Lowyat.NET: Latest topics by empyreal

SC's new guidelines on finfluencers

empyreal — Sun, 21 Jul 2024 11:44:29 +0800

QUOTE

In particular, the Guidance Note clarifies that promotion of a capital market product on social media platforms may require a licence from the SC in certain circumstances. For example, the sharing of financial insights or recommendations that promote certain capital market products to followers with expectation of commissions or other rewards will require a licence.

Finfluencers should take note that engaging in unlicensed regulated activities is an offence which is punishable under the Capital Markets and Services Act 2007 (CMSA). Any person found guilty may be liable to a fine not exceeding RM10 million or imprisonment not exceeding ten years or both

https://www.sc.com.my/resources/media/media...or-finfluencers

Just leaving this new SC guideline here.

Wolfenstein: the New Order is free

empyreal — Thu, 02 Jun 2022 23:20:36 +0800

https://store.epicgames.com/en-US/p/wolfens...n-the-new-order

Dont lose your head over it.

Albania Puts Cold War Planes up for Auction

empyreal — Thu, 11 Feb 2016 17:07:19 +0800

Albania Puts Cold War Planes up for Auction

Collectors who fancy their own Russian or Chinese-made jet or helicopter can buy one off the Albanian Defence Ministry for as little as a few thousand euro on February 22.
Fatjona Mejdini
BIRN
Tirana

Once they were the pride of the isolated communist country – a fleet of 210 military aircraft bought decades ago from Russia and China.

However, much like the old munitions inherited from that era, many of these planes no longer fit modern needs and have become a burden to the Albanian armed forces.

Now the Albanian Defence Ministry has decided to sell off some of these relics in an international auction.

On February 22, military officials will present potential buyers with 40 planes and helicopters.

Built between 1950 and 1977, the 36 planes and four helicopters will be sold to interested museums or to private collectors keen on Cold-War military mementos.

Up for auction are several types of combat plane; six Yak-18s, three Mig-15s, three Uti-Migs, four Mig-17s, four Uti-Mig 17s, ten Mig-19s, six Mig-21s and four helicopter Mil Mi-4s.

With modest prices ranging from around 8,000 to 13,000 euros, the Ministry of Defence expects to raise around 435,000 euros in all.

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http://www.balkaninsight.com/en/article/al...h.Pvg5zfkU.dpuf

goodbye, terry pratchett.

empyreal — Thu, 12 Mar 2015 23:34:06 +0800

Fantasy author Terry Pratchett has died aged 66 after a long battle with Alzheimer's disease.

"The world has lost one of its brightest, sharpest minds," said Transworld Publishers' Larry Finlay.

Sir Terry, best known for the Discworld series, wrote more than 70 books over his lengthy career.

He was first diagnosed with Alzheimer's in 2007, but continued writing, completing his final book last summer.

The author died at home, surrounded by his family.

Mr Finlay said he was "deeply saddened" by the news of Sir Terry's death.

"In over 70 books, Terry enriched the planet like few before him. As all who read him know, Discworld was his vehicle to satirize this world: He did so brilliantly, with great skill, enormous humour and constant invention.

"Terry faced his Alzheimer's disease (an 'embuggerance', as he called it) publicly and bravely. Over the last few years, it was his writing that sustained him. His legacy will endure for decades to come.

"My sympathies go out to Terry's wife Lyn, their daughter Rhianna, to his close friend Rob Wilkins, and to all closest to him."

http://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-31858156

"BUT MOST PEOPLE ARE RATHER STUPID AND WASTE THEIR LIVES. HAVE YOU NOT SEEN THAT? HAVE YOU NOT LOOKED DOWN FROM THE HORSE AT A CITY AND THOUGHT HOW MUCH IT RESEMBLED AN ANT HEAP, FULL OF BLIND CREATURES WHO THINK THEIR MUNDANE LITTLE WORLD IS REAL? YOU SEE THE LIGHTED WINDOWS AND WHAT YOU WANT TO THINK IS THAT THERE MUST BE MANY INTERESTING STORIES BEHIND THEM, BUT WHAT YOU KNOW IS THAT REALLY THERE ARE JUST DULL, DULL SOULS, MERE CONSUMERS OF FOOD, WHO THINK THEIR INSTINCTS ARE EMOTIONS AND THEIR TINY LIVES OF MORE ACCOUNT THAN A WHISPER OF WIND."

not this one, death.

