JPMorgan Chase is being investigated by U.S. authorities over claims that the investment bank hired children of influential Chinese officials to secure business advantages in the Mainland, the New York Times reported on Saturday.
Citing a confidential United States government document, the Times said a bribery investigation had been opened to study the allegations.
This week: The United Kingdom releases a new estimate of second quarter GDP results; The U.S. and South Korea hold joint military drills intended to help “ensure stability and security on the peninsula and reaffirm the U.S. commitment to the north-east Asia region”; Kenya President Uhuru Kenyatta begins a six-day visit to China.
Monday, August 19
China’s actual GDP size could be $1 trillion less than what the government claims it to be, said a professor from the HSBC Business School at Peking University this week, arguing that the government had deliberately manipulated housing price data between 2000 and 2011 in order to produce lower inflation results.
Weapons are durable products that can outlast even the countries that manufactured them. Weapons also retain their value and are easily converted to cash, which explains why they so readily flow to conflict zones where there is an increased demand for them. In the case of Syria, we may be years away from a ceasefire, but rest assured that shortly after its final crescendo, economic forces will work to ensure that arms from this theater of war begin to make their way to the next global hotspot.
70 million iPhones were sold in 2011 and not one of them was made in the USA. Why does Apple prefer to keep their production offshore? Contrary to popular belief, the top reason for outsourcing is the productivity gains achieved, followed by cost savings. Did you know that it only takes 15 days to hire 8, 700 engineers in China to manage 200,000 factory workers, while in the U.S. the process could go for as long as nine months?
Several studies suggest that Indonesia is on track to end poverty and attain high-income country status in a decade or so, while others suggest that the economy could grow to be among the world’s top ten largest by 2030 if more investments are placed in manufacturing, infrastructure development and urbanisation. However, an honest look at long-run trends in inequality and historical growth rates indicate that 2040 or longer may be more likely.
China will surpass the U.S. by October to become the world’s biggest net oil importer, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said, adding that the switch is likely to become permanent from next year as the U.S. continues to boost domestic energy supply while China’s energy demand remains robust.
China is already the biggest energy user in the world and the second-largest oil consumer after the United States.
There have been many cases in which foreigners were able, perhaps because they tend to be more objective, to identify risks earlier than locals. Despite the claims of the traditional China bulls, there is a great deal of worry among China economists living and working in China about the sustainability of the current growth model, and top officials too have made it obvious that they see the need for reform as urgent.
New technologies could transform the pipeline sector as operators are now in a position to make huge improvements to safety, moving from “pigging” to other more reliable methods of spotting leaks. But is it sufficient to make regulators and environmental groups change their minds on pipeline projects?
Japan’s economy expanded at a slower pace than most analysts expected in the second quarter, raising questions about whether Tokyo will push ahead with a sales tax hike to bring its rapidly-increasing debt under control.
Gross domestic product expanded at an annualised rate of 2.6 percent, a preliminary government estimate showed on Monday, continuing a third straight quarter of expansion in Asia’s second largest economy.
