Archives: February 2009

India's GDP sinks

Posted by: Manjeet Krpalani on February 27

As expected, India's GDP in the quarter ended December 2008 came in sharply lower - 5.3% compared to the 7.6% in the previous quarter. The Sensex dropped 153 points on...

Japan Auto: Trying out Nissan's Aging Suit

Posted by: Ian Rowley on February 27

Last summer, I wrote an article about Nissan and Toyota developing technologies for elderly drivers. Today, at a design seminar at Nissan's swanky R&D center in Atsugi, about an...

U.S. Commerce Minister Pick Pro-China Business

Posted by: Dexter Roberts on February 26

It’s news certain to please the policy chiefs of Beijing. Yesterday, Obama announced he intends to appoint 59-year-old Gary Locke, the first and only Chinese-American to serve as governor in...

Japan Pushes Toward Solar Energy Future

Posted by: Kenji Hall on February 25

If Japan were to dream up a realistic ad promoting solar energy it would go something like this: Want to save up to $800 a year on your electricity bill?...

China, Dalai Lama at Odds as Tibet Anniversary Approaches

Posted by: Bruce Einhorn on February 25

On March 10, 1959, Tibetans began an uprising against Chinese rule. A few days later, the Dalai Lama left Lhasa and went into exile in India. He has never returned....

S&P downgrades India

Posted by: Manjeet Krpalani on February 24

The Congress Party could finally be getting its come-uppance. Today, S&P revised India’s sovereign rating from stable to negative. Moody’s may follow suit. According to S&P, ‘India's fiscal position has...

On China, the Economic Crisis and the Jews

Posted by: Bruce Einhorn on February 24

The New Yorker's China blogger, Evan Osnos, has a post asking the age-old question, "Is China Good for the Jews?" Mainland China has just a tiny number of Jews (most...

Pirates Big Oscar Winners in China

Posted by: Dexter Roberts on February 23

As the Oscars were announced at the 81st Academy Awards Sunday evening in Los Angeles with titles like Slumdog Millionaire and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button nabbing multiple honors,...

New Twist in Yves Saint Laurent Chinese Bronzes Controversy

Posted by: Frederik Balfour on February 23

I very carefully avoided mention the T-word during my previous blog about the two ancient Chinese bronzes belonging to the estate of Yves Saint Laurent that go on auction at...

Infosys Tackles India’s Science Crisis

Posted by: Bruce Einhorn on February 20

I’ve written before about worries among many Indians that that country’s scientists have fallen behind those of China and other Asian neighbors. (For more on India's science panic, check out...

China Should Buy Yves Saint Laurent Artworks from Christie’s

Posted by: Frederik Balfour on February 19

The sale of art treasures amassed by French couturier Yves Saint Laurent by auction house Christie’s in Paris Feb. 23-25 has been deemed “the Sale of the Century”, comprising some...

Stanford fraud scandal: Stumped by Sir Allen

Posted by: Ian Rowley on February 18

Perhaps it shows lack of journalistic instinct on my part but when I interviewed Sir Allen Stanford--the Texan billionaire at the center of a $8 billion fraud allegation--in September we...

Hyundai Grows Bolder with New Flagship

Posted by: Ihlwan Moon on February 17

South Korea’s Hyundai Motor was bold enough when it unveiled its first rear-wheel-drive premium sedan, the Genesis, just over a year ago. It let journalist drive the Genesis, BMW...

Japan's slurring Finance Minister steps down

Posted by: Ian Rowley on February 16

Shoichi Nakagawa has enjoyed his last drink as Finance Minister. In Rome at the weekend, a slurring, mumbling Nakagawa appeared to be drunk when addressing reporters. An ally of...

China Warns "Buy American" Effort is Protectionist Poison

Posted by: Frederik Balfour on February 16

China has long been a favorite target of U.S. protectionists, and in recent years has been subjected to a number of anti-dumping measures on steel pipes, televisions and coated paper....

