Trade war looms between Chinese, Western solar firms

Fair competition or save the planet? That could ultimately be at play as China and the West, long at odds over trade in steel, textiles and car parts, risk being sucked into a row over protectionism in renewable energy equipment such as solar panels.

Yunnan tourist area swept by unrest after policeman killed

Hundreds of armed police were sent to Yunnan's Shangri-La tourist area after unrest triggered by the killing of a local police officer, a human rights watchdog said yesterday.

Beaten to death at Wal-Mart

A woman in eastern China was allegedly beaten to death by five employees of a Wal-Mart store who accused her of shoplifting, a police report and state media said on Tuesday.

Stone sorry for ‘karma’ comment

Hollywood star Sharon Stone has apologised for her “bad karma” comments on the Sichuan earthquake, 15 months after the incident upset Chinese communities around the world.

Beijing to back state firms acting against banks

Beijing has publicly put its weight behind some state-owned firms struggling with oil derivatives losses, saying it will back them in legal action against the foreign banks that sold the products.

Intel i5 Lynnfield

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Intel P55 Express Chipset

Hot Money Back on China’s Front Burner

Yet hot money’s shadowy nature makes it statistically difficult to document, raising questions about the phenomenon’s seriousness.

Monetary Policy Steers an A-Share Ride

Policy decisions and a lending spree lifted Chinese stocks to unwarranted heights before the ‘capital feast’ suddenly ended.

China Auditors Take Close Look at Bank Lending

China’s audit agency launched a probe into bank lending amid concerns that some of the lending ended up in stock and property markets.

Post-Lending Boom Blues for China’s Banks

Banks that issued a combined 7 trillion yuan in loans during the first half are now confronting earnings issues – and the future.

Rise of ‘2 world capitals’ in China

Beijing and Shanghai set to become top global centres: Forbes

No reason for mainland stock jitters

Just as mainland stocks often rise without fundamental support, they are now tanking even though companies just had a better-than-expected earnings season.

Ignore the doomsayers - home prices will keep rising

“Bubble” may be the word on everyone’s lips when talking about spiralling housing prices on the mainland, Hong Kong and Singapore, but contrarians believe these fears are overblown and prices have yet to peak.

High-Rise Bickering

Cases of disputes between neighbours have risen steadily in the past few years

Food safety standards improved after a crisis that tarnished the nation’s image

Could another health crisis like the melamine contamination case happen again? How was it allowed to happen in the first place?

Secrets of Alleged Oil Price Manipulation Exposed

Its superfast, supersecret oil trading software was called the Hammer.

Sacked Urumqi party chief is just a scapegoat

Beijing fired official ‘to ease public anger in Xinjiang’

Sensitive touch needed to soothe ethnic tensions

The sacking of Urumqi’s Communist Party Secretary Li Zhi yesterday, a rare move in response to public protests, reflects the gravity of the situation facing the central government in Xinjiang. Five people have been killed and scores injured in mass rallies triggered by Han Chinese who are angered at a failure by provincial authorities to secure their safety amid a wave of terrifying attacks with syringes.

Syringe attack victims worried about long-term health risks

Jiang Ye was waiting for a friend at the train station in Urumqi when she felt a sharp stabbing pain in her left arm.

Five killed as protests continue to rock Urumqi

‘Separatists’ blamed by Beijing for syringe attacks

Dairy industry now safer, but farmers feeling the pinch

In the first of a two-part series looking back at the milk contamination crisis, Al Guo revisits the dairy farms in Inner Mongolia to see what has changed.

Liquidators suing Akai auditors for negligence

In the mid-1990s, Hong Kong tycoon James Ting was a credit to the city.

Be reasonable in exit offers, says SGX

Responsibility for this rests on board, independent financial advisers

Schoolgirl wants to be ‘corrupt official’

A six-year old girl has become a media darling in China on her first day of school by expressing her aspiration to become a ‘corrupt official’ when she grows up, state media said yesterday.

Moody’s, S&P lose free speech protection claim

Investors may pursue fraud lawsuit against the two agencies: US judge

The next big thing: markets in Indochina

With Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam growing rapidly, enterprising Singapore companies should ‘fly there tomorrow’

South Africa U-turn on apartheid lawsuits

South Africa’s government has backed a bid by apartheid victims to sue firms in the US - reversing the position of the previous administration.

Han Chinese unrest tests security troops’ mettle

Unrest in Urumqi, the capital of China’s frontier Xinjiang region, is testing Chinese security forces as Han Chinese demonstrators impugn their loyalty, two months after deadly ethnic rioting on July 5.

