Save energy by setting business curfews and pushing clocks ahead: Pakistan.
Plus: Biofuel mandate for New Zealand within easy reach of Gull New Zealand, while food prices flatten in India. Minimum wage for Philippines workers gets boost as food, energy prices climb.
Energy
Reporters for Khaleej Times Online write from Islamabad: “Pakistan's federal cabinet yesterday convened a special meeting here to discuss the worsening energy situation and decided that all commercial markets will be closed at 9 pm while clocks will be set one hour ahead from June 1 till the end of August. The objective of the whole exercise is to save energy in the peak summer season. The move of setting the clock an hour ahead that had failed twice first during the term of prime minister Banazir Bhutto and then in the last government headed by President Pervez Musharraf is now being tried again to get the desired goal of saving energy.” Go to article.
In Energy Current, reporters file from Singapore on New Zealand biofuel news: “Gull New Zealand will be ready to meet its biofuel obligation by this Monday, more than one month before the passing of the country's biofuel mandate. The new biofuel law, proposed to come into effect on July 1 mandates that 0.53 per cent of the energy content of all fuel sold in New Zealand in the second half of 2008 must be sold as a biofuel. That percentage will be gradually increased to 3.4 per cent by 2012.” Go to article.
Inflation watch
Reporters for The Economic Times write from New Delhi: “Reeling under high inflation for quite some time, the consumers in four metros received some respite with retail food prices generally remaining steady in early part of May. Barring groundnut oil, prices of 13 essential commodities in Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai retail markets remained steady during the week ended May 9, according the government statement.” Go to article.
Angelo S. Samonte and Anthony A. Vargas submit to The Manila Times: “President Gloria Arroyo announced Thursday that the National Capital Region wage board has agreed to increase pay by P20, bringing the minimum daily wage to P382 for workers in Metro Manila. The increase will be implemented once the wage board finalizes the terms of the adjustment, said the President during the 29th National Conference of Employers. She said her government will raise the country’s minimum wage amid soaring food and energy prices that have pushed inflation to a three-year high, and a formal announcement will be made soon. Inflation surged to 8.3 percent in April.” Go to article.
Stockhouse Conflict and Disclosure Policy:
Stockgroup Media Inc., owners and operators of Stockhouse.ca/com, has established rules to ensure that there is no appearance of impropriety on the part of any Stockhouse writers who discuss or name individual public companies in the content published on the Stockhouse websites. The content of Stockhouse Editorial articles are the opinion of the writer and any reliance on the content of these articles shall be at your sole risk.
Stockhouse Editorial writers may own, buy, or sell shares in public companies mentioned in their articles. Please be advised that a conflict may exist and that any investment decisions you make are your own responsibility. Additionally, our Editorial writers are not registered investment advisors. You should not make any kind of investment decision in relation to these articles or stocks discussed in them without first obtaining independent investment advice from a registered investment advisor.
Facts relied upon by our Editorial writers in arriving at their opinions are generally provided by the subject companies or gathered by our Editorial writers from other public and/or private sources. These facts may be in error and if so, the opinions of our Editorial writers may be materially different.
Rules applying to Stockhouse Editorial Writers
Stockhouse Editorial writers may own stock of any company they cover, but at the bottom of the article or within the article they must clearly and prominently state their ownership position in the company.
Stockhouse Editorial writers cannot solicit, accept, or agree to receive anything of value given or paid with the intent of influencing their editorial articles published on Stockhouse.
Stockhouse Editorial writers are not permitted to write articles that attempt to influence or benefit persons connected to the writer such as family or friends, , except where disclosure is made in the same way as if the writer him/herself owns stock.
Stockhouse notifies each Editorial writer about these rules but in case of a possible breach of our rules, we may not be in a position to find out or investigate the facts. We rely on the integrity of our writers to ensure that our rules are followed.
