Daily Dose: 11/11/08

November 11, 2008

» AsianWeek Market Report
» Inouye to Head Powerful Senate Appropriations Committee
» Liu: Proposing East River Bridge Tolls Will Go Over Like a Lead Balloon
» Asian American Justice Center to Hold Federal Contracting Workshop in Houston
» Attempted Poisoning at UCSF
» Lowell High School Reunion, Class of ’78
» Sukhee Kang Elected Mayor of Irvine
» Buddha Statue Withdrawn From London Art Sale as Buyers Balk
» ‘Transcendence: Modernity and Beyond in Korean Art’
» NL Cy Young Award Goes to Lincecum
» SEAG Federation Council Approves Three More Sports
» Vice President of Wells Fargo Takes on New Role
» London City Hall Reception for Asian Business Leaders
» Police Detain Former President of Taiwan
» Maldives Sinking? Searches for a New Home

Compiled By Josh Laddin

AsianWeek Market Report

AsianWeek Market Report
Asian Stock Indexes
NIKKEI 225	Tokyo	8,809.30	-272.13	-3.00%
HANG SENG	Hong Kong	14,040.90	-703.73	-4.77%
KRX	Busan	2,402.77	-55.08	-2.24%
SSE IX	Shanghai	6,099.77	-27.36	-0.45%
BSE	Bombay	9,839.69	-696.47	-6.61%
HOSE	Ho Chi Minh	351.71	-14.29	-3.90%
SET	Bangkok	309.83	-11.42	-3.55%
Asian American Market Report
Yahoo!	YHOO	11.12	-0.75	(-6.32%)
Citigroup	C	10.56	-0.69	(-5.80%)
Amkor Technology, Inc	AMKR	3.50	-0.22	(-5.91%)
Sybase	SY	24.75	-0.58	(-2.29%)
East West Bank corp,Inc	EWBC	15.78	-0.14	(-0.88%)

NATION

Inouye to Head Powerful Senate Appropriations Committee

Senate legend Robert Byrd, approaching 91 this month and hailing a “new day in Washington,” said he would voluntarily give up the chairmanship of the Senate Appropriations Committee with the new Congress.

Sen. Daniel Inouye (D-Hawai‘i), who is 84, will take over for Byrd on the powerful panel, which oversees hundreds of billions of dollars annually in federal spending. Byrd will officially hand off the gavel on Jan. 6, 2009.

Inouye has attracted some private criticism from his Democratic colleagues in recent weeks over his public support for now-convicted Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska). Inouye testified at Stevens’ public corruption trial, and he released a statement just two days before Election Day saying he would seek to block Stevens’ expulsion from the Senate if a resolution was brought to the floor. Inouye and Stevens have served together in the Senate for decades, and the two World War II veterans call each “brother,” their relationship is that close.

— Politico

. . . . . . . . . .

Liu: Proposing East River Bridge Tolls Will Go Over Like a Lead Balloon

NEW YORK — Councilman John C. Liu, chairman of the City Council’s Transportation Committee, stated the following about published reports that the Metropolitan Transportation Authority plans to propose tolling East River bridges that have served as free crossings between Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens.

“East River bridge tolls get bandied about every time there is a fiscal crisis. The mayor tried to impose them during the dire fiscal straits in the wake of the 9-11 attacks, and even then it went over like a lead balloon. This time it will sink equally fast—to the bottom of the East River. Proposing these tolls will only evoke nearly a century’s worth of emotional baggage that will only distract from reaching real solutions.”

“At this point, there isn’t any question that the MTA is in need of a bailout. However the costs should not be imposed only on a narrow cross-section of working New Yorkers, through a most divisive of approaches pitting boroughs against borough. A fair solution can only be found in a broad-based revenue source.”

. . . . . . . . . .

Asian American Justice Center to Hold Federal Contracting Workshop in Houston

EVENT: Federal Contracting: How Can Asian American Businesses in Houston Earn a Piece of this Multi-Billion Dollar Pie?
DESCRIPTION: At the workshop, federal contracting experts will share the best practices on how to deal with challenges to federal contracting programs in Houston.
DETAILS: Free, Wednesday, November 19, 8:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m., International Trade Center, 11110 Bellaire Blvd., 2nd Floor, Houston, TX 77072
CONTACT: (202) 296-2300 x138 or email hpark@advancingequality.org by November 17

BAY/CALIFORNIA

Attempted Poisoning at UCSF

SAN FRANCISCO — A University of California, San Francisco, researcher, Ben Chun Liu, was arrested Friday on charges that he tried to murder a colleague with a poisoned drink.

