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learn Chinese – Dollar trades at mid-84 yen level

chinnet2net — Sun, 05 Sep 2010 06:25:30 +0000

The U.S. dollar traded in the mid-84 yen range early Thursday in Tokyo.

The dollar bought 84.50-53 yen at 9 a.m., compared with 84.40- 50 yen in New York and 84.17-19 yen in Tokyo at 5 p.m. Wednesday.

The euro was quoted at 1.2794-2796 dollars and 108.13-15 yen, against 1.2803-2813 dollars and 108.07-17 yen in New York and 1. 2723-2725 dollars and 107.09-13 yen in Tokyo late Wednesday.

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Chinese School – Chinese shares open 0.92% higher on overnight U.S. stocks gains

chinnet2net — Sat, 04 Sep 2010 06:24:14 +0000

China’s stocks rose with the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index up 0.92 percent to open at 2,646.89 Thursday, driven by Wednesday’s Wall Street rallies.

The Shenzhen Component Index climbed 1.45 percent to open at 11,482.35 points.

The U.S. stock market posted strong gains as better-than-expected manufacturing data from both China and the United States eased concerns of a global economic slump.

The Dow Jones industrial average rallied 246.65 points, or 2.46 percent, to 10,261.37. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index gained 29.31 points, or 2.79 percent, to 1,078.64 and the Nasdaq surged 61.24 points, or 2.90 percent, to 2,175.27.

China Travel – More Californians concerned about job environment, less about financial woes

chinnet2net — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 06:21:26 +0000

Nearly half of respondents believed the stagnant labor market is the state’s most pressing problem and many people plan to learn more skills to better adjust to the uncertain situation, a study released on Wednesday by Harris/Decima said.

The data, which was sponsored by Everest College in the 2nd Annual California Labor Day Survey, found that 41 percent of respondents believe the job environment is California’s top economic issue, followed by the state’s financial crisis (29 percent).

The result was in sharp contrast and a complete reversal to 2009, when the top concern was the financial crisis (43 percent), followed by the employment picture (27 percent).

“The state’s unemployment rate is the third highest in the nation and easily the most important economic issue for Californians right now,” said John Andrews, regional vice president of operations at Everest College. “However, as the study indicates, Californians continue to be proactive in the face of job uncertainty, with many considering skills training or other educational avenues to improve their employment opportunities.”

With the state’s unemployment rate perched at 12.3 percent in July, the study found that more Californians in 2010 have considered various options to deal with the sluggish job market when compared with 2009. Specifically, 37 percent of employed Californians have considered returning to school to enhance their career compared with 28 percent in 2009, and 36 percent have contemplated a new career to make more money versus 28 percent the previous year.

For example, as of June 30, 2010, enrollment at Everest’s California campuses rose 22 percent during a two-year period, in large part due to the popularity of Everest’s healthcare programs, which includes medical assisting, recently named by Forbes magazine as one of the fastest growing jobs for women in 2010.

The survey found that 53 percent of Californians are experiencing heavier workloads and half of the respondents have less job security than they did two years ago. Including commute time, 41 percent of employed Californians say they work more than 10 hours every day. And 39 percent said they have less time for family and friends due to longer working hours, which has risen from 2009′s 35 percent.

Among those Californians who are employed by an employer, one in four think they will be laid off in the next 12 months and more than a third (36 percent) expect to lose some or all benefits during the same time period. Respondents with less than a high school education were more concerned about their employment future compared to those with vocational or technical college, the survey found, with 57 percent said they have less job security than two years ago (37 percent).

This data was gathered by Harris/Decima through telephone interviews between July 15th and July 24th, 2010. A total of 600 Californians — 470 employed and 130 unemployed — were surveyed.

learn mandarin – Uruguay eyes more investment from China: vice president

chinnet2net — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 09:51:01 +0000

Uruguayan Vice President Danilo Astori said in Beijing Friday that Uruguay welcomes more Chinese companies doing business in the country.

He made the remarks at a seminar at the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT), the largest institution for the promotion of foreign trade in China. The seminar grouped more than 100 Chinese and Uruguayan entrepreneurs.

