The Oracle of Omaha may give these brand-name companies the boot from Berkshire Hathaway's portfolio.
There’s nothing quite as magical as these words: ‘1-for-1’. We’re talking about 1-for-1 buffet deals across Singapore’s celebrated hotels and restaurants. It’s time we helped you know where to go get these and how to save 50% or more for a sumptuous, leisurely meal with […] The post 1-for-1 Buffet Dining Promotions In Singapore (March 2021) appeared first on SingSaver Blog - We Compare, You Save.
Local actor Terence Cao was charged on Tuesday (2 March) over a gathering of 13 individuals, including other celebrities, at his condominium unit in October last year.
HSBC bankers “fully knew” that Huawei Technologies controlled the accounts of affiliates through which it did business in Iran, undermining US claims that Meng Wanzhou defrauded the bank by allegedly lying about the relationships, a Vancouver court heard on Monday. But a Canadian government lawyer at the extradition hearing said it was inappropriate for the judge to weigh evidence that would be eventually be presented in New York if Meng were sent there to face the accusations, which she denies. “Save it for the trial,” said Robert Frater, representing US interests in the extradition case. He said Meng’s lawyers were trying to “distract” Associate Chief Justice Heather Holmes from her purpose of weighing extradition.Get the latest insights and analysis from our Global Impact newsletter on the big stories originating in China. Meng’s lawyers are pressing their claim this week that the Huawei executive is the victim of an abuse of process, and that former US president Donald Trump tainted the American fraud case against her so badly that the US bid to have her extradited from Canada should be thrown out by the Supreme Court of British Columbia. They are also seeking to further a separate argument about the alleged abuse, that US authorities misled the court with their records of the case. They are applying to have a series of affidavits admitted to the court to bolster that claim. On Monday, Meng’s lawyer Frank Addario told Holmes that the record of the case submitted by the US was “manifestly unreliable”. Meng is accused of defrauding HSBC by lying about Huawei’s business interests in Iran, conducted through a company called Skycom, which potentially exposed the bank to the risk of breaching US sanctions on the country. Huawei’s Meng takes HSBC to court in Hong Kong to seek bank’s papers Addario said the US record of the case left the court with the impression that as a result of a 2013 meeting between Meng and “Witness T”, an HSBC banker in Hong Kong, the bank believed Skycom had been sold by Huawei to an arm’s-length third-party company. But Addario said that “Peter Z”, another HSBC banker who managed the relationship with Huawei, “fully knew” that Skycom had been sold to a company called Canicula Holdings, whose accounts were still controlled by Huawei. “The risk committee at the bank relied on Peter Z,” said Addario, and US claims otherwise were “very misleading as it underplays what [he] told the global risk committee,” referring to the bank group that decided to continue working with Huawei in 2014. “Canicula was no mere third party, it was a non-arm’s-length affiliate whose bank accounts were managed by Huawei,” said Addario. In addition to Peter Z, “plenty of other people at the bank” were aware of this, he said, and it was “never a secret”. In HSBC emails, Skycom and Canicula were consistently referred to as “Huawei accounts”, Addario said. Holmes suggested that a fraud could be committed against a bank, even if its staff “lower down the hierarchy” understood the fraud or had information about it. Addario responded that Peter Z “was far more than a gofer, he was the primary conduit of information” between HSBC and Huawei. “Either he’s lied to the global risk committee … or he’s told them the truth and the requesting state has not told you the truth,” Addario told Holmes, adding that “either way the evidence should be in front of you.” Meng Wanzhou seeks HSBC records to counter Iran-linked fraud claims During his remarks, Addario initially identified both Peter Z and Witness T by their full names, prompting the Crown to complain; Holmes immediately imposed a publication ban on their full names. In rebuttal, Frater said there was an “inappropriate purpose” behind Addario seeking to admit the new affidavits, which represented an argument best made at trial and not at the extradition phase. “An extradition hearing is not a trial,” Frater said. “To the extent that there is a weighing function, it is a limited weighing function,” he added. He told Holmes: “Your job is not to get bogged down in minutiae, the six-point font of emails.” Addario had presented “standard defence cross-examination material”, which was not a matter for an extradition hearing. “If they get to trial they will confront all of those witnesses … That’s why we have trials,” Frater said. The proposed evidence “has no relevance to your function of deciding whether to commit [Meng]”, he told Holmes. The allegations that Meng is the victim of an abuse of process and that she was a pawn in Trump’s trade war with China have hung over the extradition case since she was arrested at Vancouver’s airport on December 1, 2018, throwing China’s relations with Washington and Ottawa into