Today's Big Stories for January 25, 2013

Spicy McDonald's, California connections, hugs for children, Apple revenue, and Mythbusters busted. 

1. Much ado about nothing at McDonald's

The man had ordered a McCrispy Chicken Burger in Guangzhou on Saturday, and then askeda restaurant manager why the burger was spicy, since a previous burger he had eaten was notspicy, the Yangcheng Evening News reported.

Even the China Daily finds some humor in the story:

It was not reported whether police tried the burger, or stayed to order a meal themselves.

2. Jerry Brown to tout state on China visit

Gov. Jerry Brown's long-planned business trip to China is definitely on.

April 8-15 are the dates set for his visit to Beijing, Shanghai and perhaps other cities, where he will be meeting with senior government officials, exploring opportunities for Chinese investment and other deals in California, and opening the first of at least two planned trade offices there.

3. School in China charges parents a monthly fee for teachers to hug their children

Parents of children attending kindergarten in east China’s Yangzhou City were charged a so-called “hug fee” of 80 Yuan, some $12.80.

According to the reports for less than $13 a month the child would get one morning hug and one goodbye hug. Not bad at all.

4. Apple China Revenue Jumps 67% as Sales Outlets Double

Outlets in China selling the iPhone rose to 17,000 in the period that ended Dec. 29, from 7,000 a year earlier, A

pple Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook said on a conference call yesterday. That helped Apple boost sales in the Greater China region to $6.83 billion, from $4.08 billion a year earlier, the company said in statement yesterday that marked the first time it formally broke out China data in its earnings release.

5. Big news in China: "Mythbusters" blew up a Chinese popcorn maker

Chinese viewers seem amused by the fact that an expensive American TV show could so overthink, and somehow make dangerous, a banal popcorn maker that would seem cozily familiar to many urban Chinese. They also seem fascinated, as in often the case when Western media looks at China, by how they are perceived and portrayed. It’s a funny reminder of the mutual interest between China and the West, particularly the United States, and of the still-wide cultural gap that we’re slowly closing from both ends. Imagine how it would look if Chinese TV featured a wide-eyed segment on the dangerous magic of American hot dog carts.

Today's Big Stories for January 6, 2012

China's coldest winter, China's tennis winner, the world's longest subway, the world's auto-manufacturing gateway. 

1. Brrr! China's Coldest Winter In Decades at New Low

The state-run, English-language China Daily reported Friday that about 1,000 ships were stuck in ice in Laizhou Bay in eastern China's Bohai Sea.

Winter hasn't fully arrived in Shenzhen. Guess most of the cold is being deposited farther north. 

2. China's Li beats Zakopalova in Shenzhen final

Chinese star Li Na captured her seventh career title and second on home soil when she beat Klara Zakopalova of the Czech Republic 6-3, 1-6, 7-5 on Saturday in the Shenzhen Open final.

Missed it.

3. World’s longest subway system boosts China’s public transport push

China on Saturday came out with a new policy to boost usage of public transport, days after the capital, Beijing, put into operation four subway lines — with a combined length of 70 km — whose addition makes the sprawling 16-line Beijing subway system the world’s longest.

The extended Line 10 is a monster. It might not be the most condensed metro system in the world, but boy is it long. 

4. China projected to build more cars than Europe in 2013

Financial Times reports China may build more vehicles than 
Europe next year for the first time in the history of the automotive industry. All told, manufacturers in China are projected to produce 19.6 million light vehicles this year compared to the 18.3 million slated to be built in Europe. 

Interesting.

Today's Big Stories for October 18, 2012

More on Huawei, why is power consumption slowing, where do wealthy Chinese want to immigrate, and why are there no Chinese Mark Zuckerbergs?

1. Huawei Says US Probe Is 'Protectionism'

"No, I don't think there will be an impact," Huawei's senior vice-president Zhang Chunxiang said. Zhang, who spoke on the sidelines of a business event in Hangzhou, said both sides were still talking and that the US investigation was a sign of trade protectionism.

"They investigated for 11 months and they didn't consider all the different material supplied by Huawei and they still came to that conclusion. "They investigated like they had never investigated at all," he said.

2. Report: White House Finds China's Huawei Is Risky, But Not Because Of Spying

A White House-ordered review of security risks posed by suppliers to U.S. telecommunications companies found no clear evidence that Huawei Technologies Ltd had spied for China, two people familiar with the probe told Reuters.

