We need to find a fairer way of providing Goods and Services to the rest of the people on Earth.Cryptocurrencies and/or Gold Standard of money....maybe the answer to fight hyperinflation caused by too much printing of paper/fiat currencies by Governments and Central Banks all over the World. (https://nomorefiatmoneyplease.blogspot.com)
US industrial output jumps as auto production surges
[WASHINGTON] US industrial output advanced at its strongest pace in eight months in July as auto production surged in a bullish signal for third-quarter economic growth.
Industrial production shot up 0.6 per cent last month after a downwardly revised increase of 0.1 per cent in June, the Federal Reserve said on Friday. Economists polled by Reuters had looked for a gain of just 0.3 per cent last month.
The gain in output reflected a 0.8 per cent increase in factory production that was spurred by 10.6 per cent surge in motor vehicle output that more than offset a June decline.
Mining production edged up 0.2 per cent, while utilities production fell 1.0 per cent.
The step up in overall production pushed the percentage of industrial capacity in use up to 78.0 per cent in July, in line with forecasts, from a downwardly revised 77.7 per cent in June.
Capacity utilization in the factory sector rose to 76.2 per cent last month, its highest level since December, from a revised 75.7 per cent in June.
Goldman Sachs has accelerated its move into the consumer lending market with the acquisition of GE Capital Bank's online deposit platform.
The firm announced the deal after the market closed on Thursday, August 14. It will take on $16 billion in deposits as part of the deal, made up of $8 billion in online-deposit accounts and $8 billion in brokered certificates of deposit.
Goldman will offer employment to "substantially all" of the GECB staff focused on the online deposit platform.
Esta Stecher, chief executive officer of GS Bank, said: "We look forward to welcoming and serving GECB’s online-deposit customers at GS Bank with the high standard of service they have come to expect."
"We also look forward to working with our new colleagues from GECB."
Goldman isn't going to start opening up branches on Main Street. The platform is online only.
Goldman revealed it would enter the consumer lending marketplace in June when it hired Harit Talwar, the former CMO at Discover Financial Services, as a partner.
Were it not for the bombing of Nagasaki on Aug 9, 1945, Singapore might not be celebrating its Golden Jubilee on Aug 9, 2015
On Aug 9, Singapore celebrated its Golden Jubilee with an outpouring of national pride and joy.
Aug 9 also marked a more sinister anniversary: the destruction of Nagasaki by the second atomic bomb in 1945. That date has been marked by numerous commemorations both in Japan and elsewhere, all praying for world peace.
Watching these on Japanese television, one comes away with the impression that the bomb came out of the blue, a natural calamity like a tsunami or earthquake or volcanic eruption. It was no such thing. Sympathy for the sufferings of the survivors should not blind us to the historical context. If it had not been for the bomb on Aug 9, 1945, Singapore might not have been celebrating its Golden Jubilee on Aug 9, 2015.
When the Third Reich crumbled in May 1945, it was clear to all that Japan had lost the war. With Germany out of the way, the Allies were free to turn their attention to Asia. Not even the most diehard militarist thought that the war could be won.
The only strategy that the Japanese military had was to make the ultimate victory as costly as possible, in the hope that the war-weary Allies would accept a negotiated peace.
Catholics taking part in a torchlight procession from Urakami Cathedral to the Nagasaki Peace Park in south-western Japan on Sunday to remember the victims of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki on Aug 9, 1945. PHOTO: EUROPEAN PRESSPHOTO AGENCY
Allied military planners had no illusions about an early surrender. Generals and politicians often spoke grandiloquently of fighting to the last man. Only the Japanese meant it.
To give some idea of the scale of the casualties to be expected, when the Americans invaded Okinawa, the three-month campaign cost them over 72,000 killed, wounded and missing. Kamikaze attacks had sunk 35 ships and damaged 137 others. Japanese deaths were estimated at 107,000 - including a significant number of civilians. The American plan for the invasion of Japan envisaged the capture of southern Kyushu (Operation Olympic) followed by a landing on Honshu in the Kanto region (Operation Coronet). The projected casualty figures for the invasions exceeded a million on both sides, including civilians.