disarray. The suspicions were highlighted 10 days later when Trump told the Reuters news agency he would “certainly intervene” in the case if it helped strike a trade deal with China. Meng’s lawyers said this and other remarks by US officials showed the case was politically tainted. Canadian government lawyers, acting on behalf of US interests in the extradition case, say the entire argument is moot because Trump is no longer president. They have called the argument weak and “hyperbolic”. Hearings in the Vancouver extradition case are expected to continue until May 14, but appeals could drag proceedings out for years. Meng, who is Huawei’s chief financial officer and the daughter of company founder Ren Zhengfei, is living under partial house arrest at a C$13 million (US$10.2 million) home she owns in Vancouver. Holmes adjourned the case until Wednesday morning.More from South China Morning Post:Huawei’s CFO Meng Wanzhou takes HSBC to court in Hong Kong to seek access to bank’s internal papersMeng Wanzhou’s political abuse claims ‘moot’ because Trump lost US presidency, Canadian court toldHuawei’s Meng Wanzhou seeks HSBC records to counter Iran-linked fraud claimsAfter weeks of courtroom drama, curtain falls on witness phase of Meng Wanzhou extradition battleThis article Meng Wanzhou’s lawyers say HSBC ‘fully knew’ that Huawei controlled affiliates that did business in Iran first appeared on South China Morning PostFor the latest news from the South China Morning Post download our mobile app. Copyright 2021.
There is "no future" in Myanmar's military taking over the country again, said Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on Tuesday (2 March).
About one third of the roughly 150 ships owned by companies controlled by Singapore tycoon Lim Oon Kuin and his family have been sold as part of efforts to repay billions of dollars of debt owed to creditors, two sources told Reuters. Accounting firm Grant Thornton, court-appointed supervisor of Xihe Holdings, put up several vessels for sale through shipbrokers in September last year. Xihe Holdings is owned by the Lim family and held the bulk of their fleet.
It pays to be a DBS/POSB credit card holder. Here are all the deals you can get when it comes to food, food delivery, shopping, health, wellness and more. Named the ‘World’s Best Bank’ in 2019, it’s no surprise many of us might already have […] The post DBS/POSB Credit Card Promotions and Deals: March 2021 appeared first on SingSaver Blog - We Compare, You Save.
China is developing a super heavy-lift rocket that will be significantly more powerful than the SpaceX Falcon Heavy and capable of reaching the moon, according to the head of its lunar exploration programme. In an interview with state broadcaster CCTV, Luan Enjie said feasibility studies for the 100-tonne launch vehicle had been completed and the project was now at the follow-up research stage. Get the latest insights and analysis from our Global Impact newsletter on the big stories originating in China. Luan said development was expected to roll out over the next five years. He added the rocket would speed up China’s ambitious space programme and infrastructure development. This includes its first permanent space station by 2022 and a lunar station by 2045. “To put it simply, the 100 tonnes capacity means the vehicle can reach the moon,” he said. The new rocket’s payload is four times the 25-tonne Long March 5, the biggest member of China’s rocket family and the third most powerful orbital launch vehicle currently in operation. The Falcon Heavy is at number one, with a maximum payload of 64 tonnes, more than twice its closest rival United Launch Alliance’s Delta IV Heavy. Chinese state media announced in early January that the country was planning more than 40 rocket launches this year – its highest ever total – as it continues to expand its ambitions in space. According to the space agency’s official WeChat account, the planned launches will include the core module for China’s first space station. The Tiangong space station’s core module is expected to be launched in the spring, with the aim to complete construction by the end of next year. Last year was a busy one for China’s space programme, with the completion of the BeiDou satellite chain and the launch of the Tianwen-1 mission to Mars. The Chang’e 5 lunar mission was the highlight, with its successful return in December with the first rock samples from the moon in more than 40 years. China also conducted a secretive test flight of what was believed to be a fixed-wing reusable space plane, similar to the US space shuttle. Before 2007, China carried out no more than 10 launches a year but the programme has gathered momentum, with 152 launches over the past five years – more than any other country, although it still lags behind the US in areas such as reusable launch systems and satellite manufacture.More from South China Morning Post:Xi Jinping urges era of exploration as China nears launch of first space station moduleChina space station on track for 2022 with core module to launch in springChina launches new Long March-8 rocket in step towards reusable space vehiclesThis article China enters heavy rocket race with planned 100-tonne launch vehicle first appeared on South China Morning PostFor the latest news from the South China Morning Post download our mobile app. Copyright 2021.
