SUBANG JAYA: The image of what some are claiming to be that of the Blessed Virgin Mary on one of Sime Darby Medical Centre's windows here has continued to draw people from all over Malaysia.
Many eyewitnesses, some of whom had been visiting the centre for several days, said the image had “grown clearer” since Saturday.
Malacca-Johor Diocesan Pastoral Institute director Rev Deacon Dr Sherman Kuek said if the immediate result actually excited deeper faith among the Catholics, it was a good thing.
“But even so, this by no means confirms the authenticity of the image as an apparition of Mary,” said Rev Kuek, who holds a doctorate in theology.
He advised Catholics to always keep their attention on Jesus Christ.
Traffic along the medical centre was heavy yesterday, with many parking their cars along the side of the road to see the image.
Some were seen taking photographs with their various electronic gadgets while others prayed and sang hymns.
“The image was brighter and clearer than yesterday. It is certainly different,” said student Kyle Lim, 21.
Some eyewitnesses reported seeing another image forming on one of the windows below, which they claimed resembled the face of Jesus.
Special containers for people to place candles were also set up there.
Photographs of the image, believed to have appeared several days ago, have gone viral on Facebook.
Apple Fanboys & FanGirls, Fly to HK now... Tomorrow is the birth date for iPad 2 in this Oriental Pearl isle.
Its considered cheaper than i Pad 1 , 16GB model cost HK$3,888
Have a read on this article from micgadget.com (Made In China), it's a pre-launching (gray market-lah tu...) incredible market demand & fantastic price found over Hong Kong & the mainland China.
Steve Jobs did not announce an official release date for the iPad 2 in Hong Kong, but residents can buy them at retail – for a premium, just two days after the iPad 2 launches in the U.S. You will be shocked, a 16GB Wi-Fi model costs about $7,900 Hong Kong Dollars (around $1014) in the gray market, that’s about twice the U.S. price!!!
UPDATE: Video! And more information!
It is perfectly normal to see this in Hong Kong. Last year, the iPhone 4 and iPad were sold to local Apple fanboys at crazy prices in the gray market, since fanboys wanted to get the latest Apple gadget at the soonest. Just like always, vendors in the bustling gadget market in Hong Kong’s Sin Tat Plaza (先達廣場), known colloquially as the ‘Mobile Phone Mall’, are promising to bring the latest Apple product, iPad 2, to early adopters. Since the iPad 2 will be available for sale in the U.S first, the retailers will only have to import the iPads from America.
Amazingly, a retailer, Mr. Lo, who is the ‘master’ of the gray market in Hong Kong, who distributed hundreds to thousands of iPhone 4s and iPads to China’s gray market last year, has already received 200 orders before the launch, and he has prepared eight couriers in New York, Chicago, San Francisco and Los Angeles to hop on planes to Hong Kong after securing about 200 iPads and he will get the device to eager consumers by March 13, that’s today. And he did it.
Mr. Lo is preparing to distribute the iPad 2s to pre-ordered customers, early in the morning when luggages of iPad 2s arrived his store.
An employee opening up a luggage, which contains up to 40 boxes of iPad 2s.
What’s the selling price? Well, it’s insane. See below for the price tags.
iPad 2 with Wi-Fi (Black)
16GB: HKD$7,980 (about $1025)
32GB: HKD$8,980 (about $1153)
64GB: HKD$9,980 (about $1280)
iPad 2 with Wi-Fi + 3G (Black)
16GB: HKD$9,680 (about $1243)
32GB: HKD$10,680 (about $1371)
64GB: HKD$11,880 (about $1525)
If you want a white version, you need to add HKD$1500-2000 (about $192-256) for every models. We are more shocked when we see the prices for the smart cover and HDMI adapter. Prices below.
It is really difficult to understand why the Hong Kongers want to secure an early iPad 2 for hefty premiums. Mr. Lo, the famous guy who first sold hundreds of iPhone 4 and iPad in the gray market, said customers have put down HKD$1,000 (about $128) deposit for each iPad 2 before the launch, and if there are some customers who could not accept the price they are offering now, the deposit will be refunded and the device will be reserved for late-comers. He has three special customers, one paid HKD$130,000 (about $16,684) for 10 iPads, other two are from the mainland China, one purchased 20 iPads and another ordered 50 iPads. When he was asked why customers are willing to spend so much money for an iPad 2, he said:
“Apple fanboys are willing to pay our prices to have the iPad 2 earlier. That’s how we earn money.”
