Congress approves Obama budget

Congress approves Obama budget
04-04-2009

Both houses of the US Congress have approved draft versions of a US$3.5 trillion budget, which are mostly in line with what President Obama has proposed for the next fiscal year.

The opposition Republicans unanimously opposed the measure in both the Senate and the House of Representatives.

They say the budget will leave the nation with multi-trillion dollar deficits that will take decades to pay off, but correspondents describe the votes as a victory for the Obama administration.

CE pledges to plug tax loopholes

CE pledges to plug tax loopholes
04-04-2009

The Chief Executive, Donald Tsang, has pledged action to close any loopholes in Hong Kong's financial system.

Mr Tsang was commenting on calls made by G20 countries to crack down on tax havens.

The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development says Hong Kong and Macau have so far only "committed to implement" new standards on exchanging tax information and clamping down on tax evasion.

Mr Tsang said legislative changes would be introduced later this year. The OECD blacklisted four countries - Malaysia, the Philippines, Costa Rica and Uruguay.

It also praised China for substantially implementing internationally agreed tax standards.

Workers 'abandon' Beijing protest march

Workers 'abandon' Beijing protest march
04-04-2009

More than 1,000 workers Friday began a march towards Beijing in protest over job losses at a factory in the north of China, but later gave up after authorities intervened, employees and state media said.

Demonstrators travelling by bicycle and on foot had attempted to make the 140 kilometre journey from Baoding city in Hebei province to Beijing to present a petition to the government, the Xinhua news agency said.

New US jobless claims at 26-year high

New US jobless claims at 26-year high
03-04-2009

The number of Americans filing new jobless claims jumped unexpectedly last week, while those continuing to receive benefits hit a 10th straight record high. Both figures show the US labor market remains weak and is unlikely to recover anytime soon.

The Labor Department said that initial claims for unemployment insurance rose to a seasonally adjusted 669,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 657,000.

That's above expectations and the highest in more than 26 years. The tally of laid-off workers claiming benefits for more than a week rose 161,000 to over 5.7 million.

The jobless claims data comes a day before the release of what's expected to be another dismal monthly employment report.

"New world order" proclaimed by G20

"New world order" proclaimed by G20
03-04-2009

The leaders of the world's 20 leading economies have agreed to impose new and stricter financial rules and tripple the war chest of the IMF to fight the global economic crisis.

New banking rules will see hedge funds brought under supervision and tax havens brought to book, while ratings agencies will come under closer scrutiny and companies forced to link executive salaries more closely to performance.

Closing the G20 summit, the British Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, said "a new world order" was emerging. US$1 trillion will be pumped into the troubled global economy through extra funding for groups like the International Monetary Fund.

Mr Brown said an additional $500 billion would be allocated for the IMF, plus $250 billion in IMF Special Drawing Rights and billions to boost trade.

Japan and the European Union will each contribute $100 billion to the new IMF war chest, while $40 billion will come from China.

Mr Brown said this will inevitably lead to a greater say in the IMF for China and other new contributors.

Hint of recovery pushes stocks higher

Hint of recovery pushes stocks higher
02-04-2009

As leaders of rich and emerging nations gathered in London for crisis talks, the global economy showed more signs of weakness, but there were also hints of hope, helping to push stock markets higher this morning.

Data from purchasing managers' indexes showed US, euro zone and British manufacturing inched away from February's lows but remained in negative territory.

An index of pending US home sales rose more than expected, and America's auto sales, while weak, were not as dismal as expected.

The Dow Jones Industrial average closed 2 percent higher at 7,761. London's 100-share index gained 0.75 percent, while the Frankfurt DAX and Paris CAC-40 both climbed over 1 percent.

PMs call for new global financial system

PMs call for new global financial system
01-04-2009

The British and Australian Prime Ministers have said it's time to build a new global financial system based on the moral values of hard work, honesty and fairness. Gordon Brown and Kevin Rudd were speaking at a gathering of religious leaders in St Paul's Cathedral in London before this week's G20 summit. Mr Brown said ordinary people were baffled by how people had grown wealthy making failed bets with other people's money.

