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The end of Mayan calendar marks the beginning of the Bull calendar. 大难不死必有后福

China’s government says it will encourage mergers among producers of solar panels to strengthen an industry that has suffered huge losses due to excess production capacity and price-cutting wars.

Muddy Waters may lose credibility unless it proves aggressive claims

Regulations that transcend national borders may be necessary

It denies charges, threatens legal action; says US short-seller visited its office incognito He went on to describe an extraordinarily secretive visit that Mr Block had made to Olam's office on Nov 1 along with representatives of a hedge fund. "He impersonated somebody else. When we pushed him, he didn't give us a card - he said he didn't carry a card. He said he was an investor of the hedge fund that came to us, and that as an investor he made a practice of knowing what the hedge fund was investing in."

Carson Block is going after bigger game

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There are investment opportunities in this unique segment of the property market

Indonesian coal-mining company Geo Energy Group is heading for a Singapore Exchange (SGX) mainboard listing with an initial public offering of 289.26 million shares at 32.5 cents each.

For decades explorers have enjoyed a place on the cutting edge of the country’s mining boom as they scoured the earth for fresh mineral deposits, a process that can take years and cost hundreds of millions of dollars before payback. But now they complain that new rules aimed at boosting state revenue from natural resources have slashed investment in mineral prospecting and could threaten the entire US$93 billion sector.

In the take-no-prisoners world of foreign exchange dealing, asking traders to look inside themselves and confront their inner demons may seem a forlorn endeavor. Read more...

* Hedge funds reverse bets against stocks * Funds fall far short of S&P gains in 2012 -Credit Suisse * Hedge funds increase bets on volatile, higher-risk stocks

Key concepts and principles arising out of CJ’s decision in Airocean directors case should be noted

A prominent Malaysian businessman and politician imprisoned for commercial crimes that led to the collapse of Singapore-based Pan-Electric Industries (Pan-El) in the 1980s will not take legal action against his prosecutors, despite suggestions that he may have been wrongly convicted.

The recent successful listing of Far East Hospitality Trust (FEHT) - which attracted a subscription rate of over 30 times - has thrown the spotlight on the somewhat low-profile and under-researched Hotel Properties Ltd (HPL).

Long positions raised before talk of moves by Europe, US, China to revive global growth fuelled surge in prices for a sixth week

Recent research suggests that not only are financial traders wired differently, but that they have a lot in common with psychopaths

Just a few years after Chinese companies lined up to sell shares on Wall Street, a growing number are reversing course and pulling out of U.S. exchanges.

Foreign firms’ influx creates demand for housing, offices

Liquidity problems, lower profits and a policy of industry consolidation are making it tough for smaller car dealers to survive on the mainland

It should focus on enhancing quality of listings through enforcement, before scandals drive away high quality foreign firms

Hedge funds raised commodity bets in the longest bullish streak in three years as speculation that policymakers will increase economic stimulus drove prices towards the biggest monthly rally since last October.

The Chinese investment vehicle known as "Golden Elephant No. 38" promises buyers a 7.2 percent return per year. That's more than double the rate offered on savings accounts nationally. Read on...

Independent directors emit sigh of relief

Proposed new margin will be first line of defence if member defaults

Mr. Madhavan - This verdict has gone a long way to correct a grave injustice that all three of us suffered and this matter took a long, long time to resolve

Intrepid Mines forced to quit Java project worth US$5b

Analysts shed light on an issue close to the heart of many S-chip investors

A mix of factors including overcapacity and low freight rates are setting the country’s shipbuilding industry on course for its worst year in a decade

China’s growth rate slowed for a sixth successive quarter to its slackest pace in more than three years, highlighting the need for more policy vigilance from Beijing even as signs emerge that action taken so far is beginning to stabilize the economy.

China’s economic slowdown slammed into Li Fangliang, cutting sales at his Shanghai auto parts store by half.

