2011年11月30日 星期三

Clinton to end Asia trip with Shenzhen, China visit (Reuters)

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will end a lengthy trip to Asia by meeting Chinese State Councilor Dai Bingguo in Shenzhen, China on July 25, the U.S. State Department said on Thursday.

The department offered little detail on the substance of the talks, saying they would cover bilateral issues as well as "regional and global issues of common concern."

Topics are likely to include efforts to rein in the Iranian and North Korean nuclear programs, the popular uprisings in the Arab world and territorial disputes in the South China Sea.

Clinton will meet Dai, China's top foreign policy official, at the end of an 11-day journey that will also take her to Istanbul for a meeting of the Libya Contact Group, as well as to Greece, India and Indonesia.

(Reporting by Arshad Mohammed; editing by Todd Eastham)


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2011年11月29日 星期二

US-Vietnam naval drill begins against China's wish (AFP)

DANANG, Vietnam (AFP) – Former enemies Vietnam and the United States began a joint naval drill on Friday, despite Chinese objections after weeks of escalating tension in the disputed South China Sea.

US officials described the week-long exercises off Vietnam's central coast as "non-combatant events", focused on areas such as navigation and maintenance, in a statement from the consulate general in Ho Chi Minh City.

But China's top military officer General Chen Bingde said Monday that the timing of US naval exercises in the area was "inappropriate", after talks with his American counterpart Admiral Mike Mullen aimed at cooling the tensions.

China, the Philippines, Vietnam, Brunei, Malaysia and Taiwan all have overlapping claims to parts of the South China Sea, believed to be rich in oil and gas deposits and home to shipping lanes vital to global trade.

Vietnam and the Philippines have in recent months accused Beijing of taking increasingly aggressive actions in staking its claims in the sea.

Tensions flared in May when Vietnam said Chinese marine surveillance vessels cut the exploration cables of an oil survey ship.

Since then, a series of anti-China protests have been held in Vietnam, where rallies are rare, with the latest on Sunday being forcibly dispersed by local police. At least 10 people, including journalists, were briefly arrested.

During talks on June 25, Beijing and Hanoi promised to resolve the issue peacefully, and China has warned Washington not to get involved in regional maritime disputes, according to state media.

The US and Vietnam, former wartime enemies, normalised relations in 1995 and have been rapidly building relations across a wide range of areas, including military affairs.

"This exchange helps our respective sailors gain a greater understanding of one another and builds important relationships between our navies for the future," Rear Admiral Tom Carney said of the latest drill.

The Philippine and US navies also recently held 11 days of military exercises close to the South China Sea, war games that have been seen as aimed at recent Chinese provocations.


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2011年11月28日 星期一

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Chinese artist was kept in tiny cell: sister (AFP)

BEIJING (AFP) – Ai Weiwei was kept in a tiny cell and watched constantly by two guards during the nearly three months he spent in detention, the sister of the dissident Chinese artist revealed on Friday.

The guards, who worked three-hour shifts, even watched him when he showered, and the lights in his cell were kept on all night, Ai's sister Gao Ge told AFP.

Ai, an outspoken critic of the Chinese Communist Party whose detention sparked an international outcry, was released last month but has been told he cannot leave Beijing without official permission under his bail conditions.

Little has emerged about the conditions of Ai's incarceration since he was released and the artist has said he is not allowed to give media interviews as part of his bail conditions.

But his sister said Ai spent his time pacing up and down the tiny cell he was kept in.

"I don't know how many square metres the cell was, but he said he had an area of around six tiles to walk up and down," she told AFP by telephone.

"He said he walked a lot -- a distance equivalent to going from Beijing to Shanghai -- because he did not have anything else to do."

Gao said her brother, whose works have been shown around the world and who this week accepted a position with a German university, was not given access to newspapers or books during his detention, and was watched constantly.

"Two people watched him. They changed shifts every three hours and watched him 24 hours a day. They watched him very closely... whatever he did," she added.

"He said there was nothing (in the cell) -- no sunshine, no desk. Just a bed," she said.

Asked how her brother felt about his incarceration, she replied that "he accepted it", adding that he had not been tortured, but had lost a lot of weight during his time in detention.

The avant-garde artist, whose work was recently on display at London's Tate Modern gallery, was detained in April during a major government crackdown on dissidents in China and released last month.

Chinese authorities have charged Beijing Fake Cultural Development Ltd., a design firm they say is "controlled" by Ai, with evading "a huge amount of taxes".


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Vatican adviser urges tougher stance with China (AP)

By NICOLE WINFIELD and RACHEL ZOLL, Associated Press Nicole Winfield And Rachel Zoll, Associated Press – Thu?Jul?14, 2:25?pm?ET

ROME – A top Vatican adviser urged the Holy See on Thursday to take a harder line against China's illicit ordinations of bishops, saying Rome's current policy of compromise isn't working.

Hong Kong Cardinal Joseph Zen denounced the third such ordination in eight months, which occurred earlier Thursday. The Rev. Joseph Huang Bingzhang was consecrated as bishop of Shantou, according to Liu Bainian, honorary president of the Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association, which runs China's Catholic churches.

The ordination deepened a standoff in which the Vatican insists the pope has sole right to appoint bishops and Beijing's Communist leaders see that position as foreign interference in their internal affairs.

Zen spoke in New York, where he was meeting with Chinese Catholic communities, and held a news conference to condemn the illicit ordinations. He questioned whether top Chinese officials were really behind them, suggesting they were more likely the work of Patriotic Association officials.

"At this moment, it's a war," Zen said.

On Wednesday, Zen took out a half-page advertisement in Hong Kong's mass-market Apple Daily newspaper to issue an "urgent appeal" to Chinese President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao.

Zen urged the two Chinese leaders to restrain "rogue public servants" who are "using violence to assist scum inside the church to force bishops, priests, and followers to do things against their consciences."

Beijing severed ties with the Holy See in 1951 after the Communist Party took power and set up its own church outside the pope's authority.

Faithful on the mainland are allowed to worship only with the state-sanctioned church, which recognizes the pope as a spiritual leader but rejects his authority to appoint priests and bishops. A thriving underground following remains loyal to the Vatican.

Pope Benedict XVI has prioritized improving relations with Beijing and reconciling the two churches. In recent years a compromise had been reached under which both Beijing and Rome agreed on bishop candidates.

But the agreement seems to have fallen apart in recent months.

The Vatican was furious over the ordinations of the Rev. Guo Jincai in Chengde city in November and the Rev. Paul Lei Shiyin in Sichuan province just two weeks ago. It does not recognize them as bishops.

In June, the Patriotic Association said it had to urgently fill more than 40 empty bishops' seats because the vacancies were causing serious problems in the handling of church affairs.

Zen said "because of the attitude of compromise," the Vatican had been willing to accept candidates for ordination who were not really loyal to the Holy See in their hearts. He said previously, candidates had to join the Patriotic Association but "in heart" were aligned with Rome.

