August 26th, 2009 | 
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Latest Posts By pharoah88
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| 10-Oct-2010 10:49 |
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|||||||| LONG |||||||| ....shOrt....
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LONG Or shOrt REAL Or fake TRUTH Or Lie [lIe] |
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| 09-Oct-2010 18:39 |
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^ Productivity ^ [Effecacy Efficiency Economy]
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Teleconferencing made natural
October 07, 2010 Thursday, 03:53 PM
Grace Chng experiences Umi Telepresence
IN SAN FRANCISCO I SAW Umi Telepresence when it was launched in San Francisco on Oct 6 in what was previously a bank branch office turned into an events centre. Cisco wants to work with other companies to promote HD video calls but this will take time for technical issues to be sorted out. |
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| 09-Oct-2010 18:29 |
Fixed Deposits
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^ GOLD & SILVER ^
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Oct 5, 2010Super-rich buy gold by tonRising price spurs demand A rising price for the precious metal has in itself generated more and more demand from investors looking for a way to hedge against a fresh recession. Gold bears no yield and is uncompetitive in an environment of rising interest rates. The uneasy outlook for inflation, hard currencies and global growth has triggered a five-fold increase in a physical gold fund launched by Pictet one year ago, the Swiss private bank said. UBS's Mr Stadler said the precious metal has become a staple of investors' portfolios, despite questions about whether it makes for a smart long-term investment. Anthony DeChellis, managing director of Credit Suisse's Americas private banking unit, said at the Reuters summit in New York that clients are more interested in capitalising on the rise in gold prices than using the precious metal as a safe-harbour investment. Andreas Wolfer, head of private banking at UniCredit Group, attributed the run-up in the price of gold to frayed investor nerves after the 2008 financial crisis as well as concerns about sovereign debt in the euro zone. -- REUTERS 
A man holds a 250g gold bar. -- PHOTO: REUTERSGENEVA - THE world's wealthiest people have responded to economic worries by buying gold by the bar - and sometimes by the ton - and by moving assets out of the financial system, bankers catering to the very rich said on Monday. Fears of a double-dip downturn have boosted the appetite for physical bullion as well as for mining company shares and exchange-traded funds, UBS executive Josef Stadler told the Reuters Global Private Banking Summit. 'They don't only buy ETFs or futures; they buy physical gold,' said Mr Stadler, who runs the Swiss bank's services for clients with assets of at least US$50 million (S$65.7 million) to invest. UBS is recommending top-tier clients hold 7-10 per cent of their assets in precious metals like gold, which is on course for its tenth consecutive yearly gain and traded at around US$1,314.50 an ounce on Monday, near the record level reached last week. 'We had a clear example of a couple buying over a ton of gold ... and carrying it to another place,' Mr Stadler said. At today's prices, that shipment would be worth about US$42 million. Julius Baer's chief investment officer for Asia is also recommending that wealthy investors park some of their assets in gold as a defensive stance following a string of lacklustre US data and amid concerns about currency weakness. 'I see gold as an insurance,' Van Anantha-Nageswaran said. Billionaire financier George Soros, echoing comments from investment guru Warren Buffett, last month described gold as the 'ultimate bubble' because it is costly to dig up and has no real value except its market price. -- REUTERS |
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| 09-Oct-2010 18:16 |
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{^*^} Take And Take {*} {} {*} Give And Give {^*^}
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Oct 6, 2010Rentals don't affect quality of hawker fareWE THANK Mr Joseph Khoo for his letter ('Keep rentals low to raise quality of hawker fare'; Sept 27). We agree that Singapore's hawker fare is unique and worth preserving. To this end, the National Environment Agency (NEA) introduced the Hawker Centres Upgrading Programme in 2001 to upgrade amenities in hawker centres, and provide a cleaner and more hygienic environment. After upgrading, the rentals of subsidised stalls are adjusted accordingly to reflect the improved amenities, but these revised subsidised rentals are still pegged at below market rates. Stallholders exit their trades for various reasons, such as retirement and competitive business conditions. This is especially so during upgrading, when first-generation stallholders make a business decision to leave in exchange for an ex gratia payment. However, the quality of hawker fare does not hinge on low rentals. There is no evidence pointing to a co-relation between subsidised stalls and popular stalls. A stall's popularity depends largely on how tasty the food is, the quality of ingredients used, and the additional effort and value-add by the stallholder. Ivy Ong (Ms) Director, Hawkers Department National Environment Agency |
