Same-Sex Marriage Issues

SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Til death do us part? The vow would really hold true in California if a Sacramento Web designer gets his way.
In a movement that seems ripped from the pages of Comedy Channel writers, John Marcotte wants to put a measure on the ballot next year to ban divorce in California.
The effort is meant to be a satirical statement after California voters outlawed gay marriage in 2008, largely on the argument that a ban is needed to protect the sanctity of traditional marriage. If that's the case, then Marcotte reasons voters should have no problem banning divorce.
"Since California has decided to protect traditional marriage, I think it would be hypocritical of us not to sacrifice some of our own rights to protect traditional marriage even more," the 38-year-old married father of two said.
Marcotte said he has collected dozens of signatures, including one from his wife of seven years. The initiative's Facebook fans have swelled to more than 11,000. Volunteers that include gay activists and members of a local comedy troupe have signed on to help.
Marcotte is looking into whether he can gather signatures online, as proponents are doing for another proposed 2010 initiative to repeal the gay marriage ban. But the odds are stacked against a campaign funded primarily by the sale of $12 T-shirts featuring bride and groom stick figures chained at the wrists.
Marcotte needs 694,354 valid signatures by March 22, a high hurdle in a state where the typical petition drive costs millions of dollars. Even if his proposed constitutional amendment made next year's ballot, it's not clear how voters would react.
Nationwide, about half of all marriages end in divorce.
Not surprisingly, Marcotte's campaign to make divorce in California illegal has divided those involved in last year's campaign for and against Proposition 8.
As much as everyone would like to see fewer divorces, making it illegal would be "impractical," said Ron Prentice, the executive director of the California Family Council who led a coalition of religious and conservative groups to qualify Proposition 8.
No other state bans divorce, and only a few countries, including the Philippines and Malta, do. The Roman Catholic Church also prohibits divorce but allows annulments. The California proposal would amend the state constitution to eliminate the ability of married couples to get divorced while allowing married couples to seek an annulment.
Prentice said proponents of traditional marriage only seek to strengthen the one man-one woman union.
"That's where our intention begins and ends," he said.
Jeffrey Taylor, a spokesman for Restore Equality 2010, a coalition of same-sex marriage activists seeking to repeal Proposition 8, said the coalition supports Marcotte's message but has no plans to join forces with him.
"We find it quite hilarious," Taylor said of the initiative.
Marcotte, who runs the comedy site BadMouth.net in his spare time, said he has received support from across the political spectrum. In addition to encouragement from gay marriage advocates, he has been interviewed by American Family Association, a Mississippi-based organization that contributed to last year's Yes on 8 campaign.
He was mentioned by Keith Olbermann on MSNBC's "Countdown" during his "World's Best Persons" segment for giving supporters of Proposition 8 their "comeuppance in California."
Marcotte, who is Catholic and voted against Proposition 8, views himself as an accidental activist. A registered Democrat, he led a "ban divorce" rally recently at the state Capitol in Sacramento to launch his effort and was pleasantly surprised at the turnout. About 50 people showed up, some holding signs that read, "You too can vote to take away civil rights from someone."
Marcotte stopped dozens of people during another signature drive in downtown Sacramento. Among them was Ryan Platt, 32, who said he signed the petition in support of his lesbian sister, even though he thinks it would be overturned if voters approved it.
"Even if by some miracle this did pass, it would never stand up to the federal government," Platt said. "And if it did, there's something really wrong with America."
Other petition signers said they were motivated by a sincere interest to preserve marriages. One was Ervin Hulton, a 47-year-old dishwasher who said he believes in making it harder for couples to separate.
"The way I feel, why go out and spend all these tons of money for marriage, the photography and all that? And along down the line, it's going to shatter," said Hulton, who is single.
The U.S. divorce rate is 47.9 percent, according to data provided by the National Center for Health Statistics reports. That figure, however, does not include California, Georgia, Hawaii, Indiana, Louisiana and Minnesota because those six states no longer report their divorce rates to the center.
California stopped because of budget problems, said Ralph Montano, a spokesman for the California Department of Public Health.
While most people would not support banning divorce, it does make sense for couples to be educated about the financial and emotional commitments of marriage, said Dan Couvrette, chief executive and publisher of Toronto-based Divorce Magazine. The publication has a circulation of 140,000, including a regional edition in Southern California.
"It's a worthwhile conversation to have," said Couvrette, who started the magazine in 1996 after going through his own divorce. "I don't think it's just a frivolous thought."

Iran nuke plans largely bluster, experts say

TEHRAN, Iran – Iran's announcement of plans to build 10 more uranium enrichment facilities is largely bluster after a strong rebuke from the U.N.'s nuclear agency, analysts said Monday. Nonetheless, the defiance is fueling calls among Western allies for new punitive sanctions to freeze Iran's nuclear program.
U.S. and European officials were swift to condemn the plans, warning that Iran risked sinking ever deeper into isolation. Iran responded that it felt forced to move forward with the plans after the International Atomic Energy Agency passed a resolution Friday demanding that it halt all enrichment activities.
Iran's bold announcement Sunday appears to be largely impossible to achieve as long as sanctions continue to throw up roadblocks and force Iran to turn to black markets and smuggling for nuclear equipment, said nuclear expert David Albright.
"They can't build those plants. There's no way," he said. "They have sanctions to overcome, they have technical problems. They have to buy things overseas ... and increasingly it's all illegal."
A more worrisome escalation in the standoff would be if Iran reduced its cooperation with the IAEA, as some Iranian officials have threatened to do if the West continues its pressure. The U.N. inspectors and monitoring are the world's only eyes on Tehran's program. The head of Iran's nuclear agency on Monday ruled out an even more drastic move, saying Tehran does not intend to withdraw from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
Enrichment is at the center of the standoff between Iran and the West because it can be used both to produce material needed for atomic weapons as well as fuel for nuclear power plants. Iran insists it only wants the latter.
New enrichment plants, on the scale of the one Iran already operates in the town of Natanz, would be extremely expensive, take years to build and would be difficult to stock with centrifuges and other necessary equipment while sanctions are in place, Albright said.
Further dimming the credibility of the plan, 10 new facilities on the scale of Natanz would put Iran in league with the production levels of any of Europe's major commercial enrichment suppliers, said Albright, president of the Washington-based Institute for Science and International Security.
"And also they don't have enough uranium. They would need a massive amount of uranium," he said.
A diplomat from one of the six world powers attempting to engage Iran on its nuclear program described the Iranian announcement as a "political move" with little immediate significance beyond demonstrating Tehran's defiance.
The diplomat, who follows the nuclear dossier the IAEA has gathered on Iran, noted that Tehran appears to have significant problems with its present enrichment program, to the point that it cannot even keep the centrifuges it has set up at Natanz running without breakdowns.
The diplomat demanded anonymity because he was not authorized to comment on the issue.
Still, the announcement is of major concern because it could signal an intention to put up numerous decoy sites to deceive the outside world, while building perhaps a few secret military enrichment sites on a small scale that could be put to use in weapons production if Tehran decides to do go down that path, Albright said.
Such concerns were heightened with the recent discovery that Iran had a second, previously unknown enrichment facility burrowed partway into a mountain near the holy city of Qom.
"I tend to think that this Qom site was probably meant to be a clandestine facility for breakout that they wanted built for nuclear weapons," said Albright. "And now that it's been exposed they may want to replace it."
Iran's announcement triggered calls for new penalties that Albright said could evolve into a "mini-cold war strategy" to further isolate and contain Iran while holding out a hand for negotiations.
The United States' ambassador to the U.N., Susan Rice, said Iran's plans would be "completely inappropriate" and would further isolate it from the world.
In Paris, French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner called Iran's decision "a bit childish."
"Iran is playing an extremely dangerous game," Kouchner said on France's RTL radio Monday. "There's no coherence in all this, other than a gut reaction."
The French defense minister, Herve Morin, said the international community should "probably commit toward new economic sanctions against Iran."
Iran and the top powers at the U.N. are deadlocked over a U.N.-drafted proposal for Iran to send much of its enriched uranium abroad, which the West seeks because it would at least temporary leave Tehran unable to develop a nuclear bomb. So far Iran has balked at the offer. The unusually strong IAEA censure of Iran over enrichment was a sign of the West's growing impatience with its defiance.
Iranian Vice President Ali Akbar Salehi, who heads the nuclear program, told state radio that the decision to build the new uranium enrichment facilities was necessary to respond to the resolution.
"We had no intention of building many facilities like the Natanz site, but apparently the West doesn't want to understand Iran's peaceful message," Salehi said.
Salehi said Iran would not go so far as to withdraw from the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, under which Iran is subject to oversight by the U.N. nuclear agency.
"If we wanted to obtain nuclear weapons, we would have pulled out of NPT ... Iran doesn't want to withdraw from the treaty," the official IRNA news agency quoted him as saying Monday.
Iran's parliament speaker Ali Larijani insisted "a diplomatic opportunity" was still possible "under which Iran will continue its (nuclear) work under international surveillance."
But a day earlier, Larijani warned that Iran could reduce its cooperation with the IAEA if the West continues its pressure and doesn't compromise.

