your biggest worries?

Social explosion ahead in Russia?

A frustrated younger generation unable to get ahead spells possible crisis — like in the USSR’s final days

Charles Clover

" Russia needs more successful young entrepreneurs, therefore, governors should have more children!”

At first it may seem a non-sequitur.

But in Russia the joke is obvious, cutting to the heart of a growing source of discontent among the young:

Routes to professional success are fewer and fewer, while the offspring of top provincial officials and the like do well.

From Italy to the US, it’s utopia vs reality

These are dangerous times.

The US may be on the verge of making among the biggest and least-necessary financial mistakes in world history.

The euro zone might be on the verge of a fiscal-cum-financial crisis that destroys not just the solvency of important countries but even the currency union and, at worst, much of the European project.

In a rare appearance at the House of Commons on Wednesday, former British Prime Minister Gordon Brown broke his silence with a righteous fury, launching a sustained attack on Mr Rupert Murdoch’s newspapers and their actions.

As Prime Minister, he wanted a “full, judge-led inquiry” into phone hacking and the rest, as long ago as 2009, he said. Yet he was prevented from ordering such an inquiry by the police, the Home Office and the civil service, he claimed.

Mr Brown spoke out against the News Corp founder and his besieged clan, accusing them of systematic criminality, collusion with “the underworld” and the abuse of the vulnerable.

“In their behaviour towards those without a voice of their own, News International descended from the gutter to the sewer,” he declared, speaking for more than half an hour to a packed House of Commons. “The tragedy is that they let the rats out of the sewer.”

Journalists and others working for Mr Murdoch hacked into phones, “blagged” financial records, infiltrated email accounts, invaded privacy, violated trust and exploited grief, he said.

“Many, many wholly innocent men, women and children who at their darkest hour, at the most vulnerable moment of their lives, with no one and nowhere to turn, found their properly private lives, their private losses, their private sorrows, treated as the public property of News International,” he said.

“Their private and innermost feelings and their private tears were bought and sold by News International for commercial gain.”

Mr Brown and his family were among the victims, he said, referring to claims — strongly disputed — that

The Sun illegally accessed the medical records of his infant son. The Daily Telegraph‘News international descended from the gutter to the sewer’

The journalist who brought

down the

It’s a great story about the abuse of power.

The Guardian journalist Nick Davies

That’s what all journalists want to expose, isn’t it?News of the World

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — Now isn’t the time to launch a new round of economic stimulus, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said Thursday, just a day after telling lawmakers that such an option could be available.

“We are not prepared at this point to take further action,” Bernanke told the Senate Banking Committee, in the second of two days of testimony to Congress on monetary policy.

Bernanke’s clarification took all of the steam out of the stock market, with the S& P 500 /quotes/zigman/3870025 SPX -0.28% and other equity benchmarks sliding well into the red after having opened on a bullish note. Read more about U.S. stocks in Market Snapshot.

The top U.S. central banker said the Fed wants to see whether conditions improve in such a way that it would make its forecast of 3.5% economic growth over the next 18 months a realistic possibility.

THE FED | Expanded Fed coverage
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saw this down the road .... thought it may worth the time sharing

http://www.cxoadvisory.com/individual-gurus/doug-fabian/

its pretty old but have some insight on this fellow Doug Fabian

Cheer

ENLIGHTENMENT

andreytan ( Date: 14-Jul-2011 23:33) Posted:

MakingMoneyAlert.com | Fabian.com

Wednesday, July 13, 2011

In This Issue:
» NEW! Video Alert
» Worry? What Worry?
» Debt-Ceiling Deliberations and the Market
» Listen to the Mid-Year Teleseminar
» ETF Talk: Bonding with Emerging Markets
» No Monday Morning Blues Here
» On Debt and Slavery

By: Doug Fabian | Editor, Successful Investing | President, Fabian Wealth Strategies |

Worry? What Worry?

There's an often-used term that market commentators employ to describe how equities behave. They'll say that stocks are " climbing a wall of worry," meaning that the market continues to go up in the face of a host of looming negatives. I've seen this phenomenon take place countless times throughout my three-plus decades of market analysis. While there are definitely periods where worries abound, one truism in this business is that worry is always around the corner.

I recently discovered a great page from our friends over at Minyanville called Lloyd's Wall of Worry. Every week, Minyanville contributor Lloyd Khaner graphically depicts the major concerns in the marketplace that traders confront when making buying and selling decisions. Lloyd is a proponent of the " buy fear, sell cheer" philosophy, meaning that the more worry there is in the market, the better buying opportunity for investors.

