Fed chief Yellen reported to be upbeat on US economy |
- Fed chief Yellen reported to be upbeat on US economy
- Together again: Robin Wright back with fiancé Ben Foster
- China, US put the squeeze on N. Korea’s Kim in bid to secure bilateral talks
- Cover Media Video: Robin Wright ‘reunites with fiancé Ben Foster’
- Inspections must be carried out to ensure safety of high-rise buildings, says crime analyst
- Gold regaining shine after surprise rally
| Fed chief Yellen reported to be upbeat on US economy Posted: 29 Jan 2015 04:55 PM PST
According to The Wall Street Journal, Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia told reporters after a private luncheon with Yellen that she said "things are going well" for the US economy. "She feels the economy is strong, a lot is good," Manchin said, according to the Journal. New York Senator Chuck Schumer told Bloomberg: "Her message is that the economy's getting better but there's still a ways to go in terms of job creation. "That worry seems, in her mind, to be paramount and that's why she is not going to raise rates immediately," he said. The meeting came a day after Fed policymakers upgraded their assessment of the US economy, while acknowledging that international developments could play a role in their decision on when to raise benchmark borrowing costs from near zero. "She was generally pretty positive about fundamentals here, you know some concern about the foreign situation," Senator Tim Kaine of Virginia said, according to the Journal. Senator Richard Durbin of Illinois called Yellen's comments "very positive," according to both reports. — Reuters   |
| Together again: Robin Wright back with fiancé Ben Foster Posted: 29 Jan 2015 04:48 PM PST HOLLYWOOD, Jan 30 — It was only a couple of months ago that Robin Wright and her fiancé Ben Foster called time on their engagement. But according to insiders the couple are now "fully back together" and looking forward spending their futures together. — Cover Media
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| China, US put the squeeze on N. Korea’s Kim in bid to secure bilateral talks Posted: 29 Jan 2015 04:45 PM PST
The series of meetings comes as Kim is squeezed by both his main ally China and the US in a renewed bid to prod him to the table. In a sign the effort may start to bear fruit, Kim on January 1 suggested he'd be open to meeting South Korea's president and is on Russia's guest list to make his first overseas trip as leader in May. Bilateral talks would only be the first step toward resuming six-nation discussions on North Korea's nuclear weapons programme, and the reclusive regime has walked away before. Even so, a meeting would lower tensions on the peninsula that have been elevated since Kim carried out his country's third atomic test in February 2013. "My view is that North Korea is interested in direct talks with the US and a resumption of the six-party talks," Joseph DeTrani, a former top US intelligence specialist who met North Korea's Vice Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho this month in Singapore, said in an e-mail. "They know that Washington was and is receptive to talks if there is any hope of a meaningful discussion that addresses denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula and the North's commitment to said denuclearization," he said. While Kim sits on a nuclear arsenal estimated at 12 bombs and a standing army of 1.2 million, he faces United Nations allegations of human rights abuses and tighter US economic sanctions after a cyber-attack on a Hollywood studio in November blamed on North Korea. China has distanced itself from the regime, leaving it in further diplomatic isolation. China strains Kim raised the possibility of a summit with South Korean President Park Geun Hye on January 1, to which Park responded that she was willing to meet him without preconditions. North Korea would have to scrap its nuclear programme for any meeting to bear fruit, she said. Since then, Ri has met with former US officials including DeTrani while envoys have held a series of talks in Beijing, Moscow, Seoul and Tokyo. US Under-Secretary of State for political affairs Wendy Sherman is in Asia this week. China's refusal to strongly back North Korea after a series of atomic tests and Kim's move in December 2013 to execute his uncle ― the main conduit for communications with officials in Beijing ― may have spurred Kim to reach out. China protested the murder of four citizens last month by a North Korean soldier who crossed the border. 'Leadership role' "China has played an important leadership role, understands quite well that denuclearisation is the first priority here," Sherman told reporters yesterday in Seoul. "We all are working together to see what more we can do. Obviously the resolution by the UN General Assembly on human rights was an important statement. Our recent executive order on the cyber activities of North Korea has been important to this." Japan is urging China to play an active role in coaxing North Korea back to six-party talks on its nuclear program, Japan's envoy for North Korea Junichi Ihara told reporters. The six-party track involving North Korea and South Korea, China, Japan, Russia and the US collapsed in 2009 after North Korea walked out in response to UN condemnation of a long-range rocket launch. No Chinese president has met with Kim since he came to power just over three years ago. Last July President Xi Jinping met Park without first travelling to North Korea, becoming the first Chinese leader to visit Seoul without travelling before that to Pyongyang. 'Socialist camp' China has beefed up security near the North Korean border after a series of murders by North Koreans crossing over to seek money or food. In December retired Lieutenant General Wang Hongguang was quoted by the state-run Global times as saying China shouldn't come to North Korea's aid if a crisis puts its own regime in danger, adding the "socialist camp" no longer exists. The October opening of a three-kilometre-long (1.9 mile) new suspension bridge over the river separating the two countries near Dandong in China was delayed indefinitely, the state-run Global Times said October 31. For the US, the nuclear issue remains the most serious obstacle to reducing North Korea's isolation. On January 10 North Korea said it was willing to suspend nuclear tests if the US and South Korea halted annual joint military drills. US State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki called that offer "inappropriate," saying a fourth nuclear test would violate UN Security Council resolutions. Russia trip In December the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution calling for North Korea to