Wednesday, June 10, 2009

施恩奶粉被曝三氨超标 声明称接受退货拒绝赔偿

本报讯 (记者 胡红伟) 针对近日有媒体报道施恩奶粉被查出三聚氰胺超标百倍一事,施恩(广州)婴幼儿营养品有限公司昨日17时发布声明称,公司接受退货,但不接受赔偿方案。

  超标产品去年3月生产

  据《每日经济新闻》昨日报道,消费者郭利将去年出产的几罐施恩奶粉,送到国家食品质量安全监督检验中心进行检验,报告显示这几个批次的奶粉均检 测出大量三聚氰胺,有的甚至超过国家规定的1mg/kg限量值100多倍。据报道称,郭利说施恩公司不承认他的孩子食用了问题奶粉。

  该公司表示,该消费者所送检的产品生产日期为2008年3月17日,为2008年9月14日(奶粉事件)之前的产品,对于之前生产的产品,该公司已进行了无条件全部召回并处理。

  该公司称,多次与这名消费者沟通,要求其退回手中剩余的产品,但是该消费者拒绝退还。施恩称,也曾多次要求对消费者的小孩进行复检,但是该消费者拒绝,并索要精神赔偿费50万元。

  昨日,郭利对此没有回应,记者多次拨打他的手机,一直是忙碌或无人接听状态。此前媒体报道,郭利表示孩子食用奶粉后,在医院查出肾结石,而所食用奶粉并不在施恩召回产品名单中。

  对于所提的50万赔偿,施恩公司称,建议按照国家相关规定处理,但因其不能出具充分的病历证明材料,国家相关部门无法鉴定赔偿,双方协调未果。

  施恩公司称目前产品全合格

  施恩公司表示,自去年9月14日之后,经质监局驻厂监督,出厂产品全部合格。

  去年三聚氰胺风波后,三鹿等22家企业,于去年底表示愿意向患儿赔偿,对近30万名确诊患儿给予一次性赔偿,并建立医疗赔偿基金。施恩也是22家企业之一。

http://www.sina.com.cn

卫星云图显示法航失事客机遇到罕见风暴天气

新华网巴西利亚6月9日电 (记者赵焱) 据巴西媒体9日报道,欧洲气象卫星组织的卫星图像显示,法航失事客机曾在大西洋上空遇到温度低至零下83摄氏度的厚厚的风暴云团,在卫星捕捉到云团图像的14分钟后,法航客机发出了最后一次自动故障信息。

  图像数据是由METEOSAT-9卫星在巴西时间5月31日23时获得的,巴西阿拉戈阿州联邦大学气象站对其进行了分析。该气象站的气象学家乌姆贝尔托·巴尔博萨说,这些图像表明当时的天气条件非常罕见,因此分析认为飞机失事是由反常的天气条件造成的。

  巴尔博萨说:“在失事飞机经过的时候,对流云层可能以很快的速度变厚,并且云层最顶端的温度可能达到零下83摄氏度,这意味着飞机遇到了剧烈的风暴。这让我们猜测风暴可能是造成飞机失事的原因。”他强调说:“这是我第一次看到飞机在飞行过程中遇到这种情况。”

  但巴尔博萨说,这些数据还没有提交给调查事故的当局。另外,由于事发地区雷达覆盖不足,METEOSAT-9卫星是唯一的气象数据来源。

  法航一架空客A330客机于格林尼治时间1日凌晨在大西洋海域上空失事。客机上共有216名乘客和12名机组人员,其中包括中国乘客9人。

视频:卫星云图显示法航失事客机遇到风暴天气

東亞衛星再漲停板‧疑與明訊ASTRO有關‧阿南達將有大動作?

吉隆坡)大馬企業大亨丹斯里阿南達“火紅”,旗下子公司私有化、併主題持續發酵,促使東亞衛星球(MEASAT,3875,主板貿服組)早盤再度漲停板,分析員認為空穴來風必有因,大股東確實可能正有“大作”。

東亞衛星全球向來表現平平,近期卻大放異彩,令市場懷疑這間公司與明訊(Maxis)和ASTRO公司(ASTRO,5076,主板貿服組)“台底下”可能進行秘密計劃,曖昧關係備受市場關注。

分析員:事出必有因

東亞衛星全球今日(週三,610日)以跌1仙的1令吉73仙開出,隨後股價在併購主題催化下攀高,度上漲50仙或28.76%至2令吉24仙漲停板水平,最終掛2令吉零2仙,起28仙或16.09%,是兩週來第二次出現漲停板跡象。

東亞衛星全球上週四(6月4日)受明訊注入的傳言帶動,早市漲停板,寫下9年最大漲幅,全天急升77仙或64%,至1令吉98仙。

ASTRO一度走高2.52%

阿南達旗下另一公司――ASTRO公司(ASTRO,5076,主板貿服組)週三股價表現也受傳言推動,以3令吉18仙平盤開出後,在盤持續湧入下走高,一度走揚8仙或2.52%至3令吉26仙,閉市掛3令吉18仙,平盤。

正所謂“空穴來風必有因”,分析員認為,東亞衛星全球傳言纏身,大股東確實可能正對公司進行某些企業活動。

志必得證券研究經理馮廷秀認為,針對東亞衛星全球謠言滿場飛,儘管目前仍未有任何消息得證實,但大股東很可能正在對公司進行一些企業活動。

或進行融資計劃

“東亞衛星全球現正蒙受虧損,大股東非常可能對之進行必要的企業活動,或進行融資計劃。”

東亞衛星全球截至2009年3月31日止首季由盈轉虧,錄得淨虧損4148萬1000令吉,前期為淨利2611萬8000令吉。營業額則由前期的4313萬8000令吉增長25.31%至5405萬5000令吉。

馬銀行研究分析員表示,市場盛傳阿南達可能創造終極通訊公司計劃,傳言包括將東亞衛星全球和ASTRO合併,或將明訊注入ASTRO公司。

併購主題發酵

“市場傳阿南達準備將私有化的明訊注入旗下上市公司,東亞衛星全球和ASTRO公司因為業務相近是最有可能的對象。”