The surrender of Singapore in February 1942 was the largest capitulation of British and empire forces in history. The white man's prestige depended on their triumphant return to Singapore. So when the British 14th Army recaptured Rangoon three years later, in May 1945, it was clear to all that the next destination would be Malaya. The British plan for the reconquest of Malaya was codenamed Operation Zipper. It envisaged a landing in Peninsular Malaya with a force of 100,000 men comprising six divisions, mostly from the Indian Army. Opposing them were some 96,000 Japanese troops of the 7th Area Army, not counting local auxiliaries.
The Japanese had been recruiting locals into the so-called "volunteer" corps Giyu-gun and Heiho to supplement their own troops. Civilians were "encouraged" to join in order to defend Malai and Syonan. My father escaped induction because my grandmother lied about his age. The Giyu-Hei, as they became known, would have been involved in the fighting had Operation Zipper and its follow-up attack on Singapore taken place.
There is no doubt that the civilian population would not have been spared. When the Americans approached Manila in February- March 1945, General Yamashita Tomoyuki had ordered that the city should not be defended.
His orders were ignored. Rear-Admiral Iwabachi Sanji defended the city to his death. The Intramuros was reduced to smouldering rubble. The Americans suffered 5,600 casualties; over 100,000 Filipino civilians died.
That would have been the fate of Singapore if it had come to a fight.
ENTER FAT MAN
Then came Aug 6. The B-29 Superfortress Enola Gay, piloted by Colonel Paul Tibbets, dropped the first atomic bomb, "Little Boy", on Hiroshima. Three days later, on Aug 9, another B-29 Bockscar left its base in the Marianas and headed for Kokura, a city on the island of Kyushu which housed a major arsenal. Aboard was the second atomic bomb, codenamed "Fat Man".
At 10.44am Bockscar arrived over Kokura. The city was swathed in cloud. The B-29 made three abortive bombing runs. With fuel running low, the pilot, Major Charles Sweeney, took the decision to head south for the secondary target. By the vagaries of the weather, Nagasaki's name became seared on the historical consciousness of humankind.
At 11.58am Fat Man was released and detonated 1,650 feet above the Mitsubishi Steel and Arms Works.
Even then, there were militarists in Japan who would not countenance surrender. War Minister Anami Korechika and Chief of the Army General Staff Umezu Yoshijiro wanted to carry on fighting. It took the intervention of the Emperor to end the wrangling.
Despite this, there was an attempted coup on the night of Aug 14/15 during which the commander of the Imperial Guards Division was assassinated. The coup failed and the ringleaders committed seppuku (disembowelment).
That afternoon, Emperor Hirohito announced in an unprecedented broadcast that the Japanese had to endure the unendurable and suffer the insufferable. On Aug 15, Japan formally surrendered unconditionally.
What followed in Japan was a policy of official amnesia. Unlike in Germany, there was no coming to terms with the past.
Watching the coverage of the ceremonies of remembrance on NHK, one comes away with the uncomfortable impression that many Japanese see themselves as victims, not perpetrators.
A visit to the military museum at the Yasukuni Shrine will be a disturbing experience for any visitor from the countries that were occupied by Japan during the war. There is no consciousness that what was done was wrong in any way. Among the general population, there appears to be very little knowledge of what happened between 1931 (when the Japanese detached Manchuria from China and set up the puppet state of Manchukuo) and August 1945, beyond the fact that Japan is the only country to have suffered an atomic attack.
One of my wife's friends tutored a Japanese expatriate in Singapore. He was surprised to learn of the atrocities like Sook Ching. When asked whether he would now tell his children, he was horrified. Better that they should not know, was his response.
POST-WAR JAPAN
It is true that Japan has been a good world citizen since 1945. It is true that the Japanese are among the most pacifist people in the world today. There is much to be said for the view that the war crimes trials in Tokyo were a case of victor's justice, especially since the Soviets were part of the tribunal.
The Indian judge, Justice Radhabinod Pal, found the defendants not guilty on the grounds that the crimes with which they were charged were retroactive in nature.
Some Japanese claim that they were doing no more than emulate the British, French and Dutch in acquiring colonies. They say that the Western colonial powers themselves are not free from hypocrisy.
The British have refused to apologise for the Amritsar Massacre (the centenary of which looms in 2019), and popular military histories dealing with the period justify the shooting of civilians as necessary.
The French massacred hundreds of Algerians in May 1945, in reprisal for an attack on white settlers. Both the Dutch and the French had to be forcibly evicted from their Asian colonies.
All this may be true, but does not address the point: namely, that there does not appear to be a true sense of contrition.
