Asian Demand for Milk Shakes Up Market; U.S. Milk Exports to Asia Are on the Rise

Asian Demand for Milk Shakes Up Market

U.S. Milk Exports to Asia Are on the Rise.

KELSEY GEE

March 9, 2014 6:23 p.m. ET

Asia’s growing thirst for milk is spilling over into the U.S. market, pushing up prices for consumers and pressuring profits for some food makers. Read more of this post

Chinese Firm’s Bond Default May Not Be the Last

Chinese Firm’s Bond Default May Not Be the Last

Some See It as Injecting Some Discipline Into a Swelling Debt Market

LINGLING WEI, DINNY MCMAHON And WAYNE MA

March 9, 2014 3:28 p.m. ET

BEIJING—The first default in China’s corporate-bond market is unlikely to be the last.

The failure by a distressed Chinese solar-equipment maker to make a bond-interest payment on Friday signals Beijing’s willingness, however tentative, to let some weak companies fall—a move that analysts and investors said could inject some discipline into a swelling debt market long viewed as implicitly supported by the government. Read more of this post

A chilly welcome: Congress protects America from Canadian pensioners

A chilly welcome: Congress protects America from Canadian pensioners

Mar 8th 2014 | GULFPORT, FLORIDA | From the print edition

A CHORE combining carpentry with diplomacy awaits Gordon Bennett, a retired Canadian soldier, after his move to a larger mobile home near Florida’s Gulf coast. As commander of an overseas post of the Royal Canadian Legion, he likes to fly his national flag from a handy palm tree. But as a respectful guest—one of about half a million Canadian “snowbirds” who own winter homes in Florida, using special visas good for a total of 180 days in any 12-month period—he knows to follow strict protocol when mounting his flags, or face complaints from American neighbours. His Canadian flag cannot be flown on its own but must be paired with the Stars and Stripes (though never on the same pole). The American flag may not be smaller or fly lower, and must be flown in the position of honour (the right, as you emerge from a doorway). Read more of this post

Mexico telecoms regulator reins in Slim and his empire

Mexico telecoms regulator reins in Slim and his empire

Sat, Mar 8 2014

By Tomas Sarmiento and Christine Murray

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) – Mexico’s telecommunications watchdog unveiled a slew of regulations on Friday to claw back the massive telephone business of billionaire Carlos Slim, but said it would not order a break-up of his companies for now. Read more of this post

IBM factory strike shows shifting China labor landscape

IBM factory strike shows shifting China labor landscape

1:23am EST

By John Ruwitch

SHANGHAI (Reuters) – A wildcat strike at an IBM factory in southern China illustrates how tectonic shifts under way in the country’s labor market are emboldening workers to take matters into their own hands, raising risks for multinationals. Read more of this post

Stock caution urged as margin debt levels hit new highs; P/E valuations, record highs flash warnings; stock pickers look for quality, value

March 9, 2014, 3:00 p.m. EDT

Stock caution urged as margin debt levels hit new highs

P/E valuations, record highs flash warnings; stock pickers look for quality, value

By Wallace Witkowski, MarketWatch

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) — A number of warning signals are flashing in the stock market, and while not indicative of an imminent crash, they’re telling investors to exercise caution, say market strategists. Read more of this post

Strikes in China may lead to heavy costs for MNCs

Strikes in China may lead to heavy costs for MNCs

SHANGHAI — A wildcat strike at an IBM factory in southern China illustrates how tectonic shifts under way in the country’s labour market are emboldening workers to take matters into their own hands, raising risks for multinational companies. Read more of this post

HK triads hide behind veil of respectability

HK triads hide behind veil of respectability

Sunday, March 9, 2014 – 16:48

Li Xueying

The Statesmen/Asia News Network

HONG KONG – On May 15, 1996, publisher Leung Tin Wai was in his office in Quarry Bay, working on his new magazine, Surprise Weekly. Two men entered, saying they had photographs for publication. What they whipped out instead were choppers. Read more of this post

A washing machine factory tests Italy’s industrial future

A washing machine factory tests Italy’s industrial future

5:22am EDT

By Danilo Masoni and Francesca Piscioneri

PORCIA, Italy (Reuters) – The boxy white and grey factory of this rainy northern town makes fewer than half the washing machines it did when Italy joined the euro. It is one of the many symbols of Southern Europe’s industrial decline. Read more of this post

China will toughen its environmental protection laws to target polluters, paving the way for possibly unlimited penalties for polluting and the suspension or shutdown of pollut

China to toughen environment law, hold polluters accountable

12:56am EST

BEIJING (Reuters) – China will toughen its environmental protection laws to target polluters, according to a high-level policy report released on Sunday, paving the way for possibly unlimited penalties for polluting and the suspension or shutdown of polluters. Read more of this post

China’s restless West: The burden of empire; After a brutal attack in China, the Communist Party needs to change its policies towards minorities

