Khamis, 29 November 2012

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Genting Q3 profit, revenue declines

Posted: 29 Nov 2012 07:24 PM PST

KUALA LUMPUR: Genting Bhd, the Malaysian company which controls casino operators in Southeast Asia, the US and the UK, said third-quarter profit fell 53 per cent as gaming revenue and palm oil prices declined.

Net income dropped to 279.4 million ringgit (US$92 million) in the three months ended Sept 30, or 7.6 sen a share, from 597.2 million ringgit, or 16.2 sen, a year earlier, the company said in a filing to the Kuala Lumpur stock exchange yesterday. Revenue declined 14 per cent to 4.2 billion ringgit.

The company posted its third consecutive quarterly drop in profit after its Singapore unit, which runs one of the island- state's two gaming resorts, reported a 47 per cent slump in net income. Genting Singapore plc plans to open new attractions, including Marine Life Park, on Dec 7 at its Resorts World Sentosa casino resort in the city-state to boost sales.

"The full opening of Resorts World Sentosa will allow the company to capitalise on sales and marketing initiatives that appeal to a wider base of affluent travelers and new markets," Genting said in its exchange filing.

Genting Singapore, which opened its casino resort in the city-state at the start of 2010, reported gaming revenue dropped 20 per cent in the third quarter as slower economic growth and tighter rules curbed spending by gamblers.

Shares of Genting have declined 19 per cent in Kuala Lumpur this year, compared with a 5 per cent advance in the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI Index. The stock climbed 1 per cent to 8.92 ringgit as of 10:18 a.m. in Kuala Lumpur, set for its biggest gain on a closing basis since Nov. 9.

Genting Malaysia Bhd, a unit operating the only casino resort in the Southeast Asia nation, fell 1.4 per cent to 3.45 ringgit. Genting Singapore advanced 3.6 per cent to S$1.30 in Singapore trading, headed for its biggest gain since Aug. 23.

"Genting's dependency on the volatile Singapore market, which is currently facing some headwinds with the ever-changing government regulations, would be an obstacle to its share price performance in the medium term," Hoe Lee Leng, an analyst at RHB Capital Bhd, wrote in a report today.

Genting last year got 40 per cent of its total revenue from Singapore and another 40 per cent from Malaysia, while the US contributed 10 per cent and the UK accounted for 6 per cent, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

The group said it lost money in the UK during the quarter, while profit from its gaming business in Malaysia rose 2 per cent, according to the statement.

Genting's plantation division saw profit contributions drop 21 per cent to 122.3 million ringgit, it said yesterday. Pretax profit from power generation more than doubled to 73.6 million ringgit. -- Bloomberg

Carlsberg shares climb on good Q3 results

Posted: 29 Nov 2012 07:28 PM PST

KUALA LUMPUR: Carlsberg Brewery Malaysia Bhd's share price rose 24 sen or 1.95 per cent to RM12.54 as at 10.42 am after posting a
good third quarter financial results.

The alcohol beverage company posted a 25 per cent increase in net profit to RM61.06 million for the third quarter ended Sept 30, 2012 from RM48.85 million a year ago, boosted by its premium beer segment.

Alliance Research said Carlsberg continued to sustain strong growth in the premium beer segment, with momentum spurred by Asahi Beer, Kronenbourg 1664 Lager and Kronenbourg 1664 Blanc brand.

The research house said the company's revenue in the third quarter grew by 2.3 per cent to RM410.8 million, mainly due to strong performance from its super premium beer segment, particularly its locally-brewed Asahi Super Dry, which

rolled out a series of consumer promotions for both on-trade and off-trade channels.

Going forward, Alliance Research said the company is expected to capture new market with its latest imported premium beer, Somersby Apple Cider, which has exceeded its three-month sales volume target since it was launched in July.

The research firm said the outlook for the company is expected to be positive in the fourth quarter with a seasonally higher demand in the upcoming Christmas and New Year celebrations.

Alliance Research also forecasted a full year dividend per share of 62.5 sen from Carlsberg. -- BERNAMA

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British Press Needs New Regulator, Report Says - New York Times

Posted: 29 Nov 2012 09:08 AM PST

LONDON — The leader of a major inquiry into the standards of British newspapers triggered by the phone hacking scandal offered an excoriating critique of the press as a whole on Thursday, saying it displayed "significant and reckless disregard for accuracy," and urged the press to form an independent regulator to be underpinned by law.

The report singled out Rupert Murdoch's defunct tabloid The News of the World for sharp criticism.

"Too many stories in too many newspapers were the subject of complaints from too many people with too little in the way of titles taking responsibility, or considering the consequences for the individuals involved," the head of the inquiry, Lord Justice Sir Brian Leveson, said in a 46-page summary of the findings in his long-awaited, 1,987-page report published in four volumes.

