‘GDP: A Brief But Affectionate History’ by Diane Coyle and ‘The Leading Indicators: A Short History of the Numbers That Rule Our World’ by Zachary Karabell

‘GDP: A Brief But Affectionate History’ by Diane Coyle and ‘The Leading Indicators: A Short History of the Numbers That Rule Our World’ by Zachary Karabell

By Tyler Cowen, Published: February 22

‘May my children grow up in a world where no one knows who the central banker is” is a wise saying. One also can hope for a world where arguments about measuring GDP (gross domestic product, the sum total of the goods and services produced within a nation) or the inflation rate are rare. In good economic times, we tend to take reported economic numbers for granted, but more recently, conspiracy theories have run wild. It is sometimes claimed that “real GDP” or “true inflation” is much higher or lower than what is officially proclaimed. For instance, both Ron Paul and Sen. Tom Coburn have mistakenly charged that inflation is actually running at or above 8 percent a year, which would mean Social Security benefits are not indexed upward enough and real GDP is plummeting, both implausible conclusions. Read more of this post

Gunshots Rattle Thai Capital as PM Yingluck Flies Out

Gunshots Rattle Thai Capital as PM Yingluck Flies Out

By Boonradom Chitradon on 2:06 pm February 26, 2014.

Bangkok. Gunmen opened fire near several opposition protest sites in Bangkok Wednesday, stoking tensions in the capital as Thailand’s embattled prime minister flew to her political stronghold in the north. Read more of this post

The former editor of a liberal Hong Kong newspaper Ming Pao, whose sidelining triggered protests over media freedom and Beijing’s influence in the territory, is in a critical condition after being stabbed

Hong Kong Editor at Center of Protests Stabbed

By Agence France-Presse on 12:55 pm February 26, 2014.
The former editor of a liberal Hong Kong newspaper, whose sidelining triggered protests over media freedom and Beijing’s influence in the territory, is in a critical condition after being stabbed, authorities said Wednesday. Read more of this post

China’s credit-market gauges are triggering alarm bells, as banks grow cautious in lending to each other while investors prefer the safest government bonds

Crisis Gauge Rises to Record High as Swaps Avoided

By Kyoungwha Kim on 1:03 pm February 26, 2014.
China’s credit-market gauges are triggering alarm bells, as banks grow cautious in lending to each other while investors prefer the safest government bonds.

The spread between the two-year sovereign yield and the similar-maturity interest-rate swap, a gauge of financial stress, reached 121 basis points on Feb. 19, the widest in Bloomberg data going back to 2007. Two days later, the cost to lock in the three-month Shanghai interbank offered rate for one year reached an eight-month high of 94 basis points over similar contracts based on repurchase agreements, which are considered safer because they involve government securities as collateral. Read more of this post

In China, property promotions add to price correction concerns

In China, property promotions add to price correction concerns

4:32am EST

By Clare Jim and Umesh Desai

HONG KONG (Reuters) – Chinese property developers are stepping up the use of sales promotions for some suburban housing projects, an early sign that a slowdown in property prices that spooked investors this week may be spreading. Read more of this post

IFRS Foundation, the London-based authority responsible for setting accounting standards in 100 countries has been forced to admit that it has found more irregularities in its Companies House filings

IFRS Foundation comes clean about its chaotic filing record

Accounting standards body admits its filing record has been out of date for years – and its response to The Telegraph’s expose was wrong

By Louise Armitstead, Chief Business Correspondent

5:46PM GMT 25 Feb 2014

The London-based authority responsible for setting accounting standards in 100 countries has been forced to admit that it has found more irregularities in its Companies House filings – despite categorically stating two weeks ago that its record was up to date. Read more of this post

Thunderclouds are on the horizon for iron ore producers as the strain of too much capacity and too little money finally hits China’s steel mills

February 25, 2014 2:11 pm

Storm clouds gather for seaborne iron ore

By Lucy Hornby in Beijing

Thunderclouds are on the horizon for iron ore producers as the strain of too much capacity and too little money finally hits China’s steel mills. Read more of this post

China’s business culture bound with gifts; Culture of favours is still much stronger in the country than in the west

February 25, 2014 1:50 pm

China’s business culture bound with gifts

By Paul J Davies in Hong Kong

Culture of favours is still much stronger in the country than in the west

In London the technology-focused side of a smallish private equity fund is run by a guy we shall call Mike. Mike’s been around a long time. His real name, and the fund he works for, are recognisable but not world-famous. And yet, he has a big advantage. Read more of this post

Sharp revenue drops at two major U.S. law firms are highlighting the growing divide between the haves and have-nots in the stressed legal business

From Patton Boggs to Bingham McCutchen, Big Law Firms Have a Big Revenue Problem

Sharp Revenue Drops at Two Major U.S. Law Firms Highlight Growing Divide

JENNIFER SMITH

Feb. 25, 2014 7:41 p.m. ET

Sharp revenue drops at two major U.S. law firms are highlighting the growing divide between the haves and have-nots in the stressed legal business. Read more of this post

Three subjects at NTU rank among the world’s top ten

Three subjects at NTU rank among the world’s top ten

SINGAPORE — Three subjects offered at the Nanyang Technological University (NTU) have ranked among the world’s top ten — a first for the university.