However, Mr. Lo has only managed to prepare 60 units of iPad 2 today, and most of them are Wi-Fi + 3G 64GB models, while there are only two ten white iPads. Since there is over a hundred orders to handle, Mr Lo is calling his couriers to try their best to get more stocks from U.S. This may be difficult since Apple’s online store is showing delays of up two to three weeks for the slate and everywhere is sold out.
Mr. Lo has prepared lots of 64GB models! Why? Local Apple fanboys do not care about the prices or the storage capacity, they just want to get whatever the retailer has in stock, and since selling the Wi-Fi + 3G 64GB models will let the retailers to earn more profits, so that’s why Mr. Lo chose to import the high-end models.
Customers are informed to pick up their iPad 2s early in the morning, around 7-8am. Mr. Lo is the only retailer distributing iPad 2 at that time, all other vendors were not yet awake.
The guy above, Chen, is an App Developer. Here’s what he said, “Since iPad 2 features HDMI output, we can project its image to an external display for demo purpose, and at the same time, I can enjoy using an iPad 2 sooner than anyone else.“
Mr. Lo and his employees were busy distributing the iPad 2s and counting money…
Of course, the iPad 2 is not only selling at crazy price in Hong Kong, we took a look at Chinese online shopping site, Taobao, and the stores have set six price points, ranging from RMB¥5,200 to RMB¥8,200 (about $790 – $1246). That’s cheaper than Hong Kong’s gray market!
A Taobao vendor selling the iPad 2 online.
However, we are not sure if Taobao sellers are really selling a real iPad 2 to customers…. What’s more, we checked out Zhongguanchun, the most popular electronics shopping market in Beijing, and the vendors are ready to offer the iPad 2 on March 13, starting at RMB¥7,000 (about $1065) for the base model. Chinese consumers are required to put down RMB¥500 (about $76) deposit to make a reserve. Lots of Chinese Apple fanboys will get one, however, some may not. A female customer, Fang, said:
“It’s too expensive, I didn’t expect the vendors to offer this price, it’s over my budget! They are earning big profits from this!”
And a local Apple fanboy, Yang, said:
“I’m used to this. When Apple releases a new product, the vendors here will surely mark up the price. Since there is no date set for China release, we should patiently wait for Apple’s announcement and not visiting the gray market to get the ‘unlicensed’ product. The sales of the iPhone 4 in China is a good example!”
It is weird to see Apple not offering the iPad 2 to Hong Kong and China on March 25, while other 26 countries are getting it. We are guessing the problem is due to the gray market and scalpers in Hong Kong and China, since many people were reselling iPhone 4 for profits, especially in Hong Kong and Beijing.
Mr. Lo holding a white iPad 2. Cool!
Meanwhile, people who got an iPad 2 could sell the device to the gray market, starting from HKD$6,000 (about $770). Anyone doing this? If you are in Hong Kong, feel free to visit Mr. Lo’s store, G-World Mobile, located at:
F56, 1/F, Sin Tat Plaza, 83 Argyle Street, Mong Kok, Hong Kong
Proving that even a seemingly frivolous lawsuit can throw a wrench in the corporate works, Facebook is fending off a New York restraining order temporarily preventing it from transferring or selling any of its assets.
The order stems from a case filed in late June in New York's Allegany County state court by Paul Ceglia, a local resident who claims that in 2003 he paid Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg $1,000 to build a website "designed to offer the students of Harvard university access to a wesite [sic] similar to a live functioning yearbook with the working title of 'The Face Book.'"
In return, Ceglia was to receive a 50% stake in the site, according to a contract he filed with the court. Based on the contract's details, he is now seeking 84% ownership of Facebook -- a Palo Alto, Calif., company that investors have valued at $15 billion. "Time is of the essence as I have not received any remuneration from the Defendants," Ceglia said in his affidavit to the court. (To see Ceglia's legal filing, including the alleged contract, click here.)
His complaint prompted Judge Thomas Brown to slap Facebook with a restraining order preventing any asset sales -- though Brown struck down a proposed clause that would have blocked Facebook from accessing any money stashed in its bank accounts.
