» AsianWeek Market Report
» Minorities Will Become the Majority in 2042
» Criminal Charges Against Houston Bus Owner Possible in Deadly Crash
» OCA & C-100 Find Spanish Olympics Basketball Team’s Photo Offensive
» Indians for McCain Held Event in Honor of India’s 61st Independence Day
» NAPABA Announces Tina R. Matsuoka as New Executive Director
» John Chiang Talks Politics
» 11th Annual World Congress on Qi Gong to be Held
» Suzanne Chan Files for Fremont City Council
» Events Planned for S.F. Premiere of ‘The Bonesetter’s Daughter’
» Pintoresco Advisors Gains New Client in Korean Conglomerate SK Group
» Hong Kong’s Economy Shrinks For First Time in Five Years
» On the Defensive, China Lashes Out at Critics
» Empty Seats at China’s Sellout Olympics
Compiled by Beleza Chan and Steffi Lau
| AsianWeek Market Report | ||||
| Asian Stock Indexes | ||||
| NIKKEI 225 | Tokyo | 13,019.41 | 62.61 | 0.48% |
| HANG SENG | Hong Kong | 21,160.58 | -232.13 | -1.19% |
| KRX | Busan | 3,261.28 | 20.83 | 0.64% |
| SSE IX | Shanghai | 8,233.41 | -45.25 | -0.55% |
| BSE | Bombay | 14,724.18 | -368.94 | -2.44% |
| HOSE | Ho Chi Minh | 488.94 | 12.44 | 2.61% |
| SET | Bangkok | 501.50 | 1.93 | 0.39% |
| Asian American Market Report | ||||
| Yahoo! | YHOO | 20.54 | 0.26 | (1.28%) |
| Citigroup | C | 18.50 | 0.42 | (2.32%) |
| Amkor Technology, Inc | AMKR | 8.81 | 0.10 | (0.11%) |
| Sybase | SY | 36.03 | -0.44 | (-1.21%) |
| UnionBancal Corp | UB | 65.29 | -0.17 | (-0.26%) |
| East West Bank corp,Inc | EWBC | 13.92 | 0.26 | (1.90%) |
NATION
Minorities Will Become the Majority in 2042
White people of European descent will no longer make up a majority of the U.S. population by the year 2042 — eight years sooner than previous estimates.
The big change is among Hispanics and Asians whose share of the population is set to double to 30 percent and 9 percent.
According to the census bureau’s statistics, people who regard themselves as Hispanic, African American, Asian, Native American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander will become the majority by 2042.
The new projections suggest that by 2050, minorities will account for 54 percent of the population and non-Hispanic whites 46 percent, down from their current 64.7 percent share.
— BBC
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Criminal Charges Against Houston Bus Owner Possible in Deadly Crash
DALLAS — Criminal charges were being considered against a Houston motorcoach owner and president whose bus crashed in north Texas killing 17 Vietnamese Catholics on their way to a religious festival in Missouri, according to a Harris County prosecutor.
Of the 17 people who died, 12 were killed at the scene. Six of the survivors, including the bus driver, remained in critical condition on Monday.
The newspaper reported that Harris District Attorney Ken Magidson would not say whether owner Angel De La Torre would face prosecution in connection to the Aug. 8 crash in Sherman, but state and federal investigators are examining what they say is Torre’s “grossly deficient” maintenance record.
As the investigation into the crash continues, two U.S. senators called on their colleagues to immediately pass a motorcoach safety bill when Congress reconvenes in September.
— Houston Chronicle
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OCA & C-100 Find Spanish Olympics Basketball Team’s Photo Offensive
WASHINGTON, D.C. — OCA and the Committee of 100, two national organizations serving the Asian Pacific American and Chinese American communities, joined forces to speak out against the Spanish men’s Olympics basketball team’s slant-eyed photo.
