Singapore Hotels hope F1 telecast will boost future tourism arrivals

Singapore Hotels hope F1 telecast will boost future tourism arrivals

By Pearl Forss,  

SINGAPORE: The winner of the inaugural Singapore F1 Grand Prix will only be known on Sunday evening.

But there is already one big winner - Singapore’s hospitality industry.

Fullerton Hotel is one of the many trackside hotels with a lovely view of Singapore’s city skyline.

Like the Fullerton, hotels in Singapore have seen a surge in business this weekend, despite the higher prices being charged.

A room at the Marina Bay area hotels costs about US$900 per night, and many hotels are over 80 per cent full.

Hosting the Formula One costs Singapore around US$115 million, and tourism receipts from hotel bookings, parties and retail businesses are expected to be around US$77 million.

The government has said this is a conservative estimate.

But more importantly, this is the first time the Singapore skyline will be beamed to 500 million TV viewers around the world during Sunday’s night race.

The hope is that the view will attract more tourists to come to Singapore, even after the F1 fever dies down.

- CNA/ir

Source : Channel NewsAsia  - 28 Sept 2008

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Bailout deal expected this weekend - Washington

Bailout deal expected this weekend - Washington
 
Congress working through weekend; Democrats, Republicans agree to negotiate 
Washington - A deal on the US$700billion (S$1trillion) plan to shore up the US financial system is expected to come by today, before Asian financial markets open.
Congressional Democrats said they expected to reach a deal, as conservative Republicans agreed to negotiate.

Ready to deal
‘I know politics, I read the tea leaves. There’s going to be a deal here if there’s any way to do it.’
ALABAMA SENATOR RICHARD SHELBY, the top Republican on the Senate Banking Committee, saying he had reconsidered his decision to try to block a bailout package
Making progress
‘I believe that progress has been made. We will not leave until legislation is passed. ‘
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES SPEAKER NANCY PELOSI 
‘We hope some time tomorrow evening we can announce that there has been some kind of agreement in principle so that the only thing that will have to be done is to write the legislation,’ Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said yesterday. ‘We’re still a long way from completing it but we’ve made significant progress.’

He said congressional staffers had worked until about 3am yesterday, negotiating details of the plan. He said there were ‘probably 15 issues still left outstanding’ that lawmakers have to resolve.

Capitol Hill staff were trying to come up with a plan that will help unstick credit markets without unduly risking taxpayers’ money.

On Wall Street, where investors and economists have been clamouring for government help to clean up a credit crisis which has so far cost banks some US$500billion, markets staged a late rally as investors bet a deal would be reached.

The Dow Jones average started Friday down more than 100points, then clawed it all back as traders cherry-picked bank stocks. In the last half-hour of trading, the Dow shot up, finishing up 118.20, or 1.1per cent, at 11,140.26.

The Dow was also boosted by speculation that Wachovia, the United States’ fourth largest bank by assets, had begun preliminary talks with Citigroup about a potential merger. Feelers have also been extended between Wachovia and Wells Fargo and Spain’s Banco Santander, sources said.

With less than six weeks to go before an election that will decide not only the next president but also the makeup of the entire House and a third of the Senate, Congress had hoped to recess on Friday so members could campaign.

But the rescue debate turned contentious on Thursday when a group of House Republicans proposed an alternate plan that would have Washington offer insurance coverage for the roughly half of all mortgage-backed securities it does not already back.

The original plan includes authorisation for an immediate expenditure of US$250billion for the Treasury to buy distressed debt securities plus another US$100billion at the government’s disposal. Another US$350billion could be used to buy troubled assets.

Last week, the Bush administration proposed a plan to have the Treasury Department buy assets that banks are struggling to value, but it has been a tough sell with many taxpayers, who see it as a government demand that they pay for mistakes made by wealthy Wall Street executives.