Thai capital named 'World's Best City'

Thailand's capital Bangkok has been named the world's best city by influential US travel magazine Travel + Leisure.

Announced as part of its World's Best 2011 Awards issue to be published July 22, the prestigious title was awarded based on the votes of thousands of Travel + Leisure readers who voted for cities around the world.

It is the second year in a row that Bangkok has been named in the top spot, despite a period of civil unrest last year which did considerable damage to Thailand's international reputation as a tourism haven.

The only other Asian city to make an appearance in the top ten was Siem Reap, a major tourist attraction for many on the backpacking trail around South East Asia thanks to its proximity to the famous Angkor Wat temple.

Europe was the major winner in the list of best cities, with five of the top ten, while Africa, America and Australia each gained one place (full list below).

Among a ranking of the world's best islands also in the issue, Santorini in Greece managed to secure first place, moving up considerably from the sixth-place spot it held in last year's rankings.

The paradise island of Bali in Indonesia managed second-place position, but the real shock was the fall of the Galápagos Islands in Ecuador, which dropped from top spot to tenth place in the rankings.

Read the full rankings: http://www.travelandleisure.com/worldsbest/

World's Best Cities

1. Bangkok, Thailand
2. Florence, Italy
3. Rome, Italy
4. New York City, USA
5. Istanbul, Turkey
6. Cape Town, South Africa
7. Siem Reap, Cambodia
8. Sydney, Australia
9. Barcelona, Spain
10. Paris, France

World's Best Islands

1. Santorini, Greece
2. Bali, Indonesia
3. Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia, Canada
4. Boracay, Philippines
5. Great Barrier Reef Islands, Australia
6. Sicily, Italy
7. Big Island, Hawaii, USA
8. Kauai, Hawaii, USA
9. Maui, Hawaii, USA
10. Galápagos, Ecuador

Empty Wallets

The American Bankers Association warned us that more shoppers were falling behind on their credit card bills in the first quarter of 2011, reporting, " Bank card delinquencies rose 12 basis points to 3.40 percent of all accounts compared to the previous quarter, but remain well below the 15-year average (3.95 percent) and below where they stood one year ago at 3.88 percent of all accounts."

According to ABA Chief Economist James Chessen: " Rising gas and food prices took a big bite out of family budgets in the first quarter of 2011... With a slow-growing economy and weak job growth, there will continue to be financial stress that will make it hard for some people to pay their bills on time."

A recent Harris Poll noted 67% of American shoppers are cutting back at the mall and grocery store the poll listed the top ten ways respondents are trying to save money.

How is fare hike justified when ...

Letter from Wee Jun Jie Aaron

I am dismayed that the transport operators are seeking an increase in public transport fares, especially when these were adjusted last year. I am more appalled that SBS Transit and SMRT have applied for the maximum increase of 2.8 per cent for all rail and bus fares.

# SBS & SMRT should be nOn-prOfIt pUblIc Organisations #

“Uncontrollable” and “significant” costs pressures have been cited as reasons.

Yet SMRT’s and SBS Transit’s net profits last year stood at a healthy S$161.1 million and S$54.3 million respectively, despite a marginal drop of 0.6 per cent to 1.1 per cent.

Is it justifiable for them to seek a fare increase when fares have risen steadily since 2007, bar 2009 when fares were reduced slightly due to the recession?

I can understand that due to inflation and other factors, a business has to raise prices to maintain

With the sector facing a barrage of criticism due to common lapses, an increase now will not sit well with many Singaporeans, especially the low-income families and NSFs, many of whom spend about a quarter of their allowance on transport.

Operators have to ensure the system is better run before they think to raise prices.

For example, despite the SMRT declaring that trains arrive at 1-minute to 2.5-minute intervals during peak periods, often I see trains arriving at 5-minute intervals [# late rides should be FREE # like fAst fOOd ?].

This is especially so on the North-South line, where alternate trains leaving from Marina Bay terminate at Yishun instead of Jurong East, leaving many passengers having to alight and board the next train to continue their journey.

It means trains leaving Yishun are so packed that commuters at subsequent stops like Admiralty cannot board.

Buses do not fare much better, with certain services perpetually overcrowded or prone to delays during peak hours. SMRT may have invested in new buses, but have these resulted in better frequencies?