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| 09-Oct-2010 17:55 |
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TRADE FREELY & LiVE LONGER
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| 09-Oct-2010 17:49 |
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TRADE FREELY & LiVE LONGER
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| 09-Oct-2010 17:36 |
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******** T R U E ******** Or #### F A L S E ####
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WHAT is STANDARD OF LIVING ? ? ? ? An analysis of the UBS study (Part 2): Moving towards a Russian standard of living and way of lifeBy Eugene Yeo, Consultant Editor 2009 FIGURES Singapore Moscow Zurich Wage level: 31.3 30.9 119.8 Domestic purchasing power: 39.9 49.4 106.9 Working time to puy iPod nano: 27.5 36.0 9.0 Price of services: 72.5 65.0 110.9 http://www.temasekreview.com/2009/08/26/an-analysis-of-the-ubs-study-part-2-moving-towards-a-russian-standard-of-living/ Is STANDARD Of LIVING TRUE or FALSE ? |
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| 09-Oct-2010 17:05 |
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^KNOWLEDGE is POWER^ *APPLICATION is WISDOM*
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What if you can't afford to retire?
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| 09-Oct-2010 16:58 |
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TRADE FREELY & LiVE LONGER
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Think Well. Be Well.Oct 7th, 2010 by ignatius |
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| 09-Oct-2010 16:57 |
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~TALENT mIs~develOpment=*WEALTH mIs*dIstrIbUtIOn
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Think Well. Be Well.Oct 7th, 2010 by ignatius
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| 09-Oct-2010 16:53 |
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~TALENT mIs~develOpment=*WEALTH mIs*dIstrIbUtIOn
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| 09-Oct-2010 16:49 |
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~TALENT mIs~develOpment=*WEALTH mIs*dIstrIbUtIOn
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Oct 3rd, 2010 by fasswebmaster In an article that appeared in the Straits Times, a RI student says that the quality of teaching matters more than rankings. He cites A/P Brian Farrell’s module on modern European history as an example of where he found the quality of teaching and discussions excellent. http://blog.nus.edu.sg/fassnews/2010/10/03/choosing-a-school-is-not-just-about-rankings-straits-times-27-sep/ |
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| 09-Oct-2010 16:42 |
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%%%% WORLD ECONOMIC SUMMIT %%%%
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Ask: NUS Economists (Straits Times, 23 September 2010)Sep 23rd, 2010 by fasswebmaster In The Straits Times, the “Ask: NUS Economists” column featured two articles contributed by Associate Professor Shandre M. Thangavelu and Professor Basant Kumar Kapur, both from the NUS Department of Economics. Assoc Prof Thangavelu answered a question on policies implemented by the Singapore Government to mitigate the negative impacts of globalisation and reap its benefits to the fullest. Prof Kapur responded to a question on whether a decrease in money supply would always lead to an increase in interest rates and how long the current loose monetary policy in the United States would continue. To read Assoc Prof Thangavelu’s article, click here. Making the most of globalisation By Shandre Thangavelu Globalisation has its benefits and costs. What are some of the policies implemented by the Singapore
To read Prof Kapur’s article, click here. Sep 23, 2010 ASK: NUS ECONOMISTS Impact of money supply on inflation By Basant K. Kapur Does a decrease in money supply always lead to an increase in interest rates? How long will the current
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| 09-Oct-2010 16:32 |
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%%%% WORLD ECONOMIC SUMMIT %%%%
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http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/issues/issues27/index.htm IMF 2001 ECONOMIC ISSUES NO. 27 Tax Policy for Developing Countries Vito Tanzi, Howell Zee March 2001 © 2001 International Monetary Fund [Preface] [Tax Policy for Developing Countries] [Level of Tax Revenue] [Composition of Tax Revenue?] [Selecting the Right Tax System] [Tax Policy Challenges Facing Developing Countries] [Author Information] The Economic Issues series aims to make available to a broad readership of nonspecialists some of the economic research being produced on topical issues by IMF staff. The series draws mainly from IMF Working Papers, which are technical papers produced by IMF staff members and visiting scholars, as well as from policy-related research papers. This Economic Issue is based on IMF Working Paper 00/35 "Tax Policy for Emerging Markets," by Vito Tanzi and Howell Zee. Citations for the research referred to in this shortened version are provided in the original paper which readers can purchase (at $10.00 a copy) from the IMF Publication Services or download from www.imf.org. David Driscoll prepared the text for this pamphlet. Tax Policy for Developing Countries