Sony's 3D TV Plans Become a Little Clearer

Sony expects that 3D televisions will make up between 30 percent and 50 percent of all sets it sells in the financial year that begins in April 2012, a senior executive said late last week. The goal further indicates Sony's confidence in 3D entertainment ahead of a roll-out of the technology next year.
Sony first announced its 3D ambitions in early September when President and CEO Howard Stringer said the company planned to launch 3D-capable Bravia TV sets and Blu-ray Disc players as well as adding 3D to the PlayStation 3. Sony's plans for the latter two products are already becoming clear: the Blu-ray Disc Association is working on a 3D disc standard while Sony plans to add 3D to all models of the PlayStation 3 via a firmware update.
On the TV side, perhaps the largest and most important part of the picture, Sony hadn't disclosed many details but now that picture is starting to come into focus.
The 3D-compatible sets will include a small piece of additional hardware that enables them to show 3D content but they'll also work as conventional television sets, said Hiroshi Yoshioka, executive deputy president of Sony and head of the unit that includes its TV business, in an interview. Yoshioka didn't elaborate on the additional hardware but said it would only add a little to the production cost of the TV set.
By far the biggest expense for 3D viewing will be the glasses that are required to produce the illusion of a three-dimensional image. Those could cost up to around US$200 and won't necessarily be bundled with a television. By selling the glasses separately Sony will be able to keep its 3D-compatible sets competitive with other sets while only requiring a higher outlay from customers who want to experience 3D content.
Yoshioka stressed that Sony has yet to determine the premium for 3D-compatible sets and whether it will bundle the glasses or sell them separately. But the TV business is perhaps the most price-sensitive of all of Sony's product areas, particularly in the U.S. market, so the company will likely want to keep additional costs down.
Sony's TV business has been losing money for six years but Stringer committed this month to turning a profit on televisions in the next financial year, which runs from April 2010 to March 2011. Success with 3D will be vital if Sony is to accomplish its goal of grabbing a 20 percent share of the LCD TV market within the next three years.
"It's all up to the contents," said Yoshioka.
Sony's 3D plans revolve around gaming, movies and sports. Sony is already working on gaming with the PlayStation 3 upgrade plans and its movies division, Sony Pictures, is already producing 3D movies. If history is any indicator, sports is an additional area where users are willing to pay a little more money for a better experience.
The company's existing relationship with broadcasters through its movie division and TV production house could serve well in promoting 3D but even if it doesn't there will be a secondary route to 3D-capable sets. Sony is expanding its PlayStation Network service to cover its televisions and will launch a new content delivery service next year that will pump movies, TV shows and other video content directly into Bravia TVs and Blu-ray Disc players from its own servers.
Smaller-scale experiments have already taken place in the U.S., where Sony recently offered its "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs" movie to Internet-linked Bravia TVs ahead of the DVD release.
"So far there is a good response," said Yoshioka of the trial.
Late last year "Hancock," another Sony movie, was offered via the same route.

Preliminary reports link Chinese drywall, corrosion in U.S. homes

The suspected link between Chinese drywall and toxic effects reported by thousands of U.S. homeowners was strengthened Monday by three preliminary reports issued by the federal government.
The strongest link came from an analysis of air sampled inside dozens of homes containing drywall made in China.
"While the study of 51 homes detected hydrogen sulfide and formaldehyde ... at concentrations below irritant levels, it is possible that the additive or synergistic effects of these and other compounds in the subject homes could cause irritant effects," the Consumer Product Safety Commission said in its executive summary of the study.
Two other preliminary studies found copper sulfide corrosion in metal components taken from homes containing the Chinese drywall.
The drywall in question was imported from 2005 through 2007, when a housing boom and two active hurricane seasons created a shortage of building materials in the southern United States.
Since then, the product safety agency has received nearly 2,100 reports from 32 states -- but mostly from Florida, Louisiana and Virginia -- of homeowners complaining of a rotten-egg smell, sickness, failed appliances, and corroded wires and pipes. Many have moved out of their homes. In some cases, insurers have refused to reimburse them.
The air study tested 41 houses containing Chinese drywall and compared those findings with air from inside 10 homes in the same geographical areas whose homeowners had not complained, said Jack McCarthy, president of Environmental Health & Engineering Inc।, which carried out the work।

The investigators also examined materials such as copper pipes and wiring for corrosion, and looked at indoor air humidity, temperature and air exchange, he said. Copper and silver strips were left in the homes for two weeks and then examined for corrosion, he said.
The result: in the 41 homes containing the problem drywall, there was a "strong association" between the high levels of hydrogen sulfide and the corrosion of the metals, he said.
"Temperature, humidity and air-exchange rates also appear to be contributing factors," McCarthy told reporters on a conference call, noting that higher moisture and temperature levels and lower air-exchange rates were connected with more corrosion.
Formaldehyde, also a potential source of irritation, was found in both complaint and noncomplaint homes, he said.
Though McCarthy cautioned that the study was not intended to examine health effects, "we can say that the levels of the pollutants we found, particularly the hydrogen sulfide and formaldehyde, could possibly contribute to some of the health problems that have been reported to the CPSC."
McCarthy also said that not all Chinese drywall may be alike. Its risk "depends on what it is made of, not necessarily what country it's from," he said.
The next step is to determine how to identify homes with the corrosive materials and how to fix them, said Scott Wolfson, the product safety agency's director of information and public affairs, who noted that the investigation is the largest in the agency's history.
He said none of the tainted drywall entered the United States this year. Hundreds of thousands of suspect boards have been stockpiled in warehouses; their owners have been told it will not be sold, he added.
Several weeks ago, agency representatives traveled to China, where they visited mines, factories and government officials to determine the scope of the problem, which is still not clear, Wolfson said. "The CPSC is working hard to determine how many homes in how many states are affected," he said, adding that the data do not support the widely reported figure of 100,000 homes.
Wolfson said the Chinese helped investigate. "They're committed to helping us with the technical side of this investigation," he said.
Though the study raises suspicions that the drywall is responsible for the health effects reported by some families, Wolfson said a causal association has not been proved. "The work continues," he said. "The work toward an exact nexus between drywall and effects is still ongoing."
Wolfson called on the news media to help alert homeowners in affected houses to report the problem. Some may be hesitant to report because they are afraid their insurers will drop their coverage, he said, but he pointed out that the reports can be made confidentially.
"We will make sure that you are not harmed in any way by reporting to the government," he said.
Monday's report did not surprise Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Florida, who said the product safety commission's chairwoman, Inez Tenenbaum, told him Monday she did not know when further testing would be completed.
"I am very disappointed with the whole process, and especially that the CDC [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] and EPA [Environmental Protection Agency] can't say whether drywall is harmful to people's health," he told CNN. "Common sense says otherwise, but we still lack definitive answers."
Joan Glickman, who moved out of her townhouse in Pompano Beach, Florida, after her wiring and air conditioning failed, said Monday's report told her nothing new.
"It was a huge letdown because it still didn't tell me how to fix it, who's going to fix it, how do we go about fixing it, where the money comes from," said Glickman, who moved in with her mother. "This has left us in such a mess."

Fort Hood victim 'died as she lived,' friend says

Huddling under umbrellas in a chilly rain, friends, relatives and comrades gathered at Arlington National Cemetery on Monday to lay to rest another of the victims of the massacre at Fort Hood, Texas.
An Army band played "America the Beautiful" as an honor guard folded the flag that covered the casket of Lt. Col. Juanita Warman, a nurse practitioner with the Maryland National Guard.
The 55-year-old grandmother had been slated for a second deployment to Iraq before her death in the November 5 rampage at Fort Hood, the largest U.S. Army post.
"She was extremely dedicated, she was extremely passionate, and I think it would be truthful to say that she died as she lived -- passionate, caring, and serving others," said Sheri Stern, a fellow nurse practitioner at the Veterans Affairs hospital in Baltimore, Maryland, where Warman worked.
Warman, the daughter and granddaughter of Army veterans, worked to help reservists readjust to civilian life after their deployments to Iraq or Afghanistan, Stern said. Lt. Col. Michael Gaffney, another National Guard officer, said Warman believed she could do more to help her fellow soldiers in Iraq.
"She truly believed that the further forward, the sooner that she could get hold of the folks that were having trouble, the sooner she could make a difference in their lives," Gaffney said.
Warman "knew the risks," both physical and psychological, he said, "and she willingly took that risk to go. I think that makes her a real hero."
Investigators say an Army psychiatrist, Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, was the gunman who opened fire in a processing center at Fort Hood. He has been charged with 13 preliminary counts of premeditated murder and remains hospitalized after being wounded by a police officer during the assault.
The last funeral of those killed at Fort Hood will be the burial of Maj. Libardo Eduardo Caraveo, scheduled for Wednesday at Arlington

