2008년 9월 18일 목요일

Central Banks Pump Cash Into Market

Central Banks Pump Cash Into Market

By MATTHEW SALTMARSH
Published: September 18, 2008
PARIS — The Federal Reserve, the European Central Bank, the Bank of Japan and other central banks significantly escalated the assistance offered to global money markets on Thursday, coordinating efforts to ease monetary constraints stemming from the turmoil emanating from Wall Street.


Richard Drew/Associated Press
Christopher Crotty worked on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange on Wednesday.
The Fed said in a statement that it had authorized a $180 billion expansion of its temporary reciprocal currency arrangements, known as swap lines, to allow banks to borrow more dollars in markets at a lower rates.

“This is clearly a very significant help and central banks are showing decisive leadership here as risk aversion is hitting the private sector,” said Julian Callow, the chief European economist at Barclays Capital in London.

The Fed also authorized increases in the existing swap lines with the European Central Bank, up to $110 billion from $55 billion, and the Swiss National Bank, up to $27 billion from $15 billion.

New swap facilities were established by the Fed with the Bank of Japan, for $60 billion; the Bank of England, for $40 billion; and the Bank of Canada for $10 billion.

“The central banks continue to work together closely and will take appropriate steps to address the ongoing pressures,” the European Central Bank said in a statement.

The concerted action followed sharp drops in financial markets amid fears of more Wall Street failures during a week that saw Lehman Brothers file for bankruptcy protection, Merrill Lynch sell itself to Bank of America and an $85 billion bailout of the insurance giant the American International Group.

At the same time, banks had drastically slowed their lending to each other via the money markets as the short rates at which they borrow surged and they sought to keep cash on their books, fearful that loans might not be repaid.

Benchmark indexes in Europe rose Thursday and short-term dollar funding costs fell after the central bank action. The FTSE-100 added 1.5 percent.

Mr. Callow at Barclays said the move showed how significant smooth operations in money markets are considered by the central banks and just how concerned policy makers are by the health of lenders.

Late Wednesday, news emerged of possible takeovers involving the investment bank Morgan Stanley and the thrift Washington Mutual. The sale of the major British mortgage lender HBOS was confirmed Thursday, reflecting the seismic change in the global financial landscape.

Central banks in Japan, Australia and India pumped a further $28 billion into money markets while China relaxed its monetary policy for the second time this week, Reuters reported.

South Korea sold dollars in the swap market and said it would try to halt the slide in bond prices, the Philippines intervened to support the peso and Taiwan warned it could use a state fund to prop up stocks as markets see-sawed across the region.

Still analysts said that the cash infusions did not necessarily mean that central banks would lower their benchmark short term interest rates.

“If anything,” Mr. Callow said. “this sends the signal that they are trying to achieve stability via money markets rather than by cutting short term rates.”

Michael Schubert, an analyst at Commerzbank, said: “The E.C.B. strictly separates its liquidity provision policy and the stance of monetary policy.”

“This, and possible other measures to address the pressures in money markets, do not indicate a higher probability for an E.C.B. rate cut in the foreseeable future,” Mr. Schubert said.

2008년 9월 5일 금요일

World Women's Forum 2008

http://blog.sina.com.cn/jinyuxi

http://www.yuesaikan.com/

http://www.womanforum.org/2008/korean/index.html

2008년 9월 4일 목요일

Rescuers can't get aid to flooded, hungry Haiti town

GONAIVES, Haiti (AP) -- The convoy rumbled out of the U.N. base toward a flooded, starving and seething city Thursday, carrying some of the first food aid since Tropical Storm Hanna drowned Gonaives in muddy water three days ago.


Massive flooding in Gonaives has split asphalt and made it impossible for rescuers to deliver aid.

Hungry children at three orphanages were waiting for the canvas-topped trucks, loaded with warm pots of rice and beans and towing giant tanks of drinking water.

But the food never arrived Thursday.

The convoy crept over mud-caked, semi-paved roads past closed stores, overturned buses and women wading in water up to their knees with plastic tubs on their heads.

After about 45 minutes, the half-dozen trucks ground to a halt. U.N. peacekeepers wearing camouflage fatigues and bulletproof vests jumped out while others stood guard with assault rifles.

Before them, a huge gouge marred the road. The floods had split the asphalt, and water ran through the 10-foot-wide (3-meter-wide) gap.

The convoy turned around. And the children -- like tens of thousands more in this increasingly desperate city -- went another day without food.

Some 250,000 people are affected in the Gonaives region, including 70,000 in 150 shelters across the city, according to an international official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to release the information. Argentine Lt. Sergio Hoj estimated that half of Gonaives' houses remained flooded Thursday.

Many houses were torn apart. Families huddled on rooftops, their possessions laid out to dry. Overturned cars were everywhere, and televisions floated in the brown water.

Gonaives -- a collection of concrete buildings, run-down shacks and plazas with dilapidated fountains -- lies in a flat river plain between the ocean and deforested mountains that run with mud even in light rains. Hanna swirled over Haiti for four days, dumping vast amounts of water, blowing down fruit trees and ruining stores of food as it swamped tin-roofed houses.

The official death toll rose to 137 on Thursday as Hanna finally moved north with near hurricane-force winds on a path toward the southeastern U.S. coast. But in the chaos there was no way to know how many people might be dead, or how many had been driven from their homes. Two other storms killed 85 people in August, and forecasters warned that fearsome Hurricane Ike could hit Haiti next week.

Haiti's government has few resources to help. Rescue convoys have been blocked by floodwaters, although the U.N. World Food Program said Thursday it was sending a food-laden boat to Gonaives from the capital, Port-au-Prince, and would set up a base in the stricken city.

"The situation in Gonaives is catastrophic," Daniel Rouzier, Haiti chairman of Food for the Poor, wrote in an e-mail. "We, just like the rest of the victims ... have limited mobility. You can't float a boat, drive a truck or fly anything to the victims."

Anger and frustration was growing at the inability or unwillingness of the government and the international community to help.

"If they don't have food, it can be dangerous," warned Sen. Youri Latortue, who flew in by helicopter. "They can't wait."

Dozens of people gathered around the gates of the U.N. base. Some children climbed cinderblock walls topped by barbed wire to ask soldiers inside for food. Edgy U.N. peacekeepers went on a heightened state of alert, and have traded their floppy hats for helmets.

Ad Melkert, associate administrator of the U.N. Development Program who just returned from Haiti, admonished international donors to do more.

"The poverty in the rain and mud of Haiti that I witnessed is nothing less than a disgrace," he said. "Many actors or potential actors try to play their part, ranging from the national government to multilateral and bilateral donors and NGOS. They all need to do more and better."

The few aid-group representatives in Gonaives did what they could -- but knew it wasn't enough.

A local coordinator for the Florida-based Food for the Poor charity sailed through the flooded streets in a 22-foot fishing boat and picked up survivors, including two men struggling to keep afloat.

"The whole town is destroyed," Bernard Chauvet told The Associated Press over his cell phone as he headed for dry land, his boat jammed with 22 people including a pregnant woman and several crying children.

"These people lost everything," he said. "They have no water, no food. It is very bad."

Don't Miss
Haitians 'screaming for help' after storms
Up to 400 people huddled in the Roman Catholic Church and the residence of Bishop Yves-Marie Pean, turning it into a de facto refugee camp. Many camped out on the watery grounds, while the lucky ones rested on chapel pews.

"We have shared with them what we had, but now we don't have food or drinking water," Pean said by telephone. "What is left is for the babies. We are praying together in solidarity in this very difficult moment."

