Thai Army Chief Urges Public to Ignore Rumors of a Coup

Thai Army Chief Urges Public to Ignore Rumors of a Coup

Thailand’s army chief urged the public not to believe rumors of a possible coup, saying the movement of military hardware into Bangkok was for an annual parade and not to oust Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra. Read more of this post

Thai Anti-Graft Panel to Charge Hundreds of MPs

Thai Anti-Graft Panel to Charge Hundreds of MPs

By Agence France-Presse on 7:26 pm January 7, 2014.
streets of Bangkok to drum up support for a campaign to ‘shut down’ the capital beginning on Jan. 13, 2014. (EPA Photo/Narong Sangnak)

Bangkok. Thailand’s anti-graft panel said on Tuesday it would press charges against hundreds of politicians, mostly from the party of embattled Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, over a failed attempt to amend the constitution. Read more of this post

In Thailand, Politics Includes the Spirit World

In Thailand, Politics Includes the Spirit World

Politicians, Supporters Turn to Sorcery to Gain Edge

JAMES HOOKWAY

Jan. 9, 2014 10:30 p.m. ET

Political players in Thailand are trying to give themselves a supernatural edge on the competition. WSJ’s James Hookway reports from Bangkok.

BANGKOK—In Thailand, politics goes beyond life and death to include the spirit world, too. Kittichai Saisa-ard isn’t leaving much to chance in his quest to topple Thailand’s government. Looking around the fortified protest camp outside Bangkok’s government headquarters where this graying 52-year-old serves as security chief, he ticks off the supplies he needs to continue the monthslong campaign. Read more of this post

Few Thai children want to become politicians

Few Thai children want to become politicians

Friday, January 10, 2014 – 09:55

The Nation/Asia News Network

THAILAND – Most children in Thailand do not want to become politicians when they grow up because they say it is too much hard work and that politicians have the loathsome habit of quarrelling with one another, a Suan Dusit opinion poll showed yesterday. It was released to mark Children’s Day tomorrow. Read more of this post

Coup-Prone Thailand Looks to Army Chief to Break Deadlock

Coup-Prone Thailand Looks to Army Chief to Break Deadlock

By Amy Sawitta Lefevre on 12:09 pm January 11, 2014.
Bangkok. Standing inside one of Bangkok’s many military bases is a giant poster of Thai army chief Prayuth Chan-ocha in full dress uniform, along with a list of attributes. “Intelligent,” reads the poster. “Knowledgeable. Modern. Visionary.” Read more of this post

Singapore to Double Changi Airport Capacity as Demand Increases

Singapore to Double Changi Airport Capacity as Demand Increases

Singapore plans to almost double the capacity of its airport over the next decade with two terminals as the economic growth in the Asia-Pacific region makes it more affordable for people to travel by air. Read more of this post

Singapore May Step Up Money Laundering, Terror Finance Rules

Singapore May Step Up Money Laundering, Terror Finance Rules

The Monetary Authority of Singapore may step up regulations to curb money laundering and terrorism financing risks posed by remittance agents, money changers and some Internet-based payment systems. Read more of this post

Singapore looks to curb hiring of expats

Singapore looks to curb hiring of expats

LUBNA KABLY, TNN | Jan 10, 2014, 02.11AM IST

MUMBAI: Singapore has joined the bandwagon of protectionist regimes when it comes to employment of foreign workforce. A revised monthly salary structure for expats has already kicked in. Further, from August, those wishing to hire expats will need to first advertise for local (Singaporean) employees. Read more of this post

OCBC-Wing Hang Talks Evoke Memories of DBS Foray: Southeast Asia

OCBC-Wing Hang Talks Evoke Memories of DBS Foray: Southeast Asia

Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp. (OCBC)’s talks to buy Wing Hang Bank Ltd. are reminding investors of the decade of writedowns DBS Group Holdings Ltd. went through to integrate its purchase of a Hong Kong-based lender. Read more of this post

Independent body for listing mulled; Public consultation on SGX market regulation review expected soon

PUBLISHED JANUARY 09, 2014

Independent body for listing mulled

Public consultation on SGX market regulation review expected soon

KENNETH LIM KENLIM@SPH.COM.SG

The proposals are also expected to look into the possibility of strengthening the sanctioning powers of SGX, including the way companies are queried on unusual trading activity in their shares – PHOTO: REUTERS

[SINGAPORE] An independent listing committee, tighter listing standards and stronger enforcement powers for the Singapore Exchange (SGX) are among the ideas that regulators are exploring in the wake of last October’s penny stock selloff, market sources say. Read more of this post

Goldman Sachs Denies Singapore Stock Dump, Countersues

Goldman Sachs Denies Singapore Stock Dump, Countersues

A Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) unit denied dumping a Singapore private wealth client’s shares it held as collateral and said it’s still owed money.