For the countries that suffered, the expressions of remorse are somewhat like a convicted person's mitigation plea; of course, a person who is caught is remorseful, but only because he wants to avoid unpleasant consequences rather than because he is really sorry for what he did.
The anger at Japan goes beyond mere official policy. During a recent visit to Taipei, I was seated next to a Korean academic who could not have been more than a young child when the Japanese left Korea. He spent the whole dinner explaining to me in forceful terms how horrible they had been.
The war of words in cyberspace between Chinese and Japanese bloggers flares up every now and then, with great vitriol. Japan is in contention with China over the Senkaku/Diaoyutai islands and with Korea over Dokdo/ Takeshima.
The antipathy of the public makes the resolution of these disputes impossible. A miscalculation by some over-eager pilot or naval captain could escalate into hostilities.
In 1914 Europe sleepwalked into a war that no one really wanted or expected, amid scenes of nationalistic fervour. East Asia should not do the same 100 years on.
China, Korea and others wait to hear how Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will mark the anniversary of the Japanese surrender on Aug 15.
Reconciliation can take place only if the Japanese people know what their forefathers did in the 1930s and 1940s. Reconciliation requires a frank recognition that Japanese aggression against China, its occupation of South-east Asia and its colonial past in Korea were wrong.
The year 2016 will see two significant anniversaries. Dec 7 will mark the 75th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbour and the beginning of the war in the Pacific.
The year 2016 will also be the centenary of the battle of Verdun, in which over 700,000 French and German soldiers died. On Sept 25, 1984, German Chancellor Helmut Kohl and French President François Mitterrand joined hands in a gesture of friendship and reconciliation at a memorial service in Verdun.
Might we hope for the same among the leaders of Japan, China and Korea?
The writer is President of the Society for International Law Singapore and Deputy Chairman of the Centre for International Law, National University of Singapore.
Dollar struggles in Asia after lift from US retail sales
The dollar traded sideways in Asia on Friday after getting a lift from a solid US retail sales report that boosted expectations the Federal Reserve could raise rates as early as next month.
PHOTO: EPA
[TOKYO] The dollar traded sideways in Asia on Friday after getting a lift from a solid US retail sales report that boosted expectations the Federal Reserve could raise rates as early as next month.
Most Asia-Pacific currencies continued their recovery from the worst two-day rout in almost 20 years after China reassured markets it would not let the yuan plunge, following a series of cuts.
In Tokyo, the greenback changed hands at 124.42 yen, nearly flat from 124.43 yen in US trading, while the euro ticked up to US$1.1155 from US$1.1152.
The 19-nation single currency was also little changed at 138.76 yen, against 138.77 yen in US trading.
On Thursday, fresh data showed US retail sales rose 0.6 per cent in July from June, a slightly bigger increase than the 0.5 per cent gain projected by analysts.
The Commerce Department also raised its figures for June sales to flat, from the prior estimate of a 0.3 per cent decline.
The Fed has said improving economic data will be key to determining when it raises rates for the first time in almost a decade, widely expected between September and December.
On Friday, China's central bank also reassured the markets by setting its rate against the dollar marginally higher than the previous day's close after three days of falls.
The move, coupled with comments from People's Bank of China officials, soothed nervous investors after a surprise devaluation of the yuan on Tuesday and two subsequent cuts roiled financial markets.
"Today's fixing is in line with what they promised to do, which is to take account (of) the previous day's close," Dennis Tan, a currency strategist at Barclays in Singapore, told Bloomberg News.
"It's quite clear from yesterday's PBoC press conference that it is not their main intention to depreciate the yuan sharply. They're OK with a modest depreciation but they don't want the depreciation to get out of hand."
Gold slips as yuan firms, but still set to snap 7-week losing run
Gold edged lower on Friday after the yuan firmed as China bid to calm jittery global markets, while upbeat US retail sales renewed expectations for a near-term increase in US interest rates.
PHOTO: REUTERS
[MANILA] Gold edged lower on Friday after the yuan firmed as China bid to calm jittery global markets, while upbeat US retail sales renewed expectations for a near-term increase in US interest rates.
But bullion was still set to end a seven-week losing streak after China's yuan devaluation earlier this week pushed investors out of risky assets and into those deemed to be so-called safe havens.