"The ball moves back into the politicians' court," Sir Brian said, referring to what form new and tighter regulations should take. "They must now decide who guards the guardians."

The report was published after some 337 witnesses testified in person in 9 months of hearings that sought to unravel the close ties between politicians, the press and the police, reaching into what were depicted as an opaque web of links and cross-links within the British elite as well as a catalog of murky and sometimes unlawful practices within the newspaper industry.

"This inquiry has been the most concentrated look at the press this country has ever seen," Sir Brian said after the report was made public.

But in a first reaction, Prime Minister David Cameron resisted the report's recommendation that a new form of press regulation should be underpinned by laws, telling lawmakers that they "should be wary" of "crossing the Rubicon" by enacting legislation with the potential to limit free speech and free expression.

Mr. Cameron's remarks drew immediate criticism from the leader of the Labour opposition, Ed Miliband, who said Sir Brian's proposals should be accepted in their entirety.

Mr. Cameron ordered the Leveson Inquiry in July, 2011, as the phone hacking scandal at The News of the World blossomed into broad public revulsion with reports that the newspaper had ordered the interception of voice mail messages left on the cellphone of Milly Dowler, a British teenager who was abducted in 2002 and later found murdered. Sir Brian said there had been a "failure of management and compliance" at the 168-year-old News of the World, which Mr. Murdoch closed in July, 2011, accusing it of a "general lack of respect for individual privacy and dignity."

"It was said that The News of the World had lost its way in relation to phone hacking," the summary said. "Its casual attitude to privacy and the lip service it paid to consent demonstrated a far more general loss of direction."

Speaking after the report was published, Sir Brian said that while the British press held a "privileged and powerful place in our society," its "responsibilities have simply been ignored."

"A free press in a democracy holds power to account. But, with a few honorable exceptions, the U.K. press has not performed that vital role in the case of its own power."

"The press needs to establish a new regulatory body which is truly independent of industry leaders and of government and politicians," he said. "Guaranteed independence, long-term stability and genuine benefits for the industry cannot be realized without legislation," he said, adding: "This is not and cannot reasonably or fairly be characterized as statutory regulation of the press."

In the body of the exhaustive report, reprising at length the testimony of many of the witnesses who spoke at the hearings, the document discusses press culture and ethics; explores the press's attitude toward the subjects of its stories; and discusses the cozy relationship between the press and the police, and the press and politicians.

The report devotes an entire section to The News of the World. Using a number of case studies that came from the testimony of witnesses, it described a newsroom under immense pressure to bring in stories exclusively and quickly, full of journalists with cavalier and sometimes cruel attitudes toward the privacy and feelings of the people they were covering. Sir Brian said that reporters regularly obtained information illegally about their subjects, harassed and threatened subjects into cooperating, and concealed their identities in pursuit of stories.   

Concluding the section on the ethical  practices and culture of the news media, Sir Brian said he recognized that "most of what the press does is good journalism free from the sort of vices I have had to address at length." But still,  he says, "it is essential that the need for a fresh start in press regulation is fully embraced and a new regime thereafter implemented."

In the current system of self-regulation by a body called the Press Complaints Commission, newspapers effectively regulate themselves. The report urged the creation of a new independent regulatory body with powers to fine offending newspapers up to $1.6 million, made up of people who are not serving editors and should not be either lawmakers or figures from the government.

In the report, the judge wrote that his inquiry panel heard from a variety of witnesses who gave examples of how the press had hacked into their phones, followed them, intruded on their privacy, illegally obtained information like their phone numbers and medical records, and made up stories about them.

The treatment of private individuals who became public figures, like the parents of Madeleine McCann, a toddler who disappeared while on a family vacation in Portugal, and Milly Dowler indicates a "a press indifferent to individual privacy and casual in its approach to truth, even when the stories were potentially extremely damaging for the individuals named." 

But he balanced those remarks by saying that the problems described by witnesses at the inquiry were not systemic, but "afflict only a section of the press, and even then not for the majority of the time." 

Summarizing the evidence the panel heard at the inquiry, the judge described evidence of "cultural indifference within parts of the press to individual privacy and dignity."

He continued: "The broad theme encompasses evidence that parts of the press have used unethical and or unlawful means to access private information, including phone hacking, e-mail hacking, theft and covert surveillance. It also encompasses evidence that newspapers have published obviously confidential information without any public interest in doing so, have harassed subjects of their stories and their families,  have been insensitive in investigating and reporting death and tragedy, and have failed to have regard to the high level of protection appropriate to children." 