Chantal Pierre, 19, somehow made it to the gates of the U.N. base, which is occupied by mostly Argentine troops. Soldiers carried her on a stretcher into a gym and laid her gently down. She went into labor amid the weightlifting equipment.

Minutes later, at a makeshift hospital on the base, she gave birth to a healthy girl.

A day earlier, Dorlean Nadege, 26, had given birth at the same place. Both babies slept in their mothers' arms Thursday. The doctor, Julio Cesar Lotero, said Pierre would leave on Friday, but Nadege would stay because her home was destroyed by floodwaters.

"She has to stay here," he said. "She has nowhere to go."

当年刘嘉玲出意外 梁朝伟险离娱乐圈


梁朝伟刘嘉玲今日不丹举行世纪婚礼 婚纱照曝光
[ 2008-07-21 07:31 ]
梁朝伟刘嘉玲婚纱照




中国日报网站环球在线消息:梁朝伟与刘嘉玲在不丹的婚礼已经进入倒数计时,除了紧锣密鼓的婚礼准备工作,这对新人这几天都在进行婚纱照的拍摄。虽然不丹正逢雨季,但是群山环绕的不丹,浓厚的宗教气息、零污染的大自然以及淳朴的民风,都令嘉玲和伟仔的婚纱照更显独特与脱俗。

准新娘刘嘉玲堪称是这次婚礼最忙碌的人,既要盯紧婚礼细节,又得招呼应邀前来的亲朋好友,在拍摄婚纱照而踏遍不丹国境的时候,她也透露了婚礼为何选在不丹的原因。嘉玲表示,其实去年她和伟仔早已经选定了今年的7月21日完婚,但是婚礼举行的地点不丹,却是直到今年四月才决定。在那之前她和伟仔讨论过很多地方,例如法国南部、佛罗伦萨、巴黎、日本和东南亚等地,但都感觉“少了一点什么”,直到不丹一地出现,两人终于心领神会,当下决定。

嘉玲大约十年前知道有不丹这个国家,6月她首度出发到不丹,感受到这里的氛围,不见外面世界的纷纷扰扰,让她立刻确定这个世人所说的“香格里拉”,就是她和伟仔婚礼地点的不二选择。近年虔诚信佛的嘉玲说:“我一到这里就感觉心里很踏实、很平和,我看到这里的人快乐不是因为物质上的丰富,而是精神层面的满足,终于明白为什么大家说不丹是“快乐国度”。

嘉玲在伟仔的婚事在当地已是盛事一桩,不丹王室还特别打破惯例、提供皇宫的寝室给新人拍摄婚纱照,当天嘉玲与伟仔都穿上不丹的传统国服入镜,同时由不丹皇叔夫妇特别亲自为这对新人着装,据了解伟仔的礼服正是当年皇叔结婚所穿的礼服,而嘉玲所穿的礼服则是王妃为年仅两岁的女儿日后出嫁所准备的嫁衣。王室认为他们和嘉玲、伟仔十分有缘,两人才会选在不丹完婚,因此他们希望可以给予这对新人最多的祝福。如此的礼遇令嘉玲与伟仔感恩不已,也为两人在大婚前夕带来更多的喜悦。

梁朝伟前女友曾华倩19日在香港为无线新剧《当狗爱上猫》宣传,她坦言为梁朝伟结婚高兴,她亦不介意他没有请自己,希望他们将来生个女儿,待她的儿子追她,再续未了缘!

编辑:富文佳 来源:四川新闻网

2008년 9월 3일 수요일

股改牛市推倒重来 谁来保卫2245点

股改牛市推倒重来 谁来保卫2245点
2008-09-04 04:08:34 来源: 中国经济网(北京)  进入股改牛市贴吧   共 294 条 黑马推荐  一年时间不到,大盘累计下跌已高达63%。股改牛市的成果已所剩无几

2006年末,随着大盘突破上一轮牛市顶点2245点,股改所引发的牛市才真正来临。昨日,沪指盘中一度跌至2248.07点,距离2245点仅3个点的距离;最终报收在2276.67点,下跌28.22点。一年时间不到,大盘累计下跌已高达63%。股改牛市的成果已所剩无几。

2006年末,随着大盘突破上一轮牛市顶点2245点,股改所引发的牛市才真正来临。当时,百元股达到了几十只,五元股被消灭,市场的盛况可谓空前,每天成交量上千亿元。

然而好景不长,2007年底,大盘从6124点一路狂泄,中途很少有像样的反弹。尤其是今年下半年以来,大盘突破3000点政策底后加速下跌,大多数个股在股价本已被腰斩的情况下再次暴跌;累计跌幅高达80%的个股数不胜数。

昨日,沪指盘中一度跌至2248.07点,距离2245点仅3个点的距离;最终报收在2276.67点,下跌28.22点。一年时间不到,大盘累计下跌已高达63%。股改牛市的成果已所剩无几。

A股改牛市推倒重来

暴跌市况:全线崩溃2245点岌岌可危

2006年末,随着大盘突破2245点,确认了股改牛市真正来临。牛市的最高峰时,百元股达到了几十只,五元股被消灭。市场的盛况可谓空前,每天上千亿元的成交量,数十只股票涨停,牛市交响乐余音环绕。

然而,在不到两年的时间内,不但股改牛市宣布结束,市场更是进入了大熊市之中。指数在不到一年的时间内跌去六成,百元股仅仅剩下贵州茅台一家,大量的低价股出现,甚至出现了一元股。而且,已经有几十家公司的股价(复权价),跌破了998点时的股价。

沪市每天的成交额已经萎缩至二三百亿元的规模,投资者无心恋战。虽然利好政策不断出台,但是依然难以挽回投资者的信心。随着市场信心的崩溃,估值体系也完全受到颠覆,当初50倍PE还在不断买进,如今不到10倍的PE却如烫手山芋,避之不及。长期资金从市场中加速撤离,基金重仓股不断创出新低。

昨日,曾经牛市的脊梁们,如以招商银行为代表的银行股、以贵州茅台为代表的基金重仓股,反而成为了牛市的毁灭者,投资者不计成本地抛售这些曾经的宠儿们,基金重仓股陷入了全线崩溃。

虽然部分超跌的低价股出现了活跃,但是最具人气的上海本地股也出现了大幅调整。界龙实业、亚通股份、上海九百昨日纷纷跌停,对市场的人气给予了进一步打击。

随着大盘暴跌至2245点附近,投资者心中的些许幻想也被彻底剿灭,曾经辉煌的股改牛市宣告彻底结束。

暴跌原因:大小非是罪魁祸首

牛市的终结,罪魁祸首当属大小非。

今年以来,大小非解禁后不断抛售,大大增加了市场的供给。而大小非的上市更是导致了市场供求关系的逆转,在卖出数量远远超过买入数量的情况下,大盘的重心只能下移。

从大宗交易和上市公司发布的公告来看,大小非是在拼命的逃跑,特别是一些小非,完全不顾及市场的承受能力,一心只想将所持有的股份全部卖完。比如广济药业的第二大股东合肥市高科技风险投资有限公司,刚刚解禁,就全力抛售。通过集中竞价,这家小非在7月30日到9月1日一个多月的时间内,将所持有的399.18万股全部抛售出去。而像四川圣达、中体产业等公司的小非,则是在股价上涨的过程中主动抛售,并导致了股价上行趋势的扭转。

而大盘在今年一次又一次的反弹,最终都无疾而终,并不断创出新低,这其中,大小非的抛售自然是功不可没。

证监会期望通过大宗交易系统来减缓大小非的减持速度,以稳定市场的情绪。随后,证监会又在上个月表示,可能引入二次发售等新规定。但是,这些新的办法却导致了大小非对未来不确定性的恐慌,越发加速其在二级市场上的减持。