另一分析員則指出,東亞衛星全球漲停板,主要是併購主題發酵所致,與之前ASTRO公司傳出的消息一樣,最新傳言則是阿南達準備將明訊注入東亞衛星全球。

東亞衛星傳言版本

傳言1:明訊注入東亞衛星

上週市場盛傳,阿南達可能將除牌下市的明訊注入東亞衛星全球,帶動後者股價漲停板,更遭股票交易所詢問“不尋常”交易活動原因。

東亞衛星全球回應交易所質詢指出,公司並沒有任何最新業務及公司事務發展,導致股價不尋常波動,未瞭解任何導致股價出現不尋常波動消息。

分析員認為,明訊注入東亞衛星全球傳言並不可信,相反後者更可能是被私有化目標,主要是其股價長期受到低估。

傳言2:明訊注入ASTRO

明訊私有化後動向備受市場關注,繼與東亞衛星全球配對後,投資者再將之與姊妹公司ASTRO牽上關係。

不過,ASTRO公司急於撇清關係,速對傳聞作出否認,並指出公司董事部並未察覺明訊注入ASTRO建議,並認為這純屬猜測的消息。

但分析員認為,明訊除牌後可能進行內部重組,注入ASTRO公司旗下不無可能,因明訊的電訊服務和產品若結合ASTRO公司的無線電視服務,可打造一個跨媒體的資訊通訊科技巨無霸,讓雙方透過協同效應爭取更高盈利水平,以擺脫電訊業和電視媒體的激烈競爭。

傳言3:東亞衛星私有化

東亞衛星全球股價向來表現平平,股價長期遭到低估,不排除大股東私有化釋放真正價值可能。

分析員認為,阿南達私有化旗下子公司傳言不時傳出,隨著明訊私有化後,市場已把焦點鎖向ASTRO公司和東亞衛星全球,但東亞衛星全球股價長期被低估,要大股東私有化出價合理,料可釋放其潛在價值。

傳言4:明訊重新上市

東亞衛星全球和ASTRO公司忙於撇清關係,促使市場再度盛傳明訊可能重新上市消息,但卻遭明訊首席執行員山迪達斯否認。

他接受英文《星報》訪問時表示:“這只是傳言。”

聯昌投資研究說,重新上市行動最快可於9月進行,明訊要籌資以支付印度業務的營運。

僑豐投資研究上週表示,明訊過去兩個月來鎖定海外潛在投資者,以利重新上市行動。

明訊持有印度Aircel業務74%股權,後者在印度22個服務區中設有13處服務處。

明訊大股東是於2007年5月3日透過賓納亮宣佈以每股15令吉60仙代價私有化明訊,整個交易總值高達399億令吉,並在同年7月13日正式告別馬股,結束5年的上市日子,不過大股東卻不排除明訊未來可能在大馬股票交易所重新上市可能。

法航遇难者家人索赔费用可能达3亿欧元

环球时报特约记者唐娜报道,据英国《泰晤士报》6月10日报道,英国伦敦的斯图尔特法律事务所的詹姆斯-帕拉特律师称,法航失事客机遇难者家人预计将向法航提出多项索赔要求,这将使法航支付最多可能达3亿欧元的赔偿款。

  斯图尔特法律事务所曾处理过澳大利亚澳洲航空公司一架A330型客机去年10月因故障突然下坠致数名乘客受重伤的索赔案件。帕拉特律师说,那起事故的过程与法航A330型客机失事过程很相似,不断上下变化的空速数据显示显然是造成自动飞行系统失效的原因。

  代表法航百分之十机组人员的飞行员工会Alter披露称,法航早在去年11月6日就提醒飞行员,发生了多起错误航速数据导致自动飞行系统失效的 事件,这看起来很像法航447号航班发生的情况。这些故障都发生在巡航高度,机组人员成功地克服了故障。由于空速管被冰所堵塞,错误的航速数据使自动飞行 系统停止工作。法航447号航班发回的数据报告了同样的故障经过,但飞行员未能重新恢复对飞机的控制。

  近1000架A330/340型客机仍在使用之中,这些客机先前未发生使乘客丧生的事故。但是飞行员和专家们的注意力现在都集中在空客飞机高度 自动化飞行系统的缺陷上。飞行员对现代飞机尤其是高度自动化的空客家族客机的控制不如以前那样直接。由于计算机出现故障,失事的法航客机在飞过热带风暴时 可能缺少使其保持飞行状态的信息。搜索人员打捞起失事客机的垂直尾翼进一步加强了一些专家的怀疑,专家们怀疑,失事客机是在遇到严重湍流时因航速过慢或者 过快而失控并解体的。

  在飞行员工会呼吁机组人员抵制A330客机后,法航9日已采取紧急行动以更换A330飞机的航速测量仪。法航曾称,它已开始升级航速测量仪,但 未给失事客机更换该仪器。主要飞行员工会SNPL称,所有A330机上的三个航速传感器中至少有两个将会是新的。 欧洲航空安全局坚持称,所有的A330型飞机的适航性没有问题,可以安全地飞行。航空公司经理和航空专家警告称,人们不要仓促得出结论,因为目前唯一的证 据只是飞机最后4分钟所发出的24条信息。潜艇正在出事海区寻找记录有机组人员通话和飞行数据的“黑匣子”。

Investing in Gold Bullion

For thousands of years Gold has been used as currency and been a highly prized precious metal.Gold has always been a favoured investment to hedge your portfolio against inflation. Gold prices in the international gold market can remain fairly stable through times of instability, recession and currency fluctuations.

The ways of investing in gold can be via purchasing physical gold bullion in the form of gold bars or gold rounds, minted gold coins. Gold shares in gold mining companies are also available and various types of gold funds or mutuals that are managed by professional investors.