Level of Tax Revenue
Composition of Tax Revenue
Selecting the Right Tax System
Corporate Income Tax Tax policy issues relating to corporate income tax are numerous and complex, but particularly relevant for developing countries are the issues of multiple rates based on sectoral differentiation and the incoherent design of the depreciation system. Developing countries are more prone to having multiple rates along sectoral lines (including the complete exemption from tax of certain sectors, especially the parastatal sector) than industrial countries, possibly as a legacy of past economic regimes that emphasized the state's role in resource allocation. Such practices, however, are clearly detrimental to the proper functioning of market forces (that is, the sectoral allocation of resources is distorted by differences in tax rates). They are indefensible if a government's commitment to a market economy is real. Unifying multiple corporate income tax rates should thus be a priority. Allowable depreciation of physical assets for tax purposes is an important structural element in determining the cost of capital and the profitability of investment. The most common shortcomings found in the depreciation systems in developing countries include too many asset categories and depreciation rates, excessively low depreciation rates, and a structure of depreciation rates that is not in accordance with the relative obsolescence rates of different asset categories. Rectifying these shortcomings should also receive a high priority in tax policy deliberations in these countries. In restructuring their depreciation systems, developing countries could well benefit from certain guidelines:
Value-Added Tax, Excises, and Import Tariffs While VAT has been adopted in most developing countries, it frequently suffers from being incomplete in one aspect or another. Many important sectors, most notably services and the wholesale and retail sector, have been left out of the VAT net, or the credit mechanism is excessively restrictive (that is, there are denials or delays in providing proper credits for VAT on inputs), especially when it comes to capital goods. As these features allow a substantial degree of cascading (increasing the tax burden for the final user), they reduce the benefits from introducing the VAT in the first place. Rectifying such limitations in the VAT design and administration should be given priority in developing countries. Many developing countries (like many OECD countries) have adopted two or more VAT rates. Multiple rates are politically attractive because they ostensibly—though not necessarily effectively—serve an equity objective, but the administrative price for addressing equity concerns through multiple VAT rates may be higher in developing than in industrial countries. The cost of a multiple-rate system should be carefully scrutinized. The most notable shortcoming of the excise systems found in many developing countries is their inappropriately broad coverage of products—often for revenue reasons. As is well known, the economic rationale for imposing excises is very different from that for imposing a general consumption tax. While the latter should be broadly based to maximize revenue with minimum distortion, the former should be highly selective, narrowly targeting a few goods mainly on the grounds that their consumption entails negative externalities on society (in other words, society at large pays a price for their use by individuals). The goods typically deemed to be excisable (tobacco, alcohol, petroleum products, and motor vehicles, for example) are few and usually inelastic in demand. A good excise system is invariably one that generates revenue (as a by-product) from a narrow base and with relatively low administrative costs. Reducing import tariffs as part of an overall program of trade liberalization is a major policy challenge currently facing many developing countries. Two concerns should be carefully addressed. First, tariff reduction should not lead to unintended changes in the relative rates of effective protection across sectors. One simple way of ensuring that unintended consequences do not occur would be to reduce all nominal tariff rates by the same proportion whenever such rates need to be changed. Second, nominal tariff reductions are likely to entail short-term revenue loss. This loss can be avoided through a clear-cut strategy in which separate compensatory measures are considered in sequence: first reducing the scope of tariff exemptions in the existing system, then compensating for the tariff reductions on excisable imports by a commensurate increase in their excise rates, and finally adjusting the rate of the general consumption tax (such as the VAT) to meet remaining revenue needs. Tax Incentives While granting tax incentives to promote investment is common in countries around the world, evidence suggests that their effectiveness in attracting incremental investments—above and beyond the level that would have been reached had no incentives been granted—is often questionable. As tax incentives can be abused by existing enterprises disguised as new ones through nominal reorganization, their revenue costs can be high. Moreover, foreign investors, the primary target of most tax incentives, base their decision to enter