In Japan Haggling over Greenhouse Gas Targets Begins Anew

Posted by: Kenji Hall on February 13

What’s the use of setting targets for lower greenhouse gas emissions if you can’t meet them? This week, a Japanese government panel of experts floated six possible gas-emissions reduction targets...

Cracks Form in Japan’s Ruling Party

Posted by: Kenji Hall on February 12

Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party is at war with itself after ex-prime minister, Junichiro Koizumi, gave premier, Taro Aso, a dressing-down yesterday for talking critically about the privatized postal system,...

Another Take on the China vs India Debate

Posted by: Frederik Balfour on February 12

Eye on Asia bloggers are pilloried regularly by our readers for raising the China vs. India debate. Some of our more virulent critics have accused us of being a part...

What to Make of China's Awful Trade Numbers

Posted by: Bruce Einhorn on February 11

As my BusinessWeek colleague Frederik Balfour points out in this Eye on Asia post, January was another terrible month for Chinese exports, falling 17.5% compared to January 2008. Imports were...

China Sells More Cars than the U.S.

Posted by: Frederik Balfour on February 11

China Sells More Cars than the U.S. Chalk up yet another humiliation for Detroit: China’s 730,000 vehicles sold in January, exceeded the 656,976 sold in the U.S., making the Middle...

Chinese New Year Fireworks Disaster Burns Mandarin Oriental

Posted by: Dexter Roberts on February 10

As always, the Chinese New Year in Beijing was celebrated with a near constant two-week-plus-long barrage of fireworks. But the cacophony-filled final day had a surprising and unfortunate twist: stray...

Slumdog Millionaire and reflections on India

Posted by: Manjeet Krpalani on February 10

Slumdog Millionaire is a brilliant, authentic, deeply disturbing and deeply uplifting film all at the same time. The depiction of slum life, a brutalized childhood, gang wars, police methods, India...

Will India Pass China as Best Growing Economy?

Posted by: Bruce Einhorn on February 10

Talk about a tarnished prize. According to this Economic Times story (the ET is a content partner of BusinessWeek), India may soon pass China to become the fastest-growing major economy....

China's Investors Get Assertive

Posted by: Dexter Roberts on February 09

Chinese investors burned badly following a series of overseas investments over the last year mainly in international banks and financial companies, are getting more assertive. That’s clear following the decision...

Satyam's new CEO: asset or liability

Posted by: Manjeet Krpalani on February 06

On Feb 5, A.S. Murthy, a Satyam veteran of 15 years, was appointed by the government-constituted board as the new chief executive of the beleagured company. The announcement was made...

China Bird Flu Update

Posted by: Frederik Balfour on February 06

First the good news. The Chinese Ministry of Agriculture told the China Daily there have been no reports of bird flu outbreak among poultry since January in the provinces where...

Bong of Champions: Michael Phelps' Kellogg Deal Goes up in Smoke

Posted by: Frederik Balfour on February 05

Who could forget the great skit on Saturday Night Live last summer where Michael Phelps [playing himself] consumes tens of thousands of calories for breakfast? Well, in real life it...

Korea Hit Hard by Shockwaves from China

Posted by: Ihlwan Moon on February 04

Economic data released by South Korea in recent days underline how a recession in China could bring misery for the rest of Asia. Korea’s exports suffered the worst monthly plunge...

China Threatens Trade Showdown with India

Posted by: Bruce Einhorn on February 04

Economic ties between China and India are showing the strain of the global crisis. Late last month, New Delhi imposed a six-month ban on the import of Chinese-made toys, in...

Japanese Stem Cell Scientist Announces Promising Results

Posted by: Kenji Hall on February 03

Researchers have used stem cells to clone sheep, dogs and monkeys. But cloning isn’t the only application of stem cell research. Another big promise is that these building blocks of...

Is China Covering up a New Bird Flu Epidemic?

Posted by: Frederik Balfour on February 03

Is China covering up a new outbreak of bird flu? Certainly there seems to be very strong evidence it is. There have already been eight reported cases of humans...