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Indonesian Property Developers Cutting Back on Concerns of Policy and Economic Uncertainty

Property Developers Cutting Back on Concerns of Policy and Economic Uncertainty

Stricter mortgage rules and an election might act as brakes on the housing market

By Francezka Nangoy & Ely Rahmawati on 2:12 pm December 26, 2013.
Property developers often take their projects to shopping malls, like this one in Semarang, Central Java, to attract potential customers and mock-up models prove popular in getting their ideas across. However, many firms are predicting slower economic growth in the year ahead. (JG Photo/Dhana Kencana)

The government’s tougher mortgage policy and uncertainty on the direction the economy is moving may prompt property developers to hold off expansion next year, industry executives say. Read more of this post

Indonesia to Regulate Metal Exports for Miners With Smelters

Indonesia to Regulate Metal Exports for Miners With Smelters

By Yoga Rusmana & Eko Listiyorini on 1:46 pm December 27, 2013.
[Updated at 6:11 p.m.]

Indonesia, the world’s largest mined nickel producer, will proceed with a plan to ban mineral-ore exports for mining companies without smelters next month, while regulating shipments by miners that do process ore. Read more of this post

India gold tax hits bridal budgets; smuggling up

Originally published December 27, 2013 at 6:18 PM | Page modified December 27, 2013 at 6:47 PM

India gold tax hits bridal budgets; smuggling up

Thanks to hikes in import duties on gold, brides in India are paying a 20 percent premium for their wedding finery this season. But the higher duties are designed to help India’s economy by stanching outflows of money that come with gold buying.

By KAY JOHNSON

The Associated Press

MUMBAI, India — With India’s wedding season in full swing, the glass sales counters in Mumbai’s famed Zhaveri gold bazaars are crowded with customers eyeing elaborate headpieces, nose rings and necklaces. No one does jewelry quite like an Indian bride, who by tradition wears all the gold she can stand up in and her family can afford. Read more of this post

Taiwan competitors aim to capitalize on Bitcoin ban in China

Taiwan competitors aim to capitalize on Bitcoin ban in China
Sunday, December 29, 2013
By Ted Chen , The China Post

TAIPEI, Taiwan — Following the announcement by the Chinese central bank that Bitcoin would not be permitted as legal tender, a Taiwanese company has stepped up efforts to capitalize on the vast mainland market’s potential electronic commerce revenues denominated in the fledgling digital currency. Read more of this post

Anti-Venom Shortage Hurts Myanmar’s Snake Campaign

Anti-Venom Shortage Hurts Myanmar’s Snake Campaign

By IRIN/Jessica Mudditt on 3:12 pm December 25, 2013.
Public education about snakebites in Myanmar has been largely successful in shifting people away from dangerous traditional practices to clinical treatment, but the inability to produce enough anti-venom is stalling progress in one of the world’s most snakebite-affected countries. Read more of this post

Watch them in 2014: We present personalities we think are the likely movers and shakers of Malaysia’s corporate scene

Updated: Saturday December 28, 2013 MYT 1:13:07 PM

Watch them in 2014

IT is generally going to be a challenging 2014 as the Government undertakes fiscal reforms to rein in on its budget deficit and address the shrinking trade surplus. Under this scenario, Malaysia’s corporate captains may need to re-look and up their game plans to ride out the tough times.  We present personalities we think are the likely movers and shakers of Malaysia’s corporate scene. Some of them have made headlines this year and will continue to be watched. We also present the outlook of key sectors of the economy in this special edition. Read more of this post

We must invest in SMEs to create a lasting recovery; Britain is struggling to nurture a Samsung or Google because of its failing finance structure

We must invest in SMEs to create a lasting recovery

The Government must focus on measures that will incentivise large businesses to invest the cash they have accumulated and to boost the confidence of small and medium-sized businesses

Britain is struggling to nurture a Samsung or Google because of its failing finance structure

By John Longworth

7:00PM GMT 28 Dec 2013

We have much to be optimistic about as we reflect on 2013, with the UK economy growing at its fastest rate for three years, a buoyant jobs market and lower borrowing forecasts. Read more of this post

The Insiders’ Game: The transition from power or money to power and money

The Insiders’ Game: The transition from power or money to power and money

By Steven Pearlstein, Saturday, December 28, 12:22 AM

I’d been at the Post only a few months in 1988 when the managing editor, Robert Kaiser, walked into my office, closed the door and tossed onto my desk the section from that day’s paper containing the list of recent home sales in the District. One sale was circled — mine. Read more of this post