Facebook fired back by having the case transferred to federal district court in Buffalo, where it is currently pending. In a motion filed Friday, Facebook asked the federal court to dissolve the restraining order. Ceglia "has utterly failed to meet the procedural and substantive requirements for such drastic relief, and the order issued by the state court is similarly flawed and woefully inadequate," the company wrote.
"We believe this suit is completely frivolous and we will fight it vigorously," a Facebook spokesman said in response to the lawsuit. "The order will not affect our ability to do business, but we do not believe it is legally supported and we have moved to have the it vacated."
Facebook's legal filings document a laundry list of objections to the state court's action, which was issued without any notice to Facebook. The company also notes that New York's six-year statute of limitations almost certainly bars Ceglia's attempt to take action on a seven-year-old alleged contractual breach.
Ceglia has a checkered legal past. In 2009, New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo sued Ceglia for allegedly defrauding customers of a wood-pellet fuel company he owned. Cuomo won a restraining order binding the assets of Ceglia's Allegany Pellets after he charged the company with taking $200,000 in advance payments from customers and then failing to deliver the goods.
Cuomo's office said that an investigation into Paul Ceglia and his wife Iasia turned up evidence of "extensive real estate holdings, including 75 acres of oceanfront property in Nova Scotia; 30 acres and 70 rental properties in Wellsville; and their own residence on 2 acres in Wellsville."
PETALING JAYA: Perkasa president Datuk Ibrahim Ali has labelled the Chinese as ungrateful for not voting Barisan Nasional despite its promises and pledges to help the community during the campaign period for the Sibu by-election.
In a statement on the Perkasa website yesterday, Ibrahim, who is Pasir Mas MP, claimed the Chinese voters in Sibu had not appreciated the promises of projects and financial assistance made by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.
“The Chinese voters didn't appreciate what has been given by the Prime Minister to them, for example, his support for vernacular schools and so on.
“The Chinese voters openly supported the DAP policies. The Chinese voters want their own ways to prevail, despite the bumiputras having to 'swallow' the Barisan Nasional's call for compromise to allow the Chinese community to have their wish,” he said here yesterday.
It was the second such statement by the controversial independent MP after his earlier statement asking the Government to delay development for the Chinese community after Barisan Nasional won the Hulu Selangor by-election last month.
MCA publicity bureau deputy chief Loh Seng Kok, meanwhile, challenged Ibrahim to come up with more constructive statements on how to realise the 1Malaysia concept instead of questioning the Chinese support for Barisan.
“Does Ibrahim Ali have any recommendations on how to resolve the people's grievances?” Loh asked in a statement yesterday.
In a 5-yearly survey conducted by HDB in 2008 on the demographic and socio-economic profile of HDB residents, it was revealed that Permanent Residents (PRs) and foreigners make up 12 percent of the total number of HDB dwellers.
Some 4 percent of the total population in HDB flats were foreigners while 8 percent were PRs. This compares with the remaining 88 percent of Singapore Citizens.
The overall HDB resident population increased by 2.7 percent over 5 years to 2.92 million in 2008.
KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 18 — While it appears that the government has decided on a piecemeal removal of subsidies, some Cabinet members, senior government officials and economists believe that a complete withdrawal would benefit the country more.
The Malaysian Insider understands from government officials that a total removal of subsidies for fuel, gas, flour and sugar could save the government up to RM50 billion a year.
Some Cabinet members and government officials are understood to be mulling the idea of biting the bullet, instead of doing it little by little.
They are arguing that the huge sum of money saved could be used to provide targeted help for the lower income group.
The savings from removing subsidies could also be used to free up money for various government infrastructure projects that would directly stimulate the economy.
The idea of a piecemeal removal has already proven to be problematic.
While the subsidy on gas is likely to be reduced soon, the plan for a two-tier pricing mechanism for petrol has attracted strong public criticism.
From May 1, Malaysians and non-citizens will pay different petrol prices as foreigners are not eligible for fuel subsidies, Domestic Trade, Cooperatives and Consumerism Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob announced recently.
To further complicate matters, not all Malaysians will get to enjoy subsidised petrol either. An announcement on the detailed mechanics of the system will be made on May 1, the day it goes into effect.
Two-tier pricing mechanism come May 1. — Reuters pic
The minister said the petrol subsidy for those who qualify will be based on the engine capacity of their vehicles. The focus will be on those with lower income, who also usually use cars with smaller engines, he said.
