Santa opts for significant investor visa

Department of Immigration and Border Protection in Australia has granted an additional significant investor visa, just in time for Christmas. The recipient, Santa Claus, has committed to investing in local toy manufacturers as an alternative to his elves in the North Pole, ensuring all children in Australia receive their toys on time and helping to bolster the industry.A departmental spokesman said that in previous years, Santa entered Australia on business short stay visas, but this year his desire to make a significant investment in toy manufacturing in the country led him to subclass 188 significant investor visa. 'The purpose of the significant investor visa is to boost the local economy and compete for investment migration on an international scale,' the spokesman explained.

'Due to Mr Claus' successful business model, we are confident his investment will contribute to the local workforce and the economy,' he added. Using SkillSelect, an online resource connecting skilled workers and Australian employers and state and territory government agencies, Santa submitted an expression of interest (EOI) and waited patiently for an invitation to lodge a visa application.

After satisfying all requirements and making his $5 million complying investment by investing in toy factory Festive Toys Inc., Santa secured the employment of hundreds of local and interstate elves, an opportunity they wouldn't otherwise have been granted. 'The grant of this latest significant investor visa to Santa Claus caps off a fantastic year for the programme, with more than $325 million in complying investments from applications since the programme began on 24 November 2012,' the DIBP spokesman explained further. 'We have no doubt that Santa's addition to this list will add to the strength of toy manufacturing in Australia,' he added.

Bloomberg Journalists Receive China Press Credentials

With expulsion looming, the Chinese government renewed press credentials Thursday for all Bloomberg News journalists and some New York Times journalists currently in the country.

The granting of press credentials is a positive development amid heightened concerns about the ability of U.S. news outlets to report independently in the authoritarian country. Roughly two dozen Times and Bloomberg journalists are facing expulsion from the nation by the end of 2013 due to expiring residence visas.

In China, foreign journalists need to first obtain a press card from the Foreign Ministry and then use that accreditation, along with a passport and additional documentation, to apply for a J-1 visa to reside in the country. The process typically takes around two weeks. While it's expected that journalists who receive press cards will later obtain residence visas, it's not a certainty, as Chinese authorities can halt the visa process at any time.

Some have recently called for the U.S. to retaliate by withholding Chinese journalist visas if U.S. journalists aren't granted access to report in the country. But Thursday's development is good news for the foreign press and signals that extreme measures, like visa retaliation, could be off the table.

Edward Wong, a Times correspondent in China, tweeted Thursday that while some Times colleagues have received new press cards, none have yet received their residence visas.

A Times spokesperson did not immediately respond for comment.

"We have received all of our China press cards and continue to operate as usual," a Bloomberg spokesman told HuffPost.

Vice President Joe Biden addressed China's crackdown on the foreign press in a visit to Beijing earlier this month that drew increased attention to the difficulties of operating there. Over the past year, Chinese authorities have blocked both the Times' and Bloomberg's websites following aggressive coverage of the country's elite. Last month, the Times reported how Bloomberg self-censored by not publishing a critical story for fear of reprisal from the government.

Peter Ford, president of the Foreign Correspondents' Club of China, said in a statement that his organization "is glad to hear that all Bloomberg's foreign staff in mainland China and some of The New York Times' correspondents have been given 2014 press cards by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.”

Nine Events in 2013 That Will Change Us

2013 has been the year of recovery of the Japanese stock market thanks to a newly mandated and now emboldened conservative LDP government. Thus this year's summary of key events revolves in around the role of government intervention and the trends that such politically-driven activity will have on our businesses in 2014. In addition, we recognize some technological breakthroughs that remind us that Japan is still a source of innovation and technical excellence.

The Boeing 787 Dreamliner fires that were global news in 2012 and early 2013 were found to NOT be caused by production problems at GS Yuasa, the maker of the lithium batteries powering the aircraft. Once the company was cleared of fault, everyone was left to wonder what really happened. Cleveland Indians prospect Leandro Linares in Haiti waiting for visa Our guess is that the aircraft's core electrical design itself was to blame in some obscure way (for example, cabling positioning causing induced high-voltage spikes) and so the actual cause will never be found but seems to have been resolved by process of elimination, or perhaps the cause was found but swept under the carpet for political and economic expediency. Either way, no one got injured and so we may never learn the true story.

Key to this story is the fact that as yet since there is no safe alternative to lithium as a base for portable, dense energy storage, and electrical systems developers all over the world will continue to work with the material. This fact is being amply demonstrated by the world's leading electric car brand, Tesla, which has had to fend off several negative news events after drivers ran over objects on the road, pulled over safely, but then the cars caught fire. Tesla seems to have recovered from that negative publicity, and recently signed a contract with Panasonic for the supply of two billion more lithium batteries cells over the next four years. That's plenty to keep Panasonic's battery division busy for a while...!