If not, I believe most commuters would rather take an older model bus but reach their destination quicker.

Unless the operators tackle these problems and prove to us the fare hike is justifiable, the authorities should not approve their request.their profit margin. However, since public transportation is a public good, the industry has to be better regulated such that the public does not feel exploited.

Playing God is good for the planet

We have the tech to save the world, but we must put aside doubts about nuclear energy, geo-engineering

Transport Minister says taxpayers, even those who do not take public transport, may end up paying more
Leong Wee Keat
weekeat@mediacorp.com.sg

Chief among these “downsides” is that “commuters and taxpayers — yes, even those who don’t take public transport — are likely to end up paying more, and possibly, for a poorer level of service over time”, Mr Lui added.
Mr Lui’s remarks on his Facebook page came a day after the WP reiterated its call for a National Transport Corporation.
The Transport Minister pointed out that, an entity that depends on Government funding and which operates on a cost-recovery basis, “would have little incentive to keep costs down”.

Comfort & SMRT had never kept COST DOWN ? ? ? ?
becAUse bus and MRT fares had been rIsIng nOn-stOp ? ? ? ?
wOrst stIll ! SERVICE LEVEL and drOpped to the vAlley ? ? ? ?

OFFICE HOLDERS are getting INDECENT LEVELS of SALARIES ? ? ? ?Singapore — The Workers’ Party’s (WP) suggestion to nationalise public transport “might seem like a very attractive idea” but it has “serious downsides” in reality, Transport Minister Lui Tuck Yew said yesterday.

go to msn.com

Make this my home page

Go Parisian for your beauty look

Steal these looks for your hot date

Saturday, May 21, 2011

Why property prices will fall ......soon(?)

I was watching at Robert Shiller's video on housing bubbles around the world. What strike me is the similarities in price rise and the subsequent bust among western countries. There were a few countries such as France where the govt intervened early to prevent a housing bubble that avoided much of the pain later. However, many other govts did not have the foresight and allowed the banks, developers and speculators to party on until the bubble burst and took the banking system down with it.

The charts above shows the 2nd bubble that occurred among countries with banking system intact after the financial crisis after the western housing bubble became deflated. If you compare the gradient of the price increase, the price increase in Singapore and Hong Kong is sharper that the price rise in all of the western countries on the left.

Late last year I met a housing agent who was promoting a new condo at the bus interchange. I was quite shock at the $1200 psf price for a condo quite far from the city. The agent said that housing prices will not drop in Singapore because more foreigners are coming. While it is true that the population expansion has lead to higher demand for housing, if you look at the chart on the right, housing prices also rose sharply in Australia and Hong Kong where there is no significant increase in population size and the govt there did not open the immigration floodgates. A second reason could be figured out from ex-Minister Mah's last set of cooling measures that include restriction on how much corporations can borrow to invest in property. Foreign speculators, both individuals and corporations looking for assets to buy in a low interest rate environment, added to the demand. There is a belief that cash rich Chinese restricted by China's property curbs, went to Hong Kong to buy causing prices there to shoot to the moon and some of the buying spilled into the Singapore housing market.

While there may be many factors associated with the current rise in property prices, there is only one factor that can hold up prices in the long term - rise in median income. Tharman has said that his goal is to increase median income by 30% in 10 years. Even if he miraculously achieve this goal in 5 years, the median income rise cannot support the current housing prices. The recent cooling measures have slowed the price increase and flatten prices in certain categories of housing. While it is hard to pin-point the peak of the market, there are downside risks that one should worry about. The high housing price has caused Singapore's competitiveness to fall as cost of living rose. The global economy does look too healthy with sovereign debt problems threatening to erupt into a new crisis ...and even if there is no severe economic crisis, inflation worries have led to govts tightening up and slowing growth.

Under the PAP govt, housing has become interlinked to retirement and a fall in housing prices will have an impact on Singaporena's ability to retire. Once prices rise too quickly, history shows there are few elegant painless solutions. We can learn fromn an earlier property bubble in 1996. The govt/MAS intervened too late and when the Asian crisis came along, the prices had a long way down to fall and that led widespread problems in the economy - at that time, Alan Greenspan still had many tricks in his bag to get the global economy out of the woods...3 rapid interest rate cuts and the global economy was back on its feet in 1999. However, we may not be so lucky the next time housing prices come down. As the cooling measures contain further gains in housing prices, this could be a market just waiting for something to happen. ....according some experts the debt levels due to property has already risen to dangerous levels:

Remember a while ago, Tharman went on CNA in a political forum with Gerald Giam and Vincent Wijeysingha plus other opposition members. When asked about the high housing cost, he said it still looked okay because the average debt servicing ratio of 28% of income is sustainable. However, if you watch the above video clip, this 28% is due purely to the articifially low interest rates we are seeing today and when interest rate rise this ratio will shoot up quickly. ...and problems can get very big very quickly.

