Thailand moves towards the brink; Opposition to Yingluck must step back from violence

January 13, 2014 7:21 pm

Thailand moves towards the brink

Opposition to Yingluck must step back from violence

The world has in recent years become accustomed to the outbreak of mass public demonstrations against autocrats and elites. The Middle East has had the Arab uprisings in Egypt, Syria and Tunisia. Russia has witnessed repeated street demonstrations against the rule of President Vladimir Putin. At the end of last year, thousands of protesters in Kiev called for Ukraine’s authoritarian president, Viktor Yanukovich, to step down. Read more of this post

Thai Protesters Turn Focus to Stock Exchange

Thai Protesters Turn Focus to Stock Exchange

Antigovernment Activists Seek to Escalate Efforts After Clogging Central Bangkok

JAMES HOOKWAY

Updated Jan. 13, 2014 9:28 a.m. ET

BANGKOK—After turning central Bangkok into a flag-waving sea of protest Monday, antigovernment activists now say they are preparing to take their campaign to the next level by seizing Thailand’s stock exchange. Read more of this post

Shinawatra Era Brings Average Growth to Thais: Chart of the Day

Shinawatra Era Brings Average Growth to Thais: Chart of the Day

Thailand, in the midst of protests seeking to oust Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra on claims she runs a corrupt government, has recorded budget deficits and income growth similar to its neighbors’ since her brother, Thaksin, was sworn in to the same office back in 2001. Read more of this post

Mobius bets on Thailand after dismal 2013

Mobius bets on Thailand after dismal 2013

Published: 2014/01/15

HONG KONG: Emerging markets fund manager Mark Mobius is heading into 2014 with heavy investments in Thai, commodities and energy stocks, the same bets that led to the biggest miss for his US$14 billion (RM45.69 billion) Asia fund in almost a decade and a half. Read more of this post

Taiwan FSC starts looking into TSMC’s Morris Chang death rumor

FSC starts looking into Morris Chang death rumor
Saturday, January 11, 2014
The China Post news staff

TAIPEI, Taiwan — Suspecting foul play, a top-level government securities regulator yesterday vowed to look into the rumored death of Morris Chang after stocks in Chang’s company stumbled on a day before yesterday. Read more of this post

Singapore will introduce programming lessons in public schools to boost the economy

Singapore will introduce programming lessons in public schools to boost the economy

January 14, 2014

by Terence Lee

The Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA), a government agency in charge of the country’s internet industry, has announced plans to progressively introduce software programming classes into public schools, giving students an opportunity to write code in a classroom setting. The news was first reported on Good Morning Singapore in mandarin yesterday. Read more of this post

Higher wealth taxes may be on the cards in Singapore

PUBLISHED JANUARY 15, 2014

Higher wealth taxes may be on the cards

Moves to boost govt revenues seen as spending rises amid rapidly ageing population

TEH SHI NING TSHINING@SPH.COM.SG

[SINGAPORE] Moves to secure future revenue streams may be put in place in the upcoming Budget, as public spending rises with a rapidly ageing population and the government move towards greater redistribution. Read more of this post

Myanmar steps into international role at ASEAN helm

Myanmar steps into international role at ASEAN helm

POSTED: 15 Jan 2014 16:20
Myanmar begins its first international political role in decades this week as host of Southeast Asia’s regional bloc, with experts warning against “over-inflated” expectations as the group grapples with territorial disputes and ambitious economic integration plans. Read more of this post

World Bank warns of capital flow risk to emerging markets

January 15, 2014 1:01 am

World Bank warns of capital flow risk to emerging markets

By Ralph Atkins in London

An abrupt unwinding of central bank support for advanced world economies could cause capital flows to emerging markets to contract by as much as 80 per cent, inflicting significant economic damage and throwing some countries into crises, theWorld Bank has warned. Read more of this post

Winners, Losers of the Low-Rate Era

Winners, Losers of the Low-Rate Era

FRANCESCO GUERRERA

Jan. 14, 2014 6:54 a.m. ET

When Andy Franko started Fluid-Quip Inc. in 1987, interest rates on its bank loans were around 13% a year. Today, the Springfield, Ohio, company, which manufactures equipment for the corn industry, pays 4% or so to its lender, a unit of Huntington Bancshares Inc. HBAN -1.23% Read more of this post

WEF founder Klaus Schwab: How to get back to strong, sustained growth

How to get back to strong, sustained growth

BY KLAUS SCHWAB –

5 HOURS 26 MIN AGO

At the dawn of a new year, the world is in the midst of several epic transitions.

