Daily Dose: 11/21/08

November 21, 2008

» AsianWeek Market Report
» Call to APIA Communities for Resumes for Presidential Appointment Positions
» Chinatown YMCA Starts Building Project This Week
» Asian Lung Cancer Survivor for Lung Cancer Awareness Month
» Six Asian American Artists Named Today as USA Fellows
» KoreAm Journal and Hyundai Present ‘Unforgettable: A Night of Entertainment Awards’
» Hong Kong Teen, 14, Youngest to Make Euro Tour Cut
» Pacquiao Confident as He Prepares for De La Hoya
» Craig S. On Named Chief Financial Officer of UCBH Holdings, Inc.
» Burma Comic Jailed for 45 years
» Singapore Officially in Recession

Compiled by Carlos Militante and Justine Rivero

AsianWeek Market Report

AsianWeek Market Report
Asian Stock Indexes
NIKKEI 225	Tokyo	7,910.79	207.75	2.70%
HANG SENG	Hong Kong	12,659.20	360.64	2.93%
KRX	Busan	2,130.42	119.69	5.95%
SSE IX	Shanghai	6,711.35	14.52	0.22%
BSE	Bombay	8,915.21	464.20	5.49%
HOSE	Ho Chi Minh	318.96	-6.78	-2.08%
SET	Bangkok	274.51	3.31	1.22%
Asian American Market Report
Yahoo!	YHOO	9.09	0.15	(1.68%)
Citigroup	C	3.27	-1.44	(-31.85%)
Amkor Technology, Inc	AMKR	1.35	-0.40	(-22.70%)
Sybase	SY	22.55	0.11	(0.49%)
East West Bank corp,Inc	EWBC	9.96	-1.62	(-13.99%)

NATION

Call to APIA Communities for Resumes for Presidential Appointment Positions

The National Council of Asian Pacific Americans (NCAPA) has engaged the Obama Presidential Transition Team to ensure diversity and inclusion at all levels of government by recommending individuals for positions within the new administration.

In order to ensure diversity and inclusion at all levels of government, various minority and civil rights organizations are recommending individuals for positions within the new Administration.

NCAPA, a coalition of twenty-five Asian Pacific American organizations around the country, will embark on a process to recommend qualified candidates of Asian American (AA) and Native Hawaiian & Pacific Islander (NHPI) descent to certain positions that are presidential appointments with Senate confirmation and within the executive branch departments and independent agencies.

They are accepting applications on an on-going basis, please email applications to aapitransition08@gmail.com or for more information.

BAY/CALIFORNIA

Chinatown YMCA Starts Building Project This Week

SAN FRANCISCO — Chinatown YMCA finally has a construction team on site to begin work on the building at 855 Sacramento Street. The project includes a renovation of the current 1926 four-story building as well as construction of a new three-story addition. The existing YMCA building will be renovated and upgraded to be safe, accessible and more energy efficient.

The Chinatown YMCA is committed to community involvement in all phases of the construction and will continue to work with the Chinese for Affirmative Action (CAA) and the construction company to include members of the community in all phases of the project.

To learn more about the Chinatown YMCA and the Capital Project please visit ymcasf.org/Chinatown.

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Asian Lung Cancer Survivor for Lung Cancer Awareness Month

As November marks Lung Cancer Awareness Month, statistics show that Chinese have the highest mortality rates for lung and bronchial cancer among all Asian Americans and rates are high among Chinese American women.

Emily Wong, a 48-year-old Bay Area Chinese American woman diagnosed with inoperable Stage IV lung cancer, is one of the new faces of lung cancer — female, young and a non-smoker.

Though doctors gave her only a few months to live in July 2006, with the help of the targeted treatment, Avastin, Emily has defied the odds. More than two years after her initial grim diagnosis, Emily’s disease remains stable and she continues to lead a full and busy life.

In June 2008, Emily launched Stanford University’s first lung cancer support group. The support group today has more than two-dozen members, many of whom are Asian women who have never smoked.

ARTS/ENTERTAINMENT

Six Asian American Artists Named Today as USA Fellows

The national artists’ advocacy organization United States Artists (USA) announced today the fifty recipients of $50,000 USA Fellowship grants for artistic excellence. Among them, six Asian American artists will be honored this evening at a celebration at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago, alongside other winners in the visual, performing, and literary arts: Robert Cazimero, Hawaiian musician and composer; Jeffrey Chang, nonfiction writer; Tehching Hsieh, performance artist; Lê Thi Diem Thúy, poet, novelist and performance artist; Wu Man, Chinese pipa musician; and J. Meejin Yoon, architect and designer.

This is the third year of the USA Fellows program — bringing the total funds awarded directly to working artists to $7.5 million. Particularly in today’s economic climate, this support is a vital investment in America’s creative future.

