Isnin, 18 Mac 2013

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Lynas' shares jump after Malaysian court win

Posted: 18 Mar 2013 07:19 PM PDT

SYDNEY: Shares in Australia's Lynas Corp jumped as much as 5.1 per cent on Tuesday after the company said a Malaysian court had dismissed a challenge by protesters against its long-delayed rare earth processing plant.

The $800 million rare earth plant - the world's biggest outside China - finally began production in November after lengthy environmental and safety disputes with local residents and the Save Malaysia Stop Lynas (SMSL) protest group since construction began two years ago.

Lynas said the Federal Court had dismissed an appeal by SMSL to seek a judicial review of the decision to grant it a temporary operating licence.

"SMSL has now exhausted all avenues of appeal in the Malaysian Courts with respect to this challenge," Lynas said in a statement late on Monday.

The plant in Kuantan is considered important to breaking China's grip on the processing of rare earths, which are used in products ranging from smartphones to hybrid cars.

Lynas shares rose to a high of A$0.615 and last traded up 4.3 per cent at A$0.61, half the level it was a year ago.-- Bernama

KL shares rebound in early trade

Posted: 18 Mar 2013 06:59 PM PDT

Share prices on Bursa Malaysia rebounded from its recent losses to open higher Tuesday on renewed buying interest, dealers said.

As at 9.19am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) was 0.94 of a point better at 1,622.3 after opening seven points higher at 1,621.43.

HwangDBS Vickers Research said local sentiment would still be clouded by prevailing weak external vibes.

"Last night, key US equity indices lost between 0.4 per cent and 0.6 per cent due to knock-on effects from Cyprus' proposal to tax bank depositors to boost the government's coffers.

"As such, the benchmark FBM KLCI, which hit a low of 1,613.94 before recovering to close at 1,621.36 yesterday, could remain under pressures today," it said in a note today.

The research house expected the key FBM KLCI to possibly retreat towards the immediate support line of 1,615.

HwangDBS noted stocks that are expected to come under the spotlight today included WCT Bhd, which has bagged a RM315 million contract to build commercial buildings in Putrajaya.

It also included oil and gas plays like Alam Maritim Resources Bhd and Perdana Petroleum Bhd, amid media reports saying that Petronas was set to award as many as 34 offshore support vessel contracts valued at an estimated RM3 billion over the next few weeks.

On the chart, the Finance Index chalked up 15.09 points to 15,160.16.

The Plantation Index, however, shed 0.69 of a point to 7,815.02 and the Industrial Index slipped 4.68 points to 2,812.04.

The FBM Emas Index earned 10.8 points to 11,104.35, the FBM Ace Index gained 10.69 points to 3,938.44, the FBMT100 was 10.32 points higher at 10,944.7 and the FBM Mid 70 Index increased 28.23 points to 12,356.75.

Gainers beat losers 96 to 60, with 127 counters unchanged, 1,357 untraded and 17 others were suspended.

Turnover stood at 38.444 million shares worth RM36.705 million.

Actives, Pasukhas Group and Fast Track Solution inched up half-a-sen each to 16 sen and nine sen, respectively, and Tebrau Teguh added three sen to RM1.24.

Heavyweights, Maybank rose two sen to RM9.06 while Petronas Chemicals and Maxis were flat at RM6.28 and RM6.50, respectively.

However, Sime Darby lost four sen to RM9.12, Axiata Group was one sen lower at RM6.30 and CIMB Group eased two sen to RM7.04.-- Bernama

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Resistance in Cyprus Grows to Europe's Bailout Plan - New York Times

Posted: 18 Mar 2013 12:19 PM PDT

NICOSIA, Cyprus — Leaders in Cyprus and Brussels scrambled Monday to contain the fallout from an unprecedented effort to force ordinary bank depositors in this crisis-hit nation to pay for part of an international bailout, as stock markets faltered on concerns about the wider implications for Europe's long-running debt crisis.

President Nicos Anastasiades was trying to compel policy makers in Brussels to soften demands for a tax to be assessed on Cypriot bank deposits, saying European Union leaders used "blackmail" to get him to agree to those conditions early Saturday in order to receive a bailout package worth 10 billion euros, or $13 billion.

Cyprus, whose banking system is verging on collapse, is now the fifth nation in the 17-member euro union to seek financial assistance since the crisis broke out three years ago.

As anger in this country swelled against the measure, Mr. Anastasiades delayed an emergency parliamentary vote on the bailout plan until Tuesday, the second step in as many days. Faced with a lack of support from lawmakers, the vote could be delayed until as late as Friday.

The government also said it would keep Cypriot banks shuttered until at least Wednesday, beyond a bank holiday that was supposed to end Monday, a move aimed at staving off a possible bank run.

Cyprus's banking association issued a statement calling on people to remain "calm," saying it was ready to implement whatever measures were needed to protect the stability of the banking sector. The association said it would instruct banks to load automated teller machines with cash while banks remained closed.