Volatile markets were soothed after China's central bank said there was no reason for the yuan to fall further given the country's strong economic fundamentals. "A further decline in volatility may reverse some of bullion's recent 'safe-haven' inspired gains," said HSBC analyst James Steel.
Spot gold was down 0.1 per cent at US$1,113.15 an ounce by 0228 GMT, after peaking at US$1,126.31 on Thursday, its highest since July 20. Thursday's drop ended gold's five-day rise, its longest rally since May.
Still, the precious metal has gained nearly 2 per cent for the week so far, after a seven-week slide that was its longest retreat since 1999.
US gold for December delivery eased 0.3 per cent to US$1,112.60 an ounce.
As fears eased that China was looking at further depreciating its currency after Tuesday's shock devaluation, a rebound in US retail sales in July refreshed hopes that the Federal Reserve could raise interest rates soon.
The yuan devaluation had raised speculation that the Fed could delay the rate hike, which many analysts had predicted to happen as early as next month.
China's gold demand this year is expected to at least hold steady with last year at just under 1,000 tonnes and will not likely be dented by the currency devaluation, the World Gold Council said.
Spot palladium dropped nearly 1 per cent to US$611 an ounce after touching a two-week high on Thursday. Platinum eased 0.5 per cent to US$986.90 an ounce and silver dipped 0.6 per cent to US$15.33.
Oil prices looked set for their seventh weekly fall in Asia Friday, with US crude tumbling to fresh six-year lows as investors worried a global supply glut is set to last.
PHOTO: REUTERS
[SINGAPORE] Oil prices looked set for their seventh weekly fall in Asia Friday, with US crude tumbling to fresh six-year lows as investors worried a global supply glut is set to last.
US benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for September delivery dropped 17 cents to US$42.06 in late-morning trade after falling below US$42 a barrel earlier in the session, the lowest price since March 2009.
Brent crude for September, which expires on Friday, eased two cents to US$49.20.
Bernard Aw, market strategist at IG Markets Singapore, said prices are likely to stay weak after the International Energy Agency (IEA) said Wednesday the global crude oversupply will last through 2016.
"Crude oil should continue to stay under pressure and likely to clock their seventh weekly losses," Aw said.
"The earlier IEA assessment that the supply glut situation would be extended beyond 2015 continues to contribute to the pessimistic outlook for energy." Phillip Futures investment analyst Daniel Ang said "downward momentum (is) still strong" for oil prices.
"We have not identified much change to fundamentals for oil at the moment," he said in a market commentary.
Investors were also closely watching the impact of China's devaluation of the yuan amid concerns it could trigger other Asian central banks to devalue their currencies to make their exports more competitive.
Fresh speculation that the US central bank will raise interest rates soon after the release of solid retail sales data has also boosted the dollar, which is bad news for oil prices.
Oil is traded in the US currency and any uptick in the dollar will make the commodity more expensive, hurting demand.
Some analysts expect the US Federal Reserve to hike interest rates as early as next month, but others say China's sudden move to devalue the yuan this week could prompt the Fed to delay a rise.
Taiwan central bank steps up policy easing via money market rates
An employee at a currency exchange store counts Chinese one-hundred yuan banknotes in Hong Kong, China, on Wednesday, Aug 12, 2015.
PHOTO: BLOOMBERG
[TAIPEI] Taiwan's overnight interbank rate fell for the fourth consecutive day on Friday as the central bank stepped up its actions to shield the economy from the impact of China's surprise currency devaluation this week.
The latest move by Taiwan's central bank is a sign of backdoor policy easing by authorities to cheapen its currency to help exporters already struggling with slowing global growth, and to ensure ample funds in the domestic banking system.
The overnight interbank rate, a market rate that tends to be guided by the central bank, was lowered to 0.379 per cent Friday from 0.382 per cent on Thursday.
It is down by slightly less than a basis point in the last four days since the central bank began guiding it lower on Tuesday following the devaluation of the Chinese yuan. "It is not the magnitude of the move in the last few days but the direction in which overnight rates are headed which is important," said an Asia macro strategist at a hedge fund in Hong Kong.
While benchmark discount rates have held at 1.875 per cent since July 2011, interest rates on short-term money market instruments such as certificates of deposits have slid in recent weeks anticipating policy action in the wake of a falling stock market and declining exports.
Taiwan's stock market has fallen more than 17 per cent since the start of May while the growth rate of export orders received has fallen into negative territory since April.
