NYC exhibit unveils rich treasures of Yuan dynasty
NEW YORK (AP) - A new exhibition in New York City makes it easy to see why Marco Polo and other early European traders were dazzled by the treasures they saw in China.
Porcelain, lacquer, scroll painting, silk tapestries and other art forms flourished during the Yuan dynasty. It was founded in 1271 by Khubilai Khan, China's first Mongol ruler and grandson of Ghenghis Khan.
"The World of Khubilai Khan: Chinese Art in the Yuan Dynasty'' opened today, Sept. 28, 2010, at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. There are 200 artifacts, most on loan from China. Included are archaeological objects never before exhibited outside the country.
Among the highlights is a "cloth of gold.'' That's the name European traders gave the gold-thread silk woven by craftsmen brought to China from Central Asia and eastern Iran.
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
A critical time for Thailand: towards a stronger, tourist-friendly nation | Thailand Business News
This is a critical time for Thailand, with the country recovering from the recent political events of April and May and preparing for elections next year.
We have made it through a sad and painful period for Thailand, and today, I’d like to share my thoughts on what we can learn from the events of the past few months, and how I feel that the public and private sectors, the diplomatic community and the media, should work together to position Thailand to bounce back once again and prove its resilience. The perception of Thailand in the eyes of the world impacts all aspects of the Kingdom, from the jobs and incomes generated by the tourism industry, to the level of foreign direct investment, to the number of businessmen who travel to Thailand to do business with Thai companies and drive the growth of the economy.
It is of vital importance to the health of the Thai economy and Thailand’s 65 million citizens that the state of affairs in Thailand is depicted as accurately and as responsibly as possible around the world.People watching the news from their home in the US or Europe need to have a balanced understanding of events taking place in Thailand. This is where I strongly feel that the foreign diplomatic community and the media, who play a major part in framing the message, have a leading role to play.
We have made it through a sad and painful period for Thailand, and today, I’d like to share my thoughts on what we can learn from the events of the past few months, and how I feel that the public and private sectors, the diplomatic community and the media, should work together to position Thailand to bounce back once again and prove its resilience. The perception of Thailand in the eyes of the world impacts all aspects of the Kingdom, from the jobs and incomes generated by the tourism industry, to the level of foreign direct investment, to the number of businessmen who travel to Thailand to do business with Thai companies and drive the growth of the economy.
It is of vital importance to the health of the Thai economy and Thailand’s 65 million citizens that the state of affairs in Thailand is depicted as accurately and as responsibly as possible around the world.People watching the news from their home in the US or Europe need to have a balanced understanding of events taking place in Thailand. This is where I strongly feel that the foreign diplomatic community and the media, who play a major part in framing the message, have a leading role to play.
Thai Baht: what can stop it from raising ? | Thailand Business News
After the baht appreciated 8 per cent so far this year, concern about the economic consequences of such a rise is becoming more evident especially when a further rise in the baht is being anticipated.
The belief that the baht will continue to rise is not far-fetched when viewed within the broader context in which the central banks of the G3 key reserve currencies – US dollar, euro and yen – are committed to near zero interest rates and quantitative easing.
The global monetary easing we are witnessing today is unprecedented. This is because the major economies are unable or unwilling to use fiscal policy to counter the economic slowdown that is now evident. For example, the US is mired in the politics of the November mid-term election, which will likely allow the Bush tax cuts to expire, implying a tightening of fiscal policy next year. Few other fiscal stimulus programmes are likely to come about even though US GDP will grow only about 1.5-1.6 per cent during the second half of this year.
In Europe the fear of falling victim to a “Greek tragedy” had most countries committing to fiscal tightening starting in 2011. This is even as eurozone GDP growth is expected to be an anaemic 1 per cent during the second half of this year, with most of the periphery countries mired in recession. During the same period, Japan’s GDP growth is expected to be less than 1 per cent.
The inability to use fiscal policy means that the job of engineering the economic recoveries of the G3 must rest solely on the shoulders of monetary policy. Near zero interest rates were put in place nearly two years ago in December 2008. But this is clearly not sufficient in the context of the devastating losses suffered by the banking system, over-leveraged consumers and near 10-per-cent unemployment.
Enter quantitative easing (QE), in which the G3 central banks not only depress short-term interest rates but also print money to buy bonds so that longer-term interest rates are kept exceptionally low as well.
On September 21, the US Federal Reserve said in effect that the US economy is slowing down and that inflation is too low. Economists see this as a signal that the Fed is moving ever closer to QE2, when it would intensify its purchases of US treasuries in order to bring long-term interest rates down even further to offset the possibility of a double-dip recession.