Kennedy abortion debate puts politics, religion back in spotlight

A dispute over abortion between the only remaining Kennedy in Congress and his Roman Catholic bishop has highlighted the political volatility of the issue and the challenge it presents to the nation's Catholics.
"How can you claim to be a Catholic and also support abortion?" Bishop Thomas Tobin of Providence, Rhode Island, asked Monday, discussing his request that Rep. Patrick Kennedy, a Rhode Island Democrat, stop receiving Holy Communion because of his pro-choice politics.
Kennedy went public Sunday about Tobin's request, originally made in a private letter to Kennedy in 2007. Tobin responded with a statement Sunday followed by his television appearance Monday, in which he acknowledged holding Kennedy to a higher standard than an ordinary parishioner because of the congressman's position as a legislator who can shape abortion laws and policy.
The issue is considered much broader than a public rift between the two men. A sweeping health care bill in Congress could get derailed by conflicts over abortion language, with the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops last week criticizing a Senate version of the measure for lacking the tougher language adopted earlier by the House.
Kennedy, a member of the most influential Catholic family in U.S. history, is the son of the late Sen. Edward Kennedy and nephew of the late John F. Kennedy, the nation's first Catholic president. When running for president in 1960, John Kennedy famously said he was "not the Catholic candidate for president," but "the Democratic Party's candidate for president who also happens to be be a Catholic."
Edward Kennedy was known for his liberal policies, including support for a woman's right to choose an abortion. When he died earlier this year, a Roman Catholic funeral Mass was held in Boston's Our Lady of Perpetual Help Basilica.
Patrick Kennedy holds similar views to his late father, and the dispute with Tobin festered anew when Kennedy publicly criticized the Catholic Church for opposing health care reform that lacked stringent anti-abortion language.
Requests to Kennedy's offices in Washington and Rhode Island for comment Monday went unanswered. Tobin, appearing on CNN, called Kennedy's support of abortion "a scandal."
Abortion Policy
Asked why he was singling out Kennedy, Tobin said the congressman started the dispute by attacking the church's opposition to a health care bill that lacks tough abortion restrictions. He acknowledged "a difference between someone who is the average Catholic in the pew ... and someone like the congressman who is in a high-profile position and is in a position to affect legislation on allowing access to abortion."
Other Catholics questioned Tobin's stance.
"The simple fact is that most bishops don't want to deny communion to politicians, and we know for a fact that Pope John Paul II gave communion to pro-choice Italian politicians," said the Rev. Thomas Reese, a senior fellow at the Woodstock Theological Center at Georgetown University. "So the question is, is Bishop Tobin more Catholic than the pope on this?"
Politicians have previously run afoul of Catholic bishops on the abortion issue. Kansas City Archbishop Joseph Naumann asked Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius to stop receiving communion when she was a pro-choice governor of Kansas, and former St. Louis Archbishop Raymond Burke said in 2004 he would deny communion to Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry for being pro-choice.
Brian McLaren, a longtime Christian pastor who has written a book coming out next year called "A New Kind of Christianity," said politicizing religious views limits the perception and, eventually, the impact of a church's teachings.
"Both Catholics and Protestants have allowed themselves to be pushed into this kind of binary, either-or thinking" on abortion and homosexuality, McLaren said. "It's disturbing for me as a non-Catholic to see the Catholic Church possibly risking its moral authority on a number of other issues by only focusing on abortion."
The Roman Catholic church strongly opposes abortion, which has been legal across the United States since 1973. The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops lobbied for tight restrictions on federal funding of abortion in the health care bill the House passed earlier this month.
In an October interview, Kennedy criticized the bishops for threatening to oppose the health care bill if it lacked the tough restrictions. In the House debate on the measure, Kennedy opposed a provision with the church-backed restrictions on federal money for abortions, but voted in favor of final passage of the bill that included that language.
He repeated that criticism and revealed Tobin's earlier admonition in an interview published Sunday, the 46th anniversary of the assassination of John F. Kennedy. Tobin responded by calling Kennedy's position "unacceptable to the church and scandalous to many of our members."
Most bishops and priests oppose using communion as a "political weapon," and Kennedy's disclosure of Tobin's admonition may be an attempt to push back against the bishops' support for the abortion restrictions in the House bill, CNN senior Vatican analyst John Allen said.
"The Catholic bishops have been fairly successful, at least to date, at putting abortion at the center of the debate over health care reform, and that obviously has generated some resentment from people who don't share their views," Allen said. Kennedy's decision to come forward "in effect puts the Catholic bishops in a negative light, because it ends up making them look intolerant."
To McLaren, the admonishment by Tobin displays an inconsistency.
"The bishops have taken I think a wise stand against the proliferation of nuclear weapons," he said. "Would they apply withholding of the Eucharist to someone who supports increasing nuclear stockpiles?"
The health care debate reveals the depth of division on the issue, according to McLaren. Both sides apparently believe they are advocating language that makes the legislation effectively "abortion neutral," meaning it doesn't change existing abortion law.
"What we discovered is 'abortion neutral' is a matter of interpretation," McLaren said, adding: "This is what happens in the politics of polarization. Each side plays to its more extreme base. It makes common ground and respectful dialogue harder to achieve. The idea that we're playing a win-lose game, that you're saying if you don't agree with us, we're not even going to have a conversation with you, that attitude chills civil discourse."

Afghanistan decision to come within days, White House says

President Obama will announce within days whether he will send more troops to Afghanistan, the White House said after he met with his national security team Monday night.
"After completing a rigorous final meeting, President Obama has the information he wants and needs to make his decision and he will announce that decision within days," White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said.
The U.S. commander on the ground has asked for more troops and Republicans have criticized Obama for the drawn-out consideration process. The White House has defended its timetable, saying the president wants to get the decision right, not fast.
Monday's meeting, which ended at 10 p.m., included Vice President Joe Biden, Defense Secretary Robert Gates, Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Adm. Michael Mullen, Afghanistan commanding Gen. Stanley McChrystal, U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan Karl Eikenberry and other senior officials.
At the last war council meeting -- on November 11, Veterans Day -- Obama pushed for revisions in proposed plans for troop increases to clarify how and when U.S. troops would turn over responsibility to the Afghan government.
Gibbs said before Monday's meeting that Obama would seek answers to the questions he posed on November 11 about "not just how we get people there, but what's the strategy for getting them out."
Sources said one option that has been presented to Obama calls for sending about 34,000 more U.S. troops to Afghanistan, in addition to the 68,000 already committed to the country, with other options involving variations on that plan.
Before the November 11 meeting, Gen. David Petraeus, the top U.S. military commander in the Middle East, said the decision-making process was approaching completion. Petraeus emphasized the need to focus on the mission of ensuring that Afghanistan "does not once again become a sanctuary or safe haven for al Qaeda and the kind of transnational extremists that carried out the 9/11 attacks."
The Obama administration has expressed concerns about Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai's viability and has ratcheted up pressure to end corruption in order to combat an intensifying Taliban insurgency.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton reiterated the U.S. concerns last week in a dinner meeting with Karzai.
Clinton, who was in Kabul to attend Karzai's inauguration after his recent re-election, encouraged the Afghan president to seize the "clear window of opportunity" before him at a "critical moment" in Afghanistan's history.
On Monday, the U.S. special representative to Afghanistan and Pakistan, Richard Holbrooke, told reporters that the United States and other countries are increasing their civilian presence in Afghanistan to bolster efforts to stabilize the country.
Asked about corruption, Holbrooke noted that some Afghan government ministers have "extraordinary records" of accomplishment. He said the United States will work with those ministers, while recognizing that years of civil war and social woes have weakened overall leadership capabilities in Afghanistan.
"This is one of the main reasons we're increasing our civilian role," Holbrooke said. "And it's extremely delicate to get the mix right. We want to help the Afghans help themselves. We do not want to replace a sovereign government with internationals."
Republican opponents are pushing Obama to quickly agree to McChrystal's reported request for up to 40,000 additional troops in Afghanistan as part of a counterinsurgency strategy.
"This won't be perfect or easy, but it will allow America's fighting men and women to leave Afghanistan with honor, and it will enable Afghans to build a better, more peaceful future," said a letter 10 Republican leaders sent to Obama on Veterans Day

breakaway second-tier soccer league dubs itself the NASL

Pele may not be suiting up, but the NASL is making a comeback.
Organizers announced Monday that the North American Soccer League, the second division men's professional football league, would begin play this spring.
The original NASL lasted from 1968-84 and briefly made a splash with the likes of Pele, Franz Beckenbauer, Giorgio Chinaglia and Johan Cruyff.
The new NASL has nine teams: Carolina RailHawks, Atlanta Silverbacks, Crystal Palace Baltimore, Miami FC, Minnesota Thunder, Montreal Impact, St. Louis Soccer United, Tampa Bay Rowdies and Vancouver Whitecaps FC.
The Major League Soccer season ended Sunday with Real Salt Lake scoring an upset win over Los Angeles Galaxy in the MLS Cup.

