To Lift Hong Kong Park, Disney Deploys Iron Man; Disney has 11 major parks worldwide that recorded 126.5 million visitors last year and delivered profit of $1.9 billion

October 8, 2013

To Lift Hong Kong Park, Disney Deploys Iron Man

By BROOKS BARNES and KEITH BRADSHER

HONG KONG — Iron Man has proved his might at the Chinese box office. Now Disney is betting that the Marvel superhero has enough muscle to complete a turnaround at its underperforming theme park here — a task of crucial importance as the company hurtles toward the opening of a mega-resort in Shanghai. An Iron Man-themed thrill ride, photo pavilion and shopping area will open at Hong Kong Disneyland in late 2016, said Thomas O. Staggs, Disney’s theme park chairman. The Iron Man Experience, which analysts say will cost at least $100 million, will be Disney’s first ride based on Marvel. Disney bought the comic book company for about $4 billion in 2009.

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Rolls-Royce sees Asia’s desire for luxury driving growth

Rolls-Royce sees Asia’s desire for luxury driving growth

3:02am EDT

By John O‘Callaghan

SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Phantoms, Ghosts and now Wraiths are stalking the streets of Asia and Torsten Mueller-Oetvoes, the chief executive of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, could not be more pleased. The top-end car maker, a unit of Germany’s BMW AG (BMWG.DE: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), still sees untapped potential in China – its No. 2 market after the United States – but hot spots in Asia include Japan, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam, Mueller-Oetvoes said. Read more of this post

Over 100 Korean SMEs are likely to be put under court- or creditor-led debt restructuring programs as the result of credit crunches at some big firms

2013-10-07 17:52

Over 100 SMEs may be up for forced restructuring

By Na Jeong-ju
Over 100 small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are likely to be put under court- or creditor-led debt restructuring programs as the result of credit crunches at some big firms. The Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) is currently evaluating default risks of some 1,100 SMEs jointly with their creditor banks. Most of them are involved in the construction, real estate, shipbuilding and shipping businesses, which have remained in a protracted slump. Read more of this post

Rich Korean consumers spend big on pricey hobby supplies

Rich consumers spend big on pricey hobby supplies

2013/10/08 11:52

SEOUL, Oct. 8 (Yonhap) — Sales of ultra-high priced hobby supplies, including high-end cameras, are sharply increasing at local department stores, hinting that consumer sentiment is picking up, local department stores said Tuesday. Hyundai Department Store, South Korea’s third largest department store chain, said the monthly average sales of Leica cameras, whose price per unit ranges from 10 million won (US$9,315) to 20 million won, came to 110 million won between August and September. Read more of this post

Fast-food restaurants in Korea are increasing drive-throughs as demand for the convenient service is growing in line with a rise in car ownership. Out of McDonald’s 311 restaurants in Korea, 114 have drive-throughs

2013-10-07 18:18

More stores embrace drive-through sales

By Park Ji-won
Fast-food restaurants are increasing drive-throughs as demand for the convenient service is growing in line with a rise in car ownership. American fast-food franchise McDonald’s had 311 restaurants in Korea as of Sept. 17, 114 of which have drive-throughs. It has been increasing its drive-throughs since 2010, opening 22 of them this year. Read more of this post

India’s audacious plan to bring mobile payments to the masses: pair them with a national ID card; the biggest selling point of the cards is that they will reduce the scope for corrupt officials to skim off welfare payments

India’s audacious plan to bring mobile payments to the masses: pair them with a national ID card

By Leo Mirani @lmirani October 7, 2013

For three years now India has been rolling out a biometric national ID card called Aadhar, or “foundation”. It is an apt name. The plan is to issue one of these to every man, woman and child living in India, with the stated aim not of surveilling them (the cards are not mandatory) but for the purposes of improving record-keeping, decreasing corruption and ensuring that all Indians have access to government services. Debate rages over whether the scheme will fulfil its goals, become a white elephant, or lay the foundation for a dystopic bureaucracy, something India is all too good at. Read more of this post

Indonesia too reliant on foreign funds: Moody’s

RI too reliant on foreign funds: Moody’s

Satria Sambijantoro, The Jakarta Post, Nusa Dua, Bali | Business | Mon, October 07 2013, 12:06 PM

Indonesia’s excessive reliance on foreign funds has prevented the country from earning the “positive” rating outlook that its neighbor the Philippines recently received, according to Moody’s Investors Service. The international rating agency said that the APEC members that had enjoyed robust growth over the last few years were facing new challenges due to weak exports stemming from the subdued recovery in Europe and the US, as well as the resurgence of volatility in global financial market due to the anticipated tapering of the Federal Reserve’s quantitative easing policy. Read more of this post

