Ahad, 9 September 2012

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NST Online Business Times : latest

Business Times : latest

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Business Times : latestF&amp:N poised to fracture further

http://www.btimes.com.my en Monday, September 10, 2012, 09.18 AM http://www.btimes.com.my/articles/20120910091603/Article/ http://www.btimes.com.my/articles/20120910091603/Article/ Mon, 10 Sep 2012 09:16:03 +0800 Fraser and Neave Ltd, the 129-year-old conglomerate selling its brewery business, is poised to fracture further as the chance to own a piece of Singapore's most famous shopping strip lures buyers. After Heineken NV acquires FandN's stake in a brewery they own for S$5.4 billion (US$4.3 billion), the Singaporean company will still own businesses ranging from soft drinks to apartment buildings. An acquirer may pay as much as S$7.7 billion for the Frasers Centrepoint Ltd property unit, 71 percent more than is reflected in FandN's share price, said Religare Capital Markets Ltd. That would be Southeast Asia's largest real-estate deal, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Rent in Singapore has remained high as the population surged 18 percent in five years and the city attracts a million visitors a month, data compiled by Bloomberg show. FandN's 332,261-square foot mall on Orchard Road, the city's biggest tourist attraction, and over 7,000 furnished apartments from Europe to Australia may lure foreign buyers, including billionaire Li Ka-Shing's Cheung Kong Holdings Ltd, said DMG and Partners Securities Pte Ltd. With similar assets and S$5.1 billion of cash, Singapore's CapitaLand Ltd is a natural buyer, according to Henderson Global Investors Ltd. "These are big assets that don't often come onto the market," Tim Gibson, Singapore-based head of Asia-Pacific property research at Henderson, which oversees more than US$100 billion, said in a telephone interview. "There'll be lots of interested parties. Getting your hands on these types of assets will be tough otherwise." Brewery Sale "FandN remains fully committed to deliver superior value to shareholders," the company said in an e-mailed response to questions about its plans for the property assets. "Moving forward, we will sharpen our focus on and enhance value of the two core businesses of FandB and Properties through continued investments in these businesses and strategic MandAs." Last week the company said that some of the S$4.8 billion net gain from the brewery sale will be used to repay debt, "giving us flexibility to take advantage of business opportunities in the food and beverage and properties businesses, in the region." Started in 1883 as a carbonated soft drinks company by John Fraser and David Chalmers Neave, FandN entered the property business more than a century later, according to its website. The company is better known for its stake in 81-year-old Asia Pacific Breweries Ltd, the brewer and distributor of Tiger and Heineken beers in markets from Indonesia to China. -- Bloomberg

Business Times : latestF&amp:N poised to fracture further

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Romney: GOP involvement in debt deal was "mistake" - CBS News

Posted: 09 Sep 2012 08:30 AM PDT

Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney speaks during a campaign rally at Union Terminal on September 1, 2012 in Cincinnati, Ohio.

(Credit: Justin Sullivan)

(CBS News) In comments that contrast with those of his running mate, Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney told NBC News' "Meet the Press" in an interview aired Sunday that Republican involvement in the 2011 bipartisan deal to extend the nation's debt ceiling was "a big mistake," even though it averted a government default and possible chaos in the world's financial markets.

Romney's vice presidential choice, Paul Ryan, also differentiated himself further from Romney by refusing to say that he would reject a hypothetical debt reduction deal - composed of a 10-to-1 ratio of spending cuts to tax increases - which Romney (and other GOP candidates) rejected during a presidential primary debate last year.

"You know, it depends on the quality of the agreement," Ryan said on ABC's "This Week." "It depends on the quality of the policy. Our negotiators in the 'supercommittee' offered higher revenues through tax reform. John Boehner did as well. . . . What really matters to me is not ratios but what matters is the quality of the policy."

During the interview with NBC's David Gregory, Romney said President Obama is to blame for provisional defense cuts that were part of the deal with Congress. When Gregory noted that Republican Congressional leaders agreed to the so-called sequestration provision, Romney responded:

"And that's a big mistake. I thought it was a mistake on the part of the White House to propose it. I think it was a mistake for Republicans to go along with it. The president was responsible for coming out with specific changes they'd make to the defense budget. ... The American people need to understand how it is that our defense is going to be so badly cut."