Instead, those leading the 18-month review concluded early this year that relying on Huawei, the world's second-largest maker of networking gear, was risky for other reasons, such as the presence of vulnerabilities that hackers could exploit.

3. Where Well-Off Chinese Are Looking To Immigrate

On a recent Saturday, some 140 developers from more than 20 countries showcased their properties to Chinese buyers in an expo held in Beijing. To catch the eyes of the prospective buyers, the developers handed out fancy brochures, decorated their exhibit booths with bold-color pictures of featured properties, and in some cases, even had young saleswomen wearing bunny ears.

But what attracted many of the Chinese visitors the most was the lure of foreign residency, which made the 30 exhibitors from Cyprus the most prominent group at the entire expo. Why Cyprus? While mild weather, rich history and a nice location  in the Eastern Mediterranean might make the tiny island nation an attractive place to live, the main appeal is the incredibly low bar it sets for immigration: Anyone who spends €300,000, or roughly $393,000, on a piece of property on the island automatically becomes eligible for permanent European Union residency.

Interesting.

4. China's Power Consumption Slows Further

"The slower growth of power consumption is the result of energy-consuming industries, like the real estate and infrastructure construction sectors, decelerating amid the slowing economy," said Zhou Dadi, standing vice president of the China Energy Research Society.

The NEA data showed that electricity consumed by the industrial and manufacturing sector continued to slide, accounting for 73 percent of the the country's total power consumption in September, with energy-intensive industries taking the lion's share. From July to September, power consumption by the industrial and manufacturing sector continued to decline, indicating that the Chinese economy is still facing downward pressure.

5. Local Government Accused Of Forcing Students To Work For Foxconn

Citing a teacher at Shandong Business Institute, China National Radio reported that all of vocational colleges in Yantai, a city in northern Shandong Province, were given a clear order by the local government, asking them to send students to work at Foxconn factories as interns from September this year...

The students, supposed to finish their internship of one to three months at these factories, have to work overtime and nights just like regular employees, the report said. Students complained that their work had nothing to do with their majors, and was exhausting.

Sounds like a worthwhile internship.

6. Why Isn't There A Mark Zuckerberg In China?

Chinese education tends to be better for depth than breadth.  In other words, when you graduate as a software engineer, you may have very strong fundamentals in math and engineering, but you don't get as much exposure to user experience, communications, product design, business acumen, team-work, etc. as you would in a typical US university.

Very true. Breadth vs depth.

7. China Opens Atomic Bomb Facility To Red Tourists

Chinese government officials have announced plans to spend roughly one million dollars to open the former atomic bomb test site Malan Base in the remote Uighur Autonomous Region. The Telegraph reports that the site is of particular interest because the base is where Chinese scientists developed their first atomic bomb, which was detonated nearby in 1964...

The new tourist attraction will, according to UPI, include laboratories, dormitories and a 1000-foot-long underground air raid shelter. The project is being managed by local government actors working with Beijing's Tsinghua University.

I'd visit this site. Sounds like an interesting place for science/military nerds. 

Today's Big Stories for October 13, 2012

I'm back, and that means a Chinese Nobel Prize winner, ranking China's richest, California's investment gateway, and warnings against shadow banking. 

1. Mo Yan says Nobel prize means more eyes on Chinese literature

"In my childhood, there were only a few books available in my village. I had to resort to every means to find a book to read. I traded books with others and even churned the mill and reaped wheat for others in exchange for books," he said.

"When I finished reading all the books available in villages around, I thought I was the most knowledgeable man in the world."

"With no more books at hand, I even started reading a Chinese dictionary. I read it so many times that I even found mistakes in it."

2. China's 100 Richest

Slower economic growth took a toll on many of China’s 100 biggest fortunes, with 45 of them slipping from last year’s FORBES ASIA count and the overall roster’s total dipping 7% to $220 billion. But that still beats the 20% drop in the Shanghai Stock Exchange index since our 2011 list. Beverage producer Zong Qinghou, who topped our list in 2010, returns to the No. 1 spot as his net worth hit $10 billion.

3. California: China's gateway state to American investment?

California has attracted more Chinese investors than any U.S. state. And in the coming decade, thanks largely to California's robust tech industry, the Golden State is poised to be America's gateway for Chinese investment, according to a new report by the Asia Society.

This could be viewed as good news for California, which in recent years has dealt with strained budgets and joblessness worse than most other parts of the country.

