http://business-times.asiaone.com/alltheheadlines/0,4985,,00.html? The Business Times Online Edition - Singapore en-us Copyright 2010 Business Times Online. 3 Sep 2010 SGT 3 Sep 2010 SGT 60 http://business-times.asiaone.com/mnt/static/image/images/topmastheadsmall.gif http://business-times.asiaone.com http://business-times.asiaone.com/mnt/html/btpre/registration/redirect.jsp?dlink=/sub/news/story/0,4574,402393,00.html? (CANBERRA, Australia) Prime Minister Julia Gillard edged closer to retaining power in Australia yesterday when an independent lawmaker said he would support her centre-left Labor Party to form a government. 03 Sep 2010 04:00 SGT http://business-times.asiaone.com/mnt/html/btpre/registration/redirect.jsp?dlink=/sub/news/story/0,4574,402392,00.html? (BANGKOK) Most of the 76 industrial projects halted last year because of pollution and licensing concerns can be restarted, a Thai court ruled, a decision that may resolve uncertainties about the country's investment regulations. 03 Sep 2010 04:00 SGT http://business-times.asiaone.com/mnt/html/btpre/registration/redirect.jsp?dlink=/sub/shippingtimes/story/0,4574,402409,00.html? (LONDON) Saab AB is stepping up a campaign to sell its Gripen warplane in Asia and eastern Europe as Switzerland's decision to delay a US$1 billion fighter purchase threatens to curtail production of the 1,320 mile-per-hour jet. 03 Sep 2010 04:00 SGT http://business-times.asiaone.com/mnt/html/btpre/registration/redirect.jsp?dlink=/sub/shippingtimes/story/0,4574,402400,00.html? (BERLIN) Germany's government, battling to find new ways of closing its budget gap, amended plans for raising 1 billion euros (S$1.73 billion) a year from a new tax on air passengers, by increasing the levy on long-haul flights. 03 Sep 2010 04:00 SGT http://business-times.asiaone.com/mnt/html/btpre/registration/redirect.jsp?dlink=/sub/shippingtimes/story/0,4574,402401,00.html? (KUALA LUMPUR) Malaysia Airlines System Bhd's wholly-owned unit, MAS Aerospace Engineering Sdn Bhd (MAE), has signed a one-year agreement with Air Mauritius for the maintenance of eight aircraft - six Airbus 340-200s and two Airbus 330-200s. 03 Sep 2010 04:00 SGT http://business-times.asiaone.com/mnt/html/btpre/registration/redirect.jsp?dlink=/sub/shippingtimes/story/0,4574,402399,00.html? (JAKARTA) Garuda Indonesia, the country's flag carrier, has started a direct service linking Jakarta and Tokyo, as part of business expansion, a paper said here yesterday. 03 Sep 2010 04:00 SGT http://business-times.asiaone.com/mnt/html/btpre/registration/redirect.jsp?dlink=/sub/news/story/0,4574,402379,00.html? (BEIJING) Ping An Insurance (Group), China's second-largest insurer, will pay 29.1 billion yuan (S$5.75 billion) for a stake that will give it control of Shenzhen Development Bank and bolster its banking operations. 03 Sep 2010 04:00 SGT http://business-times.asiaone.com/mnt/html/btpre/registration/redirect.jsp?dlink=/sub/news/story/0,4574,402374,00.html? (BEIJING) China has failed to honour promises to the World Trade Organization to open its oil and phone markets, a European business group said yesterday, adding to complaints of worsening conditions for foreign companies. 03 Sep 2010 04:00 SGT http://business-times.asiaone.com/mnt/html/btpre/registration/redirect.jsp?dlink=/sub/news/story/0,4574,402380,00.html? (BEIJING) China is inviting domestic banks and private and foreign investors to take over the country's most problematic rural credit cooperatives. 03 Sep 2010 04:00 SGT http://business-times.asiaone.com/mnt/html/btpre/registration/redirect.jsp?dlink=/sub/news/story/0,4574,402383,00.html? (BEIJING) China's economic slowdown will be modest, ruling out the need for fresh stimulus or a major policy initiative, a senior government researcher said yesterday. 