China official: 5 killed during Urumqi protests

Five people have died during mass protests sparked by a bizarre series of hypodermic needle stabbings in this western Chinese city that has been wracked by ethnic unrest, an official said Friday.

JPMorgan clears its name in China Hongxing share sale

It reveals details to show it notified China Hongxing within 2 days of each sale

HSBC faces problems going back to its Shanghai roots

In recent months bank executives have repeatedly said they want to list shares in HSBC Holdings on the Shanghai stock exchange.

Former justice chief had his own ‘Fort Knox’

The former justice bureau chief who fell in the Chongqing organised-crime investigation apparently had his own version of Fort Knox.

Ex-lovers in court battle over company shares

He claims she oppressed his minority rights; she claims he was given a stake only because of their relationship

Euphoria over small-cap stocks rising as risk appetite returns

Potentially lucrative small stocks outperform blue chips amid upturn

China drafts new partnership rules to draw foreign firms

In landmark move, foreign firms may set up registered partnerships locally

Backpedalling, China Eases Proposal to Ban Exports of Some Vital Minerals

Chinese officials said on Thursday that they would not entirely ban exports of two minerals vital to manufacturing hybrid cars, cellphones, large wind turbines, missiles and computer monitors, although they would tightly regulate production.

Addicted to the Internet? There’s rehab for that

Facility claims to be first in U.S. to offer Web, video game recovery program

$100 liability cap for lost credit cards

Cardholders protected from Nov 1 provided they are not negligent

Offshore private banking model is dead, say experts

A US tax probe against Swiss bank UBS has killed traditional offshore banking and wealth managers will have to improve their offers to survive, bankers and industry insiders said on Tuesday.

Is it next stop Beijing for Bo aboard the Chongqing express?

Chongqing party chief Bo Xilai, a princeling politician with a populist touch, is the biggest winner in the municipality’s war against organised crime gangs. The crackdown in the unruly southwestern municipality has won him public praise and political capital ahead of a gathering of top officials this month.

Defence moves to impeach own witness

Ex-Pheim fund manager tells court she didn’t give order to buy UET shares

SGX plans to cut bid sizes, raise forced order range

Feedback sought on changes; tighter bid-ask spreads seen boosting trading

Chongqing sets sights higher in war on gangs

Organised-crime blitz ‘to target senior officials’

Korean broker quashes talk of exit from Singapore

But Wisa confirms internal review after new team took over

Liquidity curbs in China unlikely: HSBC analyst

Recent fears among investors in the Shanghai stock market that the Chinese government is reining in liquidity are unfounded, said HSBC chief China economist Qu Hongbin.

Pay-back time at Phillip Securities

Commissions clawed back from staff who sold toxic products, but no decision yet on final sum

Politics Permeates Anti-Corruption Drive in China

China does not have an independent police or judicial system; party leaders order investigations. “It’s a very politicized process,” says Minxin Pei, a professor at Claremont McKenna College in California and author of numerous studies on corruption in China. “If your patrons do not protect you, you’re toast.” This may help explain one of the enduring contradictions of China’s political and economic system: the government regularly publicizes an astounding number of corruption cases, yet little progress seems to be made in uprooting corruption.

Private jet travel set to take off on revised rules

Beijing cuts approval time for flight plans to boost sector

Second Link to go cashless from Sept 14

It will be Touch ‘n Go for motorists using the Second Link to Malaysia from the middle of this month.

From Sept 14, the link at Tuas will accept only cashless payment for tolls.

Unearthing the past leaves Wharf stymied

When archaeologists dug up evidence of a 1,000-year-old Tang-Song dynasty street in the middle of Chengdu two years ago - complete with house walls, a Buddhist temple and other relics - it was cause for celebration. Except that is for Wharf (Holdings), the developer.

China Relaxes Stock Market Limits for Foreigners

China announced new draft rules on Friday on inbound portfolio investments, increasing the amount some institutions can invest in the country’s stock markets, in a move likely to bolster market sentiment.

Who will succeed in the coming super-cycle?

Shift of economic power to the East will create huge opportunities for emerging economies

Wearing contact lenses for prolonged periods can damage cornea

Wearing contact lenses for prolonged periods can damage the cornea, a transparent layer covering the eye.

Stocks ‘in early phase of 3-5-year bull market’

Singapore expected to benefit from its direct domestic plays, says AMPCI

Smokers may face five days in jail

Five days’ detention for people who defy the smoking ban at indoor public places or fire-risk areas has been ordered by the Ministry of Public Security.