2008年是大小非大规模流通的第一年,2009年大小非解禁的规模更大,股改后部分IPO的限售股也将解禁。这些解禁规模加起来数倍于当前市场的流通规模,而目前每天两三百亿元的成交额根本无力支撑如此规模的解禁股。

暴跌推手:基金、QFII落井下石

作为金融资本的代表,基金、QFII曾经是市场中最具有话语权的实力派。当初,正是在QFII的怂恿之下,基金挥舞着数万亿的资金大棒,将大盘指数推上了6000点之巅。可以说,基金、QFII都是牛市的制造者。

然而,牛市的制造者如今也背叛了牛市。基金、QFII们犹如抛售烫手山芋一般疯狂抛售贵州茅台、招商银行、浦发银行、苏宁电器等这些中国最赚钱公司的股票,惟恐成为最后的接棒者。

如今,大盘已经跌至2245点关前,距离6124点的跌幅超过六成。此时正是需要基金、QFII等来稳定市场,聚集投资者人气的时候,然而他们却是义无反顾地加入了大小非的抛售行列,给予了A股市场致命的一击。

西藏证券分析师唐勇认为,基金等在当前位置的大肆做空,是对A股市场的背叛,是对市场上亿投资者的不负责任。据他了解,很多基金、QFII早就对市场看空了,但是仍然抱着茅台、苏宁等公司不放手。虽然基金、QFII等也可能出于无奈,但是目前的疯狂抛售完全是在落井下石。

B大盘后市走向何方

估值之争困扰市场

A股的合理估值应该是多少倍市盈率?

20倍?10倍?或者更低?

如今,A股的市盈率大幅下降,从最高50倍以上跌至目前的十几倍。其中,像银行、钢铁等行业,市盈率已经跌至了10倍以下。

然而,10倍的市盈率也无法支撑上述公司的股价,昨日,煤炭、银行、家电领跌市场,直接导致了大盘与2245点的亲密接触。

“PE(市盈率)这一最具有普遍性的估值指标已失去了指导市场的意义。”中信建投证券策略分析师陈祥生表示。市盈率估值是牛市中最常用的指标,但是在熊市中并不适用。

安信证券首席策略分析师程定华认为,虽然A股的PE已经见底,但是PB(市净率)尚未见底,因此A股市场不可能见底。PE见底后,资金层面的缓解通常会使市场短期出现较大级别的反弹,但之后会因盈利恶化回落,是否再创新低则取决于资金面的宽松程度以及盈利水平的下滑幅度。他认为,预期A股PE见底的目标将在1~2个月内实现,这将标志着本轮A股市场调整主体部分的完成,但盈利能力的下降会使PB见底滞后。滞后的时间与盈利调整的时间基本相当,通常为2~3个季度。而在PB见底之前,市场很难走出真正的反弹行情。

如今,更多的专业人士也开始用PB来衡量整个市场的估值。一位私募基金的老总称,从PB来看,998点时的PB在1.64倍,而目前市场的PB大约在2.5倍,较当年要高50%,他认为,只有PB回落到1.5倍,大盘才可能见底。

基金、QFII无力拯救A股

随着市场一路狂跌,有人幻想救世主的出现,基金、QFII似乎是救世主的最佳人选。但是,从当前的市场背景来看,无论是基金还是QFII,都不可能有能力救市。

如今,基金面对着巨大的压力。一方面,新基金发售难上加难,新发股票型基金的规模仅仅几亿元,规模缩水严重;另一方面,随着基金的业绩不佳,赎回压力开始增大。可以说,目前基金也是泥菩萨过河——自身难保,怎么能期望它去救市?

而中报显示,基金的总规模约为2万亿元,在十几万亿元的大小非面前,只能说是小巫见大巫,大小非动个手指头,基金也很难招架。

QFII曾给A股带来了领先的投资理念,也曾被看作是走在市场之前的人。但是经过本轮牛市的洗礼,投资者才发现QFII原来也是投机客,他们并非真正的价值投资者,不可能改变A股的局面。况且,QFII的总规模也就几百亿美元,而且各自为战,不可能拯救A股市场。

投资者信心难以恢复

信心恢复,行情方能启动。然而,当前的A股市场,信心已经是严重缺失。

昨日国际大宗商品价格的下跌以及美元的走强,对于我国的经济而言都具有积极的意义,特别是对于国内的通胀有着抑制作用。如今油价的下跌趋势已经形成,后市甚至可能跌破100美元/桶,这可能缓解国内成品油涨价的压力,对于下游企业而言无疑是重大利好。而美元的走强对于国内的出口企业也是重大利好。

然而,昨日A股市场仍然难改弱势,大盘甚至跌至2245点附近,距离2245.44点仅仅2.63点。全天的成交虽然有所放大,但仅仅为333.7亿元,显示场外大资金仍然没有介入市场。

而从昨日领跌的股票来看,仍然是煤炭、银行、食品饮料等基金重仓股,权重股的下跌对于市场的人气杀伤力极大。

此外,深圳综指和深成指在昨日也双双创出新低。

结论:熊市时间可能超过预期

未来的出路在哪里?管理层能不能救市?市场究竟怎样才能止跌?

这些问题,相信每一位A股的投资者都在思考。

今年以来,管理层多次出台利好政策,包括降低印花税、鼓励大股东增持股份、加快基金发行速度、通过大宗交易等方式来减缓大小非减持,其目的就是要维护市场的稳定。但是,一条条的利好推出之后,大盘反而不断创出新低。

中信建投证券策略分析师陈祥生指出,虽然利好多多,但是大盘要真正见底,还是要看大小非。如果大小非不卖了,那么大盘差不多就见底了。虽然管理层对于解决大小非的问题决心很大,但是当初大小非通过送股获得了流通权,这在法律上得到了保障,而管理层也表示,不会限制大小非的抛售。因此,希望在短期内有效解决大小非的问题并不现实。

西藏证券分析师唐勇认为,管理层谈到通过二次发售来完善大宗交易,但是至今仍无细则出台。从国际市场上二次发售的相关实例来看,即使通过券商参与来重新发售,也无法根本上解决大小非的减持,最多只能延缓其减持的步伐。

唐勇表示,根据他和一些QFII研究员的交流,中国经济今年以来出现的问题不是银根紧缩造成的,而是现在中国经济处在转型期。这种转变不是放松银根就能解决的,过程会比较长。因此,股市的行情不会因为银根放松而走好。一些研究员甚至认为本轮熊市的时间可能会远远超过市场的预期。

对于短期的市场,唐勇认为,煤炭股再度暴跌、基金重仓股的不断跳水对市场构成了较大的压力。短线上涨的都是游资炒作的4元左右的低价股,这类股票数量太多,不易把握。(每日经济新闻)

深度讨论:

全民大PK:2245会不会成超级大底

券商分析:

2245点能否守住取决三大因素

长城证券:1700-1800点将是中期大底(附股票池)

十大券商九月策略:加速探底后将报复性反弹 (本文来源:中国经济网 作者:毛晋楠)

Solar Energy Stocks: All Fired Up

Solar Energy Stocks: All Fired Up
Is the group's recent run-up a solar flare or a sign of bigger things to come?
by David Bogoslaw


Solar energy stocks are hot once again, with shares of industry players jumping as much as 58% in the past month. Much of that bounce is due to nearly uniformly positive quarterly earnings reports from some solar outfits. Company executives were able to allay investors' fears about declining demand and lower prices for solar panels and related materials, concerns that were fueled by a sharp reduction of government subsidies in countries such as Spain.

