Icelander goes into currency cyberspace, central bank frowns

Icelander goes into currency cyberspace, central bank frowns

Tue, Mar 25 2014

By Robert Robertsson

REYKJAVIK (Reuters) – Iceland grew a little richer on Tuesday, at least in cyberspace, with the launch of a virtual currency its pseudonymous founder hopes will circumvent the island’s capital controls and eventually replace the crown. Read more of this post

GM’s new recall risk – the spare parts market

Exclusive: GM’s new recall risk – the spare parts market

4:19pm EDT

By Ben Klayman, Marilyn Thompson and Julia Edwards

DETROIT/WASHINGTON (Reuters) – As General Motors Co recalls 1.6 million vehicles that have defective ignition switches linked to at least 12 deaths, it faces another potential risk – this time in the spare parts market. Read more of this post

U.S. to require casinos to vet high rollers’ funds – sources

Exclusive: U.S. to require casinos to vet high rollers’ funds – sources

3:33pm EDT

By Brett Wolf

ST. LOUIS (Reuters) – U.S. casinos may soon have to vet where their high rollers’ funds come from under a requirement being developed by the U.S. Treasury Department, according to two people familiar with the matter. Read more of this post

Chinese airlines caught in forex crosswinds as Beijing eases grip on yuan

Chinese airlines caught in forex crosswinds as Beijing eases grip on yuan

5:03pm EDT

By Fang Yan and Matthew Miller

BEIJING (Reuters) – Chinese airlines, already grappling with half-empty premier cabins due to Beijing’s austerity drive, will be tested next in their ability to hedge against currency risks as China looks set to allow greater two-way swings in the yuan. Read more of this post

What Counts at China’s Banks

What Counts at China’s Banks

AARON BACK

March 26, 2014 9:02 a.m. ET

China’s widely loathed bank shares got a boost after one of the biggest state-owned lenders reported decent earnings. But a sustained rally won’t be possible until transparency improves. Read more of this post

China’s Long Road to Shale-Gas Boom

Mar 26, 2014

China’s Long Road to Shale-Gas Boom

Eric Yep

The development of China’s shale-gas industry has moved forward over the past year, but far more remains to be done than has been accomplished if the nation’s ambitious production targets are to be met, according to executives attending an energy conference here. Read more of this post

After the public backlash over a court’s decision to allow a disgraced chaebol owner to pay off a 25.4 billion won ($23.5 million) fine by spending 49 days in a prison labor house making tofu

A day’s work for 500 million won?

Mar 26,2014

A former corporate kingpin who used to run the largest business group in Gwangju and South Jeolla before the conglomerate fell apart in 2010 returned to Korea over the weekend to comply with a local court order to work off his massive fines. The former chairman fled to New Zealand to dodge hefty fines after he was convicted of embezzlement and tax evasion. Read more of this post

Zhejiang Xingrun’s collapse highlights property sector risk

Zhejiang Xingrun’s collapse highlights property sector risk

Xinhua

2014-03-26

The insolvency of a property developer in east China’s Zhejiang province has shed light on the risk in the country’s formerly red-hot real estate sector. Read more of this post

Cracks Appear as Shanxi Steel Firm Builds Up Big Debt

03.21.2014 15:45

Cracks Appear as Shanxi Steel Firm Builds Up Big Debt

Highsee Iron and Steel Group could be up to 20 billion yuan in the red, and owe as much as 3 billion yuan to Minsheng Bank Read more of this post

S. Korea ‘bureaucracy risk’ derails economic innovation

S. Korea ‘bureaucracy risk’ derails economic innovation

2014.03.26 17:51:09

The ‘bureaucracy risk’ is re-surfacing in South Korea. President Park Geun-hye continues to call for a three-year economic innovation plan and regulation reform, but civil servants at the central and local governments who are in charge of implementing such plan and reform still remain mired in outdated practices.  Read more of this post

Childcare operator G8 Education has broken its own rules on how much it is willing to pay for new centres, buying 91 from Sterling Early Education for $228 million

Jessica Gardner Reporter

G8 Education breaks its own rules to buy 91 childcare centres

Published 25 March 2014 12:53, Updated 26 March 2014 10:55

Childcare operator G8 Education has broken its own rules on how much it is willing to pay for new centres, buying 91 from Sterling Early Education for $228 million, just a week after Sterling’s float was pulled. Read more of this post

