Asean Summit, Malaysia on Nov 21, 1015

Asean Summit, Malaysia  on Nov 21, 1015
Asean Establishes Landmark Economic and Security Bloc
"A Summary" – Apr 2, 2011 (Kryon channelled by Lee Carroll) (Subjects: Religion, Shift of Human Consciousness, 2012, Intelligent/Benevolent Design, EU, South America, 5 Currencies, Water Cycle (Heat up, Mini Ice Ace, Oceans, Fish, Earthquakes ..), Middle East, Internet, Israel, Dictators, Palestine, US, Japan (Quake/Tsunami Disasters , People, Society ...), Nuclear Power Revealed, Hydro Power, Geothermal Power, Moon, Financial Institutes (Recession, Realign integrity values ..) , China, North Korea, Global Unity,..... etc.) - Text version)

“….. Here is the prediction: China will turn North Korea loose soon. The alliance will dissolve, or become stale. There will be political upheaval in China. Not a coup and not a revolution. Within the inner circles of that which you call Chinese politics, there will be a re-evaluation of goals and monetary policy. Eventually, you will see a break with North Korea, allowing still another dictator to fall and unification to occur with the south. ….”

“ … Here is another one. A change in what Human nature will allow for government. "Careful, Kryon, don't talk about politics. You'll get in trouble." I won't get in trouble. I'm going to tell you to watch for leadership that cares about you. "You mean politics is going to change?" It already has. It's beginning. Watch for it. You're going to see a total phase-out of old energy dictatorships eventually. The potential is that you're going to see that before 2013.

They're going to fall over, you know, because the energy of the population will not sustain an old energy leader ..."
"Update on Current Events" – Jul 23, 2011 (Kryon channelled by Lee Carroll) - (Subjects: The Humanization of God, Gaia, Shift of Human Consciousness, 2012, Benevolent Design, Financial Institutes (Recession, System to Change ...), Water Cycle (Heat up, Mini Ice Ace, Oceans, Fish, Earthquakes ..), Nuclear Power Revealed, Geothermal Power, Hydro Power, Drinking Water from Seawater, No need for Oil as Much, Middle East in Peace, Persia/Iran Uprising, Muhammad, Israel, DNA, Two Dictators to fall soon, Africa, China, (Old) Souls, Species to go, Whales to Humans, Global Unity,..... etc.)
(Subjects: Who/What is Kryon ?, Egypt Uprising, Iran/Persia Uprising, Peace in Middle East without Israel actively involved, Muhammad, "Conceptual" Youth Revolution, "Conceptual" Managed Business, Internet, Social Media, News Media, Google, Bankers, Global Unity,..... etc.)









North Korean defector criticises China in rare Beijing talk

North Korean defector criticises China in rare Beijing talk
North Korean defector and activist Hyeonseo Lee, who lives in South Korea, poses as she presents her book 'The Girl with Seven Names: A North Korean Defector’s Story' in Beijing on March 26, 2016 (AFP Photo/Fred Dufour)

US under fire in global press freedom report

"The Recalibration of Awareness – Apr 20/21, 2012 (Kryon channeled by Lee Carroll) (Subjects: Old Energy, Recalibration Lectures, God / Creator, Religions/Spiritual systems (Catholic Church, Priests/Nun’s, Worship, John Paul Pope, Women in the Church otherwise church will go, Current Pope won’t do it), Middle East, Jews, Governments will change (Internet, Media, Democracies, Dictators, North Korea, Nations voted at once), Integrity (Businesses, Tobacco Companies, Bankers/ Financial Institutes, Pharmaceutical company to collapse), Illuminati (Started in Greece, with Shipping, Financial markets, Stock markets, Pharmaceutical money (fund to build Africa, to develop)), Shift of Human Consciousness, (Old) Souls, Women, Masters to/already come back, Global Unity.... etc.) - (Text version)

… The Shift in Human Nature

You're starting to see integrity change. Awareness recalibrates integrity, and the Human Being who would sit there and take advantage of another Human Being in an old energy would never do it in a new energy. The reason? It will become intuitive, so this is a shift in Human Nature as well, for in the past you have assumed that people take advantage of people first and integrity comes later. That's just ordinary Human nature.

