Free Management and Business Resources

Top 10 Gold Reserve in 2010 (Tonnes)

noreply@blogger.com (mr. xp) — Sun, 20 Feb 2011 03:45:00 +0000

1. United States
8,133.5

2. Germany
3,401.8

3. IMF
2,846.7

4. Italy
2,451.8

5. France
2,435.4

6. China
1,054.1

7. Switzerland
1,040.1

8. Russia
775.2

9. Japan
765.2

10. Netherlands
612.5

Benefits of successfully implemented ISO 9001

noreply@blogger.com (mr. xp) — Sat, 19 Feb 2011 17:55:00 +0000

Ø Winning new customers
ISO certification matter when dealing with customers or sourcing vendors because it is well connected to quality management system, well documentation of process of building products and conform to global standard. As yourself, do you want to buy your raw material from an ISO 9000:9001 certified companies or a normal company? ISO certification served as a proof that the company is conform to standard and doing business with them is assured. By gaining ISO certification, we can have potential increase in customers’ confidence, customers’ retention and new customers. Some customers in high value industry such as petroleum, semiconductor, medical and aerospace requires ISO certification as a minimum qualifying requirement to deal with them.

Ø Global reach
Besides winning new customers domestically, gaining a new certification in ISO will qualify my organization to compete globally in international market. This is critical for certain countries that impose high trade barriers such as European Union. To be qualify entering the developed market, my organization need at least an ISO certification to assure the importer and the government that the products that manufactured by my organization are conforming to high European standards. Even as countries in the world progress, high standards are imposed to enter, their market and ISO certification is gaining more popularity around the world. By choosing to certify ISO there will be standardization of system because most countries in the world will adopt the same system. There is no need for prequalifying and reviewing each other different standards from different countries. An ISO is just like international accepted languages which can be understand from any countries in the world. It is associated with quality management system no matter it view from perspective of Malaysian, German, Chinese or American. Even the certification is originated from European, American and Japanese are also began to adopt the system in order to be able to export to European Union countries. Emerging new European nations such as Poland, Latvia, Romania, Bulgaria and Turkey with potential entry to European Union will impact to business world because the European Union market will be getting bigger in term of population market and buying power. No business would like to lose out in this new potential market for them to export.

In order to survive as said earlier, we need to expand to global market not just domestic market. European unified market and new emerging market such as India and China offers a good opportunity for our organization to grow even further. Therefore, qualifying ISO is the best benefits we can ever achieve because it opens new windows to the new market for semiconductor business of my organization. Important things is the fact that ISO is the world most widely adopted quality standard compare to any other certification whether from United States or Japan.

Ø Save qualifying time and cost
As the ISO certification is maintain for certain period and will be reviewed from time to time, there is no need to qualify again and again the same process. Once accepted or qualified, the companies need only to maintain and ensure they pass the subsequent audit from the registrar. No matter they enter Hong Kong market, European market, Japan market, India market or Malaysia market, the company can show the same certification to the company it deals with. There is no need to qualify again for new certificates for each new vendors or customers it deal with. This is cost and time saving because the certification can be widely used and accepted globally.

Another cost saving can be avoidance of customer driven quality audit. By having a reputable certification, there is no need for customer to request additional audits to be carried on its vendor when doing new business. If we have new customer, equip if ISO qualification they will accept it as a standard. We will not follow any variable customer set standard because one unique standard format or criteria from ISO is used and can be accepted worldwide by any company.

Ø Maintaining Quality
Quality is something very subjective. However, the basic understanding of quality is the product or services should be conforming to what the manufacturer has claimed. If the process variability is low and stable, there is high potential that the product process is conform to standard and the outcome of the product is expected as claimed by the manufacturer. That is why a well-documented process should be a fundamental of achieving quality because all employees or systems will follow the expected process flow required to achieve that state. For example to achieve a delicious plate of KFC snack plate, there are same documented process that all kitchen employee should do no matter which branch of KFC it is around the world. This is to ensure there are no visible variability for products coming out from any assembly line, branch or countries where the company operate. It promotes standardization and consistency in the organization and having a repeated process which is expectable is easier to manage.

Besides maintaining quality, it can also instill the behavior of readiness among employees of the organization to uphold quality. This is because there will be a scheduled review and audit from the registrar and company should pass the criteria measure for every subsequent audit for not to risk invoked of their certification. By make sure all employees always ready and aware to maintain the standard of their workflow, they will reinforce the behavior for a long term. They will also be ready when there is any customer audit carry on in the future because from the exposure for the ISO registrar audit carry on constantly. This is also build sense of urgency to employees every time an outsiders such as auditor, customer or vendor come to the plant and they will maintain their seriousness towards quality and conformance standard when visitors come.

ISO series standards also encourage company to identify the need of use of statistical data techniques, and to implement and control the techniques. Statistical data and analysis and be essential to identify problem, seeing trend and taking corrective action if the monitoring of process variability is alarming..

Ø Quality as competitive weapons
Quality has become an important factor that company need to distinguish itself from one another in the ever competitive market. Pricing and promotion is not the key factor to attract customer because customers are more demanding and knowledgeable on their rights. They demand the product that is reliable, value for money, conform to the standards as claim by the manufacturer and will not hesitate to take action if their expectation is not met. A company that can produce a quality product will build their customers confidence, capture new market and ensure the satisfaction of customers fulfilled. For example, Toyota has long branded as quality car manufacturer has recently overtook Ford Motor to be world second largest car manufacturer in term of volume. Toyota excel because it has a well control quality system compare to the American counterparts. It is not anymore we can capture the market by just instilling demand from promotion and price. People are willing to pay more to get higher quality and reliability product. Therefore, quality system build in organization can be an important competitive weapon to stay on top and differentiated it from all other competitors.

Taking quality as a competitive weapons is the main factor now in the market as developing countries are more and more depending on export to the developed and industrialized nations which always impose a trade barrier to protect its market. Having a reliable system, quality products and putting customer at forefront in ensuring their needs and expectation being meet is a key for organization to stay on the top of the game compare to firms or business that still not aware or not ready. Time factor is important to make sure my company build up fast and being a leader of quality in the market which will take time for other organization to follow and achieve the same point.

Ø Quality for Cost Saving
When all process and work related activities are well documented, there is better chance for any improvement and cost saving efforts carries on in the company. If the process is well documented, it is easy for management or team members to look in micro the problems root cause that need to be tackle in course of the project implementation. There are many quality related projects in the company that is carry on with the fundamental outcomes from ISO qualification such as Six Sigma, business process improvement, manufacturing waste reduction, Just-in-Time management and product improvement.

Business cannot survive just to achieve higher sales or new market. It should maintain its management on its resources, management of waste, better process control, greater quality awareness among employees and constant process improvement. In actual Cost of Poor Quality (CPQ) if can be manage effectively can actually increase the sales or revenue of the organization. Therefore, to increase our position does not necessary increase a budget to do marketing or promotional activities. Simple activities of improving quality can result in better results than we would probably know. All those process improvement and managing resources effectively cannot be achieve if there is no clear understanding of process and full view of overall process requirement. ISO9000 help company in this matter because all the process and system in the company will be well documented and maintained. When there is any quality issue arises, there is corrective action taken as soon as possible because well documented process are easily identified and find the root cause. A survey by UCLA also showed that NYSE listed companies that certified ISO9000 also shown a greatly improvement in financial performance. When the performance of company increase in term of lower productivity inefficiency, lower defect rates, lower scrap rate and streamlined process this can results in significant financial returns to our company. Problems solved will be documented and organization will know how to handle better in the future if there is any occurrence. Better perform and manage company share prices will also be a hot buy for investor to invest in our company.

Ø Well archiving of documents and easily accessible information.
As all workflow, work instruction, visual aids and system will be documented either in paper file or system are easily to be access by employees, customers, vendors or auditor when need right on time. It can be time saving and give a good impression because of good data or information resources management. As my organization has extensive intranet network some of the information such as visual aids and work instruction put in the system can be access by employees when doing their job. For example production operator review the work instruction how to start loading and testing a semiconductor devices using a complex tester. Without well documentation to refer, they are prone to make wrong decisions or action that may cause quality issue such as customer return, unit failure and customer warranty claim. The information is kept inside the share drive and can be open by employees when needed. This can be good way to control cost of having paperwork, save space and provide important data when needed. We have our own Document Control department to control hardcopy of the documents in archive that can be retrieving when needed. Documented quality programs are also easy to maintain by the organization.

Well accessible information is also good for top management because they can get a clearer picture of overall business operation. By understanding the fundamental of business operation, management can used it to further improve the overall business efficiency when needed. For example HR Manager can reviewed back formal copies of Marketing Manager job description in document management system (DMS) if he want to review back the job criteria based on current job requirement or set a criteria for advertisement to hire a new managers for my company. Engineering manager can review the process of testing a CMOS device using a type of tester to further find out to explore for improvement. Each person or department responsible for the documents or the originator will be responsible to update it when there is any change. This distribution of responsibility to respective department can ensure they carry their job in good order, as they can be blame for any inaccuracy of data at any time. For example if the updates for new usage of test script program not updated by the Product Engineer, he can be blame by management and customer if there is an issue of wrong program use. Controls of data are more frequent such as cancellation of obsolete documents will ensure all information is up-to-date.

Ø Maintaining Best Practice
In documented process, mostly all best practice will be documented for references in the future. This best practice is important to ensure all the organizational activities, process and workflows will maintain its effectiveness, efficiency and maintain of quality standards in its products and services. This will also ensure continuity of knowledge from one generation to another generation when old employees go out and new employees recruited by my organization. There is no lost link of knowledge by the employees. Best practices that are documented is the basic requirement for achieving or participating a higher level quality awards such as Malcolm Baldridge or Deming Prize.

Best practice can also be served as a platform for other organization to learn or do benchmarking. Sometimes our organization can also share this knowledge to certain friendly affiliates to learn and improve their own operation for mutual benefits. For example, sharing knowledge to vendor to improve their cost can bring better business relationship and potential cost saving on our side for material sourcing after vendor able to realized their goals. A good business and strong organization dare to share its best practice to the industry for common benefits.