FEBRUARY 26

SINGAPORE — Three subjects offered at the Nanyang Technological University (NTU) have ranked among the world’s top ten — a first for the university. Read more of this post

China’s Dangerous Overvaluation; Further yuan appreciation is much more likely to sink the economy than boost consumption

China’s Dangerous Overvaluation

Further yuan appreciation is much more likely to sink the economy than boost consumption.

DIANA CHOYLEVA

Feb. 25, 2014 11:08 a.m. ET

A rapid slide in the value of China’s currency against the dollar over the past week is sparking new speculation about the future for the yuan. Many economists still expect that Beijing will extend its years-long currency appreciation. But they are likely to be in for a shock, because China will eventually notice that further strengthening can only damage its economy and precipitate a financial crisis. Read more of this post

Myanmar Gets a Corporate Power Surge; IFC estimates that for every $1 invested in the power sector, 30 cents are lost due to poorly run plants with aging equipment

Myanmar Gets a Corporate Power Surge

SHIBANI MAHTANI

Feb. 25, 2014 8:35 p.m. ET

YANGON—An arm of the World Bank agreed Wednesday to help turn a government-owned power distributor into a corporate entity and to take an equity stake aimed at improving Myanmar’s woeful electricity service. Read more of this post

Land Investors Brace for Slowdown; Hillwood, Other Developers Are Selling Huge Tracts

Land Investors Brace for Slowdown

Hillwood, Other Developers Are Selling Huge Tracts

KRIS HUDSON

Updated Feb. 25, 2014 7:20 p.m. ET

H. Ross Perot Jr., right, and his father at the groundbreaking of the Harvest project near Fort Worth. Hillwood Development

Texas developer H. Ross Perot Jr. and a few other big land investors are taking some chips off the table, betting that the swift increase in prices on residential land in recent years will abate in 2014.

Many economists predict home prices this year will increase by roughly half of their percentage gain in 2013, when they rose by an average of 11.3%, according to the S&P/Case-Shiller national index of home prices. The direction of home prices heavily influences what home builders will pay for land.

“Unless home prices go higher, I don’t see land [prices] going much higher,” says Mr. Perot, whose Hillwood Development Co. owns 9,400 residential acres in seven states. His father founded Electronic Data Systems and was a presidential candidate in 1992 and 1996. “Land’s about as expensive as it can be.”

Hillwood sold 13 residential tracts totaling 4,300 acres in the past year for $125 million, nearly double the amount it had invested in them. Hillwood also bought two tracts last year totaling 1,800 acres, but 2013 was the first year in the past 10 that Hillwood was a net land seller.

It is unusual for Hillwood to sell huge tracts of raw land. Typically, the company develops tracts into dozens or hundreds of home lots—with electricity, roads and other infrastructure—and sells them piecemeal to multiple home builders.

Another Texas land investor, Stratford Land Co., intends to complete sales of at least $400 million of land early this year after selling $100 million of land last year and $150 million in 2012. To sell, Stratford looks to double the money it spent on the land. It still holds about $1 billion of assets. Read more of this post

Xi Jinping Breathes Bad Air With the Masses; Xi Jinping’s appetite for impromptu public appearances appears to be growing

Feb 25, 2014

Xi Jinping Breathes Bad Air With the Masses

Xi Jinping’s appetite for impromptu public appearances appears to be growing.

On Tuesday, less than two months after he riled up the Internet by scarfing down lunch at a Beijing steamed-bun shop,  China’s new leader once again set social media atwitter by showing up with an entourage at a snack-heavy Beijing hipster shopping enclave known as Nanluoguxiang.

A screenshot shows one of several photos posted to Sina Weibo of Chinese president Xi Jinping vising the Nanluo Guxiang area in Beijing on Tuesday. Read more of this post

TV Show Sparks Chicken, Beer Craze in China

February 26, 2014, 10:04 AM

TV Show Sparks Chicken, Beer Craze in China

Top of Form

Fried chicken has been falling out of favor with Chinese consumers, but a new hit South Korean TV show is bringing it back to life.

In “My Love From the Star,” a romantic comedy about a Korean actress and her extraterritorial boyfriend, the show’s main character (played by Korean A-lister Jun Ji-hyun) is crazy for chimek—“chi” is short for chicken and “mek” for “mekju,” the Korean word for beer. She specifically likes to partake in a meal of chimek to celebrate the year’s first snowfall. Read more of this post