SEHK divests: NYSE for sale again

Hong Kong, March 14, 2050:

The Hong Kong Stock Exchange (SEHK) has announced it will further de-merge and offer for sale the New York Stock Exchange - for the second time in three years.

A 2047 plan by the SEHK to divest itself of the NYSE and NASDAQ together resulted in the sale only of the NASDAQ, with insufficient interest in the NYSE from Asian buyers, to justify a sale.

SEHK Chairman, Roland Yeung, said, "We believe an Asian or Australasian buyer will be found for the NYSE this time around. Asian confidence in the American dollar is starting to return and America is still a major supplier of old economy goods and labour to Asia."

Among those now rumoured to be interested in the NYSE sale are the National Stock Exchange of India (NSE), the United Korea Stock Exchange (UKSE), and the US Government itself.

Despite US Government talk of buying back the exchange, the NYSE's recent chequered history of unsuccessful proposals of merger and acquisition doesn't inspire confidence that, in the long term, it will be able to re-establish a position in the global markets as an independent player.

Christmas Island Dispute Referred to the Hague

Island that Went Down Under, belongs Down Under, say Australians

The Hague, March 14, 2050:

Australia has referred its dispute over the territory formerly known as Christmas Island to the International Tribunal on Global Warming in the Hague.

Christmas Island was evacuated in July 2040 due to rising sea levels, and was declared fully submerged by the ITGW in April 2042. However in December 2049 volcanic activity caused approximately 16 square kilometres of the island to re-emerge.

The island is now claimed by Australia, Malaysia and China, though only China has established a manned settlement on the barren outcrop.

At its population peak in July 2005 there were 350 people living on Christmas Island, which was then an Australian Territory but comprised 70% ethnic Chinese, 20% Malaysian and 10% European minorities.

The island is located in one of the world's few remaining legal commercial fishing zones.

Saudi-Iranian Oilfields To Remain Closed

Riyadh, March 14, 2050:

UN Atomic Energy Agency inspectors announced today that the latest radiological survey of the oilfields of the Saudi-Iranian Fallout Area confirms it will remain closed indefinitely.

Financial analysts on Yahoogle Net Friday speculated that the UNAEA report would clear the way for a partial re-opening of the Saudi-Iranian fields this century, and a possible limited return to the use of petroleum based energy sources for other than military needs.

Yahoogle energy commentator Sundi Mihrab maintained that undisclosed sources in the Shanghai Bureau of Alternative Energies had intimated to him last week that 'it was not impossible limited production in the Saudi-Iranian zone could resume this century'.

"People forget that at the turn of the century, oil was the lifeblood of industry,"Mihrab said.

"It is not unreasonable to expect that if production could be safely resumed in the Saudi-Iranian fields, and exploration in the Antartic resumed, it could provide a safe alternative to Antimatter Reactors and their inherent waste disposal issues."

A UNAEA spokesperson told ZI that radiation levels in the Saudi-Iranian fallout zone were likely to be hazardous to human health well into the middle of the next century, and the technology for robotic exploitation of the fields was not yet proven.