Weekly News: Economic

Times

China currency must rise to fix imbalances:

Soros (9 Oct, 2010, 09.04PM IST,REUTERS)

Global currency system "lop-sided" and "controlled" by China.

Chronic (trade) surplus in China and big deficit in the United States.

Asian giant to allow its currency to appreciate.

China has kept its yuan currency undervalued in a managed float tokeep its exports competitive.

Weak US dollar and relatively strong currencies elsewhere couldpush nations into a round of currency depreciations to help theirexports.

China's currency should be allowed to appreciate, but a suddenjump of 20 per cent or more would lead to reduced exports andunemployment in China, reducing consumption there.

The return of ‘great power politics’(8 Oct, 2010, 10.18PM IST,REUTERS)

The growing power of emerging economies -- particularlyChina, Russia, India and Brazil -- is redrawing the priorities offoreign and defence ministries, driving financial markets andreshaping the global business environment.

Former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger compared theapproach of powers "emerging into confident nationhood" to thoseof states in the 19th or early 20th centuries.

The rise of China in particular is putting international relationshipsand systems into flux.

Chaos may occur but when it does it will sooner or later settle downto some new order.

It was essential that statesmen managed this process well to "savehumanity from untold suffering".

Vodafone buys 2 telecom expense

management firms (8 Oct, 2010, 01.06PM

IST,AGENCIES)

Vodafone is spending $9.7 million to buy two firmsspecializing in managing telecom expenses.

It is buying Australia-based Quickcomm for $6.9million and US-based based TnT ExpenseManagement for $2.8 million.

Quickcomm has offices in the United States , Britainand Singapore, while TnT has offices inBritain, Germany and France.

US closely watching Chinese steps on currency:

White House

(8 Oct, 2010, 12.01PM IST,PTI)

The US is closely watching steps taken by China on revaluation

of its currency, that is highly undervalued.

The Obama Administration believes that China needs to take

steps on rectifying its currency value.

The House of Representatives recently passed a legislation

pressing for retaliatory measures against the currency

manipulation by China.

Congress bill on Chinese currency was the first concrete action

to fight back against China's rigging its currency.

China's subsidies, their currency manipulation, all of this is a

real threat.