Quah Su Ling sued Goldman Sachs International in London, accusing it of breach of contract for selling her shares in Blumont Group Ltd., Asiasons Capital Ltd. (ACAP) and LionGold Corp. and depressing their prices. Goldman Sachs International countersued for $12.3 million it says it’s still owed. Read more of this post

BMW at $213,000 Is Singapore Way to Encourage Train Rides

BMW at $213,000 Is Singapore Way to Encourage Train Rides

Singapore will stick to a licensing system that has made it one of the world’s most expensive places to buy a car, limiting vehicle ownership to encourage more people to use public transport. Read more of this post

World’s biggest money manager cuts funds to M’sia because other regional markets lucrative

Updated: Friday January 10, 2014 MYT 9:13:49 AM

World’s biggest money manager cuts funds to M’sia because other regional markets lucrative

BY CHOONG EN HAN AND INTAN FARHANA ZAINUL

“There’s a lot of very cheap markets in the region where I’ve increased the fund allocation, and some of this money would also be allocated to other markets in North Asia,” BlackRock’s director and portfolio manager of Asian equities Joshua Crabb said. “The better the market has done, the higher the possibility of me trimming that position,” he added. Read more of this post

Lion Corp Bhd chairman and managing director Tan Sri William Cheng has backed out of an offer to acquire the group’s entire debt notes for RM246mil

Updated: Thursday January 9, 2014 MYT 9:16:08 AM

Chairman backs out of deal to acquire Lion Corp’s debt for RM246mil

The statement said: “He will be reviewing terms for a renewed offer for the proposed acquisition of the Lion Corp bonds, debts and redeemable convertible secured loan stocks (RCSLS)….”” Read more of this post

Is Malaysia in middle-income trap?

Updated: Saturday January 11, 2014 MYT 8:19:01 AM

Is Malaysia in middle-income trap?

BY CECILIA KOK

THE next six years will be a crucial period for Malaysia, as it strives to break out of the middle-income rank to become what World Bank would categorise as a “high-income nation”. Read more of this post

Having impressive buildings with well-manicured lawns to house the enforcement agencies is simply not enough; useless are the numerous committees we have set up to oversee the many departments and processes of our great bureaucracy

Updated: Friday January 3, 2014 MYT 8:31:50 AM

Corruption – a thing of the past?

BY DATUK ZAID IBRAHIM

The Prime Minister has taken unprecedented steps to tackle the scourge, and the public can do their part as whistleblowers.

PRIME Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak has declared war on corruption. In September 2013, Bernama reported him as saying in San Francisco that he wanted to make corruption part of Malaysia’s past and that it had no place in our future. Read more of this post

Datuk Bill Ch’ng Chong Poh, former CEO of property firm Malaysia Pacific Corp Bhd, has been charged with 58 counts of insider trading in the company’s shares between May 14, 2008 and August 20, 2008

Updated: Saturday January 11, 2014 MYT 6:56:30 AM

Ch’ng charged with insider trading

PETALING JAYA: Datuk Bill Ch’ng Chong Poh (pic), former chief executive officer (CEO) of property firm Malaysia Pacific Corp Bhd, has been charged with 58 counts of insider trading in the company’s shares between May 14, 2008 and August 20, 2008. The Securities Commission said in a press release that the charges preferred against Ch’ng were for offences under Section 188(2) of the Capital Markets and Services Act 2007.

Read more of this post

Big news for small wallets; Malaysians of the Year 2014 will be the working class who survive the price hikes

Updated: Monday January 6, 2014 MYT 7:36:49 AM

Big news for small wallets

BY PHILIP GOLINGAI

The issue is unavoidable. Everybody is talking about the various price hikes. And the joke is that the only thing that is not going up is our salary.