SHENTON THRIFT FUND

The Singapore equity market has been among the best performing markets in the region for 2004. Right up till late November this year, the Straits Times Index was the second best performing index, chalking up a year-to-date gain of 15.04%. This performance was only outdone by the Jakarta Composite Index which rose 25.85%, making Indonesia the likeliest contender for best performing market in 2004 (click here to view article on top performing indices for 2004).
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At Fundsupermart, we are upbeat on the prospects for the Singapore equity market. In fact, our research team believes that the STI can hit 3,000 by points by the end of 2006 (click here to read a related report). What's the underlying basis for our bullishness? To begin with, economic expansion this year has been very healthy, as non-oil domestic exports benefited from overseas demand. GDP growth for 2004 is expected to fall between 5-7% and that is considered by some to be on the conservative side of goverment estimates. Economic growth has been accompanied by higher employment figures and the increase in job hirings this year, has certainly added to the feel good factor. It is thus unsurprising that the Singapore equity market has rallied strongly. However our research team suggests that isn't the end of the story. For one thing, valuations for the Singapore market are currently around 16 times PE (price-to-earnings ratio), which isn't high by historical standards. In addition, the Singapore market also offers a dividend yield of around 3%. This is relatively high for the region, and certainly higher than the average dividend yield for American and European equity markets.
As a result of the rally in the local market, Singapore equity funds have well this year. Amongst its peer funds, the Shenton Thrift Fund (click here to view the factsheet) has a been a very strong performer.
-1.9Source: Fundsupermart.com *Performances are calculated on a offer to bid basis (based on a 5% upfront sales charge), in SGD, with dividends reinvested. **Straits Times Index
Fund manager Roy Phua has been the managing the fund since 2000, and the fund has developed a reputation for unearthing gems, typically overlooked by other investors. For 2005, Phua says that his efforts will be directed at identifying out-of-favour companies that that were largely ignored in the rally this year. He explains further in this email interview.
Q: Earlier in August 2004, you were little cautious on the Singapore market and indicated that there was not going to be a broad based rally. Rather going forward, selected stocks would outperform. Do you still feel the same way?
A: Yes. Investors have generally been cautious and unwilling to look at the longer term prospects for relatively new companies and sectors. As a result, benchmark blue chip companies, particularly those supported by dividend yields, have done well.
A closer analysis will show that non-benchmark stocks have fared far less well, and herein lies an opportunity. Where the general investment sentiment appears to focus mainly on blue chips, we have directed our efforts toward identifying out-of-favour companies with solid business prospects over the next 2 to 3 years, and which we feel are under valued today. These companies could be benchmark, or non-benchmark stocks.
We believe growth in 2005 and the next few years would come from sectors and stocks that can ride the growth themes of
domestic reflation benefiting properties and consumer sectors
global electronic waste recycling
digitalization of China to propel new phase of IT growth, particularly for the IT services segment
outsourcing opportunities resulting from strong Yen and Euro
Our stock picks in Singapore would include Keppel Land, Citiraya, and DMX.
Q: The Singapore stock market has done well in 2004. Do you think the performance was truly the result of underlying economic fundamentals (i.e. corporate profit and attractive valuations) or was it purely sentiment driven?
A: A combination of good fundamentals supported by ample domestic liquidity. Singapore's earnings trend has been more resilient than that of many of the other regional economies, and valuations are still at undemanding levels. In addition, the benchmark stocks are defensive in nature, for instance technology stocks are a minor index component. All in, these qualities make Singapore equities a preferred choice when compared to other regional markets.
Q: Blue chips have been big beneficiaries of the rally in 2004, but small cap stocks (such as those listed on the SESDAQ) have not. Typically in a rally, small caps tend to outperform. Why hasn't this happened?
A: 2004 has been a challenging year for global equities, plagued by concerns over slower global economic growth, high energy prices, and rising inflation. Against this backdrop, blue chips typically do better than the small cap sector given the perceived "safer" status offered by blue chip companies.
Looking ahead, though, blue chips have become arguably over-owned, well researched, and also more expensive; as such, we would not be surprised to see performance being more balanced.
Q: What then is the outlook for small cap stocks? Are you overweight this area for the fund?
A: Our investment process is not dominated by any particular style (i.e. big cap vs. small cap or growth vs. value etc); therefore it would be difficult to provide an outlook for small cap stocks.
Our investment principle is to identify unique competitive businesses to invest in over the long term rather than focus on short term market trends or fads. Take for example a company like Hyflux; the stock had largely underperformed the ST Index or the blue chip universe for the first 3 quarters of this year, but has more than caught up since the start of October with a return of almost 70% year to date.
The Hyflux example demonstrates the point that strong businesses are unlikely to remain under valued over long periods of time and identifying such businesses is a much more rewarding strategy than market timing over the longer term.
Indiscriminate selling (in our view) of non blue chip stocks, regardless of business fundamentals or balance sheet strength, has provided us with an opportunity to add to our weightings in selected stocks.
Q: Would you invest in IPO's for the fund? Why?
A: We invest in IPO's which meet our investment criteria. The key is to identify strong businesses to invest in. Whether it is an IPO, listed company, large cap or small cap is less relevant for us.
Q: To what extent are high oil prices and overheating in China concerns for the stock market?
A: Most analysts have already factored in high oil prices; as long as oil prices remain at close to current levels, it is not a major concern. The China risk is more of a concern as the majority expects the economy to engineer a "soft" landing i.e. economic growth to trend closer to a long term sustainable rate of 8% or so without much disruption to major sectors or companies. This could be overly optimistic, and it is also one of the reasons why we expect some degree of market volatility in the coming year.
Q: To what extent is the falling USD having a negative impact on the stock market? If the USD continues its downward trend, and exports fall as a result, will that pose an extreme risk for the Singapore equity market?
A: A downward trend in the USD is instinctively negative for exporters, as it implies a decline in cost competitiveness. On the other hand, a gradual depreciation in the USD might not necessarily be bad for the economy as a whole. A strengthening SGD should provide for a more accommodative monetary environment, and benefit the non export segment of the stock market. What we could continue to see as a result of currency shifts is further divergence in performance between "domestic" stocks and "exporters".
Q: Financial services companies currently form about 35% of the fund. Are these stocks export related, or do they play into domestic consumption? Why is the weighting high in this particular sector?
A: The fund's weighting in the financial sector is high on an absolute basis, but it remains a slight under weight when compared to the ST Index.
We view the financial sector as a core holding for a Singapore country fund. Expectations for earnings are reasonably low, valuations undemanding, and dividend yield decent. The banks do provide a good proxy to the underlying domestic economy, with its lending and wealth management businesses. Over the years, geographical diversification means that investors also gain exposure to regional economies through this sector.
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Shenton Thrift Fund
'No investment decision should be taken without first viewing a fund's prospectus. Any advice herein is made on a general basis and does not take into account the specific investment objectives of the specific person or group of persons. Past performance and any forecast is not necessarily indicative of the future or likely performance of the fund. The value of units and the income from them may fall as well as rise. Opinions expressed herein are subject to change without notice. Please read our disclaimers.

Singapore market update

Singapore's Straits Times Index rose to fresh highs in May, on optimism over the US economy and encouraging domestic corporate results. The market benchmark gained 5.6% in Singapore-dollar terms, and is up by more than 20% for the year-to-date.
In the first quarter, the economy expanded by a better-than-expected 6.1% year-on-year, boosted by the services and construction sectors. This prompted an upgrade of the official growth forecast for 2007 to 5-7%, from 4.5-6.5% previously.
The island republic is on course to raise its Goods and Services Tax to 7%, up from the current 5%, from July 1.
First-quarter corporate earnings upbeat
Our holdings, such as SembCorp Marine, ST Engineering, Straits Trading, Robinson & Co., OCBC, UOB Group (UOB), Fraser & Neave, Singapore Airlines (SIA), Hong Leong Finance, ComfortDelgro and City Developments all posted encouraging profit growth. In particular, many companies, such as SIA and OCBC, cited strong economic expansion as the key reason for their improved performances.
Property market rebound continues
The property market continued to demonstrate strength with Bukit Sembawang replenishing its landbank through the acquisition of Fairways Condo for S$244m.
Corporate moves abroad
Singapore companies were active in their overseas expansion: UOB signed a preliminary agreement to buy a stake in China's Evergrowing Bank, while SIA is in talks to buy a stake in Shanghai-based China Eastern Airlines.
SGX revamps listing rules
The Singapore Exchange (SGX) proposed several key changes, including a greater focus by the mainboard to attract larger companies with the right pedigree, while second board-listed firms will move to a sponsor-supervised regime.
Portfolio Activity
There were no strategic changes to the portfolio in May, although we took the opportunity to add to several of our holdings, such as Singapore Press Holdings, Singapore Exchange, SP Ausnet, Venture and FJ Benjamin.
Aberdeen Asset Management Asia Ltd