In the past, Human nature expressed within governments worked like this: If you were stronger than the other one, you simply conquered them. If you were strong, it was an invitation to conquer. If you were weak, it was an invitation to be conquered. No one even thought about it. It was the way of things. The bigger you could have your armies, the better they would do when you sent them out to conquer. That's not how you think today. Did you notice?

Any country that thinks this way today will not survive, for humanity has discovered that the world goes far better by putting things together instead of tearing them apart. The new energy puts the weak and strong together in ways that make sense and that have integrity. Take a look at what happened to some of the businesses in this great land (USA). Up to 30 years ago, when you started realizing some of them didn't have integrity, you eliminated them. What happened to the tobacco companies when you realized they were knowingly addicting your children? Today, they still sell their products to less-aware countries, but that will also change.

What did you do a few years ago when you realized that your bankers were actually selling you homes that they knew you couldn't pay for later? They were walking away, smiling greedily, not thinking about the heartbreak that was to follow when a life's dream would be lost. Dear American, you are in a recession. However, this is like when you prune a tree and cut back the branches. When the tree grows back, you've got control and the branches will grow bigger and stronger than they were before, without the greed factor. Then, if you don't like the way it grows back, you'll prune it again! I tell you this because awareness is now in control of big money. It's right before your eyes, what you're doing. But fear often rules. …

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Friday, June 29, 2012

China blocks access to Bloomberg and Businessweek sites

BBC News, 29 June 2012

Related Stories 

Xi Jinping is set to become the
country's next president
Web users in mainland China are unable to access Bloomberg's websites, after they were blocked by local authorities.


China has repeatedly blocked sensitive stories. Two days ago The New York Times' social media accounts were suspended for several hours.

Xi Jinping is set to become the country's next president.

US media hooked on eurozone crisis

Deutsche Welle, 28 June 2012



Examining US media reports on Europe’s economic crisis for DW's Transatlantic Voices column, Julian Jaursch argues that today's coverage has to be viewed in the context of the previous global economic downturn.

Julian Jaursch is a freelance journalist based in Berlin. He holds an MA in Political Science/TransAtlantic Studies from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Why for Zeus' sake does the American media even care so much? It is Greece, after all: A country with an economy roughly the size of Washington's and about as diverse and interesting as Idaho's. A country with an economic output 50 times smaller than that of the US. A country that prior to the global economic crisis was virtually non-existent in American economic news.

Since then, papers and TV shows have been full of Greece. The New York Times ran articles on the country's financial situation as early as 2008, the Wall Street Journal has been covering every bailout since then, NPR tried to explain what happens if Greece defaults and CBS recently aired a piece on how the European debt crisis sent the Dow Jones plummeting. Even Stephen Colbert, the outspokenly patriotic and US-centered TV character whose international coverage is called "Un-American News," took on the Greek debt crisis. Discussing the dismal situation of Greece's economy in May 2010, he joked that the Greeks had laid off the oracle of Delphi and that she had never seen it coming.

Cause and effect

The examples give some of the reasons for the strong media interest. Precisely because of the global economic downturn, the news media cares. The crisis has shown quite plainly that the economies around the world are interconnected. What happens in one country has repercussions for citizens in many others, for instance via fluctuations on the stock markets or effects on the banking sector. Moreover, it is not just Greece that is making headlines today: Because Spain, Portugal and the rest of the eurozone are struggling as well, the effects are even bigger.

According to news value theories, events gain a certain news value if they have some intrinsic characteristics. Europe's economic woes did just that for the US: While the continent is geographically not very close to the US, it is still intimately connected to the US for historic, political and economic reasons (news factor proximity) and its troubles are bad news (negativity) that in some way affect the US economy (relevance). Add to that the already heightened sensitivity to economic topics due to the global financial crisis (established topic) and it becomes clear why US media and its recipients paid so much attention to Europe. Egotistical, yet genuine, concern about the US economy might have led to the increased coverage.