4. Bank of Chine executive warns of shadow banking risks

A senior Chinese banking executive has warned against the proliferation of off-book wealth management products, comparing some to a Ponzi scheme in a rare official acknowledgement of the risks they pose to the Chinese banking system. China must "tackle" shadow banking, particularly the short term investment vehicles known as wealth management products, Xiao Gang, the chairman of the board of Bank of China , one of the top four state-owned banks, wrote in an op-ed in the English-language China Daily on Friday.

Today's Big Stories for September 24, 2012

Island controversy, China as a jobs' bogeyman, coal mines, lower forecasts, automotive dealer plight, and iPads for students.

1. Japan PM says dispute with China could hurt economy

Noda, who is scheduled to make a speech to the United Nations General Assembly this week, addressed reports that Japanese companies are facing economic harassment in China, telling the Journal that "recent delays in customs and visa issuance are of concern." He said damaging economic ties between the two nations could hurt the global economy.

2. New Romney Ad: Obama afraid to 'stand up to China'

For the second time in as many weeks, Mitt Romney's campaign released a new television ad blasting President Barack Obama as weak against China on trade. "Fewer Americans are working today than when President Obama took office," the ad's narrator says. "It doesn't have to be this way. If Obama would stand up to China."

As I post previously today, China isn't the problem when it comes to American jobs. I guess China's still the jobs' bogeyman (for both candidates). Oh well. 

3. 22 trapped in three col mine accidents in China

Three separate coal mine accidents over the weekend left 22 miners trapped in northeast and east China, according to local government sources. Eleven people were trapped after a fire broke out Saturday morning in a coal mine in northeast China's Heilongjiang Province. The accident that occurred at the Longshan coal mine in Youyi County of Shuangyashan City was previously reported to have happened on Sunday as a result of the mine owner's attempt to cover up, the rescue headquarters said.

4. Asia mostly lower as commodity firms weigh

China’s GDP growth outlook was cut to 7.5% from 8%, while Japan’s forecast was lowered to 2%, South Korea’s cut to 2.5%, and Singapore’s trimmed to 2.1%, the credit-rating firm said in a statement. “Our lower forecast for China recognizes that the central government had elected not to inject an economic stimulus of a size and speed necessary for an 8% growth rate,” S&P credit analyst Andrew Palmer said in the statement.

5. Car dealers see market shift to lower gear

Car dealers nationwide have begun to experience life in the slow lane after government policies to spur sales ended last year. Also putting the brakes on sales were ownership restriction rules starting in late 2010 that were intended to ease traffic congestion in cities such as Beijing and Guangzhou. In addition, the economy has slowed this year, exacerbating the plight of dealers. "For some car brands, we have inventories on hand of up to four months worth of sales," Pang Qinghua, chairman of Pang Da Automobile Trade Co. Ltd. said. "The normal stockpile lasts for one and a half months."

6. Chinese high school gives free iPads to senior students

And the schools are making sure the students are focused on homework, too, by locking out popular social networking apps and other time wasters.

Today's Big Stories for September 6, 2012

Auto sales numbers, buying of US entertainment assets, and Clinton's China visit. 

1. China Slowing Auto Sales Still Eclipse US-Japan-China

Three years ago, China passed the U.S. as the world’s biggest car market. By 2015, it will likely exceed the U.S., Japan and Germany combined -- and that takes into account the current economic slowdown.

2. Wanda of China set to buy more US entertainment assets

Fresh on the heels of spending $2.6 billion to buy AMC Entertainment, the nation's second-largest theater chain, Chinese conglomerate Dalian Wanda Group is poised to make more acquisitions in the U.S. entertainment industry.

3. Clinton, China haven't narrowed gaps on Syria, sea

Clinton had been scheduled to meet Vice President Xi Jinping, who is expected to take over as China's top leader later this year, but that was canceled by the Chinese for "unexpected scheduling reasons," State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said. A meeting between Xi and the visiting prime minister of Singapore, Lee Hsien Loong, also was canceled without explanation.

Today's Big Stories for August 30, 2012

Mining accident, European debt, BYD in trouble, and China in Egypt

1. Death toll rises in China coal mine blast

The death toll from a gas blast at a coal mine in the southwestern Chinese province of Sichuan rose to 19, with 28 miners still trapped underground, according to the local city government. A total of 154 miners were working underground when the accident occurred Wednesday at around 6 p.m. at Xiaojiawan Coal Mine, according to Panzhihua city's official account on Sina Weibo, China's equivalent of Twitter.