"You've had a lessening of fear in the market of what would happen with Spanish traffic and the U.S. tax credit," says Pavel Molchanov, an analyst who covers solar companies for Raymond James & Co. (RJF). "The visibility hasn't improved, but investors are taking it more in stride and are feeling more confident that, even in the worst case, there will be ample demand in other more early-stage solar markets."

The U.S. investment tax credits for wind and solar power, which currently reimburse property developers 30% of what they spend on installations, would revert to 10% at yearend if no legislative action is taken. "To most developers, that 10% may as well be zero," says Mark Burger, a principal at the Oak Park (Ill.)-based renewable energy consulting firm Kestrel Development.

Stronger Demand Down Under
On earnings conference calls, the management of several solar companies assured shareholders that instead of a decline of more than 10% in the average selling price for solar modules in 2009 that investors had feared, prices would probably fall 5% to 10%. Top executives stressed that despite an expected drop in demand from Spain, which plans to cap the number of solar projects eligible for a form of subsidy known as feed-in tariffs starting next year, they are seeing demand strengthen in countries like France, Italy, and Australia.

Japan's plan to restore its solar subsidies beginning next year after a four-year absence is also contributing to investor optimism. Feed-in tariffs are the renewable energy payments federal governments make to regional or national electric utilities to encourage them to buy solar- or wind-generated electricity at above-market rates set by government.

Positive news from individual companies such as SunPower (SPWR) has given the sector an added boost. The company signed a contract with Pacific Gas & Electric (PCG) in mid-August, under which it will not only sell 250 megawatts worth of solar panels to the utility but serve as the contractor and project developer on a 800-Mw power plant to be built near San Luis Obispo, Calif. SunPower is in a better position than most solar-panel manufacturers due to its in-house expertise as a provider of integrated systems.

Value Investors Intrigued
The project demonstrates the viability of utility scale for photovoltaic technology and for SunPower to win additional contracts, Credit Suisse (CS) analyst Satya Kumar said in an Aug. 15 research note. There could also be announcements of photovoltaic contracts from Southern California Edison, the state's other major utility. One possible glitch: The PG&E contract is contingent on extension of the American investment tax credit.

Another reason stocks have been rallying is their depressed valuation levels, says Molchanov at Raymond James. "The [price-to-earnings] multiples of solar companies had gotten so remarkably low that you had a lot of value investors starting to look at them, where historically solar has been more on the growth part of the spectrum," he says. Even after the rebound in the group, the typical solar company is trading at roughly 15 times 2009 earnings, less than half the annual growth rate in revenue of more than 40%, he adds.

Some accelerated buying of solar panels by residential and small business customers in anticipation of the possible expiration of the tax credit could be contributing to the stocks' gains as well. The tax credits are considered critical to an industry where the costs of solar and wind power generation are still much higher than the cost of conventional power generation.

Depending on Tax Credits
Generation costs from photovoltaic solar panels are falling at a rate of about 5% to 10% a year, depending on location and economy of scale, says Burger. They've begun to reach parity with peak power costs of conventional power sources in areas with higher utility rates like California and the Northeast, he says. At the same time, general electric utility costs based on conventional fuel sources are rising by 10% to 15% a year due to higher oil, natural gas, and coal prices, as well as the costs of environmental compliance. The renewable tax credits are necessary to help solar and wind power compete on a level playing field with other forms of electric generation, says Burger.

Legislation that would extend the tax credits has been defeated multiple times during the current Congress. The easiest way to get the credits extended would be through a stimulus package that President George W. Bush could sign. That would give fiscal conservatives in Congress cover to justify the unreimbursed spending on renewable energy, says Kevin Book, an energy policy analyst at Friedman Billings Ramsey (FBR). The lame-duck session that follows the November elections might also break down the last barriers to Republicans' political resistance, he adds.

The credits stand a much stronger chance of being reinstated next year, with more than 20 ranking Republican members of Congress slated to retire and the prospect of a larger Democratic majority in both houses. A larger Democratic majority in the Senate would lower the odds of a Republican filibuster, which has killed tax credit legislative numerous times before.

Lack of Long-Range Initiatives
"If Barack Obama wins [the November election], you have this Presidential veto that will go away," says Book at FBR. Passing a tax credit as matter of tax policy under a reconciliation bill, which is protected from a filibuster by requiring only 51 votes, not 60, would also be easier, he says. The Democrats already have 51 votes in the Senate. It's also not clear if John McCain were elected whether he would veto funding for alternative energy programs, he adds.

Even if the credit were to disappear for several months, it wouldn't have a meaningful impact on solar demand in the long run, says Molchanov. "We have excellent solar resources in the U.S. We have increasing power prices, plenty of renewable energy incentives even without the [investment tax credit]."

Book says he doesn't expect to see more than a one-year extension for the tax credits for wind and solar power, because influential Democrats in both houses are already looking at a different framework closer to the European regulatory system. The Europeans tie incentives to a new technology's performance rather than to the nameplate capacity of the generation that developers install.

The biggest hindrance to the growth of the solar industry in the U.S. is the lack of long-range policy initiatives, says Burger. Where Japan's residential solar incentive program lasted 12 years and Germany's feed-in tariff program has had a comparable run, national incentives in the U.S. have been limited to two or three years at a time. Spain's decision to back away from government incentives could result in the U.S. becoming the largest solar installer and manufacturer in the world, if it can develop a longer-term policy. Says Burger: "We've got the sun and the real estate and we potentially have the money, but we haven't had long-term policies in place that would give confidence to the industry to do serious business here."

Bogoslaw is a reporter for BusinessWeek's Investing channel.

格鲁吉亚正式宣布同俄断交

格鲁吉亚正式宣布同俄断交
2008-09-03 00:51:28 来源: 新华网 网友评论 0 条 点击查看  核心提示:格鲁吉亚外交部新闻司2日说,格鲁吉亚当天正式宣布同俄罗斯断交。关于断交的照会已经于当天送达俄罗斯驻格鲁吉亚大使馆,但格俄仍将保持领事关系。

新华网第比利斯9月2日电 格鲁吉亚外交部新闻司2日说,格鲁吉亚当天正式宣布同俄罗斯断交。

格外交部新闻司当天在格外交部网站上发布消息说,关于断交的照会已经于当天送达俄罗斯驻格鲁吉亚大使馆,但格俄仍将保持领事关系。

另据高加索通讯社报道,俄驻格代表安德烈·斯马加2日在第比利斯说,俄罗斯大使馆当天接到了格鲁吉亚外交部的照会,正式通知俄方关于同俄断交的决定,格方还要求俄罗斯大使馆从3日起正式停止工作。

斯马加说,格宣布同俄断交是“一个错误”,俄外交官将于近日离开格鲁吉亚回国。

俄总统梅德韦杰夫8月26日宣布俄罗斯正式承认南奥塞梯和阿布哈兹独立。29日,格副外长瓦沙泽在第比利斯向媒体宣布,格将召回除领事外的所有驻俄外交官,格政府正在执行格议会28日通过的关于呼吁政府断绝同俄外交关系的决议。 (本文来源:新华网 作者:徐力宇 陈俊锋)

Claim: Afghan coalition forces kill 20 in Pakistan

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (CNN) -- Coalition forces crossed the border from Afghanistan into Pakistan early Wednesday and carried out a raid which killed at least 20 civilians, according to a local leader.


Security in the South Waziristan area of Pakistan has deteriorated in recent years.

Owais Ahmed Ghani, the governor of North West Frontier Province, said the "cowardly attack" in a village in South Waziristan was a "direct assault on the sovereignty of Pakistan" and would result in a "befitting reply."