03 Sep 2010 04:00 SGT http://business-times.asiaone.com/mnt/html/btpre/registration/redirect.jsp?dlink=/sub/news/story/0,4574,402375,00.html? (TAIPEI) One of the potential buyers of AIG's Taiwan Nan Shan Life unit still hoped for a favourable solution to the US$2.2 billion sale even after their bid was rejected by Taiwan regulators, an executive said yesterday. 03 Sep 2010 04:00 SGT http://business-times.asiaone.com/mnt/html/btpre/registration/redirect.jsp?dlink=/sub/companies/story/0,4574,402348,00.html? SECURITIES trading volume and value firmed in August but were lower than a year ago. 03 Sep 2010 04:00 SGT http://business-times.asiaone.com/mnt/html/btpre/registration/redirect.jsp?dlink=/sub/companies/story/0,4574,402349,00.html? BNP Paribas, which recently upgraded its call on China to 'overweight' from 'neutral', recommends buying into the large caps listed on the A-share and H-share markets. 03 Sep 2010 04:00 SGT http://business-times.asiaone.com/mnt/html/btpre/registration/redirect.jsp?dlink=/sub/companies/story/0,4574,402362,00.html? AS the battle over PPL Shipyard wends its way through the courts, the Yangzijiang Shipbuilding consortium's US$155 million bid for PPL Holdings (PPLH) - which has a 15 per cent stake in the shipyard - has been lowered to US$116.25 million. 03 Sep 2010 04:00 SGT http://business-times.asiaone.com/mnt/html/btpre/registration/redirect.jsp?dlink=/sub/companies/story/0,4574,402363,00.html? SUPER Group, formerly known as Super Coffeemix Manufacturing, said the issue price of its 40 million Taiwan Depository Receipts (TDRs) has been fixed at NT$14 (S$0.59) apiece. 03 Sep 2010 04:00 SGT http://business-times.asiaone.com/mnt/html/btpre/registration/redirect.jsp?dlink=/sub/companies/story/0,4574,402364,00.html? SINGAPORE'S water firms are well placed to take advantage of increasing investment by governments in water infrastructure worldwide, according to a Credit Suisse report. 03 Sep 2010 04:00 SGT http://business-times.asiaone.com/mnt/html/btpre/registration/redirect.jsp?dlink=/sub/companies/story/0,4574,402371,00.html? SILKAIR will have a new chief executive from Oct 11. Singapore Airlines (SIA) divisional vice-president for customer service Marvin Tan takes over from current CEO Chin Yau Seng who will return to parent SIA as divisional vice-president for cabin crew operations. 03 Sep 2010 04:00 SGT http://business-times.asiaone.com/mnt/html/btpre/registration/redirect.jsp?dlink=/sub/companies/story/0,4574,402372,00.html? THE arrival of Singapore's new fibre-optic network gives StarHub a chance to re-enter the exiled market for providing corporate connectivity - and the operator is wasting no time in seizing this market opportunity. 03 Sep 2010 04:00 SGT http://business-times.asiaone.com/mnt/html/btpre/registration/redirect.jsp?dlink=/sub/companies/story/0,4574,402360,00.html? THIS year's local showing on the Forbes list of the best 200 Asia-Pacific companies with turnover of less than US$1 billion reflected a tumultuous 12 months - none of 2009's Singapore entrants retained their place. 03 Sep 2010 04:00 SGT http://business-times.asiaone.com/mnt/html/btpre/registration/redirect.jsp?dlink=/sub/companies/story/0,4574,402361,00.html? AS part of its expansion in China, Sembcorp Utilities entered into two framework agreements in the Shenyang area, its parent company Sembcorp Industries announced yesterday. 03 Sep 2010 04:00 SGT http://business-times.asiaone.com/mnt/html/btpre/registration/redirect.jsp?dlink=/sub/companies/story/0,4574,402358,00.html? SINGAPORE Mercantile Exchange (SMX), hailed as the first pan-Asian commodity and currency derivatives exchange, said yesterday that it has successfully completed its first trading, clearing and settlement cycle. 03 Sep 2010 04:00 SGT http://business-times.asiaone.com/mnt/html/btpre/registration/redirect.jsp?dlink=/sub/companies/story/0,4574,402356,00.html? (SINGAPORE) Footwear and apparel maker Eratat Lifestyle, which is expanding its retail footprint in China, may enter the big league and open its first store in the country's fashion capital, Shanghai. 