Rogie Posted July 29, 2012 Posted July 29, 2012 Looking for a safe haven? South-east Asia could fit the bill Jim Rogers, co-founder of the Quantum Fund with George Soros and the entertaining author of a couple of On the Road-style investment books, understands the power of a headline. So I wasn’t unduly surprised to read recently that he believes Burma to be “the best investment opportunity in the world, with North Korea not far behind”. He exaggerates to make a point, but his comments gave me pause for thought because I am as guilty as anyone of lazily describing the investment world as a three-legged stool, as if the US, Europe and China were the only markets that mattered. In particular, his interest in Burma and North Korea is a reminder that there is a lot more to Asia than the Middle Kingdom. Local knowledge is key. One of the most interesting markets in the region is Thailand, and not just because it might be the best way to tap into the opening up of Burma. Thailand’s stock market has risen by 16pc so far this year, beating all the other main indices in Asia. In part that reflects a quicker than expected recovery from last year’s floods. But it is also a consequence of a raft of pro-stimulus policies from the country’s populist government, including a 40pc rise in the minimum wage and a sharp reduction in corporation tax from 30pc to 23pc, with 20pc in the pipeline for next year. Foreign investment is pouring into Thailand, with Japanese car makers seeing the country as a safe destination for companies seeking to escape the high yen and energy shortages following the Tohoku earthquake. The government is playing its part, too, spending heavily on dams and flood defences as well as rail and road projects to help promote the country as a distribution hub for the region, linking China with frontier markets such as Cambodia. Thailand might seem a bit mainstream for someone weighing up an investment in North Korea, but less adventurous investors than Jim Rogers probably won’t mind that. http://www.telegraph...t-the-bill.html Quote
Guest fountainhall Posted July 30, 2012 Posted July 30, 2012 Sorry this is not new in these columns, but with all the Titanic hoo-hah we've been blitzed with recently, I always recall the headline of a story announcing the sinking from a newspaper in Aberdeen (in the north of Scotland) - NORTH-EAST MAN LOST AT SEA! Quote
Rogie Posted July 30, 2012 Author Posted July 30, 2012 Britain's tabloid press, sometimes referred to as 'Red Tops', have been playing havoc with headlines for several decades now. Bob mentioned a recent one which I shall refrain from repeating as it was a slur on a respectable American politician. However, be that as it may, they usually get away with it as all they are doing is reflecting the views of their readers. If millions of people 'think' like that, the newspaper editor can't be wrong, can he? Here are a few: Elton takes David up the aisle - a pretty obvious one Zip me up before you go go - refers to a British singer's toilet disgrace I've had my whey with three sisters called Miss Muffitt - for lovers of nursery rhymes Swollen Dick's out! - well I suppose it helps to conceal that sort of thing if you're wearing the now-fashionable baggy shorts . . . Gotcha! - probably one of the most controversial headlines which relates to the sinking of the Argentinian ship the General Belgrano during the Falklands war in 1982. http://sandsmediaser...-headlines.html Quote
Guest thaiworthy Posted July 30, 2012 Posted July 30, 2012 40 years ago I made a couple of newspaper heading faux paux in the classified section of a local newspaper I had worked at. I inadvertently placed a filler in a cemetery lot section that read "Be Glad Tomorrow You Bought Real Estate Today," which was meant for the home resale section. Another one was when I had put a "Lost and Found" heading over the Obituary column. Needless to say, I didn't last very long in that job! Quote
Guest fountainhall Posted July 30, 2012 Posted July 30, 2012 These howlers can happen on all sorts of occasions. I remember going to a concert at the Hong Kong Arts Festival some years ago. A few weeks earlier, there had been a scandal when a lady undergoing a routine hospital operation had died in the operating theatre. It was discovered the oxygen in the bottle delivered from the supplier was imperfect in some way. The company, British Oxygen, had placed ads in the Arts Festival programmes. Unfortunately, they had the heading "Breathing Life into Hong Kong." Quote