"Unfortunately, the Holy See was very reluctant to take action because they want to appease the Beijing government," Zen said.

On Thursday, Vatican spokesman the Rev. Federico Lombardi told reporters the Chinese ordination caused "pain and concern" at the Vatican.

"The position and feelings of the Holy See and the pope have already been expressed in previous recent circumstances," Lombardi said.

___

Zoll reported from New York; Louise Watt in Beijing and Alessandra Rizzo in Rome contributed.


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2011年11月27日 星期日

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Researcher: China worried about US economy (AP)

BEIJING – China is watching whether the Federal Reserve launches a new stimulus that might hurt China by pushing up commodity prices, a Cabinet researcher said Thursday.

The U.S. economy "has been doing worse than expected" and Beijing needs to "seriously assess" possible risks to its vast holdings of American debt, said Yu Bin, an economist in the Cabinet's Development Research Center.

"The prospects of the U.S. economy are worrying," Yu said at a government-organized briefing. Beijing uses such briefings to explain official views, though the researchers do not act as government spokespeople.

Yu expressed concern about a possible third round of Fed purchases of government bonds, known as "quantitative easing" or QE. He said that might hurt China by depressing the value of the dollar and driving up prices of commodities needed by its industries. Most commodities are traded in dollars.

The Fed bought $600 billion in bonds late last year and early this year to keep interest rates low and support prices of assets such as stocks. On Wednesday, Chairman Ben Bernanke said the Fed was ready to take action if the U.S. economy weakens and said a third round of purchases was a possible option.

"We are following closely whether the United States will introduce QE3, because we believe it will have a major impact on China's economy," said Yu, director-general of the Development Research Center's Department of Macroeconomic Research.

"The drastic rise in commodity prices caused by the devaluation of the U.S. dollar will have a major impact on inflation, on economic growth and on Chinese people's daily lives."

Yu warned that such a move also would affect the "long-term trajectory of the U.S. economy."

"Therefore, I believe the United States should be careful," he said.

China held some $1.15 trillion in U.S. Treasury debt as of the end of April, according to the latest U.S. government data. Chinese leaders have repeatedly appealed to Washington to avoid taking steps in response to U.S. economic weakness that might erode the value of the dollar and Beijing's holdings.

"As the largest buyer and holder of U.S. Treasury bonds, we need to seriously assess the risks," Yu said.

Yu said Beijing could reduce risks by restructuring its portfolio of foreign reserves and assets, though he gave no details. And he said that in the long run, Beijing has to keep a reasonable level of foreign reserves.

Moody's Investors Service on Wednesday said it was reviewing the U.S. bond rating for a possible downgrade, saying there is a small but rising risk that the government will default.

Asked by a reporter if China was concerned about the issue, Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said: "We hope that the U.S. government adopts a responsible policy to ensure the interests of the investors."

Also Thursday, a Chinese rating agency said it was putting U.S. sovereign debt on watch for a possible downgrade.

"Factors influencing the U.S. government's ability to repay its debt are steadily worsening," said the Dagong Global Credit Rating Co. "If there is no substantive improvement in its repayment ability or willingness during the observation period, Dagong will appropriately downgrade the national rating of the United States."

Dagong, founded in 1994, is little-known outside China but says it hopes to compete with global ratings agencies Moody's, Standard & Poor's and Fitch.

In its first sovereign debt report in July 2010, Dagong gave Washington a credit rating below China, Singapore and some other governments. That was a break with the global agencies, which say U.S. debt is among the world's safest.

In November, Dagong downgraded the United States from AA to A-plus, citing what it said was deteriorating U.S. ability and willingness to repay debt.


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2011年11月26日 星期六

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China pledges to clean up local government debt (Reuters)

BEIJING (Reuters) – China pledged on Wednesday to take steps to clean up hundreds of billions of dollars in local government debt, seeking to defuse concerns that a wave of defaults could derail the world's No.2 economy and hobble its state-run banks.

Described by the cabinet and the head of China's No.2 bank as a big issue, the country's mountain of local government debt has long been seen as a major risk by investors. Ratings agency Moody's Investor Services this week said the problem could be bigger than estimated, threatening banks' ratings.

A meeting of the State Council led by Premier Wen Jiabao would establish a mechanism to rectify any bad loans and tackle financing vehicles run by local governments, according to the official Xinhua news agency. The council reiterated a ban on local authorities providing guarantees for debt.

"The size of local government debt being formed over the past several years is relatively big and some risks loom, as the some regions and industries are weak in repaying the debt," Xinhua said, citing a statement after the meeting. "Local governments must continue to clean up and standardize the financing vehicles in a timely manner," it said, adding that the cabinet is paying close attention to the debt issue.

China's state auditor has estimated that local Chinese governments have borrowed a total of 10.7 trillion yuan ($1.6 trillion) by the end of last year.

But ratings agency Moody's said this week that likely understated banks' holdings of local government debt by 3.5 trillion yuan, potentially putting banks on the hook for deeper losses that could threaten their credit rating.

Moody's said it was hard to judge which banks had taken on the most local government debt, but Bank of China and China Citic Bank were among those that had lent more aggressively than their peers during China's bank lending spree in 2009. A worst case envisaged non-performing loans could reach 12 percent, compared with 1.1 percent at the end of March.

SMALLER BANKS MORE EXPOSED

Guo Shuqing, chairman of China's largest mortgage lender China Construction Bank, called the problem a "big issue" but downplayed the risks from the debt for his bank.

"For my bank, I don't think it's a big problem," Guo told an academic forum in English.

"We just choose the good projects, good companies. We also have a lot of measures to control the risk. Also these projects usually have very good cash flows," Guo said.

Many smaller lenders, while still large on a global scale, have a higher proportion of problematic loans made to local government financing vehicles (LGFV), potentially threatening their survival if defaults spiral and Beijing doesn't step in.

Shenzhen Development Bank, for example, had more than 20 percent of its loans with LGFVs as at the start of the year.

That was worse than numbers reported by major lenders such as Industrial and Commercial Bank of China and Bank of China, which said their LGFV lending stood at 13 and 9 percent of total outstanding loans, respectively.

"Any default will likely hit smaller banks more than the big national lenders," said Sheng Nan, an analyst at UOB-Kay Hian in Shanghai.

"Many of these banks have their operations only in one single geographical area, which makes them more susceptible to pressure from local governments into extending loans for projects that national banks may not want to take on."

Many executives at mid-sized banks may also have relatives or friends in local governments, and may face undue influence when extending loans, Sheng added.

RENAMING LOANS

To get around investor fears over their high levels of local government debt, many banks have taken to re-categorizing loans as lending to a public or commercial entity rather than a financing vehicle.

For example, only about 5 percent of Shenzhen Development Bank's loans are now classified as being local government financing vehicle lending, a stunning turnaround from the 22 percent it had just a year ago.

"I don't believe this is going to be a major problem for our country or the industry," bank president Richard Jackson said. "I do think it's correct to keep reducing the exposure (to local government financing vehicles)."