Officials with the U.S.-led coalition in Afghanistan said they were not aware of such an incident.

South Waziristan is a tribal border area where security has deteriorated in recent years. The Afghan government and U.S. forces consider the semi-autonomous Pakistani tribal areas a haven for Taliban and al Qaeda-linked fighters who have carried out attacks inside both countries.

Ghani, who is administrative head of FATA (Federally Administered Tribal Areas) said three "Afghanistan-based coalition" helicopters and commandos attacked the village in the Birmal area of South Waziristan early Wednesday morning. The casualties included women and children, he said.

"This is a direct assault on the sovereignty of Pakistan and the people of Pakistan expect that the Armed Forces of Pakistan would rise to defend the sovereignty of the country and give a befitting reply to all such attacks," Ghani said in a statement.

Don't Miss
Pakistan misses al Qaeda's No.2 in raids
Pakistan police urged to probe 'honor killings'
Pakistan suspends offensive for Ramadan
Pakistani Army spokesman Maj. Murad Khan confirmed that an attack had taken place and that it involved troops who crossed the border into Pakistan. He said the army was looking into whether the raid involved coalition troops.

Local media reports said the attack used both helicopters and ground troops, who came out of a chopper and opened fire on civilians.

If the accounts are true, it signals a shift in the approach of coalition troops as they combat militants.

Several times this year, pilotless U.S.-operated drone aircrafts have launched attacks inside Pakistan, killing dozens of militants. But ground troops have not crossed the border to go after insurgents.

Pakistan's new government is in the midst of a major offensive against militants. Security forces had suspended the operation for the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which began this month.

While Pakistanis have mixed feelings about the government offensive -- some preferring negotiations instead -- they are deeply resentful of foreign troops flushing out militants.

In June, a U.S. air strike near the border killed 11 Pakistani soldiers. The incident is under a joint investigation

2008년 9월 1일 월요일

俄罗斯称外国军舰进入黑海无助问题解决



俄罗斯称外国军舰进入黑海无助问题解决(图)
2008-09-02 09:23:52 来源: 新华网 网友评论 0 条 点击查看  核心提示:俄建议对格实施武器禁运。同时,格鲁吉亚首都第比利斯数万人1日组成“人链”,抗议俄罗斯承认南奥塞梯和阿布哈兹独立,人群高呼“反对俄罗斯占领格鲁吉亚领土”的口号。




美国海军麦克福尔号驱逐舰驶入黑海

新华网9月2日电 俄罗斯外交部新闻发言人涅斯捷连科1日在新闻发布会上说,俄方认为外国军舰驶入黑海不是稳定局势的措施。

据俄媒体报道,有超过10艘北约军舰驶入黑海靠近格鲁吉亚海岸水域。涅斯捷连科说,在局势不稳定地区加强军事力量无助于解决问题。俄方认为外国军舰离开黑海才能缓和局势。

涅斯捷连科说,有证据表明,某些国家正在重新武装格鲁吉亚军队。在格收到的人道主义救援物资中有军事装备。俄建议对格实施武器禁运。

涅斯捷连科还说,俄方主张与欧盟发展建设性关系,在这种关系中不应有“制裁”字眼,“制裁”不会带来好结果。

另据第比利斯消息,格鲁吉亚首都第比利斯数万人1日组成“人链”,抗议俄罗斯承认南奥塞梯和阿布哈兹独立,人群高呼“反对俄罗斯占领格鲁吉亚领土”的口号。格鲁吉亚总统萨卡什维利偕同妻子和两个儿子参加了当天在“自由”广场上举行的“人链”抗议活动,他宣布9月1日为格鲁吉亚统一日。

阿布哈兹和南奥塞梯分别是格鲁吉亚的自治共和国和自治州,与俄罗斯接壤,两者都在苏联解体后宣布独立,并一直与格中央政府处于对抗状态,但都与俄罗斯保持密切关系。今年8月8日凌晨,格鲁吉亚军队进入南奥塞梯控制区,并对南奥塞梯首府茨欣瓦利市进行炮击,俄军部队随后开进南奥塞梯增援俄维和部队。26日,俄罗斯总统梅德韦杰夫宣布俄罗斯承认南奥塞梯和阿布哈兹独立。对此,美国、法国、德国等表示谴责。

McCain Needs to Widen Base

McCain Needs to Widen Base
September 2, 2008; Page A2

The good news for Republicans is that Gov. Sarah Palin seems to be exciting the previously, and famously, unexcited Republican Party base.

The bad news is that an excited base is necessary but insufficient for Republicans to win this year. To prevail, Sen. John McCain has to reach beyond the base vote that was sufficient to win the last two presidential races.

Thus, the fundamental gamble Sen. McCain took in picking Gov. Palin as his running mate is that she can both excite the base and reach well beyond it. If she can't, the gamble won't succeed.

The stakes in the Palin gamble grew even higher Monday, when the Alaska governor announced that her 17-year-old unmarried daughter is five-months pregnant. That raises unanticipated questions about how the social and religious conservatives, whose support for her has been taken for granted, will react.

The risk, of course, is that they might see the unplanned pregnancy as a sign of deficient family values. And if social conservatives recoil, one of the fundamental reasons for going the Palin route will wither.

Initially, though, the reaction on the right seems to be the opposite: a rallying around Gov. Palin and her daughter. "Her daughter is marrying the father, and under the circumstances doing the right thing, and this is how her supporters will view it," says Greg Mueller, a conservative Republican activist and consultant. "It is a nonissue, and if the Democrats and media come down too hard it will deepen enthusiasm and support for Gov. Palin."

But even if social conservatives remain enthused, that won't be enough. Put bluntly, Gov. Palin has to draw in more independents and soft Democrats, convincing them that she will help shake up Washington, than she puts off with her lack of experience.

In that sense, the Palin choice reflects in one nice, neat package the strategic quandary the McCain campaign faces as it works through the hurricane-plagued Republican convention here. Sen. McCain can't win without an energized party base of conservative activists who will show up in force at the polls and do the shoe-leather work needed to get others out as well.

But unlike when President George W. Bush won in 2000 and 2004, it appears impossible this time to win a "turnout election" -- that is, an election in which Republicans can prevail simply by getting more of their team out to vote than the other side does. The GOP team has shrunk too much for that.

"If the Palin selection does nothing more than generate enthusiasm among the base, then it will have been a failure," says Neil Newhouse, a Republican pollster who helps conduct the Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll. "Simply put, the GOP base is significantly smaller than it was four years ago, and a jack-up-the-base strategy cannot win this time around."

Here's the strategic problem Sen. McCain faces. In the latest Wall Street Journal/NBC News survey, 43% of those surveyed identified themselves as Democrats, while just 34% identify themselves as Republicans. By contrast, in August 2004, Republicans actually had a 39% to 38% edge in party identification.

Worse for Sen. McCain, that smaller base isn't very intense. When voters were asked whether they were excited about their presidential preference, just 12% of McCain voters said they were excited, while 46% of Sen. Barack Obama's voters said they were. That is a potentially fatal intensity gap.

Here's where Gov. Palin comes in. She is a virtual unknown to most Americans, but she has become a sweetheart to the conservatives at the party's base. Her antiabortion views, her anticountry-club image, even her crusades against the party establishment in her state all appeal to core conservatives.

"She brings to the table an energized conservative base that was lacking a bit," says Mr. Greg Mueller. And that conservative base, he adds, "is absolutely crucial in this campaign, given it is this base that knocks on doors, rings the phones and fliers the strip malls and the churches to get the vote out."

