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Friday, January 10, 2014

Internet addiction taking toll on health !

Internet addiction has become a new threat to healthy living for Malaysians, depriving them of sleep and exercise, a survey by a global insurance group has found.

A whopping 73% of Malaysian adults who took part in the 2013 AIA Healthy Living Index survey admitted that their online activities and social networking were getting addictive, putting the country a­­mongst those with the highest addiction rates in the Asia-Pacific region.

The poll by AIA Group covered over 10,000 adults in 15 Asia Pacific markets.

Of some 900 Malaysian respondents, 81% stated that spending time online prevented them from getting enough exercise or sleep while 80% claimed that their posture was affected.

The survey noted that this addictive trend would continue to be fuelled by children growing up with the Internet as an integral part of their lives.

On healthy living, 67% of adults in Malaysia felt that their health was not as good as it was five years ago.
Overall, Malaysia scored 61 out of 100 points in the survey.

Malaysia also fared poorly in the area of healthy habits, with 32% of adults admitting that they did not exercise regularly.

On average, Malaysians spent only 2.5 hours on exercise a week, below the regional average of three hours and below the ideal recommended by most experts.

Sufficient sleep was rated the most important driver of healthy living in Malaysia and the region.

While adults in Malaysia desired eight hours of sleep, they only had 6.4 hours on average, leading to a sleep gap of 1.6 hours, the third highest in the region.

Spending time online was listed as one of the causes of this sleep deprivation.

The survey mentioned that these not very positive health habits were aggravated by a preference for sedentary ways to relieve stress, such as watching TV or movies, playing computer or mobile games and spending time online.

Spending time with family and children or friends was also a popular way to de-stress for Malaysians.

Meanwhile, healthy food habits were still limited to the basics of drinking more water as well as eating more fruits and vegetables, although 56% of Malaysian adults were also trying to eat less sweets and snacks.

There was also much concern about obesity – 64% of Malaysian adults said they wanted to lose weight, above the regional average of 53%. Further, 93% agreed that obesity among younger people was a worrying trend.

Cancer, heart disease and being overweight were the top health concerns in Malaysia, with the former two being above regional averages.

Despite these concerns, only 50% of Malaysian adults had medical check-ups in the past 12 months.

The study found that 89% of adults in Malaysia felt that employers should help employees live a healthy lifestyle, mainly by providing free health checks, not subjecting em­­ployees to undue stress and ensuring workloads were not excessive.

AIA Bhd chief executive officer Bill Lisle said the company was committed to helping Malaysians live longer and healthier lives.

“Through this extensive survey, we are keen to identify and enhance awareness of the key trends that impact the health of adults so we can actively work with the community and our customers to promote more positive attitudes.”

Contributed  by Lim Ai Lee The Star/Asia News Network

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2.You addicted to Facebook ?
3.Cyber crooks target gamers; E-gambling dens menace, raid in Penang, etc
4.Technology can work both ways, problems and solutions

Thursday, January 9, 2014

Financial talent crunch worsen

PETALING JAYA: The talent crunch in the local financial services sector is expected to worsen in the coming years partly driven by the Gen Y segment that currently makes up about 25% of the workforce in the banking system.

Asian Institute of Finance (AIF) chief executive officer Dr Raymond Madden said that the talent shortage could be due to the lack of understanding on how to cope with the Gen Y group.

Madden:‘At the moment this group of people (Gen Y) makes up about 40% of the current workforce in Malaysia.

“Within the next eight to nine years, we expect the Gen Y workforce in the banking system to rise to about 50% from 25% currently, which means that almost half of the people working in banks will be Gen Y employees, namely those below 30 years of age.

“At the moment this group of people (Gen Y) makes up about 40% of the current workforce in Malaysia and in many Asean countries. This number is expected to increase to 75% within a relatively short span of time,’’ he told StarBiz.

According to the Financial Sector Blueprint published in 2011, the workforce number in the financial sector stood at 144,000. It is anticipated that over the next 10 years, the sector would require a workforce of about 200,000, an increase of 56,000 from the current 144,000 employees.

Madden said among the sectors in the financial services industry that were facing talent shortage was in Islamic finance, notably in the areas of syariah expertise.