China's banking regulator has been allowing loans backed by an underlying asset or cashflow to be re-classified as lending to commercial projects. Such projects are typically infrastructure projects such as highways or toll roads.

"These are the healthier LGFV loans, with cashflow in the underlying project adequate to repay to loan," said Sanjay Jain, an analyst with Credit Suisse in Singapore. "As usual, the key is how valid those cash flow assumptions are."

Already, local media reports say that a Chinese highway builder backed by the Yunnan government is struggling to repay almost $15.5 billion in loans, highlighting the risks of lending to infrastructure projects that were once seen as reliable.

If the government does step in, it would be the second time since the late 1990s, when Beijing transferred the banks' bad debts to asset management companies backed by sovereign bond issues in preparation for their eventual listings.

However, such a scenario is unlikely until the current administration steps down at the end of its term next year, said Stanley Li, an analyst at Mirae Asset Management in Hong Kong.

"I'm worried the leadership has no strong incentive to tackle the issue because it's like recognizing that their fiscal stimulus was wrong," he said. "They may push it to the next government. If we do not see a clear master plan this year, we won't be seeing one next year."

(Additional reporting by Kevin Yao and Koh Gui Qing; Writing by Kelvin Soh; Editing by Lincoln Feast)


View the original article here

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2011年11月25日 星期五

China raises interest rates amid inflation fight (AP)

BEIJING – China raised a key interest rate Wednesday for a third time this year as it tries to cool surging inflation.

The benchmark rate for one-year loans will be raised 0.25 percentage points to 6.56 percent, effective Thursday, the central bank announced. The rate paid on deposits will rise by a similar margin to 3.5 percent.

Inflation hit a 34-month high of 5.5 percent in May and is believed to have risen further in June even as an overheated economy cools gradually under the pressure of investment curbs and other controls.

The slowdown in some industries has prompted fears more interest rate hikes might trigger a sharp slump. But most analysts say the government should be able to avoid that.

"Benchmark lending rates are still low relative to the pace of economic growth," said Capital Economics analyst Mark Williams in a report.

Inflation is politically dangerous for the ruling communists because it erodes economic gains that underpin their claim to power and can fuel unrest.

The Cabinet's planning agency says June inflation, due to be reported next week, is likely to exceed May's level due to a jump in food costs blamed on summer floods that damaged crops.

Private sector forecasters say June inflation could pass 6 percent. They say the mix of rapid growth and higher inflation means Beijing should further tighten access to credit.

Analysts blame the inflation spike on the dual pressures of rising consumer demand that is outstripping food supplies and a bank lending boom that was part of Beijing's response to the 2008 global crisis.

Beijing relies less than other major governments on interest rates to regulate the economy. Instead, it uses more targeted controls such as loan quotas while avoiding across-the-board rate hikes that push up borrowing costs for state companies.

The rate hike also will boost costs for local governments that borrowed from banks to pay for constructing highways and other public works. A government audit report last month said local governments have piled up 10.7 trillion yuan ($1.6 trillion) in debt and some can only pay their debts by borrowing more money.

The hike in deposit rates will help to reduce losses suffered by families that keep money in the bank, though the new level still is below inflation. Analysts say the gap has prompted some savers to divert money into speculating in real estate and stocks, fueling fears of a price boom and bust.

Factory production, bank lending and other economic indicators are easing but the World Bank is forecasting economic growth of 9.3 percent this year.

___

Online:

People's Bank of China (in Chinese):

http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/ap/ap_on_bi_ge/storytext/as_china_interest_rates/42125847/SIG=10n04ukds/*http://www.pbc.gov.cn


View the original article here

2011年11月24日 星期四

Instant view: China raises interest rates for 3rd time in 2011 (Reuters)

BEIJING (Reuters) – China's central bank increased interest rates for the third time this year on Wednesday, making clear that taming inflation is a top priority even when as the economy slows gently.

Benchmark one-year lending rates will be raised 25 basis points to 6.56 percent, and benchmark one-year deposit rates will be raised 25 basis points to 3.5 percent, the central bank said in a short statement on its website.

Following are analysts comments on the move:

DUAN JIHUA, ANALYST, SEALAND SECURITIES, SHANGHAI:

"The interest rate rise is within our expectation, which shows the CPI in June could be really high.

"There are still some uncertainties hanging over the Chinese economy, so monetary policy may enter a wait-and-see period in the future.

"The rate rise, which is highly expected, would not give the market a hard blow."

COLIN BRADBURY, DAIWA CAPITAL MARKETS' MANAGING DIRECTOR/REGIONAL CHIEF STRATEGIST, ASIA EX-JAPAN:

"There's a definite chance that the numbers will disappoint, in terms of the CPI. The market's view is that June will probably be the peak month for CPI. It obviously doesn't tell anything about the future, but potentially, that June could be a little bit disappointing for the market.

"Equally again, the consensus is that inflation will peak in June. The consensus is another 25 basis points rate hike in July. And that's what we have, don't think there's anything too sinister to read into it. The question now is 'is this the last rate hike?', which is what the market certainly believes.

"There's a chance of another sell-off in Chinese banks tomorrow. but we certainly believe, if you look at the valuation profiles of the banks at the moment, they really are historically very cheap. But certainly some of the longer term investors, they might see this as a buying opportunity with a 6 month view. They might see this as a good entry point."

MICHAEL JANSEN, ANALYST, JP MORGAN, LONDON:

"The rate rise is going to reaffirm to the market that the Chinese are into this one for the long haul. This is not a short term, 'inflation is licked' yesterday story, which is what the market was almost trading on. They have been raising rates every two months, but missed the window last week. That shows that there will be more restrictions going forward. The big risk-on rally might have hit a stumbling block or two."

LIGANG LIU, HEAD OF GREATER CHINA ECONOMICS, ANZ, HONG KONG:

"Today's rate hike suggests that China's June inflation could be higher than expected and the Q2 GDP remains solid, consistent with our expectation. The rate hike will help the PBOC to fine-tune its monetary policy by alleviating the worsening negative real interest rate problem so as to prevent an outflow of deposits from the banking system.

"Meanwhile, the rate hike will have an asymmetric impact: It will help depositors more than borrowers as the market lending rate has already been priced far higher than the current policy benchmark rate.

"In addition, the very high reserve requirement has already put the banking system at a significant disadvantaged position relative to non-banking financial institution(s), which could expand quickly by taking the advantage of the regulatory arbitrage. This will then set off new risks in China's financial system.

"Looking forward, we believe PBOC's rate hikes are not yet done. There will be a need of another rate hike in Q3 so as to better stabilize rising inflation and better anchor inflation expectations."

LI JIEMING, BOND ANALYST, SEALAND SECURITIES, SHENZHEN:

"This rate hike appears to be the last for this year as the economy shows signs of a slowdown.

"With global commodity prices dropping and the base effect waning in the second half of this year, inflation is likely to peak in June.

"As far as the domestic market is concerned, bond yields have nearly fully factored in the interest rate hike as talk of such a hike has lingered for more than a month.

