Saturday 17 December 2011

Odds on a hard landing for China’s economy rising fast


It’s not just financial markets that are painting a grim picture. China’s real economy is also sending ominous signals of a slowdown in the property market

U.S. Navy eyes stationing of ships in Singapore

The U.S. Navy, underscoring the importance of “operating forward” amid tightening budgets and increasing threats to free seas, will station several of its new littoral combat ships in Singapore in coming years and is considering similar arrangements in the Philippines.

Thursday 15 December 2011

Singaporeans dumping cars in Johor to claim insurance?

A Johor state assemblyman has alleged that Singaporeans are dumping their cars in Johor and claiming insurance on the pretext that the vehicles were stolen.

An ancient punishment returns to haunt China

Extended culpability for food safety lapses sets bad precedent for nation

New China sovereign fund of US$300b on the way

It will invest in real assets, given the dismal returns on US, Europe bonds

Chinese wines beat French in tasting, but it's not best vs best

Chinese wines took the top four places in a China vs Bordeaux blind tasting competition on Wednesday, but it wasn't exactly a thrashing of the world's most elite wines by Chinese upstarts.

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Wednesday 14 December 2011

Hara-kiri, British-style

Is David Cameron putting his personal interests above those of the nation or is he just extraordinarily inept?

Remembering the massacre at Nanjing, 74 years later

Monday 12 December 2011

China’s toxic shroud of secrecy

Calls are growing throughout the country for mainland authorities to admit that smog is choking the nation and release data on the deadliest particles

Marine base will not limit China, US says

Major deployment of marines in Darwin is about ties with Australia and there is no plan to contain Beijing in the region, defence envoy tells PLA chief

YEAH RIGHT, CUT THE BULLSHIT

Credit-cards-only rule to fight graft

Most expenses can no longer be paid in cash, officials told, as government seeks to curb abuse of public funds and assuage widespread anger over corruption

Investors say China heading for crisis

Amid signs of a downturn, a global financial industry survey shows a pessimistic outlook for the mainland economy in the next five years

China reels in the pirates

A decade after it joined the WTO, China has made strides in its war on piracy, but experts say the government’s controls are not watertight

Massive stock scheme revealed

Mainland regulators uncover 426 million yuan trading scam, but analysts say more must be done to address manipulation of the stock market

Global players’ woe over logistics boom

An expanding domestic logistics market on the mainland is squeezing out the big global firms and will see a Chinese rival grow in size to match them, say experts

Countries should note rule No 1 when heading for exit: don’t panic

Currency took two years to stitch together and so should take as long to dismantle, says economist

Hard-up Greeks swap their gold crosses for cash

Angeliki says her clients sell their gold crucifixes, baptism tokens or other religious objects, along with watches and pieces of gold. “When you are unemployed and have to pay the bills or taxes ... there is often no other solution,” she said.

The day Europe lost patience with Britain

It was billed as a summit to save the euro. It may be remembered as the day Europe lost patience with Britain, as most of the continent threw its lot in with EU founding members France and Germany and committed to binding their economies ever more tightly.

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China workshops struggle, but tougher times ahead

A broad and bruising downturn is sweeping through China's giant manufacturing sector, ensnaring thousands of factories already fighting for survival in the face of plunging profit margins.

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