The Star Online: Business
The Star Online: Business |
- Organising ‘balik kampung’ for displaced orang utans?
- Brent down on economy
- US stocks recover late from euro zone battering
| Organising ‘balik kampung’ for displaced orang utans? Posted: 12 Sep 2011 04:02 PM PDT DURING a media luncheon in Putrajaya yesterday, Plantation Industries and Commodities Minister Tan Sri Bernard Dompok had said in jest that Malaysia was toying with the idea of taking all the orang utans from the zoos of cold-climate Western countries "balik kampung" in the spirit of Hari Raya. However, he admitted that currently there was still no effective platform for Malaysia to undertake such an initiative. Balik Kampung in Malay means to return to the place of origin. In this case, Malaysia is considering to release the zoo-captivated orang utans back to its natural habitats in the island of Borneo. This perhaps is one way to counter the constant attacks from Western NGOs to prove to them that Malaysia is a responsible palm oil producer. In Sabah, for example, there exists a 47-year old Sepilok Orang Utan Sanctuary covering 4,300ha of the Kabili-Sepilok Forest Reserve, which was initially set up to rehabilitate orphaned baby orang utans. In addition, Malaysia via the support of local palm oil industry and Sabah state is currently pursuing a mega wildlife sanctuary involving 100,000ha of rainforest in an area of 300,000ha of contiguous forest zones in Sabah. Malaysian Palm Oil Council chief executive officer Tan Sri Dr Yusof Basiron had said the proposed wildlife sanctuary would have 100,000ha of nucleus with rehabilitation and release function for orang utan and other wildlife. This (the size of the wildlife sanctuary) is over three times the size of Singapore. "There are 4 million people in Singapore but only 11,000 orang utans in Sabah. This imply that if all the orang utans were to live in the mega sanctuary, they have potentially more land base than the people of Singapore by a factor of 1,350 times!" he said. In Perak, there is also the Bukit Merah Orang Utan Island Foundation set up by Emkay Group property tycoon Tan Sri Mustapha Kamal. It has been the driving force behind the island's operations and its research centre's main source of funding. The foundation handles the island's facilities, facilitating sponsorships and donations, organising orang utan infant relocation, displacement support, rehabilitation and education programmes, It also collaborates with universities, government agencies, schools, charitable organisations and NGOs. While green activists and Western NGOs have been lambasting world major palm oil producers Malaysia and Indonesia for killing the orang utan and destroying wildlife habitats from massive oil palm planting, many either intentionally or unintentionally have failed to recognise the poor conditions of many orang utans kept in the confined spaces under the non-tropical climates in the zoos of Western countries . Why can't green activitists and Western NGOs be more supportive of Malaysia's noble initiatives to protect the orang utan? Malaysia in fact fully welcomes all to participate in its move to provide a safer and more conducive environment for the orang utan. Therefore, for a start, why not give Malaysia a chance to prove itself to be a responsible palm oil producer? |
| Posted: 12 Sep 2011 03:55 PM PDT NEW YORK, Sept 12 (Reuters) Brent crude fell in volatile trade on Monday, weighed down by concerns the euro zone debt crisis could dent the global economic recovery and a bout of spread trading. U.S. crude rose more than 1 percent as traders sold the spread between WTI and Brent crude prices after it widened to a record high last week. Brent futures fell 52 cents to settle at $112.25 a barrel, after earlier falling as low as $110.42. U.S. crude rose 95 cents to settle at $88.19. "In the Brent market, we are seeing a little more profittaking on the WTIBrent spread and that is why Brent is down a little and WTI is up," said Gene McGillian, analyst at Tradition Energy in Stamford, Connecticut. The spread between WTI and Brent crude narrowed to below $24 after closing at $25.53 on Friday. The spread hit a record $27.23 on Sept 6. U.S. crude has been at a discount to Brent in part due to the glut of supplies trapped in the U.S. Midwest. A lack of pipelines has left growing production stranded at the Cushing storage hub without access to refineries on the Gulf Coast. In afternoon trading volumes in New York, Brent trade was twenty percent above the 30day average, with U.S. crude 13 percent below the 30day average. Wall Street dipped in volatile trade, on concern about the global economy.. Worries mounted that Greece may default on its debts, after finance ministers of the Group of Seven (G7) industrialized economies pledged a joint response to the slowdown but offered nothing specific to help their economies. OPEC CUTS FORECAST The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries cut its forecast for global oil demand growth next year because of a worsening economic outlook. OPEC said a disappointing U.S. economic performance could further weigh on fuel use. OPEC