Playing the blame game

But is it really just that? Or could the coverage also try to mask the US' own economic weaknesses? After all, US reporting, especially some opinion pieces in print and television media, has been quite harsh. There was talk of European "grandiosity" and the "fiction" of the European economic model. European pension systems were closely scrutinized along with the continent's demographic problems. The very values and work ethic of Greeks, Spaniards or Portuguese were questioned. A "Eurosocialist" system that instituted a single currency, but no fiscal union was lamented. Generally, Europe's debt problems and the inherent issues of the euro system were pointed out, repeatedly and vigorously, along with some well-meant pieces of advice from afar. 

Julian Jaursch
Such foreign reporting comes at a time when America's own economy is not exactly doing well, either. Memories of bank and auto bail-outs are still fresh in people's minds, the unemployment rate is at roughly eight percent (eurozone: 11 percent), the economy is only growing moderately and, most importantly, the country's debt-to-GDP ratio is much higher than the EU's, according to Eurostat and the IMF. Still, President Barack Obama has not grown tired of referring to Europe's struggles when talking about the reasons for the slow recovery in the US.

Focusing on the eurozone's failures certainly leaves less time to discuss the US' own debt problems, social security systems or demographic development. It also leaves less time to investigate whether downgrades by American rating agencies - or mere threats thereof - were always justified. Moreover, the fact that an American bank helped obscure Greece's sovereign debt issues in the first place is but a footnote today.

Europe on their mind

Yet, despite American media's intense coverage of Europe's economic misery, there is no distraction campaign to conceal domestic economic problems. Surely, on a political level, Obama will continue to subtly blame the eurozone's struggles for some of America's own hardships. It might even be a standard item of his reelection campaign strategy - anything to take the wind out of the Republicans' sails who say that Obama alone messed up the economy.

Two circumstances lead to the conclusion, however, that coverage is driven by concern rather than by efforts to mask US problems: One regarding the quantity of reporting, the other regarding the quality.

If the American media reported from Europe as a distraction, this would require very little coverage of the US economy and its problems. This is not the case - quite the contrary. Reports about the jobless numbers, poverty rates, the debt ceiling, gas prices or the stock market abound not only in financial news outlets. Therefore, the fact alone that there is a lot of coverage on Europe's problems does not mean that the US media ignores domestic issues. Still, a closer look at America's own pension system or demographic development could not hurt, either.

Concerning the quality of reporting, those stereotypical and hyperbolic, sometimes even flat-out wrong, articles on the European economy are offset by a much larger number of rather dry economic coverage. For the most part, reports try to make sense of what is happening, explain economic jargon or introduce the American audience to those affected across the pond. It is remarkable here that economic journalism might become much more widely consumed because of the crisis. Similarly noteworthy is the fact that US media cannot get around including EU actors in their reporting anymore. Before the crisis, the Union was mostly shunned in US media due to its complex and seemingly distant and dull nature.

It's the economy, stupid

The global financial crisis, which began and played out largely in the US, has arguably intensified the American public's awareness of economic topics. From bailouts to financial reforms, people around the nation were affected by that downturn. So if the collapse of a single investment bank can be the start of a downward spiral for the US economy, what will happen if an entire currency area collapses? Such economic concerns rank highest among Americans' worries and what worries the people, worries the papers.

Editor: Rob Mudge


“…. The coffers of the United States, which is erroneously considered the most fiscally sound nation in the world, have been empty for some time. The national debt, in large part due to the skullduggery of the Illuminati-owned Federal Reserve System and its IRS collection agency, will become manageable when that System is dissolved.  The various currencies, especially dollars, have no foundation—daily transactions involving billions of dollars and other currencies are merely information passed from one computer to another and they far exceed the money to back them.  The “new” foundation for currencies will be a return to an old one, where precious metals was a set standard for exchange, and “old fashioned” bartering once again will be an excellent way for nations and communities to conduct some business. ….”


Ron Paul’s Federal Reserve audit approved by House committee

Big banks craft "living wills" in case they fail

Wednesday, June 27, 2012

Thailand Delays Decision on NASA Use of Air Base

Jakarta Globe, June 27, 2012

Bangkok. Thailand will not meet a deadline for a decision on whether to allow the US space agency to use a key air base for an atmospheric study that critics feared could be a cover for military purposes.

Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra
Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra said Tuesday the Cabinet agreed to have lawmakers debate the NASA project on the impact of Asian emissions on clouds, climate and air quality, but only after Parliament reconvenes Aug 1. That is too late for the project, which was to have been conducted out of U-Tapao air base in August and September.

U-Tapao was a major base for US bombing missions during the Vietnam War, and some critics thought the project was a threat to Thai sovereignty that might also anger China.

Associated Press

CNBC Admits We're All Slaves To Rothschild Central Bankers Global Government


Tuesday, June 26, 2012

Pakistan seeks Indonesian support to join ASEAN

Tribune PK, by Our Correspondent, June 26, 2012

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or ASEAN, was established on
 8 August 1967 in Bangkok, Thailand, with the signing of the ASEAN Declaration
 (Bangkok Declaration) by the Founding Fathers of ASEAN, namely Indonesia,
Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand. PHOTO: AFP

KARACHI: Pakistan wants to join the Association of South East Asian Nations (Asean) and Indonesia should support it in its endeavour, Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) President Mian Abrar Ahmad said in a statement on Monday.

Asean was established on August 8, 1967, to accelerate economic growth and social progress among regional countries, including Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Brunei Darussalam, Vietnam, Lao PDR, Myanmar and Cambodia.

In a meeting with the Indonesian Consul General Rossalis Rusman Adenan at KCCI, Ahmad said that the recent signing of the Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) with Indonesia will open a new chapter of economic and commercial cooperation between the two nations. “KCCI believes that the PTA will boost bilateral trade ties and lead to a Free Trade Agreement (FTA),” he said.

Pakistan and Indonesia signed the PTA on February 4, 2012, whereby Indonesia agreed to offer preferential market access to Pakistan on 216 tariff lines at a preferential rate. Similarly, Pakistan has offered 287 tariff lines under the PTA.

As a result of the PTA, Pakistan-Indonesia bilateral trade can increase up to $2 billion in coming years from the current level of $800 million annually, he said. “Indonesia will be able to increase its export of crude palm oil to Pakistan; whereas, Pakistan can export its value-added textile goods, carpets, fabrics, leather, chemicals, surgical goods etc,” he added.

He called for Pakistani-Indonesian joint ventures in crude palm oil and value-added agricultural products. He also stressed upon the need for building trade links with the Economic Cooperation Organisation, which is an intergovernmental organisation involving seven Asian and three Eurasian nations, Central Asian Republics and member-countries of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation.

The Indonesia and Pakistan PTA will be enforced by July 2012. The Indonesian commerce minister is also due in Pakistan next month to meet his counterpart.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 26th, 2012.

G20 summit: Barroso blames eurozone crisis on US banks

EC president says European leaders have not come to Mexico to receive lessons on how to handle the economy

guardian.co.uk, Patrick Wintour in Los Cabos, Ian Traynor in Brussels and Helena Smith in Athens, Monday 18 June 2012

José Manuel Barroso at the G20 summit. Photograph: Bertrand Langlois/AFP
/Getty Images

The opening day of the G20 summit was threatening to deteriorate into a fractious row between eurozone countries and other non-European members of the G20, notably the US, as EU commission president José Manuel Barroso insisted the origins of the eurozone crisis lay in the unorthodox policies of American capitalism.

As Europe's leaders came under intense pressure to act decisively to cure the euro's ills, and a campaign gathered pace to relax some of the austerity programmes laying waste to countries burdened with unsustainable debt levels, Barroso insisted that Europe had not come to the G20 summit in Mexico to receive lessons on how to handle the economy.

When asked by a Canadian journalist "why should North Americans risk their assets to help Europe?" he replied: "Frankly, we are not here to receive lessons in terms of democracy or in terms of how to handle the economy.

"By the way this crisis was not originated in Europe … seeing as you mention North America, this crisis originated in North America and much of our financial sector was contaminated by, how can I put it, unorthodox practices, from some sectors of the financial market."

After the Greek election at the weekend, which may have shifted the terms of the debate over how to shore up the euro, world leaders meeting in Mexico focused on the European crisis amid strong signs of big trouble brewing in Spain.

