Amazing scenery of China’s Huangshan Mountain, UNESCO cultural and natural heritage

Amazing scenery of Huangshan Mountain

（China.org.cn）  14:32, June 03, 2013

Huangshan Mountain, listed as a UNESCO cultural and natural heritage and World Geopark, boasts of spectacular landscapes thick with vegetation and lofty peaks. The 154-square-kilometer sight-seeing area possesses four unique scenes: peculiarly shaped granite rocks, waterfalls, pine trees and views of the clouds from above. The Flying over Rock, the Stone Monkey Gazing over the Sea of Clouds, the Brush pen-liked Rock and many other renowned scenic spots attract streams of visitors to the marvelous mountain every day. (China.org.cn)

How to attract long-term investors: An interview with M&G’s Aled Smith

How to attract long-term investors: An interview with M&G’s Aled Smith

The award-winning fund manager discusses what he looks for in a company when he’s making investment decisions.

June 2013 | byMarc Goedhart and Tim Koller

Executives overburdened by the demands of their companies’ short-term investors may yearn for a more supportive crowd that might be less skittish about volatility. Such investors would base their decisions on a deeper understanding of a company’s strategy, performance, and potential to create long-term value—and would not pressure a company for short-term gains at the expense of greater long-term growth.¹ Attracting such investors can prove something of a challenge. Certainly, executives are often highly coached when they talk about their strategy and objectives, and have extensive information about potential investors and their style and approach to investing. Too often, though, those messaging cues come from sell-side analysts, who may have a shorter-term agenda. So says Aled Smith, who manages the Global Leaders Fund and the American Fund at M&G Investments, based in London.² Smith recently joined Marc Goedhart and Tim Koller in McKinsey’s London office for this wide-ranging interview on what he looks for in potential investments for his portfolios. Read more of this post

Parents pray for students at Confucian temple before Gaokao, China’s SAT

Parents pray for students at Confucian temple before Gaokao

（People’s Daily Online）  13:19, June 05, 2013

Every year before Gaokao, loads of students accompanied by their parents come and pray at Confucian temple.

Chinese Officials stamps on man’s head and another reeked of alcohol while carrying out a campaign against street vendors and traders

Officials suspended for stamping on man’s head

2013-06-04 23:31:56 GMT2013-06-05 07:31:56(Beijing Time)  Shanghai Daily

Police in Yan’an City are investigating reports that an urban management official trampled on the head of a bicycle dealer and another reeked of alcohol while carrying out a campaign against illegal street vendors and traders. Officials at the scene and their supervisors, eight in total, have been suspended, according to the Yan’an urban management bureau. Last Friday, seven people got off a minivan which had “urban management law enforcement” painted on it, and carried away several bicycles lined up in front of a store in the city in northwestern Shaanxi Province. That led to a brawl during which the owner of the bicycle shop, a person surnamed Liu, was stamped on the head by an official, witnesses said. Video posted online showed a man in yellow, said to be Liu, and several uniformed men locked in a war of words as Liu held back the bicycles. The quarrel escalated into a free-for-all. Two officials kicked and beat Liu who fell to the ground. One official can be seen jumping on his head and shoulder. At the end of the clip Liu walks away, bleeding profusely. A police car can also be seen passing by in the video without stopping. The local district police refused to give any details as a probe was underway. The bicycle store owner was twice warned by law enforcement officials not to put the bicycles outside the store. Officials again found the bicycles parked outside last Friday, said Duan Yuting, deputy head of the local urban management supervising detachment. Officials seized the bicycles, said Duan. He had no comment over the “stamping” issue.

Panera Bread chief Ron Shaich on staying recharged and why the company opened pay-what-you-can cafes

June 4, 2013, 8:02 p.m. ET

A New Test for Panera’s Pay-What-You-Can

By ANNIE GASPARRO

Panera Bread Co. chief Ron Shaich on staying recharged and why the company opened pay-what-you-can cafes.

The fast-casual dining segment is getting crowded. While chains like Panera BreadCo. PNRA -0.64% and Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. CMG -0.12% continue to log rapid expansion, even fast-food operators like Wendy’s are going upscale, adding items like flatbread sandwiches and remodeling their interiors.

Bakery-cafe chain Panera Bread, based in a St. Louis suburb, rang up a 28% increase in profit for fiscal 2012, outpacing the sector as a whole, but the company’s customer-traffic growth slowed in the first quarter. Read more of this post