The government currently subsidises 30 sen of the cost RON 95 petrol. The original price of RON 95 is RM2.10. The price of subsidised RON 95 is RM1.80.
In an interview with The Star published yesterday, Ismail said the government is likely to put a cap on the amount of subsidised petrol a car owner can buy monthly, when the new petrol pricing mechanism starts on May 1.
These proposals have attracted widespread criticisms because they are cumbersome and still subject to abuse or could end up penalising those in the lower income group.
Government officials in favour of removing subsidies altogether contend that a total withdrawal would remove the need for such complicated measures.
And they also argue that political fallout would be minimal as long funds from the savings are targeted at the right people and actually reach them.
The argument is that with up to RM50 billion freed up, direct cash aid could be awarded to those in need of such help.
Such a move appears to be a better option but Cabinet members remain unsure as to the best way to handle the subsidy problem.
US President Barack Obama spoke by telephone with Malaysia's Prime Minister Najib Razakon Friday, and discussed proliferation, North Korea and financial regulation, the White House said.
"They discussed the ongoing global economic crisis, and stressed the importance of growth and sound regulatory systems in both their economies," the White House said in a statement.
"The president described US concerns over proliferation and discussed North Korea and Iran, stressing the importance of implementation of UN Security Council resolutions," the statement said.
"They also discussed ways to contribute to reconstruction and stability in Afghanistan."
The statement did not mention Malaysia's claim that Washington had meted out unfair treatment over its decision to relist the country on a human trafficking blacklist.
The annual "Trafficking in Persons Report", released last week, said Malaysia was failing to comply with minimum standards to eliminate trafficking and "is not making significant efforts to do so."
MORE members of the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) are opting for flexible withdrawals as they reach 55 years of age to better manage their retirement savings.
In a statement yesterday, the EPF said the Flexible Age 55 Withdrawal saw a significant increase in its take-up rate during the first quarter of 2009
On a year-on-year basis, it increased by 85.46 per cent compared with 5,247 applications in the corresponding period last year," it said.
EPF chief executive officer Datuk Azlan Zainol said the growing popularity of the Flexible Age 55 Withdrawal signified increased awareness among members that lump sum withdrawal would likely lead to inadequate income during retirement.
"The Flexible Age 55 Withdrawal was introduced in November 2007 under the 'Beyond Savings' initiative. It offers members the option to receive their EPF funds in instalments and on an ad hoc basis," he said.
Zainol said nevertheless, the Lump Sum Age 55 Withdrawal plan is still the more popular option for members reaching age 55.
EXPORTS from China are still suffering as the latest April figures show. This impacted China’s industrial production which, although expanding, was still at a relatively weak pace.
This negative reading is not surprising as global economic conditions remain weak and the recovery process is in the early stages.
On the other hand, the latest economic figures pertaining to China’s stimulus package and consumer spending remain robust.
Bank lending, fixed asset investment and money supply are expanding at robust levels.
Most importantly, retail sales in China are expanding very healthily with April’s figure growing 14.8%, and with home sales in 2009 so far surging.
What we have now is a two-tier Chinese economy. The export-related side remains weak but the domestic demand-related aspects remain strong.
Would such a situation please investors and economists? Nouriel Roubini, New York University economics professor, said he was worried about the quality of the recovery and that private domestic demand was not growing fast enough.
“Without exports, China can produce growth for a period of time by getting the banks to lend like crazy, but that’s not sustainable growth,” said an economist with Macquarie Securities in Hong Kong.
Even though retail sales are surging in the mid-teens, at a time when retail sales in most countries are slumping, this is still not enough to please the bearish ones.
It is true that banks anywhere cannot continue to lend like crazy, but if export growth is so sustainable, why are exports collapsing now?
It would seem that, for some people, nothing is ever right. Are exports really that important for China? Is it just a myth?
Or is China’s economy more than just relying on exporting cheap goods to the US?
The table shows the growth components of China’s gross domestic product.
Contribution from net exports, i.e. exports minus imports, is far less important than contribution from domestic demand, whether from private or public sector.
A good proxy for domestic demand is retail sales and fixed asset investment. Both are expanding robustly.
If you suspect the figures from the Chinese official sources, just remind yourself that in 1978, there were only 400 washing machines in the whole of China. By 2005, there were 30.4 million washing machines.
In 1980, only a few thousand cars were on the roads in China.
