IV. International
(11-01-09)
. Asian nations
are pulling
the global economy out of its downturn, but both Asia
and US need to do more to reduce the global trade
imbalances. Asia as a whole expanded at an annual rate
of 9% during Q2, and some countries, including China,
grew at rates of more than 10%. The flood of foreign
money might not have been a major problem but the
American financial regulation system was inadequate in
preventing a verge of reckless lending that aggravated
the bubble in housing prices.
.
Asian leaders barely
mentioned Myanmar’s democracy and Aung San Suu Kyi at
the Thai Summit, making a mockery of the region’s
grand claims for its new rights body, analysts said.
.
The ASEAN leaders noted that the region had shown signs
of recovery from the global crisis and “regained its
pace of economic growth.” The 16 leaders represent
almost half the world’s population and more than a third
of the global GDP.
.
Malunggay
is packed with 7 xs more than Vitamin A in carrots, 4x
more calcium in milk, 3x more potassium than in bananas,
2x the protein in yogurt, and 2x the iron in spinach. It
is known as horseradish tree in India, nebeday in
Senegal, and benzolive in Haiti.
.
World Water Week
(Oct. 15, 2009) was designated by the UN General
Assembly, in accordance with the declaration of 2008 as
International Year of Sanitation. Hand-washing
with soap can save more lives than a single vaccine or
medical intervention. It has reduced diarrhea-related
deaths by as much as one-half and deaths from acute
respiratory infection by a quarter.
.
Oil prices jumped above $75 a barrel (10/14) in Asia for
the first time since a year ago on investor crude demand
that it will improve ahead of the Christmas shopping
season.
. Asian
stocks extended their endurance 10/15 after
better-than-expected earnings report from US companies
helped push the Dow Jones industrial average pass the
10k mark for the first time in a year.
.
REITI investors in Korea
have reaped an average of 1.14% in profit margins for
their investment since 2002, the government said.
.
The US would not endorse any new global deal trade
accord unless it contained a solid “deal” on services,
urging Asian nations in particular to liberalize the
lucrative sector.
. China
is a financial miracle.
It is about to surpass Japan as the world’s second
largest economy. It will be the world’s largest economy
in 5 years. It is the largest producer of most
industrial and agricultural products. In spite of
ongoing western criticism of its political structure and
its one-party system, its success proves that its
political system and economic model may be far more
efficient than anything western democracies can offer.
.
Rather than copying the
western economic and value system, it adopted some
western advantages, modified them and integrated them
into its own economic model and social system, while the
US is driving itself to the precipice of total economic
destruction.
.
US wants to better
understand where China is heading as it improve its
space & satellite capabilities. It means they want more
money to compete with China in this area because it is
working with old satellite that go back to the Cold War.
Many of these units focus largely on the northern
hemisphere.
.
Tokyo & Nagasaki
(Japan), site of the atomic bombings in World War
II are teaming up to bid for 2020 Summer Olympics,
said the mayors of two cities.
. This year
marks the 50th year of the normalization of
diplomatic relations between the two countries (Japan &
Philippines) which are enjoying good relations. Japan,
in fact, is PI’s top trading partner and one of its
largest foreign investors.
.
Former Financial Services Agency chief (Takafumi
Sato) has become a senior adviser of US financial
consulting firm Promontory Financial Group, LLC,
announced the company.
.
US is closely watching
Taiwan’s rules on beef import to monitor
artificial trade barrier set up by Taiwan to effectively
block entry of certain beef products due to public
concerns over mad cow disease.
.
The Ministry of National Defense will enforce an
overhaul of a Fokker 50 VIP transport plane that was
trailing smoke and sparks as it landed with Pres. Ma on
board at Taichung Chingchuangkang airport on Sunday.
.
The Ministry of Economic Affairs aims to further
open up to Chinese investments in Taiwan in hopes of
attracting large-sale investments from China.
. South Korea’s
new bullet
train, the KTX-II, is also known as the aluminum train.
It is built, using only local technology, is more
aerodynamic and weighs less than the previous model. The
upgraded train will begin service in December.
. Seoul is
considering participating in the lunar exploration
program underscoring the importance in shaping
achievements and research to enhance the quality of life
for all mankind. Local governments are competing to
clinch hosting duties for the Group of 20-Summit
scheduled to take place in Korea next Nov, Seoul &
Incheon are reportedly competing for the position while
Daegu & Gyeongju are “seeking to co-host the event.
Busan & Jeju are also vying to host.