The largest and oldest power cooperative in Texas is filing for bankruptcy protection, citing last month’s winter storm that left millions without power, and it is unlikely to be the last utility to seek shelter in the courts. Brazos said Monday that it was a “financially robust, stable company” before the Arctic freeze that hit Texas between Feb. 13 and Feb. 19. It said it received excessively high invoices from the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, or ERCOT, which operates the state power grid, for collateral and the cost of electric service.
S'pore has "no plans" to impose this on travellers looking to enter the country, said Transport Minister Ong Ye Kung.
Alexandra Wong disappeared for more than a year into mainland China's opaque judicial system because she joined Hong Kong's democracy rallies.
Until last week, the provincial town of Pokrov outside Moscow, lined with Soviet-era residential blocks and teetering wooden homes, had only one claim to fame: a monument to chocolate.
Former US president Donald Trump lashed out at China on his return to the national political stage on Sunday, calling it a “tremendous economic threat” to the United States and criticising the Biden administration for rejoining the World Health Organization. He also suggested, without evidence, that President Joe Biden would give concessions to the Chinese government because of his personal interests. “We believe in standing up to China, shutting down outsourcing, bringing back our factories and supply chains, and ensuring that America, not China, dominates the future of the world,” Trump said, delivering the closing address of the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Florida.Get the latest insights and analysis from our Global Impact newsletter on the big stories originating in China. “Companies that leave America to create jobs in China and other countries that have ripped us off for years should not be rewarded. They should be tariffed, fined and punished. They should not be rewarded. That’s what the Biden administration is doing.” The former president did not elaborate, or offer any evidence to support the accusation, although he recycled a conspiracy theory that Biden was beholden to Beijing as a consequence of his son’s former business ventures in China. Although he stopped short of declaring a 2024 run for re-election, Trump’s 90-minute address closely resembled a campaign speech, parroting many familiar grievances, ranging from immigration and pro-transgender policies to international treaties and wind turbines. “With your help we will take back the House, we will win the Senate, and then a Republican president will make a triumphant return to the White House,” Trump said, before goading the crowd: “I wonder who that will be. Who, who, who will that be?” “Ultimately, we always win,” said Trump, who used the widely watched platform to falsely claim he was the rightful winner of November’s election. Explainer: What is the US-China trade war? Of the numerous rounds of booing that Trump elicited from his supporters during his grievance-laden speech, some of the loudest were reserved for the WHO, from which the Trump administration exited over claims of a pro-China bias. “They really are puppets for China,” Trump said, calling the Biden administration’s decision to rejoin the body a “horrendous surrender”. And of the cheers from the indoor, largely maskless crowd, some of the loudest came when Trump said of the coronavirus: “As I call it, the China virus.” Trump’s framing of the new administration as being cosy with Beijing was at odds with a number of indications that Biden does not plan to substantively relax the aggressive stance towards China that has emerged in Washington over the past four years. Addressing senators at her confirmation hearing on Thursday, United States Trade Representative nominee Katherine Tai called tariffs a “legitimate tool” to countering China and said that the country must still deliver on the commitments laid out in the phase one trade deal Washington and Beijing signed in January 2020. The Biden administration has also endorsed a determination