Now, China is the biggest car market in the world. Now, all these are for domestic consumption, not for export.
The simple fact is that the US economy may still be the largest in the world but it is certainly not the most important anymore.
Hong Kong’s economic prospects are now very closely linked to China’s, the strongest economy in the world.
BEIJING: China's stimulus spending may add as much as 1.9 percentage points to economic expansion and help the government achieve its growth target this year, according to the State Council's research group.
"China has the ability to become the first in the world to step out of the crisis and keep stable growth for the mid and long term," Zhang Yutai, director of the Development Research Center of the State Council, said in a live broadcast from the China Development Forum in Beijing yesterday.
Vice Premier Li Keqiang reaffirmed China's goal of 8 per cent growth at yesterday's forum, saying some industries "have seen signs of recovery."China is targeting expansion in 2009 even as economies from the US to Japan contract. The nation's economy is showing "early
Investment in China rose 26.5 per cent in the first two months of 2009 and bank loans quadrupled in February, indications the government's 4 trillion yuan, or US$585 billion, stimulus plan is starting to feed into the economy.
China's government is battling to boost growth amid tumbling exports, rising unemployment, falling house prices and the risk of higher loan defaults.Gross domestic product expanded 6.8 per cent in the fourth quarter, the weakest pace in seven years.
The economy grew 9 per cent for all of last year.
"China has the potential to further boost domestic spending," Zhu Zhixing, vice director of the National Development and Reform Commission, said at the forum, echoing comments by Premier Wen Jiabao on March 13.
Wen said China has "adequate ammunition" to revive the world's third-biggest economy and can add to its 4 trillion yuan stimulus package at any time.Not everyone shares China's optimism it will reach the 8 per cent target this year. The International Monetary Fund expects growth of 6.7 per cent.The World Bank last week lowered its forecast for China's economic growth this year to 6.5 per cent from a November estimate of 7.5 per cent.
In another development, a commentary said yesterday that the global economic crisis is actually a great opportunity for Chinese exports, as people with tight budgets around the world are looking for exactly the cheap goods China provides.
China's exports tumbled 25.7 per cent in February as the world's third-largest economy felt the full force of the global financial crisis.But the official Xinhua news agency said in a commentary that people with less money to spend would be attracted to just the kinds of products China excels in, namely cheap ones.
"Simply speaking, even though there's a crisis, people still have to get by and there's no escape from consumption," it said."Find out what the market needs, find a market niche and you'll see there's still plenty of room for Chinese products," it added. - Bloomberg, Reuters
Cell phone shopping makes wallets redundant in Japan.
JAPANESE office worker Satoshi Tada pays for shopping, wins free food and gets store discounts all by waving his cellphone.
“I use it pretty much every day,” the 25-year-old said. “You can charge money on it right there if needed, and you don’t have to run around trying to find an ATM. You can even get points because it’s linked to credit cards.”
The world’s top firms such as Visa Inc and Nokia are still mostly testing phone use for payments, but in Japan, more than 50 million, or about half of all cellphone users, already carry phones capable of serving as wallets.
Japan has pioneered not just the technology but also the business models that will pave the way for wallet phones to become a standard payment method in the future. Some 700 million people worldwide are expected to own such phones by 2013.
“You can’t deny that having such applications on a phone is convenient, and that will likely be the way that mobile phones are going worldwide,” said JPMorgan Securities analyst Hironobu Sawake in Tokyo. “People always carry cellphones on them, and they would find it useful to have a financial function there.”
Success in Japan and in trials abroad have shown that the technology is ready for cell phones to replace credit cards, cash as well as serve as transportation and movie tickets and electronic keys for homes and offices.
But there are other hurdles; from breaking the psychological barrier for consumers sceptical about using phones as credit cards, to working out new business models as the lines blur between banks, financial institutions and cell phone companies.
Japan is leading the way in this regard.
Outside Japan, telco industry and financial players are still in the midst of working out how the wallet phone payment business would operate, who would get a cut and when.
A wallet phone being held over a scanning device in Tokyo. These special phones can be used like money for purchases in stores equipped with the scanners.
“Traditional financial industry met telcos by going mobile. Now telecom operators want to play a part in that chain. These talks are well under way,” said Gerhard Romen, Director for Strategic Alliances & Partnering at Nokia.