With the ramp up of the West Australian Pluto gas project, Australia overtook Qatar as the largest supplier of LNG to Japan, shipping 15.9m tonnes in 2012. As a result, LNG is now one of Australia's largest exports, worth AU$13.8bn last year. In all, Japan imported 87.3m tonnes of LNG in 2012, up by more than 30% over pre-3/11 volumes, and is expected to continue that pace until some number of its 54 idled nuclear power stations are bought back online. The utilities are consuming about 70% of Japan's LNG, which is a substantial drag on the economy and on resources.

The trend here is two-fold: firstly that the hydrocarbon economy is alive and well thanks to the nuclear power stand-off, so thank god for the U.S. increased production of oil, taking the pressure off the global markets, else Japan could be in real financial trouble. Secondly, we find it strange and interesting that Abe's government, so overbearing in other areas, has not rammed through nuclear power station restarts. Is this because they are sensitive to a backlash from the electorate? We don't think so, given their behavior over the recent state secrets bill -- they will do what they have to do, no matter how unpopular it is. So that leads us to think that there must be a more strategic reason for leaving the nuclear power plants turned off... great fuel for conspiracy theories.

Cleveland Indians prospect Leandro Linares in Haiti waiting for visa

Since the 9-11 terrorist attacks, the U.S. government has tightened the restrictions on visa applications to enter or work in this country. Several pro baseball players from Latin American countries have been caught using false identities over the last several years."This isn't a big setback," said Ross Atkins, the Indians' director of player personnel. "We sent a trainer to Haiti to work out with Linares. Another player we signed lives with him and they work out together."Linares missed the Arizona Instructional League and did not play winter ball. If he gets his visa, he will report to spring training with the rest of the minor leaguers."He's only 19 so missing four weeks in the instructional league isn't a big deal," said Atkins.

Linares is a power pitcher, who throws between 93-95 mph. When the Indians signed him, they compared him to a high school pitcher taken with a late first-round pick in the June draft.Job hunting: Indians free agents Lou Marson and Jason Kubel are getting feelers from teams in both leagues. Marson, a catcher, was non-tendered on Dec. 2. Kubel filed for free agency after the World Series when the Indians didn't exercise his $7.5 million club option for 2014.It will be interesting to see if they get big-league deals or have to go to camp as spring-training invitees.The Indians are not interested in Kubel following the signing of David Murphy and re-signing of Jason Giambi. Reportedly, there is a scenario in which the Indians could bring back Marson.

Right now the catching situation is secure with Yan Gomes and Carlos Santana. Should Santana, who lost the starting job to Gomes, prove a legitimate option at third base, there might be a spot for Marson as Gomes' backup.Santana is working out at third base at the Indians' complex in the Dominican Republic. He is scheduled to play games there in winter ball. At the end of last season Lonnie Chisenhall and Mike Aviles were platooning at third. Chisenhall has been the third baseman in waiting for three years, but has yet to claim the position. It seems the Indians would have to make a trade for Marson to return.Marson played only three games last season because of neck and back injuries. The Indians directed his rehabilitation at Goodyear after the regular season ended and when they non-tendered him he was said to be healthy.

Visa to Australia made easy from today: Click here for details

Santana is working out at third base at the Indians' complex in the Dominican Republic. He is scheduled to play games there in winter ball. At the end of last season Lonnie Chisenhall and Mike Aviles were platooning at third. Chisenhall has been the third baseman in waiting for three years, but has yet to claim the position. It seems the Indians would have to make a trade for Marson to return.Marson played only three games last season because of neck and back injuries. The Indians directed his rehabilitation at Goodyear after the regular season ended and when they non-tendered him he was said to be healthy.The Indians acquired Kubel from Arizona before the Aug. 31 trading deadline. They felt his bat would help them in the drive to the wild card, but he appeared in only eight games.

Kubel was not in a good place mentally when he came to Cleveland because he was struggling at the plate and had lost his starting job with the Diamondbacks. But those close to him said spending a month sitting next to Giambi in the locker room and talking hitting with him improved his outlook.He could be an interesting "sleeper' free-agent signing.Applying for a partner visa to Australia will now be faster and easier,Afghan interpreters who fell in love with US soldiers struggle in visa limbo with the introduction of ImmiAccount.From today Monday, applicants for a partner visa to Australia will be able to apply through a single entry point on the website of the Department of Immigration and Border Protection.The new online facility will be a self-service web portal that will enable clients to create, submit, pay for and manage all online applications in the one online system.

The new application service comes as the DIBP is making significant changes to the online visa application system, which temporarily brought down the website from Friday 2pm to Sunday 2pm.Although the changes in the system overall are still unclear, the online application for partner visas is ready to go ahead on Monday.Hannibal Khoury, is MARA registered agent, welcomes the new systems and the online approach taken by the DIBP. Hannibal says, "The trend has been for online lodgement of visa applications. This is seen as a natural progression that now other visa subclasses are available for online lodgement."