SYNOPSIS -- Jack Campbell (Academy Award ® Winner Nicolas Cage) is a single,
wealthy Wall Street trader living the high life in New York City. All that
magically changes one morning when he wakes up in a suburban New Jersey bedroom with a wife (Tea Leoni) he never married and two kids he never had - the life he would have led if he had made different choices as a younger man. Find out what it takes for a single-minded businessman to become The Family Man in this
wonderful comedy about second thoughts and second chances.
| Your Birthdate: November 13 |
 You're dominant and powerful. You always need to be in charge. While others respect your competence, you can be a bit of a dictator. Hard working and serious, you never let yourself down. You are exact and accurate - and you expect others to be the same way. Your strength: You always get the job done Your weakness: You're a perfectionist to a fault Your power color: Gray Your power symbol: Checkmark Your power month: April |
Nov 2004 - Mar 2006
Do you feel your life is getting boring?
Is work giving you too much pressure?
Is your partner not giving you enough pleasure?
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We know what you need. You need a.....
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...... Microsoft Xbox(modified) Clear edition that comes with a matching controller a dozen over critcally acclaimed games!(2 are originals. The rest are, well.. games.)
What are you waiting for! It's an offer not to be missed! Respond here and you'll get the Stardom Dreamer exclusive privilege! (I'm still trying to think of something)
Temasek's 30-year returns a robust 18%
WE REFER to The Straits Times Forum letter 'Temasek's returns disappointing' (ST, Feb 3) by Mr Jeffrey Ho Loon Poh.
Temasek measures total shareholder's return (TSR) by both market value and shareholder's funds.
TSR by market value considers the dividends received alongside the changes in market value of a portfolio less net new capital issued. This must necessarily reflect the volatility in the market, specifically the market value at the opening date versus the market value at the closing date.
The TSR results thus depend on which period is being evaluated. This can be seen in the chart below of the composite market capitalization of 11 of the major Temasek-linked companies (TLCs), including SingTel, DBS, SIA, Chartered, STATS ChipPac and others.The five-year TSR from March 2000 to March 2005 would be drastically different from the five-year TSR from March 1999 to March 2004, depending on the market value at the respective points in time. These changes do not necessarily reflect the underlying profitability of the portfolio companies.
On the other hand, TSR by shareholder's funds considers the dividends received by the shareholder, plus the changes in the underlying net asset value of the portfolio, net of new capital issued. This is driven by the profitability of the businesses rather than the valuation in the stock market. Owners and long-term shareholders would regard these as fundamental to the sustainability of their businesses.
The five-year TSR to March 2005 mentioned by Mr Ho measures off the market high of March 2000 due to the dot.com boom. Thus, the five-year TSR for Temasek (1%), STI (2.7%) and MSCI Singapore Index (0.6%) were generally low but comparable. They are not exactly the same as Temasek portfolio value in 2000 was lifted by its large weightage in the telecoms and technology stocks.
On the other hand, the two-year TSR measures off the low market value of March 2003 in the depths of SARS. Here, Temasek delivered a strong 30%, though this is lower than the 31% for MSCI Singapore Index and 34% for STI. However, Temasek's three-year and 10-year TSR at 11% and 6% outperformed both the MSCI Singapore Index (6.4% and 2%) and STI (9% and 4.3%). Temasek's 30-year TSR remained a robust 18%.
These variations in the TSR numbers reflect the volatility of the market over the last decade or so. As we move into the future, the reported TSR numbers by market value will continue to fluctuate as we measure the different starting points in the past.
Leaving aside the market volatility effect on the market TSR numbers, the TSR by shareholder's funds showed a less volatile pattern, with a robust 9% return over the five years to March 2005, despite SARS and 9/11.
The one-year and two-year TSR by shareholder's funds climbed back to 12% and 14% respectively, signaling a stronger profit flow as the economy recovered. We assure Mr Ho that Temasek has the appropriate system to align management interest with long-term returns.
Eva Ho (Ms)
Director
Corporate Communications
Temasek Holdings (Pte) Ltd
"Nowadays, it seems as if the more attention we pay on girls, the
more they think it is their god-given right to have that. You give her
silver, she asks for gold; you give her gold, she asks for platinum;
you give her platinum, she asks for DOUBLE platinum.It's a vicious never-ending cycle, and us men are always on the losing end."
The Electric New Paper :
Where's the plan?
Singapore's artistes need a master plan and more verve if they want to make their mark in the region, say industry experts
By Avis Wong
01 February 2006
HOW many of us can sing and dance?
Local show host Quan Yifeng posed this question during a recent interview with The New Paper on whether stunts were necessary in local charity shows.
Why, she wondered, couldn't artistes showcase other talents instead? 'The local scene is not competitive... we're not pushed to learn other skills,' she said.It's a sentiment shared by several industry professionals and other artistes The New Paper has since spoken to.
Singapore needs a master plan, said the man behind top Taiwanese acts like 5566, 183 Club, Cyndi Wang and K One.Mr Sun Te-jung, the general manager of Taiwan's star making firm Jungiery Star, is known for developing all-round stars - those who can sing, dance, act and host.
'The biggest problem in Singapore is that no one has a plan to develop the artistes in the region. You must do long-term planning or Singapore artistes will never become famous,' he told The New Paper over the phone from Taipei recently.Harsh as that might sound, the showbiz veteran makes a good point - not enough thought has been given to developing local stars and marketing them overseas.
