sgusers7的部落格

般美加旅行團，迷你倉最平10 天團費一般約2萬元，不過特首梁振英、商務及經濟發展局長蘇錦樑及教育局長吳克儉三人過去一年出訪美加，人均「團費」逾10 萬元，人均每天花費約1.4 萬至2 萬元。有旅行業界人士就說，行程昂貴主因是局長要乘坐商務客位，一張往紐約的商務機票亦要8 萬元，以「商務團」來說，10 萬元團費「一點也不出奇」。機票8 萬餘2 萬「不是很好使」梁振英6 月訪紐約5 天，6 人同行花費65 萬元迷你倉與梁振英同行的蘇錦樑多留一天，3 人同行亦用上40.6 萬元，人均「團費」逾10 萬元，每天花費逾2 萬元。吳克儉3 月一行3 人走訪美國及加拿大，整個行程用上34.2 萬元，人均每天花費近1.4 萬元。有旅行業界人士說，10 萬元團費以一般市民「觀光團」來說是較昂貴，但以「商務團」來說就「一點也不出奇」。他指出，一張往紐約的商務機票要8 萬元，若住宿要講究五星級酒店，餘下2萬多元「也不是很好使」。mini storage

蘋果iPhone 5s推出金色機種頗受好評，迷你倉宏達電也推出新HTC One琥珀金手機，搶攻年節商機。相關手機供應鏈如美律（2439）、旭曜、可成等個股，可望在此波金色買氣帶動下吃香喝辣。 摩根新興科技基金經理人龔真樺指出，為了搶攻中國大陸龐大內需市場，手機品牌大廠因應年節氣氛推出金色智慧型手機來應景，由此可見，智慧型手機市場已從成熟市場轉戰新興市場，尤以大陸為主要戰場。 根據高盛證券預估，2013至2015年智慧型手機之銷量增長，將有高達90%是由新興市場推動，其中半數來自於大陸。龔真樺進一步指出，大陸智慧型手機滲透率已由2012年第1季的30%增加至2013年的60%，預估2014年滲透率可望高達75%。 在大陸龐大市場加持下，中低階智慧型手機相關概念股續獲資金青睞，以上游半導體族群最為受惠。龔真樺分析，受惠於大陸中低階智慧型手機需求大幅成長，手mini storage晶片出貨量持續衝高，台灣相關晶片、IC設計廠商市占率續攀升有望，不僅反應在股價表現上，更將對營收與獲利有所挹注。 日盛精選五虎基金經理人林佳興表示，明年第1季將會有新運用推出，預期近距離無線通訊、無線充電技術運用端等新技術的運用將帶來新需求。2014年還可觀察手機規格提升帶動的相關族群，如追求大螢幕、高解析度與高效能的受惠供應鏈。 台新2000高科技基金經理人李穗佳表示，智慧型手機在新興市場滲透率提升、手機大廠持續推出新機刺激下，未來成長性相對看好；外傳蘋果將上修2014年首季iPhone出貨量，估計出貨量可增加1,500萬至2,000萬支，增幅6%起跳，使相關供應鏈明年業績吃下定心丸。 復華高成長基金經理人蔡政哲表示，由於明年各廠將陸續推出最新機種，有機會帶動換機潮，加上蘋果新產品可能陸續問世，預估具競爭優勢或新加入供應鏈的個股，將挹注營收動能。 儲存

有不少人會擔心，儲存當銀行領域實施更為嚴峻的巴塞爾III(BaselIII)後，中小企業融資將變得更加困難。不過，大馬信貸擔保機構(CGC)卻不認同這點，並指：“只要獲得CGC擔保，巴塞爾協定III不會令中小企業面對更高的借貸成本，更不會讓企業更難取得貸款。”BaselIII的出現，不只是大馬，全球市場亦議論紛紛，大部分都擔心中小企業會面對重大衝擊。這項條例是由巴塞爾銀行監管委員會規定提出的全球監管標準，要求銀行將共同普通股(commonequity)增至4.5%份額，以及將一級資本占風險加權資產增至6%。換句話說，在BaselIII下，銀行必須保留更多資本，以加強銀行系統。雖然這能夠鞏固金融領域的系統，但是，市場擔心金融業者為求保留充足的資金，而限制借貸，或是提高借貸成本，讓中小企業在借貸市場面對新挑戰。早前，國內銀行界的龍頭老大———馬銀行亦表示，一旦實施更嚴格的巴塞爾協定III，中小企業會更難獲得貸款，或須承擔更高的貸款成本。就連非常關注中小企業的馬銀行都這麼說，更進一步增加中小企業的憂慮。不過，CGC業務發展總經理黃慧敏卻認為，上述觀念並不正確。她在接受《南洋商報》專訪時表示，BaselIII只是一項銀行政策而已，主要是針對金融機構，而非中小企業。此外，在三大因素扶持下，中小企業不會面對融資問題，或須承擔更高的貸款成本。她所提到的這三大因素包括，CGC擔保的貸款維持在20%的加權風險、CGC計劃降低借貸成本，以及縮短償還資金給銀行的時限。因素1CGC擔保貸款維持在20%加權風險在BaselIII下，將要求銀行提高資本充足率，銀行會因而減少借貸。不過，獲得CGC擔保的貸款卻不一樣，其加權風險比率(riskweight)維持在20% ，所以，借貸成本不會比現在高。CGC擔保的貸款維持在20%的加權風險，這與巴塞爾協定II一樣，所以不會影響到借貸成本。相反的，沒有CGC擔保的貸款，則會面對較高的借貸成本。黃慧敏說：“雖然巴塞爾協定III要求銀行保留較高的資本水平，但CGC擔保的貸款加權風險比率不迷你倉，所以，我認為銀行應該利用這項優勢，持續提供貸款給中小企業。”加上中小企業在國內扮演著推動經濟的重要角色，所以，銀行在這時候提供貸款給中小企業，反而能從中獲益。CGC擔保的貸款加權風險比率維持不變，為了繼續鼓勵銀行放貸給我國的中小企業，讓他們能走得更遠。此外，有CGC擔保的貸款利息不能超過基貸率(BLR)+2，所以，整體而言，中小企業不會面對很大的影響。因素2計劃降低借貸成本為了協助中小企業成長，CGC在找辦法減少借貸成本。從明年1月起，CGC會提供擔保費用回扣給獲得改善或擁有良好攤還債務行為的企業，回扣幅度介於2%至10%。“我們提供的擔保是根據企業的風險而定。因此，若接下來看到企業的風險比之前低，CGC就會通過擔保費回扣作為對借貸者的一種鼓勵。”目前，擔保費用最高為4%，最低則是0.5%。黃慧敏指，有很多人以為申請CGC擔保會導致借貸成本大增，這是錯誤的想法。基本上，CGC擔保費和提供的利息比企業使用個人貸款及信用卡融資還低，主要是因為他們會控制借貸成本。她舉例，假設企業完全沒有抵押品，CGC提供100%的擔保，擔保費用最高為5.7 5%，且僅允許銀行提供基貸率(6.6%)，整體借貸成本僅達12.35%，這低於個人貸款及信用卡的利息。不過，即使企業表現沒有改善，其未償還的債務減少，企業承擔的擔保費亦會減少。因此，重要的是，企業必須要求銀行更新剩餘未償還的債務，因為CGC可以根據這筆數額計算擔保費用。因素3縮短償還銀行時間由於中小企業的現金流不強，抵押品不足，銀行在放貸給中小企業時的考量特別多，審核的態度也較為謹慎。為了加強銀行借貸給中小企業的信心，CGC在擔保方面作了很多調整。對於銀行而言，最重要的是企業在沒有能力攤還貸款後，可以很快就從CGC獲 得賠償。過去，CGC在核批及支付賠償金給銀行為期30天，且還需要通過法律行動才能獲得有關金額。不過，從今年開始，只需要10天，銀行就能夠獲得賠償。這是為了加強銀行的信心，讓它們持續借貸給企業。因此，相信銀行不會利用BaselIII作為不批貸款的借口。self storage

來源 : 保安司司長辦公室保安司司長辦公室就廉政公署關於消防局前副局長投訴事宜的消息發佈，self storage作出公開澄清如下：1. 多年以來，特別是在澳門回歸之後，消防局盡忠履行其法定職責，為廣大市民及遊客提供優質的防火、滅火、救援及救災的服務，而消防局馬耀榮局長的指揮領導得到廣泛的認同，其於2012年度獲澳門特區政府授予英勇獎章。2. 對於廉政公署的審查行動，及在2012年年度工作報告中作出的勸喻，保安司司長高度重視，並已於2013年初對消防局局長依照迷你倉保安部隊軍事化人員通則》紀律處理。此外，亦作出批示要求消防局加強內部管理，尤其是人員管理方面。3. 值得提及的是，消防局前副局長李盤志向局長提起的訴訟敗訴，然而僅涉及個人性質的訴訟亦有可能影響消防局履行應有的職責，為此保安司司長為著部門的良好運作，應當事人要求於2013年7月借調其往颱風委員會任職。4. 對於近月廉政公署又再收到關於消防局的投訴而作的調查，保安司司長辦公室高度關注並積極配合廉政公署的工作，同時視乎相關調查後的結論依法跟進。迷你倉西貢

