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IMF Chief Quits
 Rodrigo de Rato, managing director of the International Monetary Fund is stepping down though his five year term ends only in 2009.
Rodrigo, a former Spanish economy minister said “Family responsibilities, particularly the education of my children is the reason I’m stepping down early.”
Rodrigo is a reformist. During his tenure, he advocated reshuffling of voting shares to developing countries to give them a better representation.
The IMF and World Bank were found at the end of world war II, to promote economic stability in the world. Traditionally an American is the president of the World Bank and a European is the managing director of the IMF.
Since its inception till the early nineties IMF and World bank have been helping the developing countries with huge financial assistance at concessional interest rates. Of late, the two international financial institutions have lost their importance as the developing countries now raise their financial needs from the global financial markets directly.
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‘Swiss Watches’ are not made in Switzerland
The arrival of the quartz watch in 1970, dealt a blow to Swiss watch industry, as the Japanese introduced quartz watches at highly affordable prices and snatched away more than two thirds market share from Switzerland.
To tide the crisis, Switzerland relaxed the rules and announced that the definition ‘Swiss made’ applies only to the movement ( the mechanical heart of the watch ) and not to be the dial, case or bracelet. Even the assembly of the watches was outsourced to some low-wage Asian countries.
Even the movement (the mechanical heart of the watch) need not be hundred percent Swiss made. Watch manufacturers are permitted to use the ‘Swiss made’ title even if the value of the movement is only 50 percent Swiss made.
Would people buy the exorbitantly priced ‘Swiss made’ watches if they come to know that only the movement, and that too only 50 percent of the movement is Swiss made and all the rest of the ‘Swiss made’ watches are not made in Switzerland?
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Wenda leaves Yahoo
The resignation of Wenda Harris Millard, the veteran sales executive of Yahoo’s advertising business could affect yahoo’s advertising business and could result in weaker second-quarter revenue. Wenda has been instrumental in convincing the advertisers to spend their offline advertisement budget online.
Wenda is joining as the President of Martha Stewart’s Living Omnimedia Inc. She will be responsible for Martha Stewart’s web operations and broadcasting activities.
David Karnstedt will take over from Wenda and will lead both the display advertisement business and search engine advertisement business. David Karnstedt has worked with Lycos and Alta Vista and has been in the online advertising career for the past 12 years.
Advertisement marketing revenue contributes more than 80% of yahoo’s revenue and is projected to be around 1.2 billion dollars which does not include payments to advertising partners.
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US bans Chinese products
The United States has banned 5 species of Chinese farm fish, basa, catfish, dace, eel and shrimp. The reason cited is contamination with food additives and medication.
The Chinese farm fish was found contaminated with antimicrobials fluoroquinolones, nitrofuran and gentian violet. These drugs are not approved by FDA (United states Food and Drug Administration) and were found to cause cancers.
Before the ban on farm fish, pet food made with raw material from china was banned as it was found to be contaminated with carcinogens.
Earlier Chinese toys were banned as it was found that its paint contained lead. Nearly 900,000 tubes of Chinese toothpaste was discarded as it was found that it contained poisonous antifreeze chemicals. Besides toothpastes, Chinese made tyres are currently causing safety concerns.
When people buy solely on the basis of price, quality and safety are compromised. It will help the Americans to import the Chinese wisdom, ‘Good things are not cheap; cheap things are not good’, before they import Chinese products.
Secrets of Share Markets
Many people believe that the PE (Price to Earning) ratio of shares is a dependable way to decide whether a particular share is underpriced or overpriced. (Low PE ratio indicates underpricing and high PE ratio indicates overpricing). But depending only on the PE ratio to decide whether or not to buy a share is not a wise decision .We must always consider the fundamentals such as current performance and future growth.
Another issue where opinion is always divided is whether to put all the eggs in one basket or diversify. Diversifying reduces the risk but at the same time reduces the returns as well. A wise investor strikes a balance between focusing and diversification.
Newcomers to the share market restrict their investments to shares of companies included in the stock market index. While the risk involved in investing in companies comprising the stock market index is less, the growth is also limited. One must remember that the stock market index does not comprise the same companies. The stock market index comprises of highly traded shares but not necessarily high-yield shares or high-growth shares.
