Even if You Can’t Buy It, Happiness Is Big Business

he stock market has been on a roller coaster, banks are going under, unemployment is skyrocketing, and foreclosed homes pepper the landscape. What better time for a happiness conference?

In this dopamine-laden city, where the pursuit of well-being is something of a high art, a motley array of scientists, philosophers, doctors, psychologists, navel-gazing Googlers and Tibetan Buddhists addressed the latest findings on the science of human happiness — or eudaemonia, the classical Greek term for human flourishing.

Planned before the current crises, the first American “Happiness and Its Causes” conference was equal parts Aristotle and Oprah. It brought together heavy hitters like Paul Ekman, the psychologist known for deciphering facial “microexpressions” that reveal feelings, and Robert Sapolsky, the Stanford biologist. They considered topics like “Compassion and the Pursuit of Happiness” and “Why Zebras Don’t Get Ulcers.”

The conference is the latest manifestation of the booming happiness industry, subject of a growing number of books, scholarly research papers and academic courses. The concept began in Sydney in 2006 and has since expanded, its profile raised by the participation of the Dalai Lama in Sydney in 2007. read more

Detroit Marshals for Bailout Bid

When Detroit's Big Three automakers return to Capitol Hill next week to re-plead their case for a $25 billion emergency loan, they may be flanked by a posse of supporters.

A plan is taking shape for auto suppliers, dealers and factory workers to caravan from Detroit to Washington in American-made, fuel-efficient vehicles. The National Automobile Dealers Association is considering flying in dealers from around the country to deliver the "message of Main Street," underscoring the urgency of the industry's crisis.

Discussions on the lobbying efforts began last week immediately after the top executives from Ford, General Motors and Chrysler appeared before a skeptical Congress, setting off a wave of anger and frustration within the auto industry.

"It was clear from the comments from the members of Congress that what they knew about Detroit pretty much stopped at 1999," said Peter M. De Lorenzo, a former automotive advertising executive and editor of the Autoextremist.com blog, a must-read for industry insiders. "They regurgitated all the same stuff: Detroit doesn't make vehicles anyone wants. Detroit doesn't have high-tech expertise. Detroit doesn't make fuel-efficient cars." read more

OPEC Leaves Oil Output Unchanged

The world's major oil producers have announced no immediate plans to cut output, keeping alive hopes of low petrol prices for motorists this Christmas.

The Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Companies (Opec) said after its meeting in Cairo that it would wait until a conference in Algeria on December 17 to decide whether to reduce crude supplies.

So it could be that, as the RAC has predicted, UK drivers will be paying as little as 88p for a litre of unleaded petrol in late December.

But while low oil prices bring cheer to many, for Opec members they are a very different proposition.

In fact, for Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Venezuela, Algeria, Angola, Ecuador, Libya, Nigeria, Qatar and the UAE, the sudden collapse of the price of oil is something of a disaster.

According to research by Deutsche Bank, Venezuela needs to see oil at $95 a barrel to balance its current account. Even the oil titan Saudi Arabia needs oil at $54 to do the same.

Three months ago crude oil peaked at $147 a barrel; today it threatens to fall below $50. It's a fair bet that some Opec countries are pumping oil at a loss. read more

Uncertain outlook for container shipping

THE container shipping business is expected to grow below 6% next year due to the US recession and the contraction in the European market.

Maersk Line Malaysia country manager Omar Shamsie said the liner business should see a growth rate of between 5% and 6% this year.

“The outlook for container shipping and world trade is very uncertain due to the developments in both the world economy and the financial markets,” he told StarBiz.

“Consumers in the US and Europe are now holding back and we can expect to see the decrease in demand continue for quite some time,” he said.

Container shipping has seen significant growth over the last 30 years, with the yearly growth rate being 10% on average.

Omar said that even during the worst downturn in 2001, the growth rate was 4%, while in the best years, the shipping industry had enjoyed a double-digit rate.

“The coming months will be tough but Maersk Line is prepared and will try first and foremost to hold on to our current business,” he said.

Omar said container liners had already been taking steps to counteract the negative effects of the downturn, with many shipping companies, including Maersk Line, reducing capacity on the Asia-Europe routes. read more

State's future Moore's passion

Darla Moore and husband Richard Rainwater in their Charleston home.

This is the first of two stories on one of the most influential women in South Carolina.

The pragmatic Grande Dame of South Carolina receives her guests by the Steinway & Sons grand piano, nestled in a front parlor niche of her luxurious South of Broad home.

She introduces her husband, Richard Rainwater, as "Dr. Doom." He is holding a can of soda, chatting and a little self-deprecating, full of praise for the lady of the house, worried that the economic downturn could mean utter disaster. A platter of hors d'oeuvres slides through.

Sprinkled among the doctors, lawyers and society people are those affiliated with the agriculture business who are in Charleston to attend the third-annual AgSummit, hosted by the Palmetto Institute.

