Monthly Archives: July 2007
Paulson The Prestidigitator
U.S. Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson needs to pull a political rabbit out of his hat if he is to keep his critics in the U.S. Congress at bay over the currency issue. His current trip to China has, so far … Continue reading
Filed under China-U.S., Economy
Missing Headlines
It strikes this Bystander as odd how little international attention the torrential rain and flooding across inland China has attracted. The death toll has now passed 700, according to the People’s Daily. Some 120 million people have been affected and … Continue reading
Filed under Media
Detroiting Shanghai
The inevitable and Beijing-driven consolidation of the auto industry has taken another step forward with news that Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp. and Yuejin Group, the parent of Nanjing Automobile, have signed a letter of intent on cooperation. SAIC is the … Continue reading
Filed under Economy
Buffett Trims PetroChina Stake
Warren Buffett has sold 16.9 million shares of PetroChina, China’s biggest listed energy company that has been the focus of shareholder activists who accuse it of providing financial support for the genocide in Darfur. The sale, made on July 12 … Continue reading
Powering Up
Areva, the French company that is the world’s biggest builder of nuclear power stations, is close to concluding a deal for two third-generation nuclear reactors in Guangdong, according to an AFP report citing sources close to the negotiations. French press … Continue reading
Filed under Economy
Sex, Power, Money & Law
Amid a slew of reports about the anti-corruption crackdown, including the expulsion from the Party of a former Beijing district head Zhou Liangluo for corruption, are a couple about new law worth notice. First, a People’s Daily report about changes to bring … Continue reading
Filed under Politics & Society
Smile. You Are On Camera.
A Xinhua report on Beijing’s plans to put up street signs announcing you are about to enter a security camera monitored zone contains one of those wonderful non sequiturs only found in state news agency stories. According to the municipal … Continue reading
Grain Inflation
We know of the high prices and short supply of pork and eggs. The new farm commodity to watch is grain following the storms and floods. The Agriculture Ministry has warned that it will be difficult to stabilize supplies this … Continue reading
Filed under Economy
China’s Spreading Capital
China has made what is thought to be its biggest investment in an overseas company – China Development Bank’s $3 billion 3.1% stake in Britain’s Barclays Bank. Singapore’s state investment agency Temasek is taking a 2.1% stake in Barclays. The money from the … Continue reading
Filed under China-E.U., Economy
No Clean Hands
Cans of hot dog chili sauce made by a U.S. food company, Castleberry’s Food, are suspected to be contaminated with the botulism bacteria. Here’s a report. No cleans hands, so to speak, anywhere, it seems.
Filed under China-U.S.
