Why the Nate Silvers of the World Don’t Know Everything; Smart organizations cannot live by data alone

January 12, 2014 Leave a comment

Why the Nate Silvers of the World Don’t Know Everything

BY FELIX SALMON

01.07.14

By now, nearly everyone from the president of the United States on down has admit­ted that the National Security Agency went too far. Documents leaked by Edward Snowden, the rogue NSA contractor who has since gained asylum in Rus­sia, paint a picture of an organization with access to seemingly every word typed or spoken on any electronic device, anywhere in the world. And when news of the NSA’s reach became public—as it was surely bound to do at some point—the entire US intelli­gence apparatus was thrust into what The New York Times recently called a “crisis of purpose and legitimacy.” Read more of this post

Filed under TMT Trends

Why We Binge-Watch Television

January 12, 2014 Leave a comment

Why We Binge-Watch Television

As a society, we’re more distracted than ever. So how is it that streaming hours of complicated TV dramas at a time is becoming our preferred method of watching television?

We correspond with each other in 140-character bursts. We consume news in sound bites and blog posts. We’re, by all accounts, an increasingly distracted society, with the attention span of a house fly sipping on Red Bull in a room lit by a strobe light while dubstep plays. Knowing that, it makes absolutely no sense that we are also a society that enjoys binge-watching TV. Read more of this post

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Why We Don’t Trust Technology Companies; Tech companies promise the world, but how do we know that we’re not the ones being sold out?

January 12, 2014 Leave a comment

Why We Don’t Trust Technology Companies

Tech companies promise the world, but how do we know that we’re not the ones being sold out?

By David Pogue  | Tuesday, January 7, 2014 | 6

Last October, T-Mobile made an astonishing announcement: from now on, when you travel internationally with a T-Mobile phone, you get free unlimited text messages and Internet use. Phone calls to any country are 20 cents a minute. Read more of this post

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Will Amazon evolve into the biggest retailer in the world?

January 12, 2014 Leave a comment

Will Amazon evolve into the biggest retailer in the world?

Some analysts argue Amazon is effectively trying to “own” the internet, while also taking steps towards the high street

By Katherine Rushton

5:00PM GMT 11 Jan 2014

Jeff Bezos’s 2014 did not get off to a good start. Last week, the Amazon founder, who turns 50 today, had his cruise of Ecuador’s Galapagos Islands interrupted by a bad case of kidney stones. He had to be whisked home to America to recover. Read more of this post

Filed under TMT Trends

Zankyou, a Wedding Registry That Speaks Your Language; Zankyou brought in €1.5 million in 2013 as demand for international wedding services grows

January 12, 2014 Leave a comment

Zankyou, a Wedding Registry That Speaks Your Language

By Manuel Baigorri January 09, 2014

It started with a hike in the Alps. On their way up Mont Dolent, near the borders of Italy, Switzerland, and France, management consultants Guillermo Fernández and Javier Calleja spent much of their time talking about the trouble Fernández had planning his wedding. The Spaniard’s wife is from France, and the couple had to set up multiple wedding registries to accommodate the guests and sort through cards and gifts sent in several languages and currencies. Calleja could sympathize: He was soon to marry a woman from Canada. There were plenty of websites available to help, but their translations were typically bad, if they offered them at all. “We spotted a niche,” says Fernández. Read more of this post

Filed under TMT Trends

Facebook has acquired Little Eye Labs, a little known Indian startup that analyzes data, in a move tipped to strengthen its mobile services globally.

January 12, 2014 Leave a comment

Jan 8, 2014

Facebook Buys Indian Startup

R. JAI KRISHNA

Facebook Inc.FB +1.26% has acquired Little Eye Labs, a little known Indian startup that analyzes data, in a move tipped to strengthen its mobile services globally.

Read more of this post

Filed under TMT Trends

CyberAgent Ventures puts funding into Vietnamese e-commerce solutions startup DKT

January 12, 2014 Leave a comment

CyberAgent Ventures puts funding into Vietnamese e-commerce solutions startup DKT

January 9, 2014

by Anh-Minh Do

E-commerce continues to be one of Vietnam’s hottest industries as 2014 rolls around. CyberAgent Ventures is announcing an undisclosed round of funding for DKT, an e-commerce solutions company. Read more of this post

Filed under TMT Trends

Vietnam Grapples with Fraud Risk in State Firm Clean-Up

January 12, 2014 Leave a comment

Vietnam Grapples with Fraud Risk in State Firm Clean-Up

Vietnam is seeking to deter fraud as it considers a plan that allows state-owned enterprises to sell stakes below book value, part of efforts to accelerate a cleanup of the sector and regain investor confidence. Read more of this post