03 Sep 2010 04:00 SGT http://business-times.asiaone.com/mnt/html/btpre/registration/redirect.jsp?dlink=/sub/companies/story/0,4574,402355,00.html? NZ FARMING Systems Uruguay has recommended that its shareholders accept Olam International's takeover offer. 03 Sep 2010 04:00 SGT http://business-times.asiaone.com/mnt/html/btpre/registration/redirect.jsp?dlink=/sub/companies/story/0,4574,402347,00.html? SOMETIMES the headlines don't tell the whole story. A case in point is the recent results of Genting Hong Kong. 03 Sep 2010 04:00 SGT http://business-times.asiaone.com/mnt/html/btpre/registration/redirect.jsp?dlink=/sub/news/story/0,4574,402353,00.html? VETERAN Japanese politician Ichiro Ozawa, who has a strong chance of replacing Nato Kan as Japan's prime minister this month, yesterday revealed his strategy for bringing the yen back to earth 03 Sep 2010 04:00 SGT http://business-times.asiaone.com/mnt/html/btpre/registration/redirect.jsp?dlink=/sub/news/story/0,4574,402368,00.html? (WASHINGTON) The United States must find the political will for more economic stimulus, even if it pushed up the fiscal deficit in the short run, Christina D Romer, chairwoman of President Barack Obama's Council of Economic Advisers, said in a farewell speech on Wednesday. 03 Sep 2010 04:00 SGT http://business-times.asiaone.com/mnt/html/btpre/registration/redirect.jsp?dlink=/sub/news/story/0,4574,402373,00.html? (SEOUL) South Korea's won rose to its strongest level in two weeks after the International Monetary Fund said the currency was 'undervalued' and raised its economic growth forecast for the nation. 03 Sep 2010 04:00 SGT http://business-times.asiaone.com/mnt/html/btpre/registration/redirect.jsp?dlink=/sub/news/story/0,4574,402381,00.html? (HOUSTON) The US central bank should not rush into more monetary easing, which would do little to lower the high US unemployment rate, two top Federal Reserve officials said on Wednesday. 03 Sep 2010 04:00 SGT http://business-times.asiaone.com/mnt/html/btpre/registration/redirect.jsp?dlink=/sub/life/story/0,4574,402447,00.html? FINE wines need to age to develop to their optimum potential. This cellaring period varies depending on many factors, chief among which is their pedigree. 03 Sep 2010 04:00 SGT http://business-times.asiaone.com/mnt/html/btpre/registration/redirect.jsp?dlink=/sub/life/story/0,4574,402452,00.html? AT THE start of Going the Distance, a film about the perils of the long-distance relationship, newly-single music executive Garrett (Justin Long) has just been dumped by his girlfriend because of a disturbing lack of interest in what women really want - a condition common to most young, healthy, beer-swilling males of his persuasion. 03 Sep 2010 04:00 SGT http://business-times.asiaone.com/mnt/html/btpre/registration/redirect.jsp?dlink=/sub/life/story/0,4574,402457,00.html? WITH the Seventh Month festivities now in full swing, two new horror-themed movies have opened just in time before the real-life spookfest winds down in about a week. However, don't count on both films to give you the jitters. 03 Sep 2010 04:00 SGT http://business-times.asiaone.com/mnt/html/btpre/registration/redirect.jsp?dlink=/sub/life/story/0,4574,402451,00.html? SEX sells and Hush's director Jeremiah R Oh should know it by now. Even before his short film opens for several exclusive screenings at Sinema Old School for the public, it's been in the spotlight in the media for months and discussions have cropped up online about the movie's risque sex scenes and a brief scene of full-frontal nudity. All this based on a peekaboo trailer that has been making the rounds on the Internet. 