http://www.singpao.com/NewsArticle.aspx?NewsID=181245&Lang=tc 英國《自然．地學》雜誌周日刊登報告說，日本研究人員對太平洋多個地點的海底稀土含量調查顯示，太平洋海底稀泥蘊藏豐富稀土資源。不過，有專家 指出，目前開發海底稀土礦，還面臨成本過高和影響環境等問題。稀土是鑭、釹等元素的總稱，它們是一些電子產品和尖端武器中必不可少的原料。據介紹，隨着全 球高新產業的發展，稀土資源供應呈日益緊張趨勢。
Investors can now buy the precious metal with the same convenience as withdrawing cash from an ATM.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/personalfinance/investing/gold/8609976/UK-unveils-first-ATM-for-gold-at-Westfield-Shopping-Centre.html10:00PM BST 30 Jun 2011
The Gold to Go machine, which sells gold at constantly updated prices, is unveiled at the Westfield shopping centre in London on Friday.
The German company behind the machines, Ex Oriente Lux, is capitalising on gold's traditional status as a safe haven investment in times of economic turmoil.
Westfield's gold ATM will sell bars and coins in various sizes, including a special 2.5g bar with the London skyline engraved on its reverse.
Ex Oriente Lux said its products were sold in "top quality" boxes and were "a great gift idea". The 1g gold bar, costing about £41, was "about as cheap as a bouquet of flowers but sure not to wither".
It added: "Gold to Go provides private investors with easy, convenient access to physical gold at fair, real-time prices. The ATMs are always online and update their prices every 10 minutes."
Just now found this nice short piece of code for drawing a simple 5-pointed star:
>> theta = 0:4/5*pi:4*pi;
>> figure;
>> plot(cos(theta),sin(theta),'m-')
>> axis equal; axis tight
Source: http://www.mathworks.com/matlabcentral/newsreader/view_thread/130807
- 2011-06-30 旺報 【記者梁世煌／綜合報導】
國際貨幣基金（IMF）新任總裁人選昨天凌晨終於塵埃落定，法國財政部長拉加德（Christine Lagarde）在中國、美國、俄羅斯等主要成員國支持下，確定成為下一任IMF總裁，她將是首位執掌IMF的女性，也是該組織第一位非經濟學家出身的掌門人，拉加德預計7月5日走馬上任，任期5年。
根據IMF聲明，現年55歲的拉加德是在未經正式投票表決的情形下，以成員國協商並獲得一致通過方式贏得此一任命。現任墨西哥央行行長卡 斯滕斯則在此次爭取IMF總裁中確定敗北，因此，拉加德的任命案在獲得IMF的24個成員國背書後，意味著70年來IMF由歐洲人主導的「傳統」並未改 變。
首要任務 解歐債危機
拉加德隨後發表聲明表示，她將繼續推動IMF在世界經濟和金融危機中扮演的角色，努力促進世界經濟強勁持續穩定增長，目標便是「為IMF的全體成員國服務」。
法國總統薩科齊則在第一時間對拉加德當選表示祝賀，並稱這是「法國的勝利」。
法新社則報導，拉加德上任後，第一個面臨的難題就是如何緩和希臘國內反對財政緊縮計畫引發的示威活動，造成對歐元區整體穩定的威脅。
《華爾街日報》報導，拉加德接掌IMF後，將捲入不斷加深的歐債危機，其首要任務之一就是在歐元區和IMF同意向希臘提供1100億歐元救助一年後，幫助制定第二個希臘救助計畫。
分析師認為，拉加德上任後，不會偏離她自己常說的支援希臘、維護歐元區完整的一貫立場。
其次，由於拉加德入主IMF，被外界認為，IMF未來的重心仍將偏重歐洲，因此，她未來勢必被要求給予發展中國家更多的權力，並協助IMF走出前總裁卡恩因性侵案突然辭職的陰影。
傳朱民可望任副總裁
為博取中國支持，拉加德先前在訪中行程中承諾，中國未來在IMF的代表權將獲提升，包括巴西在內的其他新興經濟體也將在IMF中扮演更重要的角色。
值得注意的是，由於中國對拉加德表態支持，加上IMF第一副總裁利普斯基（John Lipsky）將於8月31日退休，前中國人民銀行（大陸央行）副行長、現任IMF總裁特別顧問的朱民已被外界認為是可能接任IMF第一副總裁的熱門人選。
事實上，拉加德在當選前也曾強烈暗示入主IMF後，將支持朱民在IMF高層中扮演更重要的角色；復旦大學經濟學院副院長孫立堅對此認為，以中國當前在全球的經濟實力，未來朱民出線的機率應該很大。
星島日報 – 2011年6月22日星期三上午8:26
(http://hk.news.yahoo.com/%E6%B4%AA%E5%8D%9A%E5%9F%B9%E7%AB%B6%E9%80%90%E5%85%B1%E5%92%8C%E9%BB%A8%E7%B8%BD%E7%B5%B1%E5%88%9D%E9%81%B8-002600556.html)洪博培選擇在可以看到自由神像的新澤西州立公園公布角逐共和黨總統候選人提名的決定，已故總統列根當年都是在這裏宣布角逐總統。