Source: Milwaukee Journal SentinelDec.self storage 26--MEQUON -- Wisconsin Lutheran's aggressive defense set up its transition game to perfection and the Vikings dismantled Milwaukee Marquette, 71-60, on Thursday night on the first day of the Wisconsin Basketball Yearbook Shootout at Concordia University.The Vikings (7-1), who have won five straight since a 55-40 loss to Milwaukee King earlier this month, took command with a 15-point run spanning the end of the first quarter and the start of the second as they opened a 41-20 halftime lead."We were able to get some early touches and steals and got into transition," Wisconsin Lutheran coach Ryan Walz said. "Anybody who's seen us play the last couple years knows that we've had a lack of interior size, so for us to get into transition through defensive pressure is going to help us tremendously."That's what we set up for and work to get as much pressure as we can."Wisconsin Lutheran, ranked fifth in the Journal Sentinel area rankings, pushed the lead to, 59-37, after three quarters and led, 64-39, with 5 minutes 52 seconds remaining.With reserves from both teams on the floor, the Hilltoppers used a 16-2 run to pull within, 66-55, with 1:28 remaining.Anthony Carver led Wisconsin Lutheran with 15 points, Jamare' Griffin added 14 and Keith Franklin 10. Garrison Goode, a 6-foot-7 junior forward, had 12 points for Marquette but 10 came in the second half."Wisconsin Lutheran's a good team," said first-year Marquette coach Todd Frohwirth, who coached the Mukwonago girls to the Division 1 title game last season. "A lot of people think they're going to be up in the state tournament this year."It was good for our kids to play against really good basketball players with a good fundamental foundation and see the different areas in which we broke down."The Hilltoppers, who have lost three of four after opening the season with four consecutive victories, stayed close early. Jake Matkovich's free throw pulled Marquette within, 11-10, with 1:24 left in the first quarter, but the Vikings scored the final six points of the period to make it, 17-10.The run continued with nine points to open th迷利倉 second quarter. C.J. Polk's free throw put the Vikings up, 26-10, with 5:44 left in the half.Dexter Barnes' three-pointer trimmed the lead to, 28-16, but the Vikings answered with eight straight points, capped by consecutive three-pointers from Griffin and Franklin to run the lead to, 36-16."Our energy was good and we shared the ball," Walz said. "Like I said, when we get in transition, then we're happy because things usually go well for us when we get in transition and get some steals. We dictated that tempo so it was a good night for us."The Vikings, who lost to Pulaski in the Division 2 state title game last season, used their quickness to force 20 Marquette turnovers."Everything they did bothered us," Frohwirth said. "We just lost our fundamentals, our formations, our hard cutting and they took advantage of every time we were out of position to get a deflection and or a steal."Burlington Catholic Central 61, Sheboygan Lutheran 54: Central outscored Lutheran by 13 points in the fourth quarter. Spencer Wilker had 17 points in the victory and Ben Heiligenthal and Teagan Miles added 15 points each.Kettle Moraine 73, Brookfield Academy 63: Ethan Bublitz had 25 points for Lutheran, which outscored the Blue Knights by nine in the second quarter.Manitowoc Roncalli 65, Plymouth 55: A 22-4 second quarter set the tone for Roncalli, which got 30 points from Josh Erickson.West De Pere 62, Racine Case 60: The Phantoms got 24 points from Chandler Diekvoss and 20 from Cody Schwartz on the way to handing Case its second straight loss.Ashwaubenon 49, Mukwonago 40: Kyle Monroe had 20 points for the Jaguars, who snapped the Indians' four-game winning streak.Whitefish Bay 71, Wauwatosa East 44: The Blue Dukes outscored Tosa East, 20-2, in the first quarter. Miles Sigh had 18 points for Bay.Green Bay N.E.W. Lutheran 59, Fall River 48: Nathan Toenjes led Lutheran with 25 points.Milwaukee Riverside 77, Destiny 44: The Tigers won the final game of the day to improve to 7-1.Copyright: ___ (c)2013 the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Visit the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel at .jsonline.com Distributed by MCT Information Services迷你倉