From all the reading I’ve done, amazing people I’ve talked to, and my own life observations, I’ve come to the conclusion that: Confidence is everything! No matter what you do in life, you have to believe in yourself and maintain a strong state of mind…especially if you’re a stock trader.

Rich will lose 50% in massive wealth destructi on   Read on...

Foreign firms are turning their attention to China’s hinterland, but now their mainland partners are not so needy - and tie-ups can easily go sour

China is emerging as a strong contender to the traditional offshore oil rig manufacturing powerhouses of Singapore and South Korea as shipyards such as COSCO Corp fight for a bigger market share in a deepwater exploration boom.

US-based data-centre provider is eyeing more Chinese cities, including expansion in Hong Kong, after a Shanghai acquisition

Because the country is so complex, top executives need to grasp its political, social, cultural and historical paradigms when trying to unravel its economics, says LOW YEN LING

Official data may lag behind findings of private survey based on Fed’s ‘Beige Book’ by one to three months

Views mixed; some see firms doing better, others cite China uncertainty

If you’ve been in the market long enough, you’d have noticed that property prices go up and down in stretches over varying periods of time. In markets as in real life, gravity rules – what goes up must come down. Read on...

Jury is still out on who will win the all-important struggle for control of the property market

Mainland companies looking to raise money on offshore exchanges increasingly run the risk of attracting the critical attention of short sellers

With a decline in demand for new loans many analysts doubt that any further reductions on the mainland will do much to revive interest in bank lending

More than one-third of mainland investors say they have lost at least 30 per cent of their equity investments in the first half of this year, an embarrassment for chief securities regulator Guo Shuqing.

Premier insists Beijing will not relax campaign to restrain prices and limit speculation in wake of central bank’s second interest rate cut in a month

China’s huge fleet of coastal ships, usually confined to plying the Chinese seaboard, has sailed out of the shadows to seek international business in yet another sign that China’s economy is slowing.

China’s best known local sportswear group Li Ning Company Limited, grappling with a slowdown that has halved its share price in recent months, replaced its chief executive on Thursday and said it will focus more on its business in China.

Evergrande Real Estate, the second-largest mainland developer by sales, has reported accusations made against it by United States-based short seller Citron Research to the Hong Kong police.

The former boss of Barclays said yesterday that the British bank illegally reported low borrowing rates in October 2008 because other banks were reporting even lower ones, making Barclays look bad and threatening efforts to attract investment from Qatar.

The scandal over Barclays’ efforts to rig interbank rates has put the relationship between big banks and financial regulators under the microscope

The London interbank offered rate, or Libor, touches many aspects of people’s lives, from their investments to home mortgages.

China, Singapore and Australia see home prices rise on the back of low interest rates and investors’ appetite for returns

The recent assault on VIP junket operator Ng Man-sun recalls the Macau casino industry’s less than savoury past, an era largely left behind as profits have risen

Consumers won their first lawsuit against a luxury furniture retailer as a district court in Hangzhou, Zhejiang ordered Da Vinci to pay 3.23 million yuan (HK$3.94 million) for making false claims about its goods.

The retail sector is seen as being more competitive as government cooling measures, including loan restrictions, curb demand and prices for homes

In the past decade China gained Western jobs and exports markets, but the loss of both means that serious systemic flaws are being laid bare

The true depth of the economic slowdown on the mainland has come under the spotlight following a report in the New York Times claiming that China had falsified data to understate the severity of the downturn.

Two rival measures give different diagnoses of the mainland’s economic health but each has a point

A better, bolder and, until now, almost inconceivable solution is for Germany to reintroduce the mark, which would cause the euro to immediately decline in value. Such a devaluation would give troubled economies, especially those of Greece, Italy and Spain, the financial flexibility they need to stabilize themselves.

Woes in Greece and the dry bulk shipping sector have simultaneously, and finally, washed up on the shores of Singapore-listed shipbuilder Yangzijiang.

