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The Asians are financially now the king of the world. They have already advanced in so many fields it seems only money was their problem. But now that too is fixed. It will be only a matter of time before the Europeans start seeking Asian immigration, am just saying.

Asian millionaires overtake Europeans in rich list

The net wealth of Asian millionaires has eclipsed that of rich Europeans for the first time, largely because of the relative health of stock markets in Hong Kong, India and China last year, according to a new survey.

The annual Merrill Lynch Wealth Management /Capgemini analysis of investors with $1m or more in assets found that as of late last year, there were 3m millionaires in both the Asia-Pacific and Europe. The survey quantified the wealth held in Asia at $9,700bn, compared with $9,500bn in Europe.

Nick Tucker, head of Merrill Lynch Wealth Management’s operations for the UK and Ireland, said: “It’s not a bubble. Asia has caught up with Europe in terms of its high-net worth population and their wealth.”

The survey defines millionaires as people with net financial wealth of more than $1m, excluding their primary residence.

The rise of Asian millionaires is being tracked by the industry that manages the fortunes of rich individuals, with banks moving senior staff to Singapore and Hong Kong to chase new clients.

After taking a hit in 2008 during the financial crisis, the wealth of the world’s millionaires recovered last year with the upswing in stock markets, rising 19 per cent to $39,000bn.

North Americans are still the best-off. At the end of last year, the continent was home to 3.1m millionaires worth $10,700bn.

The US, Japan and Germany produce about half of all millionaires, who were numbered at 10m in 2009. China was ranked fourth, boasting 477,000 individuals with $1m or more in their accounts. India is catching up, having seen the number of millionaires rise more than 50 per cent to 126,756 in 2009.

Though the UK economy shrank, British millionaires swelled to 448,100, up 24 per cent from 2008. Russian millionaires also saw their ranks rise to 117,700.

The Middle East struggled, with the United Arab Emirates losing 19 per cent of its millionaires in 2009 as the Dubai property crisis took its toll.

Investments by the wealthy in fixed-income instruments crept up to 31 per cent from 29 per cent in 2008 and allocations to equities also increased slightly to 29 per cent from 25 per cent in the previous year.

Cash holdings dropped, meanwhile, as investors grew dissatisfied with the poor rates on high street banks’ savings accounts.

Demand for art, coins, antiques and wines picked up again toward the tail end of last year, as the wealthy sought out collectables with “tangible, long-term” value, the study said.

Oil spill threatens to roil US-British relations

WASHINGTON — The leaking oil that has tainted the Gulf of Mexico is also threatening the political shores on both sides of the Atlantic, with a British company the villain.

President Barack Obama and British Prime Minister David Cameron planned to discuss the environmental catastrophe over the telephone on Saturday, hoping to ease what has become a growing rift over the criticism of the well’s owner, BP PLC.

Obama has sharpened his criticism of BP as the company struggles to halt the gushing oil at the bottom of the Gulf. Cameron is under pressure at home to get Obama to tone it down amid complaints that the heated rhetoric will have severe implications the company and its investors.

The State Department has said American anger over BP’s handling of the disaster wouldn’t affect the relationship between the U.S. and Britain.

Obama has he would have fired BP’s top executive if he were in charge. He embraced the idea that the oil company suspend its quarterly dividend. He reproached BP for spending money on a public relations campaign. This past week, he said in a television interview, “I don’t sit around just talking to experts because this is a college seminar; we talk to these folks because they potentially have the best answers — so I know whose ass to kick.”

He occasionally refers to “British Petroleum,” although the company years ago began using only its initials and is a far-reaching international corporation with extensive holdings in the United States, including a Texas refinery and a share of the Alaska oil pipeline.

The angry words from Washington have produced a backlash in Britain, where BP is viewed as a corporate pillars. Millions of British retirees depend on BP dividends since pension funds are heavily invested in the oil company, the world’s third-largest.

Cameron has tried to find a middle ground. He has said he shares with Americans the “frustration” about not being able to halt the spill and concern about the environmental damage caused by the thousands of barrels of oil gushing from the BP well. But Cameron also views BP “as an economically important company” not only in the United Kingdom but also the United States and other countries, according to his office.

“It is in everyone’s interests that BP continues to be a financially strong and stable company,” Cameron has said.

British Treasury chief George Osborne, after meeting with BP executives, said Friday that his government understands U.S. concerns, but that Cameron “is also clear that we need constructive solutions and that we remember the economic value BP brings to people in Britain and America.”

BP’s stock has dropped by 40 percent since the oil rig fire on April 20 that unleashed the country’s worst oil spill. But stocks have rebounded somewhat in recent days. BP shares rose $1.19, or 3.6 percent, to close at $33.97 in New York on Friday.

The company’s board is expected to meet Monday to discuss deferring its second-quarter dividend and putting the money into escrow until the company’s liabilities from the spill are known.

BP’s chairman, Carl-Henric Svanberg, who has faced criticism for not being more visible in BP’s response to the Gulf spill, is to meet with Obama at the White House on Wednesday. Probably joining him will be accompanied by CEO Tony Hayward and other BP executives. It will be the first time Obama has met with BP officials since the crisis began.