相信跟大家說過那次重新認識時間的經歷，迷你倉話說我帶《時間簡史》到土耳其旅遊，乘通宵巴士到達棉花堡，早上四處去，下午一時許回旅館午睡，好像隨即被電話鈴聲吵醒，旅館職員問我是否多住，反問幾句，才知我沉睡二十餘小時，那是翌日十二時許，連忙執拾行李離開，百忙中遺下書。那次可能掉進睡眠黑洞，如果可以自然醒，也許會領悟到山中方一日，世上已千年的真正意義。我再買《時間簡史》，仍未能了解霍金的理論，只知我們有時感到度日如年，有時又覺時光飛逝。霍金寫時間並非如箭頭似的往前儲存倉，而是跟速度和空間有關的。一年將盡，我們習慣回顧和前瞻。個人來說，2013 年托賴過得事事順利，期望2014 年更進一步。明年會跟妹妹合資捐錢製作買書現金券，讓學生在學校書展多買一兩本書。除了到學校談閱讀和寫作外，我樂意多走一步，希望香港的新一代喜愛閱讀。我們要有更美麗的明天，必須逐步的實踐美好計劃，幸福快樂不是隕石，不會從天上掉下來的。下次跟各位讀者見面是2014 年，在此預祝大家新年進步！星期四五六見報facebook.com/kwanlaishan迷你倉最平

Source: Star-News, Wilmington, N.self storageC.Dec. 27--Sweepstakes parlors are still under fire from the New Hanover County Sheriff's Office nearly a year after a statewide law banning the Internet-gambling establishments went into effect.At least two cafes in New Hanover County are the subjects of ongoing investigations by the sheriff's office, spokesman Sgt. Jerry Brewer said.The first offense for running an Internet gambling operation is a misdemeanor. That can make justifying an investigation difficult for law enforcement, particularly because it falls under vice and narcotics."When I think of tying up a detective, one or two for the investigation and then four or five for the raid, that's a lot of resources for a misdemeanor charge," Brewer said.Sweepstakes investigations are conducted by sending an undercover detective into a parlor to play. As soon as the detective wins and receives a payout, the law has been violated, Brewer said.Completing a sweepstakes investigation takes about a week, he added.The crackdown on sweepstakes began Jan. 8 after Ben and Jon David -- who together are the district attorneys for Bladen, Brunswick, Columbus, New Hanover and Pender counties -- sent a joint letter to law enforcement agencies saying they would prosecute cases involving the sweepstakes law. That law had been upheld by the N.C. Supreme Court in December 2012.At least six sweepstakes parlors have been shut down in New Hanover County since the law went into effect, Brewer added.Among those busts was one at Capital One Rewards Zone, 5031 Market St., on July 30. In that bust, vice detectives seized about 50 computers and operating systems, as well as about $2,400 in cash.Jimmy Gerodemos, the owner of Capital One Rewards Zone, filed an injunction Aug. 21 in Superior Court against New Hanove迷利倉 County Sheriff Ed McMahon, District Attorney Ben David, New Hanover County and a sheriff's office insurance company.Judge Gale M. Adams denied that injunction Aug. 29.Such injunctions have been successful elsewhere, though.In November, an Onslow County judge ruled in favor of a sweepstakes operator in an injunction against Sheriff Ed Brown, preventing law enforcement from shutting the operation down.That Superior Court ruling will have no effect on the way New Hanover County operates, though."Until the North Carolina Supreme Court says they're legal, they said they're illegal," Brewer said.A pair of Brunswick County Internet cafe and sweepstakes companies have ongoing lawsuits against the towns they operated in and the Brunswick County Sheriff's Office.The lawsuits, filed on behalf of the owner of Internet Cafe & Sweepstakes of Leland Inc. and Internet Cafe & Sweepstakes of Calabash Inc. in Brunswick County Superior Court on May 22 claim the operations do not violate the N.C. gambling statutes or the video sweepstakes law.In addition to claiming their operations are legal, the lawsuits say the privilege taxes charged by Calabash and Leland -- $76,900 for Calabash and $43,850 for Leland -- were exorbitant and seeks to have them refunded."