In 2 Charts, Here’s Why An Emerging Markets Crisis Would Be Worse Than Ever Before

In 2 Charts, Here’s Why An Emerging Markets Crisis Would Be Worse Than Ever Before

MAMTA BADKAR 

FEB. 3, 2014, 7:32 PM 3,381

In recent weeks, we’ve seen a rout in emerging markets as investors have been pulling out of stocks, bonds, and currencies in these regions. Read more of this post

The National Entrepreneur Development Corp (PUNB) will appoint 50 trainee accountants to help turn around financially-ailing Bumiputera companies.

Trainee accountants to help turn around ailing Bumi companies

Published: 2014/02/04

KUANTAN: The National Entre-preneur Development Corp (PUNB) will appoint 50 trainee accountants to help turn around financially-ailing Bumiputera companies.
Chairman Datuk Seri Mohd Ali Rustam said 30 per cent, or 2,040 of the 6,800 Bumiputera firms have failed to keep up their repayments to PUNB due to business losses.
“PUNB has decided to appoint 50 trainee accountants this month and we hope they will help alleviate the burden of these firms which cannot afford the services of an accountant.
“Money going out, coming in, profits, loss, marketing, etc, must be recorded daily. Sometimes we conduct our businesses well, but lack of proper accounting skills is one of the reasons why Bumiputera companies do not succeed,” he said after meeting Bumiputera entrepreneurs here. Read more of this post

Corruption in the EU costs business €120bn a year, study finds; Brussels says states have failed to address conflicts of interest

February 3, 2014 7:11 pm

Corruption in the EU costs business €120bn a year, study finds

By James Fontanella-Khan in Brussels

Corruption has increased since the sovereign debt crisis hit the eurozone and costs the EU economy about €120bn a year in lost tax revenues and foreign investment, according to a European Commission study. Read more of this post

Yudhoyono’s ‘big white book’ sparks debate about president’s legacy; Indonesian president’s reflections offer little insight

February 3, 2014 8:38 am

Yudhoyono’s ‘big white book’ sparks debate about president’s legacy

By Ben Bland in Jakarta

Indonesian president’s reflections offer little insight

Fifty years after Mao Zedong’s “little red book” was first distributed in China, Indonesia’s President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has published his own rather less pithy “big white book” of reflections on politics and leadership. Read more of this post

Infrastructure Funds Are Intriguing, but… Managers’ approaches vary greatly and holdings can overlap with other funds

Infrastructure Funds Are Intriguing, but…

Managers’ approaches vary greatly and holdings can overlap with other funds

LISA WARD

Feb. 3, 2014 4:21 p.m. ET

When investors look at the global need for new electrical grids, bridges and roads, some see a path to big money. Read more of this post

SEC Looking at How Alternative Funds Value Investments; Regulators say some unscrupulous managers inflate the value of illiquid holdings

SEC Looking at How Alternative Funds Value Investments

Regulators say some unscrupulous managers inflate the value of illiquid holdings

DAISY MAXEY

Updated Feb. 3, 2014 4:22 p.m. ET

Regulators are taking a close look at how hedge funds and other alternative investment funds value their most illiquid assets. It’s time more investors did the same. Read more of this post

Understanding a Mutual Fund’s Average Annual Return; The calculation behind these performance figures may not be what you think; Rolling Returns Tell More About Fund Performance

Understanding a Mutual Fund’s Average Annual Return

The calculation behind these performance figures may not be what you think

SIMON CONSTABLE

Feb. 3, 2014 4:21 p.m. ET

What does it mean when a mutual fund reports its average annual return over a period of, say, three or five years? It isn’t exactly what you might think. What’s more, computing the figure yourself will require more than the general arithmetic you use in other areas of your life. Read more of this post

Currencies Reshape Business in Asia

Currencies Reshape Business in Asia

Won’s Surge Knocks Back South Korean Exporters; Weak Yen Lifts Japanese Firms

IN-SOO NAM And TAKASHI NAKAMICHI

Updated Feb. 3, 2014 11:56 p.m. ET

Asia‘s two global manufacturing rivals—Japan and South Korea—are experiencing a reversal in fortunes amid changing currency trends. Read more of this post

Judge’s Ruling On Accounting Firms In China Touches on Hong Kong Units

February 3, 2014, 6:03 p.m. ET

Judge’s Ruling On Accounting Firms In China Touches on Hong Kong Units

By Michael Rapoport and Kathy Chu

A judge’s ruling against the Chinese affiliates of the Big Four accounting firms over their refusal to cooperate with U.S. regulators has drawn attention to a practice of some auditors’ Hong Kong units. Read more of this post

Global automakers look for dream market in rural India

Global automakers look for dream market in rural India

Monday, February 3, 2014 – 22:54

Reuters

MUMBAI – For global automakers, the dusty backroads of rural India could be the new El Dorado.

As economic torpor suffocates demand for new cars in India’s megacities, incomes are growing faster in small towns and country areas. That’s pushing the likes of General Motors and Honda Motor Co to fan out in search of buyers in places where fewer than 20 people in every thousand own a car – for now. Read more of this post

New Zealand Milks China’s Taste for Dairy; New Zealand Has Benefited From a 48% Rise in Dairy Prices Over the Past 12 Months

New Zealand Milks China’s Taste for Dairy

New Zealand Has Benefited From a 48% Rise in Dairy Prices Over the Past 12 Months

REBECCA HOWARD

Updated Feb. 3, 2014 8:16 a.m. ET

WELLINGTON, New Zealand—U.S. investors betting that a loosening of China’s one-child policy will boost demand for milk have won access to directly trade dairy futures in New Zealand, the world’s biggest milk exporter. Read more of this post

South Koreans drink twice as much liquor as Russians and more than four times as much as Americans

South Koreans drink twice as much liquor as Russians and more than four times as much as Americans

By Roberto A. Ferdman and Ritchie King February 2, 2014

The biggest hard alcohol drinkers on the globe aren’t cuddled up somewhere in sub-zero Siberia; they’re sipping on Soju, in South Korea. Read more of this post

Yu’ebao, the investment service introduced by Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba, has raised 250 billion yuan (US$41.3 billion), with the number of its users exceeding 49 million since its launch on June 13

Yu’ebao generates considerable profits from bank deposits

Staff Reporter 

2014-01-28

Yu’ebao, the investment service introduced by payment service Alipay, a division of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba, has raised 250 billion yuan (US$41.3 billion), with the number of its users exceeding 49 million since its launch on June 13, 2013, reports Shanghai’s China Business News. Read more of this post

Shareholder infighting major obstacle for A-share listed Chinese firms

Shareholder infighting major obstacle for A-share listed Chinese firms

Staff Reporter 

2014-02-01

Since 2011, there have been at least 26 A-shares or Hong Kong-listed Chinese firms that have seen shareholder infighting, which has become a major obstacle for corporate governance and the further development of the listed companies, the Chinese-language Shanghai Securities News reports. Read more of this post

Shadow banking sector playing cat and mouse with Chinese regulators

Shadow banking sector playing cat and mouse with Chinese regulators

Staff Reporter

2014-02-03

Beijing’s latest move to reign in the shadow banking sector is expected to have a considerable impact on financial trusts, but the problem will likely remain because of a loophole in the regulations, the Chinese-language CBN Weekly reports. Read more of this post