Archives: November 2008

Mumbai After the Attacks

Posted by: Manjeet Krpalani on November 29

I am home after a long day at the Jewish Centre, the Taj and the Oberoi. Around the Jewish centre, young Jews, members of Bombay’s 3,500-strong Jewish community, were walking...

A Chinese Thanksgiving and the World Economic Crisis

Posted by: Dexter Roberts on November 28

Another visit to the lovely Diaoyutai Compound in west Beijing, this time it is Thanksgiving Day, and a beautiful sunny one too. The Chinese Foreign Ministry has gathered a group...

Gloom and Sorrow in India

Posted by: Manjeet Krpalani on November 28

It has been now over a day since terrorists attacked Mumbai’s Taj Mahal and Oberoi hotels, the Victoria Terminus station, and other landmark targets on Colaba, the main shopping street....

Panasonic Cuts Earnings Outlook

Posted by: Kenji Hall on November 27

With the world’s financial markets still in crisis and analysts forecasting a grim holiday season for tech makers, this is hardly the time to be talking about growth targets. But...

Bombay, Nov. 26 2008

Posted by: Manjeet Krpalani on November 27

India’s most deadly terrorist attack started innocently, at the Leopold Café on Bombay’s Colaba Causeway, the city’s main drag. I was at the Indigo Deli, a trendy café in Bombay...

Terror Attacks in Mumbai

Posted by: David Rocks on November 26

Finally, the shooting has stopped. Navy commandos, police and the army have gained control over all three flashpoints in this shell-shocked city: the Taj hotel was cleared just before sunset;...

Toyota credit rating cut for the first time in a decade

Posted by: Ian Rowley on November 26

It's not then end of the world, but Fitch Ratings decision today to cut Toyota's AAA credit rating back to AA is yet more bad news for Japan's number one...

The UN's Tough Criticism of China on Torture

Posted by: Bruce Einhorn on November 25

Today, a time out from discussion of China’s economy or China’s food-safety crisis to talk about the recent report by the UN on torture in the world’s biggest country. The...

The Major Flaw in China's Melamine Crackdown

Posted by: Bruce Einhorn on November 20

Finally, some additional numbers from the Chinese government about the extent of the poisoned milk scandal. According to the Ministry of Health, 50,741 Chinese children sickened by the tainted milk...

McDonald's Quarter Pounder Buzz Marketing in Tokyo

Posted by: Kenji Hall on November 19

McDonald’s has sold its Quarter Pounder in the U.S. since the early 1970s. But until a few weeks ago there was only one place in Japan where you could...

Investors Shrug off Spansion Lawsuit against Samsung

Posted by: Ihlwan Moon on November 19

To hear Spansion’s claim filed in the U.S. against South Korea’s Samsung Electronics, the two companies face a legal battle that will have enormous repercussions in both semiconductor and consumer...

Federer is Back but Asia Hopes Dim for Tennis Tour

Posted by: Bruce Einhorn on November 19

A year ago, Roger Federer capped off another amazing year by playing a series of exhibition matches against Pete Sampras, the only man to have won more Grand Slams, in...

As Ford Reduces Stake, Mazda Appoints New CEO, Replaces U.S. Execs

Posted by: Ian Rowley on November 18

Here's an update on the speculation surrounding Ford and Mazda. Mazda held a press conference this evening in Hiroshima, which confirmed that Ford will a 20% stake in the Japanese...

Bank of America Raises Stake in China Construction Bank

Posted by: Frederik Balfour on November 18

At first glance, the decision by Bank of America to nearly double its stake in China Construction Bank [CCB]seems like a curious move. After all, China’s economy is just starting...

Ford's Mazda Share Sale Imminent?

Posted by: Ian Rowley on November 18

Another day, another auto stock sale? Reports in in Tokyo say Ford is about to confirm that it will reduce its stake in Mazda from 33.4% to 13.4%. Rumors of...

Divorce, Thaksin Style

Posted by: Frederik Balfour on November 17

It’s certainly been an annus horribilis for former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. In October he was sentenced to two years in the slammer for abusing conflict-of-interest laws before he...

As the Economy Slows, Japan Inc. Keeps On Shopping

Posted by: Ian Rowley on November 17

It's official: Japan, the world's second largest economy, is now in recession. According to figures posted this morning by the Cabinet Office, Japan's GDP contracted an annualized 0.4% in the...