Introducing SG AM Oasis Middle East & North Africa Fund

The SGAM Oasis Middle East & North Africa Fund seeks a total return through investment primarily in shares of companies domiciled in or having significant operations in, and listed on a Regulated Market in Middle Eastern and North African ("MENA") countries, including Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Tunisia, Morocco, and other markets of the region.
The managers have delegated its investment management functions in relation to the SGAM Oasis Middle East & North Africa Fund to the sub-manager, SGAM UK. Notwithstanding the delegation of its investment management functions to SGAM UK, the Managers will remain responsible for the actions of SGAM UK.
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The investment approach of SGAMUK is to capitalize on the opportunities presented by the particular features of the Middle East and North Africa markets. SGAMUK will look for under valued stocks and naturally favour value over growth, as, in their experience, attractively valued stocks have better risk adjusted returns over the long term. Growth stocks would not be excluded from the portfolio, but would be viewed in a value context best described as Growth at a Reasonable Price (GARP).
Since these markets are often inefficient and companies are poorly researched, much of the work to unearth value opportunities relies on visits to companies. SGAMUK can then make their own judgement about the outlook for the company; and can stress test analyst assumptions and forecasts, or produce their own. This then allows them to identify where there may be value anomalies. Once there is a view of the company's outlook and expected earnings profile SGAMUK can place the company in a valuation context relative to regional and global peers. They then use the international brokerage resources available to SGAM to place under-researched companies into a global context. SGAMUK also uses different valuation techniques based on the industry the company operates in.
The investment philosophy of SGAMUK in relation to the SGAM Oasis Middle East & North Africa Fund is to identify companies that can benefit from the prevailing economic conditions and where they are of the opinion that future developments are not reflected in the current share price. Having built up an in-depth knowledge of companies, and with company visits as an essential part of the investment process. SGAMUK places significant emphasis on the quality of management and success of strategy. The SGAM Oasis Middle East & North Africa Fund is run on an unconstrained total return basis, allowing SGAMUK to consider only investment opportunities that are going to deliver positive returns.
The SGAM Oasis Middle East & North Africa Fund may also invest in other collective investment schemes listed in the MENA region as may be determined by the Managers from time to time and which may or may not be authorised or recognised under the SFA by the Authority for direct offers in Singapore. Investments in any single collective investment scheme will not exceed 10% of the Deposited Property of the SGAM Oasis Middle East & North Africa Fund.
The launch period is 1 Oct to 16 Nov 07.

Private Client - getting advice

Why get advice as a Private Client?We have always limited our practice to the one area where we consistently excel -- wealth management. We do not provide custodial, banking or other services that might dilute our advisory capabilities. Our clients retain us to make good investment decisions and we take this obligation very seriously. That means accumulating wealth, but protecting what you already have too.
Here are a few reasons to subscribe to the advisory services we offer for Private Clients.
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Ongoing advice. We see our clients as long term partners, not just a quick sale. Our advice is personalised and regular. Your risk appetite and investment objectives are stored in your account profile, and your latest investment policy is accessible online. On a regular basis we remind you to undergo a portfolio review, to ensure your investments stay on track and your risks are properly managed (before a correction not after!).
Objective analysis. We use a proven, sophisticated framework for long-term investing, and value analysis for short-term opportunities. Our state-of-the-art optimization improves your long-term returns without incurring more risks. Importantly, it lets you know what your risks are. We translate these complex models into understandable implementation plans using our recommended products. We aim to do what is best for you, even if it sometimes means not investing, or buying products that we don't sell. Our advisory services give you access to additional tools, such as Buy signal and Portfolio Backtester.
Relevant research. We write balanced research on topics that are close to your heart: the use of CPF savings, property investments, timing equity and bond markets, controlling risk...to name a few. Sometimes we suggest you sell (or do nothing), not just buy. The quality of our analyses is indicated by their re-publication, in the Straits Times, Business Times and The Edge. Our approach is summed up in the book Insider Trading, described as "arguably the best book written in Singapore for the Singaporean investor".
Example reports
Asia markets - cheap for a reason
Bond bubble: time to trim bond exposure
Are REITs good investments?
Star and dogs: funds to keep and funds to ditch
Expense ratios: peanuts give monkeys
Is Singapore property affordable now?
Funding your child's education
Licensed specialists.. All our representatives are individually licensed by the Monetary Authority of Singapore. Our senior advisers have extensive experience in financial services, often in positions advising the CEOs and boards of major financial institutions, and have studied at world-class universities, such as MIT. Private Client advisers have no sales quotas and use a standard objective framework for recommendations, so there is no pushing of unsuitable products.
Comments on our Private Client service:"In a perfect world, all investors would have access to financial advisers they trusted for portfolio guidance...dollarDEX, formed in late 1999 for investors in Singapore, has an Online Adviser feature at www.dollardex.com...Once enough information is gathered, simulations are run through a computer model, and a live adviser provides specific recommendations on things to buy and sell in the portfolio."A guide to some of the best online investment-management tools, Asian Wall Street Journal, June 2003."Research by dollarDEX Investments has thrown up a few of these lessons: One, adding just a small portion of bonds to a portfolio can reduce the risk of your investments, without lowering returns...Two, the CPF Special Account is 'highly attractive' under current conditions. Most conservative investors would do better to top up their accounts rather than invest it. The SA pays 4 per cent, risk-free...Most investors have very inefficient or highly risky portfolios of thematic funds. Rebalancing - which is likely to involve the painful process of realising a loss by selling an investment - will go a long way to control risk and help them sleep better."Doing a rebalancing act, Business Times, June, 2003.
What is a Private Client?A Private Client is any investor at dollarDEX whose investments (based on original investment amount) currently equals or exceeds $50,000. This entitles our client to lower charges, and the option to subscribe to a range of advisory services as described below. A Private Client+ is any investor at dollarDEX whose original investment amount currently equals or exceeds $250,000. This entitles our client to even lower charges, and options to subscribe to an even wider range of advisory services as described below.
What advice options are available?We currently offer the following levels of advice to Private Clients
Gold: A dedicated adviser, personalised portfolio construction & recommendations every 3 months, fortnightly Investment Bulletin (download a sample (PDF)), unlimited free peer-to-peer switching and waiver of cash account upfront fee. This will suit clients who want the benefit of a properly designed portfolio, regular reviews and who generally prefer a buy and hold strategy but would like to take advantage of short-term opportunities from time to time.
Platinum: A dedicated adviser, personalised portfolio construction & recommendations every 1 month, active allocation service, full free, unlimited switching. Learn more about the Platinum active allocation service. This will suit clients who want something more active than a buy and hold strategy.
How much does the advice cost?Please refer to pricing scheme for investments for the latest charging structure.
How do I subscribe to the advice services?Once you are a Private Client you may opt-in to the advice services (Silver, Gold) through our online ongoing advice subscription page. If you want Platinum advice you should first meet up with your adviser to determine the scope and objectives of your services.
How may I try out the advice services?A personalised portfolio construction and recommendations report is usually available at no charge for first-timers. You may discuss this face-to-face by making an appointment or request for advice online.

Leverage the financial crisis

Even in uncertain times, there are exceptional opportunities. Crises in markets can create rare opportunities for sharp investors. The United Financials Opportunities Fund offers you the key to unlock the potential of financial markets by investing in some of the world's largest financial institutions at potentially attractive valuations.
Equity markets are becoming increasingly efficient as mispricings, where stock prices do not reflect their underlying fundamental values, tend to be discovered quickly and acted upon, especially in developed markets. The occurrence of a crisis however, typically creates a situation where stock prices can move well out of line with their underlying fundamentals for a longer period of time.
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Like all other financial crises, the US sub-prime crisis has created significant mispricings in the financial markets. The share prices of US and European banks, which lie at the heart of the crisis, have suffered in particular. Apart from concerns about huge losses, investors are also worried about the serious pressure that these banks face on their profit margins.
Financial crises bring with them financial and economic costs, but we are of the view that a swift and effective policy response may contain the impact and the market can look ahead to recovery. In developed economies, financial crises tend to be resolved more swiftly than in emerging economies.
In a financial crisis, investors'sentiments may be dominated by fear and uncertainty. This may result in missing potentially large opportunities that are present in the financial markets.
While profitability in the financial industry has generally been affected by the US sub-prime crisis, we believe that the sharp fall in the banks' share prices globally is likely to have been excessive and that the markets should see a rebound in share prices of the financial industry in time to come.
In order to leverage the recovery potential in the financial sector, the United Financials Opportunities Fund seeks to achieve capital appreciation through an investment in 10 to 20 equity or equity linked securities of institutions in the financial industry globally and may also, from time to time, invest in debt securities issued by institutions in the financial industry.
Specifically, the investment strategy is to invest mainly into:
companies with strong individual franchises with a margin of safety in terms of strong solvency and liquidity
companies with strong core profitability albeit experiencing cyclical contraction in performance
businesses that can improve their competitive position during difficult operating periods
companies with strong growth drivers in terms of product mix or market exposure
stocks which are at significant discount to their intrinsic franchise values
Fund Details