Mini Metro game

empyreal — Mon, 16 Feb 2015 07:36:46 +0800

[YOUTUBE]DLuyEAaVoYo[/YOUTUBE]

thought you may enjoy this, [@kampung2005]

Newton Men’s Energy Special Edition Running Shoes

empyreal — Thu, 08 Jan 2015 19:36:54 +0800

Newton Men’s Energy Special Edition Running Shoes

As available for Newton Challenge 2014
http://www.triathlonmalaysia.com/race-details.php?eventID=51

Condition: New, with box
Size: 10.5 US (9.5 UK)
Reason for selling: Given the wrong size. Don’t make the same mistake I did, lol.
Price: RM250

Prefer to COD around the KLCC area.

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Designed to meet the needs of runners who want to experience the unique technology platform and ride found only in Newton Running shoes. The EnergyNR facilitates a seamless transition from more conventional running shoe brands into the Newton line. Runners who are new to the brand as well as loyal Newtonites will truly enjoy the lightweight and responsive ride that the EnergyNR offers.

Heel-to-toe drop • 6mm

Upper
• Comfortable/breathable air mesh with minimal support strapping overlays
• 3D reflective back tab

Outersole
• High-traction 5-lug forefoot pattern
• High-density rubber in heel and toe area
• Highly cushioned blown rubber midfoot pod

Midsole
• Action/ReactionTM technology in the midfoot
• High-rebound EVA
• Biomechanical metatarsal sensor plate
• Accommodates most orthotics

Green
• 100% recycled laces, webbing, insole topcover
• 100% recycled box, packaging
• 10% recycled outersole rubber

How to Get Into an Ivy League College—Guaranteed

empyreal — Mon, 08 Sep 2014 07:37:30 +0800

How to Get Into an Ivy League College—Guaranteed
By Peter Waldman September 03, 2014
Steven Ma, founder, ThinkTank

The academic transcript looked like a rap sheet. The 16-year-old had dropped out of boarding schools in England and California because of behavioral problems and had only two semesters left at a small school in Utah. Somehow, he had to raise his grade-point average above a C before applying to college. His confidence was shot, and though his parents didn’t openly discuss it, he knew they were crushed at the thought that he might not get into a reputable college. What the boy didn’t know was that back home in Hong Kong, where his dad is chief executive officer of a big publicly traded investment company, the family was calling in a miracle worker.

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Through a friend, his father reached out to Steven Ma, founder of ThinkTank Learning, a chain of San Francisco Bay Area tutoring centers that operate out of strip malls. Like many in the field, Ma helps kids apply to college. Unlike his competitors, Ma guarantees that his students will get into a top school or their parents get their money back—provided the applicant achieves a certain GPA and other metrics. He also offers a standard college consulting package that doesn’t come with a guarantee; for a lower price, Ma’s centers provide after-school tutoring, test prep, college counseling, and extra class work in English, math, science, and history.

Ma, a former hedge fund analyst, makes bets on student admissions the way a trader plays the commodities markets. Using 12 variables from a student’s profile—from grades and test scores to extracurricular activities and immigration status—Ma’s software crunches the odds of admission to a range of top-shelf colleges. His proprietary algorithm assigns varying weights to different parameters, derived from his analysis of the successes and failures of thousands of students he’s coached over the years. Ma’s algorithm, for example, predicts that a U.S.-born high school senior with a 3.8 GPA, an SAT score of 2,000 (out of 2,400), moderate leadership credentials, and 800 hours of extracurricular activities, has a 20.4 percent chance of admission to New York University and a 28.1 percent shot at the University of Southern California. Those odds determine the fee ThinkTank charges that student for its guaranteed consulting package: $25,931 to apply to NYU and $18,826 for USC. “Of course we set limits on who we’ll guarantee,” says Ma. “We don’t want to make this a casino game.”