The institute is the all-business, no-nonsense expression of Darla Moore's central passion: to raise the per-capita income of the state. And agriculture, South Carolina's No. 1 economic driver, offers one way to achieve her goal.

The guests enjoy drinks on the porch. The November night is crisp and clear, like Moore. She talks about the big plans for her hometown of Lake City. She shows off her extraordinary rare book collection in the warm, art-furnished library. read more

US ethanol sector to shrink

In the ethanol industry's infancy, small, locally owned plants were the way for farmers to capitalize on a booming industry.

Then, all of a sudden, Wall Street found out there was money in ethanol and jumped on board.

Today, the industry is struggling due somewhat to the global economic recession and bad gambles made by certain players. Wall Street is shying away from ethanol as it deals with its own financial turmoil.

• Financial crisis slowed inevitable consolidation phase
• Poet, ADM interested in buying troubled plants
• Only one-third may survive next few years

Speaking at the American Bankers Assn.'s Agricultural Bankers Conference in November, Mark Lakers of Agribusiness & Food Associates said as many as 40 ethanol plants could be bankrupt by early next year of the roughly 175 plants currently under construction or on line.

Logan Caldwell, president of Houston Biofuels Consultants, added that the ethanol industry "is not immune to the laws of supply and demand" as it sifts out players who are not profitable.

The biggest player, VeraSun, is already bankrupt. It owns 16 plants in the Midwest (Map).

Ian Horowitz, energy analyst for Soleil Securities Group Inc., explained that VeraSun had a "foot on the floor and became too big too fast". read more

Mormons Under Investigation Over Calif. Marriage Efforts

The government body that enforces political campaign, lobbying, and conflict of interest laws in the state of California will be conducting an investigation of the Mormon church and its role in the campaign to ban gay marriage in the state.

The California Fair Political Practices Commission said this past week that it would investigate whether the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints accurately described its role in the campaign to pass Proposition 8 in response to a complaint by a gay rights group.

Fred Karger, founder of Californians Against Hate, accuses the religious body of failing to report the value of work it did to support Proposition 8, the constitutional amendment passed earlier this month by California voters that defines marriage as between one man and one woman.

“We are very pleased that the FPPC has agreed to launch an investigation based on our complaint,” expressed Karger, who filed a four-page complaint on Nov. 13, in a statement. “We’re hopeful the Mormon Church will fully cooperate with the investigation, and that we will find out the full extent of their involvement in the Yes on 8 campaign.” read more

Mormons Under Investigation Over Calif. Marriage Efforts

The government body that enforces political campaign, lobbying, and conflict of interest laws in the state of California will be conducting an investigation of the Mormon church and its role in the campaign to ban gay marriage in the state.

The California Fair Political Practices Commission said this past week that it would investigate whether the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints accurately described its role in the campaign to pass Proposition 8 in response to a complaint by a gay rights group.

Fred Karger, founder of Californians Against Hate, accuses the religious body of failing to report the value of work it did to support Proposition 8, the constitutional amendment passed earlier this month by California voters that defines marriage as between one man and one woman.

“We are very pleased that the FPPC has agreed to launch an investigation based on our complaint,” expressed Karger, who filed a four-page complaint on Nov. 13, in a statement. “We’re hopeful the Mormon Church will fully cooperate with the investigation, and that we will find out the full extent of their involvement in the Yes on 8 campaign.” read more

UTi Worldwide to Host Fiscal 2009 Third Quarter Conference Call On Thursday, December 4

UTi Worldwide Inc. today announced that the company will report financial results for its fiscal 2009 third quarter ended October 31, 2008 on Thursday, December 4, 2008, before the market opens. UTi management will host an investor conference call that same morning at 8:00 a.m. PT (11:00 a.m. ET) to review the financial results and answer questions.

Investment professionals are invited to participate in the live call by dialing 877-570-6091 (domestic) or 702-696-4824 (international) using conference ID 74605857.

The call will be open to all other interested parties through a live, listen-only audio Internet broadcast at www.go2uti.com and www.earnings.com. For those who are not available to listen to the live broadcast, the call will be archived for one year at both Web sites.

A telephonic playback of the conference call also will be available from approximately 11:00 a.m. PT on December 4, 2008, through December 11, 2008, by calling 800-642-1687 (domestic) or 706-645-9291 (international) and using conference ID 74605857.

About UTi Worldwide

UTi Worldwide Inc. is an international, non-asset-based supply chain services and solutions company providing air and ocean freight forwarding, contract logistics, customs brokerage, distribution, inbound logistics, truckload brokerage and other supply chain management services. The company serves a large and diverse base of global and local companies, including clients operating in industries with unique supply chain requirements such as the pharmaceutical, retail, apparel, chemical, automotive and technology industries. The company seeks to use its global network, proprietary information technology systems, relationships with transportation providers, and expertise in outsourced logistics services to deliver competitive advantage to each of its clients' supply chains. read more