The harder question is the Palin reach beyond the base. On that front, the easy assumption has been that she would have a special ability to convert some of those women who supported Sen. Hillary Clinton for the Democratic nomination and now are so upset that she didn't get it that they are willing to migrate toward the first woman on a Republican national ticket.

But how many of those Hillary women are really open to the Palin lure? The Journal/NBC News poll suggests that some certainly are. Among voters who backed Sen. Clinton in the primaries but now don't support Democratic nominee Barack Obama, six in 10 are women. They tend to be older, and fully 65% say their ideology is moderate or conservative. Half of them have a negative view of Sen. Obama.

So there would seem to be some Clinton women who might be open to voting Republican. But many others -- those who identify themselves as liberals, for example -- aren't likely to bite, so Gov. Palin's draw has to be broader than that.

Knowing that, Republicans are calculating that she also reinforces the McCain image as a maverick reformer who is willing to shake up the status quo. That, much more than her appeal to the party base or her appeal to women, is the standard by which the pick will be judged.

Write to Gerald F. Seib at jerry.seib@wsj.com

Why Me?


Why Me?
Alec Baldwin’s disappointment, undimmed by success.
by Ian Parker
September 8, 2008


Alec Baldwin, who stars in “30 Rock,” the NBC sitcom that has revived his career and done nothing to lift his spirits, has the unbending, straight-armed gait of someone trying to prevent clothes from rubbing against sunburned skin. He is fifty years old, divorced, and lives alone in an old white farmhouse in the Hamptons and an apartment on Central Park West—feeling thwarted, if not quite persecuted. In conversation, he lets out an occasional yelping laugh, but he is often wistful, in a way that is linked to professional and romantic regrets, and to a period of tabloid notoriety last year, when an angry voice mail that he left for his daughter, who was then eleven, became public. He is very conscious of what is lacking in his life—a spouse, for example, and a film career something like Jack Nicholson’s, and the governorship of New York—and his rhetoric can sometimes bring to mind a scene from “30 Rock” in which Baldwin, in his role as Jack Donaghy, a shameless but astute TV executive, stares at an equestrian painting by Stubbs and, in a growled whisper of longing, says, “I wish I were a horse—strong, free, my chestnut haunches glistening in the sun.” According to Lorne Michaels, the executive producer of “Saturday Night Live” and an executive producer of “30 Rock,” Baldwin “guards against enjoyment.” (Michaels is a friend of Baldwin’s and was a model for the Donaghy character.) “I’ll say, ‘Alec, you have one of the best writers in television’ ”—Tina Fey—“ ‘writing this part for you. It’s shot in New York, where you chose to live. You work three days a week, you get paid a lot of money, you’re getting awards. It’s a great time in your life. It’s an all-good thing. And, if you were capable of enjoying it, it would be even better.’ ” Or, as William Baldwin, one of Alec’s three younger brothers, said recently, “There’s always something for him to fucking whine about.”

On a Friday afternoon in April, at the end of a week making “30 Rock,” in a studio in Queens, Baldwin was on a quiet suburban driveway in northern New Jersey, moonlighting on a low-budget independent film being made by friends of his. The production did not have the funds to produce Hollywood bustle: the loudest sounds were birdsong and a distant wood-chipper. Baldwin was wearing hunting gear—a bright-orange vest and camouflage pants—and this disguised him; throughout his career, he has typically been seen in fitted suits that signal a menacing delight in the exercise of power—perhaps most famously in “Glengarry Glen Ross,” which he made when he was thirty-three. (“Third prize is: You’re fired.”) Today, he was playing the owner of a suburban property business, a man in a troubled marriage. When I sat with him, he said, “I’m so fucking tired.” Besides performing in “30 Rock” and in this film, called “Lymelife,” Baldwin had just finished writing a book on divorce and the law—part memoir, part polemic about the legal barriers sometimes put between a divorced parent and his children—which drew on his bruising experience after separating from the actress Kim Basinger, eight years ago. He said that he had been falling asleep at night with a laptop on his chest.


from the issuecartoon banke-mail thisTiffany Nishimoto, Baldwin’s assistant and producing partner, handed him a phone, and he immediately began speaking into it: “It sounds to me like you want to . . .” Then he stopped and started again: “First of all, hello.” He has a fast, heavily stressed, highly enunciated speaking voice, punctuated by frequent throat clearings—this can give the impression that you’re hearing a warmup rather than the event itself. When he had finished, he asked about other messages. “What else?” he asked. She told him. And then: “What else?”

Turning back to me, he said of the film, which he was helping to produce, “This kind of stuff, it’s so hard”—the tiny budget, the tight schedule, no more than two or three takes. “It’s a domestic drama, and, as you might suppose, I’ve had my fill of that subject. This is the last time, in this movie, I assure you, you’re ever going to see me arguing with a spouse.” For a moment, he imagined life at the center of a big-budget drama, and remembered watching Leonardo DiCaprio at work in the lead role in Martin Scorsese’s “The Aviator,” in which Baldwin had a supporting part. “To be Leo!” he cried out. (Baldwin can be quite earnest, even as he keeps an ironic eye on his earnestness.) “To have a huge role like that! To play the role that is the fizz in the drink, you know what I mean? You are the movie! I wish I could play the lead role in one movie, one great movie.” According to Baldwin, “The Insider” was the most recent “great opportunity” for an actor of his kind. “It was smart, it was relevant, it was topical,” and the part went to Russell Crowe.

He was called to work, and rather stiffly walked a few paces into the house, where he directly began playing a tense family scene with Jill Hennessy, in the role of his wife, and Rory Culkin, as their son. Baldwin then returned to the driveway, to sit near a full-sized stuffed deer that was part of the apparatus of the film. “Maybe one will lead to the other,” he said. “Success begets success. I’ve been offered a lot of movies now that ‘30 Rock’ has been successful.” In that show, Baldwin—carrying two hundred and twenty-five pounds, like an athlete in his sportscaster years—plays the corporate overseer of a fictional TV sketch-comedy show made at 30 Rockefeller Plaza, the headquarters of NBC. Donaghy has the calm joy of someone who knows that nothing matters in life but ambition; Baldwin brings deadpan gravitas to a giddy parody of business egomania. (Explaining a tuxedo worn in the office: “It’s after six. What am I, a farmer?”) His performance has been widely recognized: last year, he won a Golden Globe and a Screen Actors Guild Award, and was nominated for an Emmy. This year, he received the same three nominations: he won the SAG Award, and on September 21st he will learn if he has won an Emmy. Although ratings for “30 Rock” have been modest, the show has been celebrated by critics. To all of this, Baldwin’s response has largely been: Where did everything go wrong? “On a television show, precise acting isn’t the order of the day,” he said to me. “It’s a sitcom. The idea is to hit certain beats, and we do it cleverly. But, you do a television show, you become a pastry chef. I’m a pastry chef now; I’m not the big chef at the big restaurant. I’m not Daniel”—a brief pause, then he jutted out his lips in a way that was familiar from his movies, and almost shouted the next word—“Boulud. You know?” He laughed.

