MasterCard launches diamond card
Sunday, 2 November 2008
From Fazle Rashid
NEW YORK, Nov 01: Amid gloom pervading all over the globe in the wake of the worst financial crisis yet, MasterCard, world famous credit card operator, announced the launching of its credit card known as diamond. The card is inlaid with a diamond and laced with gold. The card with an annual fee of $1000 not much in normal condition is ready for marketing in a fortnight's time.
The bank backing the card agreed that the time was not appropriate but said it was aiming at wealthy and affluent clients. It is a prestige to carry such a card, he said.
The company will initially issue 1000 cards to the best of the VIP customers. Each will have credit limit of $50,000, about $20,000 more than the highest limit of the MasterCard.
Meanwhile, a sharp fall in the price of varieties of agriculture products has created panic in Asia. The falling prices of rubber, palm oil, coffee and tea have set "Asian exporters on a scramble for measures to protect farmers anxious about plummeting incomes". The farmers are worried because the price of their produces are declining and, at the same time, the price of inputs like fertilisers and seed are rising.
Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia, three of world's biggest natural rubber producers have decided in line of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) to cut down production by 210,000 tons to keep the price steady. Palm oil price has crashed to all time low. The earnings have fallen by about 70 per cent in the past six weeks making farmers struggling to service their debts. The farmers committing suicide, a feature common in India among struggling farmers, has unnerved the people.
Farmers became very wealthy. They borrowed heavily in the belief that palm oil prices would continue to rise. Abandoned half built houses litter virtually every village providing a constant reminder of the all too recent good times, an analysts said. Farmers suffering from mental depression are rushing to hospitals for treatment. It is a new phenomenon, Dr. Surijadi of an Indonesian hospital said.
Large companies have started to feel the impact. Most people are not buying fertiliser which accounts for 60 per cent of the cost. Palm oil industry has become the latest victim of the global financial crisis, a palm oil company official was quoted as saying.
Sri Lanka has announced that it will start buying tea at auction to support prices, Thailand, which will barter rice for oil with Iran, have decided to buy 500,000 tonnes of corn at above market rate and the Philippines has boosted both its rice support price and quantity it will buy.
NEW YORK, Nov 01: Amid gloom pervading all over the globe in the wake of the worst financial crisis yet, MasterCard, world famous credit card operator, announced the launching of its credit card known as diamond. The card is inlaid with a diamond and laced with gold. The card with an annual fee of $1000 not much in normal condition is ready for marketing in a fortnight's time.
The bank backing the card agreed that the time was not appropriate but said it was aiming at wealthy and affluent clients. It is a prestige to carry such a card, he said.
The company will initially issue 1000 cards to the best of the VIP customers. Each will have credit limit of $50,000, about $20,000 more than the highest limit of the MasterCard.
Meanwhile, a sharp fall in the price of varieties of agriculture products has created panic in Asia. The falling prices of rubber, palm oil, coffee and tea have set "Asian exporters on a scramble for measures to protect farmers anxious about plummeting incomes". The farmers are worried because the price of their produces are declining and, at the same time, the price of inputs like fertilisers and seed are rising.
Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia, three of world's biggest natural rubber producers have decided in line of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) to cut down production by 210,000 tons to keep the price steady. Palm oil price has crashed to all time low. The earnings have fallen by about 70 per cent in the past six weeks making farmers struggling to service their debts. The farmers committing suicide, a feature common in India among struggling farmers, has unnerved the people.
Farmers became very wealthy. They borrowed heavily in the belief that palm oil prices would continue to rise. Abandoned half built houses litter virtually every village providing a constant reminder of the all too recent good times, an analysts said. Farmers suffering from mental depression are rushing to hospitals for treatment. It is a new phenomenon, Dr. Surijadi of an Indonesian hospital said.
Large companies have started to feel the impact. Most people are not buying fertiliser which accounts for 60 per cent of the cost. Palm oil industry has become the latest victim of the global financial crisis, a palm oil company official was quoted as saying.
Sri Lanka has announced that it will start buying tea at auction to support prices, Thailand, which will barter rice for oil with Iran, have decided to buy 500,000 tonnes of corn at above market rate and the Philippines has boosted both its rice support price and quantity it will buy.