(click on photo to enlarge)Public pier
Friday, October 31, 2008
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Reading matters
The art of not becoming accustomed to anything: precarious employment in flexible capitalism, by Klaus Ronneberger: Eurozine
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Hong Kong: Legislative Council Questions
Some of the questions (and answers) from the LegCo meeting of Wednesday, 29 October 2008:
LCQ5: Regulation of price adjustments of domestic LPG
LCQ6: Rice prices
LCQ18: Rooftop greening
LCQ5: Regulation of price adjustments of domestic LPG
LCQ6: Rice prices
LCQ18: Rooftop greening
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Monday, October 27, 2008
Sunday, October 26, 2008
Saturday, October 25, 2008
Friday, October 24, 2008
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
CITIC Pacific: Money's Too Tight to Mention
CITIC Pacific was established in Hong Kong in 1987 as the investment arm of the Chinese state. With its corporate backing and oodles of guanxi, CITIC Pacific was/is China’s overseas corporate crown
Locally, the red capitalist company currently owns, among other things, 17.5% of the airline Cathay Pacific and 10% of Hong Kong Air Cargo Terminals (HACTL).
It also has an interest in two of the three cross-harbour tunnels: Eastern Harbour Crossing (70.8%) and the Western Harbour Tunnel (35%).
And it wholly owns Dah Chong Hong Holdings, a major distributor of motor vehicles, food and consumer products in Hong Kong, China, Japan, Singapore and Canada.
Other interests include power plants, steel plants and iron ore mining in China and Australia.
CITIC Pacific came unstuck because of a bad bet on the Australian dollar.
Now, CITIC Pacific shares have mega crashed: twelve months ago a share cost HK$49.90, in the last two days the price has tanked, now HK$4.91 willl do.
Oh, and the company is in the hole for at least US$2 billion.
According to David Webb, CITIC Pacific bet on the future direction of the Ozzie dollar with "dual currency target redemption forward contracts" and "AUD target redemption forward contracts". See David Webb: time bomb
According toBloomberg Wall Street Journal, the companies which sold the so-called "accumulator" currency contracts to CITIC Pacific are believed to include HSBC, Citigroup and BNP Paribas: Wall Street Journal
Oh, well, behind every proverbial cloud . . . Hong Kong Should Buy CITIC Pacific Tunnel Stakes: bloomberg
Locally, the red capitalist company currently owns, among other things, 17.5% of the airline Cathay Pacific and 10% of Hong Kong Air Cargo Terminals (HACTL).
It also has an interest in two of the three cross-harbour tunnels: Eastern Harbour Crossing (70.8%) and the Western Harbour Tunnel (35%).
And it wholly owns Dah Chong Hong Holdings, a major distributor of motor vehicles, food and consumer products in Hong Kong, China, Japan, Singapore and Canada.
Other interests include power plants, steel plants and iron ore mining in China and Australia.
CITIC Pacific came unstuck because of a bad bet on the Australian dollar.
Now, CITIC Pacific shares have mega crashed: twelve months ago a share cost HK$49.90, in the last two days the price has tanked, now HK$4.91 willl do.
Oh, and the company is in the hole for at least US$2 billion.
According to David Webb, CITIC Pacific bet on the future direction of the Ozzie dollar with "dual currency target redemption forward contracts" and "AUD target redemption forward contracts". See David Webb: time bomb
According to
Oh, well, behind every proverbial cloud . . . Hong Kong Should Buy CITIC Pacific Tunnel Stakes: bloomberg
Hong Kong: Legislative Council Questions
Some of the questions (and answers) from the LegCo meeting of Wednesday, 22 October 2008:
LCQ2: Stabilising the financial system of Hong Kong
LCQ5: Retail prices of auto-fuel
LCQ7: The Deposit Protection Scheme
LCQ2: Stabilising the financial system of Hong Kong
LCQ5: Retail prices of auto-fuel
LCQ7: The Deposit Protection Scheme
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Monday, October 20, 2008
Saturday, October 18, 2008
Billy Bragg: Levi Stubbs' Tears
For the weekend, a guilty pleasure.
Talking with the Taxman about Poetry: When the world falls apart, some things stay in place . . .
Four Tops: Loving You Is Sweeter Than Ever
Talking with the Taxman about Poetry: When the world falls apart, some things stay in place . . .
Four Tops: Loving You Is Sweeter Than Ever
Friday, October 17, 2008
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Reading matters
Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird, by Wallace Stevens:
VPoets.org
I do not know which to prefer,
The beauty of inflections
Or the beauty of innuendoes,
The blackbird whistling
Or just after.
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Monday, October 13, 2008
Sunday, October 12, 2008
Saturday, October 11, 2008
John Bird and John Fortune: Subprime Banking Mess
For the weekend, a guilty pleasure.
Crisis, what crisis? This is a few months old, but British satirists explain all . . .
Since when fears have now spread to . . . Credit Default Swaps: financial times
Short of cash and/or fearful about the dire straights of the credit and money markets as well as the looming recession, market investors have now been fleeing stock markets worldwide: bloomberg
Hence the intervention of the State. By the way, contrary to what many popular commentators have said, this is not socialism for the rich, merely another example of protecting the powerful and rich, state capitalism: wikipedia
Crisis, what crisis? This is a few months old, but British satirists explain all . . .
