanted the truth to be told. That wasn't a wild pig," Rhonda Blissitt said.
Mike Stone, Jamison's father, says that he was unaware of the origin of the pig.
The American citizens have a right to bear arms and hunting is legal business. But what does a 11-year-old boy get out of chasing a giant hog for three hours, killing it and publishing the photos with immense pride; other than fame or a film in Hollywood?
Friday, June 01, 2007
US economy heading towards a recession?
The American economic growth skidded to a standstill in the first three months of the year as a healthy rise in consumer spending was wiped out by an unexpected cut in the amount of stocks held by business.
The U.S. economy grew at its weakest pace in more than four years during the first quarter, a 0.6 percent growth rate the government reported Thursday, as a cooling housing market, slower consumer spending and a gaping trade deficit eroded economic activity.
The final quarter of last year reported a 2.5 percent growth rate.
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke says he doesn't believe the economy will slide into recession this year, nor do Bush administration officials and many economists. But ex-Fed chief Alan Greenspan has put the odds at one in three.
The U.S. economy grew at its weakest pace in more than four years during the first quarter, a 0.6 percent growth rate the government reported Thursday, as a cooling housing market, slower consumer spending and a gaping trade deficit eroded economic activity.
The final quarter of last year reported a 2.5 percent growth rate.
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke says he doesn't believe the economy will slide into recession this year, nor do Bush administration officials and many economists. But ex-Fed chief Alan Greenspan has put the odds at one in three.
Thursday, May 31, 2007
Gates and Jobs - Strange bedfellows come together
Having Microsoft chairman Bill gates and Apple CEO Steve Jobs in the same place for a public conversation is like a solar eclipse, it is a very rare event.
The two tech originals came together at The Wall Street Journal's "D: All Things Digital" conference this year and spoke about the future of the digital evolution.
Apple and Microsoft have worked together for years, but that has never stopped the Mac vs PC debates. Microsoft Office has always been available for the Mac, and several years ago Microsoft pumped US $150m into Apple to help it stay in business.
Bill Gates became a billionaire at the age of 31, making him the youngest self-made billionaire in history. His personal fortune now exceeds US$46 billion.
The philosophy of these two geeks sharing the stage could be: keep your friends close but keep your enemies even closer.
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
Who needs a life coach?
Coaching has become a big business in the world. Whether a person wants to succeed in sports, in business or in life, one can find any number of coaches, some of them giving band-aid solutions while others give professional counselling and training.
Coaching can be of great help because it provides the clarity and the focus of our actions. It helps us to stay on the right track to reach a desired goal.
Life coaches are are the new kids on the block, who are finding plenty of work in business, personal development and entertainment.
The entertainment profession with a high propensity for coaching — the acting coach, the voice coach, the writing coach — there appears to be room for one more coach, the one in charge of happiness, not to be confused with the old-school therapist.
"The difference between life coaching and therapy is that psychotherapy is about helping people heal their wounds," said Phil Towle, a psychotherapist and life coach, "and coaching is about helping people achieve the highest level of their fulfillment or happiness or success, whether they're wounded or not.
Coaching can be of great help because it provides the clarity and the focus of our actions. It helps us to stay on the right track to reach a desired goal.
Life coaches are are the new kids on the block, who are finding plenty of work in business, personal development and entertainment.
The entertainment profession with a high propensity for coaching — the acting coach, the voice coach, the writing coach — there appears to be room for one more coach, the one in charge of happiness, not to be confused with the old-school therapist.
"The difference between life coaching and therapy is that psychotherapy is about helping people heal their wounds," said Phil Towle, a psychotherapist and life coach, "and coaching is about helping people achieve the highest level of their fulfillment or happiness or success, whether they're wounded or not.
Monday, May 28, 2007
A great achievement by Kelly Lim
LA Times is reporting that a Michigan native Kelly Lim, 26 a triple amputee is graduating from medical school.
Struck with a ravaging bacterial infection that destroys limbs, she became a triple amputee at age 8 and soon faced a life of prosthetics, wheelchairs and often-painful rehabilitation.
Lim does not use a prosthetic arm and manages to perform most medical procedures - including giving injections and taking blood -with one arm. She walks on a pair of prosthetic legs.
Lim has defied all odds to achieve her dream. She always had the support of a strong family. Adding to her disability woes, her mother turned blind when she was twenty.
Sunday, May 27, 2007
A higher minimum wage for US workers
After ten years of wrangling in the Congress, the American workers surviving on minimum wages are going to get a raise. Democrats who promised to boost the minimum wage when they won control of Congress in elections in 2006 have delivered on that promise.
The US Congress has voted in favour of the rise, which was attached to a bill funding the Iraq war. The White House approves of the increase which will be phased in over a two-year period and will accompanied by tax breaks for small businesses to help employers pay the increase in wages.
The minimum wage in the US is to rise by $2.10 per hour, to $7.25 from its current level of $5.15.
Debates over raising the minimum wage usually pitch the proponents of the free market against those who want to lift up the poor.
In a free market economy, prices allocate land, information, capital goods, and labor to their highest use. Markets are truly free only if prices are free.
Wages are good indicators that direct people to employment and show businesses how to expand. Freely floating prices allocate resources efficiently to places where they will take root and boost economic productivity.
Currently, a person working 40 hours per week at the current minimum wage of $5.15 makes about $10,700 a year. An increase to $7.25 would boost that to just over $15,000 a year.
