Hong Kong in quest for youth as ageing population looms

Hong Kong in quest for youth as ageing population looms

Sunday, December 29, 2013 – 14:14

Aaron Tam

AFP

HONG KONG – Schools replaced by care homes and a once-vibrant economy dulled by one of Asia’s oldest populations: experts fear this is the Hong Kong of the not-too-distant future. Read more of this post

Some shops and ATMs in Hong Kong started to refuse HK$1,000 (US$130) banknotes after police found several counterfeit notes and arrested suspects

HK shops refusing HK$1,000 notes during holiday scare

Staff Reporter

2013-12-30

Some shops and ATMs in Hong Kong started to refuse HK$1,000 (US$130) banknotes after police found several counterfeit notes and arrested suspects, reports the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post. Read more of this post

‘Common man’ leader talks of revolution in India

‘Common man’ leader talks of revolution

Sunday, December 29, 2013 – 10:42

Devidutta Tripathy and John Chalmers

Reuters

DELHI – There was no motorcade, and none of the traditional trappings of power: the leader of India’s upstart “common man party” arrived on a crowded metro train on Saturday to be sworn in as chief minister of Delhi, India’s capital. Read more of this post

Indian Bank Risk Rises on Sour Loans as Profitability Declines

Indian Bank Risk Rises on Sour Loans as Profitability Declines

The risk to India’s banking industry rose in the six months through September as bad loans surged and profitability slumped, the central bank said. The average gross bad-loan ratio may increase to 4.6 percent of total lending by September 2014 in a “baseline scenario,” the Reserve Bank of India said in a financial stability report posted on its website today. The ratio advanced to 4.2 percent as of Sept. 30 from 3.4 percent in March, the report showed. Read more of this post

The Men Who Would be King in 2014; The chemistry and momentum is clearly with a charismatic Modi but will he have the numbers to become India’s next prime minister?

The Men Who Would be King in 2014

by Rajdeep Sardesai | Dec 27, 2013

The chemistry and momentum is clearly with a charismatic Modi but will he have the numbers to become India’s next prime minister? For almost three decades, Sharad Pawar has been India’s prime minister-in-waiting. A few years ago, when journalists asked him if he had finally given up on his prime ministerial ambitions, the Maharashtra leader candidly admitted that with a party of less than 10 MPs, his chances for the top job were virtually nil. But then, he cheekily added, “If Deve Gowda can do it, I guess anyone can aspire to be prime minister!” Read more of this post

Saving Indonesia’s fisheries: Plenty more fish in the sea? The government tries to preserve a fecund part of the coral triangle

Saving Indonesia’s fisheries: Plenty more fish in the sea? The government tries to preserve a fecund part of the coral triangle

Dec 21st 2013 | ALILA TIMUR, ALOR ISLANDS | From the print edition

HE LEARNED to fish the turquoise-coloured seas of the Alor archipelago in eastern Indonesia from his father. But it is not a vocation Samsul Osman wants for his own four children. He says that these days traditional fishermen like himself must paddle their outrigger canoes far out to sea for a catch of skipjack tuna that sells for about 60,000 rupiah (about $5). Sometimes his family goes hungry. The other fishermen sitting cross-legged on the white sand at Alila Timur, where traders come to buy tuna to sell at the markets of Kalabahi, the islands’ sleepy capital, nod their heads. Fish stocks are dwindling. Read more of this post

Japan’s Sony has decided not to sell its lithium ion battery unit, in a gamble that it can turn the business around with a weak yen and growing demand for smartphone batteries

Updated: Monday December 30, 2013 MYT 10:12:28 AM

Sony to give up on sale of its battery unit

TOKYO: Japan’s Sony Corp has decided not to sell its lithium ion battery unit, media reported, in a gamble that it can turn the business around with a weak yen and growing demand for smartphone batteries. Read more of this post

Korean firms are taking steps to help children and grandchildren of their current chiefs or founders take over the businesses in the future.

2013-12-29 17:08

Power transfer taking shape at firms

By Choi Kyong-ae
The sons of Samsung Group and Hyundai Motor Group owners have been in the spotlight as heirs apparent in Korea’s business circles. Now the offspring of major food company leaders want to share the spotlight.   Read more of this post

Ssangyong revs up for fresh growth drive; Four years ago, as South Korean carmaker Ssangyong Motor teetered on the brink of insolvency, a court asked Lee Yoo-il – a former top executive at rival Hyundai – to take charge

December 30, 2013 5:18 am

Ssangyong revs up for fresh growth drive

By Simon Mundy in Seoul

Four years ago, as South Korean carmaker Ssangyong Motor  teetered on the brink of insolvency, a court asked Lee Yoo-il – a former top executive at rival Hyundai – to take charge. Mr Lee spent 10 days agonising over whether to take on the role of joint administrator at the jeep and SUV maker, which had suffered falling sales of its increasingly outdated models. Read more of this post

