Markets Archives - Page 562 of 782

US Indicts Five Chinese Military Officials For Cyberspying

In its most aggressive action taken against China thus far, the U.S. Justice Department on Monday charged five Chinese military officials for economic cyber-espionage, issuing a formal indictment and even “wanted” posters against the accused.

“This administration will not tolerate actions by any nation that seeks to illegally sabotage American companies and undermine the integrity of fair competition in the operation of the free market,” said U.S. Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. at a news conference in Washington.

Dongguan Factory Strike: A Turning Point For Chinese Labour?

Last month, tens of thousands of Chinese workers staged a massive strike at a shoe factory in Dongguan, lasting over two weeks and involving over 40,000 people. The strike was notable for both for its scale and substance – the workers not only demonstrated significant legal knowledge and political savvy, but also showed a wider sense of workers’ consciousness.

US Govt Charged Electricity Consumers $40 Billion For Unbuilt Nuclear Waste Dump

The U.S. Department of Energy has been ordered to end a 31-year-old scheme that had charged electricity consumers for the future construction of a nuclear waste dump, after collecting over $40 billion over the years placed into a trust fund.

Last Friday, the Energy Department finally removed the fee from electric bills having fought with power companies and state regulators over the issue, with a federal appeals court calling the fee “quite unfair”.

China Begins Construction Work In Disputed Area Of South China Sea

China has begun work on building an airstrip or military outpost in the disputed Spratly Islands in the South China Sea, said the Philippines on Wednesday, just a week after the Chinese also deployed an oil rig in another set of disputed waters near Vietnam.

The Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs said that it had lodged a formal protest with China regarding ongoing construction work at Johnson South Reef in the Spratlys, but the Chinese government chose to reject the protest.

Why Chinese Living Standards Matter More Than Being The World’s Largest Economy

The Chinese economy is on track to replace the U.S. as the world’s largest economy – measured by purchasing power parity (PPP) – by the end of this year, according to a recent World Bank report. But while emerging economies are catching up with advanced economies, but differences of living standards remain far apart.

Why Obama Should Abandon The Asian Pivot

The U.S. pivot to Asia has undergone considerable challenges ever since it was first announced in November 2011. Ultimately it is highly unlikely to achieve its main aim – to compel China to accept U.S. leadership in the region.

President Obama faced a stark choice when he went to Japan last week. Either he had to commit himself and his country unambiguously to supporting Japan militarily over the Senkakus/Diaoyus, or he had to accept that the ‘pivot’ — and by extension his whole foreign policy and US leadership in Asia — was no longer credible.

China Could Build Undersea High-Speed Railway To America: Report

Chinese officials are discussing the possibility of building a high-speed railway line from Beijing to the United States, reported the China Daily last week, with the proposed railway set to pass through Russia, Alaska and Canada before hitting the American mainland.

According to Wang Mengshu, a railway expert and academician at the Chinese Academy of Engineering, the project will be funded and constructed by China; though details had yet to be finalised.

China Extends Additional $12 Billion In Aid To Africa

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang on Monday pledged an extra $12 billion in assistance funds to the African continent, taking the total loans to over $30 billion, reported Reuters.

Li, speaking during a visit to the African Union headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, said that he hoped some of the loans would go to support small and medium-seized companies in Africa, adding that economic development on the continent offered huge opportunities for both China and Africa.

Number Of Children In Japan Drops For 33rd Consecutive Year

Japan’s population remains on a rapidly aging path, with the number of children (aged under 15) having fallen to a record low of just 16.33 million, according to government statistics on Sunday.

This was the 33rd straight annual decline for the number of children, said Japan’s internal affairs and communications ministry; and was the nation’s lowest level since records began in 1950.

China To Overtake US As World’s Largest Economy This Year: World Bank

The Chinese economy is on track to replace the U.S. as the world’s largest economy – measured by purchasing power parity (PPP) – by the end of this year, according to a World Bank report on Wednesday.

The latest estimate, compiled by the International Comparison Program hosted by the World Bank, found that China’s economy (based on PPP) was 87 percent the size of the United States’ in 2011, 15 percent larger than previously thought – and nearly the double the size of the last calculations from 2005.