洪博培在演講中強調，改變美國經濟現狀、削減公共債務和財政赤字的重要性，主張重新審視美國在海外的軍事承諾，將國家安全戰略的重點放在美國本土。他同時強調妥善處理阿富汗和伊拉克衝突的後期事宜，避免不必要地延長美國的參與時間。
洪博培於1960年3月出生在美國加利福尼亞州，早年就讀於猶他大學，後轉學到賓夕法尼亞大學攻讀工商管理專業並獲得學士學位。他曾先後擔任美國駐新加坡大 使和美國貿易副代表，2004年作為共和黨候選人當選猶他州州長，2008年贏得連任。2009年8月出任美國駐華大使，2011年4月結束任期回國。
除洪博培外，目前正式宣布參加總統競選的共和黨人，包括前馬薩諸塞州州長羅姆尼、前明尼蘇達州州長波倫蒂、前眾議院議長金里奇、明尼蘇達州聯邦眾議員巴克曼、德克薩斯州聯邦眾議員保羅、前賓夕法尼亞州聯邦參議員桑托勒姆和商人凱恩。
=================================================================
看到這新聞, 不知怎的, 猜想洪博培可能是將金本位重設美國的重要人物.
Submitted by Tyler Durden on 06/20/2011 16:10 -0400
(http://www.zerohedge.com/article/41-belgian-central-bank-gold-has-been-lent-out)Some very disturbing revelations from CLSA's Chris Wood who in his latest Greed and Fear note discusses an event that may be all to prevalent within the central banking community: the less than overt lending out of central bank gold to "other entities" in return for picking up nickels in front of a steamroller. In this case, the central bank of governmentless Belgium, which had 41% of its gold out at the end of 2010 on loan. Naturally, the lent out gold is being used by some other key entity, potentially to mask its own inventory deficit, in exchange for the paltry sum of 0.3% on the total loan. Wood's conclusion: "This is a reminder that the paper gold market is significantly larger than the physical market. Just like a run on a bank in a fractional banking system, GREED & fear suspects it will be very hard to settle all the paper claims to gold physically in a real scramble for the metal. This is why in a parabolic spike physical gold is likely to trade at a significant premium to paper claims." We couldn't have said it better ourselves.
From CLSA's Greed and Fear:
Belgian central bank Vice Governor Francoise Masai reportedly told shareholders that about 41% of the central bank’s 216 metric tons of gold was on loan at the end of last year, and that the central bank earned a 0.3% return on its loans of physical gold to commercial banks last year. There are two points to note about this. The first is the puny annualised return earned on the gold leasing market. The second is the significant percentage of the central bank’s gold lent out. This is a reminder that the paper gold market is significantly larger than the physical market. Just like a run on a bank in a fractional banking system, GREED & fear suspects it will be very hard to settle all the paper claims to gold physically in a real scramble for the metal. This is why in a parabolic spike physical gold is likely to trade at a significant premium to paper claims. On this point GREED & fear should make it clear that the 25% of the global portfolio for a US dollar-denominated pension fund allocated to gold bullion is in physical gold.