Gold coins have a legal tender face value in the countries currency that they were minted, and can be easier to dispose of if you need to liquidate your gold assets. Many types of gold bullion rounds or gold coins are available, such as American Eagles, Krugerrands, Sovereigns, Canadian Maples, Australian Gold Nuggets, Chinese Gold Pandas and many more. Gold bullion bars are available in many different sizes upto 400 ounce size. The 400 oz bullion gold bar is the London Good Delivery bar size. Good delivery bars must meet certain specifications, they must weigh between 350oz - 430oz and be of a minimum purity of 99.5% pure Gold. These London Good Delivery bullion bars are normally held by central banks and not usually held by smaller private investors.

Mining shares can be lucrative but their performance depends on the success of the mine and the general standing of the mining company you are investing in. Therefore mining stocks may not follow the general trend of the gold fix market, but can outperform the market if the mining company is particularly successful.

A precious metals gold managed fund can provide a more diverse gold stocks portfolio. The funds manger may invest in various precious metals and gold shares spreading any risk between a selection of stocks. Precious metals mutuals are available that also invest in other metals such as Silver, Platinum and Palladium as well as gold stocks.

The most cost effective way to invest in physical gold is to buy larger bullion bars. Gold bullion in bar form offers the lowest gold dealers percentage over the gold market price, depending on the bars size the dealers premium over fix can be as low as 2% - 5%. Compared to the premium on various gold coins of between 7% - 20% or more gold bullion bars appear much more attractive financially. Although the fact that gold bullion rounds or coins are much more liquid than bars may sway your decision to purchase bars. Gold coins can be disposed of on the open market fairly easily and quickly in comparison to large gold bars. Coins are also much easier for the smaller investor or private individual to obtain and to store. There is also the collectable and historical value that gold coins have against gold bullion bars.

新加坡‧最新預測:經濟今年將萎縮6.5%

(新加坡)根據經濟師和分析員的最新預測,新加坡經濟今年將萎縮6.5%,比今年3所預測的4.9%還要糟,不過,明年的經濟將會取得4.2%增長,比較早前所預測的3.3%還要好。

新加坡金融管理局今日(週三,6月10日)早上發表了最新的經濟預測,這是當局在5月21日向23名經濟師和分析員發出新加坡經濟發展最新調查後所得出的報告,當中有19名受訪者回應,並預測除了建築業之外,其他各行業在今年都將出現負增長。

新加坡經濟在今年第季是萎縮了10.1%,比經濟師和分析員較早前所預測的萎縮8.5%還要糟。他們對新加坡今年第二至第4季度的經濟表現所做的預測,都比在3月時所估計的數據來得悲觀。

在通貨膨脹方,分析員預測,新加坡今年的消費者物價指數將是1.5%,比之前預測的1.7%稍微低。

金管局也重申,所有的預測數據是反映了經濟師和分析員的看法,並不代表金管局的看法或預測。

纽约油价收盘破70美元 创7个月新高. Oil rallies onward, moves over $71 on Globex

纽约油价收盘破70美元创7个月新高


【MarketWatch纽约6月9日讯】北京时间6月10日凌晨,纽约市场主力原油期货合约的收盘位突破70美元,这是去年11月4日以来油市最近期合约的收盘价首次站上这一关口。美国政府提高油价预期和美元汇率下滑为油价提供了上涨动力。

  截至周二美东时间下午2:30(北京时间周三凌晨2点30分),纽约商业交易所的7月原油合约上涨1.92美元,收于70.01美元/桶,涨幅为2.8%。盘中7月合约的最高值为70.18美元,最低为68.43美元。

  纽约油市收盘时,美元指数下跌1.1%,至80.02点。通常情况下,美元疲软将推高以美元计价的石油等大宗商品的价格。

  德国商业银行的分析师表示:“近来美元和油价的反向联动源自市场预计全球经济将快速复苏,而经济好转最终将导致利率上调和石油需求增长。”但是,他们同时指出,目前“石油的需求依然很脆弱,特别是在油价处于目前高位的情况下”。

  EIA调升能源价格预期

  今晨,位于华盛顿的美国能源信息署(EIA)宣布,调升对今年原油和汽油价格的预期。EIA在一份月度报告中指出,预计今年的原油均价为58.70美元/桶。这明显高于EIA一个月前估计的52美元/桶。

  此外,EIA将明年原油价格的预期从58美元/桶调升至67.42美元。EIA还称,预计今年七月常规汽油的均价将接近2.70美元/加仑,2009全年的汽油均价约为2.23美元。

  Sucden Research的分析师指出,鉴于“近来美国和世界其他国家发布了一系列利好经济数据”,EIA调升能源价格预期是预料之中的事情。

  即将发布的供需数据

  油市投资者都在等待明天美国政府将发布的周能源库存数据。能源咨询公司Perry Management的总裁查尔斯-佩里(Charles Perry)表示:“我想交易者都极为关注周三发布的美国库存报告。”

  他进一步指出:“上一周库存数据的增长出乎交易者的预料,因此在看到本周的库存报告前他们将保持谨慎立场。”

  今天油市收盘后,美国石油检定协会(API)将在美东时间下午4:30发布其石油供应报告。明天上午10:30,EIA将发布油市更为关注的官 方库存报告。据能源信息提供商Platts的调查,目前油市分析师平均预期:在截至6月5日的一周中,美国的商业原油库存将环比增加80万桶。

  此外,他们估计汽油供应量将环比增加110万桶,馏分油库存也将增加110万桶,美国市场的需求疲软将推动各类石油产品的库存增长。

TOKYO (MarketWatch) -- Crude-oil futures continued higher in electronic trading Wednesday, climbing over $71 a barrel ahead of weekly U.S. data on petroleum supplies.

Crude for July delivery closed at $70.01 a barrel Tuesday on the New York Mercantile Exchange, up 2.8%.

The contract was up $1.15 at $71.16 in Globex trade Wednesday, just off $71.18, a high not seen for more than 7 months.