“The photograph is offensive to people of Asian and Chinese descent. It was a poor decision for these professional athletes to make this historically denigrating gesture, and it was a poorer decision for the team sponsor and the Spanish paper to put it in print,” said OCA National President Ginny Gong. “And it is disturbing that neither the Olympic athletes nor their sponsors have adequately apologized for their decisions.”
Despite a worldwide uproar over the image, Spanish basketball player Jose Manuel Calderon, who plays for the NBA’s Toronto Raptors, stated that the photograph and the gesture were “something appropriate and that it would always be interpreted as somewhat loving.”
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Indians for McCain Held Event in Honor of India’s 61st Independence Day
WASHINGTON, D.C. — On Sunday, August 10, Indians For McCain held a barbeque for its supporters in honor of India’s 61st Independence Day. The event was hosted by IFM co-founder Sudhakar Shenoy at his home in Great Falls, Va.
“Most of our community is still undecided, and we have a great opportunity to win votes and affect the outcome of this election,” Shenoy told the group.
Special “Indians For McCain” bumper stickers were printed for distribution at the event and for IFM’s chapters nationwide in advance of Independence Day. The attendees were also treated to a special video message from John McCain to the Indian American community on the occasion of Independence Day.
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NAPABA Announces Tina R. Matsuoka as New Executive Director
The National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA) announced the hiring of Tina R. Matsuoka as executive director of the organization. Matsuoka will be based in Washington, D.C. and direct the overall operations for this national association.
NAPABA is the national association of Asian Pacific American attorneys, judges, law professors and law students. NAPABA represents over 40,000 attorneys and 55 local Asian Pacific American bar associations.
Prior to NAPABA, Matsuoka served as Assistant Counsel in the Office of the Counsel to the Massachusetts Senate. Matsuoka has a strong commitment to the Asian Pacific American community, having previously served as a director of the Asian Pacific American Agenda Coalition and as vice president of the Asian American Lawyers Association of Massachusetts, NAPABA’s Boston affiliate.
BAY/CALIFORNIA
John Chiang spoke with KNBC’s recently about his political career and a possible run for governor.
“I think the people of California will treat me well in the future if they recognize that I’ve done good work for them,” Chiang said.
As the chief fiscal officer of California, the controller provides fiscal control for more than $100 billion in annual receipts and disbursements of public funds. He uses audits to uncover fraud and abuse of taxpayer funds. Chiang helps administer $400 billion in state pension funds. He also serves on 76 state boards and commissions.
Schwarzenegger sued Chiang for refusing to pay minimum wage to state workers to save money. Chiang said it’s illegal, and even if he did cut pay, it would not take hold for another three to six months.
— KNBC
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11th Annual World Congress on Qi Gong to be Held
SAN FRANCISCO — People from all over the San Francisco Bay Area will be participating in the 11th annual World Congress on Qi Gong and American Qi Gong Association Conference on September 19-21. The event will be held at the Golden Gateway Holiday Inn in San Francisco.
This event serves to educate the public about the health benefits of Tai Chi and Qi Gong. Events will include Tai Chi and Qi Gong demonstrations for the public by renowned Masters, group Qi cultivation and community vendor booths.
This year’s conference theme addresses the planetary plight of environmental degradation and global warming. In Qigong, Traditional Chinese Medicine and basic Taoist theory, the actions of human beings integrally affect the planet and vice versa. This fusion of science and traditional healing arts is one of the primary objectives for the Congress.
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Suzanne Chan Files for Fremont City Council
FREMONT, Calif. — On Aug. 15, Suzanne “Sue” Chan will submit papers to file for Fremont City Council. In an unprecedented show of broad community support, she announced her candidacy via YouTube and launched her website featuring an impressive number of video endorsements from fellow citizens.
Chan’s all-component innovative campaign will reach out to voters through a grassroots well-orchestrated ground operation, aggressive mailing campaign and outreach via the Internet.
She has been a resident of Fremont for over 23 years.