(The) collection of unlawful privilege license fees was an abuse of (the towns') discretion," the lawsuits read.The Brunswick County Sheriff's Office could not comment on sweepstakes parlors because of the pending litigation, said Emily Flax, a spokeswoman.But, she said, there are no sweepstakes parlors operating in the county.Adam Wagner: 343-2096On Twitter: @AdamWagner1990Copyright: ___ (c)2013 the Star-News (Wilmington, N.C.) Visit the Star-News (Wilmington, N.C.) at .starnewsonline.com Distributed by MCT Information Services迷你倉

如謎一樣的iWatch最近傳聞多多，self storage先有蘋果CEO Tim Cook開腔最快在本季度或2014年初蘋果就會有新產品推出，提到新產品將會是「前所未見的」。接�又有傳，目前蘋果與LG正在秘密接洽，後者將成為iWatch的熒幕供應商，為其配備1.5吋OLED能屈曲的熒幕，總知觀其舉動，都看得出iWatch距離我們愈來愈近。象徵大於一切若論智能手表，蘋果肯定不是首創，不過大家寄予厚望的是，蘋果能否像iPod、iPhone及iPad一樣，將智能手表帶領成為潮流，原因是無論是Sony及Samsung的智能手表產品也沒有預期般受歡迎，大家對利用手表來上網、發訊息及拍照仍沒有帶來一些革命性的改變，這就如同當年MP3隨身聽在iPod出現前，及輕觸式設備在iPhone出現前一樣，每次實驗都證明只要經蘋果施展魔法，任何產品都會變成熱賣品。所以大家對iWatch在有�同樣的希望。配備為男女不同的OLED屏幕對於iWatch將配備迷利倉能彎曲的OLED屏幕最近又有新聞，其顯示屏尺寸將分兩種，一種是適用於男性用家的1.7吋顯示屏，另一種則是適用於女性用家的1.3吋顯示屏。 傳聞稱，iWatch將配備一系列計算人體參數的感應器，並將配備更大容量的電池，希望搶在眾多智能手表的開發商上推出連續使用時間最長的產品。分析指，iWatch有別於其他娖手機品牌為宣傳的智能手表產品，將是以一種獨立形式姿態出現，這亦突顯它的與眾不同。定調為明年上半年前後推出而對於推出日期就先後有幾個版本，蘋果官方曾宣布在今年年底或明天初推出「最新產品」，不過沒有說是iWatch。亦有傳言指，「最新產品」可能是蘋果的智能電視，不過根據消息靈通的AppleInsider報道，蘋果決定暫緩開發電視產品，集中精力在手表研發，亦可見其中玄機。業界則估計以目前開發速度，iWatch可能在2014年下半年推出。在此之前，傳聞蘋果已為iWatch組成100人的研發團隊，希望盡快在明年推出。迷你倉

　【本報記者陳良安、張彥勳南投報導】南投花卉嘉年華明﹝29﹞日將在活動主場地赤崁頂農場盛大開幕，儲存宣告南投賞花季正式展開，廣闊主場地的繽紛花海、創意花藝展區熱情迎賓，當日將邀請身穿和服的櫻花妹，為參觀旅客奉上南投好茶。　今年活動主場地分別位於埔裡普台高中旁赤崁頂農場與埔裡花卉物流中心兩個區域，赤崁頂農場規劃了條狀式繽紛花海，利用七彩綠雕、豔麗花材打造創意展區及主題廣場，鄰近的台一生態休閒農場也投入資源，豐富周邊花卉景觀，打造櫻花林。花卉物流中心展區則是運用五顏六色的波斯菊與向日葵等花草，打造幸福花海園區。　主辦單位也首次分別於主場地、鹿谷石馬公園舉辦賞櫻野餐會，號召民眾來體驗櫻花樹下品嚐特色限定餐盒的美好時光，每組399元的野餐組合，包括埔裡知名餐廳金都主廚，運用當季新鮮食材料理的美味餐點，還能獲得野餐墊。賞櫻野餐會採網路事先報名，有意參加的朋友歡迎至官網查詢。　此外，南投縣境內還有各式繽紛花卉接力迷你倉放，各鄉鎮配合花季，將舉辦相關活動，營造花開全南投，處處有花賞的花卉嘉年華。從海拔最高的仁愛鄉清境跨年晚會到草屯鎮的千人焢窯活動，還有最受歡迎的信義鄉踏雪尋梅，於柳家梅園夫妻背負以及滾像木桶比賽，以及鹿谷鄉石馬公園的櫻花冬筍季、魚池鄉的文武廟蘭藝展、杉林溪的牡丹展、九族文化村的櫻花祭等，活動內容精采豐富。　主辦單位今年更準備北海道賞花雙人遊與多項3C商品、住宿券等四百多項好禮，要回饋給旅行南投的旅客們，活動期間住宿南投特約旅館民宿，即可參加抽獎；想要拍攝臉書人氣正妹走進南投花卉美景的攝影愛好者，則可參加花女神外拍團行程，一趟旅行即可擁有多重享受；上傳分享南投各地即時花況至樂旅南投粉絲團則可獲得情報獎金500元，週週送五名；另外，此次活動也與旅行社合作推出賞花採果套裝行程，帶你玩南投。各項活動詳情請上活動官網(.rs-event.com.tw/2013flowers/)或加入「樂旅南投」臉書粉絲團查詢。儲存倉

(吉隆坡27日訊)吉隆坡精武華小校地風波持續發酵，self storage10名董事自從投票同意接受旅遊及文化部租賃土地方案獻議後，其中數名董事陸續遭受到威脅、恐嚇，指要“對付董事們和其家人”，董事擔心安全受威脅而報案。吉隆坡精武華小董事長胡敬寬發文告說，該校董事告訴他，這幾天都感到害怕，寢食難安，甚至前往拜神祈求平安。“沒拿政府錢不怕”他指出，董事部于12月12日的會議中，以10比2票記名讚成通過旅遊及文化部向精武華小開出的4項建議，包括與政府簽署長達20年的租賃2萬2000平方尺半畝地契約，迷利倉年租賃稅金1000令吉。“這個周一(12月23日)我們董事部與旅遊部開會，也告訴旅遊部這件事，該部促請該校董事報案，後來董事就各自去報警備案。”他坦言，他本人不會報案，因為截至目前，他未受到威脅。“我不怕，我沒有拿過政府一分錢，我相信華教人士會明白我們立場。相關人士應對人不對事，不應以地下組織的辦事手法做事，我們是為了保住佔用校前半畝地才同意旅遊部的建議，我不會去備案。”他說，在處理精武華小校地風波時，家人也曾勸他辭去董事長一職，但他堅決做人要有責任，不會因別人的責罵而辭職。迷你倉

Shanghai General Motors is to pull back nearly 1.迷你倉5 million vehicles in one of the largest vehicle recalls in China this year, the national quality watchdog said yesterday.A faulty fuel pump bracket may crack and pose a safety risk, the company said, adding that the problem lay in the supplier's manufacturing process.Up to 1.2 million Buick Excelle made between January 17, 2006 and December 2, 2011 and 243,297 Chevrolet Sail made between April 9, 2009 and October 8, 2011 are affected by the recall, due to start on Monday, the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine said.The Chevrolet Sail is exported to emerging markets, a