Traders are mulling the prospects for this week's data on U.S. petroleum inventories, which showed an increase last week. The EIA will release its data at 10:30 a.m. Eastern time Wednesday.

Analysts are looking for an increase of 800,000 barrels in U.S. commercial crude stockpiles for the week ended June 5, according to a Platts survey of analysts, but some traders are betting on a surprise decline.

"Anticipation of lower inventories is not all -- remember the weaker dollar too," said Charles Perry, president of energy-consulting firm Perry Management.

But if a trader waits until the inventory report, and supplies are indeed a lot lower, "the price shoots up so fast -- usually a matter of seconds," Perry said. The trader would have "little chance to buy at the lower the price."

"So it is a gamble, but if a trader guesses right, there is a chance to make a lot of money," he said.

Weakness in the dollar and U.S. Energy Information Administration forecasts for higher fuel prices fed the gains in oil during Tuesday's New York trading session.

Crude prices are expected to average $58.70 a barrel this year, the EIA said in a monthly report released Tuesday in Washington D.C.

That's up from the $52 a barrel the EIA had forecast a month ago. It also raised the outlook for next year's crude price to $67.42 from $58.

Meanwhile, the dollar moved mostly lower, attracting investors to dollar-priced commodities, including oil.


9/11: We Will Never Forget

Check this out
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0jk7PUudOqA

美國卡債違約率‧首季大增11%

國‧紐約)根據美國知名徵信機構TransUnion資料,今年第季美國銀行信卡違約率飆升11%,反映出隨著經濟衰退加劇,失業率攀高,美國人不得不將過去會用來支付卡債的退稅金,先挪作應付平日開銷之用,以致卡債違約率激增。

TransUnion指出,今年第一季的信用卡違約率,由去年同期的1.19%躍升至1.32%,這項數據係以積欠3個以上卡費的萬事達卡、威世卡、美國運通卡及發現卡(Discover)持有人為統計對象。至於銀行信用卡持卡人平均積欠的卡費,從去年第一季的5548美元,增加到今年同期的5776美元。

Trans Union金融服務集團的諮詢策略部門主管貝克指出,由於年終購物季卡費繳納到期緣故,每年第一季的卡債違約率向來偏高,但零售數據顯示去年年終購物季消費支出驟減,今年首季,的信用卡欠款卻不減反增,意味消費者可能拿信用卡支付日常開銷。


【圖 話故事‧新力發債】日本新力(Sony)公佈總額高達2200億日圓(約79億令吉)公司債發行條件。這是此公司上市63年以來,至今規模最大的債券發行 案。新力本年度恐再虧損,寫下1958年上市以來首次連續兩年虧損,因電玩、電視等產品銷量下滑。這是新力在洛杉磯E3展的攤位。(美聯社)

IMF世銀:復甦充滿風險‧各國須防通膨失控

(加拿大‧蒙特利爾)國際貨幣基金組織(IMF)和世界銀行(World Bank)8日警告說,球經濟復甦充滿風險,各國政府應當防範通貨膨脹失控等問題。

新華報導,IMF總裁Dominique Strauss-Kahn(斯特勞斯‧卡恩)當天在加拿大蒙特利爾出席第15屆洲國際經濟論壇時表示,全球經濟將在今年9、10份出現轉折點,年底恢復增長,到明(2010)年上半年全球經濟有望復甦。

但卡恩警告說,銀行系統能否儘清除不良資產,是全球經濟復甦臨的最大風險。他認為,目前銀行系統尚有許損失未被披露,這些損失不僅僅來自次貸相關資產,還包括全球經濟下滑引發的損失。

卡恩同時警告各國決策層,此前為了拯救銀行和經濟,各國政府釋放出了大量流性,當形勢好轉時很難迅速回收流動性,因此未來面臨嚴峻的通脹壓力。對發展中國家而言,卡恩認為防範資金外流導致的融資缺口。

世界銀行行長Robert Zoellick(佐利克)當天也提出警告,為了應對危機許多國家政府背負了巨額政赤字,這些政府應當開始有所節制。他還表示,雖然貿易保護主義目前並不嚴重,但隨著失業率高企,各國政府將面臨越來越大的國內保護主義壓力。

傳美國允10大銀行“贖身”

國‧華盛頓)《彭博社》引述消息報導,美國政部今日(週二,69日)準備宣佈,允許10家銀行回政府持股,顯示政府有信心部份美國大型銀行業者不再要納稅人資金紓困。

消息人士稱,摩根大通等業者將准償還TARP資金。在無政府擔保下已進行釋股及發債的業者,高盛、美國運通等也展現其不需聯邦援助能自行籌資的實力。

這項行可能讓投資者鬆口氣,對於政府持有的疑慮紓解。但同時也與國際貨幣基金組織(IMF)總裁卡恩等人的看法相牴觸,他們認為金融體系仍未恢復健

Deloitte & ToucheLLP董事Richard Spillenkothen說,這不代表情況已脫離險境,銀行業者及主管機關該做的事情還很

美國聯儲局週一(6月8日)宣佈核准美國銀行和花旗等10家未通過5月風險測試銀行的增資計劃。

華盛頓時間週二上午10時30分,財政部長蓋特納將出席參議院聽證會,可能就償還TARP資金及金融市場前景等議題提出說明。

Major Battle Rages in Gold Market

Short and long term commodity traders tend to go with the flow. If they perceive that a party trading a large position is going in one direction, they tend to pile on and magnify the impact. Such traders never try to fight the trend because it is almost always a losing proposition. Thus, the U.S. government's efforts to suppress the price of gold have been aided by many other traders.

In a huge turn of events, over the past two weeks, the U.S. government's trading partners have lost several skirmishes trying to suppress the spot price of gold.