"The medium- and long-term bond yields should only have a space of 3 to 5 basis points to rise."

MICHAEL WIDMER, METALS ANALYST, BANK OF AMERICA-MERRILL

LYNCH:

"That should have been priced in. The market did not react particularly well to it, but there was always scope for more tightening to come through in the 2H. There were comments recently from Chinese policy makers about inflation being the key concern, so I'm not surprised."

"Perhaps one of the hopes is that you're going to get less tightening in the second half...(but) I don't think this will (happen) so you will have headwinds. There is still upside left on copper, but it's not the most bullish of all markets. I think $10,000 again, but not $12,000."

KATHLEEN BROOKS, RESEARCH DIRECTOR UK, EMEA AT FOREX.COM:

"This move was to be expected. Inflation pressures continue to rise and the Chinese authorities have signaled their intention to quash price pressures. Thus we expect today's move to have a limited impact on markets in the short-term.

"However, in the long term, investors' may start to worry that China is tightening rates just as growth is slowing down. Signs suggest the pace of expansion in the Asian powerhouse is slowing."

PRIYA BALCHANDANI, OIL ANALYST, STANDARD CHARTERED BANK, SINGAPORE:

"The government is very keen on controlling inflation, but absolute demand in China is going to continue growing. Gas oil demand is still going to go up at a steady pace.

"We will see somewhat of a drop in oil prices, but after the initial period of news absorption, I would expect the market to come back with caution."

CARL FIRMAN, ANALYST, VM GROUP:

"China has done a number of reserve requirement increases over the last several months, however you have climbing inflation, so in real terms you are not making any money by just holding cash.

"A lot of new middle-class Chinese have cottoned on to this, and there is a lot of demand for gold as a store of wealth under these circumstances. Their money is not earning anything, in fact you are getting negative returns now holding cash, whereas you are not getting that holding gold.

"I think China would need to raise rates higher and higher still until we start to see some kind of tapering off of their inflation figures."

CHEN XINYI, COMMODITIES ANALYST, BARCLAYS CAPITAL, SINGAPORE:

"We did expect a interest rate hike in the near term and that had been factored in to our view of a slowdown in demand from China, so I do not expect a major impact on prices. The next key event to watch out for in China is the State Council meeting in July which will set the tone for monetary policy in the second half of the year."

FREDERIC NEUMANN, CO-HEAD OF ASIAN ECONOMIC RESEARCH AT HSBC HOLDINGS PLC IN HONG KONG:

"China's inflation battle is almost at an end. Already, there are signs that price pressures are coming off. Today's rate hike may therefore have been the last in the cycle.

"In general, given that the authorities decided to raise rates also shows their confidence in the local economy. Worries over a hard landing on the Mainland are overblown.

"While imbalances exist, growth should hold up in the near-term, and the policy shift, after many months of tightening, will likely shift into neutral shortly."

WANG JUN, ECONOMIST AT GOVERNMENT THINK-TANK CCIEE, BEIJING:

"This is good news for the market, which has anticipated this move. The possibility of another rise in the rest of the third quarter is not big. Inflation could peak soon.

"Whether there will be more interest rate rises in the rest of the year will depend on inflation, if inflation comes down, there will be no need to raise rates. But if prices rebound, there could be further rate rises.

"The government may put more stress on safeguarding economic growth. We have seen this message from recent remarks of Chinese leaders."

QIAO YONGYUAN, ANALYST AT CEBM, SHANGHAI:

"The interest rate rise is largely in line with market expectation, as most institutions expected one interest rate rise in July.

"The move is aiming to curb the quickening inflation, which may climb to as high as 6.2 percent in the year to June.

"I think this will not flag an end of the tightening measures and the central bank could raise interest rate once more for the reminder of the year.

"The government is paying attention to high prices of pork. In addition, other the costs of non-food items also keep rising, which could add more pressure to inflation in the coming months."


View the original article here

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2011年11月23日 星期三

Anger mounts in China over oil spill (AFP)

BEIJING (AFP) – Chinese media and green groups on Wednesday slammed the state-run China National Offshore Oil Corporation and the marine watchdog for keeping an oil spill hidden from the public for nearly a month.

CNOOC, in partnership with ConocoPhillips China, a subsidiary of the US oil giant, operates an oil field in Bohai Bay, off China's eastern coast, where the massive slick was detected on June 4 but only made public on Friday.

A strongly worded editorial in the Global Times newspaper accused the State Oceanic Administration (SOA) of protecting the oil giant, while the China Daily said CNOOC had an "obligation to share information".

"We cannot help but wonder: Is the SOA a serious watchdog that exists to prevent bigger incidents from happening, or a loving parent who is over-protective of his own child?" the Global Times editorial said.

Chinese-language newspapers also accused CNOOC of covering up the incident.

Such strident criticism of a large state-owned company is unusual in the Chinese media and could be a sign that Beijing is trying to boost its green credentials by showing the public it is getting tough on environmental abuses.

CNOOC vice president Chen Bi told a news conference the company was sorry for the negative impact of the spill but denied it had tried to cover up the incident.

"Ever since the founding of CNOOC we have never covered up any major oil spill," Chen told reporters.

CNOOC earlier issued a statement saying the spill was "basically under control" and that ConocoPhillips was "responsible for daily operations" of the oil field.

The SOA said Tuesday at the first government press briefing on the incident that it was probing the US firm's role in the slick, which has polluted an area measuring more than 800 square kilometres (300 square miles).

ConocoPhillips China president Georg Storaker told the news conference Wednesday that the company had notified authorities of the slick on June 4 and its priority since then had been "clean-up work".

"Both the authorities and ourselves are trying to get all the facts on the table -- this is a joint effort," Storaker added.

In an earlier statement, ConocoPhillips said "there is no oil sheen in the Bohai Bay operating area, the source of the sheen has been contained and clean-up work is close to completion".

Greenpeace lashed out at CNOOC, saying it had not learned lessons from last year's massive oil spill near the northeastern port city of Dalian, which the group said may have been 60 times bigger than reported.

Greenpeace said 60,000-90,000 tonnes of crude may have poured into the Yellow Sea in last year's incident after two pipelines exploded at an oil storage depot owned by another state oil giant, China National Petroleum Corp.

"The lessons we learned from that were companies need to release information and disclose whatever assessment they have in a very comprehensive and transparent way as soon as possible," Greenpeace activist Li Yan told AFP.

"But it seems the company has not learned from the Dalian event."

Li Xiaoming, head of the oceanic administration's Marine Environmental Protection Department, told the government news conference on Tuesday that the slick was discovered on June 4, the state-run China News Service reported.

He said the quality of water in the spill area was now at the worst level on the administration's four-grade pollution scale.


View the original article here

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2011年11月22日 星期二

China dismisses reports Jiang has died (AFP)

BEIJING (AFP) – China's official media said Thursday that reports claiming former president Jiang Zemin had died were "pure rumour", after days of intense speculation about his health.

