How South Korea Rides Out Emerging-Markets Turmoil

How South Korea Rides Out Emerging-Markets Turmoil

South Korea is one of the few emerging markets to weather the recent storms. This stability is the legacy of 60 years of forced industrialization imposed by authoritarian governments and tightly controlled monetary and fiscal policies. Read more of this post

Cut-throat competition in Korea is causing lawyers to break the law in desperate attempts to win potential clients, according to the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office

To get clients, lawyers are now breaking the law

Jan 03,2014

Cut-throat competition is causing lawyers to break the law in desperate attempts to win potential clients, according to the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office.
The number of lawyers indicted on criminal charges grew to 544 in 2012 from 314 in 2008, according to prosecutors. The number of lawyers punished by the Korean Bar Association for violating professional ethics increased to 49 in 2013 from 37 in 2008.  Read more of this post

Komatsu bets on local concrete boom as global mining sales falter

Komatsu bets on local concrete boom as global mining sales falter

BY MASUMI SUGA

BLOOMBERG

JAN 2, 2014

Construction equipment maker Komatsu Ltd. expects spending on disaster reconstruction and prevention, as well as preparations for the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games, to boost earnings in its home market. Read more of this post

Japan’s whisky makers drum up global market for their drams

Japan’s whisky makers drum up global market for their drams

2:33am EST

By Sophie Knight and Ritsuko Shimizu

TOKYO (Reuters) – After years of being overshadowed at home and practically unheard of overseas, Japan’s whisky distilleries are expanding capacity as their malts become serious contenders against Scottish and Irish brands. Read more of this post

Japan Needs to Keep the Presses Running in 2014

Japan Needs to Keep the Presses Running in 2014

What a year for Japan: Its currency lost 18 percent of its value against the U.S. dollar, the Nikkei index rose 57 percent, and inflation returned for the first time in five years. Read more of this post

Aging Kamiyama hopes to rejuvenate with IT startups

Aging Kamiyama hopes to rejuvenate with IT startups

BY ATSUSHI TOMOE

KYODO

JAN 1, 2014

KAMIYAMA, TOKUSHIMA PREF. – After a long, fruitless search for a new business base, entrepreneur Tetsu Sumita found himself lured by the unique appeal of a little-known remote town in western Japan nearly two years ago. Read more of this post

Abenomics Must Deliver More in 2014

Abenomics Must Deliver More in 2014

AARON BACK

Dec. 29, 2013 11:53 p.m. ET

One of the remarkable events of the past year has been the economic turnaround in Japan, driven by central bank stimulus and government spending. That has produced stunning results in the stock market: Japan’s Nikkei 225 has outperformed every other developed market and is among the top gainers in the world for 2013. The Nikkei’s 56% gain year to date has even put to shame the blistering 38% gain for the Nasdaq NDAQ -0.08% Composite, or the 29% rise of the S&P 500. Read more of this post

Businessmen to Asean: AEC what? Explain further

Businessmen to Asean: AEC what? Explain further

Koo Jin Shen, The Brunei Times/ANN, Bandar Seri Begawan | Business | Wed, January 01 2014, 9:33 AM

Companies surveyed by the Asean Business Advisory Council said they felt that the dissemination of information on the Asean Economic Community Blueprint and its implementation could have been done better. Read more of this post

Australia House-Price Jump Rekindles Bubble Fears

Australia House-Price Jump Rekindles Bubble Fears

JAMES GLYNN

Jan. 2, 2014 12:47 a.m. ET

SYDNEY—Home prices in Australia’s main cities surged in 2014, deepening concern a possible housing bubble may be forming that could potentially derail a fragile economic recovery. Read more of this post

Plans for developing the multi-billion dollar Browse Basin export gas project have been dealt a blow, with the Japanese partners abandoning a key sales contract which has partially underpinned the project

Blow for Woodside’s Browse LNG project as Japanese partners pull out

January 2, 2014 – 2:15PM

Brian Robins

Plans for developing the multibillion-dollar Browse Basin export gas project have been dealt a blow, with the Japanese partners abandoning a key sales contract that has partially underpinned the project. Read more of this post