Meanwhile, it is an interesting note that more than a dozen state legislators in America have now seen bills introduced that would make gold and silver coins legal tender in the respective states. Thus, gold and silver coins minted by the US government are now considered legal tender in Utah. Much of this activism is coming from Tea Party supporters. Financial sophisticates will scoff. But to GREED & fear it is a healthy sign that some people in America are thinking. For more on this popular movement to return to the monetary role of gold read an article published last week by the Los Angeles Times (“Pushing for a return to the gold standard”, 3 June 2011 by Nathaniel Popper).
萬寧回收兩種含塑產品
2011-06-21
「Mannings消炎喉片」及「Mannings 葉酸5毫克」。
(綜合報道)(星島日報報道)塑化劑風波繼續蔓延，大型連鎖個人護理產品零售商「萬寧」在自願性產品測試中，發現兩款新加坡製的本港註冊藥劑產品「萬寧消炎喉片30片」及「萬寧葉酸5毫克60片」，含有塑化劑需要回收，不論產品拆封與否，巿民可攜產品包裝或發票，到萬寧門巿辦理退款或換貨手續。衞生署呼籲巿民停用該產品，並檢取樣本作進一步化驗。
衞 生署昨日接獲萬寧母公司牛奶有限公司通知，指用作紓緩喉嚨痛的「Mannings消炎喉片」檢出含有百萬分之一點四的DEHP及百萬分之三點八的 DINP；食物補充劑「Mannings 葉酸5毫克」則含有百萬分之一點三的DEHP及百萬分之一點六DINP。巿民可於辦公時間致電二二九九 三三八一向萬寧查詢。
醫院藥劑師學會副會長崔俊明說，消炎喉片多數供成人服用，但有關葉酸產品多為孕婦食用，相信短期攝取塑化劑對成年人不會造成即時影響，但擔心或會影響男性胎兒的生殖器官發展。
衞生署發言人建議，市民立即停用有關產品，署方已檢取產品樣本化驗，並將事件通知新加坡藥物監管當局跟進。
署方至今無接獲相關不良反應報告，但完成調查後，將把個案提交律政司尋求法律意見。
[http://news.sina.com.hk/news/5/1/1/2361590/1.html]
摘自<川普.清崎讓你賺大錢>
清崎和川普的建議是：
一、別買基金，別買股票。坑殺散戶是股市鐵律、定期定額是基金套房。
二、買房地產。如果你跟川普、清崎一樣不懂科技、不懂網路的話。收租為先、少想增值。
三、不只當員工，也要變股東。員工當然有機會發財，前提是這家企業入股門檻低，否則你領高薪致富機率極低。
四、加入直銷。如果想學生意，卻沒有富爸爸教，就請加入一家直銷商，幾年就好，因為他們比任何人都希望你搞懂生意是什麼。
五、善用槓桿。如果你的小生意還算成功，接下來就要會複製自己的長處，能力的槓桿能讓你舉重若輕、倍數擴張。發明麥當勞的人賺小錢，複製麥當勞的人發大財。
發不了財的原因 :
一、懶惰
二、習慣差
三、缺乏教育
四、缺乏經驗
五、缺乏指導
六、態度差
七、朋友和家人的不良影響
八、不專心
九、決心不夠
十、缺乏勇氣
當然最大的原因是: 找不到一個支持我們變富有的環境....