Hayward will testify at a House hearing on Thursday.

Chris Brown NOT Welcome in UK?

Chris Brown had planned a tour in the UK but has now cancelled it as he has been denied entry into the country. Yep, his visa was just rejected.

The singer was refused a visa on the grounds of being found guilty of a serious criminal offence after assaulting his ex-girlfriend singer Rihanna in February 2009.

He is currently serving a  five-year probationary sentence after carrying out a community service order.

Brown was due to play four dates, kicking off at Glasgow Academy tomorrow (June 9).

In a statement, the Home Office said: “We reserve the right to refuse entry to the UK to anyone guilty of a serious criminal offence. Public safety is one of our primary concerns.”

It added: “Each application to enter the UK is considered on its individual merits.”

Tour promoters SJM confirmed the concerts had been postponed “due to unforseen circumstances” and advised there would be “possible rearranged dates”, reports BBC News.

Italy’s Francesca Schiavone wins

Francesca Schiavone made history today by becoming the first Italian woman to win a Grand Slam title, beating Samantha Stosur in the French Open final 6-4, 7-6 (2).

Schiavone rallied from a 4-1 deficit in the second set Saturday and took the clinching tiebreaker with brilliant shots. When she had won, she fell onto her back, then rolled over and kissed the clay.

Whirlpool Recalls 1.7 Million Maytag Dishwashers

Maytag Dishwashers from Whirlpool are being recalled after the Consumer Product Safety Commission has found out that the models pose a huge fire threat. The dishwashers have a faulty heating element that can short-circuit and ignite, the agency said today in a statement. Consumers should stop using the dishwashers immediately and disconnect the power source by pulling the fuse or flipping a circuit-breaker.

So far 12 reports of fires with the plastic-tub models, including a blaze that caused extensive kitchen damage, the agency said. No injuries have been reported.

“Product quality and consumer safety are Whirlpool Corporation’s top priorities,” spokeswoman Jill Saletta said in an e-mailed statement. “If a product quality or safety issue is identified, we move swiftly and with urgency to correct the issue.”

The dishwasher recall is the biggest since General Electric Co. targeted 2.5 million units with a fire hazard in May 2007, according to the safety commission’s website. Maytag recalled 2.3 million dishwashers in February 2007 after 135 fires were reported.

“We currently expect to undertake a corrective action to address a supplier-related quality and potential product safety issue,” Whirlpool said in the filing. “We have accrued $75 million for this matter based on our current estimate of the costs of the action.”

Saletta confirmed the amount in the filing covers the dishwasher recall.

Maytag will repair the appliances in customers’ homes without charge, the agency said. Consumers who prefer new dishwashers will get a rebate of $150 or $250 toward a purchase of one of seven new Maytag stainless-steel tub models.

More information on the numerous serial numbers involved in the recall can be found at the company’s website or the website for the Consumer Product Safety Commission.

I guess this is the first time that a storm has blown down a 200ft hole swallowing a building. At least one man was killed and others are missing after a three-storey building fell into a 200ft-deep sink hole in Guatemala City.

Tropical storm Agatha, the first named storm of the 2010 Pacific season, slammed into Guatemala and neighbouring El Salvador at the weekend, dumping more than three feet of rain in the region.

The enormous crater appeared while the city was being ravaged with high winds, torrential rain and deadly mudslides. Witnesses claim at least one man was in the three-storey building when it was swallowed up at a downtown intersection, and others remain missing.

Agatha has killed at least 146 people across Central America, and has sparked fears for the economies of Guatemala and El Salvador – as there has been widespread damage to the coffee crop in both countries.

‘I’ve got no one to help me. I watched the water take everything,’ said Carlota Ramos in the town of Amatitlan near the Guatemalan capital, crying into her hands outside her brick house almost completely swamped by mud.

As the sun came out, exhausted rescue workers hauled away stones and tree trunks from crushed houses as they fought to reach wounded people and find dozens still missing.

‘We just have shovels and picks. We don’t have any machinery to dig,’ said firefighter Mario Cruz, who had been working almost nonstop since Friday night.

Sink hole

200ft Sinkhole in Guatemala City

Niqab

A Muslim woman has accused French police of attacking her freedom after she was fined for wearing a niqab while driving in the city of Nantes.

The 31-year-old, who says she has worn the full veil for nine years and never been told not to wear it behind the wheel, was flagged down by two police officers and told that her niqab – which did not cover her eyes – was a safety risk.

“My eyes were not covered. I can see just like you and my field of vision was not obstructed,” the woman, whose name has not been reported, said.

She was fined €22 by the officers, who argued she was infringing the highway code by “driving in unsuitable conditions”.

Observers said the incident was an indication of the authorities’ increasingly tough attitude towards face-covering veils.

President Nicolas Sarkozy has ordered the government to prepare legislation to ban the garment in all public places. France’s highest court has warned that such a move could be unconstitutional.