Some 10,000 students—sixth graders to junior-college grads—use ThinkTank’s services now, generating annual revenue of more than $18 million. Nearly all are Asian immigrants like Ma, 36, who moved to Northern California from Taiwan when he was 11. He reels them in at free seminars, held in Holiday Inn ballrooms on Saturday afternoons. The standing-room-only events, advertised in Bay Area Chinese media, include a raffle of free SAT prep classes and a pep talk for the college-obsessed. Ma reassures the bewildered, multigenerational audiences that top-ranked American universities aren’t nearly as capricious as they seem, once you know their formula. ThinkTank boasts that 85 percent of its applicants get into a top-40 college, as ranked by U.S. News & World Report. “Our model knows more about how to get into many colleges than their own admissions officers know,” he says.
Video: Cracking the Admissions Code of Elite Colleges

Ma also writes “custom contracts,” like the one he struck with the Hong Kong CEO for his wayward son in Utah. The father agreed to participate in this article, and authorized Ma to release their signed agreement, on the condition no family member was named. His son, he explains, doesn’t know how much he paid Ma; the dad worries the truth might hurt the boy’s self-esteem. He feels guilty that he didn’t spend more time with his son growing up. He was too busy running his business; hiring Ma, he says, was his compensation to his son. “They were desperate,” says Ma.

After signing an agreement in May 2012, the family wired Ma $700,000 over the next five months—before the boy had even applied to college. The contract set out incentives that would pay Ma as much as $1.1 million if the son got into the No. 1 school in U.S. News’ 2012 rankings. (Harvard and Princeton were tied at the time.) Ma would get nothing, however, if the boy achieved a 3.0 GPA and a 1600 SAT score and still wasn’t accepted at a top-100 college. For admission to a school ranked 81 to 100, Ma would get to keep $300,000; schools ranked 51 to 80 would let Ma hang on to $400,000; and for a top-50 admission, Ma’s payoff started at $600,000, climbing $10,000 for every rung up the ladder to No. 1.

More: http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2014-...-hefty-price#p1

I was online reading horror stories

empyreal — Sun, 07 Sep 2014 00:33:47 +0800

Timekeeper

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I quite liked it.

http://www.buzzfeed.com/awesomer/boo-scared-you

Spanish public debt reaches 1 tn euros

empyreal — Fri, 15 Aug 2014 10:49:37 +0800

Spanish public debt reaches 1 tn euros
English.news.cn 2014-08-14 22:13:52 [More]

MADRID, Aug. 14 (Xinhua) -- Spanish public debt stood at 1.007 trillion euros (1.346 trillion U.S. dollars) in June, according to data published Thursday by the Bank of Spain.

Debt increased by 10.336 billion euros in June, representing 98.4 percent of the country's gross domestic product (GDP). This meant a 1.03 percent increase from May to June.

It was the first time Spain's public debt surpassed the 1 trillion euros mark.

The financial crisis in the country has significantly pushed up its public debt, representing 36.3 percent of the country's GDP in 2007 compared to 98.4 percent in June.

The government expects to finish 2014 with public debt representing 99.5 percent of GDP. (1 euro = 1.33 U.S. dollars)

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/business...c_133556941.htm

Set of 3 Commemorative Coins

empyreal — Thu, 10 Jul 2014 13:47:57 +0800

Item(s): Set of 3 Commemorative Coins on the 40th Anniversary of Malaysia-China Diplomatic Relations

Package includes: Gold, silver and Nordic gold commemorative coins, with numbered certificate, in a blue box embossed with the Malaysian seal

Price: RM2,900

Dealing method: COD only. Location preferred: KLCC

Location of seller: KL

Contact method/details: Private Message

Age of item: Less than a year

---

Item(s) conditions: Mint

Picture:

Reason for sale: Trade

Malaysia to Turn Oil-Palm Land Into Airport City

empyreal — Thu, 12 Jun 2014 10:34:06 +0800

Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd. (MAHB) plans to convert some oil-palm plantations surrounding Kuala Lumpur’s main air terminal into attractions such as theme parks, concert halls and golf courses to lure businesses and visitors.

A factory outlet venture with Mitsui Fudosan Co. (8801), Japan’s biggest developer, will open in the area next year, and new towns have sprung up near the airport that will help the zone dubbed KLIA Aeropolis grow, Chief Financial Officer Faizal Mansor said in a June 10 interview. Malaysia Airports has about 22,000 acres (9,000 hectares) of land in Sepang, where the international airport and a Formula One track are located.

“I don’t think any other airport in the world has got the kind of land bank that we have,” Faizal said. As the area gets more developed, “the airport then slowly becomes less and less a destination for passengers to take a flight, more and more a destination by itself.”