The US Congress has voted in favour of the rise, which was attached to a bill funding the Iraq war. The White House approves of the increase which will be phased in over a two-year period and will accompanied by tax breaks for small businesses to help employers pay the increase in wages.
The minimum wage in the US is to rise by $2.10 per hour, to $7.25 from its current level of $5.15.
Debates over raising the minimum wage usually pitch the proponents of the free market against those who want to lift up the poor.
In a free market economy, prices allocate land, information, capital goods, and labor to their highest use. Markets are truly free only if prices are free.
Wages are good indicators that direct people to employment and show businesses how to expand. Freely floating prices allocate resources efficiently to places where they will take root and boost economic productivity.
Currently, a person working 40 hours per week at the current minimum wage of $5.15 makes about $10,700 a year. An increase to $7.25 would boost that to just over $15,000 a year.
Saturday, May 26, 2007
Never too late to graduate
This is an incredible achievement in learning. At the age of 95, Kansas resident Nola Ochs is now the world's oldest college graduate.
Nola Ochs also has broken a Guinness World Record, although she never intended to do so. The previous Guinness Record belongs to Mozelle Richardson, who at age 90 in 2004 received a journalism degree from the University of Oklahoma.
Ochs received her bachelor's degree in general studies and history during Saturday's graduation ceremony at Fort Hays State University.
Ochs is the proud matriarch of a family that includes three sons — a fourth died in 1995 — along with 13 grandchildren and 15 great grandchildren.
Nola Ochs who majored in history brought an interesting perspective to her Soviet Union course. She recalls when the Berlin Wall was torn down. She also remembers the days before the Soviet Union was formed in 1917.
She started taking classes occasionally at Dodge City Community College after the 1972 death of her husband of 39 years. She wanted to complete her studies and be productive.
Apperaring in NBC's the Tonight Show with Jay Leno, she came in as the second guest of the show after Simon Cowell, the blunt-talking American Idol judge. She said she has never heard about Simon and never watched the Idol.
She said she grew up on a farm where raising children was the most imortant duty.
After graduation, she has applied for a job and has received two responses. She is looking forward to serve on a cruise ship and go around the world as a storyteller.
Friday, May 25, 2007
Liverpool chasing the elites
As the Liverpool fans peer through the tears of defeat to AC Milan in Athens, Rafa Benitez- the Liverpool manager has started the post-mortem examination.
Benitez had already asked the club's new owners, Tom Hicks and George Gillett, to match the kind of transfer fees routinely made available at Old Trafford for Manchester United and Stamford Bridge for Chelsea.
Benitez has never been afraid to challenge a club's hierarchy. Benitez maintains a ruthless attitude to win. Looking back on his career, it is not surprising that he has called on his owners to put up the money even before the dust settled at the Olympic Stadium.
"If we don't change things now and understand how crucial this moment is, we will waste one month, maybe three months and then we will only be in a position to sign third-choice players," Benitez said. "Then, we will only be contenders for the top four."
Benitez drives a hard bargain with his players who are expected to deliver the results on the field. He showed no sentiment when breaking up the team that overcame AC Milan two years ago and he will show none now. The difference is that this time Benitez wants the reform to be fundamental and to affect every area of the club.
After three years of hard work Benitez is deeply disappointed that his team did not catch up with EPL champions Manchester United and failed to defend the European Championship.
Benitez had already asked the club's new owners, Tom Hicks and George Gillett, to match the kind of transfer fees routinely made available at Old Trafford for Manchester United and Stamford Bridge for Chelsea.
Benitez has never been afraid to challenge a club's hierarchy. Benitez maintains a ruthless attitude to win. Looking back on his career, it is not surprising that he has called on his owners to put up the money even before the dust settled at the Olympic Stadium.
"If we don't change things now and understand how crucial this moment is, we will waste one month, maybe three months and then we will only be in a position to sign third-choice players," Benitez said. "Then, we will only be contenders for the top four."
Benitez drives a hard bargain with his players who are expected to deliver the results on the field. He showed no sentiment when breaking up the team that overcame AC Milan two years ago and he will show none now. The difference is that this time Benitez wants the reform to be fundamental and to affect every area of the club.
After three years of hard work Benitez is deeply disappointed that his team did not catch up with EPL champions Manchester United and failed to defend the European Championship.
Thursday, May 24, 2007
Milan dazzle over Liverpool in sweet revenge
AC Milan celebrate a 2-1 win over the English flag holders Liverpool. AC Milan's revenge mission was in sight of being averted making another Greek tragedy come true between these two teams when the referee's watch ran out of time some 20 seconds earlier.
Two years after losing a 3-0 lead, AC Milan lost on penalties to Liverpool in what is considered as the most gut-wrenching final of the European Champions league.
There was no rude shock for AC Milan this time and there was no miracle for Liverpool to claim the the biggest prize in European club soccer in the Olympic stadium of Athens.
In a tightly contested match, it was spurts of sheer brilliance from Kaka and Inzaghi that made the difference for Milan.
On the night that belonged to Italy, Liverpool's captain Steven Gerrad did everything right except find the opponent's net.
Paolo Maldini, wearing the captain's armband for AC Milan set an important milestone last night.
The AC Milan captain appeared in his eighth European Cup final, matching the record of Francisco Gento - Real Madrid's legendary winger of the Fifties and Sixties.
This win proves that Kaka is the best player in the world.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