Besides this, he added, the crucial areas in the banking system facing talent shortage were in credit and risk management, corporate finance, treasury and wealth management.

He said due to the expected rise of the Gen Y workforce in the financial services in the coming years, banks and other financial services sectors needed to have a better understanding and knowledge of this group.

This group, he said, was looking at what he termed as the three E’s – engage, enrich and empower. He described Gen Y as an impatient lot as they wanted to be prominent in the organisation and would join another organisation if they did not achieve their targets.

As this group was ambitious and wanted to climb up the career ladder as quick as possible unlike their older counterparts, hence employers needed to know how to deal effectively with the Gen Y segment.

Towards this end, Madden said AIF – through its four affiliate institutions – was working closely to beef up talent in the financial services sector.

The affiliates are Institute of Bankers Malaysia (IBBM), Islamic Banking and Finance Institute Malaysia (IBFIM), The Malaysian Insurance Institute (MII) and Securities Industries Development Corp (SIDC).

For example, he said the Financial Sector Talent Enrichment Programme (FSTEP), which is run by IBBM, had played an important role in training new graduates in the financial services industry.

FSTEP is an intensive-training programme that prepares trainees for the operational aspects of finance and banking.

AIF in collaboration with UK-based Ashbridge Business School carried out a survey this year, which among others, showed that 22% of Gen Y employees in Malaysia believed it was reasonable for them to be in a management role within six months of starting work at their respective organisations.

Commenting on the survey, he said there were also inter-generation gaps that existed in the financial services industry between the Gen Y and their older managers, adding that there was a clear difference in perception of Gen Y managers and Gen Ys themselves.

The survey polled 1,200 financial services professionals, including senior human resources personnel who actively manage Gen Ys in their respective organisations.

Contributed by by Daljit Dhesi - The Star/Asia News Network

Wednesday, January 8, 2014

Trapped Chinese research ship & icebreaker Xuelong makes successful escape from Antarctic ice

Chinese research vessel and icebreaker Xuelong sails in the open waters in Antarctica, Jan. 7, 2014. Trapped China icebreaker Xuelong made successful escape through heavy sea ice at 18:30 Beijing time on Tuesday. (Xinhua/Zhang Jiansong)

ABOARD XUELONG, Jan. 7 (Xinhua) -- Trapped Chinese research vessel and icebreaker Xuelong made a successful escape through heavy sea ice at 18:30 Beijing time (1030 GMT) Tuesday.

Xuelong, or Snow Dragon, has been making consistent efforts to "veer around" the whole day while navigating through thick floes.

The vessel had a difficult time trying to make a turnaround rightward, which started at 5 a.m. Beijing time (2100 GMT Monday), because of the thick ice and the snow covering the floes.

No breakout was made until about 17:50 Beijing time (0950 GMT) when Xuelong pulled a 100 degree turn and strongly pushed away the ice. Under the huge blow, a big floe right ahead suddenly split up and a channel of open waters showed itself. Xuelong quickly voyaged through the channel and broke free of the ice.

The Chinese research vessel and icebreaker, which was on China's 30th scientific expedition to Antarctica, on Dec. 25, 2013 received a distress signal from the Russian ship MV Akademik Shokalskiy which was trapped in Antarctic sea.

Xueying-12, a helicopter on-board Xuelong, last Thursday successfully evacuated all the 52 passengers aboard the Russian vessel to the Australian icebreaker Aurora Australis.

A helicopter from the Chinese icebreaker Xue Long rescues members of an expedition who had been stranded after their Russian ship was trapped in Antarctic ice. (AFP PHOTO/Jessica Fitzpatrick/Australian Antarctic Division)


However, after the rescue, Xuelong's own movement was blocked by a one-km-long iceberg which was continuously drifting northwest. Xuelong attempted to maneuver through the ice after the giant iceberg drifted away, but its breakout early Saturday morning was unsuccessful.

For these days, Xuelong's being stranded in heavy sea ice in Antarctic Ocean has drawn great attention from the Chinese leadership and the Chinese people. Under the directions of an emergency relief working group aboard, the Xuelong crew have been working in joint efforts to find a way out.