Astori said Uruguay’s rapid development, advantageous location, rich natural resources and stable social system made it a gateway for China’s companies to tap into South America’s markets.

According to a forecast last month by the Economic Commission of Latin America and the Caribbean, Uruguay’s economy is expected to grow 7 percent this year.

He said the country’s logistics industry had great potential for development, as it had become Uruguay’s fastest developing sector.

Astori started a weeklong visit to China on Aug. 22, accompanied by officials from industry, transport and banking departments, and an 18-member delegation of entrepreneurs.

Two-way trade hit 867 million U.S. dollars in the first half of this year, up 61.7 percent over the same period last year, according to the CCPIT.

learn Chinese online – New Zealand exports increase in July

chinnet2net — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 09:50:02 +0000

Higher milk powder, butter and cheese exports led a 12 percent rise in the total value of exports in July to 3.6 billion NZ dollars (2.6 billion U.S. dollars), showed figures releaseed by Statistics New Zealand on Monday.

Dairy exports increased by almost a third in July, followed by strong increases in boats, ships and wood products.

The value of imports also rose 12 percent, to 3.8 billion NZ dollars, led by higher petroleum, car and fertilizer imports, it said.

The trade surplus narrowed in July to a deficit of 186 million NZ dollars, which was the first deficit in seven months.

learn Chinese – China’s Hainan Airlines H1 net profit more than triples

chinnet2net — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 09:49:33 +0000

Hainan Airlines Co., Ltd., one of China’s major air carriers, said its first-half-year net profit jumped 218.19 percent on strong market demand and domestic economic growth.

Net profit totaled 556.8 million yuan (81.9 million U.S. dollars) in the first six months this year, the company said in a statement filed with the Shanghai Stock Exchange on Sunday.

Earnings per share stood at 0.141 yuan, compared with 0.051 yuan one year earlier. Also, business revenues climbed 42.84 percent to 8.742 billion yuan in the first half, it said.

The company, based in the southernmost island of Hainan, said the surge in profits was a result of an unexpected increase in demand in China’s civil aviation industry, which had rebounded since the beginning of this year along with the country’s economy.

Hainan Airlines expects to benefit from the central government’s plan to build the island of Hainan into an international tourist resort by 2020, which was officially approved in June, said the statement.

Chinese School – S. Korea’s fiscal spending tops $150 bln as of July

chinnet2net — Sun, 29 Aug 2010 09:31:27 +0000

The South Korean government spent a total of 178.6 trillion won (150 billion U.S. dollars) in terms of fiscal expenditure for the first seven months of 2010, the finance ministry said Friday.

According to the Ministry of Strategy and Finance, South Korea has spent around 65.9 percent of this year’s planned fiscal budget of 271.3 trillion won (228 billion U.S. dollars) as of end-July.

The ministry had forecasted it would have spent around 66.0 percent of the pre-planned budget by the end of July.

The expenditure rose 13.2 billion won (11 billion U.S. dollars) from a month ago, said the ministry.

The data came amid a meeting to review and evaluate budget spending in order to boost efficiency in fiscal outlays, the ministry said.

Chinese language – Hong Kong stocks close 0.07% lower

chinnet2net — Sat, 28 Aug 2010 09:30:31 +0000

Hong Kong stocks Friday closed down 14.71 points, or 0.07 percent, at 19,905.32, ending the week with nearly 2 percent losses.

The benchmark Hang Seng Index down 48. 97 points, or 0.24 percent to open at 20,563.09 on Friday. It fluctuated between 20, 552.55 and 20,670.57 before closing the day’s session.

Turnover totaled 51.55 billion HK dollars compared with Thursday’s 54.83 billion HK dollars.

The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index fell 41.17 points, or 0. 36 percent, to close at 11,395.05.

Two of the four sub-indices went down. The finance sub-index and the properties lost 0.28 percent and 0.36 percent respectively, while the commerce and industry sub-index up 0.11 percent, the utilities, 1.02 percent.

Heavyweight HSBC, fell 0.98 percent to close at 76.15 HK dollars, while its local unit Hang Seng Bank edged up 1.03 percent to 108.20 HK dollars. China Mobile moved up 0.87 percent to 81.60 HK dollars.