China’s restless West: The burden of empire; After a brutal attack in China, the Communist Party needs to change its policies towards minorities

Mar 8th 2014 | From the print edition

A GROUP of knife-wielding assailants, apparently Muslims from western China, caused mayhem and murder on March 1st in the south-western Chinese city of Kunming, stabbing 29 people to death at the railway station and injuring 140 others. The attack has shocked China. The crime against innocents is monstrous and unjustifiable, and has been rightly condemned by the Chinese government and by America. But as well as rounding up the culprits, the Communist Party must face up to an uncomfortable truth. Its policy for integrating the country’s restless western regions—a policy that mixes repression, development and Han-Chinese migration—is failing to persuade non-Han groups of the merits of Chinese rule. Read more of this post

Business in emerging markets: Submerging hopes; The boom in emerging-market investment by rich-world firms has led to plenty of disappointment

Business in emerging markets: Submerging hopes; The boom in emerging-market investment by rich-world firms has led to plenty of disappointment

Mar 8th 2014 | From the print edition

IN 2007 UniCredit, an Italian bank, fought off ferocious competition from other Western lenders to buy Ukraine’s fourth-largest bank from an oligarch for a queasy $2 billion. This week, amid talk of war and default, UniCredit limited withdrawals from its ATMs in Ukraine. At the same time, the shares of firms that are big in Russia, such as Carlsberg and Renault, fell. Read more of this post

High-speed rail link to connect provincial capitals in China

High-speed rail link to connect provincial capitals in China

Staff Reporter

2014-03-09

China is building a high-speed rail link to connect almost every provincial capital in the country and shrink the travel time between them to less than eight hours, said Wang Mengshu, deputy chief engineer of state-owned China Railway Group Limited. Read more of this post

China Online Funds Pressure Deposit Ceiling, Ex-PBOC Vice Governor; Banks Want to Clamp Down on Money-Market Funds

China Online Funds Pressure Deposit Ceiling, Ex-PBOC Vice Governor

Banks Want to Clamp Down on Money-Market Funds

March 8, 2014 4:03 a.m. ET

BEIJING—Online money-market funds are putting pressure on the central bank’s ceiling on bank deposit rates, but regulators welcome the development, a former vice governor of the People’s Bank of China said Saturday. Read more of this post

China’s parliament: The smog of war; The prime minister opens parliament by declaring pollution the enemy

China’s parliament: The smog of war; The prime minister opens parliament by declaring pollution the enemy

Mar 8th 2014 | BEIJING | From the print edition

THE annual session of China’s rubber-stamp parliament, the National People’s Congress, is rarely remarkable for the rhetorical flourishes of the leaders who address it. But at the opening on March 5th of this year’s nine-day meeting the prime minister, Li Keqiang, in his maiden speech, deviated at least a little from the usual stodgy fare. China, he said, must “declare war” on pollution. The blanket of smog that often shrouds much of the country, he said, was nature’s “red light”, warning about the risks of “blind development”. Growing public furore about pollution has at last goaded China’s leaders into admitting the urgency of the problem. Read more of this post

China’s reform just like Whac-a-Mole

China’s reform just like Whac-a-Mole

JoongAng Ilbo, March 4, Page 30
*The author is a Beijing bureau chief of the JoongAng Ilbo.

Mar 06,2014

Those who have played the Whac-a-Mole game know that no matter how hard you hit the moles, more will pop out from other holes. I am concerned that Chinese President Xi Jinping’s strong reforms may end up like a game of Whac-a-Mole.
There is speculation that Xinjiang separatist forces were responsible for a mass stabbing attack that took place Saturday at a train station in the southwestern city of Kunming, resulting in 170 victims. After the area was integrated into China during the reign of Emperor Qianlong, the Uighur armed struggle continued for more than 250 years, and the attack may be a warning that the separatists want to take the fight outside of Xinjiang. Read more of this post

Why China can’t innovate (even though Chinese people can)

Why China can’t innovate (even though Chinese people can)

Published 07 March 2014 16:13, Updated 08 March 2014 00:06

Regina Abrami, William Kirby and Warren Mcfarlan

The Chinese people invented gunpowder, the compass, the water wheel, paper money and long-distance banking. Until the early 19th century, China’s economy was more open than the economies of Europe. Today, though, many believe that the West is home to creative business thinkers and that China is largely a land of rule-bound rote-learners. Read more of this post

Ministry of Manpower cautioned against Singapore producing too many graduates who can’t find enough good jobs – a predicament South Korea and Taiwan find themselves in today

PUBLISHED MARCH 08, 201

MOM flags potential graduate-glut problem

Chuan-Jin says S’pore must ensure that it continues to generate good jobs for its graduate job seekers

CHUANG PECK MING

ACTING Manpower Minister Tan Chuan-Jin yesterday cautioned against Singapore producing too many graduates who can’t find enough good jobs – a predicament South Korea and Taiwan find themselves in today. Read more of this post

Why investors should stop buying the biggest funds

Why investors should stop buying the biggest funds

Our analysis of peformance shows why investors should look to smaller funds for the best returns, rather than the bigger, more well-known ones

By Richard Evans, Investment Editor

7:47AM GMT 08 Mar 2014

“Past performance is no guide to the future.” How many investors overlook that ubiquitous warning when they think they have identified a brilliant fund manager? But there may be very good – and unappreciated – reasons why they should take heed. Read more of this post

Are Small Investors a Sell Signal?