Report: Researchers Are Becoming Too Obsessed with Chasing Pageviews

Report: Researchers Are Becoming Too Obsessed with Chasing Pageviews

JASON KOEBLER

@jason_koeblerjasontpkoebler@gmail.com

March 21, 2014 // 04:10 PM EST

An urge to publish in one of several high profile academic journals is causing a “mania” that has caused scientists to focus on publishing newsworthy studiesinstead of focusing on doing good science, according to a new paper. Read more of this post

France’s Greatest Strength Might Just Be Leaving France

France’s Greatest Strength Might Just Be Leaving France

Posted 17 hours ago by Romain Dillet (@romaindillet)

“The attraction of the American revolution transported me suddenly to my place. I felt myself tranquil only when sailing between the continent whose powers I had braved.”
—Lafayette, Letter to the Bailli de Ploën. Read more of this post

Banks in Chinese city show stacks of cash to reassure depositors

Banks in Chinese city show stacks of cash to reassure depositors

3:33am EDT

By John Ruwitch

YANCHENG, China (Reuters) – Rural banks in China’s eastern city of Yancheng stacked piles of cash in plain view behind teller windows to calm depositors queuing at bank branches for a third straight day on Wednesday following rumors that they had run out of cash. Read more of this post

Getting Emerging Markets’ Goats; The goats are forced to rely on foreign-money inflows to fill their current-account holes; The goats include the fragile five of Brazil, India, Indonesia, South Africa and Turkey, Argentina

Getting Emerging Markets’ Goats

By A. Gary Shilling on 06:27 pm Mar 25, 2014

(JG Graphics/Josep Tri Ronggo Laksono)

Since the US Federal Reserve began talking about tapering its bond purchases last year, investors have been forced to separate the emerging-market sheep — those with well-managed economies — from the goats, with their poorly run economies. Read more of this post

Hong Kong listed stock darling Magnum Entertainment night clubs with iconic gold toilets issued a profit warning

A message from Mr Yip Mow Lum…

Paul Murphy

| Mar 25 10:30 | 2 comments | Share

He’s the chairman of just-and-so Hong Kong listed Magnum Entertainment and here’s the news:

PROFIT WARNING

…The board of directors of the Company (the “Board”) wishes to inform shareholders of the Company (the “Shareholders”) and potential investors that, based on a preliminary review of the unaudited management accounts of the Group for the eleven months ended 28 February 2014, the Group recorded a substantial decrease in profit for the eleven months ended 28 February 2014 and it is expected to record a loss for the year ending 31 March 2014… Read more of this post

Turquoise – still the colour of money in Mongolia?

Turquoise — still the colour of money in Mongolia?

Dan McCrum | Mar 25 13:25 | 2 comments | Share

Decision time approaches for Mongolia, Rio Tinto and Turquoise Hill on Oyu Tolgoi, the enormous copper mining project that could one day represent about a third of the landlocked nation’s economy. Read more of this post

As Brics Economies Grow Up, 10 Upstarts Emerge: Report

As Brics Economies Grow Up, 10 Upstarts Emerge: Report

By Agence France-Presse on 01:20 pm Mar 26, 2014

1.  Indonesia, Bangladesh and Ethiopia are among 10 countries set to take over as emerging economies from the powerful Brics nations as they struggle with growing pains, a French credit body said on Tuesday.

Read more of this post

Zombie hordes thrive, await further hedge fund corpses

Zombie hordes thrive, await further hedge fund corpses

Dan McCrum | Mar 25 10:14 | 4 comments | Share

Part of the NO ALTERNATIVE: THE ZOMBIE HEDGE FUND INDUSTRY SERIES

Close to a tenth of all hedge funds tracked by HFR succumbed to the inevitable last year as 904 hedge funds liquidated.