In a nutshell, the same principle that applies to business, applies to trading in shares as well. ‘Profit is the reward for risk-taking’. One needs to take risk to climb, but it has to be calculated-risk to ensure there is no plunge. |
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QE2 is becoming a floating hotel
 Dubai World has purchased the Queen Elizabeth 2 Cruise ship for 100 million dollars from carnival, the world’s largest cruise operator.
The 70,000 tonne vessel will be berthed at a pier near the Palm Jumeirah in Dubai and will be converted into a floating hotel.
The QE2 was launched in 1969. It is approximately 1000 feet long and 100 feet wide. It can carry about 1800 passengers. It has a crew of more than 1000 people. It has crossed the Atlantic more than 800 times, carrying more than 2.5 million passengers.
Facilities available on board include 3 swimming pools, 5 restaurants, 481-seat theatre, casino, night club, health club, library, hospital, computer learning centre and several bars. QE2 has a top speed of 34 knots, making it as one of the fastest passenger ships.
QE2 was used to ferry troops during the Falkland war in 1982. It set sail on 12th May 1982 with 3000 troops aboard and arrived safely back on 11th June 1982.
QE2 will make her final voyage from Southampton to Dubai on 11th November 2008. After arrival she'll be permanently berthed in Dubai and converted into a luxuary floating hotel, museum and entertainment hub. | |
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7 Billion dollar suit against Pfizer
The Nigerian government has filed a 7 billion dollar suit against Pfizer as compensation for the families of the children who had died or suffered serious deformities in the drug trial.
The case relates to Pfizer’s new anti-meningitis drug trial conducted in 1996.The Nigerian government states that more than 50 children died and many others developed physical and mental deformities. But Pfizer says only 11 children died in the drug trial.
In 1996, Pfizer tested its unregistered anti-meningitis drug Trovan, in Nigeria’s north western state of Kano.
“The American pharmaceutical company took advantage of our illiteracy and cheated us and our children. We thought they were helping us”, commented the father of one of the affected children.
Why did it take so long to go to the court? Despite pressure from the Kano state government, the government headed by the then President Obasanjo was not keen on taking Pfizer to the court. The case has been filed only after President Obasanjo stepped down. |
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In This Issue |
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1. IMF Chief Quits
2. 'Swiss Watches' are not made in Switzerland
3. Wenda leaves Yahoo
4. US bans Chinese products
5.Secrets of share markets
6. QE2 is becoming a floating hotel
7. 7 billion dollar suit against Pfizer | |
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Train your Brain
Seminars in Dubai
For those who want to lead a highly successful life, Dr. Pon's widely acclaimed seminar on 'Train your Brain' is an opportunity not to be missed. Inner Universe, a global training organisation, with headquarters in Dubai and branches in Singapore and Sydney will hold two seminars titled 'Train your Brain' on
June 28 (Thursday) from 7.30 pm to 10.00 pm, on June 29 (Friday) from 6.30 pm and to 9.00 pm and on June 30
(Saturday)
from 7.30 pm to 10.00 pm at Ramada hotel, Burdubai, Dubai.
Dr. Pon will explain the Wholebrain concept and its application in improving communication, relationships, memory, problem solving ability etc.
Limited participation that ensures personal attention; Latest training methodology such as Accelerated Learning, NLP, Video recording & review etc. that makes learning easier and faster; A lifetime free review that upgrades learning; An active alumni association that provides lifelong support are some of the unique features that attracts thousands of people to his workshops.
The seminars are open to the public. |
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What do participants say about this programme?
"A well structured programme on which a lot of time, efforts and research has gone in so as to provide the maximum benefits to the participants,” Mr.Ram Venkat, Financial Controller, GIBCA.
"The change I have achieved in my life, in a short span of time is amazing,” Mr M.K.Zaman, Consultant, Commercial Bank Intl.
"The course will be of great help to many," Mr. Cyril Pinto, Chief Sub Editor of Gulf News, Dubai.
"The course gave me new insights into my life, both personal and professional," Mr. Vijay Mohan, Editor, Special Projects of Gulf Today, Sharjah.
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Seminar on
Train your Brain
by Dr. Pon
Date: June 28(Thursday)
Time: 7.30 pm to 10.00 pm
Date: June 29(Friday)
Time: 6.30 pm to 9.00 pm
Date: June 30 (Saturday)
Time: 7.30 pm to 10.00 pm
Venue: Ramada hotel, Burdubai.
Admission is FREE
To register call
04 3939881 or
Register online at www.inneruniverse.com |