On Tuesday, May 26, despite repeated significant liquidation, gold closed on the Comex just over $950. Even the near last-minute surprise gold dumping failed as buyers jumped in to buy this "bargain-priced" gold. This resulted in a larger number of Comex gold call options that expired that day to be "in the money" (all contracts with a call price of $950 or less) than would have occurred if the spot price had closed lower. As a result, demand for the immediate delivery of physical gold was higher than otherwise would have happened.

This scenario repeated on Thursday, May 28, the day over-the-counter gold options expired, the gold spot price again closed above $950. Despite steady obvious gold dumping to drive down the price, buyers kept absorbing the new supplies.

On Friday May 29, gold closed in New York at a new all-time high close for the end of a calendar month (ignoring inflation, of course). Buyers had seen the inability to suppress gold prices earlier in the week and took that as a green light for higher gold prices. A new record month-end gold spot price sends a signal to chart-watching technical traders to enter the market, further bolstering demand.

To try to offset some of this positive news for higher gold prices that week, a story started circulating that Congress would vote to approve the 403 metric ton (12.95 million troy ounces) sale of gold by the International Monetary Fund. Any IMF gold sale requires approval by 85 percent of the voting shares, with the US holding just under 17 percent of these shares.

Any discussion of possible IMF gold sales for the past several years, at least since 2002, has been enough to spook the gold market. This time around it didn't seem to affect the market. Congress did not take a vote on the possible IMF gold sale last week, which I think was due to the signs that such a step would not have accomplished the goal of knocking down the gold price.

On Monday, June 1, the CEO of Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance company announced that the company had made a $400 million investment in gold, the first time in the company's 152-year history that it had bought gold for investment. Northwestern is the nation's third largest insurance company. This was just the latest of a recent string of announcements of major gold investments from individuals and companies that normally had never owned gold. Gold and silver largely held their prior week gains.

In Asian markets after the U.S. markets closed on Tuesday, June 2, gold reached as high as $990 and silver touched $16.20. With gold threatening to top $1,000 and silver at risk of exploding upward (at $16.20 it was already up over 41 percent since the start of the year), it was time for the gold suppression efforts to go all out.

Finally, on Wednesday, June 3, the manipulators had some success. The Comex gold price closed at $964.50 and silver at $15.30.

Just when it looked like gold and silver prices might be stymied, buyers once again jumped into the market on Thursday, June 4. At the Comex close, gold settled at $981.25 and silver at $15.88. At that moment, it appeared that the U.S. government's years-long effort to suppress precious metals prices was on the brink of collapse.

That didn't happen.

On Friday, June 5, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported the latest US unemployment statistics for May 2009. The U-3 definition of unemployment, the one most commonly cited, rose to 9.4% while the U-6 unemployment rate rose to 15.9%. Had unemployment rates been computed by the same methodology that the BLS previously used up into the early Clinton administration, the reported unemployment rate would have been more than 20 percent! For the 46th time of the past 48 monthly unemployment reporting dates, the price of gold was clobbered, and in no uncertain terms. The Comex closed with gold at $961.75 and silver at $15.38 that day.

On Saturday, June 6, the three-day St. Petersburg International Economic Forum concluded in Russia. Sponsored by Russia, the conference was attended by officials from China, India, Brazil, and a number of other nations, though the US was specifically excluded. During a panel discussing reserve currencies, John Lipsky, the IMF First Deputy Managing Director, dropped a bombshell when he said that it would be possible to take the "revolutionary" step of creating a new global reserve currency to replace the dollar over time.

The IMF's Special Drawing Rights could be adapted for use as the new currency. Lipsky said, "There are many, many attractions in the long run to such an outcome ... But this is not a quick, short or easy decision."

Such a currency would be issued by an international organization that would be equivalent to a global central bank.

According to the IMF, nearly 70 percent of the world's currency reserves are now held in U.S. dollars. This leaves foreign central banks exposed to weakness in the U.S. economy and likely high inflation. Another speaker at this panel, Ousmene Mandeng, the head of Ashmore Investment Management, Ltd., stated, "The largest debtor is very unlikely to dominate any currency arrangement today."

In New York on Sunday, June 7, Guo Ahuqing, the chairman of China Construction Bank, the world's second largest bank by market value said, "I think the U.S. government and the World Bank can consider the possibility of issuing RMB bonds in the Hong Kong market and the Shanghai market." The reason for this announcement was to encourage the development of Chinese RMB yuan as a major international currency, displacing some of the U.S. dollar's market share.

Any threat to the U.S. dollar as the world's reserve currency would cripple the value of the dollar and lead to higher gold and silver prices, as measured in the dollar. Therefore, it was absolutely essential for the U.S. government to make sure that the price of gold dropped on Monday, June 8, to distract from the impact of the St. Peters burg conference. That is just what happened when the Comex closed at $951.75 and $14.94 for gold and silver, respectively. Even though prices declined, they did not fall as much as the manipulators wanted.

The major battle between the free market and the U.S. government's efforts to suppress gold prices (including manipulation of the silver price as part of the strategy) will rage during the course of this week and maybe beyond. The latest reports of the Commitment of Traders on Comex gold and silver markets show that all of the net increase in "paper gold and silver" that has entered the market recently has been sold by the institutions that already have the largest short positions.

Other traders, on a net basis, have reduced their short and increased their long positions. This blatant distortion of the market cannot be sustained forever. To me, it is a question of when, not if, that the prices of gold and silver will jump far higher than current levels.

Other traders would not commit financial suicide and go up against the U.S. government and its trading partners unless they perceived huge weaknesses in the government's potential to continue to defend that position. Back in 1992, George Soros and Jim Rogers became famous for selling $10 billion short in the British pound. They made a huge profit when the Bank of England was unable to continue to defend the value of the pound.

This time around, I am confident that the U.S. government will eventually fail at suppressing gold and silver prices. Judging by recent actions of other commodity traders, we may not have long to wait.