Filed under Macro Trends

Over 400 Vietnam state-owned firms dissolved or bankrupt in 2013

January 12, 2014 Leave a comment

Over 400 Vietnam state-owned firms dissolved or bankrupt in 2013

Viet Nam News/ANN, Hanoi | Business | Wed, January 08 2014, 1:10 PM

More than 400 state-owned enterprises (SOEs) in Vietnam declared bankruptcy or were dissolved last year, according to the Ministry of Finance. A report from the ministry said that around 6,400 units last year across the country were restructured, of which 3,659 businesses were recapitalised, while 1,022 companies were restructured into one-member limited companies. Another 380 companies put themselves up for sale. Read more of this post

Filed under Macro Trends

Top Thai Stock Picker Joins Aberdeen as Buyer

January 12, 2014 Leave a comment

Top Thai Stock Picker Joins Aberdeen as Buyer

Thailand’s top-performing equity fund manager, who sold shares from October amid anti-government protests, now sees buying opportunities after valuations dropped to the lowest level in 18 months. Read more of this post

Filed under Macro Trends

Thai Army Chief Urges Public to Ignore Rumors of a Coup

January 12, 2014 Leave a comment

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

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Thai Anti-Graft Panel to Charge Hundreds of MPs

January 12, 2014 Leave a comment

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

Filed under Macro Trends

In Thailand, Politics Includes the Spirit World

January 12, 2014 Leave a comment

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

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Few Thai children want to become politicians

January 12, 2014 Leave a comment

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

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Coup-Prone Thailand Looks to Army Chief to Break Deadlock

January 12, 2014 Leave a comment

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

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“With ‘kreng jai’ or the ‘power distance’ culture in Thai corporate hierarchies, executives have to create a role for their Thai staff that will allow them to be ‘assertive’ comfortably”

January 12, 2014 Leave a comment

Cross-cultural guru offers tips to Thai and foreign expats in diversity management

Pichaya Changsorn
The Nation January 8, 2014 1:00 am

Globalisation presents enormous opportunities for firms to capture but their executives need to be trained well to reap the benefits and prepare for more cross-border competition. Read more of this post

Filed under Life

Singapore to Double Changi Airport Capacity as Demand Increases

January 12, 2014 Leave a comment

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

Filed under Macro Trends

Singapore May Step Up Money Laundering, Terror Finance Rules

January 12, 2014 Leave a comment

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

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Singapore looks to curb hiring of expats

January 12, 2014 Leave a comment

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

Filed under Macro Trends

Singapore hospitals facing severe bed crunch take unusual steps; Patients being housed in tent and corridors, or sent to other hospitals

January 12, 2014 Leave a comment

Hospitals facing severe bed crunch take unusual steps

Patients being housed in tent and corridors, or sent to other hospitals

Published on Jan 08, 2014
By Salma Khalik, Senior Health Correspondent

ST_20140108_SKCRUNCH08_3990008e

Changi General Hospital started housing patients waiting for beds in this large air-conditioned tent this week. The 800-bed CGH, along with Tan Tock Seng and Khoo Teck Puat hospitals, has resorted to sending patients to  Alexandra, one of the few public hospitals here with spare beds. Health Minister Gan Kim Yong said last night  that he was aware of the problem – hence, the push to add 1,900 more acute hospital beds and 2,600 community hospital beds by 2020. — ST PHOTO: DESMOND FOO

A severe bed crunch at Singapore’s public hospitals has forced several of them into taking some extraordinary measures. Changi General Hospital (CGH), which has 800 beds, started housing patients waiting for beds in a large air-conditioned tent this week. Read more of this post

Filed under Health, Macro Trends

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

January 12, 2014 Leave a comment

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

Filed under Macro Trends

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

January 12, 2014 Leave a comment

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

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Goldman Sachs Denies Singapore Stock Dump, Countersues

January 12, 2014 Leave a comment

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

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

January 12, 2014 Leave a comment

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

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

January 12, 2014 Leave a comment

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

Filed under Macro Trends

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

January 12, 2014 2 Comments

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

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

williamchenglionb3n

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

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Is Malaysia in middle-income trap?

January 12, 2014 Leave a comment

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

Is Malaysia in middle-income trap?

BY CECILIA KOK

bizd_ach_1101_relative growth performancePDF bizd_ach_1101_TFPPDF

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

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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

January 12, 2014 Leave a comment

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

Filed under Macro Trends

Depending on one’s background, people have exhibited varying reactions to the recent increase in living costs in Malaysia

January 12, 2014 Leave a comment

Updated: Sunday January 12, 2014 MYT 6:52:54 AM

Same species, different views

BY SOO EWE JIN

Depending on one’s background, people have exhibited varying reactions to the recent increase in living costs.

I WAS at a restaurant for lunch and the menu came with a note stating the prices of all dishes would be raised by RM1 (small), RM2 (medium) and RM3 (large) because of the increase in material costs. Read more of this post

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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

January 12, 2014 Leave a comment

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

Ch’ng charged with insider trading

bizd_pc_1101_p5

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

Filed under Macro Trends

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