Meanwhile, the European Central Bank continues its policy to give unlimited credit to commercial banks. Closer to us, the Bank of Japan is believed to be conducting unsterilised intervention to weaken the yen, which means trillions more yen are being put into circulation.
via The Baht currency: What is at stake?.
Currency Exchange Rate Date : 28 September 2010
Update : 1 Effective From : 8:30 [Unit : Baht per 1 unit of foreign currency]
Currency Description Bank Note Buying Rates Selling Rates
Bill-DD-TT
Buying Rates Selling Rates Sight Bill TT
USD1 USD : 1 29.42 30.80
USD5 USD : 5-20 29.73 30.80
USD50 USD : 50-100 30.20 30.85 30.35 30.45 30.70
GBP United Kingdom 47.68 49.26 47.92500 48.05000 48.70750
EUR Euro Zone 40.57 41.75 40.72000 40.81750 41.40000
JPY Japan (:100) 35.59 37.04 35.86625 35.95000 36.63500
HKD Hong Kong 3.84 4.04 3.90375 3.91750 3.96375
The belief that the baht will continue to rise is not far-fetched when viewed within the broader context in which the central banks of the G3 key reserve currencies – US dollar, euro and yen – are committed to near zero interest rates and quantitative easing.
The global monetary easing we are witnessing today is unprecedented. This is because the major economies are unable or unwilling to use fiscal policy to counter the economic slowdown that is now evident. For example, the US is mired in the politics of the November mid-term election, which will likely allow the Bush tax cuts to expire, implying a tightening of fiscal policy next year. Few other fiscal stimulus programmes are likely to come about even though US GDP will grow only about 1.5-1.6 per cent during the second half of this year.
In Europe the fear of falling victim to a “Greek tragedy” had most countries committing to fiscal tightening starting in 2011. This is even as eurozone GDP growth is expected to be an anaemic 1 per cent during the second half of this year, with most of the periphery countries mired in recession. During the same period, Japan’s GDP growth is expected to be less than 1 per cent.
The inability to use fiscal policy means that the job of engineering the economic recoveries of the G3 must rest solely on the shoulders of monetary policy. Near zero interest rates were put in place nearly two years ago in December 2008. But this is clearly not sufficient in the context of the devastating losses suffered by the banking system, over-leveraged consumers and near 10-per-cent unemployment.
Enter quantitative easing (QE), in which the G3 central banks not only depress short-term interest rates but also print money to buy bonds so that longer-term interest rates are kept exceptionally low as well.
On September 21, the US Federal Reserve said in effect that the US economy is slowing down and that inflation is too low. Economists see this as a signal that the Fed is moving ever closer to QE2, when it would intensify its purchases of US treasuries in order to bring long-term interest rates down even further to offset the possibility of a double-dip recession.
Meanwhile, the European Central Bank continues its policy to give unlimited credit to commercial banks. Closer to us, the Bank of Japan is believed to be conducting unsterilised intervention to weaken the yen, which means trillions more yen are being put into circulation.
via The Baht currency: What is at stake?.
Currency Exchange Rate Date : 28 September 2010
Update : 1 Effective From : 8:30 [Unit : Baht per 1 unit of foreign currency]
Currency Description Bank Note Buying Rates Selling Rates
Bill-DD-TT
Buying Rates Selling Rates Sight Bill TT
USD1 USD : 1 29.42 30.80
USD5 USD : 5-20 29.73 30.80
USD50 USD : 50-100 30.20 30.85 30.35 30.45 30.70
GBP United Kingdom 47.68 49.26 47.92500 48.05000 48.70750
EUR Euro Zone 40.57 41.75 40.72000 40.81750 41.40000
JPY Japan (:100) 35.59 37.04 35.86625 35.95000 36.63500
HKD Hong Kong 3.84 4.04 3.90375 3.91750 3.96375
Hua Hin and its region turned into a spa hub destination
BANGKOK (eTN) - The ceremony increasingly allures Hollywood’s Academy Awards with hundreds of people present at the event gathering. Far from Hollywood, however, the ceremony – organized in the vast reception hall of the 5-star Centara Grand Hotel - takes place in the heart of Bangkok, in Ratchaprasong. The eighth edition of the "Thailand Tourism Awards" coupled with the seventh edition of the "Friends of Thailand Awards" took place last Monday, September 27. The show, opened by Thailand’s Minister of Tourism, acknowledges the best players in the tourism sector from Chiang Rai in the North to Narathiwat in the deep South.
Yesterday, the Selecting Committee, which stands under the supervision of the Tourism Authority of Thailand, granted 112 awards in 5 categories and by geographical location. Of these awards, 32 ranked as "Awards of Excellency" while 80 "Awards of Outstanding Performance" were distributed.