a country on a whole host of factors (such as natural resources, political stability, transparent regulatory systems, infrastructure, a skilled workforce), of which tax incentives are frequently far from being the most important one. Tax incentives could also be of questionable value to a foreign investor because the true beneficiary of the incentives may not be the investor, but rather the treasury of his home country. This can come about when any income spared from taxation in the host country is taxed by the investor's home country. Tax incentives can be justified if they address some form of market failure, most notably those involving externalities (economic consequences beyond the specific beneficiary of the tax incentive). For example, incentives targeted to promote high-technology industries that promise to confer significant positive externalities on the rest of the economy are usually legitimate. By far the most compelling case for granting targeted incentives is for meeting regional development needs of these countries. Nevertheless, not all incentives are equally suited for achieving such objectives and some are less cost-effective than others. Unfortunately, the most prevalent forms of incentives found in developing countries tend to be the least meritorious. Tax Holidays Of all the forms of tax incentives, tax holidays (exemptions from paying tax for a certain period of time) are the most popular among developing countries. Though simple to administer, they have numerous shortcomings. First, by exempting profits irrespective of their amount, tax holidays tend to benefit an investor who expects high profits and would have made the investment even if this incentive were not offered. Second, tax holidays provide a strong incentive for tax avoidance, as taxed enterprises can enter into economic relationships with exempt ones to shift their profits through transfer pricing (for example, overpaying for goods from the other enterprise and receiving a kickback). Third, the duration of the tax holiday is prone to abuse and extension by investors through creative redesignation of existing investment as new investment (for example, closing down and restarting the same project under a different name but with the same ownership). Fourth, time-bound tax holidays tend to attract short-run projects, which are typically not so beneficial to the economy as longer-term ones. Fifth, the revenue cost of the tax holiday to the budget is seldom transparent, unless enterprises enjoying the holiday are required to file tax forms. In this case, the government must spend resources on tax administration that yields no revenue and the enterprise loses the advantage of not having to deal with tax authorities. Tax Credits and Investment Allowances Compared with tax holidays, tax credits and investment allowances have a number of advantages. They are much better targeted than tax holidays for promoting particular types of investment and their revenue cost is much more transparent and easier to control. A simple and effective way of administering a tax credit system is to determine the amount of the credit to a qualified enterprise and to "deposit" this amount into a special tax account in the form of a bookkeeping entry. In all other respects the enterprise will be treated like an ordinary taxpayer, subject to all applicable tax regulations, including the obligation to file tax returns. The only difference would be that its income tax liabilities would be paid from credits "withdrawn" from its tax account. In this way information is always available on the budget revenue forgone and on the amount of tax credits still available to the enterprise. A system of investment allowances could be administered in much the same way as tax credits, achieving similar results. There are two notable weaknesses associated with tax credits and investment allowances. First, these incentives tend to distort choice in favor of short-lived capital assets since further credit or allowance becomes available each time an asset is replaced. Second, qualified enterprises may attempt to abuse the system by selling and purchasing the same assets to claim multiple credits or allowances or by acting as a purchasing agent for enterprises not qualified to receive the incentive. Safeguards must be built into the system to minimize these dangers. Accelerated Depreciation Providing tax incentives in the form of accelerated depreciation has the least of the shortcomings associated with tax holidays and all of the virtues of tax credits and investment allowances—and overcomes the latter's weakness to boot. Since merely accelerating the depreciation of an asset does not increase the depreciation of the asset beyond its original cost, little distortion in favor of short-term assets is generated. Moreover, accelerated depreciation has two additional merits. First, it is generally least costly, as the forgone revenue (relative to no acceleration) in the early years is at least partially recovered in subsequent years of the asset's life. Second, if the acceleration is made available only temporarily, it could induce a significant short-run surge in investment. Investment Subsidies While investment subsidies (providing public funds for private investments) have the advantage of easy targeting, they are generally quite problematic. They involve out-of-pocket expenditure by