Tan Sri Lin See-Yan: A peek at 2014; There is life after QE3

Updated: Saturday December 28, 2013 MYT 1:02:12 PM

A peek at 2014

BY TAN SRI LIN SEE-YAN

There is life after QE3

IT’S that time of the year again – to look back over the past 12 months, take stock and review, and assess the outlook for next year, especially for emerging Asia (EA) and Asean. The year 2013 was not a good one – most quarterly reviews ended with a downgrade. Read more of this post

Small ISS Change Shakes Up Boards; Tweak to Influential Shareholder Adviser’s Recommendations Has Directors Rethinking Proposals

Small ISS Change Shakes Up Boards

Tweak to Influential Shareholder Adviser’s Recommendations Has Directors Rethinking Proposals

LIZ HOFFMAN

Dec. 26, 2013 9:09 p.m. ET

When Verizon Communications Inc. VZ -0.02% agreed this month to a step that should give shareholders more influence over its board, the company said it was “committed to best practices in governance.” Read more of this post

Mexico to Tax Luxury Item: Pet Food; A 16% Sales Tax to Kick In as Government Scrounges for Revenue

Mexico to Tax Luxury Item: Pet Food

A 16% Sales Tax to Kick In as Government Scrounges for Revenue

AMY GUTHRIE

Updated Dec. 27, 2013 4:04 p.m. ET

MEXICO CITY—Mexico’s pet owners are bracing for a new tax on pet food, which the government recently declared a “luxury item.” Starting Jan. 1, a 16% sales tax will be placed on processed pet foods, part of a fiscal overhaul from President Enrique Peña Nieto that seeks to raise revenue for a government that depends on oil income for a third of its revenue. Read more of this post

Latin America is becoming a laboratory for soda taxes and other government measures meant to steer consumers away from processed food as obesity rates rise

Junk Food Feels the Heat in Latin America

Governments Enact Taxes, Restrict Sales as Obesity Rates Rise

AMY GUTHRIE

Dec. 27, 2013 4:22 p.m. ET

MEXICO CITY—From a Mexican tax on sugary drinks to legislation banning Happy Meal toys in Chile and Peru, Latin America is becoming a laboratory for public policies meant to steer consumers away from processed food. Read more of this post

In Search of the Perfect Investment Portfolio; It’s much harder to find than conventional wisdom would suggest.

In Search of the Perfect Portfolio

It’s much harder to find than conventional wisdom would suggest.

BRETT ARENDS 

Dec. 27, 2013 6:06 p.m. ET

If you’re looking for an investment portfolio that you could just forget about—and which would still earn good returns in any environment—what would you put into it? It is surprisingly hard to find a good answer—especially in the current situation, with stocks and bonds seeming so expensive. Read more of this post

Gold Loses Luster in Fed Taper

Gold Loses Luster in Fed Taper

By Lewa Pardomuan on 2:53 pm December 28, 2013.
Singapore. Gold was little changed in thin trade on Friday, heading for its biggest annual loss in more than 30 years as hopes of a global economic recovery and rallies in equities dent its appeal as an alternative investment. Read more of this post

Forecasting the Year Ahead, and Preparing to Be Wrong

December 27, 2013

Forecasting the Year Ahead, and Preparing to Be Wrong

By PAUL SULLIVAN

THIS is the time of year when investment analysts predict what they believe will happen over the next 12 months. That they are invariably wrong about something is a given. Or, to be more charitable, it is a given that events that no one could have foreseen will have caused their deeply researched predictions to be incorrect. Read more of this post

Does real estate have anything left to give in 2014?

Does real estate have anything left to give in 2014?

Garry Marr | December 17, 2013 | Last Updated: Dec 27 5:14 PM ET

At some point, there has to be a housing correction. Right? Some argue there was a correction in 2013, based on declining sales activity. But prices never really followed and by September the market was roaring as consumers raced to buy homes in a climate of fear based on mortgage rates rising in response to the U.S. Federal Reserve easing its bond purchasing activity.

Read more of this post

Clawbacks? They’re Still a Rare Breed

December 28, 2013

Clawbacks? They’re Still a Rare Breed

By GRETCHEN MORGENSON

Financial executives who are actually held to account for misdeeds remain as rare as hen’s teeth, alas. That’s why a recent enforcement action by the Securities and Exchange Commission caught my eye. Read more of this post