Ø Improving Company Status and Employee Morale
Company status will be elevated in the market after we achieve the ISO9000:9001 certification. When dealing with other company such reputation is important to us because other company will see us as a solid, strong and well managed company. Such reputation will results in vendors and customer confidence to us. A new company for example from Netherlands will not know the status, financial capabilities and expertise of our company to meet their business requirement but sure they know the ISO9000 certification that we owned. Moreover, to employees working under a company with such certification will increase their morale and pride. It will also help to retain employees when they feel that they work under a stable and well managed organization. To potential new recruits they will also choose a reputable company to work with and thus we can attract all the best talent to work under our organization umbrella. Brand equity results from highly reputable company are subjective but the potential for generating financial outcomes can be significant to our organization.

Motivation and job satisfaction

noreply@blogger.com (mr. xp) — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 10:14:00 +0000

The movement of workers to act in a desired manner has always consumed the thoughts of managers. In many ways, this goal has been reached through incentive programs, corporate pep talks, and other types of conditional administrative policy. However, as the workers adjust their behaviour in response to one of the aforementioned stimuli, is job satisfaction actualized? The instilling of satisfaction within workers is a crucial task of management. Satisfaction creates confidence, loyalty and ultimately improved quality in the output of the employed. Satisfaction, though, is not the simple result of an incentive program. Employees will most likely not take any more pride in their work even if they win the weekend getaway for having the highest sales. This paper reviews the literature of motivational theorists and draws from their approaches to job satisfaction and the role of motivation within job satisfaction. The theories of Frederick Herzberg and Edwin Locke are presented chronologically to show how Locke’s theory was a response to Herzberg’s theory. By understanding these theories, managers can focus on strategies of creating job satisfaction. This is followed by a brief examination of Kenneth Blanchard and Paul Hersey’s theory on leadership within management and how this art is changing through time.

For more of the article download here

EXPLOITING BUYER POWER: LESSONS FROM THE BRITISH GROCERY TRADE

noreply@blogger.com (mr. xp) — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 10:01:00 +0000

By Paul W Dobson

As in the United States, increased concentration in grocery retailing in Great Britain has raised issues about the buying power of multiple retailers.Whether, and if so how, it prevents, restricts, or distorts competition at the retail and/or producer level to the public or consumer detriment has been the central aspect of concern in a number of formal investigations by the British competition authorities over the last couple of decades. These include the industry inquiries conducted by the Monopolies and Mergers Commission in 1981, by the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) in 1984 and 1999, and by the Competition Commission in 2000. Retailer buying power has also featured in certain merger cases, most notably the recent Competition Commission inquiry into Safeway and the contemplated mergers with Asda, Wm Morrison, J Sainsbury, and Tesco in 2003.

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Work values of Chinese food service managers

noreply@blogger.com (mr. xp) — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 09:56:00 +0000

Globalization, with its vast influence on the global economy, society, and culture, has brought significant impacts in its wake. Likewise, the global diffusion of Chinese food culture has occurred during the past 200 years, under the impact of Western capitalism and colonialism (Li, 2001).
Nowadays, Chinese food has become one of the three major popular cuisines in the USA and the UK (Apple Daily, 2001; Retail World, 2001). Chinese flavors and cooking techniques have become commonplace on many menus, and Chinese-concept restaurants sport truly mainstream images. In all likelihood, Chinese cuisine seems to be making more headway on the international palate (George, 2001). Chinese food service operation is a Chinese-dominated profession.

More of the articles download here

Malaysia Airlines’ Corporate Vision and Service Quality Strategy

noreply@blogger.com (mr. xp) — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 09:49:00 +0000

Malaysia Airlines’ vision is to become “An Airline of Excellence”, offering the very best to its passengers in terms of safety, comfort, service and punctuality. This vision was amplified by our
chairman in the company’s 20th anniversary commemorations in October 1992.
The mission has been stated in three main thrusts
as follows:
(1) To make Malaysia Airlines one of the leading
standard bearers for the airline industry in
terms of safety, efficiency and quality of
service.
(2) To develop Kuala Lumpur as the preferred
gateway into Malaysia and the South-East Asia
region.
(3) To make Kuala Lumpur a major cargo
transhipment area for the Asia-Pacific rim.

By: Abdullah Mat Zaid
For more download here

Unfeasible biofuel initiative - Malaysiakini

noreply@blogger.com (mr. xp) — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 09:38:00 +0000

In a few short years, Malaysia has seen its vision of sustainable development through biofuel production turn into a mirage.

MCPX

The government developed ambitious biofuel policies in 2005 when it appeared that the country’s key agricultural product, palm oil, could be profitably transformed into biodiesel. The policies aimed to expand the market for palm oil, improve energy security and create a new export industry.

Malaysia subsidises the end-user prices of petroleum transport fuels so, by replacing a proportion of petroleum diesel with biodiesel, the government hoped to reduce its subsidy burden.

Environmental considerations were a minor motivating factor, with the government seeking to improve ambient air quality and reduce emissions of greenhouse gases through increased biofuel use.

However, the very striving of governments worldwide to encourage the production and use of biofuels undermined the economic viability of the industry. In 2007, global production was approximately 70 million litres of biofuels, converting millions of tonnes of vegetable oils, tallow, grains and sugar cane to biofuels.

A sizeable portion of this production occurred in OECD countries, supported by government incentives that are estimated to have totalled over US$15 billion in 2007 alone. The result was a major surge in demand for agricultural commodities over the past two years, causing dramatic rises in prices, including for palm oil.

High feedstock prices put biofuels beyond the reach of any but the wealthiest nations that can afford to maintain subsidies.

Malaysian biofuel producers were not able to draw on significant domestic government support to maintain their operations.

To date, government support for the Malaysian biodiesel industry has been limited to RM60 million (US$16 million) in low-interest loans in 2004, and RM12 million (US$3.3 million) in federal grants for demonstration projects in 2006. Plans to mandate the replacement of five per cent of domestic diesel consumption with palm-based biofuel (B5) were never implemented.

Hoped-for jobs from the biofuels industry did not materialise and, instead, many biofuel facilities suspended operations in 2008, stranding public and private investments.

Worsen subsidy burden

While 92 biodiesel projects had been approved in Malaysia during 2006 and 2007, a survey of plants in September 2008 revealed that there were 14 functional biodiesel plants, only eight of which had produced biodiesel in 2008 (approximately 130 000 tonnes—less than ten percent of their potential production capacity).

The remainder had suspended operations due to high feedstock prices, and a further four had closed. Eight new biodiesel plants were under construction.

Assuming no further closures or cancellations, total production capacity is expected to reach approximately 2.7 million tonnes in 2009.

Biodiesel is estimated to cost around RM0.67 (US$0.20) per litre more to produce than petroleum diesel when palm oil is RM3000 per tonne and Malaysian Tapis crude petroleum oil is US$115 per barrel.

Replacing petroleum diesel with biodiesel would therefore worsen the government’s subsidy burden, rather than improve it. The Malaysian Government’s consumption subsidies for petroleum fuel have been estimated to total around RM25 billion (US$7.8 billion) in 2008 alone.

Replacing five per cent of petroleum diesel with biodiesel would add RM395 million (US$122 million) per year to this subsidy bill, at the above mentioned prices.

A B5 mandate would lock Malaysia into consuming around 500000 tonnes (approximately 560 million litres) of biodiesel per year, regardless of its cost relative to petroleum diesel. The implications could be expensive.

For example, if petroleum oil prices fell to US$75 per barrel while palm oil rose to RM5000 per tonne (only RM500 higher than prices in March 2008), the subsidy cost of supplying five per cent of Malaysia’s diesel from biodiesel would be around RM2.2 billion (US$675 million) per year.

Crude oil vs palm oil balance

A biofuel mandate would be a retrograde step for the Malaysian Government, which introduced measures in June 2008 to restructure the price subsidy for petroleum fuels. Fuel subsidies increase consumption, discourage more efficient use of resources and absorb national budgets that could be spent on social services (such as health and education).

By moving fuel prices closer towards the international market price, the government generated subsidy savings in the transport fuel and electricity sectors of RM14 billion (US$4.2 billion) in 2008 alone.

If palm oil is cheap relative to petroleum oil, replacing five per cent of Malaysia’s petroleum diesel with biodiesel could generate subsidy savings.

For example, if the palm oil price were to fall to pre-2006 prices of around RM1500 per tonne while petroleum oil prices shot up to US$175 per barrel, a B5 mandate would reduce government subsidies by around RM1400 billion (US$430 million).

Were such circumstances to arise, however, production and blending of biodiesel would be profitable, eliminating the need for government intervention.

The profitability of Malaysian biodiesel production is precarious, depending on volatile palm oil and petroleum prices, and decisions of policymakers both in Malaysia and overseas.

The vast majority of Malaysia’s current biodiesel production is exported, mostly to the EU and United States where domestic subsidies support biodiesel use (including imports).

Malaysian biodiesel is likely to be benefiting from a loophole in U.S. legislation that allows fuel blenders to claim a US$1 per gallon (US$0.26 per litre) subsidy for blending biodiesel (including imports), even if the product is then re-exported (usually to the EU, where the biodiesel can access additional consumption subsidies).

Pressure from the EU to close this loophole could prevent Malaysian (and other) biodiesel exporters from accessing the U.S. subsidies. In the longer term, sustainability standards could limit access into the EU of all but certified biofuels and feedstock.

Despite biodiesel being uneconomic, many countries have supported the development of a domestic biodiesel industry for social and environmental reasons.

There is no evidence to suggest a strong social or environmental rationale for promoting biofuels in Malaysia. While high commodity prices have delivered benefits to some, these have been more than offset economy-wide by rising food prices, which have hit the poor hardest.

Oxfam (2008) estimated that high food prices attributed to global biofuel production have caused 30 to 75 million people to fall into poverty and to jeopardise the livelihoods of 100 to 220 million people.

Forest clearing offsets benefits

The presumed environmental benefits of biodiesel—most notably in terms of reducing greenhouse gas emissions—have evaporated with improved understanding of the full lifecycle impacts of biofuel production.

Biodiesel is commonly considered to be "carbon neutral" because carbon released in burning the fuel is offset by growing the feedstock.

However, the conversion of forest to oil-palm plantations has been has been found to cause greenhouse gas releases that far outweigh any carbon emission reductions arising from the use of biofuels sourced from that land.

The expansion of the palm oil industry in Malaysia has been associated with deforestation, release of carbon from vegetation and soil, forest fires, soil erosion, water pollution and biodiversity loss.

Current domestic production of biodiesel in Malaysia is unlikely to be driving deforestation, due to low production levels.