The publication of the report was closely watched for what it would say about the seemingly intimate relationship between British government figures and the owners of newspapers, particularly Mr. Murdoch, who testified in person at the Leveson inquiry along with his son James.

Sir Brian said the "overwhelming evidence is that relations between politicians and the press on a day-to-day basis are in robust good health and performing the vital public interest functions of a free press in a vigorous democracy."

But, he went on to say that in other respects, "politicians have conducted themselves in relation to the press in ways that have not served the public interest," had risked "becoming vulnerable to influences which are neither known about nor transparent" and had spent too much time cultivating the press to the detriment of their "public duties."

Speaking after the publication of the report, he said senior politicians have accepted that the relationship with the press had been too close. "I agree," he said.

As the inquiry unfolded, some analysts suggested that Mr. Cameron sought to win the editorial support of Mr. Murdoch's newspapers in return for favorable treatment. But, the report said, "the evidence does not, of course, establish anything resembling a 'deal' whereby News International's support was traded for the expectation of policy favors." Referring to the relationship between the police and the press, Sir Brian declared: "I have not seen any evidence to suggest that corruption by the press is a widespread problem in relation to the police."

Much attention was devoted during the months of testimony to text messages, phone calls and social plans made between Prime Minister Cameron and Rebekah Brooks, the former chief executive of News International, the British newspaper subsidiary of Mr. Murdoch's News Corporation.

The Leveson inquiry ran in parallel with police investigations and parliamentary hearings into related issues.

Ms. Brooks, along with Andy Coulson, a former editor of The News of the World and Mr. Cameron's former spokesman, are among several people facing criminal charges relating to phone hacking and corruption of public officials which they are both challenging in court.

The report also cited testimony relating to the thwarted effort by News Corporation last year to assume full control of Britain's main satellite broadcaster, BSkyB, by buying the shares that it did not already own. It said there was "no credible evidence of actual bias" on the part of government minister, Jeremy Hunt, who oversaw the bid.

John F. Burns, Sandy Lark Turner and Sandy Macaskill contributed reporting.

Powerball: Winning tickets bought in Mo., Ariz. - CBS News

Posted: 29 Nov 2012 09:01 AM PST

Updated at 11:39 a.m. ET

KANSAS CITY, Mo.Two lucky ticket holders — one in Arizona and another in Missouri — are waking up Thursday to new lives as multimillionaires after the largest Powerball jackpot drawing ever.

Powerball officials said two tickets matched all six numbers to win the record-high jackpot. Sue Dooley, a production coordinator for the Multi-State Lottery Association, told CBS Radio News that the jackpot increased to $587.5 million by the time of the drawing, making the cash option $384 million, wich will be split equally.

The numbers drawn for Wednesday night, for the second-highest jackpot in U.S. lottery history, are:

An additional 8,924,123 players won smaller prizes, including about 60 who each won a million-dollar prize for matching five numbers, Dooley said. Eight of the $1 million tickets were sold in New Jersey, state lottery officials said. Indiana and Michigan each had two $1 million winners.

It was not clear whether the winning jackpot tickets belonged to individuals or were purchased by groups.

One of the winning tickets was sold at a Trex Mart convenience store in Dearborn, Mo., about 35 miles north of Kansas City, the state lottery commission said in a news release.

Earlier Thursday, Missouri Lottery spokesman Gary Gonder said he was on his way to the store that sold that ticket to assist with the expected onslaught of media attention. That store will be awarded $50,000 for selling the winning ticket.

It did not appear Wednesday's big winner had yet come forward.

"If you buy Powerball tickets at this location, please find them and check them closely," said May Scheve Reardon, executive director of the Missouri Lottery. "If you find you're holding the winning ticket, be sure you sign the back and put it in a safe place until you can take it to a Missouri Lottery office. You will also want to get some legal and financial advice before you claim."

The winner has 180 days to claim their share in the prize money.

Arizona lottery officials said early Thursday they had no information on the Grand Canyon State's winner or winners, but they planned to announce Thursday morning where the ticket was sold.

CBS News correspondent Anna Werner reports the odds of winning were 1 in 175 million. Still, that didn't deter Americans from purchasing a shot at the second-largest payout in U.S. history and the highest-ever Powerball game. More than 160 million tickets were sold, going at a rate of 130,000 a minute nationwide on Wednesday. At one point, Florida was selling 200,000 tickets per minute.

Dooley said 563 million tickets were sold for Wednesday night's drawing, which she believes is a record.

"Starting on Saturday we will start our jackpot over again at $40 million and work it up again," Dooley told CBS Radio News.

The jackpot had already rolled over 16 consecutive times without a winner, but Powerball officials said earlier Wednesday they believed there was a 75 percent chance the winning combination will be drawn this time.