03 Sep 2010 04:00 SGT http://business-times.asiaone.com/mnt/html/btpre/registration/redirect.jsp?dlink=/sub/life/story/0,4574,402448,00.html? MEL Gibson has been getting publicity for all the wrong reasons lately, but the frenzied edge in his private life is probably what makes him so good at playing movie roles about desperate men single-handedly battling steep odds. 03 Sep 2010 04:00 SGT http://business-times.asiaone.com/mnt/html/btpre/registration/redirect.jsp?dlink=/sub/life/story/0,4574,402450,00.html? To be sure, nobody wants to walk through display after tedious display of public housing. Also, it would be misguided indeed to assume that the sophisticated Ms Sejima, the exhibition's first woman director, had only communal living in mind when she came up with her theme. 03 Sep 2010 04:00 SGT http://business-times.asiaone.com/mnt/html/btpre/registration/redirect.jsp?dlink=/sub/life/story/0,4574,402449,00.html? LET'S say that Singapore meets its projected population of 6.5 million. And that it fits all these people into its tiny 710 square kilometres. If it manages to do so - and it looks like it will rather soon - then it follows that the planet's population of 6.5 billion, a thousand times that of 6.5 million, could very well fit into a thousand Singapores. That would take up only 0.5 per cent of the world's land area. 03 Sep 2010 04:00 SGT http://business-times.asiaone.com/mnt/html/btpre/registration/redirect.jsp?dlink=/sub/life/story/0,4574,402455,00.html? THE line between a plan and an idea is a fine one. A waver of the designer's pen, a slip of the draughtsman's sketchpad, and a workable concept could become just a concept. Something more suited to say, the Venice Art Biennale, which occurs in odd-numbered years, than the Venice Architecture Biennale, which is happening now. 03 Sep 2010 04:00 SGT http://business-times.asiaone.com/mnt/html/btpre/registration/redirect.jsp?dlink=/sub/life/story/0,4574,402443,00.html? THE Brazilian Carnival (or 'Carnaval', as Brazilians call it) in Rio de Janeiro and Salvador is one of the best-known Carnavals and street parties today - a riotous explosion of feathers, glitter and skin. 03 Sep 2010 04:00 SGT http://business-times.asiaone.com/mnt/html/btpre/registration/redirect.jsp?dlink=/sub/life/story/0,4574,402444,00.html? ACCORDING to the latest United Nations reports, almost half of the world's population lives in cities today and by the year 2030 they expect more than 60 per cent of the world population will be urbanised. 03 Sep 2010 04:00 SGT http://business-times.asiaone.com/mnt/html/btpre/registration/redirect.jsp?dlink=/sub/life/story/0,4574,402445,00.html? PLAYING Pac-Man, listening to Michael Jackson (on cassette tapes, no less) and watching Star Wars - these are memories that people all over the world who lived through the 1980s look back on with nostalgia. 03 Sep 2010 04:00 SGT http://business-times.asiaone.com/mnt/html/btpre/registration/redirect.jsp?dlink=/sub/life/story/0,4574,402446,00.html? IN 1777, a republic called the Lan Fang Republic was founded by a small group of Hakka Chinese in West Borneo. It went through 10 presidents before the Dutch took over in 1884 and has since become a fading story for its descendents. 03 Sep 2010 04:00 SGT http://business-times.asiaone.com/mnt/html/btpre/registration/redirect.jsp?dlink=/sub/life/story/0,4574,402469,00.html? IN her third solo exhibition, Maya: An Illusion, artist Joyotee Ray Chaudhury explores the defining moments and characters from the monumental Indian epic, the Mahabharata. 03 Sep 2010 04:00 SGT http://business-times.asiaone.com/mnt/html/btpre/registration/redirect.jsp?dlink=/sub/life/story/0,4574,402430,00.html? THERE comes a time in every cover band's career when it considers taking the leap into original material, and local band 53A has taken that step with its first album, Settle The Kettle. 03 Sep 2010 04:00 SGT http://business-times.asiaone.com/mnt/html/btpre/registration/redirect.jsp?dlink=/sub/life/story/0,4574,402441,00.html? LISTENING to Sarah Cheng-De Winne's sassy debut EP, Let's Pretend, it's hard to believe the 22-year-old has no formal jazz theory training. 