However, the growing global demand for palm oil—largely due to increased demand for vegetable oils for biodiesel production—has contributed to a plantation expansion boom in Borneo, with associated deforestation and social conflicts.

The Government has said that no more forest reserves will be converted to oil-palm.

However, it is allowing land previously zoned for agriculture to be cleared, including rainforest.

Should the Malaysian Government institute its B5 mandate, 570 000 tonnes of palm oil would be required. This equates to approximately 130 000 hectares of land or three per cent of the current 4.2 million hectares currently under cultivation.

The majority of new Malaysian oil-palm developments are in the states of Sarawak and Sabah.

These state governments have a great deal of autonomy and it appears that, in some areas at least, environmental impact assessments are not being performed rigorously.

Many Malaysian firms are also operating in the Indonesian provinces of Kalimantan and Riau, which have high rates of conversion of forest to oil-palm, and less exacting governance structures.

These fundamental elements of biodiesel production are unlikely to change in the near term. In the meantime, measures to address sustainability issues will become increasingly important in order to supply environmentally-conscious markets.

Such measures might improve the environmental credentials of palm oil destined for OECD markets, but are likely to do little to avoid expansion of uncertified oil-palm and consequent deforestation.

As for the international export opportunities, prospects have diminished since the early euphoria. European Union and U.S. subsidy policies may currently be improving the viability of Malaysian biodiesel exports, but policy changes in the future may limit access for Malaysian biodiesel to U.S. and EU subsidies.

Refrain from intervening

In light of the limited economic, social and environmental benefits of promoting biodiesel in Malaysia, this report recommends that the government refrain from intervening in the market for biofuels, through such measures as offering direct price support or imposing mandatory blending.

The biofuel industry should be allowed to function in response to market signals - consistent with environmental and social standards - so that the industry establishes itself on a sustainable rather than a government-dependent basis.

The government’s current plan to move domestic retail fuel prices towards the world price is commendable, particularly as steps are also being envisaged to ensure that adequate safeguards are provided for the poor.

The government has correctly surmised that biodiesel can only, at most, complement other energy sources. It cannot significantly augment the nation’s energy supplies.

A B5 mandate would only lock in a new form of fuel subsidy that is delinked from market forces, thus creating new inefficiencies in the economy that would likely require painful reform in future years.

GREGORE LOPEZ is a postgraduate student at the Crawford School of Economics and Government, Australian National University. The above is a summary of this biodiesel subsidy viability report

Index indicates Australia may be nearing recession

noreply@blogger.com (mr. xp) — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 08:29:00 +0000

SYDNEY, Nov 19 - The outlook for Australia’s economy is its weakest in 20 years, raising the risk of a recession in 2009, according to an index of economic trends.

The annualised growth rate of the leading index, compiled by Westpac Banking Corp. and the Melbourne Institute, fell to 1.1 per cent in September from 3.5 per cent in August. The monthly index measures the likely pace of growth three to nine months into the future.

“This is a very disturbing fall in the growth rate of the leading index,” Westpac chief economist Bill Evans said in a statement Wednesday.

He said it was the biggest monthly drop since the mid-1980s, and marked two straight months in which the index was below the long-term trend of 3.9 per cent.

Evans said the report’s outlook for early 2009 was poor, with the possibility of a recession.

“The growth rate is signaling a very weak growth outlook through at least the first half of 2009,” he said. “It is consistent with Westpac’s view that growth in the first half of 2009 will be barely positive with a decent risk that the first two quarters of growth in 2009 could be negative.”

A recession is defined as two straight quarters of contraction.

Evans predicted that Japan, the United States and most of Europe would be in recession through much of 2009.

For Australia, Evans said he was confident that China’s economic stimulus package would gain traction, commodity markets would recover and confidence would be partly restored.

“Australia’s reliance on Asian growth, which has been a huge liability in recent months, should once again become an asset as we move into 2010,” Evans said.

Earlier this week, the National Association for Business Economics in the United States also projected recessions in some of the world’s major economies. It said the US economy, which shrank at an annual rate of 0.3 per cent in the July-September period, would contract at a rate of 2.6 per cent in the current October-December quarter.

The association also forecast that Japan, Canada, Mexico, Britian and much of Europe would all suffer recessions in the coming months. - AP

Malaysia well positioned as gateway for Islamic finance in Asia Pacific - Malaysiakini

noreply@blogger.com (mr. xp) — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 08:23:00 +0000

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 18 – Malaysia is well-positioned as a regional gateway for Islamic investments in the Asia-Pacific region, said Second Finance Minister Tan Sri Nor Mohamed Yakcop.

“We also have strong linkages with the Middle East and other Asian markets to support trade flows between Asia and the Gulf States and to intermediate intra-regional capital flows and investment opportunities,” he said in a speech at the KLIFF Islamic Finance Award 2008 here this evening.

The challenge, therefore, is to further strengthen syariah compliance while continuing with the efforts on developing a wide range of products and services to meet the changing requirements of a highly dynamic and rapidly evolving environment.

These efforts when diligently pursued will enhance Malaysia’s attractiveness and leadership in the global Islamic financial market, he said.

Against the backdrop of the ongoing global financial crisis, he said, Islamic finance was

also clearly providing a more equitable and risk-averse alternative to the conventional approach.

This would contribute towards greater global financial stability, he said.

Given the uncertainties in the financial environment, the global financial community is increasingly seeking new avenues to spread their investment and business risks and to search for new asset classes in markets that provide greater resilience and this is where there is potential role for Islamic finance, he said.

The pillar of Islamic finance lies in the syariah principles which not only emphasise underlying assets but also ethical values, including socially responsible investment, fair trade and good governance and transparency.

“I believe these characteristic of Islamic financing, along with the necessary regulatory framework governing transparency for trading and fund management, have mitigated and helped cushion Malaysia’s financial system from the shocks of the global financial crisis,” he added.

He said the Islamic financial services industry has now emerged as a viable new asset class for investors and advanced to become an increasingly integral component of the international financial system.

Today, the total assets of the global Islamic financial system has surpassed one trillion US dollars, about five times larger than what they were five years ago.

Islamic finance has also been among the fastest growing financial segments, with an estimated annual growth of 20 per cent, the minister said. – Bernama

Land leased in Africa to secure crops for South Korea

noreply@blogger.com (mr. xp) — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 08:20:00 +0000

SEOUL, Nov 19 - Daewoo Logistics of South Korea has secured farmland in Madagascar to grow food crops for Seoul, in a deal that diplomats and consultants said was the largest of its kind.

The company said it had leased 1.3m hectares of farmland – about half the size of Belgium – from Madagascar’s government for 99 years. It plans to ship the maize and palm oil harvests back to South Korea. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

The pursuit of foreign farm investments is a clear sign of how countries are seeking food security following this year’s crisis – which saw record prices for commodities such as wheat and rice and food riots in countries from Egypt to Haiti.

Prices for agricultural commodities have tumbled by about half from such levels but countries remain concerned about long-term supplies.

The United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organisation warned this year that the race by some countries to secure farmland overseas risked creating a “neo-colonial” system. Those fears could be increased by the
fact that Daewoo’s farm in Madagascar represents about half the African country’s arable land, according to estimates by the US government.

Shin Dong-hyun, a senior manager at Daewoo Logistics in Seoul, said the company would develop the arable land for farming over the next 15 years, using labour from South Africa, and intended to replace about half South Korea’s maize imports.

South Korea, a heavily populated but resource-poor nation, is the fourth-largest importer of maize and among the 10 largest buyers of soyabeans.

Carl Atkins, of consultants Bidwells Agribusiness, said Daewoo Logistics’ investment in Madagascar was the largest it had seen. “The project does not surprise me, as countries are looking to improve food security, but
its size – it does surprise me.”

Concepción Calpe, a senior economist at the FAO in Rome, said the investment came after this year’s food crisis. “Countries are looking to buy or lease farmland to improve their food security,” she said.

Al-Qudra Holding, an investment company based in Abu Dhabi, said in August it planned to buy 400,000 hectares of arable land in countries in Africa and Asia by the end of the first quarter of 2009.

Meles Zenawi, prime minister of Ethiopia, said this year its government was “very eager” to provide hundreds of thousands of hectares of agricultural land to Middle Eastern countries for investment. - Financial Times

Apec economist: India and China the key - Malaysiakini

noreply@blogger.com (mr. xp) — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 08:12:00 +0000

LIMA, Nov 19 - India and China’s ability to resist the global economic slowdown will greatly influence whether the crisis drags the world into a depression, a top Pacific Rim trade community economist said Tuesday.

“If China and India come through this crisis with very good growth rates that would be very important for the rise of global economy,” Bob Buckle told reporters on the eve of a summit of the 21-nation Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation.

The International Monetary Fund has said emerging economies — which include China and India — will account for the world’s entire projected 2.2 per cent overall growth next year.

It estimates rich nations’ economies will together grow by just 0.1 per cent this year while the developing world will grow by 5 per cent.

China’s economy has grown feverishly, in the double digits annually for 15 years while India’s has grown at slightly less than 10 per cent. Together, the two countries have about 40 per cent of the world’s people.

The IMF readjusted its growth estimates last month, projecting that China’s economy would grow 9.7 per cent this year and 8.5 per cent in 2009. India’s is estimated to grow 7.8 per cent and 6.3 per cent, respectively.

In both countries, the production drop would be far softer than rich countries. The economy of the United States, where the crisis originated, is projected to shrink to -0.7 per cent next year with euro-zone similar.

China, India, Russia and Brazil currently have the world’s largest cash reserves and at last weekend’s G-20 summit in Washington they demanded a greater say in world economic and political forums.

Of the four, only China and Russia are Apec members. But the host of last week’s summit, US President George W. Bush will be in Lima to work with them on finding a way out of the crisis.

Apec has just three Latin American members and their projected growth rates for 2009 are Peru with 9 per cent, possibly the region’s highest, Chile with 4 percent and Mexico with about 1 per cent.

There is a prevailing opinion among Apec’s members, whose economies account for 60 per cent of global economic growth, that all trade protection should be removed, said Buckle, a New Zealander who heads its economic committee.

“The reasons for this I think are very clear. If economies do embark on protectionist measures that tends to have a more negative effect on the global situation,” he said. “ We saw that in the 1930’s when the economies responded to the international crisis at that time by putting up trade barriers.”

