BlackRock’s Fink has privately warned big companies that dividends and buybacks that activists favor may create quick returns at the expense of long-term investment

BlackRock’s Fink Sounds the Alert

DAVID BENOIT and LIZ HOFFMAN

Updated March 25, 2014 6:45 p.m. ET

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Australia Backs Away From Proposed Director-Tenure Cap

Australia Backs Away From Proposed Director-Tenure Cap

Guideline Would Have Encouraged Companies to Limit Independent Directors’ Terms to Nine Years

ROSS KELLY

Updated March 25, 2014 7:28 a.m. ET

SYDNEY—Australia backed down from plans to encourage companies to limit the tenure of independent directors, a move that risks making the country appear softer than others on corporate-governance standards.

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“Too Big to Fail’ Is Precise Enough

‘Too Big to Fail’ Is Precise Enough

DAVID REILLY

March 25, 2014 5:10 p.m. ET

Warren Buffett sometimes uses a story to highlight the folly of trying to be overly precise. Speaking of a person who weighs between 300 pounds and 325 pounds, the legendary investor says the exact weight isn’t what matters; the point is simply that the person is fat. Read more of this post

Singapore firms making inroads into Myanmar

Singapore firms making inroads into Myanmar

Wednesday, Mar 26, 2014

Looi Jo-anne

The Business Times

When Singapore firm AKDA Architects first ventured into Myanmar more than two years ago, many were sceptical. Back then, Myanmar’s first civilian government had barely taken office in a historical move towards democracy and the opening up of its market to the outside world was slow and fraught with uncertainties. Read more of this post

LG, GS, LS owners enjoy dividend bonanza

LG, GS, LS owners enjoy dividend bonanza

Wednesday, Mar 26, 2014

The Korea Herald/Asia News Network

About half of Asia’s listed companies are family-run businesses, according to an analysis performed by Credit Suisse last year.

And these companies were found to have been quite lucrative, as the family-owned corporations from 10 major Asian countries accounted for 32 per cent of the total market value of the region. Read more of this post

China official urges calm as depositors again queue outside rural banks

China official urges calm as depositors again queue outside rural banks

10:26pm EDT

By John Ruwitch

YANCHENG, China (Reuters) – A Chinese county official appealed for calm among bank depositors in the eastern city of Yancheng on Wednesday as queues formed for a third straight day outside the branches of two small banks rumored to be in financial trouble. Read more of this post

Sovereign funds wary of hidden emerging market exposure: Templeton

Sovereign funds wary of hidden emerging market exposure: Templeton

12:35pm EDT

By Natsuko Waki

LONDON (Reuters) – Sovereign wealth funds see emerging market turbulence as a long term buying opportunity, but are wary of excessive exposure via some of their Western holdings such as luxury goods makers, a top investment official at Franklin Templeton said. Read more of this post

Managing Berkshire Hathaway by Committee?

Managing Berkshire Hathaway by Committee? by David Merkel, CFA of Aleph Blog

While reading about portfolio companies today, I ended up reading this piece about Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE:BRK.A) (BRK.B)  Not that great of an article, and it got worse when I read this:

Then there is the big question, “Who will replace Warren Buffett (Trades, Portfolio)?” He is now 83 years old. There is no official word on who will take over, but in his letters to shareholders he takes time to praise many of the investment managers working for him. The current consensus seems to be that Berkshire will be run by committee. The company has plenty of assets and superior management, so it should continue to operate efficiently. [emphasis mine] Read more of this post

As liquid-alt mutual funds proliferate, some question their value

As liquid-alt mutual funds proliferate, some question their value

By Jeff Benjamin   |  March 25, 2014 – 10:40 am EST

When the news broke this month that $24 billion hedge fund firm Grosvenor Capital Management was breaking out of its otherwise secretive shell with plans to launch a registered alternative strategy mutual fund, it was generally interpreted as just the latest evidence of a continuing trend. Read more of this post

A growing number of companies are embracing sustainable business practices by becoming Certified B Corporations

March 25, 2014

CFO.com | US

B Prepared

A growing number of companies are embracing sustainable business practices by becoming Certified B Corporations.

Marielle Segarra

This is one of three articles in a special report on how companies are getting graded on sustainability. Here are the others: Read more of this post

5 Reasons Why Chinese “Stimulus” Hopes Are Overdone

5 Reasons Why Chinese “Stimulus” Hopes Are Overdone

Tyler Durden on 03/25/2014 10:36 -0400

A surprise (to some) drop in China’s PMI was just enough bad news to prompt the good-news-seeking BTFD’ers into expectations of additional stimulus from China. Despite ‘PBOC advisors’ (implictly the mouthpiece of official policy strawmen) stating openly not to expect stimulus and confirming that China will see a “crisis” in local-government financing “but not as expolosive as the 2008 crisis”, and that “China must face the moral hazrd issue“, investors are buying CNY, copper, Chinese stocks, and practically everything else on the back of hopes for moar money. However, as Bloomberg’s Tom Orlik explains, with the government facing conflicting pressures an abrupt about-face in policy is unlikely. Read more of this post

Hundreds rush to rural Chinese banks after solvency rumors

Hundreds rush to rural Chinese banks after solvency rumors

7:36am EDT

By Gabriel Wildau and Kazunori Takada

SHANGHAI (Reuters) – Hundreds of people rushed on Tuesday to withdraw money from branches of two small Chinese banks after rumors spread about solvency at one of them, reflecting growing anxiety among investors as regulators signal greater tolerance for credit defaults. Read more of this post