《華爾街日報》-- 2011/6/ 20 星期一 (http://hk.biz.yahoo.com/110620/364/47d7m.html)
中國無疑是個經濟奇跡。改革開放以來，每10年中國人的生活水平就翻一番，而美國即使在經濟增速最快時期，要取得這樣的成績也要花上30年左右。不過，中國的經濟基礎開始出現裂縫。
把這些裂縫稱作三大矛盾吧。
矛盾一：中國領導人一方面決定放緩經濟增長步伐，抑制通貨膨脹；另一方面繼續給工人加工資，給民眾提供各類商品。同時實現這些目標對任何政府來說都是個挑戰，對於害怕失去控制權、不願讓市場力量主導國民經濟的中國政府來說，尤其困難。
在仍供奉著馬克思和恩格斯雕像的中國，工資佔國民總收入的比重持續縮水，貧富差距不斷擴大，這很難成為推動更多消費支出的秘訣。中國有眾多零售商店，但很多都像是博物館：人們前來「觀摩」，卻並不買東西。
由於勞動力需求強勁，中國工人的工資增長較快，這是維持中國領導人高度重視的穩定社會的關鍵，也是推動消費支出，讓中國擺脫出口依賴的關鍵。
到目前為止，一切順利。但不斷上漲的工資似乎正在稀釋中國工廠的競爭力。一個不言而喻的跡象是，美國服裝品牌Gap在中國商店裡出售的T恤 衫上標著「馬來西亞製造」的字樣，最便宜的牙刷也在越南製造。要解決這一問題，中國應實現轉型，成為更先進的製造商和服務提供商，而這就需要中國有更大、 更好、更自由的教育制度。一位官員說，中國現行教育制度在科學研究方面受到蘇聯管理模式的影響，中國精英人士都把子女送到國外讀書。
矛盾二：中國政壇最近的潮流話題是「人民幣國際化」，而實際上，人民幣目前基本上完全是一種國內貨幣。之所以要人民幣國際化，其中既有民族自豪的原因，也有貿易大國買賣本國貨幣的渴望。還有就是，如果再爆發金融危機，中國人決心要像美國一樣能獲得自由、低息的外國貸款。
到目前為止，一切順利。但人民幣不可能一夜之間實現國際化，除非中國取消低利率管制。現在中國的存款利率甚至趕不上CPI漲幅。參與全球貨幣遊戲意味著國民經濟要受到全球市場的影響。
有些官員看到了利率過低的危險。中國建設銀行行長郭樹清在接受採訪時說，你需要在失控之前，針對實際利率為負值做點什麼；很多人覺得把錢存起來沒多大好處，因此紛紛購買黃金和白銀等東西；很多人買房不是因為他們需要一個住處，而是為了投資。
的確，富人通過購置第三套和第四套房進行投機，而其他人因為房價太高連一套都買不起。驅動中國資產泡沫的是中國的貨幣政策，而非美聯儲（Federal Reserve）的貨幣政策。
美國利率低是因為美聯儲在刺激人們借貸。中國央行想減少貸款，但擁有強大政治力量的企業和政府借款人卻阻止利率升高。全球經濟分析師魯比尼（Nouriel Roubini），將中國的政策描述為：「收入從政治上弱勢的家庭向政治上強勢的企業大規模轉移：弱勢貨幣導致進口產品昂貴，低存款利率，以及對企業及開發商的低貸款利率，都相當於對儲蓄存款徵稅」。
讓人民幣國際化，意味著結束是出於政治原因；而將利率保持在經濟上最合理的水平之下的做法，意味著要讓經濟政策透明化。
矛盾三：在經濟每年增長10%的時候，一個壓制性政府讓人民高興比較容易。目前為止一切順利。
但從來不受人歡迎的給經濟踩剎車之舉，對一個不信任人民的政府來說，是個威脅。Twitter在中國被屏蔽。學生們抱怨說他們被限制在「中國的互聯網」之內。政府的過濾似乎減緩了網速。
民眾以其人之道還治其人之身。就連外國遊客都能感覺到很多人不信任政府。清華大學一個研究生在吃飯聊天時生氣地問：「一個國家的領導人，把自己的女兒送到國外接受教育，這個國家還有什麼可說的？」
在北京以北約96公里 處的一個村莊，蜿蜒的長城基本上對遊客沒什麼吸引力，映入眼簾的是十幾幢簡易的農舍，還有一幢嶄新的、更寬、更高的三層磚房。它看起來與周圍環境格格不入。大家都知道是誰建的：當地的村支書，而且花的不是他的工資。
地基的裂縫不一定預示著崩塌，但它們是壓力的痕跡。如果得不到處理，它們可以動搖一座經濟大廈，即使中國這樣宏偉的經濟大廈也不例外。
By ALEN MATTICH
The European Union, European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund are negotiating hard among themselves about how to structure debt relief for the Greek economy. The latest reports suggest they might have come up with a temporary deal among themselves. But what the EU, ECB and IMF want won't matter unless they get the Greek government to play as well. And that's by no means assured.
