Business News and Economic News: Top Stories

	Top Stories Comoros: Projects to boost tourism announced, Kuwait to invest $56m telcoms, banks Indonesia tourist arrivals rise 16 per cent in February Malaysian Airline to buy 55 planes to upgrade fleet

	Top Stories Raja Willem Meijles reports on the strength of the Dutch economy Denmark: Indications of rising invincibility What everyone should know about the 'CEO' of the brain

	Top Stories Tensions rise as world faces short rations Indonesia: Logging road threatens forest US: Exorbitant interest rates on 'pay day' loans exacerbate housing crisis
Positive Trends 10 Short Summaries of Top Stories Comoros: Projects to boost tourism announced, Kuwait to invest $56m telcoms, banks 1 April 2008 - Kuwaiti investors said on Saturday they will pump nearly $56 million into Comoros. President Ahmed Abdallah Sambi has worked hard to court Arab business to the Indian Ocean archipelago. A delegation of Kuwaiti investors said they would initially focus on telecoms and banking. They have also signed a letter of intent for the construction of a tourist village by Salted Lake. With a tropical climate and white sandy beaches, tourism has long been seen as a big potential growth sector for Comoros. (more) Indonesia tourist arrivals rise 16 per cent in February 1 April 2008 - The number of foreign tourists in Indonesia rose nearly 16 per cent in February from a year ago, helped by a surge in visitors to the resort island of Bali, government data showed on Tuesday. Tourism is estimated to have contributed around $5.3 billion to the economy in 2007. Indonesia boasts tourist attractions ranging from rainforests to beaches, volcanoes, and ancient temples. (more) Malaysian Airline to buy 55 planes to upgrade fleet 1 April 2008 - State-controlled Malaysian Airline System Bhd is expected to announce on Monday an order of up to 55 new aircraft worth up to 11 billion ringgit ($3.4 billion) as part a replacement programme for its ageing fleet, domestic newspapers said. Malaysian Airline made a net profit of 851.4 million ringgit last year. (more) Wind turbine maker plans capacity expansion, confirms outlook 1 April 2008 - Wind turbine maker REpower plans to more than double its production capacity in the next two years to handle further strong growth, especially in Europe and North America, it said on Monday. Demand for renewable energy is booming. REpower is the world's number four wind turbine maker, and competes with the world's leading wind turbine maker Vesta. REpower's major shareholder is India's Suzlon Energy. (more) Australia: Prime Minister Rudd says economy strong 31 March 2008 - Australia's economic prospects remain 'sound, strong, and good' despite turmoil in global financial markets, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said on Saturday, reaffirming a message from Australia's central bank. Because of high growth rates predicted for key trading partners of Australia in Asia, 'we have a better set of economic prospects than a number of other economies,' he said. (more) Middle East airline sees India traffic up 20 per cent in 2008 31 March 2008 - Air Arabia the Middle East's largest budget airline, expects at least 20 per cent rise in passenger traffic out of India in 2008, a senior official said on Monday. Air Arabia carried 2.7 million passengers in 2007 of which 20 per cent came out of India. (more) Morocco: Banking sector sees growth 31 March 2008 - A gradual improvement in the health of Morocco's banking sector has pushed down interest rates and stimulated demand. Many are taking out mortgages for the first time after the government made it easier for people on modest incomes to buy homes as it seeks to eradicate slums and improve living standards. (more) Panama: January economic activity rises 10.21 per cent 31 March 2008 - Panama's economic activity rose 10.21 per cent in January over the year-ago period, the government said on Wednesday, driven by growth in transport and commerce. (more) South East Asian stocks-indexes gain, Singapore at one-month high 31 March 2008 - Southeast Asian stock markets ended a strong week with further modest gains on Friday. Singapore's Straits Times index edged up 0.2 per cent to its highest close in a month, and up 7.3 per cent this week, its biggest weekly gain since August 2007. Malaysia's benchmark index, Indonesia, and The Philippines also rose. Viet Nam edged up on Friday. (more) US: Solar roofing company sees strong growth in 2008 31 March 2008 - London-listed US solar roofing company 'Solar Integrated' believes it can double in size this year, after more than 100 per cent growth in 2007, thanks to climate change concerns and a rise in government support. Los Angeles-based Solar Integrated expects to double revenue and profits in 2008. The company makes roofing with built-in solar panels for larger commercial buildings. (more)
Success of Maharishi's Programmes 10 Short Summaries of Top Stories Raja Willem Meijles reports on the strength of the Dutch economy 1 April 2008 - Raja Willem Meijles, Administrator of Invincible Holland for the Global Country of World Peace, spoke about the nation's achievement of invincibility as reflected in the news reports that Holland's economy is doing very well, especially compared with other European countries. (more) Denmark: Indications of rising invincibility 6 October 2007 - Dr Bjarne Landsfeldt, Raja (Administrator) of Denmark for the Global Country of World Peace, recently reported on indications of rising invincibility in the nation. (more) What everyone should know about the 'CEO' of the brain 29 September 2007 - The Center for Leadership Performance offers the Transcendental Meditation Programme to raise leadership performance for individuals and organizations through reducing stress and developing total brain functioning. (more) US: Meditate your way to wealth 11 September 2007 - A group of 1,800 participants in the Invincible America Assembly have been creating positivity and harmony--as well as a stronger economy--through their collective practice of the Transcendental Meditation Technique. (more) Wall Street in favour of meditation: Colombian business news 10 September 2007 - Rising collective consciousness is