ART/ENTERTAINMENT
Events Planned for S.F. Premiere of ‘The Bonesetter’s Daughter’
SAN FRANCISCO — The world premiere of composer Stewart Wallace and novelist Amy Tan’s new opera, The Bonesetter’s Daughter, at San Francisco Opera on September 13 has inspired a host of ancillary events throughout the Bay Area that will explore not only the making of The Bonesetter’s Daughter but also a variety of related issues, particularly with regard to Chinese culture.
Among the events in August and September are Tan and Wallace in an on-stage conversation with Roy Eisenhardt at City Arts & Lectures; Dominican University of California and Book Passage’s presentation of Tan and Wallace in conversation; The University of San Francisco’s Center for the Pacific Rim presentation, “The Creation of The Bonesetter’s Daughter,”; The Bonesetter’s Daughter’s principal singers Zheng Cao, Ning Liang and Qian Yi, in a panel discussion presented by Asia Society and Chinese Culture Center; a sneak preview of the making of The Bonesetter’s Daughter on KQED-TV’s weekly Bay Area arts program, Spark, and on KTEH 54; and San Francisco Opera’s The Bonesetter’s Daughter Opera Talks.
COMMERCE
Pintoresco Advisors Gains New Client in Korean Conglomerate SK Group
LOS ANGELES — Pintoresco Advisors, a strong new player in the global investment banking field, recently landed a powerful new client, $76 billion global Korean conglomerate SK Group, beating out top U.S. investment banking and advising firms.
Pintoresco Advisors LLC is headquartered in Los Angeles, and their services include the full range of M&A, corporate finance and strategic advising. Its principals have collectively executed over $30 billion of mergers, acquisitions, divestitures, financings, partnerships and other complex business deals and transactions.
SK Group was established in 1952 in Seoul, Korea, and is comprised of 56 affiliate companies, making it the third largest Korean global conglomerate in 2006.
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Hong Kong’s Economy Shrinks For First Time in Five Years
HONG KONG — Hong Kong’s economic growth slowed more quickly than expected in the second quarter, showing its first quarter-to-quarter decline in five years as the effects of financial problems elsewhere spilled into the territory.
The government acknowledged the economy likely will keep slowing until next year. The volatile financial markets will last for a while, and the global economic slowdown is not likely to be short-term.
Despite the slowdown in the quarter just ended, Hong Kong’s government said it was maintaining its earlier target of 4 percent to 5 percent growth for all of 2008.
Some private economists were more pessimistic, saying that domestic consumption will very unlikely to continue to be the growing sector of the economy as it has previously been.
— The Wall Street Journal
GLOBAL
On the Defensive, China Lashes Out at Critics
BEIJING — Frustrations are escalating between the Western media and Chinese officials over the government’s handling of the Olympic Games.
At a daily press conference, reporters confronted Olympic officials over the rough handling of a British television journalist by Chinese security forces and the government’s failure to approve bids to demonstrate in designated protest zones.
The Chinese government’s desire for control has attracted close attention from foreign media and visitors alike. Security measures have made it difficult for visitors to reach the pavilions of Olympic sponsors, upsetting companies that have spent tens of millions of dollars on promotional campaigns. The parks that China’s government announced would be designated for protests have sat empty, while some Chinese who have sought to protest have been detained.
— The Wall Street Journal
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Empty Seats at China’s Sellout Olympics
Before the Olympics began, Beijing Olympic organizers reported that all 6.8 million tickets to Olympic events were sold out. Yet in the first week of the Olympics, there are visible patches of empty seats throughout the stadiums. On Aug. 11, more than half of the stadiums had at least 30 percent of seats empty.
Some say it’s due to the weather. Another possibility is corporate sponsors.
One of the perks corporate sponsors such as Coca-Cola get is free tickets for their clients. Getting people to fill those seats can be tough.
Another explanation is problems getting visas. In the months leading up to the Olympics, China tightened its visa policies.
Beijing Olympic organizers have been trying to “save face” by bussing in crowds from soccer fan clubs, high schools and local neighborhoods to fill the empty seats.
— Business Week