.
Seoul’s top arms official (Byun Moo-keun) met with
Philippine Defense Minister (Gilberto Teodoro) to
promote sale of military cargo vessels, high speed boats
& vehicles and explore ways to improve bilateral arms
sale. Korea was found to have the most investment fund
in a survey of 44 countries, data showed.
.
If the world were forced
to save only one language, it should be German. What if
there could be but one alphabet? It should be Hangeul
(Korean). It has no mechanism for distinguishing unique
Chinese intonations, the fundamental building blocks for
Korean.
.
Sen. Benigno “Noynoy”
Aquino has taken over the top spot in the Filipinos’
preferred successor to GMA in 2010, garnering an
overwhelming 60% nod among the electorate, the Q3
Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey
results showed.
.
The death toll in 2 cyclones that hit the Philippines
(Ketsana and Parma) has breached the 700 mark as of
10/14. The number of recent deaths from Parma (locally
named Ondoy) was 375, mostly from the Cordillera
Administrative Region which includes Benguet, Kainga,
Mountain Province, Ifugao, Abra and Baguio City.
.
Farmers from Mindanao
staged a sit-down protest inside the premises of the
Dept. of Environment & Natural Resources to
press Secretary Lito Atienza to issue an order stopping
the aerial spraying of banana plantation in Mindanao,
citing dangers to their families, especially children
and pregnant women who may be expose to harmful
chemicals.
.
Overseas Filipinos sent
home $11.34 billion in the first eight months, up 3.7%
year-on-year, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas
(BSP), which is the central bank of the Philippines
(PI).
.
PI may appeal to Washington to fast-track the passage of
the proposed “Save Act” which seeks to grant
preferential tariff on the country’s garment exports to
the US market as its contribution to the rebuilding of
the damaged domestic infrastructure due to the recent
typhoons. It needs $5 billion worth of investments in
the next six years to develop its domestic natural gas
industry.
. Once the
Prepa Act is inked to shield manufacturers from
liability, Philippine firms have no financial incentive
to make the safest product and have a negative incentive
to test it for safety. It is in their interest to know
as little as possible about adverse reaction caused by
their products.
.
Military and government
officials have been saying for months that they will
attack the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP)
movement in their stronghold, but despite sporadic air
strikes, no timeframe has been set.
. Iran’s
official news agency called on its security forces to
seriously deal with Pakistan once and for all. Pres.
M.A. told his Pakistani counterpart that his nation
might hunt down suspected members of Jundallah or
Soldiers of God. The US is offering $7.5 billion to
Pakistan for development, but only 15% of Pakistanis
support accepting it, according to Gallup Pakistan
survey released last Sept.
.
A wave of attacks against top security installations
over the last several days in mid-October demonstrated
that Taliban & al Quaeda
militant groups once nurtured by the government are
tightening an alliance aimed at bringing down the
Pakistani states, government officials and analysts
said.
.
Why is China so paranoid
when it comes to the Dalai Lama? They closely monitor
his travels; they chase him around the world and
badmouth him. It’s like an elephant trying to chase a
mouse. Leave him alone! It recently expressed “grave
concern” to India that a visit by the Dalai Lama
to the country’s northeast corner is anti-China. Gimme a
break! Its persecution of the Dalai Lama raises
legitimate questions about the legality of its invasion,
not the re-incorporation of Tibet to the motherland.
.
More than 18 years after New Delhi pawned 87 tons of
gold to tide over a balance of payment crisis, the
Reserve Bank of India has bought thrice that amount
of gold from the IMF to diversify its assets.
.
Jindal Steel & Power
fell 1.60% to Rs. 630. JSP is the lowest cost coal-based
sponge iron producer in the country with captive coal
and iron ore mines in Chhattisgarth and Orissa,
respectively. Sponge iron is an intermediary product
used in the making of steel.
. Vietnam,
which used to be a tourism hotspot a few years ago, is
losing its shine as it has become vastly overpriced.
Thailand’s tourism industry is also in the blues,
rocked by political instability that has kept holiday
travelers away. Because the country serves as a major
hub, Thailand’s problem has affected regional tourism as
well. (Greg Duffell, president of Pacific Asia Travel
Assn).
.
Construction of the 771
km (451 mi) pipeline comes as China boosts investment in
Myanmar and tries to gain greater access to foreign
oil & gas supplies to fuel its booming economy.
.
People in Indonesia are punishing narrowly
religious parties at the polls, going against a trend in
other Islamic nations.