Their historic performance will live on in the databases of hedge fund returns, but like more than two-thirds of all hedge funds that have ever existed, they are dead, defunct and arguing with their investors over valuations for those lingering illiquid assets. Read more of this post

Bonds are security blanket for investors; Fixed income plays important role in buffering risk in portfolios

March 26, 2014 6:00 am

Bonds are security blanket for investors

By Richard Madigan

Fixed income plays important role in buffering risk in portfolios

Investor patience has been tested this year. While that impatience has translated into higher asset class volatility, it is important to separate the noise coming from event risk, disparate macroeconomic data and fundamentals. Read more of this post

Modi’s silence on crony capitalism speaks volumes; Narendra Modi has said worryingly little on how he would tackle crony capitalism

March 26, 2014 2:40 am

Modi’s silence on crony capitalism speaks volumes

By James Crabtree

Narendra Modi has said worryingly little on how he would tackle crony capitalism

It is not hard to see why hopes are rising in India Inc. Polls suggest opposition leader Narendra Modi will win out in forthcoming general elections. If so, he will arrive in New Delhi brandishing a reputation that is both pro-business and anti-corruption. That combination has already sent markets soaring. Read more of this post

Partners Group, one of Europe’s largest private equity fund managers, is reorganising itself to operate more independently from its founders

March 25, 2014 6:01 pm

Founders hand more independence to Partners Group

By Anne-Sylvaine Chassany in London

Partners Group, one of Europe’s largest private equity fund managers, is reorganising itself to operate more independently from its founders. Read more of this post

China’s struggle for a new economy; When a superb horse meets a high obstacle, the odds are on the horse. But even the best may fail

March 25, 2014 4:07 pm

China’s struggle for a new economy

By Martin Wolf

When a superb horse meets a high obstacle, the odds are on the horse. But even the best may fail

Read more of this post

Indian election: Generational shift; Young people are switching from Congress to the BJP, which has promised to create 10m jobs

March 25, 2014 6:25 pm

Indian election: Generational shift

By Amy Kazmin

Young people are switching from Congress to the BJP, which has promised to create 10m jobs

The son of an uneducated subsistence farmer in India’s Hindi heartland, Anil Kumar Bahe, 25, watched as his parents faithfully voted for the Congress party, which casts itself as the champion of poor families such as his. But in India’s upcoming parliamentary election, Mr Bahe, who is completing a postgraduate degree in chemistry, plans to break from his family’s political tradition. Read more of this post

Spooked by defaults, China banks begin retreat from risk

Spooked by defaults, China banks begin retreat from risk

Tue, Mar 25 2014

* Companies with elevated debt report lower credit caps, higher rates

* High debt firms talk of more scrutiny, documentation required

* Little change in funding conditions for profitable, less indebted firms Read more of this post

SGX site is now counter-intuitive; The latest design changes are a step back, and the exchange should take a serious look at further improving its site

PUBLISHED MARCH 26, 2014

SGX site is now counter-intuitive

CAI HAOXIANG

The latest design changes are a step back, and the exchange should take a serious look at further improving its site.

USUALLY, an upgrade or revamp is good news because it makes everybody’s lives easier. We get upgraded smartphones with bigger screens and faster processing power, for example, so we waste less time accessing applications, squint less at words and images, and are better distracted by smoothly streaming Korean dramas on the train ride to the office. Read more of this post

S’pore startups find new partnerships to survive competition in China; “We didn’t know that in China there were so many similar products, which have already been launched and commercialised in the market.”

S’pore startups find new partnerships to survive competition in China

By Valarie Tan 
POSTED: 26 Mar 2014 14:39
Singapore startups hoping to expand in China are often faced with stiff competition from local rivals, but some are finding new partnerships to survive in the market. Read more of this post

IASB Tackles Corporate Disclosures rules aimed at preventing companies from overwhelming investors with useless information

March 25, 2014, 1:55 PM ET

IASB Tackles Corporate Disclosures

EMILY CHASAN

Senior Editor

International accounting rule makers on Tuesday proposed changes to corporate disclosure rules aimed at preventing companies from overwhelming investors with useless information. Read more of this post

How America Loses a Job Every 43 Seconds; For every immigrant hired at technology companies, an average of five additional employees are added as well

How America Loses a Job Every 43 Seconds

For every immigrant hired at technology companies, an average of five additional employees are added as well.

MATTHEW J. SLAUGHTER

March 25, 2014 6:53 p.m. ET

The first of next month is a big day for the U.S., and not because it’s April Fools’ Day. April 1 is when the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services begins accepting new H-1B visa petitions for 2015. Read more of this post