said in a report world oil demand would rise 1.06 million barrels per day (bpd) in 2011, 150,000 bpd less than that expected last month. The growth estimate for next year was lowered by 40,000 bpd to 1.27 million bpd. Investors were also looking at data that showed China's implied oil demand in August slipped to its lowest rate this year as maintenance and accidents cut into refinery production. Fuel consumption in the world's No.2 user has been losing steam since May, with growth easing from the doubledigit pace seen since last year as higher crude costs have squeezed refining margins and Beijing's credit tightening cut into fuel spending. Still, on a yearonyear basis, China's oil use expanded 7.8 percent, Reuters calculations based on preliminary government data showed on Saturday. Concern eased regarding damage to U.S. Gulf oil infrastructure after Tropical Storm Nate made landfall in central eastern Mexico. No other major weather disturbances were expected to affect the hydrocarbonrich region in the short term. Nate weakened to a tropical depression on Sunday as it moved further inland after cutting Mexican oil production by 178,800 barrels a day as of Friday. Mexico's Dos Bocas port reopened to shipping on Sunday, but the crudeexporting hub of Cayo Arcas remained closed. Oil markets also eyed production and exports of Libyan crude following the country's power transition. Libyan oil firm Arabian Gulf Oil Company said on Monday it restarted production at the eastern oil field of Sarir in an early sign the industry is coming back to life. |
| US stocks recover late from euro zone battering Posted: 12 Sep 2011 03:52 PM PDT NEW YORK, Sept 12 (Reuters) U.S. stocks rose on Monday, bouncing back in late trading, as hopes that Italy could get financial support from China tempered investors' worst fears over the euro zone's sovereign debt crisis. Traders started the day braced for a possible downgrade of France's top banks by Moody's Investors Service, but sentiment improved as various European officials succeeded in tamping down fears that political and financial leaders were losing control of the situation. Italy has asked China to make "significant" purchases of Italian debt, the Financial Times reported on its website on Monday. "It shows the Chinese are serious about addressing the stresses in the marketplace," said Robbert Van Batenburg, head of equity research at Louis Capital in New York. Wall Street's comeback suggested some easing of worry that the global economy was lurching toward another recession. Nasdaq led gains, with merger news helping to support tech shares. NetLogic Microsystems Inc ended up 50.8 percent at $48.12 percent after wireless chipmaker Broadcom Corp agreed to buy the company for about $3.7 billion.. An index of semiconductors jumped 3 percent while Broadcom shares dipped 1.1 percent to $33.06. Besides technology, financials were among the best performers on the S&P 500. The S&P financial index gained 1.2 percent. Fears Europe's credit crisis would drag on U.S. banks have been pressuring financial stocks for months, sending shares of some to at least twoyear lows. The Dow Jones industrial average finished up 68.99 points, or 0.63 percent, at 11,061.12. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was up 8.04 points, or 0.70 percent, at 1,162.27. The Nasdaq Composite Index ended 27.10 points higher, or 1.10 percent, at 2,495.09. The Broadcom merger "is a sign that many stocks are undervalued from a historical perspective," said Joseph Cangemi, managing director at BNY ConvergEx Group in New York. The day's gains broke a twoday losing streak, but the S&P 500 is still down 13.6 percent since July 22, roughly when the recent market downtrend began. Much of the recent selling has been tied to worries over the euro zone debt crisis. In another sign leaders have stepped up action, euro zone officials said U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner will attend a meeting of euro zone finance ministers on Friday to show unity in the face of market turmoil and risks to growth. The late rebound came after European shares finished at twoyear lows. Investors feared the euro zone's rescue plan for the sovereign debt crisis was in danger. On Monday Italy was forced to pay sharply higher interest to attract buyers for its debt. Mounting fears of a Greek debt default also caused investors to dump stocks. Because of the possible debt default by Greece, sources said they expected Moody's to downgrade French banks, which were seen as vulnerable. A backdrop to the market's early losses was a weekend meeting of the Group of Seven industrialized nations, which failed to come up with fresh proposals for boosting global growth. Barclays Capital, citing "higher levels of economic uncertainty," cut its fullyear target for the S&P 500 stock index by about 9 percent to 1,325. Volume was 8.3 billion shares on the NYSE, Amex and Nasdaq, above last year's average of roughly 7.6 billion. Decliners still beat advancers on the NYSE by about 15 to 14, while advancers outpaced decliners on Nasdaq by about 7 to 6. |
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