2008년 8월 31일 일요일

国学与市场经济

国学与市场经济
2008年09月01日 09:48:42  来源:光明日报

从表面上看,国学与市场经济似乎是不搭界的两回事。国学是以治经、史、子、集为主的传统学问,而市场经济则是以市场为主导来配置资源的经济制度。因此,有人认为,在当今市场经济体制下提倡国学意义不大。但是,当人们在市场经济体制下热烈讨论国学的复兴及其功用时,国学实际上已经或隐或显地与市场经济发生一定联系了。需要思考的问题是,国学通过什么方式对市场经济产生影响并发挥一定作用。回答这个问题有一自明前提,即一定的经济制度总是与一定的思想文化传统有着广泛的联系。
国学与市场经济的关系可以从隐性和显性两大层面来分析。就隐性层面而言,国学为认识中国市场经济发展的民族文化基础提供思想维度。这种思想维度可以分为两个侧面,一是比较宏观的社会理论方面。任何一个国家的市场经济的发展都植根于该国民族文化传统之中。大量学术文化史的研究证明,中国传统儒家思想中的经济伦理对中国市场经济发展的影响是十分深远的。不论是从反面否定儒家伦理难以产生近代资本主义精神(韦伯),还是从正面肯定儒家伦理有助于近代商人精神的形成(余英时),人们都不能不承认中国市场经济的发展受到儒家思想文化传统的一定影响。国学在研究儒家思想的过程中也必须深入研究这种影响,为中国的社会理论贡献新的思想成果。

二是比较微观的学科史方面。国学中大量存在经济方面的文献,为研究中国市场经济发展提供了经济史的参照。以先秦《管子》为代表的子书,对中国人的经济活动有深刻的论述。自《史记·货殖列传》之后,中国的史书有丰富的经济史文献。《清明上河图》所反映的宋代城市商业的繁荣也可视为某些今日城市商业繁荣的历史剪影。这些方方面面的有关经济历史的文献,对于研究今天中国市场经济发展的许多具体问题都会具有积极的意义。

如果说国学与市场经济的隐性联系更多地带有间接的学理性质,那么,国学与市场经济的显性联系则更多地带有直接的商业性质或产业性质。国学直接作用于市场经济的领域是文化产业。文化产业说到底是一种“内容产业”或“创意产业”。国学可以为文化产业提供“内容”,这些内容包括大量的文化符号(如象形文字、龙、红灯笼等)及文化素材(如经典文本、历史人物、故事情节等)。它们通过适当的创意转换就构成资源可再生的文化资本。有人提出,今天已进入内容生产的后制造时代,已经形成服饰文化制造业、饮食文化制造业、医药文化制造业、礼仪文化制造业等等。国学以其博大精神的内容完全可以(实际上已经)参与这些文化产业的产品生产。国内外已经有大量成功的文化产品取得了巨大的经济效益和社会效益,国外的如美国的动漫《花木兰》、韩国的电视剧《大长今》等,国内的收视率不断上升的央视《百家讲坛》及其配套的畅销书如易中天《品三国》、《于丹〈论语〉心得》等。

国学作用于市场经济的另外一个直接领域就是企业文化与管理以及市场营销。就前者而言,国学为企业文化建设和企业管理提供了深厚的文化资源。企业是市场经济的主体,企业要做强做大,要达到可持续发展,必须建构自己的企业文化,加强对员工的精神管理。很多华人企业都充分利用国学典籍作为企业文化的主干和企业精神的支柱,如有的企业要求员工人手一册《论语》,提出“先做人后做事”的文化理念;有的企业把《老子》的“上善若水”等格言作为企业管理的座右铭;有的企业还邀请大学里的国学教授去企业作企业文化和管理方面的讲座、培训或策划。近年来,有不少企业的老板或高管不惜高额学费,纷纷到高校去参加“国学”班的学习或“充电”。笔者从一些企业界的朋友了解到,他们认为参加“国学”班的学习大有收获。就更直接的市场经济意义而言,国学还为市场营销提供可资借鉴的销售策略。如很多商家运用《孙子兵法》或《三国演义》的思想来进行商品的销售战略的制定,取得了显著的效果。

总之,国学通过隐性和显性两种方式对市场经济产生影响并发挥一定作用,应该是不争的事实。未来国学与市场经济的关系究竟有多大的发展空间,这取决国学自身的活力。马克思说:“理论在一个国家实现的程度,取决于理论满足这个国家需要的程度。”借用这一表达,我们可以说,国学与市场经济的密切程度,取决于国学满足中国市场经济需要的程度。我们对此持积极乐观的态度。(作者单位:华中师范大学文学院、武汉大学哲学学院)

2008년 8월 30일 토요일

98.6%认为北京奥运会圆满成功 奥运后市民最关心环保

98.6%认为北京奥运会圆满成功 奥运后市民最关心环保
2008年08月30日 15:01:40  来源:北京晚报



昨天(29日),北京市社情民意调查中心发布的调查数据显示:北京市高达98.6%的被访者表示,北京奥运会是一届成功的奥运会。而九成以上市民奥运后最关注的仍是环保问题。

20%以上的人认为绿色奥运

调查显示,99.8%的市民认为北京奥运口号对北京产生影响。但被问及“绿色”、“科技”、“人文”的具体影响,调查发现,55.7%的被访者认为三方面影响都大。对于只选择了单项的被访者中,绿色奥运明显更深入人心,20.6%的人选择了这一项目。相比之下,人文奥运和科技奥运的选择率只有15.5%和8%。

那么,践行“绿色奥运”又体现在哪些方面?42.6%被访者认为,通过“开展环境保护的宣传教育,提高了全民环保意识”;而鸟巢、水立方为代表的奥运会绿色建筑工程为25.6%;改造了城市生态环境,比例为23.1%;奥运工程减少了对环境和生态系统的负面影响,占8.3%。

奥运带来的好处呈多元化

奥运给北京留下了什么?在所有市民的眼中,奥运带来的好处受益匪浅,但在选择回答一个最受益的变化时,观点呈现多元化,例如,空气环保可以使人们生活得更健康(27.7%);交通基础设施建设可以使我出行更加方便(27.4%);国家经济增长带来的个人收入提高(14.6%);体育场馆增加了健身的机会(9.5%);人与人之间的亲和力、友善待人(7.9%);城市环境卫生(7.7%);增加了就业机会,社会安全状况改善……

九成以上市民奥运后关注环保

当北京奥运已经成为往事,人们关注的焦点仍是环保问题,比例高达91.9%;其次是物价问题,为84.8%;交通问题是第三,为83.2%;其后,依次是国民经济问题、收入问题、住房问题、就业问题等。

据悉,此次调查是对全市十八区县3032名居民进行的电话调查。(记者龙露)

2008년 8월 29일 금요일

Links for Business English

Business English Exercises and Quizzes

http://www.better-english.com/exerciselist.html
This site presents exercises with the business grammar, vocabulary and even a business word puzzles. It also provides British humor used in a business context.



English for the workplace

http://esl.about.com/od/englishforbusinesswork/English_for_Business_Work_and_other_Special_Purposes.htm
This site gives users a guide to English for the workplace. English for the workplace includes business, computer, medical, engineering, legal and scientific English and more. There are also guides for producing business documents and job interview English.



Business letter writing basics

http://esl.about.com/cs/onthejobenglish/a/a_basbletter.htm
This site guides you in how to write business letters in English. In addition, it provides you with useful phrases for running a business meeting and participating in a business meeting, too.



Engineering work English letters

http://piper.pe.kr/letter_index.htm
This site collects various formats of business letters depending on different situation such as changing and canceling orders apologies, and dispatching an engineer. It helps users in starting their own business letters in English and Korean.



Economics the A to Z list

http://economics.about.com/library/weekly/bl-a-to-z.htm
There are currently over 400 words in the Economic Glossary. The links beside each bullet point will take you to a resource on that topic. So "Money, Value of" will take you to an article detailing where money gets its value.

2008년 8월 28일 목요일

Obama's From Main St., Ain't He?