Singapore factory output falls 7.7 pct: govt

Singapore said Monday that key industrial output during September fell 7.7 percent year on year as declines were posted across every sector. The figure snapped two straight months of expansion and was worse than the average 1.1 percent fall tipped by a Dow Jones Newswires poll of analysts. On a month-on-month seasonally adjusted basis, industrial output in September was down 9.1 percent from August, the Economic Development Board (EDB) said in its monthly report. Singapore's monthly industrial output data is one of the most widely monitored economic indicators as the manufacturing sector accounts for almost a quarter of economic activity. The sector, like other parts of Asia, has been hit by the global slowdown as most of its output is either shipped as components to be assembled elsewhere or exported as final goods to key markets such as the United States. The precision engineering industry, which includes machinery and systems, posted the sharpest decline of 14.3 percent year-on-year, following a 12.1 percent fall in August, the EDB said. Biomedical output shrank 13.9 percent after expanding 97.7 percent the previous month. The biomedical sector is highly volatile because plants are routinely closed for maintenance while output targets can vary due to different products being made. In the electronics industry, output eased 1.1 percent, chemicals dropped 8.7 percent and transport engineering fell 8.1 percent, the EDB said. Total manufacturing output for the January-September period was down 6.9 percent from a year ago. Despite the poor data, recent figures suggest Singapore's economy was recovering from the slump with preliminary data released earlier this month showing 0.8 percent growth in the third quarter. The government also upgraded its 2009 forecast to a contraction of 2.0-2.5 percent, smaller than the previous estimate of 4.0-6.0 percent shrinkage. -- Dow Jones Newswires contributed to this story --

Singapore factory output falls 7.7 pct: govt

Singapore said Monday that key industrial output during September fell 7.7 percent year on year as declines were posted across every sector. The figure snapped two straight months of expansion and was worse than the average 1.1 percent fall tipped by a Dow Jones Newswires poll of analysts. On a month-on-month seasonally adjusted basis, industrial output in September was down 9.1 percent from August, the Economic Development Board (EDB) said in its monthly report. Singapore's monthly industrial output data is one of the most widely monitored economic indicators as the manufacturing sector accounts for almost a quarter of economic activity. The sector, like other parts of Asia, has been hit by the global slowdown as most of its output is either shipped as components to be assembled elsewhere or exported as final goods to key markets such as the United States. The precision engineering industry, which includes machinery and systems, posted the sharpest decline of 14.3 percent year-on-year, following a 12.1 percent fall in August, the EDB said. Biomedical output shrank 13.9 percent after expanding 97.7 percent the previous month. The biomedical sector is highly volatile because plants are routinely closed for maintenance while output targets can vary due to different products being made. In the electronics industry, output eased 1.1 percent, chemicals dropped 8.7 percent and transport engineering fell 8.1 percent, the EDB said. Total manufacturing output for the January-September period was down 6.9 percent from a year ago. Despite the poor data, recent figures suggest Singapore's economy was recovering from the slump with preliminary data released earlier this month showing 0.8 percent growth in the third quarter. The government also upgraded its 2009 forecast to a contraction of 2.0-2.5 percent, smaller than the previous estimate of 4.0-6.0 percent shrinkage. -- Dow Jones Newswires contributed to this story --

US must engage Asia to maintain global power: Lee

Singapore's founding father Lee Kuan Yew has warned the United States it risks losing global leadership if it did not remain engaged in Asia to "balance" China's military and economic might. The influential Lee called on President Barack Obama, whom he meets for talks in Washington on Thursday, to ensure that the United States "stay engaged not just in China but in the whole of East Asia and India." The United States, he said Tuesday, had to strike a balance for the region when China transformed into a top power unrivaled by the rest of Asia. "The size of China makes it impossible for the rest of Asia, including Japan and India, to match it in weight and capacity in about 20 or 30 years," he said. "So we need America to strike a balance," said the 86-year-old Lee at the presentation of a "Lifetime Achievement Award" to him by the US-Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Business Council. "I think if the US does not recognize that the Asia-Pacific is where the economic center of action would be and it loses that economic superiority or lead that it has in the Pacific, then it would lose it worldwide," Lee said. Lee, an adviser in his son Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong's cabinet with the title minister mentor, seemed concerned over China's military buildup, which he said might not necessarily be aimed at a conflict over Taiwan. He pointed to sophisticated China-made weapons paraded by Beijing at its 60th national day on October 1, saying it was a "surprise" and raising the specter of a modern high-tech People Liberation Army in two or three decades. "A blue water fleet with aircraft carriers cannot just be to deter foreign intervention in a conflict between Taiwan and the Mainland," he quipped. Closer to home in Southeast Asia, Lee said China could also flex its military muscle over overlapping territorial claims to islets and sand banks in the Paracels and Spratlys. Chinese maps, he said, showed these islets and most of the South China Sea as under Chinese ownership and there have also been disputes over fishing grounds between China and various ASEAN states. "The Chinese have built on several islets fishing outposts, and coastguard vessels patrol them," he said. "Later, behind these small patrol craft will be blue-water fleet." Blue-water is used to describe maritime forces capable of operating across the deep waters of open oceans. Lee has been a key US ally nearly throughout his iron clad rule as prime minister from 1965 to 1990. He continues to provide advice to US administration officials on Asian strategic and economic issues. Obama is scheduled to leave on his first official Asia trip on November 11, including attending the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit and a meeting with ASEAN leaders in Singapore. He will also visit China, South Korea and Japan on the eight-day trip. Lee said the United States must be "an important part" of any new East Asian grouping, adding that "it would (be) a serious mistake for the region to define East Asia in closed or, worse, in racial terms." China, he said, was not ready or willing to assume equal responsibility for managing the international system. "In the end, whatever the challenges, US core interest requires that it remains the superior power on the Pacific," he said. "To give up this position would diminish America's role throughout the world."

Singapore's OCBC beats Q3 profit forecast

Singapore's Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp (OCBC) said Wednesday its third quarter net profit rose 12 percent year on year, boosted by trading gains and lower bad debt charges. OCBC earned 450 million Singapore dollars (321 million US) in the three months to September, up from 402 million dollars last year and better than the 292 million dollars average forecast in a Dow Jones Newswires poll of analysts. Net interest income climbed one percent to 689 million dollars, while non-interest income declined 15 percent to 392 million dollars due partly to a loss linked to the bank's life insurance unit Great Eastern. OCBC took a hit of 213 million dollars after Great Eastern decided in July to redeem its complex derivatives at a loss. The bank set aside 52 million dollars in allowances for bad debt for the quarter, sharply down from 156 million dollars the year before and 102 million dollars the previous quarter. Operating expenses were down five percent on year. "Our strong liquidity and capital have served us well amidst global uncertainties," said OCBC chief executive David Conner. "With the acquisition of ING's Asia private banking business and our further investment in the Bank of Ningbo (in China), we are taking advantage of the economic downturn to further strengthen our competitive position and add to our future growth opportunities." OCBC on October 15 announced the purchase of ING's Asian private banking business for 1.46 billion US dollars in cash. The deal would turn OCBC into a major player in a sector that caters to rich individuals and families globally, including the expanding ranks of Asian millionaires, analysts have said.

SingTel says regional mobile users up 26 pct

Singapore Telecommunications (SingTel) said Tuesday its regional mobile user base expanded by more than 56 million users over 12 months to the end of September. The company said the 26 percent-rise to 273 million was driven by solid growth mainly from regional associates plus net gains in subscribers from wholly owned Australian unit Optus. Of SingTel's six regional associates, India's Bharti posted the biggest increase in percentage terms with subscribers up 43 percent to 110.5 million, it said. SingTel, the biggest telecoms firm in Southeast Asia, says it has a 30.44 percent interest in Bharti. Indonesia's Telkomsel, in which SingTel holds a 35 percent stake, saw a 32 percent jump in mobile users to 79.8 million. Other associates AIS of Thailand, Pakistan's Warid Telecom and Pacific Bangladesh Telecom Limited also saw substantial rises, said SingTel. Globe Telecom of the Philippines was the only mobile associate to register a decline, with users down 2.6 percent to 23.13 million from a year ago. Optus's mobile base surged 11 percent to over 8.2 million. At home, SingTel lifted its domestic market share to 46.2 percent as local cellular users grew 8.0 percent to 3.1 million. The company is expected to release Wednesday its earnings for the September quarter, having reported that net profit for the April-June period rose 7.7 percent to 945 million Singapore dollars (685 million US).
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SingTel says regional mobile users up 26 pct

Singapore Telecommunications (SingTel) said Tuesday its regional mobile user base expanded by more than 56 million users over 12 months to the end of September. The company said the 26 percent-rise to 273 million was driven by solid growth mainly from regional associates plus net gains in subscribers from wholly owned Australian unit Optus. Of SingTel's six regional associates, India's Bharti posted the biggest increase in percentage terms with subscribers up 43 percent to 110.5 million, it said. SingTel, the biggest telecoms firm in Southeast Asia, says it has a 30.44 percent interest in Bharti. Indonesia's Telkomsel, in which SingTel holds a 35 percent stake, saw a 32 percent jump in mobile users to 79.8 million. Other associates AIS of Thailand, Pakistan's Warid Telecom and Pacific Bangladesh Telecom Limited also saw substantial rises, said SingTel. Globe Telecom of the Philippines was the only mobile associate to register a decline, with users down 2.6 percent to 23.13 million from a year ago. Optus's mobile base surged 11 percent to over 8.2 million. At home, SingTel lifted its domestic market share to 46.2 percent as local cellular users grew 8.0 percent to 3.1 million. The company is expected to release Wednesday its earnings for the September quarter, having reported that net profit for the April-June period rose 7.7 percent to 945 million Singapore dollars (685 million US).
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SingTel says regional mobile users up 26 pct

