The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) ended Wednesday at an all-time closing high, led by technology firms including Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics. The KOSPI rose 0.92 percent to 2115.69 points. Samsung Electronics shares rose by 2.9 percent to KRW997,000, a record high, after hitting the key psychological… Read More

With Chinese President Hu Jintao’s highly publicized visit to the US occurring this week, expect China headlines to dominate the news. President Obama is expected to take a tougher stance against China in regards to its military expansion, market access to US goods and services, the appreciation of the Chinese… Read More

The specter of inflation has put markets and economic policymakers on alert in Asia. China on Friday raised banks’ reserve requirement ratio (RRR) by 50 basis points to a record high of 19.5 percent, the fourth RRR hike in two months. Inflation is a deeply sensitive issue in China, as… Read More

China has raised the amount of money that banks must hold in reserve, and therefore not lend, for the fourth time in two months. The reserve requirement ratio was raised by 50 basis points to a record high of 19.5 percent. The move will drain about USD53 billion from the… Read More

Russia’s largest mobile network operator said that sales of mobile handsets in the country rose an estimated 25 percent in terms of units last year, Reuters reported. Mobile TeleSystems (NYSE: MBT) said that handset sales rose to 34.8 million units, though the average selling price declined by 14 percent. These… Read More

Several prominent economists said that China could fail to meet the government inflation target of 4 percent this year. Chief economists for the Bank of Communications and brokerage Guotai Junan said at a panel discussion organized by Bloomberg that China’s consumer prices could rise by more than 4.5 percent this… Read More

China’s 2010 trade surplus fell almost 7 percent to USD183.1 billion, marking the third year in a row that the surplus has fallen as a share of GDP, the New York Times reported. The figures, released Monday by the country’s customs bureau, suggest that China’s economy is becoming less dependent… Read More

China is reportedly planning more stringent environmental standards for miners of rare earth elements (REE), which could raise export prices for these critical metals. State media said that the Ministry of Environmental Protection has approved new rules that would drastically cut the amount of pollutants that REE miners are allowed… Read More

India’s food inflation has climbed to its highest point in more than a year, raising expectations of an interest hike this month. The food price index rose 18.3 percent year-on-year in the week ended Dec. 25, 2010, the fifth straight week of rising prices. Onion prices rose over 23 percent… Read More

A string of foreign and domestic brokerages have released their 2011 outlook for China’s stock market. Notably, Zhang Kun, strategist at Guotai Junan Securities, the country’s second-largest domestic brokerage, has predicted further losses for Chinese stocks as the central bank struggles to tamp down inflation. Zhang correctly predicted that Chinese… Read More