made by the Trump state department that China’s treatment of Uygurs and other ethnic minority groups in the country’s far west constitutes “genocide” and “crimes against humanity”. US-China trade deal: Washington unlikely to relent on Beijing’s commitments And this week, Biden announced a 100-day review of US supply chains to shift production of critical technologies away from countries that did not “share our interests”, a move widely seen as targeting China. Biden’s commerce department also recently signalled that it would move ahead with a China-focused, Trump-era rule that would block certain technology-related business transactions on national security grounds. Speaking on the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation earlier on Sunday about the administration’s plans to rally a multilateral front to counter China, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said there was “power in numbers,” and called on other countries to take steps to prevent technology flowing to China that could be used “for the repression of people” there. Yet despite the hawkish start to the administration’s approach to China, Republicans have continued to amplify the rhetoric of Trump’s re-election campaign claiming that Biden is incapable of holding Beijing to account. “They’re going to cave to China,” Donald Trump Jnr said at CPAC on Friday. Beyond speakers, the conference’s agenda also featured a number of China-focused discussion panels, including one named “China Subverts America” and another called “Corporate America Surrendering to China”. Biden orders review of US supply chains’ reliance on overseas producers Trump’s return to the national political stage on Sunday came after weeks out of the spotlight. Banned from posting on all major social media networks, Trump has surfaced only for a handful of television interviews and to issue statements blasting various political opponents, including Congressional Democrats and Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell. Congressional Republicans were divided as to whether CPAC should have given a stage to the former president, in the wake of his repeated and disproved claims that the November election was stolen from him owing to widespread voter fraud – a conspiracy theory that motivated supporters to violently storm the Capitol on January 6. “I don’t believe that he should be playing a role in the future of the party, or the country,” the House’s No 3 Republican, Liz Cheney of Wyoming, told reporters when asked whether Trump should be speaking at CPAC.More from South China Morning Post:United States’ Conservative Political Action Conference puts its focus on ChinaChina’s fiscal risks ‘extremely severe’, former finance minister warns ahead of key meetingsDonald Trump supporters want to ‘blow up’ US Capitol during Joe Biden speech, police chief warnsThis article Donald Trump says China ‘ripped us off for years’, hints at 2024 run for presidency first appeared on South China Morning PostFor the latest news from the South China Morning Post download our mobile app. Copyright 2021.
Most Singaporeans can't imagine owning an HDB flat without using their CPF money to pay for it. While some complain about how their CPF money is “locked” up, the compulsory savings scheme is no doubt a major factor that has helped Singaporeans achieve such a high homeownership rate. On top of using CPF money, the CPF Housing Grant, or HDB Grant, is another important policy that is helping Singaporeans cope with the high cost of home purchase.
The series is dedicated to inspirational men and women in Singapore leading healthy and active lifestyles. This week: spin instructor Jona Mae De Gollo.
An American father and son were handed to Japanese officials on Monday, their lawyer said, after losing an extradition battle over accusations they helped former Renault-Nissan boss Carlos Ghosn to flee Japan.
Chinese Huawei Technologies executive Meng Wanzhou was back in a Canadian court Monday to fight a final round against extradition to the United States, her lawyers challenging the crux of the case -- that she allegedly hid business dealings in Iran.