Shujie Yao says serious structural flaws in the Chinese economy mean the days of near-double-digit growth are over. The nation must now prepare for three years of hardship, which will be felt by the rest of the world

Low valuations, market reforms and the prospect of monetary easing were all supposed to bring about a long-awaited turnaround for China’s languishing stock market this year, but halfway into 2011 and Chinese stocks have failed to live up to their promise.

Economic growth in Asia, which has been slowing in recent months, is set to recover in the second-half of the year, on the back of a rebound in China, say economists at HSBC.

Actis’ problems cashing out its stake in the mainland’s Xiabu Xiabu restaurant chain illustrate common issues facing private equity in China

The strengthening of the greenback in recent months might be the start of more financial trouble as businesses and speculators rush to cover their short positions

Restaurant chain trims its fund-raising goal by one-fifth to make it more attractive to investors, nine months after the group shelved listing plans

High Court makes landmark ruling backing SFC after company was found to have put misleading information in its HK listing prospectus in 2009

Jingdong Mall develops cold feet amid market uncertainty and pushes back US$5 billion Nasdaq listing, which was to be launched by September

The Chinese arms of all of the Big Four audit firms have been asked by US regulators to turn over documents related to audits of China-based companies listed in the United States, a person familiar with the matter said on Tuesday.

The Chinese arms of all of the Big Four audit firms have been asked by U.S. regulators to turn over documents related to audits of China-based companies listed in the United States, a person familiar with the matter said on Tuesday.

A Singapore-based private equity fund is now the proud owner of the outstretched arms and slapping palms of popular children’s entertainment brand Hi-5 Australia.

He gave dividends to foundation, and not stake in firm

Ricardo Leiman, who quit Noble Group Ltd. (NOBL) the day it posted its first quarterly loss in about 14 years, sued a unit of Asia’s biggest commodity supplier, claiming his shares and 2011 bonus were wrongfully withheld.

Huang Zhong Xuan, former executive director and CEO of China Sky Chemical Fibre, has been accused of defaulting on a $7.5 million loan from a bank. The bank has filed a lawsuit against Huang and three guarantors, including his wife, in the High Court to seek the return of the amount owing.

Yangzijiang Shipbuilding’s founding Chairman, Mr Ren Yuanlin, has donated US$750 mln worth of his stocks in the group to Yuanlin Charity Foundation which helps senior citizens in China.

Private equity-backed Chinese sportswear brand Li Ning warned of a "substantial decline" in profit for 2012 due to weaker sales and higher marketing costs, knocking its shares to a 6-1/2 year low. Read more...

China's banking regulator has told banks to assess loans to credit guarantee firms and step up checks on the sector, sources who have seen the documents told Reuters on Monday. Read more...

Global cheers over China's decision to cut interest rates faded on Friday as investors and economists worried that the move signalled the impending release of grim economic data.

U.S. coal exports to China could more than double to over 12 million tonnes in 2012 thanks to depressed freight rates and a fall in domestic demand in the United States, the chief of top U.S. coal exporter Xcoal Energy & Resources said.

Falling coal prices and soaring costs have forced Australia’s producers to start trimming output and letting go of some workers, hurting miners, rail and port operators and potentially threatening plans for more than $30 billion of investment in new mines.

By all accounts, Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi had a successful visit to Thailand in what was her first trip abroad after 24 years. The 66-year-old parliamentarian enjoyed a superstar-like welcome and made the most of her short trip to highlight the plight of her fellow countrymen overseas, such as exploited migrant workers and war refugees.

High-end property prices in Mandalay, Yangon soaring

High Court judge dismisses its claims in their entirety, orders it to pay defendants' costs

Chinese shipyards are offering to sell vessels at discounts of more than 20 per cent as builders look to protect market share from higher quality Asian rivals and stay afloat amid a wave of consolidation, industry sources said.

