Every Wednesday you will find links and top-line summaries to current events around the globe.
In Recession, China Solidifies Its Lead in Global Trade [New York Times]
- With the global recession making consumers and businesses more price-conscious, China is grabbing market share from its export competitors, solidifying a dominance in world trade that many economists say could last long after any economic recovery
- The country’s factories are aggressively reducing prices — allowing China to gain ground in old markets and make inroads in new ones. The most striking gains have come in the United States, where China has displaced Canada this year as the largest supplier of imports
- The results have been impressive. All told, in the first half of 2009, China exported $521 billion worth of clothes, toys, electronics, grains and other commodities to the rest of the world. Though that represented a 22% decrease from the first half of 2008, it compares favorably to other major exporters
World Stocks Hit 12-Month Highs, Dollar At 14-Month Low [Reuters]
- World stocks hit a 12-month high on Wednesday as forecast-beating Intel Corp results and Chinese trade data brightened the economic outlook, while the dollar plummeted to 14-month lows, sending oil and gold higher
- MSCI’s all-country world index rose 0.7% to 294.41, a level last seen in early October a year ago. The index was up 29% this year, with a more than 71% gain since hitting a six-year low in March. European shares rose 1.2% led by banks, technology and energy sectors. U.S. corporate earnings continue to be the dominant driver of risk sentiment
- Gold hit a record above $1,070 an ounce and oil rose to a 2009 peak above $75 a barrel as the dollar slipped to its weakest in more than a year. The weaker dollar boosted gold’s appeal as an alternative investment and making commodities cheaper for non-dollar buyers.
Phone Sales Hit by Sidekick Loss [BBC]
- US carrier T-Mobile has halted sales of the Sidekick cellphone after a server caused customers to lose personal data. Microsoft subsidiary Danger, which designed Sidekick’s software and service, confirmed the disruption
- The issue is seen as the largest failing for cloud computing in recent memory. It is being painted as a black eye for Microsoft which has pushed cloud or online services as a less expensive solution for enterprise data storage. The timing also hurts T-Mobile, the US’s fourth-largest carrier, which is struggling to increase subscribers
- Sidekick’s online service acts as a backup for contacts, photos, calendar appointments and other personal data stored on the mobile phone
Russia and China Sign Trade Deals Worth $3.5 Billion [BBC]
- About 40 contracts were signed by Russian and Chinese businessmen and officials, Russian deputy prime minister Alexander Zhukov said. The agreements came during the second day of a visit to Beijing by Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin
- Trade between Russia and China has risen from less than $10 billion to more than $50 billion annually over the past six years. The heart of the relationship is Beijing’s thirst for Russian energy – oil and gas make up more than half of Russian exports to China
- Earlier this year, Moscow signed a $25 billion agreement to help fund a pipeline to supply oil from Siberia to China. In exchange, China was guaranteed a 20-year supply of crude oil
Tax Evaders Face Choice: Pay or Pray [New York Times]
- Some well-heeled people are trembling over another looming tax day: Oct. 15. Thursday is the deadline for Americans to come clean about the money they have hidden offshore, in places like Swiss bank accounts
- The IRS is offering some leniency. Penalties will be reduced for people who come forward. They will be assessed fines equal to 5-20% of their tax bills, rather than the usual 50%. They also will pay that penalty once, based on the highest balance in their offshore accounts over the last six years, rather than for each of those six years
- At least 4,000 clients of UBS and other private banks have come forward in recent months. Scores of other UBS clients hope the IRS will not catch them, tax lawyers say. UBS divulged the names of 4,450 American clients to federal authorities, but some clients are betting that their names were not on the list
Cisco Is Buying Starent for $2.9 Billion to Bolster Its Wireless Networks Business [New York Times]
- On Tuesday, Cisco announced that it would pay $35 a share, or $2.9 billion, for Starent Networks, which makes products that help wireless telecommunications companies ship large volumes of data to phones and computing devices. Cisco, has also forecast that by 2013, video will account for about 60% of the data traveling across mobile networks
- The company’s recent deals reflect optimism about the growing importance of video traffic. Two weeks ago, Cisco began a tender offer to buy Tandberg, a Norwegian maker of videoconferencing systems, for $3 billion. In March, Cisco agreed to pay $590 million for Pure Digital Technologies, a start-up that developed the popular Flip video cameras
- At $35 billion, Cisco has more cash on hand for acquisitions than any other technology company. Cisco’s vast cash stockpile results, in part, from its lucrative networking equipment business. The company is by far the largest supplier of the routers and switches that help direct data and voice traffic between computing systems
- TIMELINE: Macau’s Rise to World’s Leading Gambling Hub [Reuters]
- Suicide Bomber Kills 41 Near Pakistan’s Swat [Reuters]
- Manhunt for Portugal Politician [BBC]
- Palestinians Launch $220 Million Housing Project [Reuters]
- Third of RBS Coutts Staff in Singapore Quit [Reuters]
- China’s Super-Rich Bounce Back From Financial Crisis [Reuters]
- A.I.G. Sells Taiwan Unit for $2.15 Billion [New York Times]
- World’s Hungry Reach More Than 1 Billion In ’09: U.N. [Reuters]
Source: The Economist
- The total number of Muslims in the world is 1.57 billion, nearly a quarter of the global total
- Almost two-thirds of Muslims live in Asia, with Indonesia providing the biggest contingent (203m), followed by Pakistan (174m) and India (160m)
- The European country with the highest Muslim population is not France or Germany, but Russia, where 16.5m adherents of Islam make up nearly 12% of the total national population
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