For one thing, Greeks are growing fed up with austerity and seem very unwilling to take on the still stricter conditions being demanded of them to win fresh funding and avoid default. The Greek economy has taken a beating during the past couple of years. Non-stop, large-scale political protests, routine general strikes and parliamentary rebellion have brought Athenian streets to a standstill. And Prime Minister George Papandreou's government is teetering.
Greeks are starting to question whether there might not be an easier way out of their crisis. And inevitably, Argentina's experience a decade ago has been attracting plenty of interest.
In the three years leading up to its crisis the Argentine economy struggled, contracting a total of 8.4% by the end of 2001. Strains became so great that the country defaulted on its sovereign debt, causing its economy to slump another 11% in 2002. But the unshackling of its currency from the dollar and subsequent devaluation also reignited growth. Since its 2002 low, Argentine gross domestic product will have expanded by an average annual 7.4% by the end of this year, according to IMF data. Crucially, Argentine output was back above its previous peak within three years of default.
Compare this with Greece's prospects. The IMF forecasts the Greek economy will have contracted 9.3% from its 2008 peak by the end of this year. Although the IMF expects Greece to start growing again next year, that is difficult to believe. The one constant of this crisis has been that all forecasts for Greece have been overly optimistic. Worse still, once Greece starts to grow, it is expected only to do so at an anemic rate of around 2% per year. By the end of 2016, the Greek economy will only just be back to end-2008 levels.
Greeks might well decide an Argentine solution is the only real option. In other words, an exit from the euro, default and devaluation. And maybe that's what the market is already anticipating.
Barry Eichengreen, an economist at the University of California, Berkeley, famously argued that a euro-zone country couldn't leave the single currency because to do so would trigger "the mother of all financial crises." Long before the long political process necessary for any euro-zone country to leave the single currency was concluded, investors would have voted with their wallets. They'd dump the country's sovereign debt and flee its banks.
But this is pretty much what has already happened to Greece. Two-year Greek debt yields 28% while 10-year bonds are trading at less than half of face value. And for months now, depositors have been pulling funds out of Greek banks. Only the lifeline of yet more EU and IMF loans is keeping Greece in the euro. Loans that will have to be paid back.
If Greeks come to think they're already near or have reached the worst-case outcome of a euro exit but are getting none of the upside, they may well start to agitate to leave the single currency.
That would put the EU and the ECB into a very difficult position. A Greek default and departure from the euro would risk a systemic crisis across Europe's financial sector because of the huge exposure of Europe's banks to Greek government debt. The EU doesn't want to give in to Greece because of the costs involved and for fear of feeding moral hazard. But as the financial crisis showed, punctiliousness goes by the wayside when the crunch becomes severe enough.
The Bank of England worried publicly about the consequences of bailing out Northern Rock but then, after the Lehman Brothers collapse, had no compunction about pumping enormous amounts of money into the rest of the U.K.'s banking sector.
German, Dutch and Finnish politicians may be worried about how handing bottomless buckets of money to Greece will play out with their voters, but the alternative looks even uglier.
Ironically, were the Greeks to decide that a euro exit was not only possible, but desirable, the core EU, led by Germany, would almost certainly make huge concessions, including wholesale debt forgiveness.
Of course before they did so, core euro-zone countries would have to weigh up the costs of letting Greece off the hook relative to another rescue of their banking sectors. And not just Greece. Ireland and Portugal and possibly Spain and Italy would demand some sort of easing of their national liabilities if they saw Greece getting too good a deal. This would potentially be catastrophic for the politicians making the concessions. But the more Greeks become convinced they can go it alone the better the deal the EU would have to serve up to prevent them from doing so.
Could core Europe do this without going the way of Ireland, becoming a backstop that itself goes bust under the crushing weight of others' debts? It'll be interesting to see who draws the line where in this Greek standoff.
(http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304186404576389632761803982.html)