China Bans Lip-Synching

Posted by: Frederik Balfour on November 14

Readers of this blog will remember the minor furor caused after the discovery that angel faced 9 year old Lin Miaoke was actually lip-synching while another child sung backstage when...

China's Investment/Consumption Dilemma

Posted by: Dexter Roberts on November 14

The $586 billion stimulus package’s rationale is clearly to serve as a major investment push for the slowing Chinese economy with an immediate aim—helping those industrial sectors of the economy...

North Korea: Brinkmanship Yet Again?

Posted by: Ihlwan Moon on November 13

You wouldn’t think an impoverished country facing a chronic food shortage will close its borders to the most important donor nation that has helped meet the shortfall for years. But...

The Arrest of Taiwan’s Chen Shui-bian

Posted by: Bruce Einhorn on November 12

There was always something Bill Clinton-like about Chen Shui-bian. Like Clinton, the Taiwanese politician came from a poor family, grew up in the rural south of his country, went to...

Japan's Shinsei Bank Swaps American Chief For 79-Year-Old Predecessor

Posted by: Ian Rowley on November 12

For the most part, Japan's biggest banks are proving reasonably resilient during the current financial crisis. There have been no bailouts and the biggest of them all, Mitsubishi UFJ, has...

The never-ending China-India border fight

Posted by: Bruce Einhorn on November 11

Imagine what it would be like if the French and the Germans were still squabbling about Alsace and Lorraine. That’s sort of the situation we have in Asia, where the...

Circuit City's Collapse Costs Japan's Sony, Toshiba, Panasonic

Posted by: Kenji Hall on November 11

It’s no secret that Japan’s tech companies are bracing for a tough yearend holiday shopping period. Circuit City’s collapse just added to their misery. Sony Computer Entertainment, Sony’s video game...

China Unveils Major Stimulus to Economy

Posted by: Frederik Balfour on November 09

China has finally unveiled a long-anticipated economic stimulus package of about $585 billion dollars to be spent by the end of 2010, amounting to a whopping 16% of GDP according...

Japan's Panasonic to Acquire Sanyo

Posted by: Kenji Hall on November 07

After a weeklong drumbeat of news about an imminent takeover deal, Panasonic, the world’s largest consumer electronics company, finally revealed on Nov. 7 its plans to acquire smaller tech rival...

Las Vegas Sands Asian Gamble Drags Adelson down

Posted by: Frederik Balfour on November 07

I remember how Sheldon Adelson seemed to be on top of the world the night the Venetian hotel and casino complex in Macao opened on August 28 2007. Standing beside...

Samsung Topples Motorola as No.1 in the U.S.

Posted by: Ihlwan Moon on November 07

Samsung Electronics recorded an impressive performance in the U.S in the third quarter of this year, seizing the bragging right to be the No.1 brand in the world’s largest mobile...

Will Japan's carmakers catch bailout fever?

Posted by: Ian Rowley on November 06

Yet more grim earnings news in Japan today. Toyota, the last of Japan's automakers to post its half-year results, has slashed its operating profit outlook by over 70% to $6.1...

China's Economy: So Long to Fast Growth?

Posted by: Bruce Einhorn on November 06

As a business journalist writing about China, you sort of take it for granted that Chinese economy is unstoppable. Of course it's the world's fastest-growing country. Of course it has...

Fujitsu To Buy Siemens' Stake of JV; Japan Inc.'s Global M&A Rises

Posted by: Kenji Hall on November 04

Add Fujitsu to the list of Japan’s blue chips on the hunt for acquisitions. On Nov. 4, Fujitsu said it will pay 450 million euros for Siemens’ 50% of their...

New Samsung Phone: a Real iPhone Killer?

Posted by: Ihlwan Moon on November 04

To hear Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer talk about Samsung Electronics’ new upgraded smart phone, T*Omnia, Korean consumers will soon get the mother of all smart phones on the planet....

China's Latest Spin on Melamine Scandal

Posted by: Bruce Einhorn on November 03

With worries growing about melamine spreading from milk to eggs to other parts of the food supply, Minister Sun Zhengcai is doing his best to put an upbeat spin on...

India’s Drugmakers Squeezed by China

Posted by: Bruce Einhorn on November 03

With the cost of manufacturing in China going up and companies stung by an endless series of Made-in-China scandals, lots of corporate executives talk about a China-plus-one strategy. Yes, you...