2. China's Wen calls for action on Europe debt

Expressing alarm at Europe's debt problems, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao called on Greece, Spain and Italy to embrace budget cuts and get their finances in order after meeting Thursday with visiting German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

1. BYD predicts dismal Q3 results

But the carmaker that used to own the country's best selling model F3 sedan has been outstripped by its peers in the Chinese market, despite only a total 9.6

million vehicles being sold in China in the first half, representing a 14-year low of 2.9 percent year-on-year expansion, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers. Great Wall Motor Co on Friday said its first-half net profit rose 29.9 percent to 2.4 billion yuan from 1.8 billion yuan a year earlier after selling an aggregated 262,018 vehicles during the period. Geely Automobile Holdings Ltd, another Hong Kong-listed carmaker, reported last week that its first-half net profit rose 8.7 percent this year, following sales of a total of 222,390 units both at home and abroad, up about 4 percent from a year earlier.

4. Chinese firms brave uncertainty in Egypt to gain a foothold in the Middle East

The Chinese are attracted to Egypt’s massive market for cheap consumer goods and an expansive and relatively cheap labor force. Egypt’s large number of preferential trade agreements with Europe, Africa and the Middle East, along with the Suez Canal, one of the world’s most important waterways, also make it a prime location, said Chen Lin, the commercial counselor at the Chinese Embassy in Egypt.

5. Analysis: China's aircraft carrier: In name only

Retired Major General Luo Yuan suggested naming China's new aircraft carrier Diaoyu, after the Diaoyu islands in the East China Sea. It would demonstrate China's sovereignty over the islands known as the Senkakus in Japanese, he said. For a notable hardliner, it was one of the least bellicose reactions he has advocated throughout a series of territorial rows that have soured China's ties with its neighbors in recent months.

Today's Big Stories for August 29, 2012

Violence against the Japanese ambassador, stocks drop, Lincoln expands, and China is aiming for the moon. 

1. Japan demands investigation into attack on ambassador's car in China

Beijing apologized for the embarrassing incident on Monday, in which an unidentified man ripped the Japanese flag from the ambassador’s car amid rising tensions over disputed islands in the East China Sea.

2. China stocks drop to 2009 low as Air China profits fall

Air China, the nation’s largest international carrier, sank to its lowest level since March 2009, while Zhongjin Gold, the third-largest bullion producer by market value, retreated 2.3 percent. FAW Car Co. (000800), which makes passenger cars with Volkswagen AG, declined for a seventh day as the company reported a six- month loss. Shanghai Chaori Solar Energy Science & Technology Co. rose 6.4 percent after Japan imported more solar products.

3. Lincoln Is Heading To China

Ford CEO Alan Mulally used an event Tuesday in Beijing to announce plans to start selling the brand in China in the second half of 2014. The announcement is significant because it makes Lincoln an international brand.

4. China eyes next lunar landing as US scales back

But experts say that China, which as recently as the 1980s was focused solely on developing satellites, is the closest to landing an astronaut on the moon. Beijing launched its manned space programme in 1999 and has developed rapidly since, sending its first astronaut into space in 2003 and completing a space walk in 2008.

This year, it conducted its first manned space docking -- the latest step towards setting up a space station -- during a mission that included its first woman in space. In its last white paper on space, China said it was working towards landing a man on the moon -- a feat so far only achieved by the United States, most recently in 1972 -- although it did not give a time frame

Today's Big Stories for August 20, 2012

More island disputes, a new Miss World, and rising home prices. 

1. Landings, protests stoke Japan-China islands dispute

Anti-Japanese protests rocked Chinese cities on Sunday after nationalists from Japan landed on an East China Sea island at the heart of a territorial dispute between the two nations, the largest flare-up of Chinese public anger over Japan in years.

In several Chinese cities, thousands took to the streets, including in Shenzhen where small groups overturned Japanese cars and shouted slogans denouncing Japan's claim over the islands, in footage carried by Hong Kong's Cable Television.

I was in Shenzhen but didn't see any of this in person. I wonder where it happened. 

2. Eastern Beauty: Miss China becomes Miss World

Beauty queens from around the world have gathered in China to compete for the coveted Miss World title. Miss China, Yu Wen Xia, 23, defeated 115 other hopefuls at Saturday’s ceremony in the Chinese city of Ordos...