03 Sep 2010 04:00 SGT http://business-times.asiaone.com/mnt/html/btpre/registration/redirect.jsp?dlink=/sub/life/story/0,4574,402468,00.html? A SERIES of upcoming parties at different venues across Singapore, the Jet Black Party series will kick off with a Singapore Grand Prix pre-party on Sept 10 at Powerhouse (St James Powerstation). 03 Sep 2010 04:00 SGT http://business-times.asiaone.com/mnt/html/btpre/registration/redirect.jsp?dlink=/sub/life/story/0,4574,402431,00.html? SOME games aren't suitable for children, such as fantasy game Dante's Inferno. But Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days is a little too violent even for young teenagers. In fact, it's disturbing for adults. 03 Sep 2010 04:00 SGT http://business-times.asiaone.com/mnt/html/btpre/registration/redirect.jsp?dlink=/sub/life/story/0,4574,402442,00.html? SINGAPORE'S reputation as a food paradise is not lost on top-tier international chefs who have been turning up on our shores, and Formula One is just one more reason for acclaimed chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten to make a return trip. 03 Sep 2010 04:00 SGT http://business-times.asiaone.com/mnt/html/btpre/registration/redirect.jsp?dlink=/sub/news/story/0,4574,402377,00.html? (MUMBAI) Indian stock gains may be limited over the next three to four months as global growth, inflation and valuation concerns prompt investors to avoid riskier assets, HDFC Standard Life Insurance Co said. 03 Sep 2010 04:00 SGT http://business-times.asiaone.com/mnt/html/btpre/registration/redirect.jsp?dlink=/sub/news/story/0,4574,402384,00.html? (NEW DELHI) India said it will ask Research In Motion Ltd, Google Inc, Skype Technologies and other service providers to set up servers locally and enable security agencies to monitor mail traffic. 03 Sep 2010 04:00 SGT http://business-times.asiaone.com/mnt/html/btpre/registration/redirect.jsp?dlink=/sub/news/story/0,4574,402394,00.html? (MUMBAI) State-run Steel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL) has shortlisted Deutsche Bank, JP Morgan and four others to manage a share issue that may raise up to US$1.7 billion, sources with direct knowledge said yesterday. 03 Sep 2010 04:00 SGT http://business-times.asiaone.com/mnt/html/btpre/registration/redirect.jsp?dlink=/sub/news/story/0,4574,402388,00.html? (NEW DELHI) With just a month before the opening ceremony of the Commonwealth Games, there are fears sports venues will not be up to international competition standards. 03 Sep 2010 04:00 SGT http://business-times.asiaone.com/mnt/html/btpre/registration/redirect.jsp?dlink=/sub/news/story/0,4574,402386,00.html? (NEW DELHI) India's environment ministry said on Wednesday that it has found 'serious violations' of green laws in Vedanta's existing alumina refinery in eastern India, the latest in the London-based firm's mining troubles in India. 03 Sep 2010 04:00 SGT http://business-times.asiaone.com/mnt/html/btpre/registration/redirect.jsp?dlink=/sub/news/story/0,4574,402398,00.html? (DETROIT) Automakers posted their weakest US August sales in 27 years, underscoring uncertainty about the strength of the recovery in the world's largest economy. 03 Sep 2010 04:00 SGT http://business-times.asiaone.com/mnt/html/btpre/registration/redirect.jsp?dlink=/sub/news/story/0,4574,402391,00.html? (BANGALORE) Two struggling units of Lehman Brothers Holdings, the bankrupt US investment bank, need hundreds of millions of dollars in capital to stave off failure that could cost Lehman billions, court documents show. 03 Sep 2010 04:00 SGT http://business-times.asiaone.com/mnt/html/btpre/registration/redirect.jsp?dlink=/sub/news/story/0,4574,402376,00.html? (HONG KONG) Indonesia is looking into infrastructure and green bonds, a senior adviser to the government said yesterday, as the biggest economy in Southeast Asia is in need of billions of dollars for the sector's development. 