News black-out of strike pays off for Honda

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/6f706b98-7831-11df-a6b4-00144feabdc0,dwp_uuid=9c33700c-4c86-11da-89df-0000779e2340.html
News black-out of strike pays off for Honda
By Tom Mitchell in Zhongshan

Published: June 15 2010 06:05 | Last updated: June 15 2010 22:33

On June 12, at the height of the latest strike to affect Honda’s China operations, a young female worker watched as a cameraman marched up to one of the company’s human resources executives.

“Is he with Zhongshan TV?” the striker asked hopefully, referring to the factory town in southern Guangdong province where Honda Lock is located. When told that the cameraman was in fact from NHK of Japan, she was visibly disappointed. “Why can’t Zhongshan TV report it?” she asked. “Is it because the company won’t let them?”

A government ban on local reporting of the Honda Lock strike has had its desired effect. Many of those who responded to a recent recruitment drive at the factory, launched to put pressure on the strikers, said they were not aware of the industrial action.... (click the link above to read the whole article)

Gold not a currency and doesn't pay interest? In Vietnam it is and does via GATA

Gold not a currency and doesn't pay interest? In Vietnam it is and does Submitted by cpowell on Fri, 2010-06-18 03:30. Section: Daily Dispatches Vietnam's Gold Habit Weighs Down Dong


By Tim Johnson
Financial Times, London
Wednesday, June 16, 2010

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/83a29cdc-5cb9-11df-bd7e-00144feab49a.html

HANOI, Vietnam -- Buying 500 Vietnamese taels of gold, a large but not exceptional purchase equivalent to a little under 19 kilogrammes, takes more than 2.5 times that weight in local bank notes.

For purchases of that size, Bao Tin Minh Chau, a Hanoi gold dealer, offers complimentary armoured car service and home deliveries.

Per dollar of income, the Vietnamese consume more gold on average than anyone else on earth: in 2009, more than twice as much as Indians, 10 times as much as Chinese, and 44 times as much as Americans, according to World Gold Council data.

This heavy habit is creating concerns in the corridors of power by contributing to the country’s chronic trade deficit, as most gold is imported. This in turn adds to pressure on the dong, Vietnam's currency.

Lord Rothschild In Gold - Financial Times Reports June 17, 2010

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/b00a26c8-79a6-11df-85be-00144feabdc0.html
Rothschild in gold
By Emiliya Mychasuk and Emiko Terazono

Published: June 17 2010 03:00 | Last updated: June 17 2010 03:00

Lord Rothschild has returned to equity markets for higher rates of return, through his RIT Capital investment vehicle.

But RIT is hedging its bets by holding a stash of gold and remains conservative in its investment choices.

"We face . . . an outlook and an uncertainty unlike much that we have been used to," the 74-year-old investor warns in the latest RIT report.

In a search for returns, RIT lifted public markets exposure to a peak of 82 per cent, from 37 per cent a year ago. It bought commodities and more cyclical companies, as well as developing markets and currencies. Ahead of the May markets slump, it favoured cash-rich companies with a global spread. Currency plays helped significantly, as RIT cut back on sterling and euros and lifted dollar and dollar-pegged Asian currencies.

But Lord Rothschild kept "significant" stores of gold and gold shares "for defensive reasons" - gold made up 9 per cent of net assets by this June.

As for specific stocks, RIT was caught with a £28m stake in Transocean, operator of the ill-fated BP oil rig. It was a one-time investor in BSkyB but sold in 2009, soon after Lord Rothschild left the board he had joined to smooth the way for James Murdoch.

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Many Expert Researchers & historians believe The Rothschild Banking dynasty is the still the richest family in the world. I suspect that he has a whole lot more than 9 percent of his holdings in gold. Lord Eveyln Rothschild used to run the LBMA (London Bullion Market Association) and set the daily price of gold. He is one the main reasons gold prices remain suppressed. Here is the Wikipedia Article on The Rothschild Banking Dynasty remember Wikipedia is a highly regulated community http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rothschild_family.