Thailand blocks site for video of princess topless

Thailand blocks site for video of princess topless

Thursday, May 29, 2014 – 03:00

The New Paper

Thailand’s military junta has blocked the UK’s MailOnline after the site revealed a video of Thailand’s Crown Prince and his wife, Princess Srirasmi, partying.

The video appears to show the allegedly topless princess, a former waitress, in a tiny G-string as she feeds her pet dog cake to celebrate its birthday. Read more of this post

Option B: The blueprint for Thailand’s coup

Option B: The blueprint for Thailand’s coup

6:58am EDT

By Amy Sawitta Lefevre and Aubrey Belford

BANGKOK/CHIANG MAI Thailand (Reuters) – On Dec. 27 last year, Thailand’s powerful army chief stood before a crowded news conference and stunned the beleaguered government of Yingluck Shinawatra by saying he would not rule out military intervention to resolve a deteriorating political crisis. General Prayuth Chan-ocha said “the door was neither open nor closed” when he was asked whether a coup would happen. “Anything can happen.” Read more of this post

Myanmar opposition defies warning to push charter change

Myanmar opposition defies warning to push charter change

Wednesday, May 28, 2014 – 21:37

AFP

YANGON – Aung San Suu Kyi’s opposition party has launched a petition seeking changes to Myanmar’s military-drafted constitution despite warnings from electoral officials, a party spokesman said Wednesday. Read more of this post

Stumbling Thai economy lends urgency to junta’s revival efforts; Thai coup: Sweep the house – then return it to rightful owners quickly

Stumbling Thai economy lends urgency to junta’s revival efforts

6:32am EDT

By Aukkarapon Niyomyat and Orathai Sriring

BANGKOK (Reuters) – Private investment and consumption remained stagnant in Thailand in the run-up to this month’s military coup, further evidence of a stumbling economy that will lend urgency to the junta’s efforts to get the country working again.

Southeast Asia’s second-biggest economy has been battered by political turmoil since late last year, when protesters backed by the royalist establishment launched a bid to oust the populist government of Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra. Read more of this post

Hong Kong to Relay Concern to China over Auditing Ban Proposal

Hong Kong to Relay Concern to China over Auditing Ban Proposal

HONG KONG (MAY 29, 2014)

BY AIPENG SOO

(Bloomberg) The Hong Kong government plans to meet Chinese officials to discuss concerns over a proposal to ban foreign accounting firms without a mainland partner from auditing Chinese companies planning to list overseas. Read more of this post

China’s Housing Bubble Desperation In Six Words: “Buy One Floor, Get One Free”

China’s Housing Bubble Desperation In Six Words: “Buy One Floor, Get One Free”

Tyler Durden on 05/29/2014 22:00 -0400

Having gone from the sublime (zero-money-down mortgages for Chinese homes) to the ridiculous (when China’s largst property developer says “the period in which everybody makes money out of property is gone,”) the latest desperate act of a dying Chinese property bubble is stunning. As WSJ reports, Season Joy City (a remote suburb of Beijing) offers not only a party bag of bonuses to lure potential buyers; but the development’s big selling point is “buy one floor, get one free.” The government’s reluctance to bail the nation out may soon be tested as Barclays notes “this downturn is more serious than in 2008.” Read more of this post

Mementos of triumphs make a return to bankers’ desks

May 29, 2014 5:08 pm

Mementos of triumphs make a return to bankers’ desks

By Emma Jacobs

When Lehman Brothers collapsed, Jessica Lindroos watched from her Canary Wharf office as redundant bankers left their building carrying boxes loaded with personal detritus. “It was a difficult time,” she says.

For The Corporate Presence, where Ms Lindroos works, the bank’s bankruptcy was particularly gloomy. TCP makes deal toys, also known as Lucites and tombstones, commissioned by banks to mark the closure of a corporate deal and sit on a desk or an office shelf. The design will include relevant corporate logos and may reflect the nature of the deal. A TCP Lucite for the Twitter deal featured the blue bird logo in a birdcage. Read more of this post

The head of the City regulator has warned financial services firms that his organisation will not allow simplified advice for individual investors to turn into the next mis-selling scandal

May 29, 2014 4:24 pm

Simplified advice won’t become mis-selling, vows regulator

By Emma Dunkley

The head of the City regulator has warned financial services firms that his organisation will not allow simplified advice for individual investors to turn into the next mis-selling scandal.

Martin Wheatley, chief executive of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), told a Bloomberg conference that the regulator will provide guidance to financial firms helping clarify the boundaries between investment products sold with advice, and those sold with just guidance. Read more of this post

Tranquil markets are enjoying too much of a good thing; After years of monetary experiments, central banks will do ‘whatever it takes’

May 29, 2014 5:16 pm

Tranquil markets are enjoying too much of a good thing

By Gillian Tett

After years of monetary experiments, central banks will do ‘whatever it takes’

Something peculiar is happening in western capital markets. This month almost every measure of volatility has tumbled to unusually low levels. If you look at the degree of actual (or “realised”) price swings – and projected (or “implied”) future movements – investors are behaving as if the world is utterly boring. Read more of this post

Unscrambling Data to Keep Politicians Honest

May 29, 2014

Unscrambling Data to Keep Politicians Honest

ADITI MALHOTRA

Numbers about growth, development, inflation, corruption were going to be used by politicians to build cases against their rivals and bring credit to themselves. This was a crucial time to fact-check the statistics being churned out, said Govindraj Ethiraj, the founder of IndiaSpend.com, a Mumbai-based nonprofit dedicated to data-driven journalism. Read more of this post

China’s Game of Real-Estate Chicken: Who Will Blink First: Buyers, Developers or the Government?

