Shrewd China Move To Fight Inflation, “Currency Wars”
China’s central bank unexpectedly announced Friday night
Category: News Desk
Japan / China / Russia Tensions at APEC Summit
The leaders of China and Japan held their first formal talks on Saturday since clashing two months ago over disputed islands,
in what appeared to be a hastily arranged attempt to patch up differences between the two Asian powers.
The leaders of Japan and Russia, who have also sparred recently over the Kurile Islands in the Pacific, also met Saturday, but appeared to remain divided.
The meetings took place on the sidelines of a summit meeting of 21 Asia-Pacific nations that Japan hosted over the weekend.
China Pushes Copper Prices Close To Record Highs
Copper is the single most important metal for a rapidly industrializing nation.
The average single-family home uses 439 pounds of copper in construction,
an air conditioner uses 52 pounds and a refrigerator uses 4.8 pounds.
The average vehicle contains more than 50 pounds of copper stretching nearly a mile.
This year, copper has notched a spectacular rebound off its lows,
and currently sits about 10 percent below its all-time high set in 2008.
EW Ahead of the Curve: Income Inequality as Key Issue
In January of this year, we identified income inequality — both within and among nations — as probably the number one issue of world political economy.
Indeed, it was our suggestion for a Global New Year’s “Resolution” … 😉 …
China State Banks, Middle East Funds, Play Key Role in GM IPO
Among the banks helping General Motors with its initial public stock offering next week are two identified by initials only: ICBC and CICC.
One of those banks is the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, one of China’s four big central government banks.
The other, China International Capital Corp., is a joint venture run primarily by Central Huijin Investment Ltd., an arm of the state, and Morgan Stanley.
Koreans Unnerved By Exploding Cost of Spicy Staple Kimchi
While President Obama and his fellow big wigs at the G-20 Seoul meeting likely didn’t have any,
kimchi – the fiery and pungent Korean national dish that typically combines cabbage, radishes, red chili peppers, garlic and salt –
has exploded in cost recently, making Koreans even more unhappy than the failure to reach a free trade agreement with the US.
The price for one head of long-leafed Napa cabbage grown in Korea has skyrocketed, to as much as $14, from about $2.50.
China Says It’s OK w India Security Council Seat
China said on Tuesday it understood India’s desire
to gain a permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council,
where China is the only Asian member.
“China supports appropriate and necessary reforms to the UN Security Council,”
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei told a regular news briefing.
“China understands India’s desire to enter the Security Council.
US Battles World Criticism of Economic Policy
A growing global divide was evident on Saturday at a gathering of finance ministers from the 21-member Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum,
after several days of sharp criticism of the Federal Reserve’s announcement that it would buy $600 billion in Treasury securities to bolster growth.
Countries like China, Brazil and Germany have warned that the unilateral move devalues an already-weak dollar,
Indian Giant Tata: Largest Non-US Gift Ever to Harvard Business School
Harvard Business School has received a gift of $50 million from Tata Companies, the Sir Dorabji Tata Trust and the Tata Education and Development Trust, philanthropic entities of India’s Tata Group.
A conglomerate founded in 1868, the Tata Group owns 28 publicly listed enterprises across seven business sectors that have a combined market capitalization of $80 billion.
The gift is the largest from an international donor in the School’s 102-year history,
German Economy NEEDS Immigrants: OECD
The OECD has found that in just 10 years, the number of people leaving the labor market in Germany
will be up to 75 percent higher than the number entering the labor market.
Among the 28 industrialized countries surveyed, Germany wound up dead last.
The reasons listed by the OECD are simple.
On the one hand, German society is aging quickly.