Are Small Investors a Sell Signal?

The case for a market top isn’t that clear-cut.

JOE LIGHT

March 7, 2014 1:50 p.m. ET

David Avery used to keep half his 401(k) account in bonds and cash. Last year, the 35-year-old computer programmer moved his entire portfolio into stocks, with one recent purchase being Enanta Pharmaceuticals, ENTA -1.05% a small biotechnology company that posted a loss last quarter. Read more of this post

Missing jet a big blow for struggling Malaysia Airlines

Missing jet a big blow for struggling Malaysia Airlines

POSTED: 08 Mar 2014 20:02
Malaysia Airlines, which was rocked Saturday by the disappearance of one of its planes, has long been a respected name in regional aviation, enjoying an enviable safety record. Read more of this post

lmost all big Chinese cities’ air below standard

Almost all big Chinese cities’ air below standard, says offical

POSTED: 08 Mar 2014 20:42
Air quality was below national standards in almost all of China’s major cities last year, a top environment official said on Saturday, after Premier Li Keqiang pledged to “declare war” on pollution. Read more of this post

Life in the world’s most expensive city

Updated: Saturday March 8, 2014 MYT 7:24:08 AM

Life in the world’s most expensive city

BY SEAH CHIANG NEE

SINGAPOREANS will likely huddle around their TV sets in June to watch World Cup soccer – but only if they pay, once again, a fee higher than anyone else on earth. Read more of this post

Walt Disney, Shanghai Media Group to develop Disney-branded movies

Anti-graft party takes aim at Modi’s economic model

Friday, March 7, 2014 – 21:36

Reuters

NEW DELHI – Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) Narendra Modi, who leads opinion polls ahead of next month’s general election, faces pressure from anti-graft Aam Aadmi Party (AAp) attacking his economic model on his home turf, the thriving state of Gujarat. Read more of this post

Korean economic team blasted for inconsistency

Korean economic team blasted for inconsistency

Friday, March 7, 2014 – 10:06

Kim Yon-se

The Korea Herald/Asia News Network

The Park Geun-hye administration appears to be discontented with the economic policies created by Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Hyun Oh-seok. Read more of this post

Western Businesses in Russia, Watchful and Wary

Western Businesses in Russia, Watchful and Wary

By LIZ ALDERMANMARCH 7, 2014

PARIS — Shortly after pro-Russian troops infiltrated Crimea last weekend, the phone in Alexis Rodzianko’s Moscow office started ringing. He is president of the American Chamber of Commerce in Russia, and local managers for some of the world’s biggest brands were calling to discuss the safety of their operations and the risks that might arise if the West were to impose sanctions. Read more of this post

How Designer Microbes and the Organism Industry Will Reshape Our World

How Designer Microbes and the Organism Industry Will Reshape Our World

By Maxx Chatsko | More Articles
March 2, 2014 | Comments (0)

What would a computer be without transistors? Well, not much. A similar question can be asked of next-generation industrial biotech platforms enabled by synthetic biology: What would Solazyme (NASDAQ: SZYM  ) , Amyris (NASDAQ: AMRS  ) , or any other industrial biotech company be without organisms? And again, a similar conclusion is reached. It may not be obvious from the early days of synthetic biology, but several loose, general terms and businesses used to describe the development of highly optimized custom microorganisms will eventually be combined into one well-defined industry: the organism industry. Read more of this post

Clean energy: Let the sun shine; The future is bright for solar power, even as subsidies are withdrawn

Clean energy: Let the sun shine; The future is bright for solar power, even as subsidies are withdrawn

Mar 8th 2014 | IVANPAH VALLEY, CALIFORNIA, AND LEXINGTON, NORTH CAROLINA | From the print edition

FORTY-FIVE minutes west of Las Vegas, dejected sinners may encounter a sight to lift their sunken hearts: a sea of 347,000 mirrors, reflecting the rays of the desert sun on to boilers mounted on three 460-foot towers. The Ivanpah solar-thermal plant (pictured), which opened in mid-February, is the largest of its kind in the world. Fully ramped up, it will deliver around 377 megawatts (MW) of power to 140,000 homes in southern California. Its backers compare it to the nearby Hoover Dam; an astronaut claims to have spotted it from the international space station. It is a striking sight, even if the heat from its heliostats has roasted dozens of unfortunate birds alive. Read more of this post