"I am dead against shoebox developments," he said in an article by Bloomberg. "The government should intervene. Singapore's land is very precious and you are wasting your scarce resources" by developing shoebox homes. More »Shoebox units "almost inhuman": CapitaLand CEO
The findings, part of the Futurepriority Report 2012 published by Scorpio Partnership and supported by Standard Chartered Priority Bank, gathered views from individuals worth more than US$1.4 million (S$1.8 million). More »S'pore has least happy millionaires in Asia
Eurozone tensions rose Thursday after grim news on the economic outlook and as investors sought safety in Germany on growing doubts over Greece's future in the currency union. More »Eurozone strains intensify as 'massive shock' looms
(Reuters) - Claims by four of Wall Street's main market makers against Nasdaq over Facebook's botched IPO are likely to exceed $100 million, as they and other traders continue to deal with thousands of problems with customer orders. A technical glitch delayed the social networking company's market debut by 30 minutes on Friday and many client orders were delayed, giving some investors and traders significant losses as the stock price dropped. The exchange operator is facing lawsuits from investors and threats of legal action from brokers. ... More »Facebook market makers' losses total at least $100 million
Hong Kong billionaire Li Ka-shing on Friday confirmed that his eldest son will eventually control his business empire, but the 83-year-old tycoon dismissed suggestions that he is about to retire. More »Asia's richest man anoints son to head empire
PARIS (Reuters) - Al Jazeera, best known for its Middle Eastern news coverage, aims to become a global powerhouse in sports broadcasting over the next five years, its director told Reuters. The Qatar-based broadcaster will launch its new sports channel dubbed 'beIN Sport' in France next week and plans for two more channels in the United States in August. It is also currently weighing whether to bid for the UK rights to the English Premier League, said Nasser al-Khelaifi, director of Al Jazeera Sports, in an interview. ... More »Al Jazeera seeks to build global brand in sports
The Obama administration on Friday rejected calls from Congress to brand China a currency manipulator, but said its "significantly undervalued" currency was a key brake on global growth. More »US says China's yuan undervalued, not manipulated
TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan is leaning toward a policy of halving nuclear power's share of electricity supply from pre-Fukushima levels to about 15 percent by 2030, but will likely stop short of pledging the long-term exit strategy that many voters favour, experts said. That would be a victory of sorts for a nuclear industry that has been under fire since a huge earthquake and tsunami devasted the Fukushima atomic plant in March 2011, triggering meltdowns in the world's worst radiation accident in a quarter century. ... More »Japan eyes smaller nuclear role but no exit strategy
Toyota said Friday it will roll out a number of new compact cars priced around $12,500 in developing nations, targeting sales of more than one million of the models annually in emerging markets by 2015. More »Toyota making eight new models for emerging markets
YANGON (Reuters) - Five days of street protests over chronic power shortages present Myanmar's reformist government with a headache and an opportunity. Police forcibly dispersed protesters in the central Myanmar town of Pyi on Thursday, a heavy-handed response reminiscent of the previous military junta that could fuel grievances among an impoverished and long-neglected people. ... More »Myanmar protests an opportunity to show more reform
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iran and world powers agreed to meet again in Moscow next month for more talks to try to end the long-running dispute over Tehran's nuclear programme, but there was scant progress to resolve the main sticking points between the two sides. At the heart of the dispute is Iran's insistence that it has the right to enrich uranium and that economic sanctions should be lifted before it stops activities that could lead to its achieving the capability to make nuclear weapons. Western powers insist Tehran must first shut down enrichment activities before sanctions can be eased. ... More »Iran, big powers agree to hold more nuclear talks in June
LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's Queen Elizabeth will celebrate 60 years on the throne next month along with huge crowds expected for a pop concert at Buckingham Palace, a grand procession through the streets of London and a 1,000-strong flotilla along the River Thames. The Diamond Jubilee comes just over a year after the royal wedding of Prince William, the queen's grandson, to Kate Middleton, a spectacular display of pomp and pageantry which has boosted the monarchy's popularity at home and abroad. ... More »Crowds to crown UK queen's 60th anniversary party
OAK BROOK, Ill. (Reuters) - McDonald's Corp investors soundly rejected a shareholder proposal that would have required the world's biggest fast-food chain to assess its impact on childhood obesity. The subject was a major topic of discussion at Thursday's annual shareholder meeting, which also served as a send-off for retiring Chief Executive Jim Skinner - whose nearly eight years at the helm will be remembered as a time when the price of McDonald's stock tripled. ... More »Anti-obesity proposal fails again at McDonald's
(Reuters) - Analysts said Hewlett Packard Co's plan to cut jobs was a step in the right direction but the PC maker will have to do more to regain investors' confidence. Shares of the world's No. 1 personal computer maker were up 6 percent at $22.26 in early trading on the New York Stock Exchange on Thursday. "While we certainly don't believe HP has resolved all their issues, we do see the company moving in the right direction," RBC Capital Markets LLC analyst Amit Daryanani wrote in a note to clients. ... More »Analysts back Hewlett Packard's layoff plans
CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (Reuters) - Space Exploration Technologies' unmanned Dragon spaceship flew smoothly in a practice drive by the International Space Station on Thursday, clearing the way for it to become the first private vessel to reach the orbital outpost. If Dragon continues to operate as planned, it will fly to within about 30 feet (9 metres) of the $100 billion station on Friday and shut down its maneuvering thrusters so the station crew can snare it with a robotic crane and hook it onto a docking port. ... More »SpaceX capsule zips through practice drive by space station
TORONTO (Reuters) - Shares in Research In Motion Ltd fell more than 3 percent on Thursday morning after the BlackBerry maker said its global sales chief had resigned. The resignation of Patrick Spence, a 14-year RIM veteran, comes as the Canadian company struggles to sell legacy products and prepares for the make-or-break launch of its new smartphone later this year. London-based Spence had risen steadily through RIM's ranks and was widely credited with building strong sales growth in the Middle East and other emerging markets. ... More »BlackBerry stock falls after sales chief resigns
BOSTON (Reuters) - Fidelity Investments said it was working with "thousands" of brokerage clients affected by trading issues that have engulfed Facebook Inc's much-anticipated initial public offering, according to a source familiar with the situation. The social media site's IPO has been steeped in controversy since it started trading last Friday. Almost a week later, many investors have found that their orders for Facebook were not executed at the prices they thought, said advisers, who declined to be identified because they are not allowed to speak to the press. ... More »Exclusive: Fidelity facing "thousands" hit by Facebook woes
(Reuters) - A legal battle erupted between DISH Network and some of the major broadcast networks Thursday as the two sides traded lawsuits over the satellite distribution company's "Hopper" DVR, which threatens to bring down the television business model by allowing viewers to skip over commercials entirely. Dish Network Corp asked a Manhattan federal judge to declare that its "Auto Hop" feature does not infringe any copyright owned by the four major U.S. television networks: Walt Disney Co's ABC, CBS Corp's CBS, News Corp's Fox and Comcast Corp's NBC. ... More »Dish, TV networks take fight over ad zapper to judges
Nearly 500 people were seized by police across Asia over an $11.5-million telecom scam targeting people in China, state media said on Thursday. More »500 arrested Asia-wide over telecom scam: state media
A Hong Kong tycoon is facing prosecution for alleged bribery and money laundering in connection with a government land sale on the Cotai casino strip in Macau, his company said. More »Hong Kong tycoon faces Macau corruption trial