Singapore Telecommunications (SingTel) said Tuesday its regional mobile user base expanded by more than 56 million users over 12 months to the end of September. The company said the 26 percent-rise to 273 million was driven by solid growth mainly from regional associates plus net gains in subscribers from wholly owned Australian unit Optus. Of SingTel's six regional associates, India's Bharti posted the biggest increase in percentage terms with subscribers up 43 percent to 110.5 million, it said. SingTel, the biggest telecoms firm in Southeast Asia, says it has a 30.44 percent interest in Bharti. Indonesia's Telkomsel, in which SingTel holds a 35 percent stake, saw a 32 percent jump in mobile users to 79.8 million. Other associates AIS of Thailand, Pakistan's Warid Telecom and Pacific Bangladesh Telecom Limited also saw substantial rises, said SingTel. Globe Telecom of the Philippines was the only mobile associate to register a decline, with users down 2.6 percent to 23.13 million from a year ago. Optus's mobile base surged 11 percent to over 8.2 million. At home, SingTel lifted its domestic market share to 46.2 percent as local cellular users grew 8.0 percent to 3.1 million. The company is expected to release Wednesday its earnings for the September quarter, having reported that net profit for the April-June period rose 7.7 percent to 945 million Singapore dollars (685 million US).
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SingTel says regional mobile users up 26 pct

Singapore Telecommunications (SingTel) said Tuesday its regional mobile user base expanded by more than 56 million users over 12 months to the end of September. The company said the 26 percent-rise to 273 million was driven by solid growth mainly from regional associates plus net gains in subscribers from wholly owned Australian unit Optus. Of SingTel's six regional associates, India's Bharti posted the biggest increase in percentage terms with subscribers up 43 percent to 110.5 million, it said. SingTel, the biggest telecoms firm in Southeast Asia, says it has a 30.44 percent interest in Bharti. Indonesia's Telkomsel, in which SingTel holds a 35 percent stake, saw a 32 percent jump in mobile users to 79.8 million. Other associates AIS of Thailand, Pakistan's Warid Telecom and Pacific Bangladesh Telecom Limited also saw substantial rises, said SingTel. Globe Telecom of the Philippines was the only mobile associate to register a decline, with users down 2.6 percent to 23.13 million from a year ago. Optus's mobile base surged 11 percent to over 8.2 million. At home, SingTel lifted its domestic market share to 46.2 percent as local cellular users grew 8.0 percent to 3.1 million. The company is expected to release Wednesday its earnings for the September quarter, having reported that net profit for the April-June period rose 7.7 percent to 945 million Singapore dollars (685 million US).
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SingTel says regional mobile users up 26 pct

Singapore Telecommunications (SingTel) said Tuesday its regional mobile user base expanded by more than 56 million users over 12 months to the end of September. The company said the 26 percent-rise to 273 million was driven by solid growth mainly from regional associates plus net gains in subscribers from wholly owned Australian unit Optus. Of SingTel's six regional associates, India's Bharti posted the biggest increase in percentage terms with subscribers up 43 percent to 110.5 million, it said. SingTel, the biggest telecoms firm in Southeast Asia, says it has a 30.44 percent interest in Bharti. Indonesia's Telkomsel, in which SingTel holds a 35 percent stake, saw a 32 percent jump in mobile users to 79.8 million. Other associates AIS of Thailand, Pakistan's Warid Telecom and Pacific Bangladesh Telecom Limited also saw substantial rises, said SingTel. Globe Telecom of the Philippines was the only mobile associate to register a decline, with users down 2.6 percent to 23.13 million from a year ago. Optus's mobile base surged 11 percent to over 8.2 million. At home, SingTel lifted its domestic market share to 46.2 percent as local cellular users grew 8.0 percent to 3.1 million. The company is expected to release Wednesday its earnings for the September quarter, having reported that net profit for the April-June period rose 7.7 percent to 945 million Singapore dollars (685 million US).
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SingTel says regional mobile users up 26 pct

Singapore Telecommunications (SingTel) said Tuesday its regional mobile user base expanded by more than 56 million users over 12 months to the end of September. The company said the 26 percent-rise to 273 million was driven by solid growth mainly from regional associates plus net gains in subscribers from wholly owned Australian unit Optus. Of SingTel's six regional associates, India's Bharti posted the biggest increase in percentage terms with subscribers up 43 percent to 110.5 million, it said. SingTel, the biggest telecoms firm in Southeast Asia, says it has a 30.44 percent interest in Bharti. Indonesia's Telkomsel, in which SingTel holds a 35 percent stake, saw a 32 percent jump in mobile users to 79.8 million. Other associates AIS of Thailand, Pakistan's Warid Telecom and Pacific Bangladesh Telecom Limited also saw substantial rises, said SingTel. Globe Telecom of the Philippines was the only mobile associate to register a decline, with users down 2.6 percent to 23.13 million from a year ago. Optus's mobile base surged 11 percent to over 8.2 million. At home, SingTel lifted its domestic market share to 46.2 percent as local cellular users grew 8.0 percent to 3.1 million. The company is expected to release Wednesday its earnings for the September quarter, having reported that net profit for the April-June period rose 7.7 percent to 945 million Singapore dollars (685 million US).
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SingTel says regional mobile users up 26 pct

Singapore Telecommunications (SingTel) said Tuesday its regional mobile user base expanded by more than 56 million users over 12 months to the end of September. The company said the 26 percent-rise to 273 million was driven by solid growth mainly from regional associates plus net gains in subscribers from wholly owned Australian unit Optus. Of SingTel's six regional associates, India's Bharti posted the biggest increase in percentage terms with subscribers up 43 percent to 110.5 million, it said. SingTel, the biggest telecoms firm in Southeast Asia, says it has a 30.44 percent interest in Bharti. Indonesia's Telkomsel, in which SingTel holds a 35 percent stake, saw a 32 percent jump in mobile users to 79.8 million. Other associates AIS of Thailand, Pakistan's Warid Telecom and Pacific Bangladesh Telecom Limited also saw substantial rises, said SingTel. Globe Telecom of the Philippines was the only mobile associate to register a decline, with users down 2.6 percent to 23.13 million from a year ago. Optus's mobile base surged 11 percent to over 8.2 million. At home, SingTel lifted its domestic market share to 46.2 percent as local cellular users grew 8.0 percent to 3.1 million. The company is expected to release Wednesday its earnings for the September quarter, having reported that net profit for the April-June period rose 7.7 percent to 945 million Singapore dollars (685 million US).
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Singapore Telecom says Q2 profit up 10.1 percent

Singapore Telecommunications (SingTel) said its second quarter net profit rose an annual 10.1 percent, with the boost coming from strong contributions from regional mobile associates. Improved revenues from its domestic market in Singapore as well as from wholly owned Australian unit Optus were also factors behind the surge in net profit for the three months ended September, SingTel said. For the July-September period, net profit totalled 956 million Singapore dollars (689 million US), up from 868 million dollars a year ago, said SingTel, Southeast Asia's biggest telecom company by revenues. A Dow Jones Newswires poll of analysts had forecast an average net profit of 969.9 million dollars. "We had another quarter of double-digit growth in the group's underlying net profit and this reflects the continued strength of the group to innovate with differentiated products and services and our agility in responding to challenging market conditions," said chief executive Chua Sock Koong. Revenues during the September quarter grew 5.4 percent on the year to 4.1 billion dollars, SingTel said. Pre-tax earnings from its stable of regional mobile associates increased 32 percent to 571 million dollars, with Telkomsel of Indonesia contributing the biggest amount of 252 million dollars, up 46 percent from last year. Contributions from India's Bharti grew 26.4 percent to 236 million dollars. "The group and its associates continued to deliver strong mobile customer growth and now have 273 million customers," said Lim Chuan Poh, chief executive for international business. SingTel owns substantial stakes in Telkomsel, Bharti and four other regional telecoms operators and the company's investments in these mobile associates are part of its strategy to reduce reliance on the small Singapore market. In Singapore, where SingTel is the dominant telecom service provider, revenues surged 8.2 percent to 1.44 billion dollars from a year ago. Optus increased its revenues by 7.4 percent to 2.22 billion Australian dollars (2.07 billion US)