SIX days into the new year and it is obvious that the newsmaker for 2014 will be …(drum roll, please)… price hikes! Barring any major sex video scandal or street protests, price hike stories will top the news this year. Read more of this post

The Business of Magazines: Vanity Fair and Fortune Reverse Roles

THE BUSINESS OF MAGAZINES: VANITY FAIR AND FORTUNE REVERSE ROLES

by Eric Starkman

January 7, 2014

Sheryl Sandberg and Marissa Mayer, respectively the COO and CEO of Facebook and Yahoo!, certainly get a lot of media attention. While I admire their professional success, PR savvy, and ability to mesmerize experienced reporters to a near- hypnotic state, their neatly packaged narratives are a tad overly manufactured to me. Articles about Sandberg inevitably speak to her sensitive, compassionate side –“look, she even cries at meetings!” – while Mayer is repeatedly portrayed as a nose-to-the-grindstone executive whose departure from Google was a major loss for that company. I’ve never met, much less worked, with either executive so I don’t have any first-hand insights on their business acumen or leadership talent. That said, I’ve been around long enough to be more than a little skeptical about the constant editorial fawning. Read more of this post

World’s Biggest Wealth Fund Sees Backing to Expand Investments

World’s Biggest Wealth Fund Sees Backing to Expand Investments

Norway’s $820 billion sovereign wealth fund, the world’s largest, is closer to getting the go ahead to expand into more asset classes as it struggles to meet return targets. Investing in pipelines, roads and other infrastructure would be a good fit for the wealth fund as the government considers ways to get more out of the investor, Prime Minister Erna Solberg said yesterday in an interview in Oslo. Read more of this post

With a single bill, Israel is looking to revamp its economy and hopefully reduce income inequality, showing that a democracy can achieve change

JANUARY 7, 2014, 4:54 PM

Overhaul of Israel’s Economy Offers Lessons for United States

By STEVEN DAVIDOFF

Americans may talk about income inequality, but Israel has done something about it. The Israeli parliament, the Knesset, has voted to break up the country’s corporate conglomerates. The move followed mass protests in 2011 over the concentration of wealth in Israel. Read more of this post

When Does A Bubble Spell Trouble?

Jan 10, 2014

When Does A Bubble Spell Trouble?

JASON ZWEIG

The minutes of the latest Federal Reserve policy meeting, released this past week, show that central bankers have been worrying that the financial markets might turn into a bubble — the term for a perilously overvalued situation that can burst without warning or mercy. Read more of this post

Watch out for investment banana skins in 2014

January 10, 2014 7:16 pm

Watch out for investment banana skins in 2014

By Jonathan Eley

FT Money this week held another investor round table, bringing strategists and managers of retail and institutional money together with some of the newspaper’s own well-known columnists. What follows is an edited transcript of the discussion, which took place on Thursday. Read more of this post

Wall St. Shock: Take a Day Off, Even a Sunday

JANUARY 10, 2014, 9:45 PM

Wall St. Shock: Take a Day Off, Even a Sunday

By WILLIAM ALDEN and SYDNEY EMBER

For the ambitious college graduates who flock to Wall Street, working into the wee hours or even pulling all-nighters is an unwritten expectation of the job. Spending both Saturdays and Sundays at the office is the norm. Read more of this post

The Vicious Circle of Income Inequality

The Vicious Circle of Income Inequality

JAN. 11, 2014

By ROBERT H. FRANK

Almost every culture has some variation on the saying, “rags to rags in three generations.” Whether it’s “clogs to clogs” or “rice paddy to rice paddy,” the message is essentially the same: Starting with nothing, the first generation builds a successful enterprise, which its profligate offspring then manage poorly, so that by the time the grandchildren take over, little value remains. Read more of this post

The Edifice Complex Driving Turkey’s Scandal

The Edifice Complex Driving Turkey’s Scandal

By Mehul Srivastava and Benjamin Harvey January 09, 2014

An hour’s drive north of Istanbul, two giant concrete towers flank the Bosporus, one in Asia, the other in Europe. By 2015 a $2.5 billion suspension bridge will hang between the towers, which will reach 322 meters (1,056 feet). Nearby, a Manhattan-size swath of forest is being readied for a $14 billion airport, one of the world’s largest. Read more of this post