Madrid's 10-year cost of borrowing went through the 7% barrier on the bond markets for the first time in the single currency era, the level at which borrowing becomes unaffordable. The Spanish government demanded intervention from the European Central Bank.

Spain's prime minister, Mariano Rajoy, is expected to ask for up to €100bn in eurozone bailout funds for Spain's stricken banks at a meeting of eurozone finance ministers in Luxembourg on Thursday, senior Eurogroup sources said. Voicing exasperation with the European response to the debt crisis, Robert Zoellick, the outgoing American head of the World Bank, warned the G20 summit in Mexico of a growing rift between the Europeans in charge of the bailouts and the IMF.

"The world's waiting for the Europeans to say what they want to do," said Zoellick. He predicted a showdown between the IMF and Europe by the end of the summer in the absence of any decisive action.

Barack Obama was expected to press Germany's chancellor, Angela Merkel, in Mexico on Monday night on the issue of eurobonds – the pooling of liability for single currency countries' debt. But there is no chance of Merkel agreeing to underwrite the debt of other European countries for the foreseeable future.

Fresh from his victory in the Greek election, the centre-right leader, Antonis Samaras, promptly tabled demands for a softening of the draconian austerity programme that Greece has to implement for the eurozone bailout.

Samaras, the prime minister-designate pledged to stick broadly to the Greek bailout terms but added: "We will simultaneously have to make some necessary amendments to the bailout agreement, in order to relieve the people of crippling unemployment and huge hardships."

Politicians and officials in Brussels and Germany appeared to suggest that the new Greek leader's demands could be at least partly satisfied by extending the repayment schedule on the bailout loans or lengthening the target deadlines for cutting the budget deficit.

There were also reports that the terms underpinning Ireland's bailout could also be relaxed, giving Dublin a much longer repayment schedule on the loans. The talk of rescheduling the Greek bailout terms surfaced quickly on Sunday night, with the German foreign minister, Guido Westerwelle, suggesting the Europeans could alter the timings. That triggered a row in Germany among the political class over the pros and cons of going easier on Greece.

In Brussels, the respected Bruegel thinktank said: "It is now increasingly clear that the [Greek] programme is severely off track. The [Samaras] victory doesn't change this fact and it has become unavoidable to open a discussion about the shape and form of a new Greek programme. This is a fact now broadly acknowledged by policymakers and in particular by German officials who have openly discussed the possibility of stretching fiscal targets."

Martin Schulz, the German social democrat who presides over the European parliament, added: "The new Greek government will be able to count on our constructive cooperation in possible fine-tuning of its reform strategy and economic targets. If Greece sticks to its commitments, the EU can examine what could be done further to solve the crisis."

From Mexico, however, Merkel appeared to dismiss any easing of the Greek conditions. "The new Greek government has to implement the commitments entered into by the country. The programme framework has to be kept."

The eurogroup source said that Samaras was expected to show up in Luxembourg on Thursday for the meeting of eurozone finance ministers which will grapple with Spain and how to respond to the Greek election results.


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Monday, June 25, 2012

Islamist Morsi Wins Egypt Presidential Vote

ABC News, by Maggie Michael, Associated Press, CAIRO June 24, 2012



Egypt's election commission has declared Mohammed Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood the winner of Egypt's first free elections by a narrow margin over Ahmed Shafiq, the last prime minister under deposed leader Hosni Mubarak.

The commission said Morsi won with 51.7 percent of the vote versus 48.3 for Shafiq.

A huge crowd of Morsi supporters in Cairo's Tahrir Square erupted in cheers and dancing when the result was read out on live television.


FILE - In this Sunday, May 20, 2012 file photo, the Muslim
Brotherhood's  presidential candidate Mohammed Morsi
holds a rally in Cairo, Egypt. (Photo: AP)


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"Healing the Military Energies in our family Tree" – Jun 13, 2011 (Kryon channelled by David Brown)

“ … There’s much violence and anger throughout the world; when we look at the Middle East, we can see that changes are coming there. The West has a lot of power over the Middle East, but that power will begin to dissolve. The Muslim people of this world will begin to have their own power, and their own prosperity, and they will begin to disconnect from the Western World. This disconnection doesn’t have to be violent as violence only happens when somebody hangs onto what doesn’t belong to them....