Shinzo Abe interview: ‘I am convinced our road is the only way’

October 7, 2013 7:31 pm

Shinzo Abe interview: ‘I am convinced our road is the only way’

By David Pilling and Jonathan Soble

Japan’s leader is basking in his economic plan’s initial gains but admits tough reforms lie ahead

There is a confidence, almost a swagger, about Shinzo Abe. After 10 months in office, the good news just keeps coming. Since Japan’s prime minister launched his “Abenomics” plan to reflate the economy, inflation is up, the yen is down and share prices are higher by nearly two-thirds. In the first half of this year, Japan grew at a pace of roughly 4 per cent, making it the best performing Group of Seven economy by some way. Business confidence is at a seven-year high and Mr Abe’s popularity rating is above 60 per cent. Victory for his party in July’s Upper House elections means, barring the unexpected, he should be in power until at least 2016 – nothing to sniff at in a country where recent prime ministers have come and gone without trace. Read more of this post

Japan’s retailers struggle despite stimulus

Japan’s retailers struggle despite stimulus
Tuesday, October 8, 2013
By Ritsuko Shimizu, Reuters

TOKYO–Cashmere sweaters at Uniqlo. Gourmet coffee and ice cream at 7-Eleven. These incongruously premium offerings by two of Japan’s biggest retailers are part of a strategy to lift profit margins by enticing thrifty shoppers to splurge on little luxuries. Uniqlo brand owner Fast Retailing and Seven & I Holdings Co., Ltd. plans to boost spending per customer are being challenged as Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s aggressive economic stimulus has done little to loosen the purse strings of Japan’s traditionally frugal consumers. Read more of this post

Taiwn biotech produces next-gen paper cups that provide resistance against high temperatures, acid and alkaline solutions, with some beverage chain stores already using them

Taiwn biotech produces next-gen paper cups

CNA 2013-10-08

Cup developer Chang Ching-wen with his new product. (Photo/CNA)

A biotechnology company in Taichung, central Taiwan has developed paper cups that provide resistance against high temperatures, acid and alkaline solutions, with some beverage chain stores already using them, the company owner said Monday. Taiwan uses about 200 million paper cups a month and the safety of food containers has attracted concern after it was reported that a major Taichung supplier of paper food containers had been found using toxic solvent to wipe excess ink off its food containers. Read more of this post

Terry Gou touts Hon Hai’s evolution as it has adopted an innovative business model that ranges from supplying key components to serving the end user

Terry Gou touts Hon Hai’s evolution at APEC summit

CNA 2013-10-08

Terry Gou at the APEC summit. (Photo/CNA)

Hon Hai Precision Industry, the world’s largest contract electronics manufacturer, has adopted an innovative business model that ranges from supplying key components to serving the end user, said Hon Hai chairman Terry Gou on Monday. He called the model “IIDM,” or Integration Innovation Design Manufacture, singling out integrated innovation as the capability that a company needs to stand out in the current age of technological revolution. Read more of this post

Young Chinese shunning factory jobs, says Foxconn founder; “The young generation don’t want to work in factories, they want to work in services or the internet or another more easy and relaxed job”

Last updated: October 7, 2013 11:13 pm

Young Chinese shunning factory jobs, says Foxconn founder

By Ben Bland in Nusa Dua, Bali and Sarah Mishkin in Taipei

Young people across China are increasingly shunning monotonous, low-paid assembly line jobs, leaving Foxconn, the maker of iPhones and iPads, struggling to attract enough workers, according to the electronics manufacturer’s chairman. Terry Gou, founder of the company which is China’s largest private employer, says he is upgrading Foxconn’s training programs and automating more of its assembly lines in the face of a labour shortage. “The young generation don’t want to work in factories, they want to work in services or the internet or another more easy and relaxed job,” he said on the sidelines of a meeting of Asian business and political leaders in Bali, Indonesia. Read more of this post

Huayi Bros’ Wang Zhongjun living his own fairytale

Huayi Bros’ Wang Zhongjun living his own fairytale

Staff Reporter

2013-10-08

Wang Zhongjun, founder of Huayi Brothers Media. (Photo/CNS)

In China’s entertainment and capital industry circles, few can compare with Wang Zhongjun, chairman of Shenzhen-listed film company Huayi Brothers Media, a media industry source once said. Wang, born in Beijing in 1960, has served in the military, studied overseas and worked as a magazine publisher and photographer; he founded Huayi Brothers Media with his younger brother Wang Zhonglei in 1994, marking the start of his journey to develop a media empire. Some of his fans like his extravagant lifestyle but others have criticized as a wily and arrogant businessman. He reportedly owns seven large mansions and two European-style villas in suburban Beijing, in addition to numerous limousines. Read more of this post