Authorities in Taiwan are urging the public to buy pineapples and support growers as a ban on imports into mainland China takes effect. Beijing announced the ban on Taiwan’s pineapples on Friday, citing the discovery of pests on the Taiwanese imports “on multiple occasions” since last year. The surprise announcement, which took effect on Monday, has fuelled public resentment on the island. Relations with the mainland have soured since Tsai Ing-wen of the independence-leaning Democratic Progressive Party was elected the island’s president in 2016 and refused to accept the one-China principle.Get the latest insights and analysis from our Global Impact newsletter on the big stories originating in China. To counter the ban, the public and private sectors have been promoting sales of the fruit for local consumption. Tsai has also been trying to reassure farmers in person, heading south to Kaohsiung, one of Taiwan’s pineapple production centres, on Sunday to address concerns. “No need to panic or worry. The government is watching your back,” she said. She promised the farmers that her government would help them open up the global market. She also called on the public, private organisations and government units to support the farmers by buying and consuming local pineapples. On Sunday, other Taiwanese leaders, including Vice-President William Lai and Premier Su Tseng-chang, also went to southern Taiwan, accusing Beijing of trying to use the ban to punish Taiwan. Major retailers, including PX Mart, I-MEI Foods, Largan Precision which supplies smartphone camera lenses to Apple Inc., and online shopping PChome, on Monday said they had either already put in orders for the fruit – ranging from 30 to 10,000 tonnes (9,800 tons) – or would be doing so to help the local farmers. Beijing’s ban attracted strong opposition online. “It is exactly the same as what they did to Australia! China is in the habit of using politics to force others to accept their unreasonable demands,” a Twitter user said, referring to China’s bans on the import of an array of Australian products, including wine, lobsters, beef and timber as their relations deteriorated. Taiwan denies pro-Beijing film producer and son residency visas In a tweet on Friday, Taiwanese Foreign Minister Joseph Wu said Beijing was banning Taiwan’s pineapples to “punish farmers in the south”. “Remember #Australia’s #FreedomWine? I urge like-minded friends around the globe to stand with #Taiwan & rally behind the #FreedomPineapple,” he said. Former Taiwanese president Ma Ying-jeou said it was understandable the ban had generated ill will on the island because it was announced suddenly during the harvest season and more than 95 per cent of Taiwan’s pineapple exports went to mainland China. He said the two sides signed a farm product inspection and cooperation agreement in 2009 and should put aside their political differences to talk about the issue. The agreement was signed when mainland-friendly Ma was president and adopted a policy to engage Beijing, which considers Taiwan part of its territory that must be returned to its control by force if necessary. The main opposition Kuomintang said it was working with the authorities in the 14 city and county governments it controlled to promote local consumption of the pineapples. Fan Shih-ping, a political-science professor at National Taiwan Normal University, said the ban was, in reality, a political move to increase pressure on Tsai. “But …[it] has served only to fuel the anti-China sentiment and pushed the Taiwanese public further away,” he said. He said the impact on Taiwan’s pineapple farmers would not be very severe because shipments to the mainland accounted for about 12 per cent of total Taiwanese pineapple production and because the Taiwanese government had committed to offer NT$1 billion (US$36 million) to help farmers tackle the issue. Taiwan’s agriculture minister said on Friday Taipei would spend NT$1 billion on marketing Taiwanese pineapples and safeguarding the income of farmers. Beijing blast an ill wind for Taiwan’s cross-strait affairs moderate According to official figures, the island produces about 420,000 tonnes of pineapples a year. Before the coronavirus pandemic hit about 12 per cent were destined for export. Last year, 97 per cent of Taiwan’s pineapple exports were destined for the mainland, with 2 per cent going to Japan and 1 per cent to Hong Kong.More from South China Morning Post:China bans Taiwanese pineapples over biosafety fearsChina’s ban on Taiwanese pineapples leads cross-strait trade into troubled watersThis article China’s ban on Taiwanese pineapples sours sentiment towards Beijing first appeared on South China Morning PostFor the latest news from the South China Morning Post download our mobile app. Copyright 2021.
Texas' top utilities regulator resigned Monday in the widening fallout from blackouts triggered by an unusually heavy and widespread winter storm that left millions in the state without power and water for days. DeAnn Walker, the chairwoman of the Public Utility Commission, is the highest-ranking official to step down in the aftermath of one of the largest power failures in U.S. history. Gov. Greg Abbott appointed Walker to the commission in 2017, and she is one of two commissioners who used to work in his office.
Parts of Singapore experienced slightly hazy conditions with burning smell on Tuesday morning (2 March).
There are a lot of buzzwords financial advisors and experienced investors use that are crucial to know, and yet is confusing and intimidating to the novice investors.