Economic growth patterns, the geopolitical landscape, the social contract that binds people together and our planet’s ecosystem are all undergoing radical, simultaneous transformations, generating anxiety and, in many places, turmoil. Read more of this post

Turkey: Clash of values; Political and cultural conflicts have raised concerns for the system that brought prosperity

January 13, 2014 6:58 pm

Turkey: Clash of values

By Daniel Dombey

Political and cultural conflicts have raised concerns for the system that brought prosperity

As a corruption probe swirled around his government and his family in December,Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkey’s prime minister, returned to the tactic he used against last year’s mass protests: he blamed his problems on a vast international plot. Read more of this post

The Wrong Way on Bank Risk

The Wrong Way on Bank Risk

Regulators have been working hard to make new global capital rules more palatable for banks. They should now raise the minimum requirements high enough to make the risk of financial disaster more bearable for everyone else. Read more of this post

The Inequality Nightmare

DONALD KABERUKA

JAN 8, 2014

The Inequality Nightmare

ABU DHABI – “The poor cannot sleep, because they are hungry,” the Nigerian economist Sam Aluko famously said in 1999, “and the rich cannot sleep, because the poor are awake and hungry.” We are all affected by deep disparities of income and wealth, because the political and economic system on which our prosperity depends cannot continue enriching some while it impoverishes others. Read more of this post

‘The Chinese Have the Necessary Vision’; the impending global ascent of brands from emerging economies

01/08/2014 04:37 PM

Brand Expert Interview

‘The Chinese Have the Necessary Vision’ Twenty years ago, China exported six cars. Last year it exported a million. Marketing expert

Twenty years ago, China exported six cars. Last year it exported a million. Marketing expert Nirmalya Kumar speaks to SPIEGEL about the impending global ascent of brands from emerging economies.

SPIEGEL: Professor Kumar, in your recent book, you predict the breakout of future world brands from emerging markets, particularly from China. Are you not a bit premature? Even in Asia, the newly rich prefer Western brand icons like Apple or Armani to cheap local labels. Read more of this post

The Accounting Wizardry Behind Banks’ Strong Earnings

The Accounting Wizardry Behind Banks’ Strong Earnings

By Dawn Kopecki January 14, 2014

Wells Fargo (WFC) reported a personal-best $5.6 billion in fourth-quarter earnings today, overtaking JPMorgan Chase (JPM) as the most profitable U.S. bank. JPMorgan reported $5.3 billion in fourth-quarter income and $17.9 billion for all of 2013, not too shabby for a year in which the bank spent $23 billion on legal settlements. Read more of this post

Surprise! Audits Dig Deeper

January 14, 2014, 12:40 AM ET

Surprise! Audits Dig Deeper

Senior Editor

There are good surprises and bad surprises, but when it comes to an annual audit there’s only one kind. Read more of this post

Spanish Refit Erodes Chinese Edge as Business Lured Back Home

Spanish Refit Erodes Chinese Edge as Business Lured Back Home

Almost 10 years ago, Priviet Sportive SL was losing business to Chinese suppliers. These days, the Spanish clothes designer is snatching orders back as falling wages at home let it produce garments at a lower cost. Read more of this post

Scandinavian Debt Crisis Waiting to Happen Puzzles Krugman

Scandinavian Debt Crisis Waiting to Happen Puzzles Krugman

Scandinavia, which attracted investors during Europe’s sovereign debt crisis, is now coming under international scrutiny on concern that record household debt levels from Denmark to Sweden aren’t sustainable. Read more of this post

Nontraded REITs Get Aggressive; Sector Becomes a Bigger Buyer of Commercial Real Estate

Nontraded REITs Get Aggressive

Sector Becomes a Bigger Buyer of Commercial Real Estate

ROBBIE WHELAN

Updated Jan. 14, 2014 9:54 p.m. ET

A few weeks ago, Griffin-American Healthcare REIT II Inc. closed on the purchase of four senior-housing facilities collectively known as the West Loop Portfolio. The $300 million deal is noteworthy because it highlights the growing importance of so-called nontraded real-estate investment trusts in the world of commercial real-estate acquisitions. Read more of this post

Nestlé admits to errors in India expansion push

January 14, 2014 4:47 am

Nestlé admits to errors in India expansion push

By Amy Kazmin in New Delhi

Nestlé, the world’s biggest food company, has admitted to erring in India by ignoring more affluent consumers as it pursued those spending pocket change on sweets and noodles. Read more of this post

MARC FABER: We’re In A Gigantic Financial Asset Bubble That Could Burst Any Day

MARC FABER: We’re In A Gigantic Financial Asset Bubble That Could Burst Any Day

MAMTA BADKAR

JAN. 14, 2014, 7:02 PM 6,405 13

As stocks returned a whopping 30% in 2013, there have been growing concerns about a stock market bubble. Especially considering that the rally supported by only meager earnings growth. Read more of this post

Lamborghini Plans SUV in 2017 in Luxury Push Into Segment

Lamborghini Plans SUV in 2017 in Luxury Push Into Segment

Lamborghini SpA, Volkswagen (VOW) AG’s Italian supercar division, plans to start building the Urus sport-utility vehicle in three years, the brand’s first model in the segment since the Rambo Lambo of the 1990s. Read more of this post

IPO Split-Offs Gain Popularity

January 14, 2014, 12:31 AM ET

IPO Split-Offs Gain Popularity

VIPAL MONGA

Senior Editor

That’s the number of IPO split-offs companies did last year. A lukewarm environment for mergers and acquisitions encouraged companies to turn to the red-hot equity markets to shed units and raise capital. Read more of this post

Investors exit hedge funds at fastest rate in four years

Investors exit hedge funds at fastest rate in four years

Mon, Jan 13 2014

LONDON (Reuters) – Investors pulled out money from hedge funds at the fastest rate for more than four years in December, following a year in which many managers’ performance disappointed, new data showed on Monday. Read more of this post