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http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-06-11/m...heast-asia.html

BBC Make Me a German

empyreal — Sun, 08 Jun 2014 22:13:17 +0800

[YOUTUBE]9bTKSin4JN4[/YOUTUBE]

TheDevilMethod
4 months ago

As a german, all my life I tought that the image that we are very busy and working hart are just rumors, but you proof me wrong. How can you talk with friend on the phone, when your at work? It was very interessting to me to see, how you also see german. But one thing I must correkt, we germans are not thinking that Britain is boring, we find it very interessting and also like it. We are no enemys! Accept in football! ;D There it could just be one team on the top!

The Dark Chain of Events to Your Kid's Ivy League

empyreal — Fri, 09 May 2014 19:36:10 +0800

The Dark Chain of Events to Your Kid's Ivy League Rejection
10 Apr 21, 2014 4:12 PM EDT
By Stephen Mihm

Despite their perfect grade-point averages and SAT scores and stellar extracurricular activities, the number of top-achieving high school seniors who made the cut at the most elite universities reached record lows this year. Stanford, for example, only admitted 5 percent of applicants, the fewest in its history; other top institutions reported similar numbers.

This may look like meritocracy reaching its ultimate rarefaction, yet the motives that led top colleges and universities to introduce highly selective admissions a century ago were far from lofty. The aim was to keep out one group in particular: Jews.

Until the turn of the last century, there was no such thing as “selective admissions,” even at the top universities. If students could pass an entrance exam, or belonged to the right family, they were in. There was no dossier, no need to show that you were “well-rounded.”

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http://www.bloombergview.com/articles/2014...rvard-rejection

Epic Gridlock Reigns Over Manila's 23 Million

empyreal — Thu, 08 May 2014 10:01:32 +0800

Epic Gridlock Reigns Over Manila's 23 Million
By Karl Lester M. Yap Apr 10, 2014 2:55 PM GMT+0800

Save
Photographer: Jes Aznar/Bloomberg

Street vendors wait for customers as jeepneys and other traffic stand congested in Manila.

Joshua Mercado is waiting for a train at the end of a kilometer-long queue that snakes down three stories from Manila’s elevated Quezon Avenue station to the sidewalk below. It’s part of his five-hour daily commute.

“All I do is wake up, go to work, go home, eat, sleep,” said Mercado, 24, who rises at 4 a.m. for a trip by motorized tricycle, minivan, train and bus to his office in Makati, the capital’s business district. “All these hours of commuting and the frequent breakdowns are really stressing me out.”

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holy crap, 1 km long queue just to get on the train?

Viper Challenge 2014

empyreal — Mon, 07 Apr 2014 11:02:36 +0800

http://www.viperchallenge.com/

[YOUTUBE]FK_Cc7UzLKw[/YOUTUBE]

was thinking of joining up again this year. anyone wants to form a team?

[@subimpact]

Johnny Rockets

empyreal — Sat, 22 Mar 2014 22:10:35 +0800

was thinking of going to the avenue k one tomorrow. are they any good? looks nice, though.

Cities in Motion 2

empyreal — Tue, 18 Mar 2014 23:53:34 +0800

[YOUTUBE]sjZZen5v7p0[/YOUTUBE]

mandatory summon [@Kampung2005]

inb4 tldw

India’s Diesel Subsidy Spurs Pollution

empyreal — Fri, 28 Feb 2014 11:59:13 +0800

India’s Diesel Subsidy Spurs Pollution Worse Than Beijing
By Natalie Obiko Pearson and Rakteem Katakey Feb 28, 2014 6:00 AM GMT+0800

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-02-27/i...an-beijing.html

Molecular biologist George Easow’s move to India to start a clinical diagnostics business lasted just three weeks before he was convinced to return to the U.K.

The convincing was done by his seven-month-old daughter Fiona. Within days of moving to New Delhi, the child was wheezing and gasping for air because of smog. “She could hardly breathe,” said her father.

Fiona was kept indoors and put on medication. Nothing worked. “We had to make a call,” Easow said, adding her symptoms disappeared once back in the U.K. and haven’t returned.

For the 16.8 million residents of India’s capital, the wheezing continues. The bad news is it’s going to get worse.

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The Meaning Of Zero Rated

empyreal — Mon, 24 Feb 2014 12:42:21 +0800

another explanatory piece by hishamh. i've heard a lot of people echo what jerit mentions but there is need for clarity on the matter: if there is an increase in the price of zero-rated goods, then the seller is definitely taking two scoops from the well.