Other news notes:

Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, the 1988 presidential nominee of the Libertarian Party who sought the 2008 Republican presidential nomination, has entered a bill calling for an audit of the Federal Reserve. This bill now has 190 co-sponsors. In response, the Federal Reserve announced last Friday that it intends to hire Linda Robertson as a lobbyist to deal with Congress. Robertson currently is a lobbyist for Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore but previously headed the Washington lobbying office for Enron and was an adviser to all three of President Clinton's Treasury Secretaries  Lawrence Summers, Robert Rubin and Lloyd Bentsen.

In the past few weeks, higher gold and silver prices have sparked higher volumes of liquidation and purchases by investors. On balance, demand has far surpassed supply, a trend I expect to continue. On May 29, my company enjoyed it highest sales volume thus far in 2009.

Last week I participated in a telephone meeting of the board of directors of a non-profit organization. One agenda item was the organization's investments. When discussing the possibility of purchasing some gold for a small portion of the portfolio, other directors who are professional money managers were generally comfortable with the idea. However, many of the other directors, who are professionals in other fields, were surprisingly fearful of buying gold.

One man expressed it best when he acknowledged the impressive track record of precious metals over the course of this decade, but was afraid that prices may now fall because "the economy is beginning to recover." I am sure that there are many other investors who feel the same way.

By Patrick A. Heller

US Stocks Near Flat Amid 'Some Negative Undercurrents'

Stocks were little-changed on Tuesday as select financial and commodity-related names clung to limited gains.

Those sectors enjoyed heavy buying in the previous session, though relatively little of that momentum carried into Tuesday's action. Investors welcomed the news of a larger-than-expected repayment of bank bailout money and a retreat in the dollar that lifted commodity prices.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was last up five points. American Express and J.P. Morgan Chase, which were thought to be among the banks the Treasury Department permitted to repay $68 billion in bailout funds, advanced. But Procter & Gamble fell 1% after it detailed its succession plans, and many industrial stocks were lower.

The S&P 500 rose about 0.3%, led by gains in its energy and basic-materials sectors.

The U.S. Dollar Index slipped 0.7%, while the Dow Jones-UBS Commodity Index rose 1.2%. Oil futures rose more than $1 to trade above $69 a barrel in New York.

Raw materials have benefited lately from expectations that the economy will recover later this year and bolster demand. At the same time, some traders have grumbled that commodity prices could get ahead of themselves and prevent a needed uptick in consumer activity.

The average retail price of a gallon of regular-grade gasoline in the U.S. now stands at $2.619, according to AAA, up more than 18% from a month ago but down about 35% from a year ago, when prices were near records at the height of the energy bubble.

"There are still some negative undercurrents in the stock market right now," said Todd Leone, head of listed trading at Cowen & Co. in New York. "But the good news is that it hasn't totally fallen apart, which is encouraging."

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said the repayment of $68 million in bailout money was a "sign of financial repair." The Treasury Department said the banks, which weren't named, will be allowed to repay money they received from the $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program created by Congress last October at the height of the financial crisis.

Goldman Sachs Group, Capital One Financial and BB&T rose. But the broader banking sector was little changed; the KBW Banks Index off about 0.1%.

The Nasdaq Composite Index climbed 0.6% as Intel, also a Dow component, rose 3% and Research In Motion gained 2% amid gains in the tech sector.

Texas Instruments shares rose 6% after it raised its second-quarter revenue and earnings forecasts. Dolmen Stockbrokers analysts said the development was a "significant positive" for the tech sector, which they said has seen "a major stabilization."

TI now expects earnings in a range of 14 cents to 22 cents a share on revenue between $2.3 billion and $2.5 billion, up from a prior quarterly estimate of earnings from 1 cent to 15 cents a share as well as sales in a range of $1.95 billion to $2.4 billion.

Sales in all of the company's major product lines were showing improvement, TI executives said, with analog products leading the sales growth.

Meanwhile, Apple Inc. saw its shares add 37 cents to reach $144.26.

The gain came a day after the company cut the price of its iPhone 3G to $99 and also unveiled two versions of the new iPhone 3GS. The newest iPhone comes with faster processing speeds and an improved camera that can also capture video.

Shares of Marvell Technology Group Ltd. rallied more than 10%, up $1.15 to stand at $12.37.

JMP Securities raised its rating on the chip maker to market outperform from market perform and set a $15-a-share price target, citing evidence that Marvell's controller technology is being used in more smartphones such as the iPhone.

Treasury prices were higher, pushing yields down. The benchmark 10-year note was down 9/32 to yield 3.86%. At the short end of the yield curve, where trade has been volatile in recent days, the two-year note rose 5/32 to yield 1.35%.

The dollar slid against the euro and the yen, allowing room for commodities prices to push higher. The front-month crude-oil futures contract was up more than $1 to trade above $69 a barrel. Gold prices also climbed as the dollar fell.

Overseas, Asian shares finished mostly lower amid concerns that recent market gains were getting ahead of the pace of economic recovery. Japan's Nikkei 225 fell 0.8%. The FTSE 100 rose fractionally in London.

By Peter A. McKay

The markets are the message

Commentary: As the recession grinds on, the market worries about inflation

PORT WASHINGTON, N.Y. (MarketWatch) -- The economy may still be in recession, but as far as the markets are concerned, inflation is just around the corner.

Late last week, the markets came down with a case of inflation fears. It might have stemmed from an upbeat interpretation of the latest labor-force data, as well as other recent figures, or from speeches given by a couple of Federal Reserve officials.

Whatever the case, the markets have begun to look over the valley of recession to the peak beyond. And as I first warned at the end of last year, what they see is a new round of inflation, made possible by a Fed whose presses are churning out money as fast as they can. ( See my column of Dec. 23, 2008.).

Commodities prices rose a record 20% in May and are still climbing, with gold and silver leading the way. The price of oil has doubled in just four months, while the Baltic Dry Index has shot up six-fold since December.

There is no doubt that the Fed has injected loads of liquidity into the system. Bank reserves now total $900 billion compared to only $11 billion last year. Once the banks start lending, the money supply, already rising rapidly, will grow even faster.

