For Chinese Reform, It’s Private Banks or Bust

For Chinese Reform, It’s Private Banks or Bust

Rate liberalization cannot occur until there is more privatization in banking.

DEREK SCISSORS

March 17, 2014 11:13 a.m. ET

The annual meetings of China’s National People’s Congress this month offered two main signals about reform under President Xi Jinping. First, the battle has been joined in finance between the market’s decisive role and the state’s dominant role. Second, there is no battle outside finance—the status quo of state dominance was otherwise left almost entirely unscathed. Read more of this post

Auditors must be rotated more often, ASIC (Australian Securities and Investments Commission) warns

Auditors must be rotated more often, ASIC warns

March 18, 2014

Georgia Wilkins

Corporate governance groups say there is not enough rotation of auditors at the country’s top companies and call for greater transparency in the relationship between boards and their external reviewers. Read more of this post

Macquarie Group is selling its private equity funds management division, ending its role as Australia’s largest and oldest private equity investor.

Macquarie Group selling private equity division

March 18, 2014 – 7:53AM

Sarah Thompson and Anthony MacDonald

Macquarie Group is selling its private equity funds management division, ending its role as Australia’s largest and oldest private equity investor, reports The Australian Financial Review. Read more of this post

Is ‘Smart Beta’ an Improvement Over Standard Indexing?

Is ‘Smart Beta’ an Improvement Over Standard Indexing?

March 16, 2014 8:35 p.m. ET

Investors have been rushing to sink cash into a new option that’s intended to deliver a souped-up version of traditional index tracking. Read more of this post

Don’t Celebrate Mexico’s Reforms Just Yet; Deficit spending is heading higher and the rule of law remains weak

Don’t Celebrate Mexico’s Reforms Just Yet

Deficit spending is heading higher and the rule of law remains weak.

MARY ANASTASIA O’GRADY

March 16, 2014 6:38 p.m. ET

Mexico’s Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) President Enrique Peña Nieto has been in office a mere 16 months, but his leadership has already changed the country’s international image. Constitutional reforms in energy, education and telecommunications, once thought to be impossible, have removed roadblocks to new legislation that could increase competitiveness and drive faster growth. Read more of this post

The operator of Taiwan’s popular Eslite Bookstore (誠品書店) chain predicts revenues will grow to over US$461m this year; Eslite currently has 42 stores in Taiwan and one in Hong Kong and has 980,000 shoppers in its membership program

Eslite Groups forecasts at least 7.7% revenue growth in 2014

CNA
March 17, 2014, 12:04 am TWN

TAIPEI–The operator of Taiwan’s popular Eslite Bookstore (誠品書店) chain predicts revenues will grow to over NT$14 billion (US$461.34 million) this year, a company executive said. Read more of this post

“Buddhist wisdom helps to broaden and shape my vision”; Last December, Poman Lo took over as vice chairperson and managing director of the Regal group’s 11 five-star hotels in Hong Kong and in the mainland

Growth with harmony
Imogene Wong and Janis Cheung 
Monday, March 17, 2014
Poman Lo Po-man has never been daddy’s rich little girl despite being born with a silver spoon in her mouth. As an industrious student she passed all her exams with flying colors. Read more of this post

(Flight MH370) What is Malaysia hiding, Beijing ponders

(Flight MH370) What is Malaysia hiding, Beijing ponders
(4 mins ago)
Malaysia drew further criticism from China over conflicting information on the missing Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777 today. State media and social media users voiced increasing scepticism as the search entered its 10th day.
Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak on Saturday announced that the disappearance may have been a “deliberate act” and that the Boeing 777 flew for several hours after leaving its intended flight path, AFP reports. Read more of this post

Superannuation ‘merger zone’ sucks in tiddlers; Industry and government funds face pressure to merge as reforms squeeze smaller funds

Superannuation ‘merger zone’ sucks in tiddlers

March 17, 2014

Georgia Wilkins

Australia’s industry and government superannuation funds are facing growing pressure to merge, as greater competition and government reforms put pressure on smaller funds. Read more of this post

‘Smart manufacturing’: Australian company Aquaterro to produce US defence force technology

‘Smart manufacturing’: Australian company to produce US defence force technology

March 17, 2014 – 10:18AM

Jared Lynch

A glimmer of hope is shining in Australia’s ambition to become a world leader in ‘smart manufacturing’, with a Melbourne company winning approval from US military leaders to produce defence force technology. Read more of this post

How America’s low-wage workers are struggling to join the middle class

How America’s low-wage workers are struggling to join the middle class

Josh Boak, Associated Press | March 15, 2014 7:30 AM ET
WASHINGTON — For years, many Americans followed a simple career path: Land an entry-level job. Accept a modest wage. Gain skills. Leave eventually for a better-paying job. Read more of this post

In doubling yuan trading band, China aggravates foreign investor concerns

In doubling yuan trading band, China aggravates foreign investor concerns

6:51pm EDT

By Pete Sweeney

SHANGHAI (Reuters) – The Chinese central bank’s decision to relax its grip on the yuan has been welcomed as a sign of financial liberalization, but it is aggravating concerns among foreign executives and investors about their exposure to China in the near term. Read more of this post

Companies look to teenage girls for product ideas

Companies look to teenage girls for product ideas

KYODO

MAR 15, 2014

Teenage girls around the country, often regarded as trendsetters with a strong word-of-mouth network, are increasingly becoming a reliable source of ideas for developing and marketing products in the corporate world. Read more of this post

Dissecting the ‘Korea discount’

2014-03-03 17:12

Dissecting the ‘Korea discount’

By Andrew Salmon
Ah, the ups and downs of a journalist’s life. Having been a hack for over a decade, I have experienced more than a few of the downs. Sources agree to speak ― then change their minds.   Read more of this post

Does Korea have global talent?