This is the second time a Miss China has received the coveted title. In 2007, China’s Zhang Zilin was also crowned Miss World.

3. Chinese Home Prices Rise on Month in July, Down on Year

China's home prices rose 0.1 percent in July from June, a second month of modest uptick that raises the risk Beijing may seek to bolster a two-year campaign to curb housing inflation but which also weighs on the wider economy.

Today's Big Stories for August 5, 2012

Already posted about the just released manufacturing and service sector numbers. Additional big stories include verbal fighting with Hillary Clinton, the buying of 737s, and iPhone vs Android. 

1. China hits back at Clinton's Africa comments

Chinese state media lashed out Friday at U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton after she warned African leaders about cooperating with countries that want to exploit the continent’s resources.

2. China Southern Airlines buys 40 Boeing 737s worth $3.4B to help with international expansion

The company, which is China’s biggest airline by passenger numbers, said its Xiamen Airlines subsidiary is paying “significantly lower” than the $3.4 billion sticker price. It’s common practice for plane makers to give airlines discounts, and the final selling price for aircraft is rarely disclosed.

The jets will be delivered from 2016 to 2019. China Southern said they will be used to help with the company’s “internationalization” plans.

3. Apple slips, Android big winner in China during Q2

Samsung was the No. 1 smartphone vendor in China during the quarter, with a 17 percent share, followed by ZTE, Lenovo, and Huawei. Apple saw its shipments more than double year over year, but they were still down 37 percent compared with the first quarter of this year, leaving the company in fifth place.

Canalys analyst Chris Jones attributed the sharp drop-off to several factors. One was that Apple competes in a hardscrabble market where it is the most expensive brand. It also grapples with the existence of a flourishing gray market in smartphones where knockoffs are popular items.

Today's Big Stories for July 29, 2012 - Olympics Edition

China's off to a fast start, with their first ever golds in swimming in addition to golds in shooting and weightlifting. The men's gymnastic team is not looking too good though (and the Chinese women just lost to South Korea in archery). They must have been eating too many vegetables, just like the Chinese woman's volleyball team. 

1. China rules in the pool with Sun and Ye

Sun Yang propped himself up on the lane rope, posed for the cameras and let out a big roar as he pounded his fists into the water. It was the start of a big night for a Chinese swimming team that is developing into a major power.

2. New Pecking Order in Pool as China Wins Two Golds

It was a rough opening night in the pool for defending Olympic champions, above all a certain Michael Phelps, but it was a historic night for the Chinese.

3. U.S. Men's Gymnasts Are First in Team Qualifying

China and Japan slipped up again and again in qualifying, finding themselves tumbling from the high bar, falling off the pommel horse and stumbling on the floor exercise. At the end of the night, both teams slipped on the leader board, too. Japan plummeted to fifth out of eight advancing teams; China was sixth.

“One of our competitors was a substitute, so he lacked experience,” said China’s Chen Yibing, as he tried to explain his team’s shaky performance.

4. Olympics-Table Tennis - Everyone asks: Who can beat Chinese?

Chinese fireworks lit up the London 2012 opening ceremony and China's young table tennis stars are expected to rise to the task of taking every gold, although rivals hope the pressure could lead to an upset...

"It's very, very difficult to beat the Chinese. They don't just prepare for the Olympics for one or two years, they prepare for the four years with their training system," said Australian Miao Miao after winning her first round match on Saturday.

5. "Veggie" diet blamed for poor performance of China's women volleyball team

“They have showed significant decline in their strength and fitness” coach Yu Juemin said of his squad after Sunday's defeat to the US. “We are wary of meat tainted by lean-meat powder, and we didn't eat any during the game period,” Yu told the Shanghai Daily newspaper...

All Chinese athletes have been warned by the country's Sports Ministry to avoid meat contaminated with the powder, also known as clenbuterol, because it's banned by the International Olympic Committee as a performance-enhancing substance.

China bans the use of clenbuterol in livestock because of the chemical's noxious long-term effects on human health, but many pork farmers still administer it because it produces leaner meat. The World Anti-Doping Agency issued a warning last year about clenbuterol-tainted meat in China as well as Mexico, where it is also rampant.

As a result, the Chinese volleyball team only eats meat at its training camp, where the food can be tested for contamination. When players go elsewhere in the country, they have to forego pork, beef and lamb — as they did in the lead-up to the volleyball World Grand Prix finals tournament.