At last weekend’s Washington summit, the G-20 presidents (of rich and major developing nations) agreed to take whatever action necessary to stabilise the financial system. - AP

Yahoo’s fate riding on Yang’s successor as CEO - Malaysiakini

noreply@blogger.com (mr. xp) — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 08:09:00 +0000

SAN FRANCISCO, Nov 19 - With Jerry Yang quitting as Yahoo Inc’s chief executive, the Internet company’s board will confront pivotal questions as it looks for a new leader.

Should Yahoo swallow its pride and try to strike a buyout deal with Microsoft Corp at a price far below Microsoft’s $47.5 billion offer from 6 1/2 months ago? Or should Yahoo still pursue a long-awaited turnaround that’s becoming more difficult to achieve as the economy tanks?

If Yahoo plays it safe and hires someone from within or someone friendly with Microsoft, it could signal the board merely wants an interim captain who can steer the ship until Microsoft, or possibly another buyer, comes to the rescue.

But should Yahoo recruit a CEO with a prestigious resume or pluck an up-and-coming technology star, it will be seen as a sign that the company is digging in to remain independent for the long haul.

“It’s time for Yahoo to decide if they are going to keep entertaining offers or really start to focus on a business strategy,” said Mike Leo, a veteran online ad executive who now runs Operative Inc. “Yahoo still has some great assets. They have just been mismanaged.”

Most analysts and investors have interpreted Yang’s departure as precursor to Microsoft’s acquisition of Yahoo in its entirety or at least its search engine, which ranks a distant second in usage behind Google Inc’s.

Yahoo shares gained 92 cents, or more than 8 per cent, to close Tuesday at $11.55. That’s a fraction of the $33 per share that Microsoft offered in early May before Yang’s request for more money prompted the Redmond, Washington-based software maker to withdraw its bid.

The negotiating breakdown infuriated shareholders and their fury intensified as Yahoo’s stock plunged to its lowest levels since early 2003.

Yang, Yahoo’s co-founder, clung to the hope that he could still engineer a comeback, but his plans went awry yet again this month when Google backed out of a proposed ad partnership to avoid an antitrust battle with the federal government.

The loss of Google’s help, which was supposed to boost Yahoo’s sagging profits, evidently prompted Yang and Yahoo’s board to conclude they needed to announce a change in command even before a successor had been found. Yang, 40, will remain CEO until his replacement is hired and then revert to his former advisory role of “Chief Yahoo.”

Yahoo so far has given few clues on the leadership skills it’s seeking, saying only that it wants a CEO “who can take the company to the next level.” The company has hired Heidrick & Struggles, an headhunting firm, to recruit its next CEO.

Although Yahoo’s profits and stock price have been crumbling for nearly three years, analysts say the company’s huge audience of about 500 million Internet users and leadership positions in e-mail and news could still attract a big-name executive. “Yahoo can still be salvaged,” said Forrester Research analyst David Card.

The names of possible successors include obvious ones like Yahoo’s current president and Yang confidant, Susan Decker, as well as its former chief operating officer, Dan Rosensweig, who left last year after a management shake-up diminished his authority.

Other candidates offer more intrigue, like former eBay Inc CEO Meg Whitman or media mogul Rupert Murdoch’s top lieutenant at News Corp, Peter Chernin, who just so happens to be getting ready to negotiate another contract.

Whitman appears to be a long shot because she has indicated she’s more interested in pursuing a political career than returning to the executive suite.

Jonathan Miller, the former CEO of AOL, has been mentioned as another possibility. But when he left AOL in 2006, his severance agreement included a noncompete clause that prevents him from working from rivals like Yahoo until March 2009. Time Warner Inc, AOL’s corporate parent, enforced the provision to block Miller from joining Yahoo’s board last summer.

Gartner Inc analyst Allen Weiner believes Yahoo should recruit a turnaround specialist or a “young Turk” in the mold of Jason Kilar, who was lured from Amazon.com Inc last year to run the online video site Hulu.com. If Yahoo takes that kind of a step, Weiner said the deep pools of talent at Silicon Valley neighbors Google and Apple Inc. might yield a savvy new leader.

Other names being bandied about include the former head of Microsoft’s online operation, Kevin Johnson, who helped persuade the software maker to bid for Yahoo. Johnson left Microsoft during the summer to become CEO of computer gear maker Juniper Networks Inc., which is located a half-mile from Yahoo’s headquarters in Sunnyvale, California.

Whoever Yahoo selects needs to have charisma and vision if the company is to have any hope of bouncing back, said Todd Dagres, founder of the venture capital firm Spark Capital. “Yahoo is like a wounded animal right now. They need an Obama-like leader,” he said.

Microsoft might make a move on Yahoo before the board even has a chance to hire a new CEO, Jefferies & Co analyst Youssef Squali suggests. He estimates Microsoft could buy Yahoo in its entirety for $20.50 to $22 per share or perhaps just snap up Yahoo’s search operations for $8 per share.

Microsoft declined to comment Tuesday on its interest in Yahoo.

Yahoo’s most outspoken director, Carl Icahn, has been lobbying for a search deal with Microsoft since he became one of the company’s largest shareholders in May.

Icahn waged a campaign to fire Yang during the summer before reaching a truce that gave him and two allies seats on Yahoo’s board. Those allies, former Viacom Inc CEO Frank Biondi and former Nextel CEO John Chapple, also could vie for Yang’s job.

Even if Icahn finally gets his wish, a Microsoft deal might not be enough to make him whole. He acquired his 5 per cent stake in Yahoo for around $25 a share.

Sanford Bernstein & Co analyst Jeffrey Lindsay doubts Microsoft will renew its pursuit of Yahoo until early next year. He reasons Microsoft has little to lose by waiting, since Yahoo’s stock is unlikely to rise much higher, and the extra time will give the software maker more time to assess how its own efforts to improve its Internet operations are panning out.

Waiting also would help Microsoft get a better understanding of the antitrust hurdles a Yahoo bid might face under a new presidential administration. - AP

Detroit spinners?

noreply@blogger.com (mr. xp) — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 08:04:00 +0000

LONDON, Nov 19 - The plant that assembles Chrysler’s Jeep Wrangler near Toledo, Ohio, sprawls across four buildings, but Chrysler occupies only one of them. The others house three of the troubled carmaker’s suppliers.

South Korea’s Hyundai Mobis builds the Wrangler’s chassis, while Kuka, a German maker of robots and welding machines, puts together the body. The facility’s paint shop is operated by Magna International of Canada, with Chrysler responsible only for the vehicle’s final assembly.

The plant, opened in 2005, illustrates the interdependence of Detroit’s troubled carmakers and their myriad suppliers in the US and overseas.

Relationships like these lie at the heart of the intense lobbying effort by Chrysler and its two bigger Detroit-based rivals – General Motors and Ford – to persuade US lawmakers to approve a $25bn rescue package.

Congress began hearings on Tuesday on the plan, aimed at averting the collapse of an industry that accounts for about 4 per cent of gross domestic product but is quickly running out of cash. Were either GM or Ford to go bankrupt, it would mark the biggest business failure in US history.

The Detroit carmakers operate 105 US assembly and component plants, with close to 240,000 employees. They provide healthcare benefits for 2m Americans and pensions for almost three-quarters of a million people.

The dealers who sell General Motors, Ford and Chrysler vehicles are growing increasingly vocal in urging Congress to support a $25bn emergency funding package for the carmakers. Their voice, moreover, is one that counts.

Car dealers are among the most politically powerful entrepreneurs in cities and towns across the US. Many dealerships are long-established family businesses that have deep local roots, with the connections and
financial clout to ensure that politicians listen when they speak.

“This is not an issue about Detroit or three companies,” says Jim Arrigo, who owns a Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep dealership in West Palm Beach, Florida and is one of 33 Chrysler dealers in Washington this week to lobby politicians on Capitol Hill. “It is about millions of people, mechanics, sales representatives and accountants working across this country whose livelihood intersects the automobile industry.”

The average dealership employs 53 people, according to the National Automobile Dealers Association (Nada). But the dealers’ mission is complicated by the fact that they are widely seen as part of Detroit’s
problem rather than the solution. Most Detroit-affiliated dealers were set up in the days when the three dominated the US market. But GM, Ford and Chrysler sold just 47 per cent of the light vehicles bought in October.

GM alone has 6,500 dealers, more than five times as many as Toyota. According to Nada, the average Toyota dealer sells 1,821 cars a year, compared with 586 at an outlet for GM’s Chevrolet marque and 378 by one selling Chrysler’s Dodge.

Addressing that imbalance is not easy. Under state franchise laws – many tailored to the needs of car dealers – carmakers cannot alter agreements without dealers’ consent. In practice, this means compensation. GM forked out about $1bn to Oldsmobile dealers seven years ago when it discontinued the brand.

The carmakers’ latest strategy is to make a full suite of vehicle types available only to those dealers that rationalise. GM has set up three main sales “channels” for its eight brands. Only Chevrolet and Saturn are standalone. GMC (trucks), Pontiac (small cars) and Buick (larger sedans) are grouped in one channel, as are Cadillac, Hummer and Saab. Chrysler is encouraging Chrysler, Jeep and Dodge outlets to amalgamate so that they offer all three under one roof.

Forty per cent of Chrysler dealers still represent just one or two brands. But the plunge in sales could speed up the process. About 700 dealerships, three-quarters of them selling Detroit brands, are expected to go out of business this year. Few doubt that the number will rise in 2009 as more come to the conclusion that, even in a depressed real estate market, the commercial property they occupy is worth more than their businesses.

Proponents of the bail-out claim that the damage would spread much further. Carmaking, they argue, has one of the largest “multiplier” effects of any industry: for every job, at least seven more people are employed indirectly.

Manufacturers, parts suppliers and dealers say the impact of a collapse on the real economy would dwarf that of this year’s bank failures. Nearly all the jobs lost would be blue-collar, with the pain felt largely in Michigan, Ohio and Indiana. Michigan already has unemployment of almost 9 per cent, the highest of any state.

Some draw a parallel with Lehman Brothers, where government’s failure to intervene is now seen as having hastened the collapse of AIG and exacerbated the financial crisis. Nancy Pelosi, Democratic House leader, has said that the impact of the failure of a Detroit carmaker would be “devastating”.

Bob McKenna, president of the Motor & Equipment Manufacturers Association, which represents suppliers, describes such an outcome as “catastrophic”.