Since when fears have now spread to . . . Credit Default Swaps: financial times
Short of cash and/or fearful about the dire straights of the credit and money markets as well as the looming recession, market investors have now been fleeing stock markets worldwide: bloomberg
Hence the intervention of the State. By the way, contrary to what many popular commentators have said, this is not socialism for the rich, merely another example of protecting the powerful and rich, state capitalism: wikipedia
Friday, October 10, 2008
Thursday, October 09, 2008
Wednesday, October 08, 2008
Tuesday, October 07, 2008
Chung Yeung Festival
Public holiday today.
Hereabouts, it is traditional to head to the cemetery to sweep and clean one's family ancestors' graves.
It is also the moment to remember those who died in the defence of Hong Kong between 1941 and 1945 with an official ceremony at Hong Kong's City Hall Memorial Garden.
Cheung Yeung Festivsl (重陽節) aka Double Ninth Festival (重九): wikipedia
Hereabouts, it is traditional to head to the cemetery to sweep and clean one's family ancestors' graves.
It is also the moment to remember those who died in the defence of Hong Kong between 1941 and 1945 with an official ceremony at Hong Kong's City Hall Memorial Garden.
Cheung Yeung Festivsl (重陽節) aka Double Ninth Festival (重九): wikipedia
Monday, October 06, 2008
Sunday, October 05, 2008
Weather pr0n
Yesterday, tropical storm/depression Higos made landfall to the west of a little island in the South China Sea.
After which, Hong Kong Observatory lowered the Number One Standby Signal.
Today? It's been wet and blustery and as the hours progressed even more wet and blustery.
Currently, we have a Strong Monsoon Signal (winds in excess of 40km/hr), an Amber Rainstorm Warning (heavy rain exceeding 30 millimetres/hr), and a Thunderstorm Warning (heavy downpours, lightning and violent gusts of wind).
Cool, eh?
After which, Hong Kong Observatory lowered the Number One Standby Signal.
Today? It's been wet and blustery and as the hours progressed even more wet and blustery.
Currently, we have a Strong Monsoon Signal (winds in excess of 40km/hr), an Amber Rainstorm Warning (heavy rain exceeding 30 millimetres/hr), and a Thunderstorm Warning (heavy downpours, lightning and violent gusts of wind).
Cool, eh?
Saturday, October 04, 2008
Henryk Gorecki: Symphony No. 3 Op 36 (Symphony of Sorrowful Songs)
For the weekend, a guilty pleasure.
Soprano: Isabel Bayrakdaraian. Sinfonietta Cracovia, conducted by John Axelrod.
Lento e largo:
Soprano: Isabel Bayrakdaraian. Sinfonietta Cracovia, conducted by John Axelrod.
Lento e largo:
Friday, October 03, 2008
Eye | Land | View
(click on photo to enlarge)Out-patient department: pharmacy
(It's not four weeks but eight)
Weather pr0n
(click on image to enlarge)During the past 24 hours, Tropical Depression Higos became Tropical Storm Higos. That, and it headed northwest to Hainan Island. Higos is currently skirting the east side of the island.
After which Hong Kong Observatory has Higos making land and then heading due
No worries . . . once Higos makes landfall it will quickly lose power.
Naturally, it being the weekend, the Observatory forecasts "cloudy to overcast with rain".
The Number One Standby Signal is still in force.
Thursday, October 02, 2008
Weather pr0n
At 5pm, Tropical Depression Higos was about 680 km south of a little island in the South China Sea.
Several hours ago, Hong Kong Observatory raised the Number One Standby Signal.
According to the Observatory, Higos is moving at 20km/hr and is forecast to move northwest or west-northwest towards. . . here.
But that would be in three days' time (see map).
Stay tuned!
Bob Dylan: Tell Tale Signs
Bob Dylan's Tell Tale Signs: The Bootleg Series Vol 8 is due for release on 7 October 2008.
The two cds cover 1989-2006. So what's there? Mostly alternate (and enjoyable) versions of some of the best songs from Oh Mercy, Time Out of Mind, "Love and Theft", Modern Times. That plus songs which didn't make the aforesaid albums for one reason or another.
Among the revelations, a song that didn't make it to Time out of Mind: Marchin' to the City.
Just beautiful.
Tell Tale Signs also includes some live performances as well as music from several film soundtracks.
In short: great stuff, songs, versions.
Is it rolling, Bob? Yes, indeed.
Interested? Pre-release, you can listen to cd1 and cd2 at: npr
The two cds cover 1989-2006. So what's there? Mostly alternate (and enjoyable) versions of some of the best songs from Oh Mercy, Time Out of Mind, "Love and Theft", Modern Times. That plus songs which didn't make the aforesaid albums for one reason or another.
Among the revelations, a song that didn't make it to Time out of Mind: Marchin' to the City.
Just beautiful.
Tell Tale Signs also includes some live performances as well as music from several film soundtracks.
In short: great stuff, songs, versions.
Is it rolling, Bob? Yes, indeed.
Interested? Pre-release, you can listen to cd1 and cd2 at: npr
Wednesday, October 01, 2008
Reading matters
The revenge of ideas: Karl Polanyi and Susan Strange, by Fred Halliday: Open Democracy
Reading matters
The World According to Palin-McCain: Jesus' General, an 11 on the manly scale of gender
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