The South Korean currency appreciated against the yen by breaching the psychologically important level of 1,000 won for the first time in five years

2013-12-30 15:09

S. Korea’s currency breaches 1,000 won level per yen in five years

The South Korean currency appreciated against the yen by breaching the psychologically important level of 1,000 won for the first time in five years on Monday.
The local currency was trading at 1,001.81 per 100 yen as of 2:10 p.m., up 0.19 won from Friday’s close. Read more of this post

The cost of setting up Food Opera is around 15-20 percent higher than that of an ordinary Food Republic, which has emerged as largest food court chain in HK

Taste of glory
Imogene Wong
Monday, December 30, 2013

Foodie Jenson Ong Shin-hock turned his passion into a life-long career. Now the pioneering businessman is tasting success in the food atrium business well beyond his Singapore base. Read more of this post

Singapore’s Developers Move From Best to Worst: Southeast Asia

Singapore’s Developers Move From Best to Worst: Southeast Asia

Singapore’s developers posted the worst performance on the benchmark Straits Times Index (FSSTI) this year after recording the biggest gains in 2012 as property curbs drove home sales lower and slowed price gains. Read more of this post

When Fortress S’pore lost its aura

When Fortress S’pore lost its aura

Monday, December 30, 2013 – 08:52

Chua Mui Hoong

The Straits Times

If there is one word to sum up Singapore’s experience this year, it would be Vulnerability. 2013 is the year the People’s Action Party lost whatever it might have retained of the lustre of invincibility. Read more of this post

A year of maturation for S’pore

A year of maturation for S’pore

This year has been an eventful year of maturation for Singapore. The first half of the year began with the ruling People’s Action Party (PAP) losing its second consecutive by-election in 12 months.

BY DEVADAS KRISHNADAS –

5 HOURS 15 MIN AGO

This year has been an eventful year of maturation for Singapore. The first half of the year began with the ruling People’s Action Party (PAP) losing its second consecutive by-election in 12 months. Read more of this post

New Zealand’s cows come home in its own commodities boom

New Zealand’s cows come home in its own commodities boom

December 30, 2013 – 2:34PM

Michael Pascoe

It’s bad enough losing the rugby, but in 2014 Australians will have to suffer Kiwis getting uppity about their economy as well. While our economic growth is stuck around 2.5 per cent, there’s talk New Zealand could be doing double that by the middle of the year. Read more of this post

Rising cost a challenge to Malaysian property developers

Updated: Monday December 30, 2013 MYT 12:43:51 PM

Rising cost a challenge to developers

BY EUGENE MAHALINGAM

PETALING JAYA: Guocoland (M) Bhd sees the rising cost of development a growing challenge that is facing many developers within the local property sector. “The external market factors and Bank Negara’s stringent lending guidelines aside, the biggest factor will be the current rising cost of development,” said managing director Tan Lee Koon. Read more of this post

Turkey’s Economic Vulnerability Exposed as Graft Divides

Turkey’s Economic Vulnerability Exposed as Graft Divides

Turkey’s Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan enters the last week of 2013 reeling from a corruption probe that has splintered his party and highlighted economic vulnerabilities as investors unload the nation’s risk. Read more of this post

Turkey Biggest Loser in World Stocks as Erdogan Crisis Persists

Turkey Biggest Loser in World Stocks as Erdogan Crisis Persists

The mounting power struggle between Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the judiciary is turning the stock market into the world’s worst performer and driving the currency to unprecedented lows. Read more of this post

Stocks $3.7 Trillion Year Beats Bonds Most Ever as Funds Revive

Stocks $3.7 Trillion Year Beats Bonds Most Ever as Funds Revive

Five years after the equity bull market started, U.S. investors returned to stocks in 2013, just in time for the best relative returns versus bonds on record. Exchange-traded and mutual funds investing in shares took in about $162 billion, the most since 2000, according to data compiled by Bloomberg and the Investment Company Institute. At the same time, the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index (SPX) climbed 29 percent, beating government debt by 32 percentage points, the widest spread since at least 1978, according to data compiled by Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Bloomberg. Read more of this post

Stockpickers await their day with Godot; Will 2014 see the end of ‘risk-on, risk-off’ sentiment?

December 29, 2013 12:55 pm

Stockpickers await their day with Godot

By John Authers

Will 2014 see the end of ‘risk-on, risk-off’ sentiment? Will 2014 see the return of a stockpickers’ market? Investment managers have been waiting for it almost as long as Vladimir and Estragon waited for Godot. Year after year, at least since the credit crisis broke out in 2007, fund manager presentations have predicted an imminent end to the top-down waves of “risk-on” and “risk-off” sentiment that have driven all stocks together. This will give stockpickers the chance to shine. But it never happens. Read more of this post

New Kind of Stress Tests Big-Bank Outlook

New Kind of Stress Tests Big-Bank Outlook

DAVID REILLY

Dec. 29, 2013 7:55 p.m. ET

What is the endgame? That question is being raised more and more by bankers trying to assess the flood of new regulation continuing to wash over their firms. They will keep asking it in 2014 as even more rules are finalized and new ones crop up.