the government up front and they benefit nonviable investments as much as profitable ones. Hence, the use of investment subsidies is seldom advisable. Indirect Tax Incentives Indirect tax incentives, such as exempting raw materials and capital goods from the VAT, are prone to abuse and are of doubtful utility. Exempting from import tariffs raw materials and capital goods used to produce exports is somewhat more justifiable. The difficulty with this exemption lies, of course, in ensuring that the exempted purchases will in fact be used as intended by the incentive. Establishing export production zones whose perimeters are secured by customs controls is a useful, though not entirely foolproof, remedy for this abuse. Triggering Mechanisms The mechanism by which tax incentives can be triggered can be either automatic or discretionary. An automatic triggering mechanism allows the investment to receive the incentives automatically once it satisfies clearly specified objective qualifying criteria, such as a minimum amount of investment in certain sectors of the economy. The relevant authorities have merely to ensure that the qualifying criteria are met. A discretionary triggering mechanism involves approving or denying an application for incentives on the basis of subjective value judgment by the incentive-granting authorities, without formally stated qualifying criteria. A discretionary triggering mechanism may be seen by the authorities as preferable to an automatic one because it provides them with more flexibility. This advantage is likely to be outweighed, however, by a variety of problems associated with discretion, most notably a lack of transparency in the decision-making process, which could in turn encourage corruption and rent-seeking activities. If the concern about having an automatic triggering mechanism is the loss of discretion in handling exceptional cases, the preferred safeguard would be to formulate the qualifying criteria in as narrow and specific a fashion as possible, so that incentives are granted only to investments meeting the highest objective and quantifiable standard of merit. On balance, it is advisable to minimize the discretionary element in the incentive-granting process. Summing Up The cost-effectiveness of providing tax incentives to promote investment is generally questionable. The best strategy for sustained investment promotion is to provide a stable and transparent legal and regulatory framework and to put in place a tax system in line with international norms. Some objectives, such as those that encourage regional development, are more justifiable than others as a basis for granting tax incentives. Not all tax incentives are equally effective. Accelerated depreciation has the most comparative merits, followed by investment allowances or tax credits. Tax holidays and investment subsidies are among the least meritorious. As a general rule, indirect tax incentives should be avoided, and discretion in granting incentives should be minimized. Tax Policy Challenges Facing Developing Countries
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| 09-Oct-2010 16:15 |
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%%%% WORLD ECONOMIC SUMMIT %%%%
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| 09-Oct-2010 16:08 |
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MAY BANK initiates GROWTH ERA tOday
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| 09-Oct-2010 16:03 |
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******** T R U E ******** Or #### F A L S E ####
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| 09-Oct-2010 15:53 |
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JAPAN has mOre and mOre BEGGARS ? ? ? ? US has mOre and mOre BEGGARS ? ? ? ? FRANCE has mOre and mOre BEGGARS ? ? ? ? dO sIngapOre have mOre and mOre BEGGARS ? ? ? ? |
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| 09-Oct-2010 15:48 |
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Is BEGGARing the wOrld ecOnOmy TRUE or FALSE ? |
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| 09-Oct-2010 15:46 |
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^KNOWLEDGE is POWER^ *APPLICATION is WISDOM*
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REVIEW & FORUM Saturday: 9 OCTOBER 2010 Beggaring the World Economy CHICAGO – Global capital is on the move. As ultra-low interest rates in industrial countries send capital around the world searching for higher yields, a number of emerging-market central banks are intervening heavily, buying the foreign-capital inflows and re-exporting them in order to keep their currencies from appreciating. Others have been imposing capital controls of one stripe or another. In recent weeks, Japan became the first large industrial economy to intervene directly in currency markets. Why does no one want capital inflows? Which intervention policies are legitimate, and which are not? And where will all this intervention end if it continues unabated? The portion of capital inflows that is not re-exported represents net capital inflows. This finances domestic spending on foreign goods. So, one reason countries do not like capital inflows is that it means more domestic demand “leaks” outside. Indeed, because capital inflows often cause the domestic exchange rate to appreciate, they encourage further spending on foreign goods as domestic producers