Obama's From Main St., Ain't He?
There was a moment during his victorious primary campaign in South Carolina in January when Barack Obama was saying something isn’t right and a guy in the crowd shouted: “Ain’t right, Barack, ain’t right.”
I didn’t think much of this isn’t-versus-ain’t thing at the time, but it’s been on my mind here at the Democratic National Convention because the whole production, so far, has been mainly about demonstrating that Obama’s a regular guy from Main Street, U.S.A. — and that ain’t no made-up story.
Sure, there are issues. There’s a middle class mauled by $4-a-gallon-plus gas, soaring health costs, Bangalored jobs and lost homes — while the rich got tax breaks.
But if the economy now trumps Iraq, I’d say personality still trumps the economy. In the end, the election will be about trust and authenticity.
At least 80 percent of Americans think the country’s going in the wrong direction, one set by Republicans in the White House for all but 12 of the last 40 years. So the result in November should be a no-brainer: change, the word that has propelled Obama this far.
In the last few weeks, however, as Obama’s lead in the polls over the Republican candidate, John McCain, has all but vanished, that logic has frayed. Obama’s got some connection issues.
He’s been unable to push significantly beyond the yes-we-can fervor of his broad band of followers into the skeptical white, blue-collar America that favored Hillary Clinton and whose support he needs.
He’s been Denzel Washington playing the reassuring, handsome attorney on a stirring moral mission, reaching across enough barriers of race and class to get within sight of the White House. But can he now moderate that polished image to spread his appeal to the meat-and-potatoes crowd?
Is Obama more beer than Chardonnay? Is he a Dunkin’ Donuts or Starbucks guy? Must he talk fancy? Is he one of us despite having what his wife Michelle called “that funny name?”
That’s been the subtext of this convention, and Hillary’s people have not been discouraging it.
The funny-name reference came in Michelle’s touching speech on the convention’s opening night, a tribute devoted to answering those identity questions by evoking a basketball-playing, loving, industrious, idealistic, constant husband devoted to his daughters and driven to rise from adversity by a dream of opportunity for all.
Yes, it was touching, but it was also a little cloying.
Again I found my mind going back to South Carolina where Michelle’s heels were higher, outfit bolder, and tone more forthright. Since then, with her pride in America questioned, she’s been choreographed toward the demure in the interests of placing the family in the mainstream.
“I saw a very interesting, complex woman who had been reduced to saying what a good mom she was and how cute her meeting with Barack was,” said John McWhorter, a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute. “It was sincere, but I found myself cringing.”
McWhorter thinks Obama must remember that “being reflective will not get him elected.” Strong, focused and memorable is the tone he needs, as in Bill Clinton’s line on affirmative action: “Mend it, don’t end it.” In recent weeks, reading Obama’s lips on everything from the Russian invasion of Georgia to the rights of fetuses has been tough.
The fact Obama is under such pressure reflects Republican success since Reagan in framing Democrats as weak, unpatriotic, indecisive Volvo-driving nerds. “Conservative populism has successfully cast the liberal elite as looking down on the values of ordinary Americans,” said George Lakoff, a political theorist.
The best response to that is reality. Ordinary Americans are debt-ridden and struggling and values won’t pay their bills. Obama has been eloquent in describing this and proposing a new inclusive politics.
Eloquence, however, isn’t for everyone. He has not made an issue his own — not even energy — or found the one-liner to frame it.
But ain’t all this dumb? Here’s Obama, just finished with paying off his student loans, having to prove that he’s more mainstream than seven-house McCain, who’s just learning “to get online myself,” as he told my colleagues Adam Nagourney and Michael Cooper, and leaves e-mail to minions.
Dumb as in John Kerry, four years ago, having to prove his patriotism when he’d fought in Vietnam while George W. Bush fooled around Texas.
But that’s where Obama is: it’s hardball now. Hillary Clinton can broaden his constituency, but will she? Her support for him on the convention’s second night seemed more of form than spirit, devoid of personal affection. Bill Clinton was far more effusive.
The difference from 2004 is that the country is deep into economic plight, deeper into two wars, and weary of Republican fear-mongering. It may even be ready for what Mark Greenwood, a lawyer from Dickinson, N.D., called “someone who knows how to speak the English language.”
Ain’t no question Obama can do that.

韩国称抓获朝鲜女间谍 "美色"引诱韩军官



韩国称抓获朝鲜女间谍 "美色"引诱韩军官(图)
2008-08-28 14:12:20 来源: 环球时报(北京) 网友评论 500 条 点击查看
  核心提示:韩联社27日报道称,一名伪装成“脱北者”的朝鲜女间谍,以“美色”为诱饵,在试图套取韩国军事机密并向朝鲜传送机密的过程中被抓获。该女间谍名叫袁正华,曾以“脱北者”身份往返于中国、韩国、朝鲜和日本,开展间谍活动。
朝鲜日报图片 朝鲜女间谍袁正华(音,34岁)
环球时报8月28日报道 韩联社27日报道称,一名伪装成“脱北者”的朝鲜女间谍,以“美色”为诱饵,在试图套取韩国军事机密并向朝鲜传送机密的过程中被抓获。韩联社甚至将她比作一战时期著名的德国美女间谍玛塔·哈莉。
据韩联社和纽西斯通讯社27日报道,这位女间谍叫袁正华(音),今年34岁,隶属于朝鲜国家安全保卫部。1989年—1992年间,她在朝鲜接受对韩间谍训练,因训练途中受伤而退役。之后,她因偷盗百货商店,在6年中辗转各地。1998年,袁正华在亲戚的帮助下了结了盗窃事件,并成为朝鲜保卫部的成员,然后被派往中国,在吉林等地经商。在1999年—2001年期间,袁正华先后参与了对100多名“脱北者”及韩国商人的绑架活动。报道还称,2001年10月,袁正华接到“上级”潜入韩国的指令,遂伪装成朝鲜族与韩国男子崔某结婚,之后前往韩国定居,并获得韩国国籍。
报道称,袁正华在进入韩国后又伪装成“脱北者”,并于2001年11月向韩国国家情报院自首。在这一身份的“掩护”下,袁正华往返于中国、韩国、朝鲜和日本,开展间谍活动。
纽西斯通讯社报道说,2002年10月—2006年12月,袁正华先后14次向朝鲜保卫部报告韩国国内情况并进一步接受指令。2003年,袁正华掌握了韩国对朝情报人员的活动细节,还收买了同韩国情报机关有联系的企业家。2004年,袁正华还接到暗杀对朝情报人员李某和金某等的指令,并以毒药和毒针进行事前准备工作。
韩联社称,2006年,袁正华与“脱北者”团体的干部和军队情报人员接触,搞到了前朝鲜劳动党书记黄长烨等人的居所。黄长烨原是朝鲜劳动党书记和金日成综合大学校长,1997年在北京进入韩国领事馆要求政治庇护,后来逃亡到韩国。
报道说,在此过程中,袁正华通过婚介公司接近管理军事机密和“脱北者”信息的陆军大尉黄某等三四名政训军官。韩联社报道称,袁正华以美色进行引诱,同黄某同居,从中获取军事机密。黄某于2007年9月得知袁正华是间谍后,非但没有举报,还帮她隐瞒事实,帮助袁正华销毁了向朝鲜保卫部报告的传真文件。2008年5月,黄某向袁正华提供了“脱北者”出身的军队安保讲师名单。
韩国联合调查本部27日表示, 根据《国家保安法》于2008年7月15日拘捕了袁正华。联合调查本部还逮捕并拘禁了指使袁正华从事间谍工作和转送情报至朝鲜的间谍金某(63岁)。据报道,金某是袁正华的养父,他与朝鲜保卫部间谍进行紧密接触,并向袁正华提供间谍活动所需的资金,同时操纵袁正华的间谍工作。