The state-run Xinhua news agency quoted "authoritative sources" in its report denying the rumour, which emerged last Friday after the 84-year-old failed to appear at celebrations marking the Communist Party's 90th birthday.

Speculation gathered momentum this week and culminated with Hong Kong and Japanese media putting out reports confirming his death.

Hong Kong broadcaster ATV announced Wednesday that the former president had died, citing unspecified sources and giving no details. It said it would air a special one-hour programme on Jiang but later cancelled it.

The Japanese daily Sankei Shimbun also reported Thursday that Jiang had died in Beijing, quoting "a source involved in Japan-China relations".

The Xinhua dispatch gave no further details on the former leader's health. Foreign ministry spokesman Hong Lei, who was repeatedly asked about the issue at a briefing, refused to comment and referred reporters to the Xinhua story.

Then in an unusual twist, ATV withdrew its news report and made a public apology "to the audience, Jiang Zemin and his family" in a brief statement.

Rumours have surfaced in the past that Jiang, who reportedly still wields a lot of power in the inner party sanctum, may be seriously ill.

His absence from the Friday gala in central Beijing was conspicuous as many other retired party and national leaders -- including former prime ministers Li Peng and Zhu Rongji -- were present.

On Thursday, searches for his name and other terms such as "cardiac arrest" -- one of his rumoured causes of death -- on the popular Twitter-like Weibo service were blocked, an indication that censors were barring information.

China routinely censors online content it deems politically sensitive. This includes the health of leaders, which is considered a state secret, apparently due to concerns illness might affect the appearance of stability in the party.

Even the word "river" -- the meaning of Jiang's surname -- was barred Thursday on Weibo, which more than 100 million Chinese people use. Typing "Jiang Zemin died" on search engine Baidu.com yielded no results either.

Jiang was appointed head of the ruling Communist Party by late leader Deng Xiaoping following the crushing of the 1989 Tiananmen pro-democracy protests.

He stepped down as the country's president in 2003 after guiding the nation through more than a decade of blistering economic growth, marked by a lack of corresponding political reforms.

Jiang is part of the so-called "third generation" of Chinese Communist leaders, a more technocratic and professional ruling elite to follow the first two "generations" of national founder Mao Zedong and then Deng.

In an attempt to get around China's online police force on Thursday, netizens were using characters that sound the same as the ones that make up Jiang's name to discuss the rumour.

For instance, they were using a character pronounced "jiang" that means stiff -- in reference to a corpse -- and "ming", which sounds similar to the last character in Jiang's name and means the underworld.


View the original article here

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Fight at Mandarin Large Faculty
Tue, Nov 22 @ 9:18 AM
Mandarin Higher University fight Added Tags Added Tags] Dismiss [Additional Tags] Additional Tags Ignore… Experience Walkthrough Gametrailers posted a Xbox 360 Dashboard Walkthrough Hacking GamerTag Suspened PayPal Totally free Xbox Dwell Generator HALO 3 Basic Immediately Effortless fifty boosting Services totally free funds Recon Armor PS3 Microsoft ELITE Grasp Chief machinima THE NEW XBOX DASHBOARD [...]

DayOne Mandarin: Just Sufficient Mandarin for Your First Day in Shanghai- Discover Mandarin
Mon, Nov 21 @ 11:24 PM
DayOne Mandarin is a free of charge online studying session combining video tutorials with an array of interactive workouts designed to instruct end users what they need to have to communicate on the first day in China. Information: one. I can rap Busta Rhyme's verse in Search at Me Now. 2. Odontophobia is the fear [...]

iPhone

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The Lifer: The Future of ARM
Tue, Nov 22 @ 9:46 AM
The brains behind Apple's processors are busy building better chips. Rik Myslewski takes a look at what they're up to and what it might mean for your favorite Apple products.The smartypants who design the brains inside each of Apple's iOS devices--the iPhone, iPad, iPhone touch, and Apple TV--have announced a new processor scheme with far-reaching implications not only for Apple's überpopular consumer lineup, but for MacBooks, as well. And those designers aren't Cupertinians.I know, I know--Apple crows that they design the processors in those devices. They're not lying, but they are stretching the truth a wee bit. Each iDevice's cerebrum was designed by ARM Holdings, a company in Cambridge, England. Apple licensed ARM's designs, along with graphics-core designs from another British firm, Imagination Technologies, to build its A4 and A5 processors.Warning: I'm about to overuse the letter "A" for a bit. Apple's A4 uses a compute core called the ARM Cortex-A8, which first appeared in the original iPad, then migrated to the iPhone 4, iPod touch, and Apple TV. Apple's A5 uses the dual-core ARM Cortex-A9 MPCore, which debuted in the iPad 2 and has since spread to the iPhone 4S.ARM compute cores dominate the mobile market, powering nearly every smartphone on the planet, as well as such iPad competitors as the Motorola Xoom, BlackBerry PlayBook, and Samsung Galaxy Tab. And now ARM has introduced a new low-power core, the Cortex-A7 MPCore, and will marry it with its soon-to appear high-end core, the A15, into a single design that it has dubbed big.LITTLE.Trust me, this is important. The A15 is a muscular design, able to take care of such demanding tasks as video encoding and decoding, complex gaming, and multiprocessing, all without breaking a sweat. Unfortunately, though, its oomph-producing chippery requires a lot of transistors. The more transistors, the more juice a chip needs, and the more juice it needs, the shorter its battery life.The fruits of ARM's recent efforts won't be seen in the immediate future, but hopefully before we get close to the A14.Enter the tiny new A7 core. This li'l baby requires a tiny fraction of the A15's juice, but it's more than capable of handling such mundane tasks as email, updating your Facebook page, making phone calls, and Tweeting your dinner plans to your 13 followers.With big.LITTLE, ARM has put both the A7 and the A15 onto the same chip, and has tweaked that design so that a device's operating system doesn't need to know which core is doing what when. The big.LITTLE system will look at a task that iOS sends it, and if the power-hungry A15 cores are needed--both the A7 and A15 can have up to four cores, by the way--they'll be fired up. If not, the task will be handed to the A7 cores, and humongous amounts of battery juice will be saved. It's the Prius of processors.This mash-up won't find its way into the market until 2013, so don't look for it in Apple's A6 or A7--A14, anyone? And don't expect it to appear only in iPhones and iPads. Apple has been widely rumored to be toying with a MacBook Air follow-on that won't run Mac OS X, but iOS. A big.LITTLE processor would be a natural for such a device.Remember, iOS is based on Mac OS X. I'd be willing to bet that somewhere at One Infinite Loop, some top-flight Apple techies are running a version of Mac OS X on the ARM architecture at this very minute. After all, every version of Mac OS X was ported to the Intel architecture well before Steve Jobs announced the move from PowerPC to Intel in 2005.If only we could get ARM to change the dumb name of its new scheme: big.LITTLE. Honestly.--Since the late 1980s, Rik Myslewski has paid his rent by keeping an eye on Apple. He was editor-in-chief of MacAddict from 2001 until its transformation into Mac|Life in early 2007, and is now a member of the snarkily sophisticated team at London's The Register, which is "biting the hand that feeds IT" daily at www.theregister.co.uk.