June 1 - U.S. May employment report, China PMI June 6 - European Central Bank rates meeting June 7 - Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke Congressional testimony June 8 - China economic releases June 17 - Greek election June 18/19 - G-20 in Mexico June 19/20 - FOMC Meeting June 28/29 - European leaders summit

Investors including Faber-backed fund eye 30% returns but heavy risks exist

Chinese buyers are deferring delivery or have defaulted on coal and iron ore deliveries following a drop in prices, traders said, providing more evidence that a slowdown in the world’s second-largest economy is hitting its appetite for commodities.

Experts say trial liberalisation would allow banks more freedom to set lending and borrowing levels

Chinese consumers of thermal coal and iron ore are asking traders to defer cargos and – in some cases – defaulting on their contracts, in the clearest sign yet of the impact of the country’s economic slowdown on the global raw materials markets.

When metals warehouses in top consumer China are so full that workers start stockpiling iron ore in granaries and copper in car parks, you know the global economy could be in trouble.

When Hong Kong businessman Mr. He paid a 35,000 pound deposit on a four-bedroom apartment in Britain, he believed it was a 40-minute walk from central London, his lawyer says. In fact it was a 40-minute journey by high-speed train.

They offer regular payouts at fixed rates, but are not like regular bonds

Hong Kong had a bad day yesterday, capping a bad week.

Once massive ships are allowed into mainland ports, shipyards could see big orders for them, analysts say

Indonesia's government will impose an average 20 percent duty on 14 mineral ore exports including copper, gold and nickel from Sunday, slightly lower than expected but enough to hurt miners in one of the world's major metals exporters.

Cheung Kong, Hutchison, Shui On approached to buy real estate: source

Welder Zhang fires up his blow torch and looks up at the towering, 8,800-tonnes oil tanker that is likely to be his last job at China's privately owned Qiligang Shipbuilding Co.

Delivering Beijing’s agenda for change will be no mean feat, and politics will only complicate things

Mainland companies facing rising demand from operators to build floating, production, storage and offloading vessels

State-owned shipyards tipped to take over smaller private operators as dearth of new orders hits hard

Weak sales, credit crunch take toll as most top 30 firms record negative cash flow and rack up debts

The lifting of decades of broad Western sanctions on Myanmar will prove to be both a boon and a test for China, for years the former Burma’s top investor and trading partner, bringing both risk and opportunity for long-established Chinese firms.

China must address its lack of globally competitive companies to meet the next challenge to its development   Read more...

It may be a tiny Chinese educational company worth a little more than US$200 million, but the ChinaCast Education Corp has found itself embroiled in a battle worthy of a John Grisham novel. Its ousted chief executive Ron Chan has been accused of aiding in the disappearance of ChinaCast’s chops - ornate corporate seals that are needed to approve everything from paychecks to contracts.

Proposal not ruled out as reported earlier, clarifies trade ministry

Company turnover must be at least $200m in property sector, $50m in others

Is it a public body issuing reprimands or a private club?

A former China Sky director has chosen the wrong process in bringing his case against the Singapore Exchange (SGX) to court, the lawyer representing SGX argued yesterday.

Slick operators abound, building trust with their smooth ways. An Indonesian businessman tells TEH HOOI LING how he and his son were taken for a ride here

Profit warnings, auditor disputes and delistings involving Chinese companies trading on foreign exchanges are fuelling investor distrust, wiping out valuations and poisoning the market for new listings.

Hong Kong’s financial market watchdog is launching a public consultation process in the next couple of weeks that seeks to toughen rules for banks sponsoring initial public offerings, including holding them liable for faulty deal documents.

Proposals being drawn up by Securities and Futures Commission, after cases of misleading prospectuses, would mean company sponsors becoming liable

They stick to traditional way despite higher commissions

They are on lookout for S-chips and firms with ethnic Chinese management

High Court’s interim order prohibits him from sending any money out of Singapore