Bank of China wants bigger stake in HK subsidiary

Bank of China wants bigger stake in HK subsidiary
01-04-2009

The Bank of China has announced plans to raise its stake in its Hong Kong subsidiary. The bank currently holds a stake of nearly 66-percent in the Bank of China Hong Kong. It says it'll gradually increase its holdings over the next 12-months, but adds that it has no plans to take it over completely.

Open mainland markets further - DAB

Open mainland markets further - DAB
01-04-2009

The political party, the DAB, will push for the mainland market to be opened further to local businesses. The party has set up an economic advisory group, which will study cross-border trade issues and integration with the Pearl River Delta. Its members will meet the Chief Secretary, Henry Tang, today to present its proposals.

Minmetals makes new bid for OZ

Minmetals makes new bid for OZ
31-03-2009

Australian mining firm OZ Minerals says it has received a revised takeover bid from China's Minmetals which excludes a mine on a sensitive military site. Australian Treasurer Wayne Swan on Friday scuttled Minmetals' original US$1.8 billion bid for OZ Minerals because it included the Prominent Hill mine, which is a restricted area used for rocket testing. OZ said it would endeavour to make a definitive announcement regarding the proposal before the market opened Wednesday, and said it also hoped to make an announcement regarding refinancing negotiations.

New mainland trading

New mainland trading
31-03-2009

China has moved a step closer to launching a Nasdaq-style trading board for start-up companies. The mainland securities watchdog approved the move. But it didn't say when trading would begin. It will now establish a set of trading rules, a review committee and provide training to traders. The creation of the new board will make it easier for small and medium-sized companies to raise cash, as banks focus on lending to large state-owned enterprises. The new market will be run by the Shenzhen Stock Exchange.

Volatile trading in HSBC rights shares

Volatile trading in HSBC rights shares
31-03-2009

There's been volatile trading in HSBC rights shares on its final trading day.

The price plunged 10 percent at the opening, before closing half-a-percent higher at HK$14-50. The bank's regular share slipped slightly to HK$42-65.

PBOC in currency-swap talks

PBOC in currency-swap talks
31-03-2009

The People's Bank of China says it's in talks to reach more currency-swap agreements to bolster international trade. It has already completed deals with six economies since last November. They allow one country to pay for imports in another nation's currency. The bank said it had set up 650 billion yuan worth of currency swaps to address short-term liquidity problems.

Czech PM defends 'road to hell' speech

Czech PM defends 'road to hell' speech
30-03-2009

The outgoing Czech premier, Mirek Topolanek, has defended his description of US plans to use vast capital injections to boost growth as a "road to hell", saying such measures would not work for Europe.

Writing in London based newspaper, The Times, Mr Topolanek said his comments to the European Parliament were a "legitimate warning".

Mr Topolanek, whose country currently holds the European Union presidency, said the EU and the US were very different and they would need different solutions to the crisis.

"The welfare states of Europe act as 'automatic stabilisers', sustaining consumer spending even in a slump", he wrote.

"This means that Europe does not need such a large fiscal stimulus compared with the US, which does not have such a system of social support."

Japan's output falls again

Japan's output falls again
30-03-2009

Japan's industrial output plunged 9.4 percent in February from the previous month as companies slashed production to cope with the recession in major world economies.

It is the fifth consecutive month that shrinking industrial production has been reported. Production fell a record 10.2 percent in January from a month earlier.

Japanese manufacturers have slashed jobs and idled plants as the global downturn batters exports and sends Asia's largest economy deep into recession.

'Name and shame' protectionist states

'Name and shame' protectionist states
30-03-2009

South Korean President Lee Myung-Bak has said he will call on G20 leaders meeting in London this week "roll back" recently-adopted protectionist measures, or risk being named and shamed.

"There are many countries clearly engaging in some sort of protectionist measures", many having been introduced since the last G20 summit in Washington in November, he told the Financial Times.

He said he would call for all such measures to be reversed.

He added: "As a concrete and actionable follow-up, I will propose that the World Trade Organisation reports on a quarterly or regular basis to all the member states on the practices of certain countries and, if they engage in protectionist measures, to release the names."

Obama meets top bankers

Obama meets top bankers
28-03-2009

President Obama has met with top US bankers at the White House to discuss his latest plans to stabilise the US financial system and boost the economy. Correspondents say the meeting was a bridge-building exercise by the Obama administration after coming under fire for allowing huge bonuses to be paid to AIG executives.