Chinese mainland lenders closed mixed. Bank of China ended 0.51 percent lower at 3.94 HK dollars, China Construction Bank was flat at 6.42 HK dollars, while ICBC rose 1.25 percent to 5.65 HK dollars, Bank of Communications added 0.36 percent to 8.34 HK dollars.

As for local developers, Cheung Kong, the flagship of Hong Kong ‘s richest man Li Ka-shing, gained 0.41 percent to 98.50 HK dollars. SHK Properties, the leading residential housing developer in Hong Kong, lost 0.45 percent to 110.70 HK dollars. Henderson Land moved down 1.57 percent to 47.00 HK dollars.

PetroChina increased 0.71 percent to 8.45 HK dollars, offshore oil producer CNOOC up 0.77 percent to close at 13.16 HK dollars, while Sinopec dropped 0.16 percent at 6.13 HK dollars.

China Life continued to lose, ending 1.79 percent lower at 30. 10 HK dollars. Bank of China Hong Kong, the Hong Kong arm of Bank of China, jumped 2.99 percent to 20.70 HK dollars after releasing the interim result Thursday. (7.778 HK dollars = 1 U.S. dollar)

Chinese language – Canadian stock market closes higher as major bank releases profit results

chinnet2net — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 06:04:53 +0000

Toronto’s main stock index closed higher on Wednesday, as Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC), one of the country’s five major banks, released results that went beyond market expectations.

The Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX composite index closed up 90.77 points, or 0.78 percent, at 11,648.12, with seven of its 10 main sectors higher.

CIBC made 640 million Canadian dollars (about 601.6 million U.S. dollars in the third quarter, an increase of just over 47 percent, as more customers were able to keep up with their loan payments than a year ago.

CIBC posted a profit of 1.53 cents a share compared to 1.02 cents or 434 million Canadian dollars last year, and surpassed analysts’ expectations for the quarter.

Shares in Research In Motion, the BlackBerry maker, rose 76 cents to 50.70 Canadian dollars just after the news of the company has acquired a California-based software producers were confirmed.

Shares of PotashCorp, the world’s largest fertilizer, declined 3.29 Canadian dollars to 154.51 Canadian dollars on the TSX. The company has rejected a 39 billion U.S. dollars bid from BHP Billiton Ltd., the world’s biggest miner.

Canada’s dollar rose from the weakest level in almost two months as stocks rose from the day’s lows.

One Canadian dollar purchased 94.32 U.S. cents as of 5 p.m. local time.

Profits at Canadian corporations hit 61.7 billion Canadian dollars in the second quarter of 2010, a 1.8 percent decrease from the previous quarter, according to a report released by Statistics Canada on Wednesday.

Fifteen out of 22 industries reported profits during the March- to-June period, but declines in the insurance and oil and gas industries offset gains elsewhere.

In the non-financial sector, profits decreased by 1.5 percent to 46.4 billion Canadian dollars, while among financial industries profits declined 2.7 percent to 15.3 billion Canadian dollars.

Canada’s business profits fell 1.8 percent in the second quarter from the previous three-month period, the first decline in four quarters, government figures showed on Wednesday.

The country’s home prices rose 1.5 percent in June, the biggest advance in 10 months. (1 U.S. dollar = 1.06 Canadian dollars)

China Travel – Wall Street rebounds despite weak economic data

chinnet2net — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 06:03:59 +0000

Wall Street rebounded on Wednesday despite weak economic data as some investors came back to markets for bargain shopping.

The Commerce Department said that orders for goods expected to last at least three years rose just 0.3 percent in July, while economists were expecting a much stronger growth of 2.8 percent.

A separate report from the Commerce Department showed new home sales fell 12.4 percent in July to an annual rate of 276,600, the lowest on records dating back to 1963.

However, major indexes rebounded after the reports as some investors believed the market has bottomed after recent sell-off.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 19.61 points, or 0.20 percent, to 10,060.06. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index was up 3.46 points, or 0.33 percent, to 1,055.33 and the Nasdaq added 17.78 points, or 0.84 percent, to 2,141.54.