Opec supply risk divides oil strategists

January 1, 2014 12:03 pm

Opec supply risk divides oil strategists

By Neil Hume, Commodities Editor

For a third year, international oil prices have gone nowhere. Brent, the global marker, has averaged more than $108 a barrel in 2013 – like it did in 2012 and 2011 – as feared oversupply from the US shale revolutionfailed to materialise because of production setbacks in other parts of the world. Read more of this post

Thinking Outside the (Big) Box; Treating retail workers much better may make everyone (including their employers) much richer

December 31, 2013

Thinking Outside the (Big) Box

By ADAM DAVIDSON

When my wife and I first visited the supersize Ikea in Red Hook, Brooklyn, in 2008, we didn’t take time to stop for the lingonberry jam or meatballs. Soon after we walked in, we just wanted to leave. We realized that the place was a crowded, labyrinthine mess lacking the adequate amount of staff to help us chose between the Ekby Hensvik and the Ekby Bjarnum. We left angry and exhausted, and we swore — for the sake of our marriage — never to return. Ikea, I thought, was just like Walmart or countless other big-box retailers that seemed to have embraced a Faustian bargain with their customers. The chains would sell absurdly inexpensive stuff — like a Lovbacken coffee table for $60 — but as a consequence, customers would have to put up with huge stores manned by small, often unhappy and unhelpful staffs. Read more of this post

Nespresso brews plans to see off rivals

January 1, 2014 11:13 am

Nespresso brews plans to see off rivals

By James Shotter in Lausanne

Nespresso is aiming to boost the international sales of its coffee capsules, and devote more resources to “long” coffees as it battles to maintain its rapid growth in the face of intensifying competition from cheaper rivals. Read more of this post

Commodities Post First Drop in 5 Years as Corn to Gold Tumble

Commodities Post First Drop in 5 Years as Corn to Gold Tumble

Commodities posted the first annual drop in five years as supply exceeded demand for corn to sugar to nickel and investors lost faith in precious metals as a store of value amid signs that economies are improving. Read more of this post

Cheaper Hanoi Pork Shows Crops Ease World Food Cost: Commodities

Cheaper Hanoi Pork Shows Crops Ease World Food Cost: Commodities

At an outdoor market in Hanoi, Vietnam’s capital, Trinh Thi Thanh pays 100,000 dong ($4.74) a kilogram for the pork her family eats more than any other meat. That’s down from 150,000 dong a few years ago, easing pressure on the cost of family meals that had been surging, she said. Read more of this post

Thousands March In Hong Kong In Escalating Battle For Democracy

Thousands March In Hong Kong In Escalating Battle For Democracy

JAMES POMFRET, REUTERS
JAN. 1, 2014, 7:52 AM 844

HONG KONG (Reuters) – Thousands protested in Hong Kong on Wednesday pressingChina to allow full democracy in the city as a battle intensifies over Beijing’s attempts to control the outcome of a planned direct election for the city’s leader in 2017. Read more of this post

Editorial: Indonesia Is Facing a Very Important Year

Editorial: Indonesia Is Facing a Very Important Year

By Jakarta Globe on 12:33 pm January 2, 2014.
Now is the time to look forward following a year of important cases.

2013’s highlights include top state officials being brought before the antigraft commission on bribery charges, allegations of Australia wiretapping President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and a weakening of the rupiah that threatened the economy. Read more of this post

Draining Indonesia Oil Fields Raise Import Need: Southeast Asia

Draining Indonesia Oil Fields Raise Import Need: Southeast Asia

Magenta-colored bars creep up on a monitor screen at the control room of Senipah-Peciko-South Mahakam oil terminal in Indonesia’s East Kalimantan province, indicating three storage tanks are being filled. Read more of this post

Thai Political Crisis Worsens; Protesters Block Registration of Candidates in 28 Constituencies

Thai Political Crisis Worsens

Protesters Block Registration of Candidates in 28 Constituencies

JAMES HOOKWAY and WILAWAN WATCHARASAKWET

Updated Jan. 1, 2014 10:30 a.m. ET

BANGKOK—Antigovernment protesters across Southeast Asia took to the streets to mark the new year, with Thailand lurching further toward full-blown crisis after election officials said demonstrators are close to achieving their goal of preventing fresh polls from going ahead. Read more of this post