China’s National Day travel madness exposes paid leave taboo

China’s National Day travel madness exposes paid leave taboo

Staff Reporter

2013-10-08

While it seems a given that governments should should create practical and adequate conditions that allow employees to enjoy their vacation days, China faces unique cultural pressures that leave many in the office year-round. An important step to take would be staggering employee vacations, according to a report in Chinese-language news portal QQ.com. People who work in Western countries usually use their paid leave to take vacations, as they do not get several consecutive days off for national holidays. In China, however, people are used to taking vacations and making trips during national holidays such as the Golden Week National Day and the Spring festival Lunar New Year holiday since they are given several consecutive days off at the time, said the report. Read more of this post

Beijing’s anti-monopoly law finally begins to bite

Beijing’s anti-monopoly law finally begins to bite

Staff Reporter

2013-10-08

China’s anti-monopoly law has been in place for five years, but its full impact has not been felt until recently, according to Guangzhou’s Southern Weekly. The government increased the number of fines issued to companies violating the law this year, breaking new records with the total fines rising from 144 million yuan (US$23.4 million) in January to 247 million yuan (US$40.2 million) in February. As of August, the rise stood at 670 million yuan (US$108.9 million), the paper said. Read more of this post

The Pratt family appears set for a $500 million lift following reports that family member Raphael Geminder is considering a $2 billion float of his fully-owned packaging business, Pact Group

Andrew Heathcote Rich Lists editor

Proposed Pact Group float to give $500 million boost to Pratt family’s wealth

Published 07 October 2013 11:20, Updated 08 October 2013 07:12

The wider Pratt family’s Rich 200 valuation could be set for a boost if Pact’s IPO goes ahead.

The Pratt family appears set for a $500 million lift following reports that family member Raphael Geminder is considering a $2 billion float of his fully-owned packaging business, Pact Group. The Australian Financial Review has reported that Geminder has appointed Credit Suisse and Macquarie Capital to explore options for a float. The suggested $2 billion valuation is $500 million more than the value placed on it by BRW in its determination of this year’s Rich 200 rankings. Anthony Pratt & family ranked fourth on the Rich 200 with $5.95 billion, just $50 million behind third ranked James Packer. Read more of this post

Canada’s Saputo to take over Australian dairy producer Warrnambool for A$392.7m

Canada’s Saputo to take over Australian dairy producer Warrnambool

Mon, Oct 7 2013

SYDNEY (Reuters) – Saputo Inc (SAP.TO: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), Canada’s largest dairy producer, will acquire Warrnambool Cheese and Butter Factory Company Holdings Ltd (WCB.AX: Quote,Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) in a deal valuing Australia’s oldest dairy processor at A$392.7 million ($370.10 million). Saputo, which operates in Canada, the United States and Argentina, has been looking at Australia as a platform to expand its global presence and tap growing demand in Asia’s emerging markets. Warrnambool, whose brands include the Sungold Milk range of fresh milk, supplies dairy products to both domestic and international customers. Read more of this post

Commodity hedge funds face bleak future

October 6, 2013 4:22 am

Commodity hedge funds face bleak future

By Madison Marriage

The commodity hedge fund industry is likely to come under greater pressure as weak performance and waning client interest forces major funds to close. The latest victim of this trend is Clive Capital, once one of the world’s largest commodity hedge funds, which last month announced it would wind down and return $1bn to investors. This follows the closure of a number of well-known commodity funds over the past two years, including Arbalet, Bluegold, Centaurus and Fortress. Read more of this post

The Netherworld of What Constitutes Insider Trading

OCTOBER 7, 2013, 11:01 AM

The Netherworld of What Constitutes Insider Trading

By PETER J. HENNING

Identifying insider trading sometimes seems like a game of three-card monte: first you see it, then you don’t. A recent settlement by Citigroup with a Massachusetts regulator over leaking internal research to clients raises question about when such disclosure crosses the line into insider trading. Citigroup agreed to a consent order entered by the Massachusetts Securities Division requiring it to pay a $30 million penalty after it failed to have proper procedures in place to protect against the early release of research by the firm’s analysts. Read more of this post

