Major default looms in China’s huge ‘shadow banking’ system

SHANGHAI (AFP) ― A shockwave is looming in China’s multi-trillion dollar “shadow banking” system, with an unprecedented default only days away on a $500 million investment product sold to hundreds of people.Staff at China’s biggest bank ICBC pushed the “Credit Equals Gold #1 Trust Product” by promising returns of 10 percent a year, far more than traditional deposits, investors say.But the coal company it was supposed to fund never obtained key licences for its activities, state media reported, a

Jan. 26, 2014

[Newsmaker] El-Erian’s departure surprises investors

When Mohamed El-Erian first told Bill Gross several weeks ago that he wanted to leave to “recharge the batteries,” the co-founder of Pacific Investment Management Co. was “shocked” and “discouraged.”El-Erian, 55, for years had been putting in long hours as the public face of Pimco next to Gross, appearing in the office as early as 5 a.m., speaking on national television throughout the day, and responding to messages well past regular working hours. Gross, battling record redemptions from his big

Jan. 23, 2014

Technology leaders at Davos warn of U.S. snooping fallout

DAVOS, Switzerland (AFP) ― Hi-tech bosses on Wednesday demanded that authorities change their murky ways in the wake of revelations of vast snooping by the United States and other governments that have raised concerns over privacy.Just days after President Barack Obama unveiled measures to fight back against accusations of government overreach, executives at the swanky World Economic Forum in Davos said security demands by state authorities posed a business risk.“We need to be able to rebuild tr

Jan. 23, 2014

‘Facebook could fade out’

NEW YORK (AFP) ― Facebook is like an infectious disease, experiencing a spike before its decline, according to U.S. researchers who claim the social network will lose 80 percent of users by 2017.Two doctoral candidates in mechanical and aerospace engineering at Princeton University made their astonishing claims in a paper published online at a scientific research archive, but not yet peer-reviewed.Based on the rise and fall of MySpace, John Cannarella and Joshua Spechler say that Facebook, the l

Jan. 23, 2014

‘Yahoo users will be mostly mobile in 2014’

DAVOS, Switzerland (AFP) ― Struggling Internet giant Yahoo will see more users accessing its services by mobile in 2014 than classic desktops, CEO Marissa Mayer said on Wednesday at the Davos World Economic Forum.“2014 will be the year of the crossover,” Mayer said while sitting on a panel regarding the world digital context.“By the end of this year we will have more mobile users than we have PC traffic. You have to be prepared for that,” she said.In December Yahoo was the most popular online ve

Jan. 23, 2014

More pain ahead for gold

Gold will extend declines this year as gains in equity markets reduce the need for haven assets and increased regulation hurts risk appetite, according to Morgan Stanley, which lowered its bullion forecasts. The 2014 target was cut 12 percent to $1,160 an ounce and the prediction for 2015 reduced 13 percent to $1,138, analysts Peter Richardson and Joel Crane wrote in a report Wednesday. Gold remains under pressure as the global recovery gains traction, increasing the risk of higher interest rate

Jan. 23, 2014

After 50 years, Cubans can now rent homes, commercial space

HAVANA (AFP) ― For the first time in half a century, Cubans are being allowed to rent homes and commercial properties under a decision announced by the government Wednesday.The measure allows “Cuban individuals residing in Cuba” to use “real estate leasing services offered by authorized real estate entities,” according to the resolution in the Communist-run nation’s Official Gazette.It also stipulates that Cubans cannot rent properties for use as “international schools, news agencies and NGOs.”N

Jan. 23, 2014

Verizon to buy Intel’s fledgling TV operations

NEW YORK (AFP) ― Verizon said Tuesday it was buying Intel Media, a unit of the chipmaking giant for delivering movies and more to televisions via the Internet cloud, for an undisclosed price.The U.S. telecom giant said the acquisition “will accelerate the availability of next-generation video services,” delivered to devices including mobile phones and tablets.The deal includes intellectual property rights and other assets for Intel’s OnCue Cloud TV platform. Verizon will also offer to keep the 3

Jan. 22, 2014

Las Vegas casinos accepting Bitcoin

LAS VEGAS (AP) ― Las Vegas is getting one more novelty. Starting this week, patrons will be able to use the online currency Bitcoin to pay for rooms, food and drinks at two downtown casinos.The D casino and the city’s oldest casino, the Golden Gate, will accept Bitcoins at hotel front desks beginning Wednesday. The cybercurrency will also be accepted at the D’s gift shop and two restaurants. U.S. dollars will remain the only currency accepted on the gambling floor. Derek Stevens, the co-owner of

Jan. 22, 2014

BOJ stands pat on easing, says winning deflation battle

TOKYO (AFP) ― The Bank of Japan on Wednesday said its monetary easing blitz was winning the war on deflation as it held off announcing any fresh measures to stimulate the economy.The unanimous decision after a two-day policy meeting was widely expected with analysts predicting the BOJ would launch an expansion of its asset-buying plan later this year to counter the effects of an April sales tax hike.While the increase is seen as crucial to chopping Japan’s eye-watering national debt ― proportion

Jan. 22, 2014

Gates says poor countries not doomed to stay poor

NEW YORK (AP) ― Philanthropists Bill and Melinda Gates pitched an optimistic future for the world’s poor and sick in their annual letter Tuesday, arguing passionately against three myths they say hurt efforts to bring people out of poverty, save lives and improve living conditions. In their sixth yearly letter, which in the past has focused exclusively on the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s annual activities, the cochairmen of the world’s largest charitable foundation seek to dispel notions th

Jan. 22, 2014

China workforce slide robs Xi of growth engine amid slowdown

China’s second straight annual drop in its working-age population is robbing President Xi Jinping of an engine of three decades of growth, underscoring the need to close the gap between his achievements and ambitions. Xi and Premier Li Keqiang, who in November unveiled the broadest policy shifts since the 1990s, are facing a labor force decline that the United Nations estimates will total almost 30 million in the decade through 2025. China’s working-age population, or people age 16 to 59, fell b

Jan. 21, 2014

ILO warns of jobless recovery

GENEVA (AFP) ― Global unemployment climbed by 5 million people in 2013 to 202 million despite green shoots in the world economy, signaling a jobless recovery, the International Labor Organization said on Monday.Business activity is picking up but the misery of unemployment continues to pile up.“We continue to be on an upward trajectory in terms of unemployment in the world,” Guy Ryder, the U.N. labor agency’s director general, told reporters.“What is perhaps equally concerning is that, on curren

Jan. 21, 2014

Vanessa Mae to swap violin for skis in Sochi

BANGKOK (AFP) ― Violinist Vanessa Mae has officially qualified to ski for Thailand at the Winter Olympics and will lead the sun-soaked kingdom’s biggest-ever team to Sochi’s snowy slopes, an official said Tuesday.The 35-year-old former child prodigy, whose father is Thai, is one of two competitors who will represent the Southeast Asian nation in Russia next month ― both on skis.“We just received official notification that two Thais qualified including Mae,” a member of the Olympic Committee of T

Jan. 21, 2014

Peugeot ‘approves’ capital hikes by French state, Chinese partner

PARIS (AFP) ― The board of struggling French carmaker PSA Peugeot Citroen has in principle approved capital boosts by the French state and its Chinese partner Dongfeng, two sources close to the matter told AFP Sunday.They will inject a total 3 billion euros ($4 billion) into the company under terms yet to be defined, one of the sources said after a meeting by the board.Europe’s second-largest carmaker has been looking to shore up its finances and secure a stronger beachhead in China, the world’s

Jan. 20, 2014