03 Sep 2010 04:00 SGT http://business-times.asiaone.com/mnt/html/btpre/registration/redirect.jsp?dlink=/sub/news/story/0,4574,402382,00.html? A MALAYSIAN businessman testified in the High Court yesterday that he was told by former premier Mahathir Mohamad that he could not claim for money paid for seven million shares in private company Realmild because the shares belonged to the ruling United Malays National Organisation (Umno). 03 Sep 2010 04:00 SGT http://business-times.asiaone.com/mnt/html/btpre/registration/redirect.jsp?dlink=/sub/news/story/0,4574,402378,00.html? (KUALA LUMPUR) Malaysia's central bank left interest rates unchanged after three consecutive increases, choosing to support growth as the global recovery slows. 03 Sep 2010 04:00 SGT http://business-times.asiaone.com/mnt/html/btpre/registration/redirect.jsp?dlink=/sub/news/story/0,4574,402385,00.html? (KUALA LUMPUR) Malaysia said yesterday its ongoing maritime border spat with Indonesia, which flared again recently, triggering angry protests, could end up in the International Court of Justice. 03 Sep 2010 04:00 SGT http://business-times.asiaone.com/mnt/html/btpre/registration/redirect.jsp?dlink=/sub/shippingtimes/story/0,4574,402414,00.html? (CARACAS) Venezuela is refurbishing its main port, Puerto Cabello, with Chinese help at a cost of US$600 million after decades of under-investment and spurred on by a scandal over rotting food, officials said on Wednesday. 03 Sep 2010 04:00 SGT http://business-times.asiaone.com/mnt/html/btpre/registration/redirect.jsp?dlink=/sub/shippingtimes/story/0,4574,402408,00.html? (KUALA LUMPUR) Seafarers have reported a surge in attacks by armed pirates in a South China Sea shipping lane, an international maritime watchdog said yesterday. 03 Sep 2010 04:00 SGT http://business-times.asiaone.com/mnt/html/btpre/registration/redirect.jsp?dlink=/sub/companies/story/0,4574,402350,00.html? AS correctly pointed out in this column yesterday, the Straits Times Index's 32-point jump on Wednesday was thanks to program buying ahead of a push on Wall Street that came later that day. 03 Sep 2010 04:00 SGT http://business-times.asiaone.com/mnt/html/btpre/registration/redirect.jsp?dlink=/sub/news/story/0,4574,402465,00.html? SINGAPORE'S manufacturing economy shrank in August for the first time after 15 straight months of growth. But economists are not alarmed. They say a winding-down - after production surged earlier this year - was expected. 03 Sep 2010 04:00 SGT http://business-times.asiaone.com/mnt/html/btpre/registration/redirect.jsp?dlink=/sub/news/story/0,4574,402458,00.html? NEW rules that prevent people from owning both public and private properties appear to have discouraged some permanent residents from buying resale flats here - at least for now. 03 Sep 2010 04:00 SGT http://business-times.asiaone.com/mnt/html/btpre/registration/redirect.jsp?dlink=/sub/news/story/0,4574,402461,00.html? THE Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts (MICA) yesterday announced the formation of an Arts and Culture Strategic Review (ACSR) Steering Committee. 03 Sep 2010 04:00 SGT http://business-times.asiaone.com/mnt/html/btpre/registration/redirect.jsp?dlink=/sub/news/story/0,4574,402466,00.html? THE Government of Singapore Investment Corporation's real estate arm (GIC Real Estate) has hired Kishore Gotety, who was most recently at RREEF Alternative Investments, as its country head for India. 03 Sep 2010 04:00 SGT http://business-times.asiaone.com/mnt/html/btpre/registration/redirect.jsp?dlink=/sub/news/story/0,4574,402464,00.html? SINGAPORE and Liaoning yesterday signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to further develop Changxing Island, where several Singapore companies have invested in projects. 