No Way U.S. Would Allow Debt Default? Don’t Bet on It

OCTOBER 7, 2013, 9:01 PM

No Way U.S. Would Allow Debt Default? Don’t Bet on It

By ANDREW ROSS SORKIN

“The United States government is not going to default, ever.” That’s what Vincent Reinhart, former head of the Federal Reserve’s monetary division and now managing director and chief United States economist for Morgan Stanley, said late last week. “As political theater,” he said, “the debt ceiling is not a useful threat, because politicians are basically threatening to shoot themselves, as they will rightly shoulder the blame for the serious global economic consequences of a default.” Read more of this post

US default fears spark liquidity warning; America cannot live so carelessly forever; Playing Russian roulette is never advisable. Congress may find a bullet in the chamber this time

October 7, 2013 7:37 pm

US default fears spark liquidity warning

By Gina Chon and Stephanie Kirchgaessner in Washington and Michael MacKenzie in New York

Financial firms trading in US Treasury securities are preparing contingency plans in the event of a debt default, as experts warn that such a scenario could result in a catastrophic liquidity drain. “This would be an unprecedented event and the consequences for the market are dangerously unpredictable,” says Rob Toomey, associate general counsel at Sifma, a lobby group representing hundreds of securities firms, banks and asset managers that has drawn up plans for a coordinated strategy. “I think all the work in the world will not save us from uncertainty.” Read more of this post

DE Shaw shuts doors to new investors; Traditional hedge fund strategies not as profitable as before

Last updated: October 7, 2013 5:42 pm

Hedge fund DE Shaw shuts doors to new investors

By Sam Jones, Hedge Fund Correspondent

One of the most profitable hedge funds has closed its doors to new clients, calling time on the industry’s ability to square vast inflows of money with the promise of market-beating returns. DE Shaw’s move means that of the largest six hedge funds, only two, the UK’s Man Group and the US firm Och-Ziff, are still accepting cash into their flagship funds. Many traditional hedge fund strategies have become far less profitable due to quantitative easing, bank deleveraging and a tail-off in corporate dealmaking. Read more of this post

Journalist Who Proposed US-Canada Merger Explains Why Her Plan Isn’t Crazy

Journalist Who Proposed US-Canada Merger Explains Why Her Plan Isn’t Crazy

ADAM TAYLOR OCT. 7, 2013, 5:40 PM 5,820 37

Since the publication of her book calling for a merger between the U.S. and Canada, Diane Francis has been showered on Twitter and elsewhere with some not-too-kind reactions. One person called it a “loony idea,” while another wrote that they had to check the calender to see if it was April Fool’s Day. “You, Madam, are a traitor!” another man wrote, before more succinctly explaining his position in a one word follow up tweet: “TREASON!” But her book, “Merger of the Century: Why Canada and America Should Become One Country,” is meant to generate serious debate. Read more of this post

Here’s The Real S&P 500 Chart That No One Ever Talks About

Here’s The Real S&P 500 Chart That No One Ever Talks About

J.C. PARETS, ALL STAR CHARTS OCT. 7, 2013, 1:42 PM 3,386 5

As market participants we look at charts every day for a variety of reasons. But whether we’re doing so for idea generation, risk management or entry/exit points, we’re charting to go out there and try to make money. Other times, however, looking at longer-term charts just helps to put things in perspective. With the day-to-day noise out there coming from the government, media and investing public, sometimes it’s important to bring in a longer-term view to supplement our short-term outlook. Here is a chart of the S&P500 adjusted for inflation using the Consumer Price Index, which is released monthly by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. What still stands out to me is the consistency of the lower lows and lower highs since the year 2000. Hardly the uptrend and bull market that we hear about so often. You rarely see a chart like this because the “all-time high” headlines are so much sexier. No one likes to add the,“But in real terms we’re still far from it”. Who wants to buy a newspaper that says that? I know I wouldn’t. But fortunately I’m not in that business and I can share with you guys any chart I want. And I think it’s important that when I speak with investors, they understand how in Real terms, not only is the S&P500 not at all-time highs, but actually down 20% over the last 13.5 years. It’s all about purchasing power isn’t it? Or in this case, the lack there of?

Asia’s Crisis of Leadership

Asia’s Crisis of Leadership

The day Asian leaders have long dreaded is here: The era of rapid growth is over.

It has taken five years, but the fallout from what Asians call the “Lehman shock” is finally hitting gross domestic product and living standards. These risks are the talk of Bali, where Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation nations are mulling what to do about a world where “risks remain tilted to the downside.” There, Michael Taylor, chief credit officer for Asia at Moody’s Investors Service, said chaotic markets and a slow recovery in advanced nations is driving a “change in the economic cycle” that makes sustaining growth in the region “more challenging.” Read more of this post