Halimah Yacob: “unavoidable” that middle-aged degree holders end up driving taxis

December 31, 2009

Many Singapore workers who were retrenched during the global financial crisis last year are still unable to find a job which commensurate with their skills and qualifications.

Known as “under-employment”, it is becoming a major issue which NTUC will tackle in the coming year. Under-employment is said to be more common among older Professionals, Managers, Executives and Technicians (PMETs) who are the hardest hit during the economic downturn.

Halimah Yacob, Deputy Secretary-General, NTUC, said:

“He may be very qualified, very skilled, but the jobs that he wants to do and is willing to do is not available.

He ends up doing a job that does not make full capacity, productive use of his capabilities.

It also involves the case where jobs are not paying them the kind of salary or earning that they feel is commensurate with their qualifications and skills.”

Middle-aged degree-holders are hardest hit with some of them becoming taxi drivers when they lost their jobs during the economic downturn.

Madam Halimah said that this is unavoidable as with slow economic growth, job opportunities are limited.

Though the sluggish growth of the entire economy is a reason for under-employment, a key contributory factor is the relentless influx of cheap foreign workers into Singapore.

In the past, only highly qualified expats or blue collar workers are permitted to work in Singapore. In the past few years, foreign PMETs have flooded the Singapore labor market leading to intense competition with locals for jobs which can otherwise be taken up by them.

For example, IT engineers, assistant engineers and technicians are PMET positions which are now opened to foreigners leading to the stagnation of wages for Singapore workers.

Instead of encouraging companies to think of ways to increase their productivity and reduce their perennial reliance on cheap foreign labor, NTUC Secretary-General Lim Swee Say exhorted Singapore workers to be “cheaper, faster and better.”

With the cost of living going up, especially that of public housing, transport and utility bills, many ordinary Singaporeans are feeling the squee.

There are no independent trade unions in Singapore to fight for the rights and interests of Singapore workers.

The largest umbrella trade union NTUC is a pseudo-government organization which is always headed by a PAP minister. Mr Lim Swee Say is a minister in the Prime Minister’s Office while Madam Halimah Yacob is a PAP MP.

Neither is there any opposition in parliament to check on the ruling party’s pro-foreigner policy either. Singapore PMETs have no choice but to put up with the current situation.

Even taxi-drivers are now facing stiff competition from cheaper workers from China and Vietnam.

http://sgforums.com/forums/10/topics/386545

bodIes everywhere ? ? ? ?

DEAD

NAKED

DECOMPOSED

By Channel NewsAsia, Updated: 12/07/2011

Woman arrested over decomposed body found at Clementi

SINGAPORE: Police arrested a 36—year—old Singaporean woman on Monday night at East Coast Park in connection with the decomposed body found off Clementi Road last week.

Forensic tests have established the identity of the victim as 37—year—old Celine Ng Swee Peng.

It’s understood the victim knew the suspect.

Ng had been reported missing since May 26.

The suspect, who will be charged with murder on Wednesday, led police investigators to West Coast Park earlier on Tuesday to search for what is believed to be the victim’s personal belongings and to collect evidence.

— CNA/ck/ls

By Channel NewsAsia, Updated: 12/07/2011

Body of man found in Serangoon Reservoir

SCDF personnel (file picture)

SINGAPORE: The body of a man was retrieved from the Serangoon Reservoir on Tuesday.

It was spotted floating near Block 122, Sengkang East Way.

The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said it was alerted to the incident at 3.12pm.

A fire engine, two fire bikes and an ambulance were deployed to the scene.

Police have classified the case as unnatural death.

Investigations are ongoing.

National water agency PUB says the reservoir is currently undergoing desalting and the water there is not being used for water supply.

— CNA/ir

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your biggest worries?

Thai capital named 'World's Best City'

Saturday, May 21, 2011

Why property prices will fall ......soon(?)

Halimah Yacob: “unavoidable” that middle-aged degree holders end up driving taxis

Woman arrested over decomposed body found at Clementi

Body of man found in Serangoon Reservoir