Russia seeks inspiration from high-tech Singapore

President Dmitry Medvedev on Monday said Russia should learn from Singapore's "great example" of economic transformation as he made the first ever visit by a Russian head of state to the island. Accompanied by a high-ranking Russian business delegation, Medvedev said the Singaporean example was vital for Russia as he battles to develop its oil exports-based economy into a more diversified system. The visit came days after Medvedev gave a state-of-the-nation address outlining a plan to modernize the Russian economy, which analysts praised for its broad vision but criticized for a lack of concrete proposals. He said in Singapore that Russia was seeking "a change from a hydrocarbon-based model of the Russian economy to a new innovative model based on the wide use of high technologies to make it highly competitive." "In this respect, the experience of Singapore is very interesting for us," he said, hailing the "great example" the country had set in implementing a rapid transformation of the economy. Speaking at a roundtable with business leaders, Medvedev said one of the most important results of his trip was the creation of an inter-governmental commission on the economy and science and technology. Medvedev also met with post-colonial Singapore's founding father Lee Kuan Yew, who is credited with masterminding the country's rapid growth since independence. He now holds the title of minister mentor in the cabinet of his son, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, who Medvedev also met for official talks. Medvedev listened intently, without translation, as several Singapore business leaders outlined their desire to do business with Russia but expressed concern about the strength of the rule of law in the country. He said Russia risked being seen only as a hydrocarbon exporter by other states and warned that "in the 21st century this is senseless". Russia has overtaken Saudi Arabia as the world's biggest oil producer and remains the world's biggest natural gas producer. But its failure to diversify the economy hit hard when the economic crisis struck and oil prices plunged. Alexander Medvedev, deputy chairman of the world's largest gas firm Gazprom, said at the meeting he hoped that diversification of the Russian economy would go hand in hand with "development of the oil and gas sector". Moscow and Singapore forged ties in 1968 under the Soviet Union. Lee Kuan Yew, who was prime minister for three decades, twice visited the USSR and has been to post-Soviet Russia three times. With Russia importing Singaporean high-tech goods and Singapore importing Russian natural materials and engine oils, total trade in 2008 rose to 1.64 billion US dollars. And despite the economic crisis which has hit Russian trade with other big Asian economies, trade rose 62.2 percent in the first eight months of the year to 1.1 billion US dollars. "I am glad to say that our relations have not been weakened by the crisis," said Medvedev. Russia joined the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum in 1998 and in recent years sought to bolster its relationship with states such as Singapore to diversify its trade base. At the weekend's APEC summit meeting, Medvedev again made clear Russia's ambition to be a leading member of the group and the importance it attaches to hosting the 2012 summit in its Far East city of Vladivostok.

Magazine to pay six-figure damages to Singapore leaders

A magazine and its editor have been ordered to pay Singapore's prime minister and his father over 400,000 dollars (290,000 US) for defamation, court documents showed Tuesday. The High Court ordered the Review Publishing Company, publisher of the Far Eastern Economic Review (FEER), and editor Hugo Restall to pay 200,000 dollars in damages and 30,000 dollars in legal costs to Premier Lee Hsien Loong. His father, the former leader Lee Kuan Yew, will get 150,000 dollars in damages and 25,000 dollars in legal costs. The penalties were set after the Court of Appeal last month upheld a 2008 decision finding the defendants guilty of defaming the Lees in a 2006 article based on an interview with Chee Soon Juan, an opposition party leader. Dow Jones and Co., which owns the magazine, said in a statement Tuesday that it disagreed with the verdict and denied any wrongdoing but would settle the damages instead of prolonging the process. FEER, at its height one of Asia's most influential and respected publications, is to be shut down in December, one of a growing number of newspapers and magazines which have fallen victim to the Internet age. The article at the heart of the case -- entitled "Singapore's 'Martyr', Chee Soon Juan" -- described the opposition Singapore Democratic Party secretary general's battle against the ruling People's Action Party and its leaders. In the article, Restall also touched on the success of Singapore officials in libel suits against critics. Restall sent AFP on Tuesday a copy of two separate November 13 rulings in favour of the Lees along with a statement from Dow Jones. "The Court casts significant doubt as to whether Singapore will ever recognise the fair and honest reporting privilege accorded to responsible journalism -- a privilege available in the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth countries with diverse histories and cultures," said Dow Jones. Singaporean leaders have won hundreds of thousands of dollars in damages from critics and foreign publications. They say the lawsuits are necessary to protect their reputations from unfounded attacks. Lee Kuan Yew, 86, now a senior cabinet adviser, served as prime minister from 1959 to 1990.

IMF chief to travel to Singapore, China this month

International Monetary Fund chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn will visit Asia this month and meet with Chinese officials to discuss the global economic recovery, an IMF official said. "This is an important trip," Caroline Atkinson, director of external relations, said at a news conference. The IMF managing director will arrive first in Singapore, where he will participate in the 16th Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Finance Ministers' Meeting, and meet with the Singaporean authorities on November 12. The following day, Strauss-Kahn is to deliver the 2009 Monetary Authority of Singapore lecture on "the role of Asia in reshaping the global economy," Atkinson said. Strauss-Kahn and Singapore's Minister of Finance, Tharman Shanmugaratnam, will also co-chair a round-table discussion with Asian policymakers on the economic policy challenges faced by the region. Strauss-Kahn will visit China on November 16-17. He will meet in Beijing with Chinese authorities to discuss "the international policy response to the crisis and prospects going forward and the role of Asia," Atkinson said. While in the Chinese capital, Strauss-Kahn also is to meet with the faculty and students of the University of Beijing and participate in the International Finance Forum, she added. The annual IFF forum, sponsored by the American Chamber of Commerce and the Chinese government, is scheduled November 14-16. Strauss-Kahn's trip coincides with US President Barack Obama's debut Asia tour. According to the White House, Obama will visit Tokyo November 12-13, then Singapore on November 13-15 for APEC and ASEAN talks and one-on-one talks with regional leaders. Obama's visit to China between November 15 and 18 will include his first visits as president to Beijing and the booming metropolis of Shanghai and a third set of talks with Chinese President Hu Jintao.

IMF chief to travel to Singapore, China this month

International Monetary Fund chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn will visit Asia this month and meet with Chinese officials to discuss the global economic recovery, an IMF official said. "This is an important trip," Caroline Atkinson, director of external relations, said at a news conference. The IMF managing director will arrive first in Singapore, where he will participate in the 16th Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Finance Ministers' Meeting, and meet with the Singaporean authorities on November 12. The following day, Strauss-Kahn is to deliver the 2009 Monetary Authority of Singapore lecture on "the role of Asia in reshaping the global economy," Atkinson said. Strauss-Kahn and Singapore's Minister of Finance, Tharman Shanmugaratnam, will also co-chair a round-table discussion with Asian policymakers on the economic policy challenges faced by the region. Strauss-Kahn will visit China on November 16-17. He will meet in Beijing with Chinese authorities to discuss "the international policy response to the crisis and prospects going forward and the role of Asia," Atkinson said. While in the Chinese capital, Strauss-Kahn also is to meet with the faculty and students of the University of Beijing and participate in the International Finance Forum, she added. The annual IFF forum, sponsored by the American Chamber of Commerce and the Chinese government, is scheduled November 14-16. Strauss-Kahn's trip coincides with US President Barack Obama's debut Asia tour. According to the White House, Obama will visit Tokyo November 12-13, then Singapore on November 13-15 for APEC and ASEAN talks and one-on-one talks with regional leaders. Obama's visit to China between November 15 and 18 will include his first visits as president to Beijing and the booming metropolis of Shanghai and a third set of talks with Chinese President Hu Jintao.

Weak US, EU demand dampen Singapore exports

Weak demand from the United States and Europe sent Singapore's exports falling for the 18th consecutive month in October, the government said Tuesday. Non-oil domestic exports, a closely watched barometer of the health of the trade-dependent economy, declined 6.1 percent in October from the same month last year, the trade promotion body International Enterprise (IE) Singapore said. The drop was worse than the 0.6 percent fall tipped in a Dow Jones Newswires poll of analysts, but was narrower than the revised 7.3 percent contraction in September. IE Singapore said the decrease was due largely due to subdued demand from the United States and the European Union -- key export markets hammered by the recent global economic downturn. Exports to the United States fell 11 percent, worse than the 4.7 percent drop in September. Shipments of electronics products declined by 30 percent as demand for computer chips and disk drives tumbled. Shipments to the EU were down 22 percent in October, compared with the 15 percent shrinkage the previous month. Electronics exports to the EU shrank 36 percent. Chips, disk drives and other components that go into personal computers, mobile phones and other high-tech consumer gadgets are vital Singapore exports. American consumers however have been spending less after the world's biggest economy fell into its worst economic crisis since the 1930s. While the US economy has clawed its way out of recession, unemployment levels remain high, shooting up to 10.2 percent in October. The European Commission has also said it expected the eurozone economy to expand rather than contract in 2010, but warned that rising unemployment and public deficits would remain problems for several years. Singapore's economy is expected to contract 2.0-2.5 percent this year, smaller than the previous estimate of 4.0-6.0 percent shrinkage. Although growth is seen to return next year, officials have cautioned that this will remain fragile until a more durable global economic recovery has been achieved.