Swatch eyes single or double digit sales growth
BIENNE, Switzerland (Reuters) - Swatch Group , the world's biggest watchmaker, is expecting high single or double-digit sales growth this year as demand from China and for middle and lower-price products holds up in the face of global economic uncertainty. "We are trying to beat the 8 billion Swiss franc ($8.51 billion) mark this year, which would translate into another record year", Swatch Chief Executive Nick Hayek told reporters on the sidelines of the company's annual general meeting on Wednesday. The company had sales of 7.14 billion francs last year. ...
Global shares fall as deepening Greek turmoil weighs
TOKYO (Reuters) - Asian shares fell on Monday after weekend talks to form a new Greek government failed and China's latest move to loosen monetary policy highlighted concerns its economy is faltering, prompting investors to further trim their exposure to risk. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fell as much as 0.6 percent to its lowest in nearly four months, after shedding more than 1 percent on Friday for its biggest weekly loss since late November. Japan's Nikkei share average gave up early gains to stand nearly flat at midday. ...
Dalai Lama: China may have plotted to poison me
LONDON (Reuters) - Tibet's Buddhist leader, the Dalai Lama, fears China may have plotted to kill him by training female agents with poison in their hair and on their clothing, he told Britain's Sunday Telegraph newspaper. China has ruled Tibet since 1950, and the Chinese government has repeatedly accused exiled Tibetans, including the Dalai Lama, of stoking dissent against its rule. The spiritual leader fled to India in 1959 after a failed uprising. Last year he was warned that Chinese agents had trained Tibetan women to kill him, the Sunday Telegraph reported. ...
Global UN-backed land use guidelines approved
ROME (Reuters) - The world's governments approved new guidelines for rules on land use on Friday to protect the poor and fight hunger, but aid groups said they were too weak to stop large-scale land grabs by big business in underdeveloped countries. The UN-backed guidelines have been in the works for three years, driven by concerns that countries such as China and Gulf Arab states and private investors are buying land in Africa and Asia to secure resources at the expense of local people. "What is missing the most in terms of land grabbing is a clear condemnation of this practice. ...
Global Shares, euro slide on growth concerns, JPMorgan
LONDON (Reuters) - European shares and commodities fell on Friday while safe haven German bonds jumped, as deepening euro zone political turmoil and weak economic data from China raised growth concerns, while a shock trading loss from JPMorgan added to market jitters. The growing risk aversion put the MSCI world equity index on course for a second weekly loss of over 2 percent and even sent gold, often used as a safe haven, down more than half a percent to around $1,585.86 an ounce. The euro dipped to a fresh 3-1/2 month low of $1. ...
China industrial output growth weakest in nearly three years
BEIJING (Reuters) - Chinese industrial production weakened sharply in April as investment slowed to its lowest level in nearly a decade, showing an economy that is surprisingly vulnerable to a global slowdown and a credit crunch at home. Industrial production rose by 9.3 percent in April, the lowest level since May 2009, while retail sales surprised the market by slowing to a 14.1 percent rise, the lowest level in 14 months. Fixed asset investment rose by 20.2 in the first four months of the year, the slowest level since December 2002. "It's obviously much weaker than anyone had expected. 9. ...
Lawyers for China dissident’s nephew say they face threats
BEIJING (Reuters) - Chinese legal authorities have confiscated the license of one lawyer and threatened to do the same to another after they volunteered to defend Chen Kegui, the nephew of blind Chinese activist Chen Guangcheng. The moves come as Chen Guangcheng, whose escape last month sparked an international furor, said Chinese officials were "going crazy" with reprisals against his family in eastern Shandong province in revenge for his recent escape from house arrest. Chen Guangcheng's escape caused embarrassment for China and led to a diplomatic crisis in U.S.-Sino relations. ...
China’s inflation rate slows slightly to 3.4 pct
China's inflation rate slowed slightly to 3.4 percent in April, down from 3.6 percent a month earlier, giving the government greater leeway to ease policy to boost the economy.
China’s Chen says officials "going crazy" with reprisals
BEIJING (Reuters) - Blind Chinese activist Chen Guangcheng and a family lawyer have accused local officials of detaining two of his relatives and hounding and harassing others in revenge for his recent escape from house arrest and for sparking an international furor. Chen, whose escape last month caused embarrassment for China and led to a diplomatic crisis in U.S.-Sino relations, said a sister-in-law and nephew had both been detained, though the lawyer added that Chen's sister-in-law had since been released. ...
Apple, supplier Foxconn to share costs on improving factories
SHANGHAI (Reuters) - Apple Inc and its key supplier Foxconn Technology Group will share the initial costs of improving labor conditions at the Chinese factories that assemble iPhones and iPads, Foxconn's top executive said on Thursday. Foxconn chief Terry Gou did not give a figure for the costs, but the group has been spending heavily to fight a perception its vast plants in China are sweatshops with poor conditions for its million-strong labor force. It regards the criticism as unfair. "We've discovered that this (improving factory conditions) is not a cost. ...
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