Not surprisingly, interest rates have shot up. Yields on the 10-year Treasury note are just under 4% -- the most they've been in eight months and double levels of just five months ago.

While this was taking place, the yield on the 10-year Treasury Inflation Protected Security barely budged, no doubt a reflection of strong buying demand.

As a result, the spread between these two government instruments is now almost two percentage points. That's the highest since last September, and compares with zero at the turn of this year.

All this talk about inflation has led to a sudden shift in market thinking about Fed policy. From expectations that the Fed would be on hold through year-end, the markets now think the Fed may raise rates as early as the end of summer.

Talk of an early tightening of monetary policy is nothing short of amazing, considering that the recession is 19 months old and counting, and that the unemployment rate has just reached a 26-year high of 9.4%.

Those who expect the Fed to hike rates are also overlooking the fragility of the real-estate market. Housing may be in the process of bottoming, but commercial and industrial real estate appear to be weakening. And if this were not enough, many banks are experiencing big losses in their credit-card businesses.

Then there's the Fed chief himself. Ben Bernanke spent much of his academic career studying the Great Depression and the Fed's role in it. He is not likely to raise rates until he is sure that the economy is strong enough to take it.

Tightening money while the economy is still struggling is also not likely to endear him to the president, who must decide whether or not to reappoint Bernanke as Fed head, come early 2010.

Right or wrong, however, when all is said and done, the markets usually have their way. But given the perilous state of the economy, besides other factors, they might have to wait a while.

By Irwin Kellner, MarketWatch

US Stocks Near Flat Amid 'Some Negative Undercurrents'

Stocks were little-changed on Tuesday as select financial and commodity-related names clung to limited gains.

Those sectors enjoyed heavy buying in the previous session, though relatively little of that momentum carried into Tuesday's action. Investors welcomed the news of a larger-than-expected repayment of bank bailout money and a retreat in the dollar that lifted commodity prices.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was last up five points. American Express and J.P. Morgan Chase, which were thought to be among the banks the Treasury Department permitted to repay $68 billion in bailout funds, advanced. But Procter & Gamble fell 1% after it detailed its succession plans, and many industrial stocks were lower.

The S&P 500 rose about 0.3%, led by gains in its energy and basic-materials sectors.

The U.S. Dollar Index slipped 0.7%, while the Dow Jones-UBS Commodity Index rose 1.2%. Oil futures rose more than $1 to trade above $69 a barrel in New York.

Raw materials have benefited lately from expectations that the economy will recover later this year and bolster demand. At the same time, some traders have grumbled that commodity prices could get ahead of themselves and prevent a needed uptick in consumer activity.

The average retail price of a gallon of regular-grade gasoline in the U.S. now stands at $2.619, according to AAA, up more than 18% from a month ago but down about 35% from a year ago, when prices were near records at the height of the energy bubble.

"There are still some negative undercurrents in the stock market right now," said Todd Leone, head of listed trading at Cowen & Co. in New York. "But the good news is that it hasn't totally fallen apart, which is encouraging."

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said the repayment of $68 million in bailout money was a "sign of financial repair." The Treasury Department said the banks, which weren't named, will be allowed to repay money they received from the $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program created by Congress last October at the height of the financial crisis.

Goldman Sachs Group, Capital One Financial and BB&T rose. But the broader banking sector was little changed; the KBW Banks Index off about 0.1%.

The Nasdaq Composite Index climbed 0.6% as Intel, also a Dow component, rose 3% and Research In Motion gained 2% amid gains in the tech sector.

Texas Instruments shares rose 6% after it raised its second-quarter revenue and earnings forecasts. Dolmen Stockbrokers analysts said the development was a "significant positive" for the tech sector, which they said has seen "a major stabilization."

TI now expects earnings in a range of 14 cents to 22 cents a share on revenue between $2.3 billion and $2.5 billion, up from a prior quarterly estimate of earnings from 1 cent to 15 cents a share as well as sales in a range of $1.95 billion to $2.4 billion.

Sales in all of the company's major product lines were showing improvement, TI executives said, with analog products leading the sales growth.

Meanwhile, Apple Inc. saw its shares add 37 cents to reach $144.26.

The gain came a day after the company cut the price of its iPhone 3G to $99 and also unveiled two versions of the new iPhone 3GS. The newest iPhone comes with faster processing speeds and an improved camera that can also capture video.

Shares of Marvell Technology Group Ltd. rallied more than 10%, up $1.15 to stand at $12.37.

JMP Securities raised its rating on the chip maker to market outperform from market perform and set a $15-a-share price target, citing evidence that Marvell's controller technology is being used in more smartphones such as the iPhone.

Treasury prices were higher, pushing yields down. The benchmark 10-year note was down 9/32 to yield 3.86%. At the short end of the yield curve, where trade has been volatile in recent days, the two-year note rose 5/32 to yield 1.35%.

The dollar slid against the euro and the yen, allowing room for commodities prices to push higher. The front-month crude-oil futures contract was up more than $1 to trade above $69 a barrel. Gold prices also climbed as the dollar fell.

Overseas, Asian shares finished mostly lower amid concerns that recent market gains were getting ahead of the pace of economic recovery. Japan's Nikkei 225 fell 0.8%. The FTSE 100 rose fractionally in London.

By Peter A. McKay

Air France crash killed two prominent illegal arms foes

The puzzling crash of Air France’s Flight 447 killed two of the world’s “most prominent” illegal arms trade and international drug trafficking foes, according to a little-noticed report.

In a revelation sure to fuel conspiracy theories over the plane’s demise, the report reveals that two key figures in the neverending internecine battle against global arms and drug trafficking perished when the plane abruptly fell out of the sky. Both were particularly active in efforts to stem illegal arms trading in Latin America.

A 39-year Argentinian man, Pablo Dreyfus, was said to be a major player in an effort by Brazilian authorities to stop flow of arms to drug gangs in Rio. He was a consultant for Small Arms Survey, a Geneva-based thinktank.