President George W. Bush said he expected Congress to pass the legislation ‘very soon’. In his weekly radio address yesterday, he sought to ease anxiety over the high price tag of the legislation. ‘The final cost will be far less than US$700billion,’ he said.

Democrats abandoned attempts to insert a controversial bankruptcy aid provision into the bailout Bill as they tried to push ahead with attempts to nail down legislation that lawmakers of both parties have said is urgent.

Reuters, New York Times, CNBC, Bloomberg
Source : Straits Times  - 28 Sept 2008

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Massa takes pole

Massa takes pole
 
Ferrari’s Brazilian driver heads pack going into race tonight 

By Leonard Lim 
  
Said Massa: ‘It will be a difficult race; concentration will be 10 times more than at a normal circuit.’ — PHOTO: AFP

One is the heir apparent, another a young upstart intent on winning a world title that is ‘morally’ his, and the third the reigning world champion.

Singapore and Formula One could not have asked for a better front trio for the starting grid of the world’s first night race tonight.

Felipe Massa (1 min, 44.801 sec), Lewis Hamilton (1:45.465) and Kimi Raikkonen (1:45.617) will head the pack after setting the fastest times in the qualifying session last night.

‘I’m looking forward to a good job tomorrow,’ said Ferrari’s Massa, who notched his fifth pole position this season.

‘If we can win the race, it’ll be an even more fantastic feeling than qualifying.’

With drivers saying overtaking opportunities will be very limited around the twisty 5.067km Marina Bay circuit, Massa will be odds-on favourite to take the chequered flag after 61 laps.

Of his five wins this year - in Bahrain, Turkey, France, Valencia and Belgium - the Valencia and Turkish victories came when he started from pole.

Another win today for the Brazilian, who trails Hamilton by just one point in the drivers’ standings, could go a long way to determining who wins the title.

The race winner gets 10 points, second-placed driver eight and third six.

Do not expect the aggressive Hamilton of McLaren to roll over easily though, with only three races left after the Singapore leg.

Said the Briton: ‘I’ll just play it by ear and give it my best shot. It’s a tough race but the position we are in is quite good.’

The driver, who is into only his second year in F1, had insisted two weeks ago that he ‘morally deserves’ to win the championship, and will no doubt be going all out for a good start and attempt to overtake Massa at Turn 1.

Ferrari’s Massa, seen by some as the long-term successor to his teammate and last year’s champion Raikkonen at the Italian outfit, will need to keep his focus.

The challenging circuit’s 23 turns are eight more than the average F1 track.

Said Massa: ‘It will be a difficult race; concentration will be 10 times more than at a normal circuit.’

Providing another challenge will be the bumpy streets.

As Hamilton’s teammate Heikki Kovalainen said: ‘You go left, right, brake and accelerate in quick succession. Mentally, it’s very tiring.’

Predictions of wet weather for the weekend, which could cause glare because of the artificial lighting, have so far not materialised when the cars have taken to the track.

But if it does pour, rain-master Hamilton, who won this year’s British Grand Prix and last year’s race in Japan in treacherous conditions, will fancy his chances.

Earlier yesterday, Fernando Alonso set the fastest time in the third and final practice before qualifying.

His Renault, however, stalled in the second qualifying session and he will start from 15th on today’s grid.

For the second day in a row, Singaporeans and overseas visitors packed the Marina area, with about 70,000 pairs of eyes trained on the roaring machines.

A capacity crowd of 100,000 fans is expected to flood the city centre again today for the country’s biggest-ever sporting event.

There has also been keen interest among Singapore’s leadership.

Among those catching the action yesterday were President SR Nathan and Defence Minister Teo Chee Hean.

More members of the Cabinet are expected to witness the crowning of the inaugural night race champion today.

Said Mr Colin Syn, deputy chairman of race organiser Singapore GP: ‘I feel very proud; this is really good for Singapore. I’m looking forward to tomorrow.’

Source : Straits Times  - 28 Sept 2008

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