Foreign Employees Limited, Malaysia Is Suffering Through a Labour Shortage

Unable to find Malaysians willing to work as cooks, waiters or dishwashers, he is awaiting approval to employ more foreigners. But if he cannot get more workers soon, he says, he might close one of his outlets. Mr. Muneandy, an 18-year veteran of the industry, is even considering other business ventures.

China’s growth - economic or accounting miracle?

By now, most investors would be familiar with the China growth story - possibly 10 per cent GDP growth which has powered the country’s stock markets’ rise of more than 80 per cent this year alone. Even though there has been the occasional warning about a speculative stock market bubble, there is a smug belief that because this year is the 60th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China, an image-obsessed government keen to cement the country’s reputation as the next big economic powerhouse will do its utmost to ensure the party carries on - pretty much along the lines of the US, where the Treasury and Federal Reserve have pumped trillions into the system to keep Wall Street afloat and to keep up the appearance of a recovery.

China’s Exit Dilemma: Green Shooting, or Over Shooting and Hard Landing?

China’s economy is walking on the wild side. Prolonged loose fiscal policies can push the economy into uncontrollable inflation, while premature tightening of policies could stall it and topple it over into deflation. The banking sector, set off the leash by the central government, is the initiator of this cycle, but will also become its biggest victim if its profligate lending brings the wolf to the door.

China’s Distorted Economy: SOEs Crowd out Private Enterprise

The great adjustment of China’s macro-control policies in the global slowdown has turned out to be a huge boost for its state-owned enterprises (SOEs), unfortunately at the cost of driving out the private investment in companies the government claims it needs to set the economy to rights. The current active fiscal policy and loose monetary policy has been heavily slanted towards rapid investment growth by SOEs, fast expansion of SOEs, and the relative shrinking of private enterprise.

China Tightens Grip on Rare Minerals

China is set to tighten its hammerlock on the market for some of the world’s most obscure but valuable minerals.

China Must Adjust Model to Succeed

Beijing frets that the global economic slump is exacerbating unemployment. So it is. But the main culprit for the lack of jobs is China’s own development model.

Andy Xie said China Market may down another 25%

The Shanghai Composite Index, the world’s worst performer in August, may fall another 25 percent as China’s economic recovery isn’t “sustainable,” former Morgan Stanley Asian economist Andy Xie said.

Chinese factories face surprising labour shortage

Demand picking up, but rural workers worried after earlier mass layoffs

Taiwan’s former first lady sentenced on perjury charges

A Taiwan court on Tuesday sentenced the wife of ex-president Chen Shui-bian to a year in jail for perjury, as it passed the first convictions in an unprecedented case against the former first family.

Chinese Spend, Spend, Spend in London Luxury Shops

Gloom-defying shoppers from China are flocking to the luxury stores of London’s West End, outspending Arab royalty, replacing Russia’s departing super-rich and lifting spirits after nine months of recession.

Man in high-heel attack a top property agent

A man caught on video being hit in the private parts by his girlfriend with her high-heel shoe, is a director of an international property company.

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Investors who trusted the ‘experts’ end up losing out

More evidence of pitfalls of acting on “expert” advice in buying stocks. Anyone who did what Wall Street analysts advised last March, it appears, has only losses after the biggest stock market rally in seven decades.

Market rebound tests the faith of Dr. Doom’s disciples

Academic Nouriel Roubini has a mixed track record

Chinese Real Estate Enters a Twilight Zone

China’s real estate market is entering a biding time after this year’s surge. A large number of developers are still purchasing land and arranging finance, preparing for a new round of increases, but prices could also fall depending on the government’s credit policy.

Drink driving crackdown changes lifestyle, business in China

Drink or drive? This is a dilemma for many Chinese in a society soaked in a centuries-old drinking culture which is now travelling in private motor cars.

Sorry, no English

Service staff from China have been the target of complaints for their poor command of English. The Sunday Times spoke to 15 and found that most had basic training in English before coming here. But they have problems understanding the way Singaporeans speak English. Some are taking language courses to brush up on their fluency.

What's the big deal about Singlish, filled with broken English punctuated with Malay and spoken in wrong intonation/pronounciation? Why look down on non Singlish speaking people? My grand father didn't know a word of English and yet he helped to build what Singapore is today by employing Singlish speaking Singaporeans! Those disgusting people (fake ang moh) who complained are just trying to copy and pretend they are on the same level as the elitists men in white.

Dalai Lama trip puts Ma on spot

Ma Ying-jeou faces one of the toughest decisions of his presidency after the pro-independence camp invited the Dalai Lama to visit Taiwan to comfort typhoon victims.