Another consultant for Small Arms Survey also died in the crash, “Ronald Dreyer, a Swiss diplomat and co-ordinator of the Geneva Declaration on Armed Violence who had worked with UN missions in El Salvador, Mozambique, Azerbaijan, Kosovo and Angola,” according to Scotland’s Sunday Herald.

“Both men were consultants at the Small Arms Survey, an independent think tank based at Geneva’s Graduate Institute of International Studies,” the Herald reported. “The Survey said on its website that Dryer had helped mobilise the support of more than 100 countries to the cause of disarmament and development.”

Dreyfus and Dreyer were reportedly traveling to Switzerland to “present the latest edition of the Small Arms Survey handbook, of which Dreyfus was a joint editor.”

Dreyfus advocated for “stringent labeling” of ammunition produced by weapons companies, the paper said. He averred that such labeling would greatly aid the tracking of arms acquired by criminals.

Dreyfus focused in particular on Brazilian arms firm Companhia Brasileira de Cartuchos which bought Germany’s Metallwerk Elisenhutte Nassau in 2007 and another company in the Czech Republic. He said CBC should “consider the risk that some of these exports end up, via diversions, feeding violence in Brazil.”

“When Rio agents smashed a cell of drug traffickers who had sourced their weapons from the tri-border area, Dreyfus noted its leaders were prominent businessmen living in apartments in the plush Rio suburbs of Ipanema and São Corrado,” the Herald noted.

Though the cause of the crash has not been conclusively determined, most experts have focused on speed sensors that may have affected the plane’s course when it was caught in severe thunderstorms.

“A spokesman for a pilots’ union says all Air France jets taking off now have been equipped with two new-generation speed sensors,” AP reported Tuesday. “The so-called Pitot tubes on the outside of an aircraft are under suspicion in the crash of Air France Flight 447 into the Atlantic Ocean.”

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Bush's Dallas home becomes site of war protest

DALLAS — Eighth-grader Steven Rasansky had a front-row seat for a government lesson Monday.

Sitting at his friends' lemonade stand across the street from former President George W. Bush's new home, he watched anti-war protesters and Bush supporters square off with only a city street dividing them.

Front and center in the sweltering 90-degree heat was Cindy Sheehan, the California mother who drew national attention in recent years with her protests near Bush's Crawford ranch as she demanded to speak to him about her son's death in Baghdad.

"George Bush and his administration are mass murderers," she told the crowd, using a loudspeaker. "People say, 'Cindy, get over it.' Well, there are still two wars raging. I don't have an option of getting over it.  . . . We have to keep it up so things like this don't happen again."

Anti-war protesters say they want Bush and his administration investigated and prosecuted for war crimes and crimes against humanity. Sheehan has also demonstrated against President Barack Obama because the Democrat has continued the wars.

During the more than half-hour protest, which included a nearly mile-long march to the neighborhood, protesters yelled, "Don't wait, investigate." Pro-Bush supporters chanted "USA" for the former president whom they say did a good job.

"I think this is crazy," said Rasansky, 13, whose friends had hoped to make some money selling pink lemonade and chocolate chip cookies. "I didn't think it would end up like this."

Bearing signs with slogans ranging from "No war criminals in my neighborhood" and "W = War Crimes" to "Don't Mess with Bush" and "They did not die in vain," more than a hundred people turned out on both sides of the issue.

Dozens of police officers and Secret Service agents blocked the entrance to the Bush neighborhood and patrolled the area. An officer who declined to give his name said there had been no arrests and no problems.

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新加坡‧輸球教練吵架搭地鐵不讓位‧獅城人自批掀強烈反應

(新加坡)輸了球賽教練吵架、人潮散去地垃圾、搭地鐵不讓位,新加坡人自批國民“有教育沒教養”,引發坊間烈反應。

有人認為,這一句話太傷人、以偏概,也有人舉雙手贊成,認為大家應該自反省

新加坡名嘴林安娜週一(68日)在她的部落格上寫了一篇《新加坡人有教育沒教養》,她認為,這樣講可能得罪不少人,但問題畢竟存在,有必要拿出來討論。

安娜說,她最近在上看到一則貼子說是“新加坡人有教育沒教養”,對此深有同感。

朋友求勝心切

她舉例,學校裡的小朋友從成績排名到運場上爭奪標,“個個咬牙切齒求勝心切,這是令人心驚膽戰的,執教鞭的也心寒。”

她也提到在最近的一場學校羽毛球賽中,2隊難分上下,最後還在加分球上引發爭議,原本以為勝的隊伍又被判輸球,結果2隊教練翻臉相罵。

安娜說,教育、教養,後者比較重要,寧可輸掉比賽,也不要輸掉人品教養。

她也向記者舉例,新加坡人缺乏教養的行為不勝枚舉。

紙巾霸位

“在小販中心用紙巾霸位、馬路上超車、搭地鐵爭先恐後、不讓位、聚會過後留下滿地垃圾……”

而另一個名為“夕野氏”的本地博客也撰文說,種種證據顯示,新加坡的確缺乏教養。

“這是迄今我聽到對新加坡人最尖銳的批評,和‘沒教養’比起來,‘怕輸’、‘自私’之類的字眼實在顯得和氣很。”

新加坡《新明日報》小調查:“新加坡人8大沒教養的例子”

‧在公路上爭先恐後,毫無禮讓精神。
‧從考試成績到比賽排名,本地學生求勝心切,一點都不優雅。
‧人們在巴士或地鐵上,刻意不把座位讓給更要座位的乘客。
‧在用餐場所,展現“怕輸”的精神,用紙巾來霸佔桌位。
‧在巴士或地鐵車廂內大聲說話談笑。
‧老一輩還有隨地亂吐痰的壞習慣。
‧不懂得向他人道謝,欠缺基本禮貌。
‧看電影或演出時,不把手機鈴聲調到靜音。