2014-03-16 13:26

Does Korea have global talent?

Lee Dong-geun
Last month, the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry and 11 foreign chambers of commerce in Korea co-hosted the sixth-annual Global Career Forum. Read more of this post

Want to crack China’s cereal market? Try Weetabix with green-tea tang; Now it is majority-owned by a Chinese food giant, the UK’s second-largest cereal maker has a very special export opportunity

Want to crack China’s cereal market? Try Weetabix with green-tea tang

Now it is majority-owned by a Chinese food giant, the UK’s second-largest cereal maker has a very special export opportunity

Bear facts: Weetabix boss Giles Turrell wants to modify the iconic cereal’s flavour for the Chinese market, along with Alpen

By Louise Armitstead

7:30PM GMT 16 Mar 2014

Who would try to sell Weetabix to the Chinese? To a nation whose preferred breakfast is hot, savoury and usually includes rice, a couple of milk-sodden, wheaty lumps all the way from Kettering might scarcely seem appetising. Read more of this post

Bankers’ pay has become bit of a Ponzi scheme, claims Ed Balls

Bankers’ pay has become bit of a Ponzi scheme, claims Ed Balls

Shadow chancellor echoes business secretary, saying most top executives and bankers would do the work for half the money

Andrew Sparrow, political correspondent

The Guardian, Sunday 16 March 2014 16.52 GMT

Pay for bankers and top executives has become “a bit of a Ponzi scheme” and most of them would do the work for half the money, Ed Balls, the shadow chancellor, has said. Read more of this post

India Muslims on tenterhooks over election; Muslims made up just 13 per cent of India’s 1.2bn people as of 2001 – the most recent year for which official data are publicly available

March 16, 2014 10:05 pm

India Muslims on tenterhooks over election

By Amy Kazmin in Bhopal, India

In Bhopal’s Darul Uloom – or House of Knowledge – madrassa, a school offering secular and religious education in an elegant, 127-year-old mosque, the teachers are increasingly apprehensive about the outcome of India’s forthcoming parliamentary election. Read more of this post

Humbled financiers reassess their culture

March 16, 2014 9:07 pm

Humbled financiers reassess their culture

By Patrick Jenkins

Geoff Taylor has been round the block. He used to monitor the production line risks facing sportswear group Nike and jeans maker Levi Strauss – checking the solidity of trainer soles and the sturdiness of denim seams. Read more of this post

Companies adapt to local African markets; “Some of our customers try to put black mascara on their lips – they don’t know what it’s for”; Samsung recently brought out extra-loud stereos to appeal to Nigerian consumers

March 16, 2014 1:33 pm

Companies adapt to local African markets

By Katrina Manson in Nairobi

While big companies are beginning to tailor their marketing messages – increasingly choosing local models, languages, music and food to reach target audiences – some are also beginning to adapt their products to the tastes of local African markets. Read more of this post

Cameron’s Britain has lost America’s respect; The “special relationship” has been compromised by one side that is no longer sure of who it is

Last updated: March 16, 2014 6:02 pm

Cameron’s Britain has lost America’s respect

By Edward Luce

The “special relationship” has been compromised by one side that is no longer sure of who it is

Dean Acheson remarked in the 1950s that Britain lost an empire and had not yet found a role. For the next half-century it found a niche as America’s global lieutenant – harnessing its influence in Washington to punch above its weight elsewhere. Events in Crimea over the past three weeks have underlined how fast even that is fading. Once America’s “go-to” ally, the UK is not even third on today’s priority list. When it comes to handling Vladimir Putin, Germany, France and even Poland rank ahead of David Cameron’s government in Washington. Read more of this post

Megawati’s Brilliant Move May Turn Out to Be Double-Edged Sword for Candidate Jokowi

Megawati’s Brilliant Move May Turn Out to Be Double-Edged Sword for Candidate Jokowi

By Johannes Nugroho on 05:58 pm Mar 16, 2014

Megawati Soekarnoputri has finally announced that her party Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle will be nominating the popular governor of Jakarta, Joko Widodo, better known as Jokowi, as presidential candidate. Lauded by many as having put aside her own ambition to run for the job, Megawati has indeed made a cornerstone decision that will please many within and outside the party known as PDI-P. However, its timing and circumstances may be a two-edged sword for Jokowi himself. Read more of this post

Indonesian Stocks Enter Bull Market on Jokowi Presidential Bid

Indonesian Stocks Enter Bull Market on Jokowi Presidential Bid

By Yudith Ho & Harry Suhartono on 06:15 pm Mar 14, 2014

Jakarta. Indonesia’s benchmark stock index entered a bull market, the rupiah reversed losses and bonds rallied as Jakarta Governor Joko Widodo was nominated as a presidential candidate. Read more of this post

India lays down the law on financial management

Updated: Monday March 17, 2014 MYT 8:31:18 AM

India lays down the law on financial management

BY YAP LENG KUEN

THE spate of resignations at India’s financial institutions indicates the government’s seriousness in ensuring that top management either perform or perish. Read more of this post

Welcome to the 19th Century; Putin and the new Bonapartes see a weak and retreating West

Welcome to the 19th Century

Putin and the new Bonapartes see a weak and retreating West.

March 16, 2014 6:41 p.m. ET

‘You just don’t in the 21st century behave in 19th century fashion by invading another country on completely trumped up pretext,” declared John Kerry on March 2 as Russia began its conquest of Ukraine’s Crimean peninsula. Though he didn’t intend it, the U.S. Secretary of State was summing up the difference between the current leaders of the West who inhabit a fantasy world of international rules and the hard men of the Kremlin who understand the language of power. The 19th-century men are winning. Read more of this post