A wallet phone being held over a scanning device in Tokyo. These special phones can be used like money for purchases in stores equipped with the scanners.
The world’s biggest payment card company, Mastercard, said last month it was in talks over commercial launches of phone wallets with several banks, and during the next two years it expects to see substantial activity from retail-focused banks.
“Now banks say: I have no doubt in the technology. We need to solve the business model between mobile and payments industries. It’s not a trivial task,” said James Anderson, a vice president at Mastercard’s mobile business. “There is a very strong consumer pull for this service.”
China's online population, already the world's largest, has swelled to 253 million, an official report said, driven by news events such as natural disasters and the Beijing Olympics.
The number of Internet surfers in China grew by 56 percent in the year to the end of June, the government-linked China Internet Network Information Centre said in its latest half-yearly report posted on its website Thursday.
Online music, news and instant messaging were the most popular applications, it said.
Readers of online news hit 206 million in the first half of this year, compared with 155 million in the second half of 2007, said the report.
"A series of significant news incidents that took place (meant) more netizens looked for related information on the Internet," it said.
Natural disasters such as snow storms during the Lunar New Year holiday and the earthquake that hit Sichuan province in May were huge news events online, along with news of the Olympics that start on August 8.
People younger than 30 accounted for 69 percent of total Internet users, the report found, adding that 29 percent of users accessed the Internet with mobile phones, reflecting the rapid growth of cellphone subscribers to 601 million at the end of June.
The report said that with 19 percent of the 1.3 billion population accessing the Internet, China lagged the global average of 21 percent.
While the fast-growing online population has made the Internet a new forum for Chinese to express opinions in a manner rarely seen on the strictly government-controlled traditional media, the communist government does attempt to keep tight controls on how it is used.
President Hu Jintao called last year for efforts to "purify" the Internet, and in March the authorities introduced a licensing system in the online video service sector in the latest example of tightened government control.
The company faces so many problems, a Merrill Lynch analyst says, that bankruptcy isn't out of the question. Here's why it also may be unlikely.
The plunge is an astonishing moment in the history of the nation's largest automaker -- once so powerful that many people believed that, as the late GM president Charles Wilson was incorrectly quoted as saying in 1953: "What's good for General Motors is good for the country."
GM's slump helped the Dow Jones industrials fall nearly 167 points today and the overall stock market dip into bear-market territory after crude oil hit a new closing high of $143.57, up $2.60 from Tuesday.
Merrill Lynch analyst John Murphy said GM needed to raise up to $15 billion in new capital to get through 2008 and 2009. The company insisted it had enough to cash to get through 2008 and could sell assets and make other moves in 2009.
GM closed down 15.1% to $9.98. Shares of all automakers plus automobile parts makers and tire makers also fell.
Bankruptcy is "not impossible" if the U.S. auto market continues to slump, Murphy wrote. A GM bankruptcy would put all labor contracts at risk and take years to resolve and could cause problems for thousands of suppliers.
IS GM too big?There was extreme skepticism that bankruptcy would ever happen. The company is too big and important to the domestic economy, and investors, management and, ultimately, the federal government would probably get involved first.
GM has about 280,000 employees worldwide, with 140,000 in the United States. Murphy cut GM to "underperform" from "buy" and lowered his price target for the largest U.S. automaker to $7 a share.
He also lowered his forecast for 2008 U.S. industrywide light vehicle sales for the third time this year and said the recent drastic decline in sales would likely to continue through 2009. He expects 14.3 million U.S. auto sales this year and 14 million units for next year, down from 16.15 million units in 2007.
Murphy lauded GM's vast restructuring strides but said three factors have combined to dwarf the company's best efforts: GM needs for more capital to cope with slumping sales. Every drop of 1 million units in U.S. auto sales on an annualized basis means a loss of $3 billion in revenue for GM. "The financing necessary for the next two years is likely to be larger and more expensive than recognized," he wrote.
Weak sales will continue through 2009. The industry faces "a more severe downturn than even the most bearish industry observers expected," he wrote. Murphy lowered his earlier target of 14.8 million light vehicle sales in 2008 by half a million units.
GM's sport-utility-vehicle segment is on the verge of becoming obsolete, eating away at the company's profit potential, he said.
On Tuesday, GM surprised investors with a June sales report that wasn't nearly as bad as feared and sparked a dramatic recovery for the U.S. stock market. The stock was up more than 15% at one point before fading to a 2.3% gain.