Past winners of mega-lottery drawings and financial planners had some sound advice for those holding the winning tickets: Stick to a budget, invest wisely, learn to say no and be prepared to lose friends while riding an emotional roller-coaster of joy, anxiety, guilt and distrust.

"I had to adapt to this new life," said Sandra Hayes, 52, a former child services social worker who split a $224 million Powerball jackpot with a dozen co-workers in 2006, collecting a lump sum she said was in excess of $6 million after taxes. "I had to endure the greed and the need that people have, trying to get you to release your money to them. That caused a lot of emotional pain. These are people who you've loved deep down, and they're turning into vampires trying to suck the life out of me."

The single mother kept her job with the state of Missouri for another month and immediately used her winnings to pay off an estimated $100,000 in student loans and a $70,000 mortgage. She spent a week in Hawaii and bought a new Lexus, but six years later still shops at discount stores and lives on a fixed income — albeit, at a higher monthly allowance than when she brought home paychecks of less than $500 a week.

"I know a lot of people who won the lottery and are broke today," she said. "If you're not disciplined, you will go broke. I don't care how much money you have."

Lottery agencies are keen to show off beaming prize-winners hugging oversize checks at celebratory news conferences, but the tales of big lottery winners who wind up in financial ruin, despair or both are increasingly common.

There's the two-time New Jersey lottery winner who squandered her $5.4 million fortune. A West Virginia man who won $315 million a decade ago on Christmas later said the windfall was to blame for his granddaughter's fatal drug overdose, his divorce, hundreds of lawsuits and an absence of true friends.

The National Endowment for Financial Education cautions those who receive a financial windfall — whether from lottery winnings, divorce settlements, cashed-out stock options or family inheritances — to plan for their psychological needs as well as their financial strategies. The Denver-based nonprofit estimates that as many as 70 percent of people who land sudden windfalls lose that money within several years.

"Being able to manage your emotions before you do anything sudden is one of the biggest things," said endowment spokesman Paul Golden. "If you've never had the comfort of financial security before, if you were really eking out a living from paycheck to paycheck, if you've never managed money before, it can be really confusing. There's this false belief that no matter what you do, you're never going to worry about money again."

David Gehle, who spent 20 years at a Nebraska meatpacking plant before he and seven ConAgra Foods co-workers won a $365 million Powerball jackpot in 2006, used some of his winnings to visit Australia, New Guinea and Vietnam. He left ConAgra three weeks after he won, and now spends his time woodworking and playing racquetball, tennis and golf.

But most of his winnings are invested, and the 59-year-old still lives in his native Lincoln. He waited for several years before buying a $450,000 home in a tidy neighborhood on the southern edge of town.

"My roots are in Nebraska, and I'm not all that much different now than I was before," Gehle said. "I'm pretty normal. I never was the kind of guy who went for big, expensive cars or anything like that. I just want something that runs."

In the first year after he won, Michael Terpstra would awaken many nights in a panic. Had he slept in? Was he late to work the night shift?

"At times I'd wake up and this would all seem like a dream," the 54-year-old said. "I'd have to walk around the house and tell myself, I did win. I'm not working anymore, and I do live here. I didn't get drunk, break into someone's house and go to sleep. This is where I'm supposed to be."

His new home is a roomy, two-story house in south Lincoln with a big-screen television and paintings of Jesus on the walls. He no longer uses alarm clocks and spends his days taking his 92-pound black lab, Rocco, on walks.

He was terrified when he first won, convinced that he would lose all of the money and have to return to work. So he lives carefully off the interest from conservative investments, with help from accountants and lawyers. He bought the new house and a truck, but struggles to name any extravagant purchases.

"I can't buy a super yacht. I can't buy a Gulfstream," he said. "Then again, I don't think I'd use either one, so why would I buy one?"

That said, some mega-winners still can't resist the lure of big jackpots, at least not the two-buck chances. On Tuesday, former ConAgra worker Dung Tran, a Vietnamese immigrant, walked into the same Lincoln U-Stop where he purchased the winning ticket six years ago and bought 22 more from the very employee who sold him the first prize-winner, said cashier Janice Mitzner.

"We joked about it," she said. "I told him, 'Wouldn't it be something if you won again?'"

Hayes is also hoping to strike rich again — she bought 10 tickets at a Dirt Cheap liquor store on her way home Tuesday while speaking with an Associated Press reporter. Unlike many big winners, she has kept a visible public profile instead of going underground, appearing on a 2007 reality TV show ("Million Dollar Christmas"), writing an online Life After the Lottery blog and self-publishing a short book, "How Winning the Lottery Changed My Life."

"We have this drawing ... and if somebody wins, God bless them," she said. "They're going to need those blessings."

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