Asia, Global Economy | featured news

Measuring the country’s economic development against that of China seems to be a national obsession in India, but the rivalry seems to be largely one-sided.

China's economy slowed less sharply than expected in the second quarter and Beijing said corralling inflation remained its top priority even though a "complex and volatile" global economy clouded the outlook.

The inflation is still high, and the 10% annual growth rate of the last decade is going to wither to under 5% by 2014 or so, according to the Economist. The innovation necessary to boom a consumer economy is questionable. The state banks have probably been loaded with questionable loans.

China should guard against risks from "excessive" holdings of U.S. assets as Washington could pursue a policy to weaken the dollar, a senior official at the State Administration of Foreign Exchange said in comments published on Tuesday.

The rising labor costs for companies that supply Chinese goods to the West may result in higher consumer prices.

A contraction in the first quarter at an annual rate of 3.7 percent was worse than economists had expected.

Hunger was such a constant companion in Yao Qizhong's childhood that even now, at age 40, he'll stoop down to salvage a single clove of garlic that falls from his table at the Beijing market where he hawks fresh produce....

Japan’s sovereign-rating outlook was cut to “negative” by Standard & Poor’s as the nation’s reconstruction needs following last month’s earthquake will likely add to what’s already the world’s biggest debt load.

China's inflation will fall slightly in the second half of 2011, but it will be tough to keep the full-year rise in consumer prices below the government's 4 percent ceiling, an official said in remarks reported on Sunday.

China's turbo-charged growth eased just a touch in the first quarter, while its inflation jumped to a 32-month high, putting pressure on the government to do more to rein in prices and keep the economy on an even keel.