Currently, Xuelong is on voyage in open waters in the Southern Ocean where only a few floes drift on the sea surface, at approximately 66.45 degrees south and 144.50 degrees east. The ship, now sailing at a speed of 9 knots, continues its scientific expedition to Antarctica. - Xinhua

Xuelong epitome of humanitarian outreach

A series of events involved in the rescue of passengers from an icebound Russian research vessel in Antarctica have attracted attention from much of the world in recent days.

Now, China's research vessel Xuelong, or Snow Dragon, has successfully transferred all the passengers to safety, but eventually got stuck itself. The US is sending its most advanced heavy icebreaker to site of the incident for rescue, and Xuelong is trying to break out of the ice.

Xuelong has been in the spotlight during the whole process of the rescue. Originally sent to found China's fourth research station in the Antarctic, this research vessel turned its course immediately when it received the Russian ship's distress signal, regardless of any risks ahead.

Xuelong, not a professional icebreaker, failed to rescue the ship from the ice. But its performance, especially the success in rescuing all the passengers, has been given the thumbs up by global public opinion. China should be proud of it.

The Chinese public also expressed their full support to Xuelong's rescue operation. Although Chinese taxpayers would finally pay all the expense for the rescue, they believe that Xuelong has assumed its international responsibility, not giving a thought as to whether the mission was "worthwhile" or not.

Xuelong's mission is an epitome of China's attitude toward its international obligations. China is willing to integrate itself within the international community as a responsible member.

Along with the establishment of China's fourth research station, the country's scientific research level in Antarctica has already been ranked as one of the best. It is China's growing industrial capacity that empowers Xuelong to perform such a rescue operation. Once again, China's national progress was accidentally confirmed in Antarctica.

This whole rescue operation, at the very beginning, was just a "ship-to-ship" business. But public opinion gradually sensed the existence of the nations behind the scenes. It will come to an end as a humanitarian rescue event. Xuelong has already offered its best performance in this humanitarian test, which shows that Chinese society is growing to be highly mature.

Chinese people care about the image of its nation, but such an image never confuses them when it comes to making the right choice. Throughout the whole event, the safety of the rescuers and the people who were trapped was always their biggest concern.

Well done, Xuelong. We hope it can pull through from the trouble and resume its mission.

We also hope that such effective international cooperation will not only be seen when catastrophes occur. Such a spirit of cooperation will become the most powerful strength to reshape international relations in the 21st century.    - Global Times

Sunday, January 5, 2014

Challenging times for central banks all over the world to rejuvenate global economy


Banks must find balance between continuing to support activity without sowing seeds of another asset bubble

The decade and a half after the tearing down of the Berlin Wall was a golden age for central banks. It was a time of strong growth and low inflation presided over by committees of technocrats charged with taking the politics out of the messy business of setting interest rates.

The European Central Bank (ECB) was created, the Bank of England was granted operational independence and Alan Greenspan ruled the US Federal Reserve.

Mervyn King, who retired last year after a 10-year stint in charge at Threadneedle Street, described the period from the mid-1990s to the mid-2000s as the Nice decade. That stood for non-inflationary continual expansion and in the west was primarily the result of cheap imports flooding in from China, which kept the cost of living low and enabled central bankers to hit their inflation targets while keeping borrowing costs down.

Times have changed. The six and a half years since the financial markets froze in August 2007 have been anything but nice. Greenspan is no longer called the Maestro – the title of a hagiography by Bob Woodward before the sky fell in – and is instead vilified as a serial bubble blower.

Central banks found that their traditional policy instruments were ineffective as the banks tottered in the autumn of 2008. They resorted to more potent weapons: dramatic cuts in interest rates, the creation of money through the process known as quantitative easing; inducements to persuade banks to lend; forward guidance on the expected path of interest rates to reassure individuals and companies that the cost of borrowing would stay low.

There was no 1930s-style slump and the global economy bottomed out around six months after the collapse of Lehman Brothers in September 2008. But recovery was slow by historical standards and the global economy has displayed signs of being addicted to the stimulants provided by central banks.

All of them will be under scrutiny in 2014 as the world's central bankers seek a way of getting the balance right in continuing to support activity without sowing the seeds of another asset bubble.