Actor Jeff Wang, who won MediaCorp's Star Search contest in 1999,said Singapore artistes are mostly unknown outside of the country.'We need more exposure so that people from other countries can see that even though Singapore is small, we can provide an interesting talking point for them,' he said.
TOO QUIET
Many of those interviewed noted that things were not exactly bustling in the local entertainment scene.
Mr Lim Sek, chief executive of Music Movement, which manages Sandy Lam, Tanya Chua, Dick Lee, Najip Ali and Sheikh Haikel, said that artistes here are not given enough chances to showcase the range of their talents because the industry is dominated by one TV station, MediaCorp.There are a limited number of programmes that artistes can appear in.
'This translates into opportunities that are not as wide,' he said.'For example, how many singers can appear on a singing programme? If the artistes are not of a certain level of popularity, they won't even get on TV.
'If artistes are not given the ground to grow, we won't ever see them grow.'Mr Keith Sim, spokesman for Biz Trends, which manages Nancy Sit, Joe Ma and Jeff, agreed that opportunity determines whether an artiste makes or breaks it in the business.
'There are many artistes who have a lot of potential and talent but the people managing them must know how to discover and nurture those talents,' he said.TV host Kym Ng noted that many local artistes have abilities that are unknown to their fans.
'There's not much chance for us to showcase our talent,' she said.For example, she revealed that she plays the traditional Chinese instrument the er hu, her colleague Bryan Wong tinkles on the piano and Michelle Chia dabbles in calligraphy, oil painting and gu zheng.
TOO SHY
Jeff added that fans are not clued in to stars' talents because artistes are 'passive'.
'Would I go around telling people that I can do hip-hop very well? That would be so thick-skinned. It's only when others ask, that you tell them you know these things,' he said.Mr Sun said that any showbusiness endeavour should be run like a private company and that TV stations and media companies should striveto get the best out of every artiste they sign on.
'You shouldn't just sign as many artistes as you can and hope that if your artistes get famous, good, and if they don't, never mind,' he said.MediaCorp declined to respond to The New Paper's queries.
TOO CONTENTED
While Singapore artistes are not necessarily less talented, most agree that the environment here is less competitive than in Hong Kong and Taiwan.
Local artistes' seeming complacency was a common complaint.'Most Singapore artistes seem very contented, like they will have a job as long as they get along with the management,' said Mr Sun.
Mr Sim felt that many local artistes are 'quite contented with who, where and what they are' - so much so that they lack the 'conscientiousness to improve themselves'.Some celebrities agreed.
Kym said: 'There's definitely less competition here. Everyone is doing his own thing and everyone's doing the same thing, that is acting or hosting. We're not afraid of competition as we know we'll still have a job.'Mr Lim attributed the complacency to a few big names hogging the limelight.
'If the scene is dominated by a few people and you do always see the same people on TV - Bryan, Yifeng, Kym, Gurmit Singh, Adrian Pang - you cannot blame artistes for not bettering themselves. They have no catalyst for improving themselves,' he said.TO-DO LIST
Even if there are fewer opportunities here than elsewhere, celebrities should stay on their toes, say industry insiders.
Said Jeff: 'Artistes must constantly work hard to improve, set trends and provide fodder for media talking points,' he said.'They may be waiting for opportunities, but opportunities are only available to those who are ready (to seize them).
'Don't wait until you are given the chance before you go and learn something. Nobody wants to invest in an artiste they cannot see a future in.'
What's good for stars is good for the country
MENTION Korea and what comes to mind?
It's no exaggeration to say that a country's celebrities are its ambassadors.
Most likely it's stars like Bae Yong Joon, Jang Dong Gun, Song Hye Kyo and Rain.'Artistes are the representatives of a country. They can create interest for tourists to visit the place. For example, Korea is getting a lot of tourists because of their stars,' said Mr Sun Te-jung, general manager of Taiwanese artiste management firm Jungiery Star.
Competition is tight and there's plenty of sweat and blood behind the scene in order to stay on top.Said Mr James Chiang of Phoenix Talent, which manages artistes like actor Eli Shih Yi-nan, actress-singer Augustine Ye Huan and singer Fang Wen-ling: 'The Taiwanese entertainment scene is considered small but competition has brought about improvements in the quality of production.
'The quality of Taiwanese artistes are also very high and many put in a lot of effort.'Jungiery Star's artistes undergo 12 to 18 months of intensive training in singing, dancing and communicating before they are sent out to face the world.
In Hong Kong, the largest TV station, TVB, also demands a lot from its artistes, said TVBI's production resources deputy controller Regina Lok.'But our artistes are given just as much back in terms of opportunities and basic training in every aspect of entertainment,' she said.
'Of course, we cannot force them to be multi-talented. But artistes today must be able to act, sing, dance and fight (for period dramas). They need to do as much in as many areas as possible to better their careers.'Added Mr Scott Kam, director of A Entertainment, which manages Hong Kong TV actors such as Bobby Au-Yeung, Marco Ngai, Joyce Tang and Michael Dao Tai-yu: 'The more you do, the more exposure you get. It's a very competitive industry - just look at how many newcomers come into the scene each year through beauty contests or acting classes.'
Ms Lok agreed.'The key thing is to work hard, be humble and adopt a learning attitude. If you can do everything, people will remember you as multi-talented and they will call upon you when required,' she said.