Liu, 38, is a post-doctoral research fellow in the Department of Urology where authorities say the victim also works as a lab research associate. Detectives discovered evidence of the poisoning during searches of both the lab where the two work and Liu’s home, police said.

Liu is a resident of China in the U.S. on a work visa. He has been placed on immigration hold.

— San Francisco KCBS

. . . . . . . . . .

Lowell High School Reunion, Class of ’78

EVENT: Reunion dinner for the Lowell class of 1978
DESCRIPTION: Relatives and friends of the Class of ’78 are urged to pass the word to alumni. We look forward to another successful reunion.
DETAILS: Saturday, November 29—more details available after contact
CONTACT: Julie Soo via e-mail at jdssfdem@yahoo.com.

. . . . . . . . . .

Sukhee Kang Elected Mayor of Irvine

Irvine elected its first non-white mayor, a Korean immigrant who credits his success in part to knocking on 10,000 doors. Sukhee Kang, 56, who served two terms as a City Council member, becomes one of only a few Korean American mayors in the U.S.

Kang, who immigrated to America when he was 24, says he needed to reach out to the community as a whole in order to secure a win.

— SF Examiner

ARTS/ENTERTAINMENT

Buddha Statue Withdrawn From London Art Sale as Buyers Balk

Buyers were reluctant to make expensive purchases at London’s Asian Art promotion, dealers said, after a £2.5 million ($3.95 million) Buddha was withdrawn on the morning of Sotheby’s Nov. 5 auction of Chinese works of art.

The 2-foot, 6-inch high Ming Dynasty statue, entered by a Scottish family, was the most valuable piece in a catalog that Sotheby’s had expected would raise at least 6 million pounds. After the piece was withdrawn, the 341-lot sale fetched 3.3 million pounds with fees, with 67 percent of the material finding buyers. No work sold for more than 200,000 pounds.

“The sellers felt it had to be withdrawn because of the state of the market,” said Robert Bradlow, head of Sotheby’s Chinese department in London. “When we first took in the piece, it was a totally different situation. We’re in the first phase of a change.”

— Bloomberg

. . . . . . . . . .

‘Transcendence: Modernity and Beyond in Korean Art’

Singapore Art Museum is proud to present Transcendence: Modernity and Beyond in Korean Art, an exhibition that examines the development of Korean art from the 1950s to the present, seen through the perspective of 13 artists, and the first of its kind in Singapore. The exhibition, featuring works on loan from the National Museum of Contemporary Art in Seoul, South Korea, as well as the artists, runs through March 15, 2009.

“The Singapore Art Museum has had many partnerships with our Korean counterparts, including the National Museum of Contemporary Art, Seoul National University Museum of Art, and Seoul Museum of Art,” said Director Kwok Kian Chow. “The Museum’s broader Asian focus is conceived as a continuity and an expansion in the scope of Museum’s current activities and programs, while maintaining its focus and strength in Southeast Asian art. Through strategic alliances with international arts and cultural institutions and artists, SAM hopes to contribute to an enlarged role in the regional visual arts community and Asian art museology, as well as facilitate art development.”

— Absolutearts.com

SPORTS

NL Cy Young Award Goes to Lincecum

SAN FRANCISCO — Tim Lincecum has been called “The Freak,” “The Franchise” and “Seabiscuit.” Now he can be called something else: The National League’s Cy Young Award winner.

The Giants right-hander earned the prestigious honor, emblematic of the league’s best pitcher, in voting conducted by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America and announced Tuesday.

Lincecum, part Filipino, outdistanced Arizona’s Brandon Webb, the New York Mets’ Johan Santana, Milwaukee’s CC Sabathia and Philadelphia’s Brad Lidge for the honor.

He compiled a league-best .783 winning percentage with his 18-5 record and amassed 265 strikeouts to become the first Giant in baseball’s modern era (since 1900) to earn that distinction. Against Lincecum, opponents hit .221 overall and .167 with runners in scoring position while averaging 7.22 hits per nine innings—all league lows. And his 2.62 ERA was the NL’s second best.

— MLB.com

. . . . . . . . . .

SEAG Federation Council Approves Three More Sports

The Southeast Asian Games Federation Council has officially approved the inclusion of archery, cycling and weightlifting in next year’s Southeast Asian Games in Vientiane, Laos.