Shanghai-based GM official told Reuters.The fuel pump bracket may crack after a long period of use, resulting in fuel leakage in extreme cases, Shanghai General Motors, a joint venture between the US carmaking giant and its Chinese partner SAIC, said.Updated information is available from the regulator's website (.aqsip.gov.cn) and the Buick hotline 800-820-2020, the Chevrolet hotline 800-820-1912 and the regulator's hotline 010-59799616.The two models involved are among General Motors's best-sellers in China. The US company's joint ventures surpassed 3 million units in annual sales for the first time earlier this month.Yale Zhang, head of Shanghai-based consulting firm Automotive Foresight, said the cause of the recall didn't appear too serious, according to Reuters."GM has warned that the affected component might crack after long use and lead to fuel leakage, but in real life it doesn't appear to have happened," Zhang was quoted as saying."There're so many recalls these days, and some automakers call back products proactively more as a precaution. In this case, the recal文件倉 shouldn't affect GM's reputation in China that much."US carmakers in China have generally outpaced growth in the overall market, boosted by their popular product line-ups and partly as Japanese rivals suffered as a spin-off of a territorial dispute between Beijing and Tokyo.In another statement on its official website, the state quality watchdog said Ford Motor Co's joint venture with Chongqing Changan Automobile Co Ltd will recall 80,857 of its Kuga cars over a steering part from February 21.The component might break apart when the car is involved in a collision of "considerable intensity," posing safety dangers, the statement said.The cars were made between September 21, 2012 and November 13 this year.Buyers can contact Chang'an Ford's service hotline 400-887-7766 or 800-810-8168, or the quality regulator's hotline.Earlier this year, a massive recall of Chevrolet Tavera multi-purpose vehicles in India led to several key executives being sacked for violation of company policies.Vehicle recalls came into spotlight in China this year after the scandal of Volkswagen gearbox defects were exposed by China Central Television in March.Shortly after that, Volkswagen announced a recall of 384,181 locally produced and imported vehicles that were fitted with its DSG gearbox, which could cause unintended speed loss and acceleration.Last month, it initiated another recall involving 640,309 cars in China as part of its global recall of 1.68 million units. It said the mineral oil used in the transmission could cause electronics to malfunction and lead to overheating and security problems.As of Thursday, up to 3.76 million cars have been pulled back this year in China, up 17.37 percent from last year, the quality watchdog said yesterday.存倉

Mothercare's CEO, Simon Calver, aims to parlay the international British brand into a truly global enterprise.mini storage By Joyce HooiSIMON Calver is bracing himself for next year. He has plenty to preoccupy himself with, what with being Mothercare's turnaround man and a new father to two small children. But what he is steeling himself for, however, is his birthday."It's my 50th, next year, so I've got to just be brave," he tells The Business Times, grimacing slightly at the prospect of the looming semi-centennial milestone.Mr Calver has no reason for any apprehension, for even before joining the British maternity and children's merchandise chain, he has done just about everything that a man in suit can hope to do in a lifetime.Having practically been born into retail, the Englishman has had a head start."My