Get it right and the reputation of the Fed, the ECB, the Bank of England, the Bank of Japan (BoJ) and the People's Bank of China (PBoC) will be burnished. Get it wrong and the history books will look back on the crisis and its aftermath as the years when central banks lost the plot and saw their credibility shattered.

The Federal Reserve (US)

The Fed made its intentions clear last month when it announced it was scaling back its quantitative easing programme from $85bn a month to $75bn, with further tapering due to take place during 2014. At the same time, the US central bank softened its stance on interest rates and said unemployment will have to fall to 6.5% – and probably lower – before the cost of borrowing is raised.

The low level of inflation means that policy can remain stimulative under its new chairman, Janet Yellen, but with growth strengthening, the Fed has to beware repeating Greenspan's mistake in the early 2000s when he left rates too low for too long.

Dhaval Joshi of research house BCA said: "From January the Fed is going to reduce the pace of its asset purchases and shift the policy onus to its forward guidance on interest rates, relying on the credibility of its words and promises. As we are in uncharted territory, the eventual market reaction is unclear, and there is certainly the possibility of disruption."

The European Central Bank (ECB)

After a quiet 2013, the ECB has a number of big calls to make in the coming year. Not only is the recovery from a long double-dip recession tepid but the euro area as a whole is perilously close to deflation. Greece and Cyprus are already seeing the annual cost of living fall. So the first question for ECB president Mario Draghi is whether to seek to stimulate the euro area economy through quantitative easing – QE – just at the moment the Fed is tapering away its programme.

A second, linked issue is the strength of the euro, which threatens to choke off exports. David Owen of Jefferies says the ECB has two possible policy options: QE or co-ordinated intervention to weaken the currency. Markets will also pay close attention to the ECB's asset quality review of European banks, when it has to decide whether to come clean about the capital shortfalls many are believed to face.
If Draghi is too opaque he will be accused of a cover-up; equally, he will get the blame if a fully transparent approach leads to a run on banks and – because they are large holders of euro-area government debt – drives up sovereign bond yields.

The People's Bank of China(PBoC)

The challenge for the PBoC is simple: remove the credit excesses of the world's second biggest economy without causing a hard landing. November's third plenum of the Communist party in Beijing set the Chinese economy on a liberalisation course, a move welcomed by most analysts in the west as likely to ensure the long-term sustainability of growth.

In the short term, though, there is the little matter of easing growth back from the 10% per annum of recent years to 6.5% to 7%. On the plus side, China still has a battery of credit controls that will provide protection against mass capital flight if things start to get sticky; on the debit side, the vast quantity of credit pumped into the economy in 2008–09 has led to an overheated commercial property market, heavily indebted local government and industrial overcapacity.

An indication of the challenge facing the PBoC was provided by the spike in interbank rates to almost 10% last month – raising fears that a tightening of policy is causing a credit crunch for the banks.

The Bank of Japan (BoJ)

Japan is a warning to the ECB of what can happen if deflation is allowed to set in. Just over a year ago, Japan's prime minister, Shinzo Abe, announced a "three-arrow" strategy that became known as Abenomics: radical monetary easing from the BoJ, a Keynesian programme of public works, and structural reform.

In the early stages of the programme, the BoJ is doing the heavy lifting, using negative interest rates and quantitative easing to drive down the value of the yen, raise import prices and push inflation up towards its official target of 2%.

Japan is especially vulnerable to a slowdown in the global economy which, on past form, would attract speculative money into the yen, drive down prices and force the BoJ into even more unconventional measures.

The Bank of England (BoE)

Mark Carney's big innovation at Threadneedle Street has been forward guidance, which he used when governor of the Bank of Canada. This involves a commitment not to consider raising interest rates until unemployment falls to 7%, unless there is the risk either of inflation getting out of control or of a housing bubble that can't be tackled using measures specifically targeted on the property market. But the Bank has underestimated both the speed of the fall in the jobless rate and the pickup in the mortgage market. Carney's fear is that premature tightening of policy will kill off recovery in its early stages, but markets are starting to question whether he can hold the line until the next general election in May 2015.

Contributed by Larry Elliott The Guardian

Saturday, January 4, 2014

Investing in 2014

Value Investing Summit 2014 - 'Live'


The end of the year is the time to reflect on the past and the beginning of the year is time to reflect on the future. 