The Meaning Of Zero Rated

I’m still snowed under with work commitments, so the blog will be on temporary hiatus until I can get a handle on my new job responsibilities.

Nevertheless, I can’t resist commenting on this (excerpt, emphasis added):

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What does “zero-rated” mean? It has a totally different meaning from “exempt”. From the point of view of the consumer, you want to see zero-rated much more often than exempt.

When a good or service is GST-exempt, the good or service provider has to absorb all GST charged on any input. While the consumer does not in principle pay GST on the final good or service, there will be an element of GST involved from the cost of the inputs, which could raise the final price. GST-exempt goods or services thus may actually have GST embedded in the price consumers pay.

When a good or service is instead zero-rated, the good or service provider has the right to reclaim from Customs any GST paid on inputs. In other words, not only does the consumer not have to pay any explicit GST on those goods or services, there is no embedded GST from inputs in the final price either, because the government refunds the tax.

I’m afraid Jerit is the one who’s actually confusing the people.

http://econsmalaysia.blogspot.com/2014/02/...zero-rated.html

Malaysia Budget Deficit Shrinks

empyreal — Thu, 13 Feb 2014 17:32:47 +0800

Malaysia Budget Deficit Shrinks More Than Government Target

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/print/2014-0...t-targeted.html

By Chong Pooi Koon - Feb 12, 2014

Malaysia trimmed its fiscal deficit to 3.9 percent of gross domestic product last year, after cutting government spending and state subsidies to avert a credit-rating downgrade.

Prime Minister Najib Razak narrowed the shortfall from 4.5 percent of GDP in 2012, beating the government’s 4 percent deficit target for last year. The central bank released the updated budget deficit estimate in a quarterly bulletin, citing preliminary government finance data. Malaysia wants to further reduce the budget gap to 3.5 percent this year and to 3 percent in 2015, before achieving a balanced budget by 2020.

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Fitch Ratings lowered its outlook on Malaysia to negative from stable in July, citing public finances as the country’s “key rating weakness.” Najib cut subsidies on essential items including fuel and sugar, trimmed ministers’ entertainment budgets and froze proposals to renovate government offices.

“Achieving the government’s goal of a 3 percent deficit in 2015 still looks challenging without additional consolidation measures,” Andrew Colquhoun, Fitch’s head of Asia-Pacific sovereigns, said by e-mail today.
Record Investment

Najib unveiled a plan in 2010 to attract $444 billion of local and foreign private sector-led investment in Malaysia by the end of this decade, ranging from oil storage to a subway in Kuala Lumpur. Foreign direct investment into the country climbed more than 24 percent in 2013 to a record 38.8 billion ringgit ($11.7 billion) from a year earlier, the Ministry of International Trade and Industry said in a statement today.

“A key question for the ratings, amid ongoing shifts in investor attitude towards emerging markets, remains whether a re-acceleration of investment spending under the Economic Transformation Programme risks emergence of a twin public and external deficit later in the year,” Colquhoun said.

Malaysia’s economy expanded at the fastest pace in four quarters in the three months ended December as a recovery in advanced nations including the U.S. boosted demand for the country’s goods. GDP climbed 5.1 percent in the period from a year earlier, the central bank said yesterday.

“The timely implementation of fiscal and structural reforms will boost investors’ confidence and enhance private-sector investment,” Lee Heng Guie, an economist at CIMB Group Holdings Bhd., said in a report today. “We believe the government is on track to meet its fiscal-deficit targets.”
Ringgit’s Slide

The ringgit was little changed at 3.3235 against the dollar as of 12:15 p.m. in Kuala Lumpur and has fallen 7 percent over 12 months, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Capital flight risk has weakened emerging-market currencies as the U.S. Federal Reserve pares stimulus.

Rebounding exports have countered Najib’s spending squeeze. Inflation (MACPIYOY) risks are rising following subsidy cuts and the central bank may be moving closer to an interest-rate increase after keeping borrowing costs unchanged since mid-2011, according to Barclays Plc.

Inflation accelerated to 3.2 percent in December, the fastest pace in two years. Overseas shipments picked up in the second half of 2013, after a “lackluster” first six months of the year, the trade ministry said last week. Southeast Asia’s third-largest economy is projected by the government to expand 5 percent to 5.5 percent in 2014.

To contact the reporter on this story: Chong Pooi Koon in Kuala Lumpur at pchong17@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Stephanie Phang at sphang@bloomberg.net