Taiwan President Seeks End to China Political Standoff

Taiwan President Seeks End to China Political Standoff

Taiwan’s President Ma Ying-jeou said in a New Year’s address the government needs to end its political stalemate with China to spur economic growth. Taiwan needs a breakthrough in its decades-old standoff with China to take its economy to the next level and “boost cross-strait economic and trade cooperation,” Ma said in a speech posted on the presidential website yesterday. Read more of this post

Taiwan central bank warns of bitcoin risks

Taiwan central bank warns of bitcoin risks

CNA

2013-12-31

Taiwan’s central bank and Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) on Monday warned the public of the high risks involved with bitcoin transactions, saying that investors will bear full responsibility for any losses themselves. Read more of this post

Face value requirement for Taiwan shares to be scrapped beginning on Jan. 1, 2014.

Face value requirement for Taiwan shares to be scrapped
Wednesday, January 1, 2014
CNA

Taipei–The Taiwan Stock Exchange (TWSE) said Tuesday that shares of companies listed on Taiwan’s equity markets will no longer be required to have minimum face values of NT$10 (US$0.33) beginning on Jan. 1, 2014. Read more of this post

As more and more backpackers and individuals choose to visit Taiwan, a severe shortage of lower-priced hotels in Taipei has emerged

Budget hotel shortage can’t meet tourist influx

By John Liu ,The China Post
January 2, 2014, 12:14 am TWN

TAIPEI, Taiwan — As more and more backpackers and individuals choose to visit Taiwan, a severe shortage of lower-priced hotels in Taipei has emerged, according to hoteliers. Read more of this post

Singapore Airlines Extends Low-Cost Push Despite Challenges

Singapore Airlines Extends Low-Cost Push Despite Challenges

GAURAV RAGHUVANSHI

Dec. 31, 2013 5:09 a.m. ET

SINGAPORE— Singapore Airlines Ltd. C6L.SG +0.77% is doubling down on its move around a decade ago to consolidate its overall market share by joining low-cost competitors, even though its first effort hasn’t exactly taken off. Read more of this post

Downplaying university degrees in Singapore

Downplaying university degrees in Singapore

2013-12-12 19:50

By Seah Chiang Nee
Seah Chiang Nee is a columnist for The Star. ― Ed.
(The Star)

With thousands of unemployed graduates, the Singapore government plans to cap campus enrolment.
It is clearer now why the government had been discouraging Singaporeans from depending too much on university degrees. Read more of this post

Thousands protest price hikes in Malaysia

Thousands protest price hikes in Malaysia

Wednesday, January 1, 2014 – 11:38

AFP

KUALA LUMPUR – Thousands of demonstrators clad in black flooded a square in the centre of the Malaysian capital late Tuesday to protest at increases in petrol and other prices, putting pressure on a government struggling to reduce debt. Read more of this post

Public Bank to merge local and foreign shares under single stock code

Updated: Thursday January 2, 2014 MYT 3:43:01 PM

Public Bank to merge local and foreign shares under single stock code (Update1)

KUALA LUMPUR: Public Bank Bhd has proposed to merge the “Local” and “Foreign” shares where the entire paid-up share capital will be quoted and traded on Bursa Malaysia Securities under a single stock code. Read more of this post

Najib Razak cuts subsidies in effort to plug Malaysia deficit

December 31, 2013 1:39 pm

Najib Razak cuts subsidies in effort to plug Malaysia deficit

By Jeremy Grant in Singapore

The prime minister of Malaysia, Najib Razak, has sought to draw a line under the country’s decades-old reliance on energy and food subsidies, saying they were “no longer sustainable” as his government embarked on an austerity drive including cuts to civil servant perks. Read more of this post

Innovation vouchers incentive for Malaysian SMEs

Updated: Thursday January 2, 2014 MYT 6:54:29 AM

Innovation vouchers incentive for SMEs

BY LIM WING HOOI

PETALING JAYA: SME Corp is targeting as many small and medium enterprises (SMEs) as possible to benefit from the recently-launched innovation vouchers. Read more of this post

Daimler Electrics Get Fake Vroom to Thwart Silent Threat: Cars

Daimler Electrics Get Fake Vroom to Thwart Silent Threat: Cars

Christoph Meier, a sound engineer at Mercedes-Benz parent Daimler AG (DAI), typically spends time making engine noise less jarring. For the carmaker’s new electric models, he’s had to do the opposite — create sound. Read more of this post