- (
) Canada should put its loonie pride on hold
I chanced to be in Canada last week on the very day that the Canadian dollar hit parity with its more glamorous American counterpart for the first time in 30 years.The "loonie", as it is popularly known, in what may be the most unfortunate example of cross-cultural verbal ambiguity since Omar Bongo became president of Gabon, has, with the other major currencies, been ascending steadily against the greenback for more than five years.
But parity was still a banner day in Canada. The story dominated the news; taxi drivers ribbed American visitors about their unwonted equality; currency traders at the Royal Bank of Canada in Toronto stood at their desks and clapped and cheered at the historic moment.
I’m getting to be something of a Zelig figure in the narrative of signal events in foreign exchange history, because I can also recall being in Japan the day that the yen hit the magical Y100=$1 mark back in the mid-1990s. More>>
- (
) Don't wait for new government to address crises, says Sonthi
BANGKOK, Oct 19 (TNA) � Thailand's Deputy Prime Minister Sonthi Boonyaratkalin said no one should wait for the next government to deal with grave national problems such as disasters and insurgencies.
Speaking in support of legislation to increase the decision-making authority of the Prime Minister in times of emergency and crises affecting national security, Gen. Sonthi said nobody should leave it all to a post-election government to decide what to do with possible natural disasters, insurgencies or international terrorist acts, which might arise at any time because those problems need to be addressed on emergency basis.
The deputy prime minister said whether or not the legislation becomes law will depend entirely on the National Legislative Assembly to decide after it had earlier passed cabinet approval. More>> - (
) One Of World's Most Wanted Pedophiles Arrested In Thailand
BANGKOK, Thailand (AP) -- A Canadian schoolteacher suspected of sexually abusing boys was arrested in rural Thailand on Friday after an international manhunt that relied on digitally unscrambled photos and tips from the public. Handcuffed, with a blue shirt draped over his head, 32-year-old Christopher Paul Neil did not comment to reporters as officers led him into the national police headquarters in Bangkok, where a news conference was scheduled later in the day. Neil was found in the province of Nakhon Ratchasima, where police said he had been hiding in the town of a Thai friend believed to have arranged some of his alleged sexual liaisons with boys. He was to be extradited to Canada after being prosecuted in Thailand, said police spokesman Pongsapat Pongjaren. More>> - (
) KBank-JBIC venture
SMALL BUSINESS :Kasikornbank and the Japan Bank for International Co-Operation will provide seven billion baht in loans to small and medium-sized Thai businesses with ties to Japan.Loans will be offered for up to 14 year terms with credit limits of up to 525 million baht. KBank CEO Banthoon Lamsam said the K-J Related Credit programme would be set up by JBIC and eight Japanese banks to extend loans to Thai businesses through KBank.
Clients can borrow in baht, US dollars or Japanese yen, with interest at either fixed or floating rates and based on the credit risk of the borrower. Applicants must be Japanese businesses operating in Thailand, Thai companies with business relations with a Japanese firm over the past two years or a Thai firm with plans to enter into a joint venture with a Japanese firm over the next two years. More>>
- (
) San Francisco tops list of best US cities, again
TORONTO - San Francisco may not be the biggest US city or have the bright lights of New York, but it's once again captured the hearts of travellers, named the best US city in a survey by Conde Nast Traveler magazine.Over 28,000 people voted in the annual Readers Choice Awards conducted by the magazine, which asked people to name their best cities, hotels, airlines, cruise lines and resorts.
"San Francisco, the No 1. US city, has also been No. 1 for 17 of the past 18 years," the magazine said in a statement.
Santa Fe, New Mexico, displaced San Francisco from the top of the list in 1992.
New York, which doesn't always make it into the list's top three, moved up one spot to be named second favorite US city after finishing third last year. More>>