Beyond Mt. Gox, bitcoin believers keep the faith, see more robust system

Beyond Mt. Gox, bitcoin believers keep the faith, see more robust system

7:19am EST

By Jeremy Wagstaff

SINGAPORE (Reuters) – The apparent collapse of Tokyo-based bitcoin exchange Mt. Gox isn’t bothering Anthony Hope and others who have ditched steady careers in government and finance to build bitcoin companies – and who stand to lose money they have in Mt. Gox. Read more of this post

Corporate Economists Are Hot Again; The Shift Comes as Firms Cope With a Glut of Data; Recession ‘Laid Bare’ Forecasting Mistakes

Corporate Economists Are Hot Again

The Shift Comes as Firms Cope With a Glut of Data; Recession ‘Laid Bare’ Forecasting Mistakes

BOB TITA

Feb. 26, 2014 7:28 p.m. ET

The number of private-sector economists has surged 57% as U.S. firms look for help digesting data. Pictured, economist Ryan Reed has revamped forecasting at Parker Hannifin. Michael F. McElroy for The Wall Street Journal

CLEVELAND—Flooded with data, Parker Hannifin Corp. PH +0.99% hired a young economist in 2008 to figure out what the information meant to the industrial conglomerate’s far-flung operations. Read more of this post

No Missiles Required: How China is Buying Taiwan’s “Re-Unification”; Taiwan’s investment liberalization is giving Beijing greater economic leverage on the island

No Missiles Required: How China is Buying Taiwan’s “Re-Unification”

Taiwan’s investment liberalization is giving Beijing greater economic leverage on the island.

By J. Michael Cole

August 23, 2013

While experts continue to look at the rapidly expanding military capabilities of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) as the greatest threat to Taiwan’s sovereignty, Beijing would much prefer bringing about “re-unification” without having to fire a single missile. Ongoing cross-strait investment liberalization could help make that possible. Read more of this post

Beijing Pollution: How Bad Does It Have to Get for a Red Alert?

Feb 26, 2014

Beijing Pollution: How Bad Does It Have to Get for a Red Alert?

Beijing authorities have maintained an orange alert—the second-highest warning—for six days amid a stretch of bad air pollution.

That has a number of residents wondering: Just how bad does it have to get before the local government raises its warnings into the red? Read more of this post

Chewing Gum Makers Cater to Chinese Tastes

Chewing Gum Makers Cater to Chinese Tastes

Product Is Growing at Double-Digit Rates in the Country

KATHY CHU and LAURIE BURKITT

Feb. 25, 2014 11:36 p.m. ET

As China’s slowing economy dents sales growth of everything from personal computers to Oreo cookies, some companies are finding growth in a surprising place: chewing gum. Read more of this post

China Steel Overcapacity “Beyond Imagination”: Official

China Steel Overcapacity “Beyond Imagination”: Official

02-26 18:16 Caijing

The debt ratio may average at about 70 percent, and the aggregate liability in the entire sector could be well above 2 trillion yuan.

The situation of China’s iron and steel industry, which has been afflicted by overcapacity and shaky debt, may be worse than expected, said an official with an industry association. Read more of this post

Nestle wants one million Malaysians to be fit

Nestle wants one million Malaysians to be fit

Wednesday, February 26, 2014 – 09:40

The Star/Asia News Network

PETALING JAYA – As technology gets increasingly sophisticated, more Malaysians are falling prey to the “remote control lifestyle”, leaving them with sedentary routines. Read more of this post

The giant Dutch pension fund, ABP with €300 billion ($456 billion) in assets, is considering using smart beta benchmarks

ABP considers smart beta benchmarks

AMANDA WHITE

February 26, 2014

ABP is undertaking a project about the appropriateness of using smart beta benchmarks” Jeroen Schreur

The giant Dutch pension fund, ABP with €300 billion ($456 billion) in assets, is considering using smart beta benchmarks. While APG, which manages ABP’s assets has been using smart beta strategies for implementation for three years, the fund is taking it a step further and is now considering tilted benchmarks. Amanda White speaks to head of investments of the executive office at ABP, Jeroen Schreur. Read more of this post

Bitcoin world in turmoil after the disappearance of what had been its biggest exchange, shaking confidence in the fast-growing virtual currency.

Updated: Wednesday February 26, 2014 MYT 11:08:40 AM

Bitcoin world in turmoil after exchange goes dark

WASHINGTON: The Bitcoin community was thrown into turmoil Tuesday after the disappearance of what had been its biggest exchange, shaking confidence in the fast-growing virtual currency. Read more of this post

‘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