Romney's comments are at odds with those of his running mate, who wrote in a National Review opinion column last year that the deal "takes an important step in the right direction."

"We still have a long way to go toward getting the key drivers of our debt - especially federal health-care spending - under control," Ryan wrote. "But considering that House Republicans control only one-half of one-third of the federal government, I support this reasonable, responsible effort to cut government spending, avoid a default, and help create a better environment for job creation."

A little over a year ago, as part of a deal to extend the nation's borrowing limit and avoid default, the Obama White House and Congressional Republicans agreed to $109 billion in automatic spending cuts for the upcoming fiscal year, including $55 billion from defense programs, if a Congressional "supercommittee" failed to find adequate savings elsewhere to meet budget targets. The supercommittee admitted failure in November.

In another portion of the interview on "Meet the Press," Romney complimented former President Bill Clinton's speech at the Democratic National Convention, which concluded Thursday, and said he thinks Clinton upstaged Mr. Obama.

"He did stand out in contrast with the other speakers," Romney says of Clinton's Wednesday night stem-winder. "I think he really did elevate the Democrat convention in a lot of ways. And frankly, the contrast may not have been as attractive as Barack Obama might have preferred if he were choosing who'd go before him and who'd go after."

Clinton spoke a day before President Obama delivered his acceptance speech on Thursday night.

Sept. 9: The Democratic Party platform, President Obama and Mitt Romney - New York Daily News

Posted: 09 Sep 2012 01:04 AM PDT

U.S. President Barack Obama waves as he arrives to address delegates and accept the 2012 U.S Democratic presidential nomination during the final session of Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, North Carolina, September 6, 2012. REUTERS/Jim Young (UNITED STATES - Tags: ELECTIONS POLITICS)

JIM YOUNG/REUTERS

President Obama at the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C.

Political devil is in the details

Bellmore, L.I. : Let's be honest. The reason the Democrats removed mention of God from their platform was that acknowledgment of God is a tacit admission that there is something more powerful than government ("Platform building," Sept. 6). It is emblematic of a fundamental difference between the parties and their candidates. Thomas Jefferson, the third President of the United States and author of the Declaration of Independence, wrote, "God who gave us life, gave us liberty. And can the liberties of a nation be thought secure when we have removed their only firm basis, a conviction in the minds of people that these liberties are the gift of God?" Steven Rhoads

Franklin Square, L.I.: To Voicers such as Robert Matson, who thought a few ill-advised comments made Clint Eastwood a fool: What do you call the delegates who voted to keep God and Jerusalem out of the Democratic platform? Robert Mitchell

Figuring it out

Liverpool, N.Y.: Our President says the mess was worse than he thought when he took office four years ago. Fair enough. I wonder if his analytical skills in assessing today's mess are better than when he misjudged the inherited mess. I am not convinced the President can improve our (worse) situation in four more years. G. Kevin Barrett

Fashion statement I

Secaucus, N.J.: Is it just me, or is anyone else sick and tired of First Lady Michelle Obama throwing in our faces the price of her clothes? Her $450 dress (which was quite ugly, by the way) could feed a family of four for probably a month. Ethel Danielson

Fashion statement II

Fort Lee: With the fuss about the stunning dress worn by Michelle Obama and the cost of the dress worn by Ann Romney. Please tell me those dresses created jobs for Americans by being made in America. Beverly Rosas

Market forces

Heber City, Utah: Mitt Romney is correct. Private industry must either adapt to survive or go under. That is the free market working as it should to ensure maximum efficiency and productivity. Liberal intervention (stealing from taxpayers to buy a company) only makes things worse down the road (delaying inevitable pain) and is unfair for sure, as others try to compete without government help. President Obama took over GM to secure the union vote, pure and simple. Jim Green

Political Economics 101

Briarwood: I may be naive, but I believe that the next President, no matter who is elected, will take credit for the economy bouncing back under his watch because economies seem to be cyclical and we are due for a recovery. Renee Silverstein

Kredit: www.nst.com.my

Ahad, 9 September 2012