But many lawmakers, Republicans in particular, are hostile to a bail-out that they say would reward Detroit for its failure over many years to build competitive businesses. It could also set a dangerous precedent as recession sends other US industries into the skids, then on to Washington in search of handouts. Rescue funds, if they come at all, are likely to be tied to strict conditions requiring changes to management, union contracts and business models.

Less disputed is the risk that, without aid or an extraordinary uptick in America’s depressed car market, one or more Detroit carmaker may not survive through next year. Ratings agencies, equity analysts and credit default swap markets all increasingly point to the likelihood of a failure among GM, Ford and Chrysler.

Standard & Poor’s last week lowered the credit ratings of two big suppliers and placed 13 others on review. Even formerly blue-chip companies such as Magna, BorgWarner and Johnson Controls, were on the list.

According to CSM Worldwide, the automotive consultancy, three-quarters of suppliers of 68 of the key components and modules that go into cars derive 20 per cent or more of their business from the Detroit companies.

About 37 per cent of suppliers generate more than half their business from GM, Ford or Chrysler. Many are already unprofitable and the loss of a single big customer – a Ford or a GM – could push them over the edge, disrupting the supply chain of other customers.

Advocates of a bail-out say, therefore, that the failure of one large Detroit company could cause the other two to collapse. “Everything is so intimately connected that if one of these guys goes down, it would probably take the entire industry down,” says David Cole of the University of Michigan’s Centre for Automotive Research.

Other large US companies – notably airlines – have filed for Chapter 11 protection and continued doing business for years. But carmakers and industry analysts say that a bankruptcy filing for an automaker would cause a collapse of sales as consumers baulked at buying a car whose warranty might not be honoured or for which they might have trouble getting parts.

The carmakers also reject the notion that they are undeserving of a bail-out. GM and Ford are now producing well-reviewed models – the former’s Saturn Outlook sports-utility vehicle is one – that match or beat Japanese rivals’ offerings in consumer rankings.

After years of struggling with high healthcare and wage costs, Detroit last year clinched deals with the United Auto Workers’ union to cut its healthcare obligations by billions of dollars and pay new hires more competitive wages.

The healthcare savings were due to show up on carmakers’ bottom lines from 2010 – but it is no longer clear whether they will be around to reap them. GM has said its cash reserves may fall below the minimum $11bn-$14bn it needs to keep running by early 2009, while analysts think the finances of privately owned Chrysler, which does not report earnings, are similar if not worse. Ford has more money but burnt through an average $2.6bn a month in June to September.

The discussion over whether to bail out America’s carmakers is clouded by the fact that most who know them best, including outside consultants, are based in Michigan and have a vested interest in their survival.

Few willspeak critically on the record, but some privately say the true picture may be more nuanced than Detroit paints. One thinks the carmakers may be “crying wolf” in the hope of raising the amount of government largesse they get.

“If they really wanted to sell assets and raise cash they could,” he says, pointing to lucrative franchises such as Ford of Europe and GM’s joint ventures in China. Indeed, GM this week sold its remaining shares in Suzuki, and Ford on Tuesday sold 20 per cent of its stake in rival Japanese carmaker Mazda.

Past industry experience also suggests that the failure of the three carmakers, while widely felt, might in fact come at a cost lower than the sum of their lost parts. At least some of the Detroit companies’ operations would probably survive and employ workers under new owners.

Daewoo Motors failed in 2001 at a heavy short-term cost to employment and its local and overseas plants. Ten years later, five of the former carmaker’s plants in Korea have been busy turning out Chevrolets and other cars for none other than GM under its GM DAT joint venture with Daewoo’s creditors and others.

When US suppliers such as Delphi or Collins & Aikman filed for bankruptcy in 2005, their European units carried on doing business after being sold or ring-fenced from their parents. The Detroit companies would have a harder time selling their unionised Midwestern car plants but some of their suppliers would probably survive, picking up business from Japanese carmakers and emerging leaner from the process.

Indeed, there are signs that Detroit’s overseas arms are preparing themselves for all eventualities, including failure of their owners. Opel, GM’s German subsidiary, is in talks with federal and state governments about lining up €1bn in guarantees to keep it going in case its owner’s troubles deepen.

Nor is the past record on state-led rescues of “national champion” carmakers encouraging. Chrysler secured $1.5bn in loan guarantees in 1979 – a bail-out seen today as having addressed the symptoms of Chrysler’s problems rather than their root cause.

The UK government poured millions of pounds into trying to save MG Rover, only to see it fail in 2005 at an estimated cost to taxpayers and business of £870m. China’s Shanghai Automotive owns some remnants of the business.

Yet politics rather than economics is likely to prevail in Washington, if not this week then after Barack Obama takes office in January. Organised labour is a key Democratic constituency and jobs in several “swing” states that voted Democratic in the presidential election are on the line.

“We are determined to pass legislation that will save the jobs of millions of workers whose livelihoods are on the line,” Senate majority leader Harry Reid said last week. “They deserve no less.”

GM and Ford, as publicly traded companies, may prove more politically palatable candidates for aid than Chrysler, owned by Cerberus, the private equity firm. Industry insiders say the company is the only one in Detroit that could fail without taking its two rivals down with it. The impact on suppliers would also be comparatively muted.

But the reckoning will be costly to Detroit in any scenario. Whatever happens, tens of thousands will lose their jobs in the months ahead. According to S&P, even with financial aid, “US automakers are unlikely to avoid further sweeping changes to their product lines, market focus, or possibly their status as independent entities.”

Rod Lache, automotive analyst at Deutsche Bank, says that GM’s predicament “has the potential to set in motion a sequence of events that would be bankruptcy-like”. The company’s market share could continue to fall and finance companies are likely to tighten their terms even further.

“I don’t think any enterprise the size of Ford or GM has ever been closer to filing for Chapter 11 before, so it’s uncharted territory on the economic impact it would have,” says one industry consultant. - Financial Times

Wynn backs China’s travel curbs to Macau

noreply@blogger.com (mr. xp) — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 07:56:00 +0000

HONG KONG, Nov 19 - Casino mogul Steve Wynn said Wednesday he couldn’t tell when Macau’s slowdown might let up, but expressed confidence in its long-term fortunes and backed government measures to curb travel to the Chinese gambling city.

The chief executive of Wynn Resorts Ltd. also said he was in “sharp disagreement” with comments by a top executive at rival Las Vegas Sands Corp. suggesting the government’s actions were harming Macau’s casino industry.

Wynn, who has one resort open in Macau and a second on the way, said the government has handled “practically everything beautifully.”

“The fact that the economy and the development and expansion of Macau occurred at such a rapid rate has created a great deal of stress on the community,” Wynn said in a telephone interview with The Associated Press.

“The central government and the Macau government putting a crimp in or a slowdown in visitation was an attempt to give the community a chance to absorb the stuff that had been built,” he said.

Macau has boomed since the government started welcoming heavyweight operators like Wynn, Sands and MGM Mirage Inc. The former Portuguese enclave surpassed the Las Vegas Strip as the world’s most lucrative casino market two years ago.

But revenue growth has slowed this year as the global economic slump and new travel restrictions on mainland Chinese tourists take a toll. The government started issuing the restrictions this summer to control Macau’s rapid growth, analysts say.

Last week Sands announced it was suspending work on multibillion-dollar mega resorts in Macau amid a funding crunch and laying off as many as 11,000 construction workers as a result.

The company’s chief operating officer, William Weidner, reportedly told investors Monday that “there have been some changes in terms of the central government’s attitude toward Macau.”

Wynn said he didn’t know when Macau might turn around given the gloomy world economy.

But China’s rising middle class would help the city prosper and Wynn Resorts planned to keep developing there, he said.

“I think the market is wonderful in China,” he said. “Macau has always been a tourist kind of place and it’s broadened ... its appeal. And I think that’s going to continue.” - AP

Obama to usher in major shift in trade policy - Malaysiakini

noreply@blogger.com (mr. xp) — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 07:55:00 +0000

WASHINGTON, Nov 19 - The election of Barack Obama has delivered a decisive victory to “fair traders,” mainly Democrats and their allies who for years have contended that the free-trade policies of past administrations were a recipe for American job losses and environmental degradation.

Obama’s win marks the first time in modern American history “that a candidate advocating a shift in our trade policies in a decisively pro-worker, pro-consumer, pro-environment direction has been elected president,” Public Citizen’s Global Trade Watch, an advocacy group that is critical of free trade agreements, said in a report.

On the other side, Dan Griswold, director of the Centre for Trade Policies at the pro-trade Cato Institute, was equally stark in his assessment: “We are going to see the US retreat from its longstanding leadership in the global economy.”

Obama has taken a generally mainstream Democratic position on trade. He supports expanding trade but says trade agreements must support US manufacturing jobs and include enforceable labor and environmental standards.

He has promised a tougher stance against China, telling the National Council of Textile Organisations, “I will use all diplomatic means at my disposal” to induce China to change its foreign exchange and export policies that have led to huge trade imbalances.

During the primary season, Obama and other Democratic hopefuls vied in calling for a renegotiation of the 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement with Canada and Mexico, although that was less of an issue in the general campaign.

The Global Trade Watch report said the election produced a net gain of 32 fair traders — five in the Senate and 27 in the House. With that, said the organisation’s director Lori Wallach, “we suspect a shrinking number of members of Congress will dare to pledge fair trade at home and vote for NAFTA expansions in D.C.”

Among two Republican incumbents in the House of Representatives ousted by Democrats campaigning on fair trade issues were Phil English of Pennsylvania and Robin Hayes of North Carolina, lawmakers who cast decisive votes in 2005 when the House passed the Central America Free Trade Agreement by a two-vote margin.

A moratorium could effectively sideline three bilateral free trade agreements, with Colombia, South Korea and Panama, that have been negotiated but await congressional approval. The Bush administration has been particularly strong in advocating the Colombia accord, which it says would open up that country to US exports while rewarding the Bogota government for its pro-US, pro-democracy policies.

But suggestions that Congress vote on the Colombia deal, possibly as part of an economic stimulus package during a lame-duck session, have garnered little interest among Democrats who say the Colombian government has not done enough to curb violence against union organizers and members.

Democrats and their labour advocates also say the South Korean accord does not adequately address the issue of South Korea selling some 770,000 vehicles in the United States in 2007 while buying only about 6,200 US vehicles.

The only bilateral agreement with a chance of getting congressional approval may be the one with Panama because its products do not upset US constituencies, Cato’s Griswold said.

“Obama has made it clear he understands the benefits of trade,” Griswold said, “but he has made it even more clear he will not cross important constituencies in his party such as organised labour.”

