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Asia: Rally running out of steam

Asia: Rally running out of steam Faltering Japanese shares and lower prices in South Korea and Taiwan are putting the brakes on the Asian stock market rally. With a week to go, Morgan Stanley Capital International's Asia-Pacific index was 4.1 percent higher for the first quarter after climbing an aggregate 24 percent in the previous two quarters. Concern that borrowing costs will rise in the United States and elsewhere may limit further gains. "There's considerable nervousness about the direction of interest rates," said Geoff Lewis at JF Asset Management. "After having such a strong run earlier, markets need some time to

Cycling/Asia Cup: Hafizs day of triumph and despair on the track

Cycling/Asia Cup: Hafizs day of triumph and despair on the track HAFIZ Sufian went through a mix of emotions as he stormed his way to the 1km time trial gold medal before crashing twice to knock himself out of contention for the 200m sprint in the Asia Cup at Velodrome Rakyat in Ipoh yesterday. With a time of one minute 06.551 seconds in the 1km time trial, the fastest ever by a Malaysian on an outdoor track, Hafiz, who celebrates his 20th birthday on Wednesday, showed that he has arrived at the form which will make him a medal contender in the

Pentagon Builds Up Forces in Asia-Pacific

Pentagon Builds Up Forces in Asia-Pacific An important subtext of Chinese President Hu Jintaos visit to the White House is the growing U.S.-China military competition. As Chinas defense spending surges, the Pentagon is pursuing a strategy of strengthening its forces in the Asia-Pacific region as a hedge against the potential emergence of a hostile China. The Navy is putting a larger proportion of its submarine fleet in the Pacific, plans to add one aircraft carrier battle group in that region and is outfitting strategic missile submarines with non-nuclear cruise missiles. The Air Force has been improving its ability to deploy B-2 stealth bombers

Asia stocks to focus on oil, Fed meeting

Asia stocks to focus on oil, Fed meeting Lower oil prices may help underpin Asian stock markets this week as worries about inflation ease, but further direction is expected to come from the outcome of the Federal Reserves policy-setting meeting. The U.S. central bank is widely expected to keep interest rates unchanged on Wednesday following recent evidence of slower U.S. growth, while investors will be on the look-out for clues to future rate moves. Still, worries about slower global growth mean any market gains may be limited, some analysts say. More : za.today.reuters.com

Pacific vital to Asia’s interests

Pacific vital to Asia's interests While the developing countries of Asia Pacific as a whole achieved average growth rates of over 6% in 2005, with China and India generating over 8%, most Pacific island developing countries on average managed just 3%. This was barely above the growth rate of the population in many island countries. The differences in the pace of growth are widening the gap between fast-growing Asian countries and the Pacific developing countries. The growing disparities over time could further marginalise the islands in a rapidly globalising world economy. One way of benefiting from Asian dynamism is for Pacific