the cause of stock market advances and progress towards world peace, say leaders of the Global Financial Capital of New York, part of the worldwide organization established by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi to end war and poverty. (more) Renowned singer praises Transcendental Meditation 3 September 2007 - Mike Love, lead singer of the renowned American band, The Beach Boys, has been a practitioner of Maharishi's Transcendental Meditation Programme for almost 40 years. He says Transcendental Meditation is essential to his musical career, which began in the early 1960's and is still going strong with nearly 200 shows per year. (more) A new perspective on global investing: Managing global risk through coherent collective consciousness - Part II 30 August 2007 - Creating a world free from poverty through Maharishi Vedic Organic Agriculture and the Maharishi Poverty Removal Program. (more) The continuing results of the Invincible America Assembly currently taking place in Fairfield and Maharishi Vedic City, Iowa, USA - Part II 30 August 2007 - Speaking recently to a Global Press Conference on the rise of positive trends throughout the United States, Dr John Hagelin, Minister of Science and Technology of the Global Country of World Peace, reported on the continuing results of the coherence produced in collective consciousness by a large group of Yogic Flyers practising the Transcendental Meditation and TM-Sidhi Programme together in Fairfield and Maharishi Vedic City, Iowa, USA. (more) A new perspective on global investing: Managing global risk through coherent collective consciousness - Part I 28 August 2007 - Creating a world free from poverty through Maharishi Vedic Organic Agriculture and the Maharishi Poverty Removal Program. (more) The continuing results of the Invincible America Assembly currently taking place in Fairfield and Maharishi Vedic City, Iowa, USA - Part I 26 August 2007 - Speaking recently to a Global Press Conference on the rise of positive trends throughout the United States, Dr John Hagelin, Minister of Science and Technology of the Global Country of World Peace, reported on the continuing results of the coherence produced in collective consciousness by a large group of Yogic Flyers practising the Transcendental Meditation and TM-Sidhi Programme together in Fairfield and Maharishi Vedic City, Iowa, USA. (more)
Flops 10 Short Summaries of Top Stories Tensions rise as world faces short rations 31 March 2008 - Food prices are soaring, a wealthier Asia is demanding better food and farmers can't keep up. In short, the world faces a food crisis and in some places it is already boiling over. Around the globe, people are protesting and governments are responding with often counterproductive controls on prices and exports, a new politics of scarcity in which ensuring food supplies is becoming a major challenge for the 21st century. (more) Indonesia: Logging road threatens forest 26 March 2008 - Forests and rare tigers are under threat from a new logging road in Indonesia's Sumatra, green groups said on Wednesday, linking firms connected to paper giant Asia Pulp and Paper (APP) as being behind the project. According to Eyes of the Forest, the logging highway could have a devastating effect on Kampar's peat forests, one of the largest of the contiguous tropical peat forests which act as the planet's biggest carbon store. (more) US: Exorbitant interest rates on 'pay day' loans exacerbate housing crisis 24 March 2008 - As hundreds of thousands of American home owners fall behind on their mortgage payments, more people are turning to short-term loans just to get by. These loans, often with interest rates as high as 800 per cent, quickly wipe out the borrowers' savings, and as pay day lenders become more aggressive to get their money, home owners are bankrupt and lose their house. (more) In Brazil oil town, water is a precious commodity 19 March 2008 - Thousands of people flock to the Brazilian oil boom town of Macae, but no infrastructure provisions have been made for the workers' neighbourhood of Nova Holanda. There, procuring water is as big a business as oil, while revenues that should be used to compensate for the infrastructure problems disappear in other pockets. (more) European stocks hit 2-1/2 year low on banking rout 18 March 2008 - European stocks sank more than 4 percent to their lowest close in nearly 2-1/2 years on Monday as the fire sale of troubled Wall Street investment bank Bear Stearns sparked a sharp sell-off among banks. (more) Britains' inflation expectations hit record 13 March 2008 - Britons' expectations of future inflation rose to a series high of 3.3 percent in February, more than a percentage point above the actual rate of inflation, a survey by the Bank of England showed on Thursday. Bank Governor Mervyn King has described the coming year as the toughest for more than a decade for monetary policymakers who have to balance the risk of a sharp economic slowdown with rising price pressures. (more) US: Corn-based ethanol could worsen 'dead zone' 11 March 2008 - Growing more corn to meet the projected US demand for ethanol could worsen an expanding 'dead zone' in the Gulf of Mexico that is bad for fish researchers reported. The dead zone starts in Midwestern corn country when farmers fertilize their fields with nitrogen. The fertilizer run-off flows down the Mississippi River into the Gulf of Mexico, making algae bloom on the surface and cutting oxygen to creatures that live on the bottom. (more) US foreclosures at record as household wealth falls 7 March 2008 - US home foreclosures hit a record late last year amid a shakedown in the subprime mortgage market that is taking its toll on the broader economy, and the net wealth of US households fell for the first time in five years, data showed. (more) Argentine firm to export bovine genetics to China 5 March 2008 - Argentina, a country famous for its steaks, will start exporting bovine genetics this year to China, which is trying to improve its meat production as consumption surges. (more) Long workweeks keeping Americans up late 3 March 2008 - US worker are facing longer days at their job and are getting increasingly less rest, researchers said. (more)