... What Military Energy means if we use an analogy: it would be like putting grinding paste into the oil of your motor car. Once you release these energies you will begin to feel lighter as you disconnect from this reality, and, you will find it easier and easier to release any other negative emotions. Military Energies are the core of all your problems...."


How eyepatches became a symbol of Egypt's revolution

Graffiti depicting a high ranking army officer with an eye patch 
Photograph: Nasser Nasser/ASSOCIATED PRESS
.

London 2012 Olympics: Saudis allow women to compete

BBC News, by Frank Gardner, 24 June 2012

Related Stories 

Showjumper Dalma Rushdi Malhas is
 currently the only Saudi female competitor
at Olympic standard
Saudi Arabia is to allow its women athletes to compete in the Olympics for the first time.

A statement issued by the Saudi Embassy in London says the country's Olympic Committee will "oversee participation of women athletes who can qualify".

The decision will end recent speculation as to whether the entire Saudi team could have been disqualified on grounds of gender discrimination.

Women's sport is still fiercely opposed by many Saudi religious conservatives.

There is almost no public tradition of women participating in sport in the country.

Saudi officials say that with the Games now just a few weeks away, the only female competitor at Olympic standard is showjumper Dalma Rushdi Malhas.

But they added that there may be scope for others to compete and that if successful they would be dressed "to preserve their dignity".

In practice this is likely to mean modest, loose-fitting garments and "a sports hijab", a scarf covering the hair but not the face.

For the desert kingdom, the decision to allow women to compete in the Olympics is a huge step, overturning deep-rooted opposition from those opposed to any public role for women.

As recently as April, the indications were that Saudi Arabia's rulers would accede to the sensitivities of the religious conservatives and maintain the ban on allowing women to take part.

But for the past six weeks there have been intense, behind-the-scenes discussions led by King Abdullah, who has long been pushing for women to play a more active role in Saudi society.

'Subtle reform'

In secret meetings in Jeddah, officials say a consensus was reached in mid-June between the king, the crown prince, the foreign minister, the leading religious cleric, the grand mufti and others, to overturn the ban.

An announcement was ready to be made but then had to be delayed as the country marked the sudden death of Crown Prince Nayef.

"It's very sensitive," a senior Saudi official told the BBC. "King Abdullah is trying to initiate reform in a subtle way, by finding the right balance between going too fast or too slow.

"For example, he allowed the participation of women in the Shura council [an advisory body] so the Olympic decision is part of an ongoing process, it's not isolated."

The official acknowledged that to refuse to let women take part would have looked bad on the international stage.

"Partly because of the mounting criticism we woke up and realised we had to deal with this. We believe Saudi society will accept this," the official said.

It is not the first time a Saudi monarch has backed a controversial reform against domestic opposition.

King Faisal, who introduced television in the 1960s and was eventually assassinated, insisted on introducing education for girls.

Today, Saudi women graduates outnumber their male counterparts.

Friday, June 22, 2012

China and Brazil in $30bn currency swap agreement

BBC News, 22 June 2012

Related Stories 

Beijing has been trying to push the
 yuan as an alternative global
reserve currency
China and Brazil have agreed a currency swap deal in a bid to safeguard against any global financial crisis and strengthen their trade ties.

It will allow their respective central banks to exchange local currencies worth up to 60bn reals or 190bn yuan ($30bn; £19bn).

The amount can be used to shore up reserves in times of crisis, or towards boosting bilateral trade.

China is Brazil's biggest trading partner.

"As international credit remains scarce, we will have enough credit for our transactions," Brazil's Finance Minister, Guido Mantega, said.

A global yuan?

The agreement is the latest in a series of similar deals signed by China with its trading partners.

In March this year, it signed a swap deal with Australia worth up to A$30bn ($31bn; £20bn) to promote bi-lateral trade and investment.

It has also inked currency pacts with Hong Kong and Japan.

