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from Global Investing:
Rich investors betting on emerging equities
By Philip Baillie
Emerging equities may have significantly underperformed their richer peers so far this year (they are about 4 percent in the red compared with gains of more than 6 percent for their MSCI's index of developed stocks) , but almost a third of high net-worth individuals are betting on a rebound in coming months.
A survey of more than 1,000 high net-worth investors by J.P. Morgan Private Bank reveals that 28 percent of respondents expect emerging market equities to perform best in the next 12 months, outstripping the 24 per cent that bet their money on U.S. stocks.
That gels with the findings of recent Reuters polls where a majority of the 450 analysts surveyed said they expect emerging equities to end 2013 with double-digit returns.
(Note a caveat on the survey - the responses were collated before recent unsettling events in Cyprus - which could have some knock-on effects on emerging markets, especially given the banking exposure to countries such as Slovenia, Luxembourg, Malta and Russia).
from Photographers Blog:
A sense of closure
By Darrin Zammit Lupi
I attended a brief and very poignant ceremony; the funeral of four Nigerian would-be immigrants who drowned while attempting to reach a better life, crossing to Europe by sea, crossing the central Mediterranean that has become a graveyard.
Six immigrants died on that crossing last August. Four bodies were recovered, including that of a fourteen year old boy.
from Photographers Blog:
Watching Libya from Malta
By Darrin Zammit Lupi
When the Arab Spring got underway late in 2010, few of us imagined it would spread to Libya with any tangible effect. To those of us of my generation here in Malta, Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi was the bogeyman - he’d always been there lurking not too far from our shores - Libya is less than 350 km to the south of the island, and Gaddafi was a frequent visitor and close friend of the Maltese government in the 70s, my childhood years.
A year later, when I look back on the events that kicked off on February 17, 2011, I’m amazed it all happened so fast. Who would have dreamed that Gaddafi would be overthrown within six months, and dead within eight?
from Photographers Blog:
Nurse of the Mediterranean
Ever since the Libyan uprising began last February, the small Mediterranean island of Malta which I call home has been a vital cog in the vast humanitarian machine in operation. It started as an evacuation hub for thousands of people and then became a critical transit point for humanitarian aid. Several months later, Malta continues to play its part.
I got the call to head to Malta’s international airport VIP lounge around lunchtime, to photograph Shwejga Mullah arriving on the island for medical treatment. Shwejga Mullah is the Ethiopian nanny who was recently discovered weak and alone in the home abandoned by deposed Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi's son Hannibal. It's been reported that Hannibal's wife Aline threw boiling water over her, causing horrific scald burns and scars, when she did not stop his daughter from crying and refused to beat the child.
from FaithWorld:
Referendum in Catholic Malta backs introduction of divorce
(Valletta skyline, 27 October 2005/Brian Gotts)
Staunchly Catholic Malta approved the introduction of divorce, backing the move by a small majority in a referendum. "The referendum outcome is not the one I wished for, but the will of the majority will be respected and parliament will enact legislation for the introduction of divorce," Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi said in a video statement on Sunday. The vote was seen as a test of the influence of the Roman Catholic Church in a country where 72 percent of people say they go to Mass on Sundays and nearly all marriages are held at the altar. The Mediterranean island of 400,000 people is the only country in Europe not to allow divorce. Early results from Saturday's referendum showed a majority backing divorce of between 52 percent and 54 percent. The Divorce Movement declared victory and the anti-divorce movement conceded. Opposition leader Joseph Muscat had said changing the law was a vote for modernity and a chance for those with broken marriages to start afresh. Gonzi had said divorce offered "no solutions" and called for better preparation before weddings so that the "value of an indissoluble marriage is bequeathed to the young." Divorce legislation was proposed in July last year by Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando, a member of Gonzi's own parliamentary group. It provides for people to become eligible for divorce after four years of separation.
-- by Christopher Scicluna in Valletta
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ubscribe to all posts via RSSfrom Photographers Blog:
An act of God
I'd been looking forward to it for weeks, the flights were booked, passes applied for and I'd even had my suit dry cleaned especially. One of the reasons I became a press photographer and a big factor in why you aspire to work for Reuters is to shoot major figures and stories, both in the world of news and sport, around the globe. Despite ticking off various world leaders, sporting greats, world cups and Olympics, I'd never photographed a Pope.
Pope Benedict XVI nods off during a mass at the Granaries in Floriana April 18, 2010. REUTERS/Darrin Zammit Lupi
from FaithWorld:
Maltese alleged abuse victims ask to meet Pope
Lawrence Grech, a victim of church child abuse, at a news conference with other victims near Valletta, April 12, 2010/Darrin Zammit Lupi
Ten Maltese men, who have taken three priests to court for alleged child abuse, on Monday requested a private meeting with Pope Benedict XVI when he visits Malta during the coming weekend.