China’s Game of Real-Estate Chicken

Who Will Blink First: Buyers, Developers or the Government?

WEI GU

May 29, 2014 3:38 p.m. ET

The main question in China’s housing downturn: Who will blink first?

Whether buyers, developers or the government, it will say a lot about how China manages what is looking like a serious bust. Read more of this post

India’s Millionaire Tribe Set to Soar

May 29, 2014

India’s Millionaire Tribe Set to Soar

SAPTARISHI DUTTA

While India is home to some of the poorest communities in the world it is also home to thousands of new dollar millionaires.

The number of people in the south Asian nation worth at least seven figures grew to 248,000 last year, according to a report this week by WealthInsight, a company which tracks the world’s rich. That is up from 193,000 millionaires in 2009, the report said. Read more of this post

Thailand’s Generals in a Corner; Rule by fear risks repeating the darkest hours of Thai history

Thailand’s Generals in a Corner

Rule by fear risks repeating the darkest hours of Thai history.

May 29, 2014 12:39 p.m. ET

The military coup in Bangkok is getting nastier by the day, as the army continues preemptively to lock up academics, journalists and opposition politicians. At least 250 people have been detained since last week, although perhaps half have since been released and spokesmen say the remainder are being treated well. Read more of this post

America must always lead on world stage, because no one else will

America must always lead on world stage, because no one else will

President Barack Obama articulated his vision of America’s role in the world on Wednesday, telling graduating cadets at the United States Military Academy that the nation they were being called to serve would seek to avoid military misadventures abroad, while it confronts a new set of terrorist threats from the Middle East to Africa. Below is an excerpt of his commencement speech at West Point.

Read more of this post

Infosys Shock Spurs 9,400% Gain in Near-Worthless Options

Infosys Shock Spurs 9,400% Gain in Near-Worthless Options

Read more of this post

500 Largest Hedge Fund Managers Control 90% Of AUM

500 Largest Hedge Fund Managers Control 90% Of AUM

by VW StaffMay 29, 2014, 10:18 am

Preqin Research highlights the 505 hedge fund managers with more than $1bn in AUM currently manage $2.39tn of the industry’s $2.66tn total assets, but account for just 11% of active firms.

The “$1bn Club” of the largest hedge fund managers represents just under 11% of the 4,621 active managers worldwide. New York is the undoubted home of this “$1bn Club”, with 174 of these firms headquartered there representing a total of $938bn in AUM. The May 2014 edition of Preqin’s Hedge Fund Spotlight also shows the importance of investors allocating at least $1bn to hedge funds. There are currently 203 institutional investors in this “$1bn Club”, an increase of 46 from a similar study in May 2013, and these firms represent approximately $650bn in terms of combined capital allocated to hedge funds. Read more of this post

New revenue guidance: Six things to consider

New revenue guidance: Six things to consider

BY KEN TYSIAC

MAY 28, 2014

The release Wednesday of a long-awaited new revenue recognition standard had financial statement preparers settling in to read hundreds of pages of text, as standard setters celebrated the achievement of producing that text. Read more of this post

Almost half EU firms in China say “golden age” is over

Almost half EU firms in China say “golden age” is over

Thursday, May 29, 2014 – 18:06

Reuters

BEIJING – Foreign firms in China face a “sobering” business climate, a European lobby said on Thursday, as concerns over weaker profits and government support for domestic competitors have almost half EU companies saying the”golden age” is over. Read more of this post

Infosys running out of time to name new CEO as president quits

Infosys running out of time to name new CEO as president quits

4:30am EDT

By Nivedita Bhattacharjee and Sumeet Chatterjee

MUMBAI (Reuters) – India’s second largest IT services exporter Infosys Ltd is under pressure to bring in a new chief executive soon to check an exodus of junior staff and reassure investors after a slew of departures at the top. Read more of this post

The Thais must stand up to an overmighty military; For 60 years army rule has been the rule not the exception, writes Benjamin Zawacki

May 25, 2014 4:59 pm

The Thais must stand up to an overmighty military

By Benjamin Zawacki

For 60 years army rule has been the rule not the exception, writes Benjamin Zawacki

In the years between Thailand’s last coup in 2006 and the one staged last week, conventional wisdom held that the army had learnt too much to repeat itself. The economy took a rare, appreciable hit; supporters of deposed prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra mobilised and resisted; the US invoked automatic military and economic sanctions; and Thai leaders were embarrassed at regional and international gatherings. Read more of this post

For China’s Communist Party, Stability As Usual Isn’t Enough

May 26, 2014

For China’s Communist Party, Stability As Usual Isn’t Enough

By Russell Leigh Moses

Recent public protests in Hangzhou over plans for a large waste incinerator there show once again that some Chinese citizens are raising questions about the quality of government they’re getting.

And according to a critical commentary on Thursday in the Communist Party’s mouthpiece People’s Daily, the present policy of maintaining social stability at all costs isn’t providing the right answers.  Instead, it’s another wake-up call to cadres to connect with the masses to make better policy. Read more of this post

Decades-Long Reign for Ambassador Comes to an End; Hindustan Motors’ Aging Sedan, A Symbol of India’s Ascent, Rides Into the Sunset

Decades-Long Reign for Ambassador Comes to an End

Hindustan Motors’ Aging Sedan, A Symbol of India’s Ascent, Rides Into the Sunset

SANTANU CHOUDHURY

May 25, 2014 2:50 p.m. ET

NEW DELHI—The Hindustan Motors 500500.BY +19.82% Ambassador—the frozen-in-time four-door that for more than a half-century defined India as sticking to its own automotive road map—has ceased production. Read more of this post