The last time Taiwan's central bank guided the overnight interbank rate was in July 2012, when the rate fell by a total 11.8 basis points over a two-week period in response to a slowing domestic economy.
Taiwan's trade-reliant economy slowed sharply in the second quarter caused by a collapse in exports. The government is expected later on Friday to chop its current 3.28 per cent 2015 annual growth forecast, with private growth estimates ranging between 1.3 and 2.5 per cent. "Our view is that the central bank will wait to see the July-August data before deciding whether to take bolder easing measures," said DBS in a research note out on Friday. "If the trade data were to remain sluggish in the third quarter, negative spillover effects could emerge in the domestic economy, which would in turn, prompt the CBC to cut the benchmark rate at the next policy meeting in September."
SK Holdings Co Ltd's chairman Chey Tae-won arrives for his trial at the Seoul Central District Court in Seoul, South Korea, in this on Jan 31, 2013 file photograph.
PHOTO: REUTERS
[SEOUL] The head of South Korea's third largest conglomerate apologised on Friday after being released from jail on a controversial presidential pardon, vowing to turn over a new leaf and help develop the national economy.
SK Group chairman Chey Tae-Won, who was serving his second jail term for multi-million dollar fraud, was pardoned Thursday - along with thousands of others - by President Park Geun Hye to mark the 70th anniversary of the end of Japanese colonial rule over Korea.
It was the second such pardon Chey has received and it sparked criticism of the president, who came to power promising to reform South Korea's all-powerful, family-run conglomerates, or "chaebols." "I sincerely apologise for causing public concern," Chey Tae Won told reporters as he left a jail north of Seoul shortly after midnight.
"I will do my best for the economic and social development of our nation," Yonhap news agency quoted him as saying.
He also vowed to reform corporate governance practise at the SK Group "so that it can be reborn as a corporation beloved by people".
Chaebols dominate the national economy and their chief executives have repeatedly been imprisoned on charges of fraud and embezzlement.
Releasing them with the argument that they can help stimulate economic growth has been a common theme of presidential amnesties over the years.
It was underlined this time around by Justice Minister Kim Hyun Woong, who said that freeing convicted business leaders gave them "the chance to contribute to the country's economy again".
Aside from Chey, a dozen other businessmen were freed by Park in what was her second amnesty list since taking office in 2013.
Chey, 54, had served 31 months out of his 48-month prison sentence for embezzling 46.5 billion won (S$61 million) from two SK Group affiliates and funnelling the funds into personal investments in stock futures and options in 2008.
It was not his first conviction. In 2003, Chey was sentenced to three years in prison for his role in a US$1.3 billion accounting fraud.
On that occasion, he was released after just seven months and, in 2008, granted a full presidential pardon, wiping his record clean.
SINGAPORE - Malaysia's ringgit hit a new record low against the Singapore dollar on Friday (Aug 14), after the Malaysian unit slumped to a fresh 17-year low versus the US dollar.
With the fall in oil prices increasing concerns over the country's exports, the ringgit lost as much as 2.6 per cent to 4.1180 per dollar, its weakest since Sept. 1 1998.
This brings its loss this week to 4.8 per cent. Malaysia pegged the ringgit at 3.8000 in September 1998 and maintained it until 2005.
Against the Singapore dollar, the ringgit tumbled 1.55 per cent to 2.9109 as at 11:45am from its close of 2.8665 on Thursday.
Better-than-expected economic data on Thursday failed to dispel the gloom with the benchmark stock index falling 1.5 per cent on Friday morning, heading for its lowest close since 2012. Fve-year government bond yield rose to 3.982 per cent, its highest since November 2008.
Oil prices fell with crude futures hitting six-and-a-half lows, exacerbating worries about Malaysia's exports. The country supplies liquefied natural gas and palm oil.
Malaysia has also had to draw heavily on its foreign exchange reserves to defend its currency amid a political scandal, a yuan devaluation and slumping oil prices.
Bank Negara governor Zeti Akhtar Aziz said on Thursday the central bank will need to rebuild the reserves that have fallen below US$100 billion for the first time since 2010.
"Foreigners are still selling," said Ang Kok Heng, chief investment officer at Phillip Capital Management Bhd. in Kuala Lumpur, told Bloomberg News. "Unless the ringgit stops weakening, I don't know how long the selling will continue."