grandfather set up supermarkets and my brother was born above one of the supermarket shops, and for the first 16 to 17 years of our lives, we were stocking shelves, merchandising, working on the tills. It's probably the best retail training that you can have, when it's your own family business," he explains.The youngest of three boys, he spent his early years in Gloucester literally trying to pull his own weight. "My father said that we were no use in the business until we could carry a sack of potatoes, (which was) about 25 kilos or something like that. So at the age of 10 or 11, you desperately try to drag a sack of potatoes around," Mr Calver says, smiling at the memory.After stints at the big boys of retail - Unilever and PepsiCo - he branched out into technology, first with Dell, and went on to become CEO of a venture called LOVEFiLM in 2005. Europe's answer to Netflix, LOVEFiLM hit startup jackpot when it was bought out by Amazon in 2011. This deal was estimated by some to have valued LOVEFiLM at ¢G200 million (S$415 million).Fateful tryst along the aislesThe buyout would partially pave the way for Mr Calver to join Mothercare and return to his retail roots, for about the same time, the group hit the skids in a very public manner.In 2011, the beleaguered company issued a series of profit warnings as parents tightened up their purse strings and Mothercare's UK stores were the worse off for it, dragging down the group's bottom line. That year, the company joined the ranks of High Street retailers targeted by short sellers.Towards the end of 2011, the bell tolled for its then-CEO, Ben Gordon, who left Mothercare by "mutual consent" after nine years with the group.Fatefully, at the same time that Mothercare's corporate office was looking for a new CEO, Mr Calver was bewilderedly wandering the aisles of one of its stores.This is Monty's fault, Mr Calver will have you know. It is a weighty accusation to level at his baby boy who was only three months old then, but history is what it is."I was sent out to get some baby clothes and where else would I go, but Mothercare. I was walking around and I struggled to find what I needed. So I went home and tried online, and again, it didn't work as seamlessly as I thought it would," he says. "This was a brand that is one of the best globally. It had amazing customer loyalty and yet wasn't delivering the experience that I wanted."At this stage, any other man would have thrown up his hands and sent the wife out for the baby clothes instead. Mr Calver, however, turned a thwarted shopping expedition into a new career."I heard about the changes going on, and I thought, this is a business I want to be involved in. So I sent a note to the people who were doing the search for the new CEO, and I said, 'You've got my next job'. And they said, 'What's that?' And I said, 'Chief executive of Mothercare,' " Mr Calvers recalls.His background, which ran the gamut of retail, marketing and online ventures, was enough to convince the Mothercare board, and by April 2012, Mr Calver was hired.That, however, was when the real work began. Once at Mothercare, he put in place a three-year turnaround plan that involved cost-cutting, store-closing and a fundamental rethink of how the business should view itself. "At that stage, we had about 311 stores (in the UK), there were about 111 or so that weren't profitable. So we set ourselves a target of getting to 200 stores," Mr Calver says.Eighteen months into the job, he had brought the number of UK stores down to 237. "The UK, when I first arrived, lost ¢G25 million. We estimated that there was about ¢G15-20 million of cost savings we