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KoreAm Journal and Hyundai Present ‘Unforgettable: A Night of Entertainment Awards’

LOS ANGELES — KoreAm Journal will toast its 18th year as a publication at its seventh annual gala, “Unforgettable,” hosted by Margaret Cho on Friday, November 21. A celebrity-studded affair that brings out those in all facets of the entertainment industry, “Unforgettable” is the premier event of the year in the Korean American community.

Along with title sponsor CJ Entertainment, KoreAm will present achievement awards to actor John Cho, Academy Award-winning film producer Roy Lee and former executive editor of People magazine Jeannie Park.

The festive event will be held at the legendary Park Plaza Hotel, which will be decked out in a winter holiday theme. Featured performers include R singer Se7en, MTV’s America’s Best Dance Crew finalist Kaba Modern, 16-year-old jazz saxophone prodigy Grace Kelly, contemporary jazz saxophonist Danny Jung and pop sensation Baby J. The evening will be a chance to wine and dine while celebrating the accomplishments of Korean Americans.

SPORTS

Hong Kong Teen, 14, Youngest to Make Euro Tour Cut

HONG KONG — A 14-year-old golfer from Hong Kong became the youngest player to make the cut at a European Tour event on Friday, breaking the record set by Sergio Garcia.

Jason Hak shot 70 in each of the first two rounds at his home tournament, the $2.5 million Hong Kong Open, just making the par 140 cut.

Garcia, currently No. 2 in the world, was 15 years, 46 days old, when he made the cut at the 1995 Turespana Open Mediterrania in Valencia, Spain.

Hak said he’s enjoyed playing in a star-studded field that includes several former major winners, saying “hi” to two-time Masters champion Bernhard Langer of Germany.

— AP

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Pacquiao Confident as He Prepares for De La Hoya

LOS ANGELES — Trainer Freddie Roach believes Manny Pacquiao will have one significant edge when he fights Oscar De La Hoya: concentration.

Roach said the 35-year-old De La Hoya has changed since his younger days as one of the most dominant fighters.

Pacquiao, who faces De La Hoya on Dec. 6 in Las Vegas, said he doesn’t know if his opponent is weak minded. The 29-year-old from the Philippines is also concentrating on his preparation ahead of the bout.

The fight will be literally the biggest ever for Pacquiao, who first fought at 106 pounds and will be fighting at the welterweight limit of 147. He has gained weight while De La Hoya has been losing. At 5-foot-10 1/2, some 4 inches taller than Pacquiao, De La Hoya has fought at 160 pounds but is down to 145.

— AP

COMMERCE

Craig S. On Named Chief Financial Officer of UCBH Holdings, Inc.

SAN FRANCISCO — UCBH Holdings, Inc., the holding company of United Commercial Bank, today announced the appointment of Mr. Craig S. On as executive vice president and chief financial officer of UCBH and UCB, effective October 23. Mr. On has been serving as senior vice president and interim chief financial officer of the company since May 2008. Prior to that, he had served as the Company’s deputy chief financial officer since March 2008 and senior vice president and corporate controller since June 2005.

Mr. On joined the Company after a twenty-one years with the public accounting firm of Deloitte & Touche LLP, where he served in the capacity of audit director and oversaw the audits of commercial and community banks, investment management and hedge fund companies, as well as multi-lateral development banks and mortgage banking organizations.

Mr. On is a Certified Public Accountant with an MBA degree in accounting from California State University at Hayward and a BS degree in Psychology from the University of California, Berkeley.

GLOBAL

Burma Comic Jailed for 45 years

Zarganar, a popular comedian active in Burma’s democracy movement, has been sentenced to 45 years in jail by a Burmese court for violating the Electronics Act, which regulates electronic communications.

Zarganar led a group of entertainers who organized private aid deliveries to victims of Cyclone Nargis, which hit in May. An outspoken satirist of the military government, Zarganar had already been arrested and jailed four times before he was taken from his home again by the authorities in June.

He is the latest in a string of opposition activist to be given long jail terms by the military government. More than 100 activists have been sentenced over the past two weeks in a judicial crackdown across the spectrum of Burma’s pro-democracy movement. This wave of trials has been condemned by the UN and rights groups, as well as the United States and European countries.

— BBC NEWS
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Singapore Officially in Recession

In Singapore’s first recession since 2002, Singapore’s economy shrank between July and September, confirming it was the first Asian country in recession in the current financial crisis.

The island’s economy shrank 6.8 percent in the third quarter, according to government data, worse than the first estimate of 6.3 percent the government made last month. Hong Kong and Japan have since gone into recession as well. The Singapore government now forecasts that its economy will shrink by 1 percent for the whole of 2009.

Despite the data, the country’s central bank has said it does not have plans to cut interest rates before April 2009. The central bank had already cut rates in October and the Singaporean dollar had been weakening in the expectation of further cuts.

Despite the bank’s stance, the government has promised 2.3 billion Singapore dollars (£1B; $1.5B) in order to help small businesses access credit in the economic downturn.

Daily Dose: 11/21/08

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