Christopher Wenk, senior director of international policy at the US Chamber of Commerce, was somewhat more optimistic, saying Democrats might be more willing to go along if it is an Obama trade agenda rather than a Bush trade agenda.

That agenda would necessarily focus more on environmental and labor protections, but he said the business community already supports an agreement reached between the Bush administration and House Democrats in May 2007, requiring that environmental safeguards and worker rights be core parts of future trade deals.

That agreement set the stage for congressional approval in late 2007 of a free trade accord with Peru. Congress previously gave grudging consent to Bush-negotiated trade agreements with Oman, Bahrain, Australia, Morocco, Singapore, Chile and the six Latin American countries of CAFTA. But last year it also refused to extend “fast track” authority, which gives the president the right to negotiate trade deals that Congress can approve or reject but cannot amend.

“If you look at history, we’ve had pro-trade presidents since FDR (Franklin Delano Roosevelt),” the Chamber’s Wenk said. “There’s absolutely no reason why we should become inward and protectionist and isolationist right now.” - AP

Big 3 US automakers running out of time

noreply@blogger.com (mr. xp) — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 07:48:00 +0000

WASHINGTON, Nov 19 - The three biggest US automakers pleaded with Congress on Tuesday for a $25 billion lifeline to save their once-proud companies from collapse, warning of broader peril for the American economy as well.

Despite the automakers’ pleas, the new rescue plan appeared stalled in Congress, opposed by Republicans and the Bush administration who do not want to dip into the Treasury Department’s $700 billion financial bailout programme to come up with the $25 billion.

Rank and file Republicans and Democrats from states heavily impacted by the auto industry worked in private trying to come up with a compromise that could speed some aid to the automakers before year’s end. It was an uphill fight.

“Our industry ... needs a bridge to span the financial chasm that has opened up before us,” General Motors Corp CEO Rick Wagoner told the Senate Banking Committee. He blamed the industry’s predicament not on management failures but on the deepening global financial crisis.

Also, Robert Nardelli, CEO of Chrysler LLC, told the panel the bailout would be “the least costly alternative” when compared with damage from bankruptcy.

Under questioning from skeptical senators, both said they would be willing to consider slashing their salaries to $1 to show a willingness to sacrifice for federal help.

Sympathy for the industry was sparse, however, with bailout fatigue dominating Capitol Hill. Lawmakers bristled with pent-up criticism of the auto industry, and questioned whether a stopgap loan would really cure what ails the companies.

At the start of a grilling before his committee that lasted more than fours, Democratic Sen. Christopher Dodd told the leaders of GM, Chrysler and Ford Motor Co that the industry was “seeking treatments for wounds that I believe to a large extent were self-inflicted.”

“You’re asking an awful lot,” Dodd, the panel chairman, said at the close of the session. “I’d like to tell that you in the next couple of days this is going to happen. I don’t think it is.”

Sympathy for the industry was sparse, with bailout fatigue dominating Congress. Lawmakers bristled with pent-up criticism of the auto industry and questioned whether a stopgap loan would cure what ails the companies.

Senate Banking Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd, a Democrat, told Wagoner and leaders of Ford Motor Co and Chrysler LLC that the industry was “seeking treatment for wounds that were largely self-inflicted.”

Still, he said, “Hundreds of thousands would lose their jobs” if the companies were allowed to collapse.

Sen. Mike Enzi, a Republican, complained that the larger financial crisis “is not the only reason why the domestic auto industry is in trouble.”

He cited “inefficient production” and “costly labor agreements” that put the U.S. automakers at a disadvantage with foreign companies.

Wagoner said that despite some public perceptions that General Motors was not keeping pace with the times and technological changes, “We’ve moved aggressively in recent years to position GM for long-term success. And we were well on the road to turning our North American business around.”

“What exposes us to failure now is the global financial crisis, which has severely restricted credit availability and reduced industry sales to the lowest per-capita level since World War II.”

Failure of the auto industry “would be catastrophic,” he said, resulting in 3 million jobs lost within the first year and “economic devastation (that) would far exceed the government support that our industry needs to weather the current crisis.”

Chrysler’s Robert Nardelli sought to respond to critics who suggest the automakers seek Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, as have some airlines that later emerged restructured and leaner.

“We just cannot be confident that we will be able to successfully emerge from bankruptcy,” Nardelli said.

Chrysler was bailed out by the federal government once before, in 1979, with $1.2 billion in loan guarantees. The company repaid the loan, plus interest, ahead of schedule. Back then, former Chrysler CEO Lee Iacocca reduced his salary to $1.

Under questioning from Democratic Sen. Jon Tester, Ford’s Alan Mulally did not join the other two executives in saying he would do the same now.

“I sure respect the intent of it, but the most important thing is that we not degrade our ability to be competitive and deliver this plan,” Mulally said.

Congressional leaders worked behind the scenes in an effort to come up with a compromise that could speed some aid to the automakers before year’s end. But the outlook seemed poor.

“My sense is that nothing’s going to happen this week,” Sen. Bob Corker, a Republican, said at the opening of the hearing.

Democratic Sen. Max Baucus of Montana said he also smelled a flameout. “I sense that nothing is going to be passed,” the Finance Committee chairman said.

Earlier, in the House of Representatives, Rep. Steny Hoyer said Congress might have to return in December — rather than adjourning for the year this week, as expected — to consider an auto bailout.

“Dealing with the automobile crisis is a pressing need. We are talking about a lot of people ... and a great consequence to our economy,” said Hoyer, the House majority leader.

The financial situation for the automakers grows more precarious by the day. Cash-strapped GM said it will delay reimbursing its dealers for rebates and other sales incentives and could run out of cash by year’s end without government aid.

In the Senate, Democrats discussed but rejected the option favored by the White House and Republican lawmakers to let the auto industry use a $25 billion loan program created by Congress in September, which was designed to help the companies develop more fuel-efficient vehicles, to tide them over financially until President-elect Barack Obama takes office in January.

“There was no indication that there was any traction” for the White House plan, Sen. Ben Nelson said after a Democratic luncheon.

The leader of the House, Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and other senior Democrats, who count environmental groups among their strongest supporters, have opposed that approach vehemently because it would divert federal money that was supposed to go toward the development of vehicles that use less gasoline.

“I don’t think that’s going very far in our caucus,” said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.

Instead, they want to draw the $25 billion directly from the $700 billion Wall Street bailout, which would bring the government’s total aid to the car companies to $50 billion.

A Senate vote on that plan, which also would extend jobless benefits, could come as early as Thursday, but aides in both parties and lobbyists tracking the effort privately acknowledge it does not have the support to advance. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson renewed the administration’s opposition on Tuesday.

Even the car companies’ strongest supporters conceded that changing the terms of the fuel-efficiency loan programme might be the only way to secure funding for them with Congress set to depart for the year and the firms in tough financial shape.

Meanwhile, the chief executive of a major US bank that received $25 billion from the government’s financial bailout package said Tuesday that federal aid shouldn’t be dispensed to the ailing Detroit Three automakers — unless they become the Detroit Two.

“I think there’s one too many” automakers, Bank of America CEO Kenneth Lewis told the Detroit Economic Club during a meeting in Cobo Centre, the downtown convention centre that’s home to the North American International Auto Show each January. He added he would require consolidation if he was deciding on a bailout.

“I think the American people are suspect of just giving more money and buying more time,” he told reporters after the speech. “They want to see that the companies have in fact changed and the strategies have changed.” - AP

Slowdown saps promise of emerging auto markets - Malaysiakini

noreply@blogger.com (mr. xp) — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 07:45:00 +0000

GUANGZHOU, Nov 19 — Smoke and flashing lights, dancing girls in white go-go boots — the world’s top automakers put on dazzling shows as they wooed Chinese buyers with their latest models.

But for all the flash at this year’s Guangzhou Auto Show, automakers face a dimmer outlook for global sales, even here in the world’s second-largest vehicle market.

Just as General Motors Corporation and other manufacturers are desperately looking to emerging markets to compensate for falling sales in the US, Europe and Japan, potential car buyers in China, Russia and other once sizzling markets are pulling back.

With the economy slowing in China, people are worried about their pay and job security. News about the global financial crisis and plunging markets is also undermining consumer confidence.

“I was planning to buy a Lavida two months ago, but now have just changed my mind,” said Yang Hong, a senior manager for an audio equipment company in Shanghai, referring to a popular China-market model made by Volkswagen.

“It’s not that I can’t afford it, but I think it’s not so necessary, so I can wait until next year,” Yang said.

The big automakers’ ability to weather the crisis hinges on drawing jittery customers like Yang back into dealerships, especially in China.

The urgency is particularly acute for America’s big automakers — GM, Ford Motor Corporation and Chrysler LLC — which have been battered by the US economic meltdown and are lobbying the federal government for a US$25 billion (RM88 billion) bailout that looks increasingly murky. GM has said it could run out of cash by year’s end without government aid.

“We have to recognise that the US is where the problem is now. We’re growing in these other areas,” said Robert Socia, vice president of Shanghai General Motors, one of GM’s eight joint ventures in China. “The problems in the US are finite and are attributable only to the US, and a little bit to Europe.” Socia spoke on the sidelines of the Guangzhou Auto Show yesterday.

While the company’s worldwide sales fell 11 per cent in the third-quarter, many developing country markets were still growing at double-digit rates: 15.1 per cent in Russia, 15.5 per cent in Brazil, 12 per cent in China. India grew at a more modest 5 per cent.

Sales outside North America accounted for 61 per cent of GM’s total revenues in the third-quarter of this year, up from 56 per cent a year earlier.

Rival Ford Motor Corporation is likewise looking to China for growth — 30 per cent in 2007 — it can’t expect to find back home.

“We’re serious about this market. It’s becoming really big and influential,” said Nigel Harris, general manager for sales at Changan Ford Mazda Automobile Corporation, a Ford joint venture in China.

Ditto for German automaker Volkswagen AG, whose sales through its numerous units and joint ventures climbed nearly 13 per cent in January-October to 853,800.

China’s total auto sales rose 11 per cent in the first 10 months of this year. That’s robust compared with the contractions in the US, Europe and Japan, but nowhere near the 18.5 per cent increase seen last year.

Sales fell in August and September before gaining 8.37 per cent in October, as controls on credit hit large car sales, while high gas prices dented purchases of economy models.