03 Sep 2010 04:00 SGT http://business-times.asiaone.com/mnt/html/btpre/registration/redirect.jsp?dlink=/sub/news/story/0,4574,402462,00.html? THE Chinese Newspapers Division of Singapore Press Holdings has raised $150,000 for the President's Challenge 2010 through direct donations and the sale of tables at its charity gala dinner. 03 Sep 2010 04:00 SGT http://business-times.asiaone.com/mnt/html/btpre/registration/redirect.jsp?dlink=/sub/news/story/0,4574,402460,00.html? (SINGAPORE) After a slow start to the year, the market for initial public offerings (IPOs) may still end 2010 with a bang if some highly anticipated mega IPOs make their way here. 03 Sep 2010 04:00 SGT http://business-times.asiaone.com/mnt/html/btpre/registration/redirect.jsp?dlink=/sub/news/story/0,4574,402453,00.html? (SINGAPORE) There has been no secular decline in Singapore's productivity, says a leading American labour economist. 03 Sep 2010 04:00 SGT http://business-times.asiaone.com/mnt/html/btpre/registration/redirect.jsp?dlink=/sub/news/story/0,4574,402459,00.html? (SINGAPORE) Auditors of New Lakeside Holdings said fraudulent misrepresentations may have been given to them during the audit of the fiscal 2009 financial results. 03 Sep 2010 04:00 SGT http://business-times.asiaone.com/mnt/html/btpre/registration/redirect.jsp?dlink=/sub/news/story/0,4574,402454,00.html? (WASHINGTON) Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke says the US central bank and other regulators could have done a better job tackling mortgage and banking risks that helped precipitate the worst financial crisis in seven decades. 03 Sep 2010 04:00 SGT http://business-times.asiaone.com/mnt/html/btpre/registration/redirect.jsp?dlink=/sub/news/story/0,4574,402344,00.html? (BANGKOK) Thailand yesterday ordered the central bank to keep a close eye on the baht and 'prepare measures' after the currency soared to a 29-month high against the US dollar, the finance minister said. 03 Sep 2010 04:00 SGT http://business-times.asiaone.com/mnt/html/btpre/registration/redirect.jsp?dlink=/sub/news/story/0,4574,402343,00.html? (SINGAPORE) It was the best of times and the worst of times, says Edward Lazear of his stint as chief economic adviser to ex- president George W Bush from 2006 to 2009. 03 Sep 2010 04:00 SGT http://business-times.asiaone.com/mnt/html/btpre/registration/redirect.jsp?dlink=/sub/news/story/0,4574,402352,00.html? (SINGAPORE) New initiatives are in the works to upgrade and expand Singapore's rail network over the next decade, with the Jurong East MRT Station modification project the first to be completed next year. 03 Sep 2010 04:00 SGT http://business-times.asiaone.com/mnt/html/btpre/registration/redirect.jsp?dlink=/sub/news/story/0,4574,402345,00.html? (ATLANTA) The maker of anti-wrinkle agent Botox has reached a US$600 million settlement with federal prosecutors in Atlanta and agreed to plead guilty to illegal promotion of the product. 03 Sep 2010 04:00 SGT http://business-times.asiaone.com/mnt/html/btpre/registration/redirect.jsp?dlink=/sub/news/story/0,4574,402456,00.html? AFTER a slow start to the year, the market for initial public offerings may still end 2010 with a bang if some highly-anticipated mega IPOs make their way here. 03 Sep 2010 04:00 SGT http://business-times.asiaone.com/mnt/html/btpre/registration/redirect.jsp?dlink=/sub/views/story/0,4574,402412,00.html? THE Singapore government has acted swiftly and decisively in introducing new and tougher rules to dampen property speculation - the third time in a year that the authorities have moved to cool an overheating market. 03 Sep 2010 04:00 SGT http://business-times.asiaone.com/mnt/html/btpre/registration/redirect.jsp?dlink=/sub/views/story/0,4574,402411,00.html? IT'S the economy that cried wolf. With growth slowing, deflation deepening and the yen inexplicably surging in late August, Japanese policymakers pledged bold action. 