Grad Students Driving the Growing Debt Burden

Grad Students Driving the Growing Debt Burden

Report’s Findings Could Reframe Debate on Americans’ Growing Burden

JOSH MITCHELL

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Albert Edwards Destroys The “Solid Earnings Growth” Myth

Albert Edwards Destroys The “Solid Earnings Growth” Myth

Tyler Durden on 03/25/2014 08:27 -0400

Not a day passes without some pundit opining on financial comedy TV how it is not the Fed but impressive corporate profit growth that is keeping the markets afloat. We can’t help but laugh every single time. Why? Because with every reiteration, these pundits confirm they are clueless about just how it is that “profits” are created in the US – one way is from actual operations, another –  from accounting gimmicks, especially when one includes the epic black boxes of bottom-line fudgery that are financials (and their tens of billions in quarterly loan loss reserve release “profits”). It is the latter (i.e., unbridled accountant imagination) that is the reason for profits “growing” at an impressive rate. As for actual earnings, when stripped away of all tangential one-time, non-recurring boosts, things are far, far worse. In fact, true earning growth matches the already abysmal growth pace of both revenues and cash flows. Read more of this post

Carl Icahn’s Next No-Brainer? “A Major Sell-Down Of Artificial Market Is Coming”

Carl Icahn’s Next No-Brainer? “A Major Sell-Down Of Artificial Market Is Coming”

Tyler Durden on 03/24/2014 12:53 -0400

Sprinkled in between Herbalife promotion and eBay board decimation, CNBC’s favorite crowd-pleaser Carl Icahn offered a few pearls of wisdom that the TV anchors were un-prepared for: Read more of this post

Purifying Air for China’s Car Makers

Purifying Air for China’s Car Makers

ABHEEK BHATTACHARYA

March 25, 2014 5:28 a.m. ET

In this Dec. 9, 2013, file photo, the skyline of Shanghai’s Lujiazui Financial District is covered with heavy smog. China’s Premier has declared that smog is as big a problem as poverty. Associated Press

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Chinese Regulators Look at Allowing Debt Defaults

Chinese Regulators Look at Allowing Debt Defaults

Move Would be Deterrent for Reckless Lending Amid a Slowing Economy

LINGLING WEI

March 25, 2014 7:59 a.m. ET

BEIJING—Chinese regulators are experimenting with allowing some debt defaults as a way to fend off reckless lending activities, according to government officials familiar with the matter, the latest sign China’s leaders are pressing ahead on revamping the country’s creaky financial system. Read more of this post

China’s face mask industry under scrutiny as pollution worsens

China’s face mask industry under scrutiny as pollution worsens

4:58am EDT

By Grace Li

HONG KONG (Reuters) – Chinese citizens are feverishly snapping up face masks as worsening air pollution fuels a multi-million dollar industry where many products fail to provide even basic protection, drawing calls for better oversight and standards. Read more of this post

Anti-corruption champion set to challenge India’s Modi

Anti-corruption champion set to challenge India’s Modi

Tuesday, March 25, 2014 – 17:26

AFP

VARANASI, India – The leader of a fledgling Indian anti-corruption party was expected to announce plans Tuesday to stand against election frontrunner and opposition leader Narendra Modi in the holy city of Varanasi. Read more of this post

Asia’s changing food tastes could be Australia’s ‘next big story’

Asia’s changing food tastes could be Australia’s ‘next big story’

March 25, 2014 – 3:33PM

Glenda Kwek

Asia’s growing taste for meat and dairy could see agricultural exports outperform metals and drive Australia’s next commodities boom as the unprecedented investment in the mining sector winds down, a global report says. Read more of this post

Economic ties bind Germany, Korea; For both Korea and Germany, exports are crucial as a means to foster economic growth as well as employment, given the two countries’ industry structures

Economic ties bind Germany, Korea

OPINION

Mar 25,2014

For both Korea and Germany, exports are crucial as a means to foster economic growth as well as employment, given the two countries’ industry structures.
Thus, it is good to see that trade ties between them have turned out to be resilient even in the face of economic difficulties. Korea’s trade relationship with Germany has been affected less by the last economic downturn than that of most other European countries. This is obvious when looking at the data for 2013.  Read more of this post

Chinese industries are generally divided into state-owned and private sectors. The mobile and Internet field is referred to as “the third sector.”

The third sector of Chinese industry

Mar 25,2014

Chinese industries are generally divided into state-owned and private sectors. Core businesses are dominated by state-run giants, and small and midsize private companies focus on the manufacturing, processing and service industries. Lately, a new industrial ecosystem that transcends the traditional boundary is emerging in China. The mobile and Internet field is referred to as “the third sector.” Koreans pay special attention to the third sector as it directly relates to us in many ways. Read more of this post

Olam, Temasek and a huge pile of debt

Olam, Temasek and a huge pile of debt

March 25th, 2014 |  Author: Contributions

Andy Xian Wong

* The author blogs at http://andyxianwong.wordpress.com

Temasek’s offer to buy out Olam in a S$2.53 billion deal comes as the commodity trader continues to pile on debt. While Olam’s politically well-connected management and shareholders may appreciate the sovereign wealth fund’s backing, this is a deal which ticks all the wrong boxes for Singapore. Read more of this post

Fast fashion brands under scrutiny in China; Since Zara entered China in 2006, it has been blacklisted at least 15 times

Fast fashion brands under scrutiny in China

Staff Reporter

2014-03-23

Over the past year, cheap, fast-fashion brands such as Zara and H&M have swept through the Chinese mainland market, the Chinese-language Time Weekly reports.

These fast fashion brands have an unbelievably quick product cycle of just 15 days, but their quality has been questioned in recent years. Many of the products have made it onto quality inspection “black lists,” said the report. Read more of this post