“Definitely the market now is slowing down,” said Yale Zhang, a Shanghai-based analyst with CSM Worldwide. He expects sales growth to fall to single digits, perhaps 8 per cent, in 2008, for the first time this decade.

Other emerging markets are also getting hit. In Brazil, automakers are slashing production as sales plunge.

In Russia, which became Europe’s biggest car market this year, dealers reportedly were turning truckloads of vehicles away, saying they have no room for them. Passenger car sales rose 41 per cent in the first half of the year, to 1.65 million cars, but have tapered off since as banks cut off loans used to finance nearly half of purchases.

Sales of passenger vehicles in India fell by 9.1 per cent in October, while commercial vehicle sales plunged 36 per cent, as high interest rates and tight consumer credit took their toll on what had been one of the world’s fastest growing automobile markets, according to the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers, an industry group.

“We’re looking to emerging markets to grow and thrive in. We see tremendous potential as consumers will increase their purchasing power over time,” Maureen Kempston Darkes, president of GM’s Latin America, Africa and Middle East region, said in a phone interview from Miami.

Analysts say they expect sales to rebound in many markets once credit conditions loosen. China’s own economic growth — forecast to fall to as low as 7.5 per cent next year before it regains momentum— is vital.

GM itself has invested billions of dollars in China, helping push sales there to 1.03 million units in 2007 — a 12 per cent share in a viciously competitive market.

While it lobbies for a bailout from the US government, GM plans to carry on with its plans for China.

“China is very, very important to us when you talk about the emerging markets,” said GM’s Socia. “We’re expanding very, very fast here and we’re going to continue to do that.”

GM introduced three models new to China yesterday at Guangzhou. The first, the Buick Enclave, is a luxury SUV exported from the US as part of a trade agreement between Beijing and Washington.

The powerful Cadillac CTS-V, designed to compete with the world’s fastest sport sedans, is also US-made. The third vehicle, the Cruze, debuted last month at the Paris Auto Show and will be manufactured in Shanghai, among other worldwide locations, Socia said.

Japanese automakers Toyota Motor Corporation and Honda Motor Corporation both have thriving joint ventures here with local partner Guangzhou Automobile Corporation.

Sales may have fallen for now, but the market has huge potential for growth in the long-run, says Zhang of CSM in Shanghai.

“This is still the fastest growing large auto market in the world,” he said. “As a major player, if you want to have further growth in the future you have to invest in this market.” — AP

Oil steady near 22-month low below US$55 in Asia- Malaysiakini

noreply@blogger.com (mr. xp) — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 07:42:00 +0000

SINGAPORE, Nov 19 - Oil prices were steady below $55 a barrel Wednesday in Asia as investors paused to examine the extent of global economic weakness, which has sent crude down more than 60 per cent in four months.

Light, sweet crude for December delivery was up 19 cents to $54.58 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange by midday in Singapore. The contract Tuesday fell 56 cents to settle at $54.39, the lowest since January 2007.

"Market sentiment is still bearish, but not as bearish as a week ago," said Clarence Chu, a trader with market maker Hudson Capital Energy in Singapore. "Volatility has come down and the market is consolidating a bit."

Stock markets have served for the past few months as a barometer of investor perceptions about the health of the global economy. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 1.8 percent Tuesday as Hewlett-Packard Co. said fourth quarter and 2009 results will exceed analyst expectations.

Most Asian stocks, however, fell Wednesday. Japan's benchmark Nikkei index fell 1.8 percent, Hong Kong's Hang Seng index dropped 0.3 per cent and the Korea Composite Stock Price Index slid 3.2 per cent.

Oil investors have already priced in a recession in developed countries and only evidence of an especially severe or prolonged slowdown may push prices down further, Chu said.

Prices have fallen 63 per cent since reaching a record $147.27 a barrel in mid-July.

"I don't see oil falling below $50," Chu said. "It should be above $60 in a couple weeks."

Investors will be watching for signs of slowing US demand in the weekly oil inventories report to be released Wednesday by the US Energy Department's Energy Information Administration.

The report is expected to show that oil stocks rose 1.2 million barrels last week, according to the average of estimates in a survey of analysts by Platts, the energy information arm of McGraw-Hill Cos.

The Platts survey also projects that gasoline inventories rose 700,000 million barrels and distillates increased 900,000 barrels last week.

In other Nymex trading, gasoline futures rose 0.24 cent to $1.14 a gallon. Heating oil gained 1.21 cents to $1.77 a gallon while natural gas for December delivery increased 0.3 cent to $6.52 per 1,000 cubic feet.

In London, December Brent crude rose 16 cents to $52.00 on the ICE Futures exchange. - AP

Palm oil prices to plunge 50% - Malaysiakini

noreply@blogger.com (mr. xp) — Sun, 16 Nov 2008 09:37:00 +0000

Palm oil prices could fall by 46 percent next year due to oversupply and waning demand for biofuels, despite measures to cut production in Southeast Asia, a brokerage group has said.

CLSA Asia-Pacific Markets has slashed its forecast for palm oil prices by 46 percent in 2009 and 32 percent in 2010, from current levels of about RM1,455 per tonne.

In a report released last week, the brokerage said it expects the commodity to trade at RM1,000 per tonne next year and RM1,250 in 2010.

Prices of palm oil have plummeted by 68 percent since a March high of RM4,486 per tonne due to the financial crisis and the falling price of crude oil - which reduces demand for palm oil to supply the biodiesel industry.

Malaysia's palm oil inventory in October hit a record 2.1 million tonnes - a 14 percent increase from the previous year - due to a production surge and a slowdown in exports to China and the Netherlands.

CLSA said that the inventory build-up is much worse in Indonesia.

"The biofuels story is waning, providing less demand support. We are also sceptical about effectiveness of government initiatives to boost CPO (crude palm oil) prices," it said.

Malaysia and Indonesia, which account for 85 percent of global palm oil output, plan to replant old trees and mandate biodiesel use to cut supply and bolster prices.

However, Buddhika Piyasena from Fitch Ratings was less gloomy, saying that prices had "pretty much bottomed out" at current levels and that the risk of further losses was limited.

"We might see these levels continue in the US$450 (RM1,625) per tonne range for a while," Piyasena told AFP, noting that both the world's top producers, Indonesia and Malaysia, are implementing measures to push up prices.

Gov't vehicles to use biofuel

Deputy commodities minister Kohilan Pillay said Malaysia aims to fell some 200,000 hectares of old palm oil trees and all government vehicles will start using biofuel in the next few months.

The replanting scheme will involve trees of more than 25 years old as the yield from these trees is low at about 17 tonnes per hectare annually.

Smallholders will be given a RM1,000 incentive by the government for each hectare replanted.

"A good price for CPO is at the RM2,000 range and this is what we are aiming for," he said.

Fitch's Piyasena said that if the measures to mandate the use of biofuel in both countries are fully implemented, it could absorb up to 1.0 million tonnes of palm oil.

Obama victory spells renewed US interest - Malaysiakini

noreply@blogger.com (mr. xp) — Sun, 16 Nov 2008 08:37:00 +0000

In Indonesia, many know him as 'Barry'. To others US president-elect Barack Obama is the 'Menteng Kid' for the primary school he attended while living in South-east Asia’s largest country.

MCPX

Indonesia had a little more to celebrate than its neighbours when Obama was declared elected on Tuesday. Among those who rejoiced was Israella Dharmawan, Obama's teacher during his childhood in central Jakarta.

"I remember he once wrote two stories titled 'My mother, my idol' and 'I want to be a president'," she said in a story appearing in Thursday's Jakarta Post newspaper.

Obama was six when he came to live in Indonesia in 1967 and lived there for five years with his mother, Ann Dunham, and his Indonesian stepfather, Lolo Soetoro.

"I hope to see him become a good president and keep his campaign promises," the former third-grade teacher added of the new US leader who had come across to her as "good, cheerful and easygoing as a young boy."

For Indonesia there is significance in US voters creating history by voting an African-American to the most powerful job in the world. The possibility of a member of a minority community being elected president remains remote in Indonesia, where the Javanese, the majority ethnic community, hold sway.

"This phenomena teaches us all that ethnicity, race and other labels are not important. What matters is our capability," Jusuf Kalla, the country’s vice president, was quoted as having told the Indonesian national news agency Antara following Obama’s victory.

Kalla is a leader of Golkar, the country's largest political party. But media reports note that the likelihood of him running for president in the 2009 elections are doubtful because of his origins. He is a member of the Bugis ethnic minority from the mountainous island of South Sulawesi.

Serve as an inspiration

Obama's example would not have been lost on Malaysia, Indonesia's neighbour, where the Malay majority maintains a firm grip on political power at the expense of the country's minorities, such as ethnic Chinese and Indians.

Even in Singapore - which has policies to maintain racial harmony - the political culture favours a member of the dominant Chinese community for the office of prime minister.

"The US election could inspire people from minorities in this region to think of what is possible," says Phil Robertson, chairperson of Democrats Abroad Thailand, a group of US citizens living here who campaigned for Obama, the presidential candidate of the Democratic Party.

"It could broaden people's ideas that a person from a minority could rise to the post of political power based on the ideas he or she represents," added Robertson in an interview. "Obama's victory is an inspirational moment."

The widely followed US elections offered other sober lessons too: the gulf between what passes for democracy in this region as against the robust US system.

An official response from the Philippines, a former US colony in the region with a similar polity, said it all. "Our own democracy and electoral process can be enriched by the lessons, model, and example that the last US presidential contest can offer, particularly in terms of the primacy of issues and blueprints of governance, as well as the efficiency and integrity by which the electorate's will is safeguarded," said Gabriel Claudio, political advisor to the Philippines president, in a statement.

Elections in South-east Asia's few developing democracies are plagued by fraud, questionable candidates and tension, which, at times, leads to violence before and after the elections. Suppression of the media and stifling of open and free debate also stains this region's electoral culture.

Reinvigorate multilateralism

For the 10-member Asean, the Obama victory comes after growing concern among the region's leaders that the George W Bush administration was losing interest in the regional bloc. While Bush described South-east Asia as the second front in his 'war against terrorism' after the Sept 2001 terrorist attacks on the US, Washington opted for the bilateral route rather than multilateral measures.

"After 9-11 terrorism became the main priority for the Bush administration, it wanted immediate results, which Asean is not geared to. Defence is not its strength," Robert Fitts, a former US diplomat who has served in three South-east Asian capitals, told IPS. "So it developed bilateral relations and dealt directly with the defence ministries and the police in the region and spent less energy with a multilateral body like Asean."