Today's Big Stories for July 26, 2012

A soft landing achieved and a new municipality christened.

1. IMF says China's economy has achieved 'soft landing,' but needs reform for longer term growth

In a report Wednesday on its website, the IMF praised China’s leaders for adjusting policies to help counter the malaise plaguing the global economy that has also slowed robust growth in China and other emerging nations.

“China’s economy seems to be undergoing a soft landing, though global headwinds are increasing,” said the report, issued after IMF consultations with Beijing.

2. China's newest city is on tiny island, has big aim

China's newest city is a remote island in the South China Sea barely large enough to host a single airstrip. It has a post office, bank, supermarket and a hospital, but little else. Fresh water comes by freighter on a 13-hour journey from China's southernmost province.

Welcome to Sansha, China's expanding toehold in the world's most disputed waters, portions of which are also claimed by Vietnam, the Philippines and other neighbors. On Tuesday, as blustery island winds buffeted palm trees, a new mayor declared Sansha to be China's newest municipality.

Today's Big Stories for July 25, 2012

Oil, Oil, Canada, Oil, China, and more Oil...

1. Canada Shifts Toward China With $15 Billion Nexen Deal

Cnooc Ltd. (883) ’s $15.1 billion cash takeover bid for Nexen Inc. (NXY) signals a Canadian shift toward China and away from the U.S. as the nation’s traditional oil and natural-gas partner and main export market.

2. China Push In Canada Is Biggest Foreign Buy

If completed, the deal for Canada's Nexen Inc., would mark China's most ambitious push into the continent's oil and natural-gas fields. It would give Cnooc a key role in technologies reshaping the energy landscape and open the door for it to operate in North American fields alongside such oil-and-gas giants as Exxon Mobil Corp. and Statoil ASA.

3. Chinese Oil Company Bids $15 Billion For Canadian Producer

“From China’s point of view, the main issue has been energy security, and it always will be,” Paul Ting, an independent energy analyst, said.

And for Nexen, which is based in Calgary, the deal will provide an alternative to a stagnant United States market, where prices for Canadian oil have been weak

Today's Big Stories for July 20, 2012

Syria veto and iPad debut.

1. Russia, China veto U.N. Security Council resolution on Syria

Russia and China vetoed a U.N. Security Council resolution on Thursday that threatened Syrian authorities with sanctions if they did not halt violence against an uprising, again thwarting Western hopes for tough action as the crisis in Syria escalates.

2. iPad makes quiet debut in China

"I'm very surprised that there is no line," Sun Xufei, who an IT worker who was the first in line of about 20 people waiting outside the Shanghai Lujiazui Apple store, told Reuters. "I thought there was going be a long line so I came over a bit earlier to pick it up."

Today's Big Stories for July 17, 2012

WTO ruling, IMF forecasting, and UN urging.

1. Visa Among U.S. Firms Seen Helped by WTO Ruling on China

WTO judges in Geneva yesterday agreed with the U.S. that China unfairly discriminates against foreign suppliers of electronic-payment services by imposing requirements on them that aren’t applied to domestic companies. They rejected the U.S. argument that China UnionPay Data Co., the world’s fastest- growing bank-card network, monopolizes the handling of domestic- currency payment-card transactions.

“It is definitely a mixed bag for both parties,” Scott Lincicome, an attorney at White & Case LLP, said in a phone interview. “The one thing we can safely say for sure is that both sides are going to appeal.”

2. It's not looking good for global growth, even in China, says IMF

The forecast for 2% growth in the U.S. this year and 2.3% next year were also scaled down from previous estimates. China’s economy is expected to swell a whopping 8% this year and 8.5% in 2013, but both of those forecasts are lower than previous ones. The same is true for for India’s forecasts of 6.1% expansion for 2012 and 6.5% for 2013, both slashed 0.7 percentage points.

3. UN head visits China seeking tough action on Syria

U.N. leader Ban Ki-moon was headed to China on Tuesday amid alarm over the spiraling violence in Syria and a diplomatic push to get Russia and China to back a tougher response to attacks by President Bashar Assad's regime. Ban's trip comes ahead of a U.N. Security Council vote this week on whether to allow sanctions and military intervention in Syria if Assad's regime or insurgent forces fail to comply with a U.N. peace plan. Russia and China have blocked previous efforts to sanction Syria.