Blog Archives

Novelis Enters Market in Shanghai

September 12, 2011
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Novelis just announced the opening of its latest office in the Shanghai World Financial Center.  This opening signals their intention to expand their presence in Asia and they have appointed James Liu as the Managing Director of Novelis China and as the Director for Sales and Marketing of Automotive Asia. Liu’s lofty goals will include expanding Novelis’ automotive growth opportunities in both China and Korea.  As the President and CEO of Novelis said, "Aluminum has been growing at a...

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Japan’s Finance Minister Elected as Head of Democratic Party

September 8, 2011
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Japan’s finance minister Yoshihiko Noda has been elected as the head of the ruling Democratic party, and is likely to soon become the country’s next prime minister as well. Japan’s next prime minister will undoubtedly inherit the region’s financial situation as Europe’s crisis deepens and economies across the globe struggle to stabilize, as well as the resurgent yen, new energy policies, the nuclear crisis and the rebuilding of the devastated northeast coast. A political analyst in Tokyo, Hiro Katsumata,...

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Asia Stocks Fall as Crisis in Europe and US Heightens

September 5, 2011
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As the euro falls further against the dollar, Asian stocks slip as well. Mounting concerns of a new United States recession and the debt crisis in Europe have resulted in investors selling riskier assets. Employment data in the US last week revealed that no jobs were created last month, for the first time in nearly a year. “Even if you take out the effect from the Verizon strike, it is still a lousy number and people are concerned that...

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Asia’s Trade Increases, China Strengthens Relations with Canada

August 30, 2011
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Though the Global Financial Crisis has not been resolved, the increase in Asian trade has encouraged many investors and companies to resume business in Chinese operations. APM Terminals, for example, the port operations division of AP-Moller Maersk Group, has recently announced it will be continuing its investments in the region following a short pause as a result of the crisis. Martin Christiansen, the division’s chief operating officer and head of its Asian-Pacific operations said “We are actively looking for...

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Japan Stalling as Yen Rises?

August 25, 2011
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Financiers across the globe were disappointed in Japan’s move to counter the rising strength of the yen. Early this past Wednesday, the dollar relinquished gains in comparison to the yen in Asia, increasing concerns and prompting additional measures to stem the growth. Japanese Finance Minister Yoshihiko Noda then held a press conference to discuss such measures. The conference ended with a statement pledging a $100 billion facility dedicated to limiting the yen’s rise by encouraging mergers and acquisitions, as...

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Morgan Stanley’s Growth Estimate for Asia Drops as Inflation Increases

August 18, 2011
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Like many other financial firms, Morgan Stanley has noted the withdrawal of international investors from stocks in Asia as the economies in the region begin to falter. One example of this is South Korea, as the won continues to decrease in value. Morgan Stanley’s growth estimate for the nation has been lowered from 4% to 3.6%, while Deutsche Bank AG has lowered its expectations for China’s expansion as well, claiming that the economic crisis throughout the rest of the...

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China Pledges Millions to Horn of Africa and Sri Lankan Port

August 16, 2011
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Yesterday, China’s Premier Wen Jiabao promised to put $55.3 million towards food aid in African countries, as they suffer from one of their worst droughts in over a decade. The offer was made during a meeting with Wen’s Ethiopian counterpart, Meles Zenawi, in Beijing, and the aid wilol be distributed throughout a number of countries in the Horn of Africa. The new donation comes in addition to the $14 million promised last month. China has been keen on contributing...

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Yuan Strengthens, But Asian Stocks Plunge

August 11, 2011
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For the first time in seventeen years the yuan has surpassed 6.4 per dollar, thanks to the Federal Reserve’s efforts to keep interest rates low. According to the International Monetary Fund, the stronger yuan will help governments reduce inflation and rebalance the nation’s development, as well as stabilize the global economy. “The inflation and trade data, together with the Fed’s policy to maintain extremely low interest rates, have fueled faster appreciation,” explained Banny Lam of CCB International Securities in...

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Asian Shares Plunge on Downgrade

August 8, 2011
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Asian shares plunged today on the S&P downgrade of American debt. Chinese shares fell almost 4 percent, while the Nikkei and Heng Sang fell 2%. The Chinese hold a lot of American debt and now that it has been downgraded the borrowing will probably stop. Despite the obvious connection to the downgrade, the severe plunge in stock prices maybe also due to the weakening global economy,  most notably America’s. When America weakens economically Asian exports tend to be hurt...

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China Worried about US Debt Downgrade and QE3

August 7, 2011
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With China holding 1.16 trillion dollars of US debt, the current crisis and what the Fed decides to do about will have implications to China. Many believe that the US will undertake QE3 (quantitative easing) which allows more cash in the system, but has the effect of devaluing the US dollar.  Countries like China and Russia have already warned the US about the effects of these policies, yet with a high unemployment rate trillions of dollars worth of debt...

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