SO how did your portfolio do last year?

The Dow Jones Industrial Average for US stocks hit 16,576 with a 26% gain for the year, the best year since 1996. By comparison, the Hang Seng Index performed 3%; Tokyo Nikkei did best at 57% and Bursa Malaysia ended 10.5% higher, just a tad off its record high.

On the other hand, the fastest growing economy in the world had the worst stock performance – the Shanghai A share index closed the year at -8%. Gold prices fell 27% to US$1,196 per oz, while property prices seemed to have done well in the United States and China. Bond prices are now extremely shaky, with the JPM Global Aggregate Bond Index falling by 2% during the year.

What is going on?

The answer has to be quantitative easing (QE) by the advanced country central banks. The world is still flush with liquidity and since investors are unclear on what direction to invest in, they have reversed investments in commodities (such as gold), avoided bonds because of prospective rises in interest rates and essentially piled into stocks.

Individual investors like you and I tend to forget that the market is really driven today by large institutional investors, including fast traders with computer-driven algorithms that have better information than the retail investor and can trade in and out faster and cheaper. It is not surprising that retail investors who have traditionally driven Asian markets have been moving more to the sidelines.

Even institutional investors are not equal. Long-term fund managers like pension funds and insurance companies are, by and large, highly regulated, with restrictions on what they can or cannot buy. So it is not surprising that the biggest money managers are today even larger than banks. BlackRock, the largest independent fund manager alone looks after nearly US$4 trillion, larger than most banks in emerging markets.

There are, of course, two types of asset management – active (where the managers actively invest according to their judgement on your behalf) and passive, where they simply follow the market indices or buy exchange traded funds (ETFs) that track market indices. According to the Towers-Perrin study of top 500 global asset managers, during the last decade, passive managers did better than the group as a whole.

So should we trust the market experts? I have been reading for years Byron Wien’s annual Predictions for Ten Surprises for the Year. Byron used to be a top investment pundit for Morgan Stanley but he is now working for Blackstone. His prediction of surprises is defined as events where average investor would assign one-third change of happening, but which he believed would have a better than 50% change of happening. He got roughly seven out of ten wrong in 2013, the more relevant mis-calls being the price of gold, a possible drop in S&P 500, the price of oil and the A share index.

Bill Gross, one of the top bond fund managers, pointed out that retail investors tend to be conservative, focusing largely on safe portfolios, such as investment grade and high yield bonds and stocks. But institutional investors have gravitated instead into alternative assets, hedge funds and more unconventional assets. Unfortunately, all these assets are “based on artificially low interest rates”. So if low interest rate policies are reversed, investors have to be prepared.

He rightly pointed out that the advanced country central banks are “basically telling investors that they have no alternative than to invest in riskier assets or to lever high-quality assets.” But if they withdraw QE or “taper”, then higher interest rates will cause a reversal of investment prices and also cause de-leveraging.

In other words, in order to bail out the world and keep the advanced economies afloat, their central banks are asking global investors to bear quite a lot of the risks of the downside. The smart money might be able to get out fast enough, but most retail investors do not have the skills to time their investments right.

So what should the retail investor do?

Peter Churchouse, who writes one of the best reports in Asia called Asia Hard Assets Report, quoted his son’s advice as “Buy good companies with strong earnings, strong growth and rock solid management. The world will go on.”

Quite right.

But how do we know which companies have rock solid management? My answer is: watch not what the annual report say (by all means read them), but look at what the management does. I have always tended to shy away from companies with high-profile CEOs who tend to win “Manager of the Year” awards.

There is, of course, no substitute for solid own research and look for yourself how the company or the economy that it operates in is doing.

The consumer or tourist is still the best investor because seeing for yourself gives you a feel of what is quite right or wrong with the country and just visiting the retail outlet, getting a sense of the service quality and the employee attitude would give you first hand what is right or wrong with the company you are investing in.

My favourite economy in Asia right now has to be Indonesia. I spent nearly 10 days over Christmas going through the markets of the most densely populated cities in Java and my conclusion was that Indonesia is on the move – literally. The population is young, mobile and connected. Every other shop seems to be selling mobile phones, cars or motorbikes. The quality of the retail shops, design and service has been improving over the years. And despite the coming elections, there is hope for change.