“Those sports are added in the Laos SEA Games. This development gives our bid in the SEA Games a boost because we’re always a contender in those sports,” said Philippine Olympic Committee spokesman Joey Romasanta, who got the news from SEA Games Sports and Rules Committee Representative Go Teng Kok.

The inclusion of the three sports brings the total number of sports to be contested in the 25th edition of the biennial meet to 25. They are aquatics (swimming and diving), athletics, badminton, boxing, football, golf, judo, karate, muay thai, sepak takraw, shooting, table tennis, tae kwon do, tennis, volleyball, wrestling, wushu, fin swimming, petanque, pencak silat and shuttlecock.

— Manila Times

COMMERCE

Vice President of Wells Fargo Takes on New Role

Jimmy T. Wong, vice president at Wells Fargo Bank, recently joined the company’s Enterprise Diversity Group. In his new role, he will be working to develop diversity and inclusion initiatives and solutions for the company. He will work closely with the HR community, Employee Resource Groups, Business Line Diversity Councils, Diverse Segments Groups, Wells Fargo Foundation, Supplier Diversity, Corporate Communications and other external, diversity-focused groups.

In his prior role within Wells Fargo’s Business Custom Capital group, Jimmy was responsible for managing the Client & Sales Management Team for Business Custom Capital. During that time, he and his team implemented and deployed over 50 programs, trained over 2,200 bankers nationwide to sell Wells Fargo products and represented Wells Fargo in many venues and communities.

Jimmy is the latest recipient of the Business Direct and Small Business Segment Diversity Impact Award for all his work with the Diversity Council, his leadership role and active participation in the Asian Connection Bay Area (ACBA) Employee Resource Group and his work with many other Bay Area community organizations.

. . . . . . . . . .

London City Hall Reception for Asian Business Leaders

Boris Johnson and Richard Barnes, London’s deputy mayor, have been meeting leading members of London’s Asian business community at a City Hall reception held to thank them for their contribution to the capital’s economy.

Mayor Johnson said his team “are working hard to help all London’s businesses so that they can weather the inevitable economic downturn” and promised that “London’s Asian business community, which supports over 200,000 jobs, will be a major focus of our work.”

London’s two most senior politicians were joined by Michael Geoghegan, group chief executive of HSBC, who sponsored the reception as well as Tony Sarin, chairman of the Asian Business Association and Cobra Beer chairman, Lord Karan Bilimoria.

Mr. Geoghegan commented: “with nearly 2.5 million people in the UK having Bangladeshi, Indian, Pakistani and Sri Lankan origins and 10 percent of the UK’s GDP generated by Asian businesses, the contribution of this community is essential to the UK economy.”

— Mayorwatch.co.uk

GLOBAL

Police Detain Former President of Taiwan

SHANGHAI, China — Chen Shui-bian, the former president of Taiwan, was detained by the police in Taipei on Tuesday after prosecutors sought his formal arrest on corruption and money laundering charges, according to Taipei television.

Chen, who served as president from 2000 until earlier this year and headed the pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party, was led to court in handcuffs Tuesday afternoon. He paused briefly before cameras, raised his arms up over his head and shouted: “Long live Taiwanese independence” and “political oppression.”

But the court proceedings were suspended after Chen was taken to a hospital, The Associated Press quoted a lawmaker as saying. Lai Ching-te of the Democratic Progressive Party said the judge had ordered that Chen be evaluated at a hospital for a possible injury he suffered en route to the court building, AP reported. Chen was in court when the ruling was issued.

— International Herald Tribune

. . . . . . . . . .

Maldives Sinking? Searches for a New Home

MALÉ, Maldives — Fears of global warming are haunting the Maldives with its new president indicating that the Indian Ocean island country will not shy away from buying “land somewhere” that could act as an “insurance” against global warming that could submerge some of the world’s lowest-lying islands.

“We can do nothing to stop climate change on our own and so we have to buy land elsewhere,” said Mohamed Nasheed, also known as Anni, a former political prisoner who took power Tuesday after a swearing-in ceremony in the Maldivian capital.

Most parts of the Maldives, known for its luxury resorts and pristine sun-blessed beaches, are barely three feet above water. If the sea levels rise even marginally, it could submerge large parts of the archipelago.

“We do not want to leave the Maldives, but we also do not want to be climate refugees living in tents for decades,” he stressed.

Daily Dose: 11/11/08

Comments