03 Sep 2010 04:00 SGT http://business-times.asiaone.com/mnt/html/btpre/registration/redirect.jsp?dlink=/sub/views/story/0,4574,402416,00.html? US President Barack Obama's televised address marking the end of America's combat mission in Iraq and this week's start of a new round of Israeli-Palestinian talks in Washington are both part of his ongoing efforts to turn back the radical foreign policy approach of former president George W Bush and his neoconservative advisers. 03 Sep 2010 04:00 SGT http://business-times.asiaone.com/mnt/html/btpre/registration/redirect.jsp?dlink=/sub/views/story/0,4574,402410,00.html? I WONDER how many of us would think of ourselves as being 'middle class', financially speaking, if we had to subsist on an income of US$2 a day (US$730 a year) or even ten times that amount? 03 Sep 2010 04:00 SGT http://business-times.asiaone.com/mnt/html/btpre/registration/redirect.jsp?dlink=/sub/views/story/0,4574,402413,00.html? THE European Union is dying - not a dramatic or sudden death, but one so slow and steady that one day soon we may realise that the project of European integration that we've taken for granted over the past half-century is no more. 03 Sep 2010 04:00 SGT http://business-times.asiaone.com/mnt/html/btpre/registration/redirect.jsp?dlink=/sub/views/story/0,4574,402354,00.html? M-O-M loan growth momentum moderated: July 2010 m-o-m loan growth was slower at 0.7 per cent compared to an average of 0.9 per cent over January to June. 03 Sep 2010 04:00 SGT http://business-times.asiaone.com/mnt/html/btpre/registration/redirect.jsp?dlink=/sub/views/story/0,4574,402415,00.html? ON April 29, Sim Siang Choon Ltd posted on SGX.net details of a mandatory takeover offer from Jit Sun Investments Pte Ltd at 11 cents per share. 03 Sep 2010 04:00 SGT http://business-times.asiaone.com/mnt/html/btpre/registration/redirect.jsp?dlink=/sub/views/story/0,4574,402359,00.html? (NEW YORK) The euro edged up yesterday supported by healthy results at Spanish and French bond auctions and stable global equities, but investors remained cautious ahead of a key reading on the US labour market on Friday. 03 Sep 2010 04:00 SGT http://business-times.asiaone.com/mnt/html/btpre/registration/redirect.jsp?dlink=/sub/news/story/0,4574,402387,00.html? (LONDON) Shares of companies from the world's biggest developing economies are increasingly featuring in global fund portfolios, a possible reason why BRIC markets are underperforming in 2010 compared to emerging market peers. 03 Sep 2010 04:00 SGT http://business-times.asiaone.com/mnt/html/btpre/registration/redirect.jsp?dlink=/sub/news/story/0,4574,402395,00.html? (NEW YORK) The productivity of US workers fell more than previously estimated in the second quarter, pushing up labour costs and showing the slowdown in growth will limit profits. 03 Sep 2010 04:00 SGT http://business-times.asiaone.com/mnt/html/btpre/registration/redirect.jsp?dlink=/sub/news/story/0,4574,402389,00.html? (FRANKFURT) The European Central Bank held interest rates at a record low yesterday and extended its liquidity safety-net in response to a lopsided recovery and worries about vulnerable banks. 03 Sep 2010 04:00 SGT http://business-times.asiaone.com/mnt/html/btpre/registration/redirect.jsp?dlink=/sub/news/story/0,4574,402397,00.html? (SAN FRANCISCO) Apple Inc is refining its plans to annex the living room into its entertainment empire. 03 Sep 2010 04:00 SGT http://business-times.asiaone.com/mnt/html/btpre/registration/redirect.jsp?dlink=/sub/news/story/0,4574,402407,00.html? (BRASILIA) Petroleo Brasileiro agreed to pay the Brazilian government US$42.5 billion in new stock for the right to develop five billion barrels of offshore oil reserves. 03 Sep 2010 04:00 SGT http://business-times.asiaone.com/mnt/html/btpre/registration/redirect.jsp?dlink=/sub/news/story/0,4574,402390,00.html? (LONDON) Former British premier Tony Blair warned in an interview on Wednesday that the international community may have 'no alternative' to taking military action against Iran if it develops a nuclear weapon. 03 Sep 2010 04:00 SGT