My bet, therefore, for 2014 is that if we stick to the better-run companies in the stronger economies, we should be better prepared for any tapering of QE to come.


Contributed by Tan Sri Andrew Sheng

Tan Sri Andrew Sheng is president of the Fung Global Institute.

Friday, January 3, 2014

Diaoyu islands activist makes a splash

A mainlander who tried to fly a hot-air balloon hundreds of kilometers to the disputed Diaoyu Islands was rescued by Japan's coast guard after ditching in the sea.

Xu Shuaijun, 35, took off from Fujian province on Wednesday morning in an attempt to land on one of the Tokyo- controlled islands, a Japan coast guard official said.

It was an ambitious goal - hot-air balloons travel largely at the mercy of the wind, and the islands are tiny specks in the East China Sea 359 kilometers away from the take-off point.

Xu sent a request for help several hours into his flight and ditched in the sea, with a Japanese rescue helicopter picking him up 22 kilometers south of his goal.

Xu, who was unhurt, was handed over to a Chinese patrol ship outside Japanese territorial waters. Photos distributed by the Japan coast guard showed a striped, multicolored balloon drifting half-deflated.

On his verified account on Weibo, Xu posted a short message declaring that he had been returned safely to Fuqing city in Fujian.

"I have returned safely," he wrote. "Thanks everyone for your concern."

His supporters wrote back with words of support, with many declaring him a "hero" who had done well even if he had fallen short of his target.

"So awesome!" one user wrote. "What innovative thinking and action!"

"It's enough that you came back safely," wrote another. "Brother Xu, your countrymen are proud of your pioneering act!"

Xu did not post any further details on his voyage but in two September microblog postings, he excitedly made note of his plans. 

In one, he shared a photo of a red Chinese flag with islands in the background.

"I got some expert advice today and am now full of meteorological knowledge! I'm flying to the Diaoyu Islands! Be Chinese with attitude."

In another, he posted what appeared to be a map of his planned route, with a bright yellow line drawn between the Fujian coast and the islands.

He declared the mission "the most difficult in the history of hot-air balloon flight."

-  AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

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Wednesday, January 1, 2014

Japan Prime Minister Abe’s Yasukuni visit deals blow to Japanese-US ties

Illustration: Liu Rui/GT

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's shameful visit to the notorious Yasukuni Shrine on Thursday strikes a serious blow against US-Japan relations. The visit was completely unnecessary and directly flouted friendly and constructive advice from the Obama administration. Americans should view the present Cold War era alliance with Japan as not only unnecessary but in fact counterproductive given the trend of rising militarism in Japan.

Often people in the US and in Europe perceive that WWII started in Europe with Hitler's attack on Poland in 1939. But the fact is that the road to WWII started with the Japanese invasion of China in September 1931.

Then 10 years later, the Japanese treacherously attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. Americans will never forget this day of infamy and betrayal.

Abe's visit to the notorious shrine is a direct affront to US President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden who both have worked hard to calm tensions over issues in the East China Sea. Just recently, Biden on his visit to the region encouraged the creation of joint Sino-Japanese mechanisms for crisis management.

Obama and Biden are doing their best to respond to a changing world and to the emerging multipolar international system. They have been acting in good faith toward Japan on the basis that Japan is believed to be a friend.

The American people have not held a grudge against Japan about WWII. But the increasing militarism and unacceptable behavior of leaders such as Abe may well bring back memories of WWII and cause perspectives to change.

My godfather served in the US Navy during WWII. He fought in the Pacific. I remember as a child in the 1950s hearing about his participation in the Battle of the Coral Sea. He returned home after the war and lived out his days in San Diego, California. I still have some letters he wrote to my late parents during the war.

A cousin of my father was not so fortunate. He did not return from his duty in the navy in the Pacific as he died from a kamikaze attack against his ship.

There was never once that I recall a negative word about Japan or the Japanese in my family's household. The war was over and that was that. Soldiers, sailors, marines, and airmen on both sides had done their duty for their respective countries. Time to move on, was the feeling Americans had.