could take out and about ¢G13 million of losses that we had in unprofitable stores. So if we fixed those over three years, we could improve the profitability of the UK (business)," he explains.The biggest change, but perhaps the one that was the most intangible, was going from being an international firm to a global one. There is a world of a difference between the two, Mr Calver believes.A cohesive whole"An international business means you happen to have some markets internationally... but to become a global business, you need to think about your customers, partners and markets in a very different way. You need to develop things once for your global market as opposed to developing it twice for (the) UK and international markets," he says."It's a subtle difference but it means a lot in terms of the type of people you recruit, the way you structure and think about the business. We've been international for many years; we're now in a transition to becoming global."One of the reasons Mothercare floundered before Mr Calver's arrival is related to this ability to think of the group's global sprawl as a cohesive whole.In contemplating how Mothercare had reached the state it was in two years ago, Mr Calver says: "The same people were doing international and UK, and as international grew, they turned their focus towards international rather than the UK. It was just about focus and execution."Now, Mr Calverself storages turnaround has begun to show up in the numbers. For its latest half-year earnings announced last month, Mothercare raked in the first half-year underlying profit that it has seen since the financial year of 2010/2011.While its UK stores' like-for-like sales growth had languished in negative territory since before Mr Calver's arrival, the decline has at least slowed down from -3.4 per cent a year ago to -1.4 per cent in the last period."We're not positive yet, but we're moving towards that direction," he says.Just as Mr Calver's firstborn, Monty, had a pivotal role in his decision to join Mothercare, his second child, Nieve, has had one small, chubby hand in the group's product development."Recently, we launched a range of feeding bottles called Innosense. Nieve was just born at the time. She doesn't know that she was a guinea pig, but I used Nieve to test the product and she loved it," he says."I was able to tell the team that this is what's working well and this is what we should change. I can speak passionately as someone who's stood there at 3 o'clock at night with a bottle in my hand, trying to feed the baby."Being a relatively new father, Mr Calver is himself the ideal target market of one, which came in handy during a visit to a pushchair supplier in China a year ago."I was walking around the factory, speaking to them and I saw a product and offered to demo it... it was exactly the product that I would have loved to have had when Monty was born. It was a flat bassinet as well as a pushchair and you could change (it to be) front and rear-facing, (with) a car seat," he says.There and then, Mr Calver did an exclusive worldwide deal with the supplier for the pushchair and five months later, the Xpedior pushchair was in stores."It's now probably one of our fastest-selling pushchairs," he says.While the group's retail role might be clear, the brand occupies a special niche in the consumer landscape, given its close association with one of the most sentimental and meaningful of life events."We have some examples in the UK where store colleagues have become godparents to children of customers because they've built a relationship and a friendship with them," Mr Calver reveals."It's very different