Monthly Archives: February 2008
Banking Up The Profits
What’s the difference between Chinese and western banks?No write-offs and more lending than authorities like versus huge write-offs and less lending than authorities like. The FT reports that Chinese banks will be announcing record profits for 2007 over the next … Continue reading
Filed under Economy, Uncategorized
Kicking The Foreign Investment Tires
The U.S. tire-maker Goodyear is close to investing $1 billion in a second plant near Dalian, according to Reuters, though the company says it has yet to make a final decision. Goodyear has been producing in China since 1994, when … Continue reading
Filed under Economy, Uncategorized
No 4 as No 1. Some Mistake, Surely?
Just ran across this Gallup Poll from earlier this month, asking Americans which of China, the U.S., the E.U., Japan, Russia and India is the world’s leading economic power, now and in 20 years. China easily tops both lists, a … Continue reading
Filed under China-E.U., China-Japan, China-Russia, China-U.S., Economy, Uncategorized
After Hu
Political futures are being decided in Beijing this week. The party’s central committee started a three day full session on Monday to put in place the key state and government leaders for the next five years, Xinhua reports. This is … Continue reading
Filed under Politics & Society
Higher Yuan Signaled
Another signal from the central bank that it will let the yuan rise faster this year to stimulate domestic demand as part of its fight on inflation, now at an 11-year high. The Peoples Bank of China’s latest monetary policy … Continue reading
Filed under Economy
Million Buck Bonuses
Chinese securities companies and asset management firms are now paying million dollar bonus to retain staff, according to the FT. So fierce is competition for experienced professionals that Wall St.-style bonuses now rule. There are only 300 people with all … Continue reading
Filed under Economy, Markets, Politics & Society
Learning Chinese
Forbes magazine set one of its reporters to learning Mandarin in four days. A futile task but painfully funny in the telling. That piece is one of a collection on language. Another is by Chris O’Brien, who writes the wonderful … Continue reading
Filed under Politics & Society
Food Games
A convergence of three touchy issues, the Beijing Olympics, product safety and relations with the U.S.: The U.S. Olympic team is to bring all its food with it from America and will take its meals in its training camp, not … Continue reading
Filed under Beijing Olympics, China-U.S., Product Safety
ChiPhone
Intriguing snippet over on MacNN: one in ten of Apple’s oh-so-fashionable iPhones – some 400,000 handsets — are being used in China. The twist is that the iPhone isn’t sold in China. So any iPhones being used there must have … Continue reading
Filed under Economy, Politics & Society
Rising Prices. Rising Yuan?
The latest monthly inflation figures showing a 7.1% rise in consumer prices in January, the biggest increase in 11 years, are little surprise given the transport bottlenecks and food shortages caused by the severe winter in the south and west … Continue reading
Filed under China-U.S., Economy, Uncategorized