become uncompetitive. Another reason that countries do not like foreign capital inflows is that some of it might be “hot” (or dumb) money, eager to come in when foreign interest rates are low and local asset prices are rising, and quick to leave at the first sign of trouble or when opportunities back home beckon. Volatile capital flows induce volatility in the recipient economy, making booms and busts more pronounced than they would otherwise be. But, as the saying goes, it takes two hands to clap. If countries could maintain discipline and limit spending by their households, firms, or governments, foreign capital would not be needed, and could be re-exported easily, without much effect on the recipient economy. Problems arise when countries cannot – or will not – spend sensibly. Countries can overspend for a variety of reasons. The stereotypical Latin American economies of yesteryear used to get into trouble through populist government spending, while the East Asian economies ran into difficulty because of excessive long-term investment. In the United States in the run up to the current crisis, easy credit, especially for housing, induced households to spend too much, while in Greece, the government borrowed its way into trouble. Unfortunately, though, so long as some countries like China, Germany, Japan, and the oil exporters pump surplus goods into the world economy, not all countries can trim their spending to stay within their means. Since the world does not export to Mars, some countries have to absorb these goods, and accept the capital inflows that finance their consumption. In the medium term, over-spenders should trim their outlays and habitual exporters should increase theirs. In the short run, though, the world is engaged in a gigantic game of passing the parcel, with no country wanting to take the habitual exporters’ goods and their capital surpluses. This is what makes today’s beggar-thy-neighbor policies so destructive: though some countries will eventually have to absorb the surpluses and capital, each country is trying to avoid them. So which policy interventions are legitimate? Any policy of intervening in the exchange rate, or imposing import tariffs or capital controls, tends to force other countries to make greater adjustments. China’s exchange-rate intervention probably hurts a number of other emerging-market exporters that do not intervene as much and are less competitive as a result. But industrial countries, too, intervene substantially in markets. For example, while US monetary-policy intervention (yes, monetary policy is also intervention) has done little to boost domestic demand, it has spurred domestic capital to search for yield around the world. The US dollar would fall substantially – encouraging greater exports – were it not for the fact that foreign central banks are pushing much of that capital right back by buying US government securities. Singapore Banks, Temasek, GIC, MAS, were SELLING US$ Bonds to weaken US$ and Strengthen S$ ? ? ? ?
All this creates distortions that delay adjustment – exchange rates are too low in emerging markets, slowing their move away from exports, while the ease with which the US government is being financed creates little incentive for US politicians to reduce spending over the medium term. Rather than intervening to obtain a short-term increase in their share of slow-growing global demand, it makes sense for countries to make their economies more balanced and efficient over the medium term. That will allow them to contribute in a sustainable way to increasing global demand. China, for example, must move more income to households and away from its firms, so that private consumption can increase.
++++++++ ALL BANKS nEEd to raIse DepOsIt Interest Rates tO mOve IncOme tO hOUsebOlds and retIrees frOm the fIrms. ********
The US must improve the education and skills of significant parts of its labor force, so that they can produce more of the high-quality knowledge and service-sector exports in which the US specializes. Higher incomes would boost US savings, reducing households’ dependence on debt, even as they maintained consumption levels. Unfortunately, all this will take time, and citizens impatient for jobs and growth are pressing their politicians. Countries around the world are embracing shortsighted policies that cater to the immediate needs of domestic constituencies. There are exceptions. India, for example, has eschewed currency intervention thus far, even while opening up to long-term rupee debt inflows, in an attempt to finance much-needed infrastructure projects. India’s willingness to spend when everyone else is attempting to sell and save entails risks that need to be carefully managed. But India’s example also provides a glimpse of what the world could achieve collectively.
After all, beggar-thy-neighbor policies will succeed only in making us all beggars. Raghuram Rajan, a former Chief Economist of the IMF, is Professor of Finance at the Booth School of Business, University of Chicago, and author of Fault Lines: How Hidden Fractures Still Threaten the World Economy. Copyright: Project Syndicate, 2010. For a podcast of this commentary in English, please use this link: http://media.blubrry.com/ps/media.libsyn.com/media/ps/rajan10.mp3 You might also like to read more from Raghuram Rajan
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