from a lot of retail stories and the High Street. One of the most important things we can do is care for our customers like no other retailer I've met."For all the attention being paid to Mothercare's UK operations, it is easy to see why its international markets have long overshadowed the domestic end.Examined side by side, the group's UK and international markets form a study in contrasts. For the first half of its financial year ended October 12, underlying losses for the UK operations stood at ¢G14.9 million, 12 per cent less than the losses sustained a year ago.Its international businesses, however, carried on like gangbusters, gaining 13.5 per cent to ¢G25.2 million, helped along by a net 87 stores opening up in that period. Now, stores outside the UK account for about 60 per cent of space and worldwide network sales.As Mothercare moves into 2014, it will expand its global presence at the same time."We have fewer than 50 stores in China at the moment. If you consider the number of Chinese babies there are out there, we're just scratching the surface. We would expect to double our storebase in China in the next 12 months," Mr Calver says.Even in Singapore, where the populace is not renowned for its fecundity, there is room for expansion.Pang Kim Hin, the chairman of Mothercare (S) Pte Ltd, told BT: "Our next focus is quite a fair bit of trying to expand existing stores in Singapore, especially the ones which are very successful for us. We're in the midst of negotiations now, and we will expand two of our stores."Elsewhere, in markets such as the Middle East, the same expansion strategy is slated to unfold. "Where before a smaller store, 3,000, 4,000 square feet would have been big enough, now it's 6,000, 8,000, 12,000 square feet. So stores are getting bigger as people are looking for more things to shop for," Mr Calver says.Revamped platformEven as Mothercare stacks up the bricks and mortar, its online presence is taking shape. Last year, the chain launched a new website. "The one that we had wasn't really providing the service that we need for customers," Mr Calver says."Now, many customers shop with us in a way that they didn't before. They're shopping online, using their phones to showroom, to look at products in stores before they buy. There're a lot of changes going on and we need to ensure that this is a business ready to cope with those changes and be absolutely on our game."So far, the numbers bode well for the new revamped platform, with online sales for the UK seeing double-digit growth.In keeping with Mr Calver's Web 2.0 background, he also maintains a Twitter account under the handle @Simonformums, through which he responds to customers, retweets customers' photos and posts updates on the brand."I have a few followers (he had almost 600 at last count). I'm not an international celebrity or rock star. It's a great way to get feedback and interact with customers," Mr Calver says."So, watch this space. There'll be more coming."Mr Calver might turn 50 next year, but if Mothercare continues on its present course, he will have more than his birthday to celebrate.joyceh@sph.com.sgSIMON CALVERChief Executive Officer, Mothercare plcBorn July 19641985-1988 Graduate trainee, Lever Brothers1988-1991 Senior Associate, Deloitte Consulting1995-1998 Vice-President and General Manager, Pepsi Cola UK & Ireland1998-2000 Vice President International sales operations, Pepsi Cola International2000-2003 Vice-President and General Manager, Dell Inc2003-2005 Chief Operating Officer, Riverdeep PLC2005-2012 Chief Executive, LOVEFiLM International Ltd2012-present Chief Executive Officer, Mothercare plc迷你倉