For Suraphon Svetasreni, governor of TAT, the awards help also to further raise Thailand’s tourism quality and sense of innovation. “We are very glad to see, for example, more and more companies making a dedicated effort to provide the best quality of service but also to be more committed to protect the environment. The Selecting Committee is indeed getting increasingly sensitive to sustainability and environmental issues,” he explained.
Mr. Svetasreni is especially satisfied with the awarding of new products, especially spas. “I am pleased that spa tourism gets more awareness and helps to promote new destinations such as the province of Prachuap Khiri Khan [home to the resort city of Hua Hin] or completely new products such as the agro-eco-knowledge tourism activities from the Chokchai Farm in Nakhon Ratchasima,” he added.
TAT introduced a year ago a scheme to spa certifications overseas while spa operators are also honored at the Thailand Tourism Awards ceremony. Fourteen spa-related operators received an award in four different categories (day spa, destination spa, health spa, and hotel/resort spa). Hua Hin is indeed becoming an increasing attractive destination for people looking for a relaxing spa experience. The royal city started to gain its reputation as a haven for spa lovers some 15 years ago when Chiva-Som, a luxury spa resort, opened its doors. Many times honored with awards all around the world, Chiva-Som remains one of the most distinguished health resort in Thailand with its private beach, its lush tropical gardens, its typical Thai architecture, and its 70 treatment rooms.
Chiva-Som faces more and more competition from other famed spas in the Hua Hin area. At the Thailand Travel Awards ceremony, the Selecting Committee attributed on Monday night an Award of Outstanding Performance to the Anantara Spa Hua Hin and an Award of Excellence to the Barai, an exquisite resort inspired by ancient Asian architecture and located next to the Hyatt Regency.
TAT will continue to foster the certification of more spa operators to attract an increasing number of overseas travelers, promised Mr. Svetasreni. The tourism authority works in close cooperation with the Thai Spa Association, which groups some 265 members. In August, Thai Airways launched in cooperation with the Thai Spa Association a campaign called “Visit Thailand, Visit Thai Spa” targeting the airline’s passengers who are entitled to discount coupons at the spa service counter at Suvarnabhumi airport in Bangkok.
Yesterday, the Selecting Committee, which stands under the supervision of the Tourism Authority of Thailand, granted 112 awards in 5 categories and by geographical location. Of these awards, 32 ranked as "Awards of Excellency" while 80 "Awards of Outstanding Performance" were distributed.
For Suraphon Svetasreni, governor of TAT, the awards help also to further raise Thailand’s tourism quality and sense of innovation. “We are very glad to see, for example, more and more companies making a dedicated effort to provide the best quality of service but also to be more committed to protect the environment. The Selecting Committee is indeed getting increasingly sensitive to sustainability and environmental issues,” he explained.
Mr. Svetasreni is especially satisfied with the awarding of new products, especially spas. “I am pleased that spa tourism gets more awareness and helps to promote new destinations such as the province of Prachuap Khiri Khan [home to the resort city of Hua Hin] or completely new products such as the agro-eco-knowledge tourism activities from the Chokchai Farm in Nakhon Ratchasima,” he added.
TAT introduced a year ago a scheme to spa certifications overseas while spa operators are also honored at the Thailand Tourism Awards ceremony. Fourteen spa-related operators received an award in four different categories (day spa, destination spa, health spa, and hotel/resort spa). Hua Hin is indeed becoming an increasing attractive destination for people looking for a relaxing spa experience. The royal city started to gain its reputation as a haven for spa lovers some 15 years ago when Chiva-Som, a luxury spa resort, opened its doors. Many times honored with awards all around the world, Chiva-Som remains one of the most distinguished health resort in Thailand with its private beach, its lush tropical gardens, its typical Thai architecture, and its 70 treatment rooms.
Chiva-Som faces more and more competition from other famed spas in the Hua Hin area. At the Thailand Travel Awards ceremony, the Selecting Committee attributed on Monday night an Award of Outstanding Performance to the Anantara Spa Hua Hin and an Award of Excellence to the Barai, an exquisite resort inspired by ancient Asian architecture and located next to the Hyatt Regency.
TAT will continue to foster the certification of more spa operators to attract an increasing number of overseas travelers, promised Mr. Svetasreni. The tourism authority works in close cooperation with the Thai Spa Association, which groups some 265 members. In August, Thai Airways launched in cooperation with the Thai Spa Association a campaign called “Visit Thailand, Visit Thai Spa” targeting the airline’s passengers who are entitled to discount coupons at the spa service counter at Suvarnabhumi airport in Bangkok.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)