THE EURO 2008 finals came alive at the Genting International Showroom hours before the opening match between Switzerland and the Czech Republic kicked off at midnight on Saturday- June 6, 2008.
Musical performances led by rock queen Ella entertained the crowd at the viewing party organised by Carlsberg, the official beer for the tournament.
Some 500 peoplewere kept kept entertained for two hours before kick-off.
Big screen action: Fans watching the match during the viewing party.
Besides Ella, the Carlsberg golden cheerleaders, who made two appearances during the show, were a big hit with the football fans.
The Genting magical dancers also added spice to the night with their lively and colourful performance.
During the three-hour programme, prizes were also given out to the winners of the Carlsberg-Malaysian Association of Futsal Challenge.
The team from Italy won the tournament, which had 14 teams and was organised with the European Union-Malaysia Chamber of Commerce and Industry (EUMCCI).
Lim Jit Hiang, who won a trip to Anfield to watch a Liverpool match once the new English Premier League season starts, also received his prize at the event.
Rocking the house: Ella thrilling the guests with her vocal talents.
Before the event and as build up to the Euro 2008, Carlsberg had also organised the Carlsberg Man of the Match contest under which four people won tickets for two to watch the quarterfinals.
Lam Wai Loong was picked among the four winners to give away the Carlsberg man of the match trophy at one of the quarterfinal matches.
Several foreign dignitaries, including Swiss embassy deputy head of mission Christien Winter and Austrian ambassador Donatus Koeck were present along with Carlsberg’s manager director Soren Jensen and Genting chief operating officer Thuy Trinh were also present.
HTC has unveiled its new flagship smartphone, the Touch Diamond.
Featuring stunning aesthetics such as a black steel finish and a unique shaped back, the compact smartphone is sure to be a hit with the fashion conscious.
Targeted mainly at mobile Internet users, the Diamond’s main draw is its fast HSDPA 7.2Mbps (megabits per second) wireless connection speed which is supposed to deliver an improved web browsing experience.
The Diamond has a customised web browser (based on Opera) that allows users to zoom and pan, which makes it easier to view and navigate websites.
Also, turning the device sideways automatically rotates the page view from portrait to landscape. In addition to web browsing, the Diamond includes a YouTube application that can be used to watch or upload video content to the popular videosharing site.
The Diamond also features a touch-responsive user interface called TouchFlo 3D that replaces the standard Windows Mobile Today screen and gives users easy access to their contacts, music, video, photos and weather forecast.
Also, the interface has more visual-based interactions to help you manage text messages, album artwork, video stills and snapshots of contacts in your address book.
Plus, the smartphone also comes with an integrated GPS to help guide you to your destination.
Other features include a 2.8in LCD with VGA (640 x 480pixels) resolution, 802.11b/g WiFi connectivity, 3.2-megapixel autofocus camera and 4GB of internal storage.
The Diamond will be available next month at a suggested retail price of RM2,799.
In a zoo in California, a mother tiger gave birth to a rare set of triplet tiger cubs. Unfortunately, due to complications in the pregnancy, the cubs were born prematurely and due to their tiny size, they died shortly after birth. The mother tiger after recovering from the delivery, suddenly started to decline in health, although physically she was fine. The veterinarians felt that the loss of her litter had caused the tigress to fall into a depression. The doctors decided that if the tigress could surrogate another mother's cubs, perhaps she would improve. After checking with many other zoos across the country, the depressing news was that there were no tiger cubs of the right age to introduce to the mourning mother. The veterinarians decided to try something that had never been tried in a zoo environment. Sometimes a mother of one species will take on the care of a different species. The only orphans' that could be found quickly, were a litter of weaning pigs. The zoo keepers and vets wrapped the piglets in tiger skin and placed the babies around the mother tiger. Would they become cubs or pork chops? Take a look...you won't believe your eyes!!
.jpg)
Many eyewitnesses, some of whom had been visiting the centre for several days, said the image had “grown clearer” since Saturday.
“But even so, this by no means confirms the authenticity of the image as an apparition of Mary,” said Rev Kuek, who holds a doctorate in theology..jpg)
EPF chief executive officer Datuk Azlan Zainol said the growing popularity of the Flexible Age 55 Withdrawal signified increased awareness among members that lump sum withdrawal would likely lead to inadequate income during retirement.