Gambling ‘whale’ says US$110m casino debts are really loans

A Japanese-American gambler who lost more than US$110 million in Las Vegas casinos is waging a Nevada court battle, the outcome of which could affect Hong Kong legal judgments against such high-rollers.

Apple in hot water in France

Half a dozen new cases of ‘exploding iPhones’ emerged in France on Wednesday, asApple faced an official inquiry and calls to come clean over possible risks linked to its wildly popular smartphone.

The Sky Has Fallen, So What Comes Next?

It was silly months ago to compare the global downturn to the 1930s depression. The recession has already turned the corner.

Boom and burst - Andy Xie

Don’t be fooled by false signs of economic recovery. It’s just the lull before the storm

A stock market bubble is a negative-sum game. It leads to distortion in resource allocation and, hence, net losses. The redistribution of the remainder, moreover, isn’t entirely random. The government, of course, always wins. It pockets stamp duty revenue and the proceeds of initial public offerings of state-owned enterprises in cash. And, the listed companies seldom pay dividends.

Appliance king defied the odds until stakes got too high

Rags-to-riches Gome billionaire profited from ‘grey areas’

Gome boss names names and stays in the game

Wong Kwong-yu, the billionaire businessman whose detention nine months ago triggered Guangdong’s biggest corruption scandal in years, may be languishing in police custody but his nine-month detention has not curbed his wheeling and dealing.

Free to make a killing

Camps to treat mainland Web addicts have sprung up, unregulated, with deadly results

Is the market always right?

Put differently, it’s best not to place too much faith in the dictum that the market is always right because sometimes, it isn’t.

China lists penalties for ‘small coffers’ offences

Officials guilty of having illegal special personal funds may be warned or sacked from party

Foreign audits may need local sign-off

Governance advisers post-IPO also part of SGX’s proposed regulatory changes

Hole in wall of Swiss banking secrecy

Treaty with US blurs distinction between tax fraud and tax evasion

Keep a hand on the tap

We need foreign talent, but let’s not change too much, too fast

More passport cheats nabbed

Real travel documents used to fake identity as forgery becomes harder

Super-rich hit a sobering wall

A 30-year period in which affluent Americans became both wealthier and more numerous may be ending, analysts say

SGX may force lifting of veil on pledged shares

Requirement is among several new rules under consideration in light of recent experience

Timely disclosure must be enforced

Any tardiness by listed firms in announcing share trades could hurt investor confidence

Why is the African continent poor?

“Africa is not poor,” President Johnson-Sirleaf added, “it is poorly managed.”

Raffles Education

Waiting for results tomorrow?

Ezion

On course towards 0.960?

Cosco

With a closing of 1.24 today, it's more apparent now that it was a false break down last week. All the MACD, Stochastic and ADX indicators showing a nice reversal.

Time to overhaul ratings firms that helped create this mess

It boggles the mind that the ratings companies are getting off so easy as the world tries to fix a broken financial system. This is one of the places where big changes could matter most, so we will regret it later if we waste this opportunity.

Understanding risk and setting your threshold

Many investors felt like they had nowhere to hide last year. Investment types that many thought might offer shelter in inclement weather for the stock market - such as bond funds and commodities - posted painful losses. Such blow-ups highlight the facts that investing comes with risks and that some investments are riskier than others. Identifying those risks, in addition to figuring out how much you are willing to tolerate, is one of the most important aspects of long-term planning.

Halcyon days of hiding money offshore are over

Many investors felt like they had nowhere to hide last year. Investment types that many thought might offer shelter in inclement weather for the stock market - such as bond funds and commodities - posted painful losses. Such blow-ups highlight the facts that investing comes with risks and that some investments are riskier than others. Identifying those risks, in addition to figuring out how much you are willing to tolerate, is one of the most important aspects of long-term planning.

Global brands turn to China’s young amid slump

“Many foreign brands are looking at China as a life vest,” said Mary Bergstrom, founder of Bergstrom Trends, a youth-trend research company in Shanghai.

CIA report has new details of prisoner abuse

CIA interrogators carried out mock executions and threatened an al Qaeda commander with a gun and an electric drill, according to an internal report that provides new details of abuses inside’s the agency’s secret prisons, two leading U.S. newspapers reported on Saturday.

SGX lines up plans to tighten governance

Initiatives include stipulation that CFOs, directors be appointed early

Big bucks

With more and more Singaporeans getting fat and rich, weight management services are booming despite the recession.

Raffles Education

A contribution from Tonlee. Using Pitchfork, Raffles Education has a potential to reach 0.800 after 0.700 is taken out.