ingapore now the world’s most expensive city: Economist

Singapore now the world’s most expensive city: Economist

SINGAPORE — Singapore has topped the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) list of the world’s most expensive cities to live in, according to the 2014 list released yesterday (this morning, March 4, Singapore time).

1 HOUR 14 MIN AGO

SINGAPORE — Singapore has topped the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) list of the world’s most expensive cities to live in, according to the 2014 list released yesterday (this morning, March 4, Singapore time). Read more of this post

New breed of China-born designers seek their fortunes in Paris

March 3, 2014 1:28 pm

New breed of China-born designers seek their fortunes in Paris

By Elizabeth Paton

Among the well-established houses on the Paris Fashion Week calendar, a growing number of new names hail from mainland China. Read more of this post

‘White gold’ turns New Zealand into the ‘Saudi Arabia of milk’

March 3, 2014 8:49 am

‘White gold’ turns New Zealand into the ‘Saudi Arabia of milk’

By Jamie Smyth in Sydney

It was once derided as a country with 20 sheep for every person. But it is now cows that rule resplendent as an agricultural revolution driven by consumers in China has made New Zealand the world’s biggest milk supplier and transformed its US$175bn economy. Read more of this post

Norway’s oil fund caught between the devil and deep blue sea

March 3, 2014 3:03 pm

Norway’s oil fund caught between the devil and deep blue sea

By Richard Milne in Oslo

Sovereign wealth fund may cease investing in fossil fuels

On the very day last week when Norway’s parliament discussed banning its sovereign wealth fund from investing in coal miners, Store Norske, the country’s state-owned coal miner, opened a mine on the Arctic island of Svalbard. Hypocrisy was the word on the lips of environmentalists. Read more of this post

Active Stock ETFs Are Poised to Take Off; Fund Companies Are Rolling Out Funds and Regulators Are Weighing New Designs

Active Stock ETFs Are Poised to Take Off

Fund Companies Are Rolling Out Funds and Regulators Are Weighing New Designs

ARI I. WEINBERG

March 3, 2014 4:00 p.m. ET

In the $1.7 trillion world of exchange-traded products in the U.S., one lonely corner of the market has received outsize attention lately: the so-far tiny realm of actively managed stock exchange-traded funds. Read more of this post

Shedding Some Light on Shadow Banking; Don’t let a vaguely sinister label for this useful financing prompt harmful regulations

Shedding Some Light on Shadow Banking

Don’t let a vaguely sinister label for this useful financing prompt harmful regulations.

TONY JAMES

March 3, 2014 6:54 p.m. ET

The term “shadow banking” is one of those Orwellian terms that can undermine critical thought. It has a negative, vaguely sinister connotation about a source of financing that is an essential and desirable part of the financial system. As discussion about the regulation of nonbank entities begins in earnest, it’s time to clear the air about what these institutions are and how they operate. Read more of this post

Through China’s Smog, Darkly; Beijing talks pollution control but not the political reform required

Through China’s Smog, Darkly

Beijing talks pollution control but not the political reform required.

Updated March 3, 2014 6:26 p.m. ET

Chinese supremo Xi Jinping last week strolled through a popular Beijing neighborhood during the latest “airpocalypse,” as filthy grayish-yellow haze smothered the city’s streets. The Chinese leader mingled with locals, posed for cameras and conspicuously wore no face mask to hide from the smog. The message, per state-run Xinhua’s headline: “Breathing together, sharing the fate.” Read more of this post

After vacating Bangkok’s streets, Thai protesters look to courts

After vacating Bangkok’s streets, Thai protesters look to courts

Monday, March 3, 2014 – 18:36

Reuters

BANGKOK – Anti-government protesters in Thailand have retreated to a central Bangkok park, freeing up traffic after blocking big intersections for more than a month, but Thailand’s four-month political crisis looks no closer to a solution. Read more of this post

Berkshire prefers buying big businesses: Buffett on CNBC

Berkshire prefers buying big businesses: Buffett on CNBC

3:17pm EST

(Reuters) – Conglomerate Berkshire Hathaway (BRKa.N:Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) would rather keep buying big businesses than simply adding to stock holdings, company head and legendary investor Warren Buffett said on Monday. Read more of this post

Warren Buffett Defends Business Wire On HFT Issue

Warren Buffett Defends Business Wire On HFT Issue

by Mark MelinMarch 03, 2014, 1:50 pm

Buffett points out select HFT firms received information at the same time as major newswires, yet the real issue could be how they limited the secretive offering to only a handful of firms Read more of this post

Uncertified ‘inadequate’ licenses abound in South Korea amid recession; Number of licenses surges 7-fold to nearly 7,000 in S. Korea

Number of licenses surges 7-fold to nearly 7,000 in S. Korea

Yoon Jin-ho, Choi Hee-suk

2014.03.03 17:52:58

Uncertified ‘inadequate’ licenses abound in South Korea amid recession. The youth struggling to get a job, the employed people worried about job insecurity, and baby-boomers who have not prepared enough for retirement are flocking to win licenses, only to waste time and money.  Read more of this post