Read more of this post

Multinationals are now laying off or plan to let go of their workers globally amid a sluggish global economy

Multinationals laying off employees in China, elsewhere

Staff Reporter

2013-12-30

International firms are now laying off or plan to let go of their workers globally amid a sluggish global economy, according to the Beijing-based Economic Observer. A man, 52, going under the pseudonym Wang Jie, was one of the first employees at his multinational telecommunications equipment company to be let go two weeks ago. He understood the difficult situation his company was facing, but was still unable to accept the fact that he was fired after having worked with the firm since 1996. Read more of this post

Italy’s Chinese garment workshops boom as workers suffer

Italy’s Chinese garment workshops boom as workers suffer

5:11pm EST

By Silvia Aloisi

PRATO, Italy (Reuters) – Shen Jianhe lost both her job and home when Italian police shut down her garment factory in the Tuscan city of Prato. By day, the 38-year-old mother of four would sew trousers at one of the nearly 5,000 workshops run by Chinese immigrants in Prato, which largely turn out cheap clothing for fast-fashion companies in Italy and across Europe. Read more of this post

Immigrants are 13% of the U.S. population, but they make up nearly 20% of the owners of small businesses

More Immigration Means More Jobs for Americans

Immigrants are 13% of the U.S. population, but they make up nearly 20% of the owners of small businesses.

JOHN DEARIE And COURTNEY GEDULDIG

Updated Dec. 29, 2013 6:24 p.m. ET

Congress may be on recess, but top Republicans are signaling that 2014 could be crucial for immigration reform. On Dec. 16, Rep. Paul Ryan (R., Wis.) said in a radio interview that the U.S. immigration system is “broken” and “indefensible” and that he will support reform as long as it “maintains Republican, conservative principles.” Speaker of the HouseJohn Boehner  seems to agree: The Ohio Republican recently hired a longtime immigration advocate as an adviser, after stating in November that reform is “absolutely not” dead. Read more of this post

France’s Hollande Gets Court Approval for 75% Millionaire Tax

France’s Hollande Gets Court Approval for 75% Millionaire Tax

French President Francois Hollande received approval from the country’s constitutional court to proceed with his plan to tax salaries above 1 million euros at 75 percent for this year and next. Read more of this post

Economic fears expose Laos’ unequal boom

Economic fears expose Laos’ unequal boom

Mon, Dec 23 2013

By Aubrey Belford and Amy Sawitta Lefevre

VIENTIANE (Reuters) – For the Communists running Laos, the fruits of capitalism have never been so bountiful. The Nam Phou fountain at the heart of the torpid capital, Vientiane, has transformed from a relic into a neon-lit phantasmagoria, surrounded by expensive restaurants. On the increasingly congested roads, the elite car choice is a Range Rover or, failing that, a Lexus. Read more of this post

Bitcoin Buys Burgers to Beer as Shoppers Go Virtual

Bitcoin Buys Burgers to Beer as Shoppers Go Virtual

What do a street-van burger, a wedding bouquet and a Beatles album have in common? They’re all on a growing list of products shoppers can buy over the counter using the virtual currency Bitcoin. Read more of this post

Accounting standards: The Tower of Babel; Notion of single accounting language is not progressing smoothly

December 29, 2013 5:24 pm

Accounting standards: The Tower of Babel

Notion of single accounting language is not progressing smoothly

The Tower of Babel, with its one-tongue culture, was a good idea that ended badly. The notion of a single accounting language – which should have similar appeal for investors – has not yet incurred divine wrath. But it is not progressing smoothly, either. International Financial Reporting Standards (or their predecessor rules) arrived in the early-1970s. Their usage took a big step forward when they became mandatory for EU-listed companies eight years ago. Today, they are deployed in more than 100 countries. Read more of this post

Britain must look beyond London and put faith in manufacturing

Britain must look beyond London and put faith in manufacturing

Redressing the balance of wealth to benefit the regions beyond the south-east is a big challenge – but one that must be met

The Observer, Sunday 29 December 2013

This month has seen further confirmation of Britain’s economic recoveryand an indictment of that recovery’s composition. If 2013 has brought some form of revival, then we must wish that 2014 brings balance to it. The evidence that this country’s return to growth is out of kilter was threefold. First, never-before-seen data showed that south-west London had more mortgage debt than all of Wales. The capital is at the centre of a housing market revival that is powering the recovery, while the rest of the UK trails in its wake. Indeed, 44% of all mortgage debt in the country is held by people in London and the south-east, areas which account for nearly 40% of British GDP. Read more of this post