A Big, Bad World for America Inc.

A Big, Bad World for America Inc.

JUSTIN LAHART

Feb. 12, 2014 4:44 p.m. ET

Trouble in emerging markets is unlikely to hurt the U.S. But America’s companies may not be as lucky.

It has been a rough year so far for developing economies. Several, including Turkey, Argentina and South Africa, have seen sharp slides in their currencies. The Federal Reserve’s reining in of its bond-buying program is causing fits elsewhere, and worries about capital flight have contributed to some central banks’ recent decisions to raise interest rates. Signs that China’s growth is softening, along with worries about the stability of the country’s “shadow banking” system, have added to the mix. Read more of this post

China Trusts’ Road to Bust

China Trusts’ Road to Bust

AARON BACK

Feb. 13, 2014 7:03 a.m. ET

Sooner or later, someone in China’s trust-products universe is going to lose real money.

Weeks after a hasty bailout was arranged for a troubled Chinese trust product, another shadow lender, Jilin Trust, has failed to make payments on tranches of an investment product that came due over the past few months. Jilin is set to miss another payment next week. Once again the product in question is linked to a troubled coal miner, and was sold to investors by one of China’s big four state banks, in this case China Construction Bank.601939.SH +0.25% Read more of this post

Small is the next big thing in Asia aviation

Small is the next big thing in Asia aviation

7:44am EST

By Siva Govindasamy and Anshuman Daga

SINGAPORE (Reuters) – After flying under the radar for many years, manufacturers of smaller jet and propeller-driven passenger aircraft are finding a bigger market in the Asia-Pacific with a slew of orders at the Singapore Airshow. Read more of this post

Myanmar’s first census in more than three decades risks further inflaming communal tensions, a report from the International Crisis Group warned

Myanmar Census Plan Draws Fire

Results Could Spur Buddhist Extremists to Violence, Report Says

SHIBANI MAHTANI

Feb. 13, 2014 5:40 a.m. ET

Myanmar’s first census in more than three decades risks further inflaming communal tensions at a delicate time in the country’s democratic transition, an international group working against conflicts warned.

The 41 questions in the planned census, covering subjects from religious beliefs to ethnicity, are “overly complicated and fraught with danger,” the Brussels-based International Crisis Group said in a report late Wednesday. Read more of this post

OSIM’s Brookstone, known for massage chairs and travel electronics, is contemplating a possible bankruptcy protection filing in the coming weeks.

Brookstone Is Considering Bankruptcy Filing Within Weeks

Specialty Retailer in Talks With Hilco, Tiger Capital

EMILY GLAZER

Updated Feb. 13, 2014 4:47 p.m. ET

Brookstone, which operates more than 250 stores, is known for a lineup of various consumer gadgets that includes these massage chairs. Tampa Bay Times/Zuma Press

Brookstone Inc., known for its wide array of consumer gadgets such as massage chairs and travel electronics, is contemplating a possible bankruptcy-protection filing in the coming weeks as talks advance with potential buyers, people familiar with the matter said. Read more of this post

In complete control of exit plan; The choice of Tan Sri Adenan Satem as Sarawak’s next Chief Minister reflects Tan Sri Taib Mahmud’s instinct for survival as he prepares to ride into the sunset.

Updated: Thursday February 13, 2014 MYT 8:29:28 AM

In complete control of exit plan

BY JOCELINE TAN

Tan Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud (left) and Tan Sri Adenan Satem sharing a moment at a Sarawak Foundation function last year. – Filepic

The choice of Tan Sri Adenan Satem as Sarawak’s next Chief Minister reflects Tan Sri Taib Mahmud’s instinct for survival as he prepares to ride into the sunset. Read more of this post

Korea’s Lesson for Japan Seoul’s domestic reforms are leading to growth without devaluation.

Korea’s Lesson for Japan

Seoul’s domestic reforms are leading to growth without devaluation.

Feb. 13, 2014 11:59 a.m. ET

Amid the recent emerging-market turmoil, a stable exception has been South Korea. The Bank of Korea’s decision on Thursday to hold interest rates steady raised nary an eyebrow among investors, and there’s a lesson here for Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. Read more of this post

China’s Self-Described Losers Play a Winning Role

China’s Self-Described Losers Play a Winning Role

Consumer Underclass May be Where the Real Money Is

WEI GU 

Feb. 13, 2014 11:12 a.m. ET

Much has been made of China’s brand-conscious big spenders, but an underclass of consumers may be where the real money is for many businesses.

People who have embraced the label diaosi, a term that has come to essentially mean “loser,” are becoming a potent force in an economy where growth in sales of luxury goods is slowing and the middle class is still small and focused on basic needs such as housing and education. Read more of this post

SMEs need competition, not just subsidies

SMEs need competition, not just subsidies

The fate of wages is linked to the structure of our economy.

BY DEVADAS KRISHNADAS –

14 FEBRUARY

The fate of wages is linked to the structure of our economy.

Ninety-nine per cent of firms in Singapore are small and medium enterprises (SMEs), while the remaining 1 per cent are large corporations, mostly foreign multinationals. About 70 per cent of our workforce are employed in SMEs. Read more of this post

China squeeze is hampering Asian growth

February 11, 2014 8:17 am

China squeeze is hampering Asian growth

By Henny Sender

Fed tapering raises the focus of China’s role as liquidity provider

Amilestone of sorts was reached last year when for the first time ever, more bank credit as a percentage of GDP went to emerging markets than to developed markets. Read more of this post

Appetite for US-listed Chinese stocks transcends audit dispute

February 11, 2014 2:39 pm

Appetite for US-listed Chinese stocks transcends audit dispute

By Simon Rabinovitch in Shanghai

Not too long ago, Chinese companies listed on US stock exchanges were anendangered species. Bears had pounced on them after short sellers exposed fraud after fraud. And a Washington-Beijing regulatory dispute over auditing threatened them all, even the good ones, with a mass delisting. Read more of this post

Thai academics and private-sector representatives slammed the government over its controversial rice scheme and its “insincerity” in tackling the country’s chronic corruption problems.

RICE CORRUPTION

Business lobbies, academics blast rice subsidies, govt’s ‘insincere’ anti-graft sentiments

Pichaya Changsorn
The Nation
February 12, 2014 1:00 am

Some academics and private-sector representatives yesterday slammed the government over its controversial rice scheme and its “insincerity” in tackling the country’s chronic corruption problems. Read more of this post