This generous attitude of many in the older generation of Americans can change as Americans of the present generation and future generations reflect on WWII. The insulting behavior of Japanese politicians such as Abe, combined with Japan's trend toward militarization and extremism, may well open eyes and dispense with a heretofore "polite" attitude. The world has seen the results of such trends before.  American opinion, if betrayed, turns rapidly.

Has Japan ever really sincerely apologized for WWII? Germany so apologized and the memory of Nazi horrors is seared into German consciousness. It has consistently demonstrated its good faith through its economic integration in Western Europe and through its constructive and peaceful foreign policy. 

Abe's shameful behavior shows Japan's official attitude for the entire world to see. He is the prime minister of Japan. He is not a private citizen making a personal religious commemoration for spirits of the war dead.

Washington must reflect carefully on its national strategy and the Asia-Pacific component. So far, the unimaginative policy has been to continue the Cold War alliance structure and to revamp US relations with the region on the basis of increased military power projection to encircle a rising China.

The Abe shrine visit should be a clear warning to Washington that this strategy is deeply flawed and not sustainable.  The US alliance with Japan and Japan's rising militarism may well prove fatally counterproductive.

Contributed by Clifford A. Kiracofe

The author is an educator and former senior professional staff member of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations. opinion@globaltimes.com.cn

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Time to change!


.
LADIES and gentlemen, we are now moments away from 2014. If you are an employee, most of you will be looking forward to this time of the year as it may mean year-end holidays and bonuses.

Some of you may also be busy making your New Year resolutions. But if you are a business owner, you may be busy coming up with your business plan for next year.

Planning for the year ahead requires a bit of both reflecting on the past and looking forward to the future. Apart from my own annual business plan, as a marketing consultant, I also help some of my clients come up with their marketing plans for the year ahead, or elements of the plan.

The first order of the day is to narrow down the objectives and then come up with goals and plans to achieve those goals.

Naturally, the goals and objectives are always positive and geared towards growth. But any marketer or business owner will tell you, the marketing plan is always one of the plans that are changed the most throughout the year. Depending on what the company is offering and which market they operate in, for some companies, the marketing plan can be so fluid and dynamic that it can be changed as frequently as once a month or week.

Marketers have it tough and I often tell people who aspire to be marketing managers or want to be hired as one that if you are the type of person who likes routine work or following a set of rules, you are not suitable to be a marketer. People who are successful marketers are not just required to be able to change quickly when it comes to their marketing activities but also know how to run faster than the pack. Basically you cannot provide strategic marketing direction without knowing what is ahead or at least having the foresight to understand what will take place.

But change is something not everyone can embrace with open arms, especially for entrepreneurs. It always feels safe to stick to the same business model or plan every year. They think that as long as that plan is not “killing” the business, why not? For example, I am always amazed by one of my friends who is still using a very old handphone (I think it is eight years old) while I have already changed three phones in the span of that period.

Time for change: Letting go of old tools can lead to progress.
He can afford a new one, but stubbornly refuses to get one. Two years ago, his nephew had enough of his stubbornness and bought him a touchscreen smartphone. When I met this friend again recently, I saw he was still using the old phone. I asked about the new phone and he said it was sitting in his drawer as he found it just too troublesome to transfer all his contact details from the old phone to the new one. He was comfortable with the functions of the old one and did not feel like learning the functions of the new phone.

He does not realise just how much he is missing out on.

While there are few people like my friend, I think sometimes entrepreneurs can be like that when it comes to things they need to change in their business. It could be a non-performing employee whom they know they should have let go a long time ago, but just did not want to for fear of rocking the boat.

So they end up paying for non-performance year in and year out, to the detriment of the business.

It could be products they need to retire from their offerings or offices or outlets they need to relocate. It could also be about learning new things or new technology and starting from zero again.

All are hard and uncomfortable decisions especially when change is involved. Change is risky and can be a scary path, but if deep down we know and realise that the change will bring about something better, then we should not be afraid to change. Now is the time.

Contributed by Jeanisha Wan

Jeanisha doesn’t like last minute changes, but equates the need to change with water that needs to be constantly flowing to be fresh. She is more fearful of having her business end up like the water in the Dead Sea. Talk to her at talk2jeanisha@gmail.com. Happy New Year!

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