Analysts said that Beijing has been trying to push for trade to be settled in yuan, rather than in US dollars, as part of its plans to seek a more global role for its currency.

"The motivation is to be less reliant on the US dollar," Sean Callow, chief currency strategist at Westpac, told the BBC.

"We will see firms in the two countries settle their accounts in local currencies," he added.

Mr Callow added that with an increasing number of economies signing such agreements with China, its plans for a more global role for the yuan had received a major boost.

"It is a big positive for China on that account."

Closer cooperation

While trade between China and Brazil has surged, relations between the two economies have soured in recent times.

In Brazil, there have been concerns that increased imports of low-cost goods from China were hurting the local manufacturing industry.

Beijing, on the other hand, has accused Brazil of raising taxes on Chinese goods in a bid to protect the local industry, a move it says hurts its exports.

Brazil has also levied similar allegations against China.

Despite these tensions, the two countries have agreed to cooperate in various sectors to boost bi-lateral trade.

They said they will work closely in mining, industrial, aviation and infrastructure development.

The agreement also comes at a time when growth in China, the world's second largest economy, has been slowing.

China's economy grew at an annual rate of 8.1% in the first quarter, the slowest pace in almost three years. There are concerns that growth may slow further in the coming months.

However, Brazil's Finance Minister, Mr Mantega said "China will keep being the place where to do business".


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Thursday, June 21, 2012

Peer-to-peer lending via the internet hits £250m

BBC News, By Simon Gompertz, Personal finance correspondent, 8 June 2012

Savings and Investment 

Lynne Martin's money is spread
 among hundreds of borrowers, thus
reducing risk
Lending via three websites that link savers with borrowers - bypassing the banking system - has topped £250m.

The "new age" finance carries no protection for deposits, but is being tipped as a serious threat to traditional banks.

The peer-to-peer sites are led by Zopa, which has lent more than £200m since it started in 2005.

Funding Circle, specialising in business loans, has topped £34m, and RateSetter has reached £24m.

Last month the government said it would lend these sort of firms £100m to help expand their own lending to businesses.

"It's a marketplace, the eBay for money," says Lynne Martin from Hertfordshire, a foot technician in her late 50s who has been using Zopa to build up a nest egg for retirement.

Higher returns

Lynne was fed up with the returns she was getting from banks and pension plans.

So she has lent a substantial part of her savings via the website, spreading it between hundreds of borrowers and by-passing the banking system.

The interest from the latest £5,000 is 7.4% a year before tax but after taking into account Zopa's 1% charge.

That is substantially more than is available on a typical savings account at a bank.

On the other side of the ledger, Jamie Hirst from Chippenham in Wiltshire has borrowed £4,500 through Zopa to cover the cost of a revamp of his kitchen and bathroom.

The 8.4% APR he is paying is 5% less than he was quoted by his bank.

"I thought it was brilliant," he told the BBC's Your Money.

"The fact that there wasn't some fat cat taking the profits, just some guy investing 50 or a hundred quid to get a little return and doing something good for someone else."

The drawbacks

There is a significant drawback for savers: the lack of any guarantee that you will get your money back.

Peer-to-peer lending, as it is known, does not qualify for protection from the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS), which provides security up to £85,000 per bank, for each saver.

The peer-to-peer sites put their loan applicants through credit checks and Zopa says it divides people's savings into £10 chunks which are spread between borrowers, to minimise any risk.

On average, so far, its lenders have lost 0.5% of their money as a result of borrowers defaulting.

But Lynne Martin predicts the concept is bound to catch on more widely.

"Necessity is the mother of invention," she says.

"This is a new asset class. It's not a share and it's not a bank account."

Official support?

Lynne has support from a director of the Bank of England, Andy Haldane, who suggested in March that peer-to-peer lenders could replace High Street banks. 

Jamie Hirst has been able to borrow
 money at a cheaper rate than from
his bank
"There is no reason why end-savers and end-investors cannot connect directly," he explained.

"The banking middle men may in time become the surplus links in the chain."

Lynne is hoping the interest she is earning will help pay for her to retire to the West Country, a hope which highlights an interesting feature of peer-to-peer lending.