With the Bush doctrine in tatters, a greater engagement with Asean is expected, underscoring Obama's inclination towards multilateralism. "He wants to reinvigorate multilateralism and that includes Asean," says Fitts.

Asean includes Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Burma, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, the Philippines, and Brunei.

"Obama will create a new impetus for Asean-US policy," says Kavi Chongkittavorn, a senior editor and columnist on regional affairs at The Nation, an English-language daily in Thailand.

"Many Asean leaders want stronger ties with the new US administration, because they know that they stand to gain more."

Move Me Relocation Services

noreply@blogger.com (mr. xp) — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 00:45:00 +0000

Housing moving or relocation is a part of our life triggered by new needs and desire. We relocated may due to getting new jobs, moving to a better housing community or environment, new home after marriage, social mobility and desire for change such as escaping of busy lifestyle in city. Buying a new home or renovate your home may be an easy task because there are a lot of options available. However, how about the task of moving from your old home to the new place? It takes times and strenuous efforts to move your stuff and cumulative years of inventories. There it goes that you need the help of relocation expert or house moving specialist.

Mortgage Quotes

Relocation specialist are no more hard labor job, small operator that using a single old truck as we imagine. It is where the use of better system to give the best alternative of moving homes with the lowest cost to consumer. A lot of relocation specialist may have their own websites as interface to customers where exposure of internet is wide, especially in developed nation such as United States and Europe. It is where we came across one of these interesting website from United Kingdom, moveme.com. Moveme.com provides planning for customers to move or relocate.

Highlights

Providing and rich and interactive media with information to would be customers. From one point it looks like a qualified property expert with advice on home buying, property market, related services such as solicitors and surveyor. It is a one stop information portal to match the customers and the services provider.
The site provides a relocation planner for registered users absolutely FREE. Moving house is not an easy chores, it needs weeks or month of planning. Planner assist to give a bigger picture of task need to be implemented in the given time frame.
Free mortgage quotes - Looking for the Best Price?
Wide range of selected relocation provider registered. Moveme.com will match the customer with provider based on the location and cost. Get your removal quotes now!!
Cost saving through some benefits offered from site services such as utilities rates, surveyor, locksmith, home alarm system, mortgages etc through Moveme.com affiliates. No more hassle on house moving problem as all information and services related to house services can be obtained on stop at Moveme.com.
Although operation is much linked to UK, international relocation services are also provided.

This Site has won Yahoo Innovation Award and Yahoo People's Choice Award

(Snapshot of the Move Planner)

For those who need relocation services within UK, to UK or out from UK, Moveme.com may be your specialist solution provider.

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www.moveme.com

Rightsizing

noreply@blogger.com (mr. xp) — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 09:07:00 +0000

Rightsizing is still one of the most pertinent corporate issues in the 1990s as organizations continue to operate in conditions of economic depression, cost constraints, intense competition, market deregulation and structural changes such as mergers and acquisitions. Subsequent to this most industries have experienced slowed growth in a period of intense competition that is complicated by the high degree of uncertainty in the business environment. In these circumstances a fundamental dilemma is to maintain both high organization adaptability and high workforce commitment. This is a difficult task because the constant resizing and restructuring required for adaptability may undermine the employee security needed for commitment.

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Rachid Zeffane and Geoffrey Mayo

Changes in the Japanese Market Environment

noreply@blogger.com (mr. xp) — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 08:54:00 +0000

Changes in the Japanese Market Environment and Expectations for Foreign Direct Investments in Japan by Foreign Enterprises

1) Progress of Globalization
A process of globalization is taking place in all industries under the mechanism of the market
economy with mergers and acquisition activities and corporate strategic alliances transcending
national borders taking place at an accelerated pace. Competition is being carried out on a global scale in the automobile, electrical equipment, communications and pharmaceutical sectors. In these areas, new global standards are being established. For example, in the construction industry, it is now a global requirement to acquire a standard ISO 9000 series, which has been established by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). In the automobile industry, the Big Three in the United States have added supplemental items to the ISO 9000 series to establish QS 9000 and require investigation by a third party. In addition, in many parts of the world market, participants are being required to fulfill ISO 14000; the environmental protection standards established by the ISO to meet the local environmental protection policies. The International Accounting Standards Committee (IASC) has almost completed the preparations for the International Accounting Standards (IAS) that were designed to facilitate the global standard for accounting. The International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO), of which Japan’s Ministry of Finance is a member, has indicated their intention of its adoption beginning in the year 2002. In these various sectors, globalization of standards have been progressing and are affecting the various industry sectors and markets.

2) Innovation in the Information/Communications Industry
Since the beginning of the 1990’s, “innovation in the information and communications
industry” evolving around the concept of digital information has been taking place. Computer
equipment, cellular phone equipment, digital videodiscs (DVD) and other new software have
been developed. Information networks consisting of such devices have brought about changes
in all industrial areas.

The reach of the “innovation in the information and communications” has not been limited to
industry. It has caused the popularization and increased usage of the Internet among administrative agencies and institutions , with a high level of public orientation, such as schools, hospitals , and households. In the finance and securities areas, the use of electronic money is being realized. Businesses are being developed using information networks in the distribution and the business support areas.

3) Need for Preservation of the Environment
Today, environmental preservation issues, global warming, the depletion of the ozone layer,
acid rain, water pollution, and desertification have been cited on a worldwide scale and
measures are being discussed. As a proposed solution, a global agreement on the emission
standards for carbon dioxide emissions in each country was achieved during the 1998 Kyoto
Environmental Conference.

In Japan, laws and standards have been implemented for environmental preservation and
measures are being taken to strictly enforce the installation of pollution control equipment and
reporting systems relating to the regulatory standards. Every industry will be required to adopt
environmental protection equipment and systems, which is expected to lead to a major
development of an entirely new environmental-related business market.

4) The Aging Population and Declining Birthrate
In the near future, Japan will become one of the most aged societies. Early signs of an aging
population appeared in the 1980’s and accelerated in the 90’s. It is expected to increase at the
same pace in the future, while the birthrate declined to 1.38 children per female in 1998. These
trends will expand the markets for medical care, welfare, and nursing markets, as well as affect
the housing and the service industries.

5) Shifts in Lifestyles and Health Consciousness
A trend toward diversification of people ’s values and individualism has been noted in the people of Japan today. They are beginning to enjoy life through new leisure and sports activities without binding by the existing set of values. People are taking an interest in their health by joining fitness and sports clubs, and lifelong education and culture centers are gaining popularity.

6) Reforms in the Company Organization “Kaisha”
Amendments to the Commercial Law and the Anti-Monopoly Law led to the following changes
in company systems:
· Introduction of a stock option system
· Purchase of own shares
· Simplification of merger process
· Lifting of the prohibitions against holding companies

The stock option system is a compensation system that has been introduced into Japan from the United States. It is a tool to provide incentives to motivate the corporation’s officers and staff toward improving corporate performance. Preferential tax treatment for the income from
exercising options has also been established under the Income Tax Law.
Purchase of own shares is the purchase by the company of its shares using earnings or other
profits. Through this operation, the corporation can enhance its ability to efficiently and
flexibly manage its cash flows.

Merger procedures have been simplified through the abbreviation of the requirement for individual notification of the merger in creditor protection procedures, as well as through abolition of the report and establishment meetings. On the other hand, steps have been taken to enhance information disclosure for the shareholders and creditors to protect creditors and investors.

A holding company enables the decision making process to proceed more quickly because the
management of the group of enterprises and individual businesses is separated.

Major issues for structural reforms that are outstanding are:
· Introduction of share exchange
· Enhancement of corporate information disclosures (consolidated financial reporting base)
· Preparations of laws relating to mergers and acquisitions
· Tax reforms (introduction of a consolidated taxation system)
· Defined contribution pension system, fee-based job placement services, reforms to the
qualification system
· System reform relating to land (relaxation of land use restrictions, system preparation for
securitization of real estate)

HIDDEN COST OF WAL-MART JOBS

noreply@blogger.com (mr. xp) — Sat, 16 Aug 2008 11:26:00 +0000

Wal-Mart is the largest employer in the United States, with over one million workers. It is the largest food retailer and the third largest pharmacy in the nation. The company employs approximately 44,000 workers in California, and has plans to expand significantly in the state over the next four years. Wal-Mart workers receive lower wages than other retail workers and are less likely to have health benefits. Other major retailers have begun to scale back wages and benefits in the state, citing their concerns about competition from Wal-Mart. We estimate that Wal-Mart workers in California earn on average 31 percent less than workers employed in large retail as a whole, receiving an average wage of $9.70 per hour compared to the $14.01 average hourly earnings for employees in large retail (firms with 1,000 or more employees). In addition, 23 percent fewer Wal-Mart workers are covered by employer-sponsored health insurance than large retail workers as a whole. The differences are even greater when Wal-Mart workers are compared to unionized grocery workers. In the San Francisco Bay Area, non-managerial Wal-Mart employees earn on average $9.40 an hour, compared to $15.31 for unionized grocery
workers—39 percent less—and are half as likely to have health benefits.

At these low-wages, many Wal-Mart workers rely on public safety net programs— such as food stamps, Medi-Cal, and subsidized housing—to make ends meet. The presence of Wal-Mart stores in California thus creates a hidden cost to the state’s taxpayers. This study is the first to quantify the fiscal costs of Wal-Mart’s substandard wages and benefits on public safety net programs in California. It also explores the potential impact on public programs of Wal-Mart’s competitive effect on industry standards.

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Carrefour vs. Wal-mart: The Battle for Global Retail Dominance

noreply@blogger.com (mr. xp) — Sat, 16 Aug 2008 11:14:00 +0000

Carrefour SA (Euronext: CA) (pronounced [karˈfur]) is a French international hypermarket chain, with a global network of outlets. It is the second largest retail group in the world in terms of revenue after Wal-Mart. Carrefour operates mainly in Europe, Brazil, Argentina, Dominican Republic and Colombia, but also has shops in North Africa and Asia. Carrefour means "junction" in French. Having Wal-Mart began to expansion in Europe by purchase of Asda, Carrefour began to treat the Wal-Mart moves as a threat to its business dominance not only in Europe but also in the world retailing market. This articles take a look on the business of hypermarket retailing, its history of growing importance and the competitive scenario in the growing competition between the giant retailers in the market.

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