Monsters Ate My Condo Review
Tue, Nov 22 @ 6:14 AM
It took me at least 40 minutes to figure out what the hell was happening on-screen when I started playing Monsters Ate My Condo. It's not that this match-three puzzle game is all that difficult to understand. And it isn't the frenetic pacing, nor the panic found when you can't balance your way out of a seismically unstable stack of blocky domiciles.My bewilderment was mostly a result of the colorful sensory-overload madness of it all, as flashing lights, combo meters, and animated text chaotically cluttered the screen. The obvious Japanese pop-cultural associations are alive and well here, aped by a New Zealand developer to utterly psychotic perfection.Monsters Ate My Condo is a very hard game to put down. The idea is simple: two colored monsters flank either side of a stack of randomly-selected condos -- and they must be fed. Feed a condo to a monster that corresponds to its color and your score goes up. Monsters can eat other colored buildings as well, but after so many wrong matches, the Godzilla-like beasts throw a fit that'll rock the foundation of your condo structure. Matching three starts a combo chain, but sudden movements, bombs, or any other disturbance that knocks your structure over ends the game. It's like Tetris meets Jenga, only with cartoony, 50-story-tall mutants.Outside of basic game mechanics, though, the insanity also adds its own addictive charm. Condo blocks are affected by individual physics, which can make the fast pace rather manic; and the monsters are well animated, with goofy personalities and an aesthetic that resembles a theoretical pairing of Peggle and the artwork of Samurai Jack creator Genndy Tartakovsky.The bottom line. The ridiculously busy visual nonsense is reason enough to keep playing -- but then there's a great puzzle game underneath. Monsters Ate my Condo is Adult Swim's best game yet.Review Synopsis Product:  Monsters Ate My Condo 1.1.1 Company:  Adult Swim Contact:  http://games.adultswim.com Price:  <a href="http://click.linksynergy.com/fs-bin/stat?id=ApuPaiKIpxg&offerid=146261&type=3&subid=0&tmpid=1826&RD_PARM1=http%253A%252F%252Fitunes.apple.com%252Fus%252Fapp%252Fmonsters-ate-my-condo%252Fid459489208%253Fmt%253D8%2526uo%253D4%2526partnerId%253D30" target="itunes_store">$0.99</a> Requirements:  iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch running iOS 3.0 or later Positives:  Fantastic visual design, music, and personality. Highly addictive gameplay. Negatives:  Breakneck pace can be difficult to keep up with. Only two modes of play. Score:  4.5 Excellent

iHome iW1 Speaker Dock Review
Tue, Nov 22 @ 8:20 AM
Party on!Imagine every feature you could ever want from an iPod dock. Go on, make a list. Ours includes AirPlay, solid sound quality, an iPod charging dock, and a reasonable price tag. This is good news for the iW1, which includes all these features and a boatload of others we didn't even know we wanted.iHome's new flagship AirPlay speaker comes packing touch capacitive controls, a remote control so you never have to use the touch capacitive controls, and an app for your iOS device so you never have to use the remote. Sure, it's redundant, but certain settings—like shuffle, mute, and a toggle for the all-important Bongiovi Acoustic mode (which aims to equalize the music so that vocals truly shine)—can only be accessed by remote or app. We found that most music did in fact sound better with the Bongiovi Acoustics switched on (which is enabled by default). Many songs sounded flat after turning it off, but you can also perfect the iW1's sound with bass and treble controls. The iHome sounds great at midlevel volume, but crackles a tad on full tilt. AirPlay works, but reliability depends largely on your Wi-Fi network, and there is a bit of latency between button presses. However, its convenience far outweighs these minor quirks. In more ways than one, the iW1 is the boom box of a new generation. It sits on a charging pad so it never has to be unplugged from that hard-to-reach outlet when you decide to carry it around—a feat that's easily accomplished due to the lightweight 6lb body and carrying handle. Even though AirPlay won't work without Wi-Fi, you can easily plug your iOS device into the USB port on the iW1's back and rock out in the park. The bottom line. The iW1 is a good mid-priced AirPlay option. The remote, app, and rechargeable battery make it ultra-convenient to use in a wide variety of situations—and it's got great sound to boot.Review Synopsis Product:  iHome iW1 Speaker Dock Company:  iHome Contact:  iHomeAudio.com Price:  $299.99 Requirements:  AirPlay-enabled device Positives:  Big sound. Rechargeable battery. Works with AirPlay. Can charge your iPhone. Negatives:  Touch capacitive plastic top is a smudge factory. USB input doesn't charge iPads. Bass is a bit flat. Score:  4.5 Excellent

Cards Review
Mon, Nov 21 @ 12:59 PM
Introduced alongside iOS 5, Cards allows users to produce and mail made-to-order letterpress greeting cards with nothing more than an iPhone or iPod touch.  Sounds pretty slick right? Well, it would be – if it weren't so rough around the edges. Unfortunately, from start to finish, Cards feels only a little better than half-baked, and that's more than a shade shy of what we've come to expect from Apple.Opening up Cards, users are greeted by a Cover Flow style interface featuring the greeting card templates available for use. The templates are organized by occasion: Thank You, Holiday, Baby, Birthday, Love, or Travel. While this sounds smart in theory, flicking through them tuned us into the fact that there weren't that many stylistic options to choose from, especially when compared against the greeting card offerings available in Postage on iPhone or via iPhoto on Mac. What's more, many of the templates are duplicated in each category. When it comes to Apple – a company that prides itself on providing a superior user experience possible – I expect more than this.Slick letterpress cards can be created and ordered in a snap.Once they've settled on a template, users are invited to choose an image from their camera roll or photostream, or to take a photograph for use on their card's front cover. Next on tap is entering a message, and with all of the text on the Cards templates I tinkered with being editable, I couldn't help but wonder: If this is the case, why bother duplicating the same template over so many different categories? We found text entry, while easy to type, was frustrating to view. In order to see the message you're typing in its entirety, you're either forced to pan and swipe around the text field with your fingers, or apply the text and then attempt to read it at a near-microscopic size.One thing Apple did get right is how the physical cards are sent out. Simply enter your recipient's street address into the application, or select one from your iPhone's Contacts app, and the actual printing and mailing is handled for you. Cards sent within the United States will set you back $2.99, with cards sent outside of the U.S.A (as well as those sent by international users of the app) priced at $4.99 – a pretty reasonable price when you consider the cost of picking up a greeting card at the supermarket.If only Cards was universal – we might be able to see all the text on an iPad without squinting.Unfortunately, unlike other in-app purchases, the cost of the greeting card and its associated postage can only be paid with a credit card. There's no doubt that this will be a deal breaker for individuals who prefer to make their app-related purchases with iTunes gift cards.The bottom line. We hate to say it, but Cards feels rushed – an unpolished product that was pushed out the door in order to launch alongside iOS 5. While the app does make it possible to create and send a letterpress card using nothing more than your iPhone, its poor selection of templates, frustrating interface, and credit card-only purchase option make it difficult to recommend at present.Review Synopsis Product:  Cards 1.0 Company:  Apple Contact:  apple.com Price:  <a href="http://click.linksynergy.com/fs-bin/stat?id=ApuPaiKIpxg&offerid=146261&type=3&subid=0&tmpid=1826&RD_PARM1=http%253A%252F%252Fitunes.apple.com%252Fus%252Fapp%252Fcards%252Fid464957209%253Fmt%253D8%2526uo%253D4%2526partnerId%253D30" target="itunes_store">Free</a> Requirements:  iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad running iOS 5.0 or later Positives:  Lets you create and send personalized, made-to-order greeting cards. Physical cards sent directly to recipients by Apple. Negatives:  Disappointing selection of card templates. In-app purchases can only be made with credit card. User experience feels less polished than expected. Score:  2.5 Okay