Financial markets stuttered on the news, with Asian stocks suffering the most, closing down about 2 percent. European market indexes were off about 1 percent by the end of the session, and Wall Street shares were less than 0.2 percent lower in afternoon trading.

For the first time since the onset of the euro zone sovereign debt crisis and the bailouts of Greece, Portugal and Ireland, ordinary depositors — including those with insured accounts — were being called on to bear part of the cost, €5.8 billion.

The previous bailouts have been financed by taxpayers, and the new direction raised fears that depositors in Spain or Italy, two countries that have struggled economically of late, might also take flight.

A crowd of protesters gathered in front of the presidential palace, shouting angrily at Mr. Anastasiades and inveighing against Germany and European leaders as he entered the building to meet with his cabinet. "Merkel, U stole our life savings," read one banner tied to a bus stop. "EU, who is next, Spain or Italy?" read another.

Miguel Arias CaƱete, Spain's agriculture minister, told journalists in Brussels on the sidelines of a European Union meeting on Monday that he saw no risk of contagion. Spain's banking system had undergone "a very rigorous clean-up," the minister said, and were now in a "magnificent situation" following their bailout last year.

The finance ministers from the euro zone countries were to take up the Cyprus issue on a conference call later Monday. Jeroen Dijsselbloem, the president of the group, had declined Saturday to rule out taxes on depositors in countries beyond Cyprus, although he said such a measure was not being actively considered.

A key question for the finance ministers was expected to be whether any revised formula for the tax on deposits could still deliver the 5.8 billion euros agreed to in the bailout deal. The plan, a so-called bail-in, also would wipe out 1.4 billion euros held by junior bondholders in Cypriot banks. Only senior bondholders, who have paid a premium to be first in line for repayment of their investments, would be fully protected.

Joerg Asmussen, a member of the European Central Bank governing council, suggested that creditors may not object to a revision of the bailout terms.

This article has been revised to reflect the following correction:

Correction: March 18, 2013

An earlier version of this article incorrectly reported the days banks in Cyprus would remain closed. The central bank said they will stay shut through Wednesday.

RNC 'Autopsy' Calls for Outreach to... - ABC News

Posted: 18 Mar 2013 12:58 PM PDT

In what they called the "most comprehensive post-election review" ever made of an electoral loss, the Republican National Committee and a group of project co-chairs unveiled a report today saying that they need to open their playbook and put their "cards on the table face up" in order to win presidential elections in the future.

While unveiling the 100-page report at the National Press Club today, RNC Chairman Reince Priebus said he wanted the report, or autopsy, to be "honest" and "raw," stressing the message of inclusion to Americans who might not be on board with all the party's policies.

"Our message was weak; our ground game was insufficient; we weren't inclusive; we were behind in both data and digital; our primary and debate process needed improvement," Priebus said of Mitt Romney and the GOP's 2012 loss. "There's no one solution. There's a long list of them."

Read more about GOP Chair Reince Priebus's plans for the Republican Party.

The report, called the "Growth and Opportunity Project," lays out an extensive plan the RNC believes will lead the party to victory with an extensive outreach to women, African-American, Asian, Hispanic and gay voters. Among the plans: hiring paid outreach staffers across the country in a $10 million push that begins right away; backing "comprehensive immigration reform"; abbreviating the presidential primary process with fewer debates, specifically saying the party would like at least half the 20 there were during the 2012 cycle; and moving the convention to June or July, as well as improving the data and digital effort.

Priebus noted that the party's policies are fundamentally sound but require a softer tone and broader outreach, include a stronger push for African-American, Latino, Asian, women and gay voters.

"To be clear, our principles our sound, our principles are not old rusty thoughts in some book," Priebus said, but the "report notes the way we communicate our principles isn't resonating widely enough."

Priebus added: "I think our policies are sound, but I think in many ways the way we communicate can be a real problem."

The report also specifically states that there needs to be more inclusion. "We need to campaign among Hispanic, black, Asian, and gay Americans and demonstrate we care about them, too. We must recruit more candidates who come from minority communities. But it is not just tone that counts. Policy always matters."

Sally Bradshaw, a Florida GOP strategist and one of the project's co-chairs, said the party has been "continually marginalizing itself and unless changes are made it will be increasingly difficult for Republicans to win another presidential election in the near future."

"Public perception of our party is at record lows," Bradshaw said. "Young voters are increasingly rolling their eyes at what the party represents and many minorities think Republicans don't like them or don't want them in our country. When someone rolls their eyes at us they aren't likely to open their ears to us."

Bradshaw added that the GOP "needs to stop talking to itself" and needs to open the tent in order to win presidential elections in the future.

"We have become expert at how to provide ideological information to like-minded people but ,devastatingly, we have lost the ability to be persuasive with or welcoming to those who don't agree with us on every issue," Bradshaw said, noting they need to be "inviting and inspiring."

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