Much of the money has been moving across generations, from older people looking for a decent income to younger borrowers setting up in life and desperate to keep down the cost of taking a loan.

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"The New Paradigm of Reality" Part I/II – Feb 12, 2011 (Kryon channelled by Lee Carroll) (Subjects: Egypt Uprising, Iran/Persia Uprising, Peace in Middle East without Israel actively involved, Muhammad, "Conceptual" Youth Revolution, "Conceptual" (without a manager hierarchy) managed Businesses, Internet, Social Media, News Media, Google, Bankers, Global Unity,..... etc.)

Tuesday, June 19, 2012

Australia warns magnate Gina Rinehart on Fairfax Media

BBC News, 19 June 2012

Related Stories 

Ms Rinehart now has an 18.67% stake
in Fairfax media
Australian officials have expressed concern that billionaire Gina Rinehart's increased stake in Fairfax Media may compromise its independence.

The mining magnate, who now has an 18.67% stake, has asked for three board seats and the right to make editorial decisions, Fairfax newspapers report.

Acting Prime Minister Wayne Swan says this may have "very big implications for our democracy".

Fairfax has said it is cutting 1,900 jobs over three years to save on cost.

Ms Rinehart, who enlarged her stake in the company from 12.58% last week, is now Faifax's largest investor.

Aside from the three board seats, Ms Rinehart also wants to be able to hire and fire editors, Fairfax newspapers report. Fairfax journalists have written to her asking her to respect the company's editorial independence policy.

Ms Rinehart, who oversees an iron-ore prospecting empire, is a vocal opponent of the government's mining and carbon tax plans.

Both Mr Swan and Communications Minister Stephen Conroy urged Ms Rinehart to respect Fairfax's charter and editorial independence.

"If she was to directly interfere and breach that charter, it would actually lead to a crisis of confidence among the readership and if the readership deserted, then the share price for every shareholder would decline," Mr Conroy said.

Mr Swan said: "I think that has very big implications for our democracy, I think we should all be very concerned at this turn of events."

"She certainly has a commercial right to do what she has done, but it appears to be that she will go a step further, not respect the charter of independence, and reserve her right to direct journalists with instructions that follow her commercial imperatives."

Fairfax, one of Australia's biggest media companies, announced major changes on Monday as part of cost-cutting measures to save A$235m ($237m, £151m) annually by mid-2015.

Aside from the job cuts, two printing facilities in Sydney and Melbourne are to be closed by 2014.

The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald broadsheets are also going tabloid, with its websites adopting pay walls from 2013.



AIJ president arrested in $1.4bn pension scandal

BBC News, 19 June 2012

Related Stories 

AIJ president Kazuhiko Asakawa has
been  arrested on fraud charges related
to the missing $1.4bn
AIJ Investment Advisors' president and three others have been arrested on fraud charges relating to $1.4bn (£890m) of missing pension funds.

President Kazuhiko Asakawa and executives at AIJ agent ITM Securities could face jail if found guilty.

AIJ managed money for more than 100 companies but was stripped of its registration in March after failing to account for most of its clients' funds.

Japanese prosecutors said $9m of the missing money was stolen from clients.

The scandal is the latest to hit Japan, and there have been calls for changes in corporate governance.

At the end of last year, Japan was shocked by the news that camera maker Olympus had hidden $1.7bn in losses for as long as 20 years.

Low returns
Japanese pension fund managers are facing pressure to provide high rates of return, despite the fact that the country's economy has experienced weak growth for two decades.

Some funds are required to provide a return as high as 5.5% at a time when returns on safer investments such as lending to the government are at record lows.

Over the past decade, the Japanese economy has grown at a nominal rate of between 0% and 1%, while the yield on the 10-year Japanese government bond is 0.8%. The Bank of Japan's deposit rate has remained near 0% since 1995.


Related Article:


According to media reports, Japan’s Financial Services Agency has
 ordered AIJ Investment Advisors Co., which manages corporate pension
 funds, to halt operations after investigators found the company lost about
 $2.3 billion. Authorities have to track down the money lost by AIJ as the
 total amount seems to reach new heights to become a major case in
Japan. (EPA Photo)
  
.