10 Apps to Help Enhance Your Thanksgiving
Mon, Nov 21 @ 3:31 PM
Every family has its customary way to celebrate Thanksgiving, but every now and then, those practices can benefit from some updates. While you may never get your uncle to pay attention while the game is on -- or your grandmother to stop pinching your cheeks -- it's easy for owners of iOS devices to bring some modern flair to classic Turkey Day traditions. Whether you require some help in the kitchen, need to keep the kids entertained, or just want some talking points to pull your family out of that awkward political conversation, here's a list of apps to help you enhance (and survive) Thanksgiving.

Monday Recap: Google Search, Spotify's New Direction, Grand Central Rumors
Mon, Nov 21 @ 4:06 PM
We've got three words for you today: Short work week! For our U.S. readers, Thanksgiving is this Thursday and many folks have an extra day off on Friday, which means you'll have a longer weekend at play than you will working three days this week. (Our apologies to those of you who don't get to enjoy that scenario. We feel your pain.) But there's still plenty of news floating around the interwebs, and we've collected some of the best stuff for you to read on this fine Monday, November 21, 2011.Report: Grand Central Apple Store Could Open This WeekRetailers are amped up for Black Friday this week here in the U.S., and 9to5Mac is reporting that Apple may also get in the holiday spirit by opening its biggest store to date in New York City's Grand Central Station. According to their sources and some on-site spy photos, Apple could officially announce the opening of the store on Tuesday and pull back the curtains in time for Black Friday shopping on November 25. The site is expected to have just over 300 employees (!!), who are currently being trained at New York area Apple Stores. Grand Central Station receives a whopping 750,000 visitors every single day and more than a million during the holidays, so it's safe to say that this Apple Store could be the mother of them all.Google Search iOS App Gets New iPad LookThe Google Mobile Blog announced an update to the iOS Google Search app today, which specifically targets the iPad user interface for "a significant redesign." The app is now more interactive, more visual and easier than ever before to find exactly what you're looking for. Images can be viewed full-screen and the app includes a new visual search history as well as easy access to other Google apps. The 11.9MB update is available now for users running iOS 4.0 or later -- which should really be most of us by now.Spotify Heading In "New Direction" with November 30 Press EventWe love us some Spotify here at MacLife.com, which is why we're excited to see what they'll do next after finally landing on American shores over the summer. As it turns out, we won't have long to wait: AllThingsD is reporting that the company has sent out a "mysterioso invitation" for a press event in New York on November 30 with CEO Daniel Elk and "a special guest or two." So what's the topic? No one knows for sure, but Spotify is teasing "a new direction for the company," which sounds like a bit more than adding an MP3 store (which is already available in Europe) or a much-needed iPad app. Mark your calendars, and check back with us next Wednesday for all the details.Don't Expect iOS 5.0.2 This Week -- Assuming You Were In the First PlaceDespite no official word from Apple that a new iOS 5 fix would be released this week, German-language site Macerkopf.de is backpedaling on an earlier report claiming that would be the case. According to AppleInsider, the website originally reported last week that iOS 5.0.2 would arrive "no later" than this week in an effort to address additional battery life issues for iPhone 4S users. The update supposedly brings 10 hours of active use for the new handset, while Apple is rumored to also be hard at work on iOS 5.1, which promises "many changes" to Siri's voice control -- but don't expect that one until sometime next year, sources claim.Stamped Gets The App Store Seal of ApprovalStill looking for the perfect social sharing app? The folks at Stamped, Inc. have released a free iPhone app that may be just the ticket. Aptly named Stamped, the app claims to be "a new way to recommend only what you like best -- restaurants, books, movies, music and more." To get started, create a profile and customize a unique "stamp," then use it on things you want friends to know about. Promising "no noise, no strangers, just the things you and your friends love," Stamped integrates with Opentable, Amazon, Fandango and iTunes and shares easily via Twitter and Facebook. The 8.5MB is free and available on the App Store now for all devices running iOS 4.0 or later (but is not a universal build for the iPad).Follow this article's author, J.R. Bookwalter on Twitter 


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Minivan Crash Victims’ Families Kept Away from Chinese Media http://ping.fm/lQ0tc

2011年11月21日 星期一

China raises rates, shrugs off slowing growth (Reuters)

BEIJING (Reuters) – China raised interest rates for the third time this year on Wednesday, making clear that taming inflation remains a top priority even as the growth pace of its vast economy gently eases.

The 25-basis-point increase in lending and deposit rates underscored China's quiet confidence that the world's second-biggest economy is resilient enough to endure tighter monetary policy and is not threatened by the hard landing that some investors fear.

Analysts suggested China was close to, or even at the end, of a cycle of rate rises and the latest move was a pre-emptive strike before another big jump in inflation in data next week heightens depositors' worries about low yields.

"Today's rate hike suggests that China's June inflation could be higher than expected and the second-quarter GDP remains solid, consistent with our expectation," said Ligang Liu, head of Greater China economics at ANZ in Hong Kong.

"The rate hike will help the PBOC to fine-tune its monetary policy by alleviating the worsening negative real interest rate problem so as to prevent an outflow of deposits from the banking system."

The latest move increases China's benchmark one-year lending rate to 6.56 percent, and its benchmark one-year deposit rate to 3.5 percent, the central bank said.

The increases will take effect from Thursday, the central bank said in a short statement on its website.

Risky assets, particularly those with direct links to China's growth such as the Aussie dollar, sold off after the announcement, reacting to concerns this latest monetary tightening will choke an already sluggish global economy.

China-watchers couldn't agree on whether there will be more rate rises in the second half of the year. The People's Bank of China (PBOC) has raised banks' reserve requirements nine times in addition to these rate rises in its nine-month cycle of tightening monetary conditions.

