After decades of striking cushy natural resources deals in Myanmar under terms that Western corporations governed by anti-bribery legislation would probably balk at, Chinese natural…
FRIENDS
Why South Korea is under stress and college graduates there earn less than if they didn’t have a degree
In his latest video, South Korean rapper PSY makes life in the country seem glamorous and carefree. That may be true for residents of Gangnam…
HOUSTON
Shock decline in Japanese bond prices might not signal investors are cooling on Abenomics, but quite the reverse
Government bonds tend to do well when investors think a nation’s situation is improving, but fall in value when sentiment is negative. So a really…
Chinese bird flu cases rise to 60 as the virus starts to spread around the nation
Reported cases of the H7N9 strain of avian flu are increasing in number and geographical spread throughout China. New cases reported this weekend took the…
China’s latest headache: GDP growth slows as property prices soar
China’s slowdown is hardly deflating the nation’s real estate bubble. The country’s GDP growth slowed to 7.7% in the first quarter of this year, compared…
INDONESIA
China’s burgeoning foreign reserves signal the rich are optimistic and bringing their money back home
China’s stockpile of foreign exchange reserves has now reached $3.44 trillion, which was a $128 billion increase in the three months to March and swells…
Indonesia is booming, meaning more of its people will spend hours a day suffering gridlocked traffic
Indonesia’s much-hyped economic boom is making people’s quality of life, in some aspects, significantly worse. The reason? Shoddy infrastructure, which causes gridlocked traffic and is…
Chinese hipsters help Uniqlo thrive despite anti-Japanese xenophobia
Japanese brands have had a difficult time in China since the two Asian nations began rowing furiously over a set of uninhabited islands in the…
Crony capitalism in Myanmar makes foreign investments dicey—at least for the West
Myanmar’s economy is forecast to grow over 6% this year as new foreign investment surges into the former hermit kingdom, but Western companies have been…
FREE STUFF
Chinese banks have a new financial conjuring trick to disguise their loans
Because of China’s mounting bad debt problem, its banks are being told by regulators to rein in their lending. But the banks, under pressure themselves…
Abenomics will create winners and losers within Japan Inc.
Abenomics, the money printing, yen weakening plan spearheaded by the Bank of Japan at the behest of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, is meant to bring…
Goldman Sachs is allegedly the latest victim of Chinese corporate chicanery
Fu Yanbin, a Chinese real estate tycoon, is being taken to court in Hong Kong by lenders including Goldman Sachs for allegedly transferring assets out…