be referred to the International Criminal Court for alleged crimes against humanity. US President Barack Obama this month called the regime "brutal" and "oppressive". Faced with pressure from China and the US, Kim has also been looking further north, sending a special envoy to Russia to meet President Vladimir Putin in November. North Korea accepted an invitation "at a supreme level" to attend anniversary celebrations in Moscow in May for Russia's victory in World War II, Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov said yesterday by phone. Russia hopes North Korea "will be represented at this level," Peskov said, adding it is too early to say if the visit could reduce tensions on the Korean peninsula. It's unclear if Park will also attend the event for the first meeting between the leaders of the two Koreas since 2007. "North Korea is feeling a sense of crisis by China getting closer to South Korea and the US refusing to change its policy," Lee Ji Yong, who tracks Northeast Asian relations at the Foreign Ministry-affiliated Korea National Diplomatic Academy in Seoul, said by phone. "The current diplomatic flurry has the potential to lead to bilateral talks between North Korea and the US." ― Bloomberg  |
| Cover Media Video: Robin Wright ‘reunites with fiancé Ben Foster’ Posted: 29 Jan 2015 04:45 PM PST Duration: 0:58, Published 30 Jan 2015 It was only a couple of months ago that Robin Wright and her fiancé Ben Foster called time on their engagement. But according to insiders the couple are now "fully back together" and looking forward spending their futures together. — Cover Media  |
| Inspections must be carried out to ensure safety of high-rise buildings, says crime analyst Posted: 29 Jan 2015 04:44 PM PST
Crime analyst, Datuk Akhbar Satar said periodical inspections on damaged fencings, for example, were important to prevent any undesired incidents especially involving children. "The inspections include checking faulty fencing due to rust or even missing fence due to theft. "If there is security fencing that is rusty due to exposure to the weather or the paintwork needed repainting then the necessary measures must be taken to delay the process of decaying," he said when contacted by Bernama today. In addition, parents must ensure that their young children did not play near the fence, he said. Akhbar said this when asked to comment on the incident where a five-year-old boy, Muhammad Hazriq Danish Alden, 5, died after falling from the sixth floor of the Public Housing Project (PPR), Seksyen 8, Kota Damansara, here yesterday. Meanwhile, the president of the Malaysian Crime Prevention Awareness Board, Datuk Seri Dr Saharuddin Awang Yahya said the quality of the steel fence used especially in the Public Housing Projects, flats and so on must be given serious attention. "In addition, the residents must also play a role by reporting to the project management if there were any faulty fences," he said. — Bernama  |
| Gold regaining shine after surprise rally Posted: 29 Jan 2015 04:42 PM PST
US exchange-traded products backed by precious metals took in US$1.9 billion (RM6.89b) this month through Jan 28, the first inflow since July and the biggest since September 2012, data compiled by Bloomberg show. Gold prices dropped 2.4 per cent on Jan 29, cutting this month's rally to 6.1 per cent, and Goldman Sachs Group Inc said this week it expects the metal will fall over the next year. After shunning gold for two straight years, investors are coming back to the metal as officials in Europe and Asia fight stagnating economies with more stimulus. Weaker foreign expansion had also increased bets that the Federal Reserve would delay raising interest rates. This week's statement from the policy makers that cited "solid" US growth damped that speculation, and bullion on Thursday capped the biggest decline since 2013. "While the gold market is viewing the Fed statement as negative and the US economy is getting stronger, one cannot ignore the economic stress in Europe and China," Jeff Sica, the president of Circle Squared Alternative Investments, which oversees US$1.5 billion, said in a telephone interview yesterday from Morristown, New Jersey. "I don't think investors will abandon gold now as a lot of easy money is getting added to the system." Futures in New York climbed for three straight months, the longest rally since September 2012, and January's rally is still poised to be the largest since June. Hedge funds and other speculators have the biggest net-bullish bet on gold in two years, US government data show. Assets in global ETPs backed by the metal are heading for the biggest monthly increase since 2011. Goldman forecast Gold futures settled at US$1,255.90 an ounce on yesterday on the Comex in New York. A day earlier Fed policy makers boosted their assessment of the US economy and labour market after concluding a two-day meeting. Commodities will lag behind equities, bonds and credit markets over the next three months because of losses in oil, gold and copper, Goldman analysts said in a report dated Jan 27. The precious metal will drop to US$1,175 in 12 months, the bank said. Bullion tumbled 29 per cent in the previous two years as the American economy improved. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index is near its highest level in a decade with the Fed the only central bank among developed nations considering raising interest rates this year. Higher rates cut gold's allure because the metal generally offers investors returns only through price gains. 'Remain bearish' "The pressure on gold remains because of the Fed's plans to raise rates this year," Rob Haworth, a senior investment strategist in Seattle at US Bank Wealth Management, which oversees US$126 billion, said by telephone on Jan 29. "I continue to remain bearish on gold." Still, the Fed said this week that policy makers will take "international developments" into account when considering lifting borrowing costs, and repeated a pledge to be "patient." A collapse in oil prices boosted the appeal of gold amid the threat of economy-damaging deflation. The European Central Bank's US$1.2 trillion pledge for bond buying and stimulus in Japan has raised the appeal of alternatives to currencies that are being revalued. "It looks like gold has bottomed," John Apruzzese, who helps manage US$5.5 billion at Evercore Wealth Management in New York, said in a telephone interview on Jan 28. The firm invests in equities, bonds, mortgage-backed securities, liquid and illiquid alternatives. "We think that there is a distinct possibility that the Fed may delay raising rates. We are considering going back to gold." — Bloomberg  |
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