"China's inflation battle is almost at an end. Already, there are signs that price pressures are coming off," said Frederic Neumann, an economist at HSBC in Hong Kong. "Today's rate hike may therefore have been the last in the cycle,"

GROWTH VERSUS INFLATION

Hopes that the PBOC may be near a pause in tightening was seen as a positive for stocks and could halt the rise in yuan onshore swap rates. Such expectations have helped the Shanghai Composite index bounce from nine-month lows hit in June.

The world's second-biggest economy expanded more than 10 percent last year but has cooled in 2011. First-quarter growth was 9.7 percent and data next week is expected to show the pace eased to 9.4 percent in the second quarter.

Evidence is growing that China's vast manufacturing sector is losing momentum, due both to tighter policy at home and slowing demand overseas.

A survey of purchasing managers showed the factory sector expanded at its weakest pace in 28 months in June, mainly owing to a drop in new orders. Many analysts reckon the pace is in keeping with an economy expanding on average at around 9 percent and industrial growth of around 13 percent.

Moreover, a double-digit increase in wages is expected to feed into already strong domestic demand.

With U.S. interest rates near zero, Beijing worries it might attract more speculative funds into China if it raises rates too far. That would exacerbate the problem of excess liquidity and further fuel inflation.

Equally, it has to placate depositors struggling with a negative real rate of return on their cash in banks.

China's inflation quickened to a 34-month high of 5.5 percent in May as elevated food prices and a red-hot property market kept price pressures alive.

A Reuters poll forecast data due on July 15 will show that inflation in June rose to 6.3 percent -- its highest reading since mid-2008. Many economists estimate inflation will peak in June or July.

Beijing is especially sensitive to rising prices that might stir social unrest and threaten its leadership.

Wang Jun, an economist at CCIEE, a government think tank, said Beijing may feel compelled to raise rates again if inflation, proves more stubborn than expected.

"If inflation comes down, there will be no need to raise rates. But if prices rebound, there could be further rate rises," he said.

(Writing by Koh Gui Qing and Vidya Ranganathan; Editing by Ruth Pitchford and Neil Fullick)


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RSS2Email.me Daily Update for Nov21, 2011

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Apple Introduces World's First Thunderbolt Display
Wed, Jul 20 @ 9:40 AM
Apple today unveiled the new Apple Thunderbolt Display, the world's first display with Thunderbolt I/O technology and the ultimate docking station for your Mac notebook. With just a single cable, you can connect a Thunderbolt-enabled Mac to the 27-inch Apple Thunderbolt Display and access its FaceTime camera, high-quality audio, and Gigabit Ethernet, FireWire 800, USB 2.0, and Thunderbolt ports. The new display features a thin aluminum and glass enclosure and includes a MagSafe connector that charges your MacBook Pro or MacBook Air.

New, Faster MacBook Air
Wed, Jul 20 @ 9:44 AM
Apple today updated the MacBook Air with next-generation Intel Core processors, high-speed Thunderbolt I/O technology, a backlit keyboard, and Mac OS X Lion, the world's most advanced operating system. With up to 2.5x the performance of the previous generation, flash storage for instant-on responsiveness, and a compact design so portable you can take it everywhere, MacBook Air is the ultimate everyday notebook. MacBook Air starts at $999 (US) and is available for order today and in stores tomorrow.

Creating Media-Savvy Journalists with Mac
Mon, Aug 15 @ 11:36 AM
At the world-famous Missouri School of Journalism, the MacBook Pro is now a universal presence in a curriculum designed to give students the hands-on experience they need to produce work at the same level as any professional journalist. Students use their Mac notebooks with iLife and Final Cut Pro to report, write, edit, and produce stories for the school's newspaper, TV station, and online news service. Says Associate Dean Brian Brooks, "The Mac can really transform how we teach journalism in this country."

Apple Again Tops ACSI Customer Satisfaction Survey
Tue, Sep 20 @ 10:57 AM
Apple has topped the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) in the personal computer category for an eighth consecutive year, achieving a score of 87 points. This is Apple's highest score ever on the index and nine points ahead of second place HP. The ACSI includes tablets in the PC category, and the organization says in its press release, "Apple's winning combination of innovation and product diversification — including spinning off technologies into entirely new directions — has kept the company consistently at the leading edge."

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Agile Connect 2011 – Keynote: Software program Layout in the 21st Century
Mon, Nov 21 @ 2:45 AM
www.agilejournal.com – Around the prior 10 years or so we have observed critical new tips extra to the combine of software layout practices to help us make much better software program. Design Styles help us seize the design options and expose a rationale for utilizing them. Refactoring allows us to enhance technique layout following the [...]


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RSS2Email.me Daily Update for Nov21, 2011

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Apple Introduces World's First Thunderbolt Display
Wed, Jul 20 @ 9:40 AM
Apple today unveiled the new Apple Thunderbolt Display, the world's first display with Thunderbolt I/O technology and the ultimate docking station for your Mac notebook. With just a single cable, you can connect a Thunderbolt-enabled Mac to the 27-inch Apple Thunderbolt Display and access its FaceTime camera, high-quality audio, and Gigabit Ethernet, FireWire 800, USB 2.0, and Thunderbolt ports. The new display features a thin aluminum and glass enclosure and includes a MagSafe connector that charges your MacBook Pro or MacBook Air.

New, Faster MacBook Air
Wed, Jul 20 @ 9:44 AM
Apple today updated the MacBook Air with next-generation Intel Core processors, high-speed Thunderbolt I/O technology, a backlit keyboard, and Mac OS X Lion, the world's most advanced operating system. With up to 2.5x the performance of the previous generation, flash storage for instant-on responsiveness, and a compact design so portable you can take it everywhere, MacBook Air is the ultimate everyday notebook. MacBook Air starts at $999 (US) and is available for order today and in stores tomorrow.

Creating Media-Savvy Journalists with Mac
Mon, Aug 15 @ 11:36 AM
At the world-famous Missouri School of Journalism, the MacBook Pro is now a universal presence in a curriculum designed to give students the hands-on experience they need to produce work at the same level as any professional journalist. Students use their Mac notebooks with iLife and Final Cut Pro to report, write, edit, and produce stories for the school's newspaper, TV station, and online news service. Says Associate Dean Brian Brooks, "The Mac can really transform how we teach journalism in this country."

Apple Again Tops ACSI Customer Satisfaction Survey
Tue, Sep 20 @ 10:57 AM
Apple has topped the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) in the personal computer category for an eighth consecutive year, achieving a score of 87 points. This is Apple's highest score ever on the index and nine points ahead of second place HP. The ACSI includes tablets in the PC category, and the organization says in its press release, "Apple's winning combination of innovation and product diversification — including spinning off technologies into entirely new directions — has kept the company consistently at the leading edge."

Cool Chinese Education

( Back to Top )

Agile Connect 2011 – Keynote: Software program Layout in the 21st Century
Mon, Nov 21 @ 2:45 AM
www.agilejournal.com – Around the prior 10 years or so we have observed critical new tips extra to the combine of software layout practices to help us make much better software program. Design Styles help us seize the design options and expose a rationale for utilizing them. Refactoring allows us to enhance technique layout following the [...]


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